US 8,798,502 B2Granted

Image forming apparatus having toner cartridge including first and second containing units, one of which is configured to contain collected waste toner

AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorShougo Sato

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Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a housing; a partition wall which is provided in the housing along a substantially vertical direction, the partition wall partitioning an inner space of the housing into a first space and a second space; developing units which are disposed in parallel along the substantially vertical direction in the first space, each of the developing units comprising a first reception opening and a return opening; and developer cartridges which correspond to the plurality of developing units, the developer cartridges being disposed in parallel along the substantially vertical direction in the second space, each of developer cartridges comprising a supply opening and a second reception opening. The first reception openings of the developing units communicate with the supply openings of respective ones of the developer cartridges, and the return openings of the developer units communicate with the second reception openings of respective ones of the developer cartridges.

Claims11

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus comprising:

a photosensitive drum having an axis extending in a first direction;
a developer carrier disposed in parallel with the photosensitive drum and configured to supply toner to the photosensitive drum;
a belt;
a collecting member configured to collect waste toner on a surface of the belt and disposed at an opposite side to the developer carrier with respect to the photosensitive drum in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, wherein the belt is disposed between the collecting member and the photosensitive drum;
and
a toner cartridge disposed at one side of the photosensitive drum in the first direction, the toner cartridge comprising:
a first containing unit disposed to be overlapped with the developer carrier when viewed in the first direction and configured to contain toner to be supplied to the developer carrier;
and
a second containing unit disposed to be overlapped with the collecting member and the belt when viewed in the first direction and configured to contain waste toner collected by the collecting member.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/906,640Filed 31 May 2013 · continuation
Priority: JP 2007-19994931 Jul 2007
Published: US 2013/0266341 A110 Oct 2013
Granted: 5 Aug 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

G03G 21/105
Collecting or recycling waste developer: arrangements for conveying toner waste
G03G 15/0121
Details of unit: for developing
G03G 15/0194
Using more than one reusable electrographic recording member, e.g. one for every monocolour image: primary transfer to the final recording medium
G03G 15/0867
Arrangements for supplying new developer: cylindrical developer cartridges, e.g. toner bottles for the developer replenishing opening

Family

Application12/182,242Parent of this continuation · filed 30 Jul 2008
Application13/331,605Parent of this continuation · filed 20 Dec 2011
US 8,103,187 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 24 Jan 2012
US 2013/0266341 A1Pre-grant publication · published 10 Oct 2013
US 8,463,160 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2009/0035024 A1Published application
US 2012/0177405 A1Published application
US 8,798,502 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.