Image forming apparatus having waste toner container commonly used for photosensitive drums and transfer belt
First Claim
1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a main frame;
a plurality of process cartridges including a plurality of photosensitive drums and a plurality of drum-cleaning units, the plurality of process cartridges being provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of photosensitive drums, the plurality of photosensitive drums being provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of drum-cleaning units, each of the plurality of drum-cleaning units being configured to collect waste toner on a corresponding photosensitive drum;
a cartridge-supporting body configured to support the plurality of process cartridges and be movable between an internal position inside the main frame and an external position outside of the main frame;
a belt configured to confront the plurality of process cartridges when the cartridge-supporting body supporting the plurality of process cartridges is in the internal position;
a belt cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the belt;
a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate both waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and waste toner collected from the belt by the belt cleaning unit; and
a collective conveying unit provided in the cartridge-supporting body and configured to aggregate both waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and waste toner collected from the belt by the belt cleaning unit and to convey collectively the aggregated waste toner to the waste toner cartridge,wherein the waste toner cartridge is provided in the main frame when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the internal position and when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the external position; and
wherein the waste toner cartridge connects with the collective conveying unit when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the internal position, the waste toner cartridge disconnecting with the collective conveying unit when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the external position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes a main frame, a plurality of process cartridges, a cartridge-supporting body, a belt, a belt cleaning unit, a waste toner cartridge, and a collective conveying unit. Each drum-cleaning unit collects waste toner on a corresponding photosensitive drum. The cartridge-supporting body supports the process cartridges and is movable between an internal position inside the main frame and an external position outside of the main frame. The belt cleaning unit collects waste toner on the belt. The waste toner cartridge accommodates both waste toner collected from the photosensitive drums by the drum-cleaning units and waste toner collected from the belt by the belt cleaning unit. The collective conveying unit aggregates both waste toner collected from the photosensitive drums by the drum-cleaning units and waste toner collected from the belt by the belt cleaning unit and conveys the aggregated waste toner to the waste toner cartridge.
18 Citations
39 Claims
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1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a main frame; a plurality of process cartridges including a plurality of photosensitive drums and a plurality of drum-cleaning units, the plurality of process cartridges being provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of photosensitive drums, the plurality of photosensitive drums being provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of drum-cleaning units, each of the plurality of drum-cleaning units being configured to collect waste toner on a corresponding photosensitive drum; a cartridge-supporting body configured to support the plurality of process cartridges and be movable between an internal position inside the main frame and an external position outside of the main frame; a belt configured to confront the plurality of process cartridges when the cartridge-supporting body supporting the plurality of process cartridges is in the internal position; a belt cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the belt; a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate both waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and waste toner collected from the belt by the belt cleaning unit; and a collective conveying unit provided in the cartridge-supporting body and configured to aggregate both waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and waste toner collected from the belt by the belt cleaning unit and to convey collectively the aggregated waste toner to the waste toner cartridge, wherein the waste toner cartridge is provided in the main frame when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the internal position and when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the external position; and wherein the waste toner cartridge connects with the collective conveying unit when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the internal position, the waste toner cartridge disconnecting with the collective conveying unit when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the external position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a main frame; a plurality of cartridges each configured to accommodate toner therein; a drawer unit configured to support the plurality of cartridges and be movable between an internal position inside the main frame and an external position outside of the main frame, the drawer unit comprising; a plurality of photosensitive drums; and a plurality of drum-cleaning units provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of photosensitive drums, each of the plurality of drum-cleaning units being configured to collect waste toner on a corresponding photosensitive drum; a belt configured to confront the plurality of photosensitive drums when the drawer unit supporting the plurality of cartridges is in the internal position; a belt cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the belt; a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate both waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and waste toner collected from the belt by the belt cleaning unit; and a collective conveying unit provided in the drawer unit and configured to aggregate both waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and waste toner collected from the belt by the belt cleaning unit and to convey collectively the aggregated waste toner to the waste toner cartridge, where the waste toner cartridge is provided in the main frame when the drawer is positioned at the internal position and when the drawer is positioned at the external position; and wherein the waste toner cartridge connects with the collective conveying unit when the drawer is positioned at the internal position, the waste toner cartridge disconnecting with the collective conveying unit when the drawer is positioned at the external position. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification