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US 11,029,639 B2Granted
Process cartridge
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorShougo Sato
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process cartridge includes: a drum cartridge including a photosensitive drum; and a toner cartridge which is mountable on the drum cartridge and stores toner, wherein the drum cartridge includes: a cleaner configured to collect waste toner on the photosensitive drum; a waste toner conveyance tube configured to convey the waste toner collected by the cleaner; and a developing unit which includes a developing roller configured to supply toner to the photosensitive drum and is swingable about a swing axis with respect to the photosensitive drum, and wherein the toner cartridge has a waste toner storing chamber for storing the waste toner conveyed by the waste toner conveyance tube.
Claims6
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming apparatus comprising:
- a process cartridge attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus in a first direction;
- and
- a toner cartridge having a toner chamber for storing toner and a waste toner chamber for storing waste toner,
- wherein the process cartridge comprises:
- a photosensitive drum rotatable about a drum axis extending in a second direction;
- a developing unit having a developing chamber configured to store toner to be supplied to the photosensitive drum, the developing unit comprising:
- a developing roller for supplying toner to a peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum;
- and
- a toner receiving portion comprising an arc shape wall, the arc shape wall having a toner receiving opening fluidly communicable with the developing chamber;
- a cleaner for collecting waste toner from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum;
- a waste toner conveyance tube configured to convey the waste toner collected by the cleaner, the waste toner conveyance tube extending in the first direction and having a waste toner exhausting opening;
- and
- a waste toner shutter movable along the waste toner conveyance tube in the first direction between:
- a first closed position at which the waste toner shutter closes the waste toner exhausting opening;
- and
- a first opened position at which the waste toner exhausting opening is opened, and
- wherein the toner cartridge comprises:
- a toner supplying portion comprising a cylindrical wall extending in the second direction, the cylindrical wall having a toner supply opening fluidly communicable with the toner chamber;
- and
- a toner shutter rotatable along a surface of the cylindrical wall between:
- a second closed position at which the toner shutter closes the toner supply opening;
- and
- a second opened position at which the toner supply opening is opened,
- wherein the developing roller is located at a position between the waste toner chamber and the photosensitive drum in the first direction, and
- wherein a first height between a top end and a bottom end of the developing roller overlaps with a second height between a top end and a bottom end of the waste toner chamber in a horizontal direction.
22 more elements
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming apparatus comprising:
- a process cartridge attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus in a first direction;
- and
- a toner cartridge having a toner chamber for storing toner and a waste toner chamber for storing waste toner,
- wherein the process cartridge comprises:
- a photosensitive drum rotatable about a drum axis extending in a second direction;
- a developing unit having a developing chamber configured to store toner for supplying to the photosensitive drum, the developing unit comprising:
- a developing roller for supplying toner to a peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum;
- and
- a toner receiving portion comprising an arc shape wall, the arc shape wall having a toner receiving opening fluidly communicable with the developing chamber;
- a cleaner for collecting waste toner from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum;
- a waste toner conveyance tube configured to convey the waste toner collected by the cleaner, the waste toner conveyance tube extending in the first direction and having a waste toner exhausting opening;
- and
- a waste toner shutter movable along the waste toner conveyance tube in the first direction between:
- a first closed position at which the waste toner shutter closes the waste toner exhausting opening;
- and
- a first opened position at which the waste toner exhausting opening is opened, and
- wherein the toner cartridge comprises:
- a toner supplying portion comprising a cylindrical wall extending in the second direction, the cylindrical wall having a toner supply opening fluidly communicable with the toner chamber;
- and
- a toner shutter rotatable along a surface of the cylindrical wall between:
- a second closed position at which the toner shutter closes the toner supply opening;
- and
- a second opened position at which the toner supply opening is opened,
- wherein the waste toner chamber is located at a first side opposite, with respect to the developing roller and in the first direction, a second side where the photosensitive drum is located, and
- wherein a first height between a top end and a bottom end of the developing roller overlaps with a second height between a top end and a bottom end of the waste toner chamber in a horizontal direction.
22 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.