Compact toner cartridge with fresh and waste toner chambers

• US 6,363,233 B1
• Filed: 06/13/2000
• Issued: 03/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oki Data Corporation (OKI Electric Industry Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Oki Data Corporation (OKI Electric Industry Company Limited)
• Inventors: Nakajima, Shigeki
• Primary Examiner(s): Grimley, Arthur T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGO, HOANG X
• Application Number:
  US09/592,822
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: 399/102, 399/119, 399/120, 399/358, 399/360, 399/262, 399/263, 399/256, 222/DIG.1
• US Class Current: 399/120
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0855 the concentration being measured by optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0865 Arrangements for supplying new developer
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0875 cartridges having a box like shape
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/105 Arrangements for conveying toner waste
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/12 Toner waste containers
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/068 having a box like shape
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 222/01 Xerography

Abstract

A toner cartridge extending in a longitudinal direction thereof has a fresh toner chamber and a water toner chamber. The fresh toner chamber and waste toner chamber extend parallel to each other so that the fresh toner chamber and the waste toner chamber are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The waste toner chamber incorporates a toner-conveying member such as a screw conveyor. The screw conveyor extends between the opposed longitudinal ends, and causes the waste toner to move further into the waste toner chamber. The waste toner chamber has an entrance formed therein through which waste toner is received from a print process cartridge. The entrance opens yieldably when a waste toner exit enters the waste toner chamber through the entrance and closes when the waste toner exit moves out of the enters the waste toner chamber.

Claims

1. A toner cartridge removably attached to a printer, the toner cartridge extending generally in a longitudinal direction, the toner cartridge comprising:

a housing;

a fresh toner chamber provided in said housing;

a waste toner chamber provided in said housing, said waste toner chamber being at least partly adjacent to said fresh toner chamber; and

a partition disposed in said housing, said partition extending in the longitudinal direction to divide an inner space of said housing to define said fresh toner chamber and said waste toner chamber such that said fresh toner chamber and said waste toner chamber extend parallel to each other and are at least partly horizontally adjacent when the toner cartridge has been attached to the printer.

2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said fresh toner chamber and said waste toner chamber are of substantially the same length in the longitudinal direction.

3. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said waste toner chamber comprises:

(i) an opening formed at a first one of opposed longitudinal ends of said waste toner chamber, said waste toner chamber receiving waste toner through said opening from an external device; and

(ii) a toner conveying member extending between the first one of the opposed longitudinal ends and a second one of the opposed longitudinal ends, said toner conveying member causing the waste toner to move away from said opening.

4. The toner cartridge according to claim 3, wherein said toner conveying member includes a shaft having a spiral blade formed thereon.

5. The toner cartridge according to claim 4, wherein said spiral blade is formed substantially across said shaft.

6. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said waste toner chamber has opposed longitudinal ends and includes a toner conveying member provided therein;

wherein said toner conveying member extends substantially horizontally between a first one of the opposed longitudinal ends and a second one of the opposed longitudinal ends and causes the waste toner to move toward the second one of the opposed longitudinal ends;

wherein said toner conveying member includes a shaft having a spiral blade formed on a part of a length of said shaft.

7. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said fresh toner chamber comprises (i) an opening through which toner is discharged from said fresh toner chamber, (ii) a shutter, (iii) an operating lever, and (iv) a locking mechanism,

wherein the shutter closes the opening when the operating lever is at a first position at which the operating lever is locked by the locking mechanism, and opens the opening when the operating lever is at a second position opposite to the first position.

14. The toner cartridge according to claim 3, wherein said toner conveying member is at an angle with a longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge such that said toner conveyor becomes higher with increasing distance from the first one of the opposed longitudinal ends.

15. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said fresh toner chamber has a first fixed volume and said waste toner chamber has a second fixed volume.

16. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said fresh toner chamber has an opening formed in a bottom wall thereof through which fresh toner is discharged from said fresh toner chamber, and said waste toner chamber has an opening formed in a side wall thereof through which waste toner is introduced into said waste toner chamber.

17. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said fresh toner chamber includes a member that agitates fresh toner held in said fresh toner chamber and said waste toner chamber includes a toner-conveying member that causes waste toner to move from a near end of the chamber toward a far end of said waste toner chamber.

18. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a first fitting portion at a bottom of the toner cartridge,

wherein the toner cartridge can be properly attached to a print process cartridge only when the first fitting portion fits to a corresponding portion of the print process cartridge.

