Image forming apparatus provided with cartridge for accommodating waste toner therein
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 waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units 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, andwherein the waste toner cartridge connects with the collective conveying unit when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the internal position, and the waste toner cartridge disconnects 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 cartridge-supporting body, a belt, a belt cleaning unit, a waste toner cartridge, and a collective conveying unit. The cartridge-supporting unit supports a plurality of process cartridges. Each process cartridge includes a photosensitive drum and a drum-cleaning unit for collecting waste toner on the photosensitive drum. The belt confronts the plurality of process cartridges when the cartridge-supporting body is in an internal position. The belt cleaning unit collects waste toner on the belt. The waste toner cartridge accommodates 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. The collective conveying unit aggregates waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and conveys collectively the aggregated waste toner to the waste toner cartridge.
21 Citations
47 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 waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units 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, and the waste toner cartridge disconnects 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, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a main frame; a plurality of developing cartridges each configured to accommodate toner therein; a drawer unit configured to support the plurality of developing 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 developing 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 waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units 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 drawer unit is positioned at the internal position and when the drawer unit is positioned at the external position; and wherein the waste toner cartridge connects with the collective conveying unit when the drawer unit is positioned at the internal position, and the waste toner cartridge disconnects with the collective conveying unit when the drawer unit is positioned at the external position. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. 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; a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units; and a collective conveying unit provided in the cartridge-supporting body and configured to aggregate waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and to convey collectively the aggregated waste toner to the waste toner cartridge, wherein the plurality of photosensitive drums are arrayed in an array direction, and each of the plurality of photosensitive drums has an axis defining an axial direction, and wherein the main frame further comprises a positioning member extending in the array direction and configured to perform positioning of the plurality of photosensitive drums, the positioning member being positioned inward of the collective conveying unit in the axial direction.
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47. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a main frame; a plurality of developing cartridges each configured to accommodate toner therein; a cartridge-supporting body configured to support the plurality of developing cartridges, the cartridge-supporting body 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 waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units; and a collective conveying unit provided in the cartridge-supporting body and configured to aggregate waste toner collected from the plurality of photosensitive drums by the plurality of drum-cleaning units and to convey collectively the aggregated waste toner to the waste toner cartridge, wherein the plurality of photosensitive drums are arrayed in an array direction, and each of the plurality of photosensitive drums has an axis defining an axial direction, and wherein the main frame further comprises a positioning member extending in the array direction and configured to perform positioning of the plurality of photosensitive drums, the positioning member being positioned inward of the collective conveying unit in the axial direction.
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Specification