Image forming apparatus provided with cartridge for accommodating waste toner therein
First Claim
1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a main frame;
a first process cartridge including a first photosensitive drum and a first drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the first photosensitive drum;
a second process cartridge including a second photosensitive drum and a second drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the second photosensitive drum;
a cartridge-supporting body configured to support the first process cartridge and the second process cartridge and movable between an internal position inside the main frame and an external position outside of the main frame;
a collective conveying unit provided in the cartridge-supporting body and configured to convey collectively waste toner collected by the first drum-cleaning unit and the second drum-cleaning unit; and
a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate waste toner conveyed by the collective conveying unit, the waste toner cartridge being positioned in the main frame and connecting with the collective conveying unit when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the internal position, the waste toner cartridge being positioned in the main frame and disconnecting with the collective conveying unit when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the external position.
1 Assignment
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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.
16 Citations
40 Claims
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1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a main frame; a first process cartridge including a first photosensitive drum and a first drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the first photosensitive drum; a second process cartridge including a second photosensitive drum and a second drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the second photosensitive drum; a cartridge-supporting body configured to support the first process cartridge and the second process cartridge and movable between an internal position inside the main frame and an external position outside of the main frame; a collective conveying unit provided in the cartridge-supporting body and configured to convey collectively waste toner collected by the first drum-cleaning unit and the second drum-cleaning unit; and a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate waste toner conveyed by the collective conveying unit, the waste toner cartridge being positioned in the main frame and connecting with the collective conveying unit when the cartridge-supporting body is positioned at the internal position, the waste toner cartridge being positioned in the main frame and 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)
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14. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a main frame; a drawer configured to support a plurality of developing cartridges each configured to accommodate toner therein, the drawer movable between an internal position inside the main frame and an external position outside of the main frame, the drawer comprising; a first photosensitive drum; a second photosensitive drum; a first drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the first photosensitive drum; and a second drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the second photosensitive drum; a collective conveying unit provided in the drawer and configured to convey collectively waste toner collected by the first drum-cleaning unit and the second drum-cleaning unit; and a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate waste toner conveyed by the collective conveying unit, the waste toner cartridge being positioned in the main frame and connecting with the collective conveying unit when the drawer is positioned at the internal position, the waste toner cartridge being positioned in the main frame and disconnecting with the collective conveying unit when the drawer is positioned at the external position. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a casing; a first process cartridge including a first photosensitive drum and a first drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the first photosensitive drum; a second process cartridge including a second photosensitive drum and a second drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the second photosensitive drum; a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate both the waste toner collected from the first photosensitive drum by the first drum-cleaning unit and the waste toner collected from the second photosensitive drum by the second drum-cleaning unit; a first wall arranged inside the casing, the first wall having a first recess for receiving one end portion of the first process cartridge and a second recess for receiving one end portion of the second process cartridge; a second wall arranged inside the casing, the second wall having a third recess for receiving another end portion of the first process cartridge and a fourth recess for receiving another end portion of the second process cartridge, the first process cartridge being configured to be supported by the first recess and the third recess, the second process cartridge being configured to be supported by the second recess and the fourth recess; and a conveying unit configured to convey the waste toner collected by the first drum-cleaning unit and the waste toner collected by the second drum-cleaning unit, wherein the first wall is disposed between the conveying unit and the second wall. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a casing; a first developing cartridge configured to accommodate toner therein; a second developing cartridge configured to accommodate toner therein; a drawer unit including; a first photosensitive drum; a first drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the first photosensitive drum; a second photosensitive drum; and a second drum-cleaning unit configured to collect waste toner on the second photosensitive drum; a waste toner cartridge configured to accommodate both the waste toner collected from the first photosensitive drum by the first drum-cleaning unit and the waste toner collected from the second photosensitive drum by the second drum-cleaning unit; a first wall arranged inside the casing, the first wall having a first recess for receiving one end portion of the first photosensitive drum and a second recess for receiving one end portion of the second photosensitive drum; a second wall arranged inside the casing, the second wall having a third recess for receiving another end portion of the first photosensitive drum and a fourth recess for receiving another end portion of the second photosensitive drum, the first photosensitive drum being configured to be supported by the first recess and the third recess, the second photosensitive drum being configured to be supported by the second recess and the fourth recess; and a conveying unit configured to convey the waste toner collected by the first drum-cleaning unit and the waste toner collected by the second drum-cleaning unit, wherein the first wall is disposed between the conveying unit and the second wall. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification