US 10,474,093 B1Granted

Toner cartridge having a positioning boss

AssigneeLexmark International, Inc.

InventorsMark William Amann, Brian Lester Boettcher

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Abstract

A toner cartridge includes a photoconductive drum and a boss that protrudes outward from a first longitudinal end of the toner cartridge at a rotational axis of the photoconductive drum. An outermost axial segment of the boss along the rotational axis includes a partial cylinder having a cross-sectional shape of a circular segment. An outer circumferential surface of the partial cylinder is convex to a bottom of the toner cartridge and forms a bottom contact surface of the boss that is unobstructed to contact and sit in a corresponding V-block in an image forming device when the toner cartridge is installed in the image forming device. The outermost axial segment of the boss includes clearance above a topmost portion of the partial cylinder and within the radius of the outer circumferential surface of the partial cylinder permitting the clearance to accommodate one or more features in the image forming device.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A toner cartridge, comprising:

a housing having a top, a bottom, a first side and a second side positioned between a first longitudinal end and a second longitudinal end of the housing, the housing has a reservoir for holding toner;
a photoconductive drum rotatably positioned on the housing, a portion of an outer surface of the photoconductive drum is positioned along the bottom of the housing, the photoconductive drum includes a rotational axis that runs in a direction from the first longitudinal end to the second longitudinal end;
and
a boss protruding outward from the first longitudinal end of the housing at the rotational axis of the photoconductive drum, an outermost axial segment of the boss along the rotational axis of the photoconductive drum includes a partial cylinder having a cross-sectional shape of a circular segment of less than 360 degrees circumference, an outer circumferential surface of the partial cylinder is convex to the bottom of the housing and forms a bottom contact surface of the boss that is unobstructed to contact and sit in a corresponding V-block in an image forming device when the toner cartridge is installed in the image forming device, the outer circumferential surface of the partial cylinder has a radius, the outermost axial segment of the boss includes clearance above a topmost portion of the partial cylinder and within the radius of the outer circumferential surface of the partial cylinder permitting the clearance to accommodate one or more features in the image forming device during installation of the toner cartridge into the image forming device.

1 more element

A toner cartridge, comprising:

a housing having a top, a bottom, a first side and a second side positioned between a first longitudinal end and a second longitudinal end of the housing, the housing has a reservoir for holding toner;
a photoconductive drum rotatably positioned on the housing, a portion of an outer surface of the photoconductive drum is positioned along the bottom of the housing, the photoconductive drum includes a rotational axis that runs in a direction from the first longitudinal end to the second longitudinal end;
and
a boss protruding outward from the first longitudinal end of the housing at the rotational axis of the photoconductive drum, the boss includes a rounded contact surface that is convex to the bottom of the housing and that is unobstructed to contact and sit in a corresponding V-block in an image forming device when the toner cartridge is installed in the image forming device, the rounded contact surface has a radius, wherein a volume of space above a topmost portion of the boss and within the radius of the rounded contact surface of the boss is free of material for accommodating one or more features in the image forming device during installation of the toner cartridge into the image forming device.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.