MXPA97010429A - Toner cartridge with pink construction yalojamie - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a toner cartridge comprising: a first unitary element comprising a handle on the upper front end, a cleaning chamber on the rear end, left and right side walls, each of the side walls has a housing to loosely receive a pin positioned in the housing, the element has openings near the chamber for mounting a photosensitive roller, a second unitary member comprising a toner hopper, a first pin and a second pin extending from each side of the hopper, and a means for mounting a developer roller to rotate to receive the toner from the hopper, a first spring connected between the first pin on the left side of the cartridge and the left side wall, a second spring connected between the first pin on the right side of the cartridge and the right side wall, the second pin on the left side of the cartridge is placed in the housing the left side so that it is held by the housing on the left side, and the second pin on the right side of the cartridge is positioned in the housing on the right side so that it is held by the housing on the right side.

Description

TONER CARTRIDGE WITH PIN AND HOUSING CONSTRUCTION CROSS REFERENCE WITH RELATED APPLICATIONS The following patent applications from the United States are addressed to the subject matter disclosed and incorporated in the exposition of the Application Serial No. 08 / 902,648, filed on February 16, 1996, nowadays Patent of the States. No. 5,654,164, entitled "Multifunctional coding wheel for cartridges used in an electrophotographic output device"; five utility applications filed on the same day as this application and entitled "Toner cartridges with flat external installation guides", with serial number 08 / 770,327; "Toner cartridge with hopper output agitator" with serial number 08 / 770,328; "Toner cartridge with pin and housing construction", serial number 08 / 770,330; "Toner cartridge with thermal field shutter" serial number 08 / 770,334; and "Venting plug in toner cartridge" serial number 08 / 770,329 and an ornamental design application filed the same day as the previous applications entitled "Toner cartridge for laser printer" serial number 29 / 066,775.

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a P1657 / 97MX revealed electrophotographic and, more particularly, relates to a toner cartridge that does not have a toner pump or associated structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The assignee of this invention has manufactured and sold commercially toner cartridges of two different general designs. For its larger laser printers the cartridge contains a pump for measuring the toner, of the kind disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,012,289 to Aldrich et al. and 5,101,237 from Malloy, while the external structure in the cartridge is as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,136,333 to Craft et al. The details of other cartridge elements have varied. For a smaller light emitting diode printer, the cartridge is also disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,337,032 to Baker et al., Which has a toner hopper that extends well below a level that has the toner adding roller, and having independent driven systems for the photoconductive roller and for the developer roller system, as mentioned in U.S. Patent No. 5,331,378 to Baker et al. This invention employs a loose fitting and P1657 / 97MX a pin condition between the photoconductor unit and the hopper unit. The pre-cartridges have been provided with at least three wheels running on tracks connecting the hopper unit to the housing and photoconductor unit. These wheels define a plane where the two units have to adjust the contact force between the developer roller and the hopper unit and the photoconducting roller in the housing unit. Having all those wheels in the cartridge is detrimental since they add position variations to the developing unit with respect to the paper path. Also during rough handling the front wheels of the cartridge tend to break with the weight of the toner. In this invention, only two back rollers are inside the cartridge. Two rollers that correspond to two front wheels in the previous cartridges, are in the printer. The cartridge hopper has flat surfaces that receive these cartridges.

EXPOSITION OF THE INVENTION The toner cartridge of this invention has a first element or unitary element that forms a handle, a cover and a cleaning chamber and that holds the P1657 / 97HX photoconductor drum. Each of the two side walls has a housing that loosely receives a pin from a second simple element. The second element or unit element holds a developer roller and has a toner hopper having two pins on each side, one of the pins fits into each of the housings. The second pins connect the two simple elements to press them elastically towards the developer roller against the photoconductor drum, as is conventional. As the hopper element is only loosely connected to the cover element, the hopper can be adjusted by movement relative to the frame of a printer on which it is mounted. This is facilitated if the hopper has flat edges on each side so that they rest on the rollers of the printer. The design has elements of central location to receive the pressure coming from the printer on the upper element in the form of a guide wing, flat and curved on each side, a link towards a lower shutter on each side, above the winglike guides. , which will move to open the shutter when the guides are inserted from the printer, the central arrow of the photoconductor is not obstructed in order to obstruct as a lower locator. . As the bottom side of the developer unit is P1657 / 97MX part of the path of the printing medium, which links the hopper unit with the printer improving the location accuracy of the media path. The cartridge is resistant to rough handling while the corresponding wheels of the previous cartridges tend to break. A minor advantage is that the cost of the wheels and their installation are eliminated in this cartridge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS OR FIGURES The details of this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of the toner cartridge from above and the left rear portion, where on the left the orientation of the printer is determined from its front side, where the insertion of the cartridge is made; Figure 2 is a perspective view from above and the left front part of the cartridge, sectioned near the top; Figure 3 is a top right front view of the cartridge with more removable cover elements; Figure 4 is a right rear, top view of the cartridge, with removable cover elements, Figure 5 is a left rear top view of the cartridge with cover elements removed; Figure 6 is a top right rear view of the cartridge, sectioned similarly to the P-.657 / 97MX section of Figure 2; Figure 7 is a top right front view of the cartridge; Figure 8 is a right rear bottom view of the cartridge; Figure 9 is a right perspective front view of the hopper housing member; Figure 10 is a left front view of the interior of a printer wherein the cartridge 1 is installed; Figure 11 is a right side view, partly in section, showing more details of the parts of Figure 10, with the cartridge installed; Figure 12 is a perspective view showing the interior of an end member of the hopper; Figure 13 is a perspective view showing the inside of the other end member of the hopper; Figure 14 is a perspective view of a mesh plate; Figure 15 is a perspective view of an easily removable bushing; Figure 16 is a perspective view showing the removable bushing in its installed position; Figure 17 is a right rear view showing the details of a shutter, - Figure 18 is a perspective view of an extended hub, inserted in the photoconducting drum; Figure 19 is a right perspective view showing the elements inside the cartridge cover; Figure 20 is a bottom left perspective view showing the elements within the cartridge cover; Figure 21 is a P1657 / 97MX right perspective view showing the parts of the cartridge installed in the printer; and Figure 22 shows the inside of the cartridge cover where it receives an extension of the hopper, - Figure 23 shows elements of the hopper plug before joining, - Figure 24 shows the assembled hopper plug alone; and Figure 25 shows a stepped cross section of the hopper plug to illustrate the air flow.

BEST WAY TO CARRY OUT THE INVENTION The removable, self-contained printer cartridge 1 is shown in Figure 1 in a perspective view from above and from the left side (the handles 3a and 3b are considered the front and the side having the upper pivoted plug 5 is the upper side). For purposes of illustration, Figure 1 shows the upper shutter 5 pivoted down to its open position and the lower shutter 7 pivoted back and up towards its open position. In operation, these positions are achieved by interaction with the printer or other device where the cartridge 1 is installed, as will be explained later. To facilitate and guide the insertion of the cartridge 1 into the printer, the cartridge 1 has a guide wing P1657 / 97MX left 9a and a right guide wing 9b. The guide wings 9a and 9b are thin planes formed as arcs of a relatively large circle, except near the front, where the bottom 9aa is enlarged downward. The guide wings 9a and 9b are mirror images of each other, except that, in this particular embodiment described, the left guide wing 9a is wider (extends more laterally