Image-forming device having waste developer material conveying mechanism

• US 9,360,800 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2015
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Sato, Shougo, Itabashi, Nao
• Primary Examiner(s): HYDER, G.M. ALI
• Application Number:
  US14/982,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20160109828A1
• Time in Patent Office: 161 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0886 by mechanical means, e.g. shutter, plug
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/105 Arrangements for conveying toner waste
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/12 Toner waste containers
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0132 vertical medium transport path at the secondary transfer

Abstract

In an image-forming device, a waste developer material accommodating part is provided integrally with a developer material accommodating part and is configured to accommodate waste developer material collected by a recovering unit. A waste developer material conveying mechanism is connected to both of the recovering unit and the waste developer material accommodating part and conveys the waste developer material from the recovering unit to the waste developer material accommodating part. The waste developer material conveying mechanism includes a conveying member that is disposed outside the waste developer material accommodating part and that is coupled to a center region of the waste developer material accommodating part along an axial direction of the photosensitive drum.

Claims

1. An image-forming device, comprising:

a holding member;

a photosensitive body held by the holding member;

a developing unit having a developer material bearing body, the developer material bearing body being configured to bear developer material thereon and supply developer material from the developer material bearing body to a surface of the photosensitive body;

a developer cartridge that can be mounted in and detached from the developing unit and that has a case and a shutter, the case being formed with a through-hole, through which developer material accommodated inside the case is supplied to the developing unit, the shutter being configured so as to be capable of moving between an open position opening the through-hole and a closed position closing the through-hole; and

a developing unit movement control mechanism that is configured to allow the developing unit to move in a pressing direction for pressing the developer material bearing body against the photosensitive body when the shutter is in the open position and to restrict the movement in the pressing direction when the shutter is in the closed position.

2. The image-forming device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the developing unit movement control mechanism includes:

a first operating member that is provided to the developer cartridge and that is coupled to the shutter;

a second operating member that is provided to the developing unit, that has a guided portion, and that is configured to be engaged with the first operating member when the developer cartridge is mounted in the developing unit; and

a guiding member that is provided to the holding member and that is configured to be in a guiding orientation extending in the pressing direction to guide the guided portion in the pressing direction when the shutter is in the open position, and to be in a non-guiding orientation extending in a direction intersecting the pressing direction to restrict movement of the guided portion in the pressing direction when the shutter is in the closed position.

3. The image-forming device as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the first operating member is configured to rotate together with the shutter,

the second operating member is configured to rotate together with the first operating member when the second operating member is engaged with the first operating member, and

the guiding member is configured to rotate relative to the holding member, and

wherein when the guiding member is rotated from the guiding orientation to the non-guiding orientation, the guiding member rotates the first operating member and the second operating member to move the shutter from the open position to the closed position, while moving rotational centers of the first operating member and the second operating member in a direction to separate the developer material bearing body away from the photosensitive body.