Laser printer cartridges
AssigneeRecycling Technologies International Corporation
InventorJames W. Strouth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laser printer cartridge comprising including: a housing; a photosensitive drum; a developer cylinder including an inner magnetic member and a coaxial outer sleeve, the internal magnetic member being adjustably mounted on the housing and the outer sleeve being mounted so as to allow rotation about the common axis of the internal magnetic member and the outer sleeve; and means for adjusting the angular position of said internal magnetic member with respect to the housing.
Claims28
A laser printer cartridge comprising:
- a housing;
- a toner supply located in the housing;
- a photosensitive drum rotatably mounted in the housing on a first axis of rotation;
- a developer cylinder rotatably mounted in the housing on a second axis of rotation parallel to the first axis of rotation, the developer cylinder rotating relative to a toner pickup region located adjacent the toner supply, wherein toner is transferred to the developer cylinder from the toner supply, and a toner release region located adjacent the photosensitive drum, wherein toner is transferred from the developer cylinder to the photosensitive drum;
- a metering structure located adjacent the developer cylinder between the toner pickup region and the toner release region, said structure removing from the developer cylinder excess toner thereon transferred from the pickup region, to provide a metered depth of toner on the developer cylinder;
- a magnetic member located internal to and coaxial with the developer cylinder, establishing therein magnetic poles, the magnetic member being rotationally fixed on the second axis of rotation relative to the developer cylinder;
- and
- a pair of end caps supporting each of the developer cylinder and the magnetic member, at opposite ends thereof, in the housing, at least one of the end caps and the magnetic member being constructed and arranged so that the magnetic member is freely rotatable on the second axis of rotation relative to the housing and is fixable in a desired rotational orientation relative to the housing whereby the magnetic poles are adjustably positionable to a desired rotational location relative to the pickup region and the release region, allowing control of a magnetic field at the pickup region and the release region.
A method for optimizing toner consumption of a laser printer cartridge having a housing containing a toner supply, a rotating photosensitive drum, a rotating developer cylinder in contact with the toner supply at a toner pickup region and in contact with the photosensitive drum at a toner release region, and a magnetic member having magnetic poles rotationally fixed relative to the housing and coaxial with and internal to the developer cylinder comprising the steps of:
- freely rotating the magnetic member to a rotational orientation relative to the housing so that a respective desired magnetic field is present at each of the toner pickup region and the toner release region so that an optimum quantity of toner is transferred from the toner supply by the developer cylinder to the photosensitive drum;
- and
- fixing the rotational orientation of the magnetic member so that the magnetic poles are maintained at desired rotational positions.
A method for remanufacturing a laser printer cartridge having a housing, a toner supply, a rotating photosensitive drum and a developer cylinder in contact with each of the toner supply and the photosensitive drum and rotatably supported in the housing on end caps, the method comprising the steps of:
- disassembling the housing to remove each of the photosensitive drum and the developer cylinder;
- disassembling the end caps of the developer cylinder and exposing an internal magnetic member coaxial with the developer cylinder, the internal magnetic member having magnetic poles, at least one of the end caps including a predetermined surface that maintains the magnetic member in a predetermined fixed rotational orientation relative to the housing;
- providing at least one replacement end cap constructed and arranged to enable free rotation of the magnetic member relative to the housing;
- reattaching the at least one replacement end cap to the developer cylinder with the internal magnetic member positioned inside and coaxially therewith;
- reassembling the housing including reattaching each of a photosensitive drum and the developer cylinder including the at least one replacement end cap to the housing and replenishing the toner supply;
- rotating the magnetic member freely relative to the housing so that a desired magnetic field is present at each of respective desired rotational positions relative to the housing whereby transfer of toner from the toner supply to the developer cylinder and from the developer cylinder to the photosensitive drum is optimized;
- and
- fixing the magnetic member so that the magnetic poles are maintained at desired rotational positions relative to the housing.
End caps for a removable laser printer cartridge that is constructed and arranged to be replaceably mountable in a laser printer and including a housing, a toner supply located in the housing, a photosensitive drum rotatably mounted in the housing on a first axis of rotation, a developer cylinder rotatably mounted on the housing on a second axis of rotation parallel to the first axis of rotation, wherein the developer cylinder includes a toner pickup region located adjacent the toner supply and a toner release region located adjacent the photosensitive drum and the developer cylinder further including a magnetic member located internal of and coaxial with the developer cylinder, the magnetic member including magnetic poles and being rotationally fixed on the second axis of rotation relative to the developer cylinder, a metering structure adjacent the developer cylinder located between the toner pickup region and the toner release region, wherein the end caps are rotatably supporting the developer cylinder relative to the magnetic member at opposing ends thereof, the end caps comprising:
- a first supporting surface constructed and arranged to enable free rotation of the developer cylinder relative to the end caps and the housing;
- and
- a second supporting surface for supporting the magnetic member coaxial with and internal of the developer cylinder, the second supporting surface including a surface shape that enables the magnetic member to rotate freely relative to each of the end caps and the housing and that enables external engagement of at least a portion of the magnetic member to freely rotate the magnetic member on the second axis relative to each of the end caps and the housing, the end caps further including a locking structure that enables the magnetic member to be fixed in a desired rotational orientation relative to the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.