than the right guide wing 9b, simply to adjust the width provided by a particular printer, is the one to be installed in cartridge 1 example In the embodiment described herein, the bottom shutter 7 is pivoted from the left cover 31 a on the actuator link arm a, top left, and from the rear cover (not shown), on an upper link actuator arm 11b, placed on opposite sides of the shutter 7. Each link arm lia and 11b is integrated to an actuator 13a, and 13b, respectively, each of which it has a rectangular actuating surface 13aa, and 13bb, respectively, extending over the respective guide wings 9a, 9b A lower, pivoted shutter link 15a and a lower shutter side r 17a, pivoted towards the lower link 15a and the link of the upper actuator lia, P1657 / 97MX complete a conventional four-bar linkage to provide rotation of the plug 7 in response to rotation of the actuator 13a. A rear end of the coil spring 19a connects to a flat lower hook on the link arm to push the shutter 7 and close it when the cartridge is to be inserted into a printer or other device. The front end of the spiral spring 19a is connected to a flat outer hook on the link arm to push the shutter 7 towards the closed position, when the cartridge is not inserted into a printer or other device. The front end of the spiral spring 19a is connected to an upper hole 31aa which is under the actuator 13a. A mirror image of these pieces (see Figure 3) exists on the opposite side, the corresponding part of which will be designated with the same number but with a literal "b". When the cartridge 1 is installed in the printer, the surface 13aa and 13bb of the actuator are pushed down by mating surfaces of the printer towards the positions that are above the wings 9a, 9b, respectively, as shown in Figure 1 The cartridge l is inserted by a human operator holding the handles 3a, 3b through the holes 3aa, 3bb and movement to the cartridge 1 in the direction of the shutter 5 and towards the back of the printer (291, P1657 / 97MX Figure 10) where a series of ribs 21 extending upwards are being installed, and which are spaced along the width of the cartridge 1 under the handles 3a, 3b, except in the holes 3aa and 3bb, providing resistance while "that the holes 3aa and 3bb provide space for the fingers of a person holding the handles 3a, 3b. On the left side there is a tab 23 that extends upwards and is relatively wide. In a preferred combination of the embodiment of the invention described herein and an example printer, the upper part of the tab 23 interacts with a physical detection switch in the printer to detect a cartridge 1 in which it has been installed. The front cover 25, on which the handles 3a, 3b, the ribs 21 and the tongue 23 are integrally formed, are located above a separate toner hopper, as will be described below. The upper cover of the cleaning chamber 27 is towards the rear of the shutter 5. Immediately inside the wings 9a and 9b are the elongated and raised locator surfaces 29a, 29b, to which pressure is applied by a printer to firmly place the cartridge toner mechanisms 1, when it is installed. The locator surfaces 29a and 29a, the wings 9a and 9b, P16S7 / 97MX as well as the rear cover 31 under the wing 9a, are formed integrally with the cleaning housing 27. Also integral with these elements is the front cover 25, which has the handles 3a, 3b and an outer cover 33 on the left side and which generally extend together along the length of the front cover 25. The cover 33 has a U-shaped housing 35 in its upper part. The housing 35 traps the separate buttons 37a, as will be explained below, and an assembly hole 39a near the upper front part of the cover 33 and a spring holding hole 39b near the lower front part of the cover 33. A coupler 41 receives a drive element of a printer containing an Oldam coupler for rotationally driving the developing roller 43 (not shown in Figure 1) and the toner adding roller 45 (not shown in Figure 1). In the rear 1 of the coupler 41 is the arrow 47 of the photoconductive drum 49 (drum not shown in Figure 1). Figure 2 is a perspective view from above and the left front part of the cartridge l sectioned near the top to show the internal elements. In the intermediate front part is a large toner cylindrical 61 hopper, which P1657 / 97MX has a pallet 63 that during the operation rotates clockwise as seen in Figure 2. The pallet 63 has a bar 63a external toner mover, which extend across the width of the hopper 61, except for a remote left section 63aa that is embedded, as will be explained. The outer wall 61a of the hopper 61, when the cartridge 1 is installed to operate in a printer, ends in about one third of the total height of the hopper 61 in the form of a flat surface 61aa (specifically, the hopper 61 has a diameter 106 mm and the distance vertically from the lowest point of the hopper 61 towards the horizontal plane coincides with the surface 6laa of the highest point of the rear wall 6la being 35.3 mm). The upper surface 61aa of the back wall 6IA is thin and flat at a slightly downward angle from the hopper 61 to facilitate removal of the molded part from the mold. An extension 65a that