8. A toner cartridge extending generally in a longitudinal direction, the toner cartridge removably being attached to a print process cartridge that has a waste toner exit, the toner cartridge comprising:

a housing;

a fresh toner chamber provided in said housing;

a waste toner chamber provided in said housing, said waste toner chamber being at least partly adjacent to said fresh toner chamber, said waste toner chamber having an entrance through which waste toner is received; and

a partition disposed in said housing, said partition extending in the longitudinal direction to divide an inner space of said housing to define said fresh toner chamber and said waste toner chamber such that said fresh toner chamber and said waste toner chamber extend parallel to each other and are at least partly horizontally adjacent when the toner cartridge has been attached to the print process cartridge, wherein when the waste toner exit enters the entrance, the entrance yieldably resiliently opens to direct the waste toner from the waste toner exit of the print process cartridge into said waste toner chamber, and when the waste toner exit of the print process cartridge moves out of said entrance, said entrance closes resiliently.

9. The toner cartridge according to claim 8, wherein said entrance comprises a resilient member fitted thereinto, said resilient member having a slit formed therein,

wherein when the waste toner exit enters the waste toner chamber through said entrance, the slit yieldably opens so that the waste toner exit passes through the slit.

10. The toner cartridge according to claim 9, wherein said resilient member is folded at said slit when said resilient member is fitted into said entrance.

11. The toner cartridge according to claim 9, wherein said resilient member is a sleeve having a first end secured to said entrance and a second end normally resiliently closed, wherein the second end of the sleeve yieldably opens when the waste toner exit enters into the waste toner chamber through said entrance, and the second end of the sleeve resiliently closes when the waste toner exit moves out of the waste toner chamber through said entrance.

12. The toner cartridge according to claim 9, wherein said resilient member is urged by a spring against said entrance,

wherein said resilient member is yieldably pushed away from said entrance to open said entrance when the waste toner exit enters the waste toner chamber through said entrance, and is urged toward said entrance to close said entrance when the waste toner exit moves out of the waste toner chamber through said entrance.

19. The toner cartridge according to claim 8, wherein said fresh toner chamber has a first fixed volume and said waste toner chamber has a second fixed volume.

20. The toner cartridge according to claim 8, wherein said fresh toner chamber has an opening formed in a bottom wall thereof through which fresh toner is discharged from said fresh toner chamber, and said waste toner chamber has an opening formed in a side wall thereof through which waste toner is introduced into said waste toner chamber.

21. The toner cartridge according to claim 8, wherein said fresh toner chamber includes a member that agitates fresh toner held in said fresh toner chamber and said waste toner chamber includes a toner-conveying member that causes waste toner to move from a near end of the chamber toward a far end of said waste toner chamber.

22. The toner cartridge according to claim 8, further comprising a first fitting portion at a bottom of the toner cartridge,

wherein the toner cartridge can be properly attached to a print process cartridge only when the first fitting portion fits to a corresponding portion of the print process cartridge.

13. A toner cartridge and a print process cartridge that receives only a corresponding toner cartridge,

wherein the toner cartridge has a first fitting portion indicative of a particular type of content and the print process cartridge has a second fitting portion,

wherein the toner cartridge is received into the print process cartridge only when the first fitting portion fits to the second fitting portion in mating engagement.

23. The toner cartridge and the print process cartridge according to claim 13, wherein the first fitting portion includes at least one recess and the second fitting portion includes at least one projection, wherein the projection fits into the recess when the toner cartridge is attached to the print process cartridge.

24. The toner cartridge and the print process cartridge according to claim 23, wherein the second fitting portion includes a piece having a plurality of holes formed therein and the at least one projection partly fitted into one of the plurality of holes.

25. The toner cartridge and the print process cartridge according to claim 13, wherein the first fitting portion includes two pieces each of which has a same shape and has a first engagement portion formed therein.

26. The toner cartridge and the print process cartridge according to claim 25, wherein the first engagement portion is formed at one of a plurality of different locations on each of the two pieces such that a non-corresponding toner cartridge is prevented from being inserted into the print process cartridge.

27. The toner cartridge and the print process cartridge according to claim 13, wherein the first fitting portion is indicative of a particular color of toner.

28. A toner cartridge that can be attached to a print process cartridge,

wherein the toner cartridge has a first fitting portion indicative of a particular type of content and provided at a bottom thereof,

wherein only when the toner cartridge is inserted into a corresponding print process cartridge, the first fitting portion fits into the print process cartridge in mating engagement with the print process cartridge.

29. The toner cartridge according to claim 28, wherein the first fitting portion includes two pieces each of which has a same shape and has a first engagement formed therein.

30. The toner cartridge according to claim 29, wherein the first engagement portion is formed at one of a plurality of different locations on each of the two pieces such that a non-corresponding toner cartridge is prevented from being inserted into the print process cartridge.

31. The toner cartridge and the print process cartridge according to claim 28, wherein the first fitting portion is indicative of a particular color of toner.