comes from a stir bar 65, has a hanging tab 65b (see Figure 9) that rests on the top wall 61aa, thereby placing the bar 65 above the top wall 61aa. The extension 65a extends beyond the top wall 61aa to a location where the bar 63a of the pallet 63 meets the extension 65a as it closes. The surface 61aaa opposite the surface 61aa from P1657 / 97MX which comes out the toner, is flat and is approximately 50 degrees to the vertical (better seen in Figure 9) when the cartridge 1 is installed to operate in a printer. The vertical rib 67 placed immediately behind the rear wall 61a has stiffeners for the upper wall 69 formed in approximately one third down from the top of the hopper 61. The toner moving bar 63a of the pallet 63 is placed closely adjacent on the sides of the hopper 61, except where the upper part of the rear wall 6la and the beginning of the upper wall 69 form an opening for toner, which are to be delivered backwards from the hopper 61 towards the toner mechanisms of the toner. cartridge 1. This is best seen in Figure 9. In Figure 2, a small portion of the roller developing the roller 43 to which it is attached directly to the coupler 41 is seen beyond the ribs 67. The developing roller 43 is parallel to the photoconductor drum 49 of contact with it. The cleaning chamber 27 has internal deflectors 71, vertical and separate, which are stiffening members, as well as limbs "which limit the unbalanced accumulation of toner in the chamber 27. The toner that is not transferred during development is scraped and separated from the drum. photoconductor 49 using the blade Cleaning P1657 / 97MX 73, which is mounted on a vertical panel 73a having a horizontal bracket 73aa to increase the strength. As best seen in Figure 3, panel 73a is mounted to support member 75 having vertical columns 75a (Figure 2), 75b on opposite sides. The panel 73a is mounted to the vertical columns 75a, 75b by a screw 77a to column 75a and a screw 77b to column 75b. Figure 3 is a top side view with other cover elements removed and a part of the wiper removed to illustrate the internal configuration of the cartridge 1. A scraper blade 91 of solid steel bar extends parallel to the developer roller 43 and It gets in pressure contact with it. The blade 91 is brought into contact with the roller 43 at about 20 from the vertical, towards the toner adding roll 45. As also shown in Figure 3 there is also the metal electrical contact 93 with the scraper blade 91. , to the metal electrical contact 95 with the toner addition roller 45 and to the metal electrical contact 97 with the developer roller 43. The outer ends 93a, 95a, 97a of the contacts are supported against metal contacts in the printer when the cartridge 1 is installed and in this way it makes electrical contact to receive electric potentials P1657 / 97MX from the printer. The developer system of the cartridge 1 is essentially very similar to that of the Optra brand family of printers sold by the assignee of the invention. In view of the fact that in that family of printers the toner-adding roller 45 is a conductive sponge material attached to a steel arrow and a developing roller 43 is a semiconductor material attached to a steel arrow. When the cartridge 1 is installed to operate in a printer, the cartridge 1 is generally oriented as shown in Figure 3 and in the horizontal plane containing the lowest surface of the toner addition roller 45 in 22.6 mm above the dot lower of the hopper 61. The toner addition roller 45 and the developer roller 43 are articulated in the rearwardly positioned extensions 99a and 101a (Figure 4) of the end members 99 and 101 (Figure 4) of the hopper 61. The agitator 65 has a bent portion 65aa to be parallel with the extension 99a where it is pivoted towards an extension 99a on the pin 103a. As the paddle 63 rotates, the bar 63a comes into contact with the extension 65a, thereby causing the agitator 65 to rotate about the pin 103a upwards. The agitator 65 then returns to the position close to the rear wall 61a, under the force of P1657 / 97MX gravity to dislodge the toner, otherwise it would tend to accumulate on the output surface 61aaa (see Figure 9). Figure 4 is a top right rear view with some cover elements removed, and where the end elements 99 and 101 of the hopper 61 and its extensions 99a and 101a are more fully shown. In an integrated manner with the end member 101 is a separator button 37b. Under the separator button 37b and in front of this is a spring mounting post 131b that mounts one end of the spring 132b, the other end is mounted on the hole 242 (better seen in Figure 20). Also integrated with the end member 101 is a perpendicular shield wall 133, which extends downwardly and rearwardly to present a barrier in order to physically protect the coding wheel 135. The bottom portion of the wall 133 forms a surface of flat contact 133a to receive a locating roller from the printer, when the cartridge 1 is installed. The coding wheel 135 is linked to the pallet 63 through a pallet gear unit 163 having a torsional deformation member (Figure 5) in order to provide information as to the amount of toner in the hopper 61 for the P1657 / 97 X printer in which the cartridge 1 is installed, by detecting the location of the window 135a. Additionally, another window 135b provides other information, while the wider window 135c provides a source location reference. Light blocking select tags 136 are placed between the windows 135b and 135c and block the windows of a series of windows 135b in order to customize the information on the wheel 135. The details of operations of the coding wheel 135 are described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 602,648, filed on February 16, 1996, now United States Patent 5,634,169, entitled "Multiple Function Coding Wheel for Cartridges Used in an Electrophotographic Output Device ", and does not constitute a contribution to the invention of this specification. Figure 4 also shows electrical contacts 93, 95 and 97, are supported by the floor 137 extending perpendicularly from the hopper extension 101a. The vertical ribs 139 extend from the floor 137 between the contacts 93, 95 and 97 to strengthen the floor 137. The mounting roller 141a is hinged to the hopper extension 99a and the symmetrical mounting roller P1657 / 97MX 141b is mounted to the hopper extension 101a. The rollers 141a and 141b are brought into contact with inner surfaces of the cartridge cover 1, as will be described. The surfaces 133a and 161a (Figure 5) of the hopper 61 rest on rollers in the printer, as will be described later. The hopper and member 101 have an opening "which receives a cylindrical plug 143, elastic, tight fit. Before installing the plug 143, the toner is loaded into the hopper 61 through the open hole, then the plug 143 seals the hole. The photoconductive roller 49 has at its right end a drive gear 145 for the transfer roller, which drives a roller in the printer when the cartridge 1 is installed in the printer. Figure 5 is a top left rear view covering the removed elements, showing more fully the outside of the members 99 and 99a of the hopper 61. Integrated with the end member 99 is a separator button 37a. Below and in front of the button 37a is a spring mounting post 131a, which mounts a spring end 132a, the other end is mounted in a hole in the member 431 (Figure 19), which is an internal extension of the cover 33 (Figure 2). Also integrated with member 99 is a P1657 / 97MX protective wall or perpendicular shield 161, which extends downwards and backwards towards a barrier in order to physically protect the torsional vane gear unit 163. The lower wall portion 161 forms a flat contact surface 161a for receiving a locating roller from the printer, when in the cartridge 1. The details of the pallet gear unit 163 are not part of this invention and will be more fully disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Application No. Series 08 / 602,048, nowadays United States Patent No. 634,169. The gear 49a, integrated with the end of the photoconductive drum 49, receives power from a coupling gear in the printer when the cartridge 1 is installed therein. The coupler 41 is integrated with the developer roller 43 and drives the idler gear 165, which in turn drives the toner adding roller 45 (Figure 3) into engagement with the gear 167, which is integrated to the toner adding roller 45. The coupler 41 receives power from some impeller in the printer that is separate from the impeller of the drum 49, but preferably from a single motor in the printer. The gear 167 drives the large gear of the compound gear 169. The gear 169 drives the large gear of the compound gear 171 and the gear 171 drivesP1657 / 97MX to pallet gear 163. A gear plate 173, mounting plates 165 and 169, are mounted on the hopper extension 99a by mounting screws 175. Figure 5 shows the end of the agitator 65 opposite to what is shown in Figure 3. That end has a bent portion 65bb to be parallel to an extension 101a of the end member 101 when it is pivoted towards the extension 101a of a pin 103b. Continuing the detailed description of the cartridge incorporating a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 is a top right rear view sectioned near the top similar to the sectioning of Figure 2. Figure 6 illustrates more clearly the blade assembly scraper 91, mounted to press the developer roller 43, under the thrust of a leaf spring 191. The blade 91 is placed on the left rear part, by the tongue 361 (observe in Figure 14), and in the rear by extension 196a (Figure 12) of hopper end member 99, forming front and rear barriers to hold the left side of scraper blade 91. Similarly, on the right side, two surfaces 101a, which include a rear extension 365 (best seen in Figure 13) and a front extension 366 (Figure 13) form the front and rear of the P1657 / 97MX holding the right side of the scraper blade 91, symmetrically to the cage «which holds the left side of the blade 91. The upper part of the blade 91 is held by a spring 191. An adhesive tape 192 through from the upper part of the blade 91 bridges the adjacent horizontal edge of the wall 69 (Figure 2) to be sealed in a conventional manner. The spring 191 has blunt ends 191a and 191b, spaced from the center, which come into contact with the blade 91 to push it down on the developer roller 43. A central edge 197, integrated into the ribs 67, forms a cavity that receives the center of the spring 191. The horizontal edges 199a and 199b, opposite the central parts of the spring 191, are formed integrally with the ribs 67, and serve as horizontal barriers to prevent the spring 191 from moving forward. Preferably, in order to allow handling of the cartridge 1, which could occur during shipping, the solid top stop members (not shown) are bonded by adhesive on both sides, on each side between the edges 199a and 199b and sides 99a and 101a, respectively. These are separated by 0.18 mm above the top of the blade 91 and therefore come into contact with the blade 91 only during rough handling. Figure 6 also illustrates posts 141aa and P1657 / 97MX 14lbb, which are molded as extensions of the members 99a and 101a, respectively, and which support the mounting rollers 141a and 141b, respectively (Figure 5). Figure 7 is a lower left front view illustrating the externally observed cartridge 1. A series of horizontal depressions 221 along the rear of the hopper 61 provide a roughened surface for the big toes, when the cartridge is clamped, through the openings 3aa and 3bb. A series of relatively long vertical ribs 223, integrated to the bottom of the hopper 61, serve as paper or other media guide, while a series of shorter ribs 225, located rearwardly of the start of the ribs 223 and between the ribs 223 , prevents the medium from being attacked as it encounters the photoconductive drum 49, located immediately after the ribs 223 and 225. Beyond the barrel 49, the medium is furthermore located with the middle guide ribs 227 located at the bottom of the shutter 7. Figure 7 also provides a very clear view of the idle gear 165 and gear 167. Figure 8 is an illustration of the right back, seen from below, of the cartridge 1, observed externally. The complete right guide wing 9b is shown with an enlarged front 9bb. The figure P1657 / 97MX 8 shows the right cover elements that were canceled in Figure 6. A lower front cover section 241 is over most of the coding wheel 135 and has an access hole 243 to facilitate assembly and has a access opening 244 (best seen in Figure 20). The cover section 241 is hidden outwardly in a small amount to provide space for the spring 132b (Figure 20) so as to extend between the post 131b (Figure 4) and the hole 242 (best seen in Figure 20) . Generally, above and forward of a cover section 241 and integrated therewith, there is a cover section 245, which is on the remainder of the upper front part of the cartridge 1. The section 245 has a housing in the shape of U 247 on its upper part, which catches the separator button 37b. At the rear of the section 245 opposite the area above the photoconductive drum 49, rectangular channels 249 are placed with the second rectangular channel 249a and the last rectangular channel 249b opening to pass air to cool the photoconductive drum 49 during cartridge operation 1. The remote rear portion 251 of this particular embodiment of the invention described herein mounts to the links 11b and 17b with the obturator 7. The section of P1657 / 97MX bottom 253 of the cover located below and forward of the passages 249a and 249b mounts to the arrow 47 of the photoconductive drum 49 and has two upper symmetrical vents 255a and 255b for passing air for cooling the drum 49. Figure 9 is a front right perspective view of the housing of the molded plastic member 271 forming the central portion and the central extension of the hopper 61, with the end member 99 attached and the agitator 65 installed. It is observed that it forms a cylindrical chamber with an outlet opening formed between wall 69 and wall 61a. An inlay or insert 273 in the lower rear part of the hopper 61 provides space for the rollers in the printer. As best seen in Figure 2, the vane bar 63a has an inlay for the left section 63aa in order to make room for the insert or inlay 273. The member 271 has a slot 275 around its right side. A similar slot is directly near the left side. The end member 101 has a coupling rim 321 (Figure 13). During manufacture the slot 275 engages the flange 321 in end member 101 and the two are joined by ultrasonically created heat welding. The member 99 is welded to the left side of the member 271 in the same P1657 / 97MX forms the flange 322 (Figure 12) is inserted into a coupling slot (not shown) on the left side of the member 271. A sample 277 above the extension 65a of the agitator allows sufficient rotation of the agitator 65 to allow that the paddle arm 63a passes beyond the extension 65a while preventing the agitator 65 from completely turning over.

DEVELOPER UNIT The housing 271 and its attached end members 99 and 101, form the toner hopper 61. The extension 101a is jointing the toner adding roller 45 and the developer roller 43. The engagement plate 173, which is attached to the extension 99a by screw 175, articulates opposite ends of toner addition roller 45 and developer roller 43. Consequently, a single unit of hopper 65 is formed backwardly to developer roller 43, inclusive.

PHOTOCONDUCTOR UNIT AND COVER The handles 3a, 3b of the front cover 25, the left outer cover 33, the rear wall 31, (Figure 1) the right cover sections 241, 245 and 251, (Figure 8) the wings 9a, 9b and the cleaning chamber 27 P16S7 / 97MX are a single molded part. The photoconductor 49 is articulated in this part with its arrow 47 extending beyond the covers on opposite sides. The shutter 7 is movably supported with the left cover 31 and the right rear cover 251. Consequently, a single unit of the cover members, the photoconductive drum 49 and the shutter 7 is formed. In use, the spring 132a and 132b pull the developer roller 43 against the photoconductive drum 49 at a predetermined tension. When the cartridge 1 is picked up, the developing unit and the photoconductor and cover unit rotate under gravity until the button 37a (Figure 1) is brought into contact with the housing 35 and the button 37b (Figure 8) is brought into contact with the housing. the housing 247, holding the two units together in this way.

LOWER SHUTTER AS THERMAL BARRIER The lower shutter 7, when open, covers the entire lower surface of the cleaning chamber. The material of the plug 7 is polycarbonate, or material that deflects the heat from the fixing operation that occurs after the paper is pulled back from the contact with the photoconductive drum 49. The material of the body of the photoconductor unit Y P1657 / 97MX cover, hopper 61, end members 99 and 101 and shutter 5 are made of polystyrene, which is lower cost than polycarbonate. The additional cost of the plug 7 being polycarbonate is justified since the plug 7 provides thermal protection to the cleaner 27, which allows the member to be made of polystyrene.

AGITATOR BAR SYSTEM The cartridge toner 1 is monocomponent, which can get stuck and become cohesive when left without movement for a certain time. This jamming and settling of the toner can be aggravated by slight vibrations generated by the printer motor and the gear train in the laser printer. Failure to supply the toner from the wall 61a by the inclined exit surface 61aaa is a consequence of the settling, clogging and cohesive nature of the monocomponent toner in the hopper 61. The resting angle of the seated toner (i.e. a surface on which the seated toner rests before it "falls" below its own weight) can reach or exceed 90 degrees. The output surface 61aaa tilts upwards by approximately 50 degrees from vertical, during operation (angle A, Figure 9), allowing the toner P1657 / 97MX gets stuck in a pile that does not reach the toner 45 adding roller. This leads to premature failure of the printer, called "deprivation", as if it were an empty cartridge. Experimentally, up to 230 grams of the 465 gram capacity of the toner hopper 61 have been found in the hopper 61 of the cartridge 1 when the deprivation occurs due to the existence of a stagnant toner stack, which prevents the administration of toner. toner to the toner additive roller 45. The stir bar 65 solves toner deprivation problems and the toner delivery failure towards the toner addition roll 45. The primary function of the stir bar 65 is to prevent toner deprivation for administer toner from the entrance of the developer sump to the toner adding roller, thus preventing premature failure in printing. As the vane 63 of the hopper rotates counterclockwise (Figure 3) it reaches a point in its envelope, where it begins to contact the extension 65a and the lift shaker bar 65. Paddle 63 continues to raise agitation bar 65 until it loses its engagement with extension 65a. At this point, the stirring bar 65 falls backwards by gravity towards the resting position, carrying the toner from the entrance of the development chamber P1657 / 97MX to the toner additive roller (although not useful for the embodiment described herein), an alternative is a pad over the extension 65a or over the top wall 65aa, which will cushion the fall.This pad can also serve as a separator for controlling the position of the agitator in the low position and removing the tab 65b). At the top of its travel, the stir bar 65 is out of the path of the main vane 63 of the sump and approaches a notch 277 in the hopper housing 271 (Figure 9). The notch 277 provides space for the stir bar 65 to clear the end of the hopper blade 634, and prevents overrunning of the stirring arm 65, which could cause locking in an upward position when the cartridge is transported, stored or stored. Handles on the outside of the machine. In the up position, the stir bar 65 forms a substantially vertical wall on the hopper wall 61a. The initial opening above the wall 61a is approximately 26.7 mm, while the height of the bar 65 that faces this opening is 7 mm. This leaves room for the toner coming from the main drain to flow between the agitator 65 and the sloping wall 61aaa. It also serves as a temporary barrier to avoid the administration of excessive amounts of toner to P1657 / 97MX from hopper 61 to toner addition roll 45. As stir bar 65 falls into resting position, freshly administered toner as well as stagnant toner resting on wall 65aaa are pushed towards the roller toner adder 45. The movement of the agitator 65 also agitates the toner in the area above and towards the developer roller towards the contact point of the scraper blade 91, helping to avoid packing and stagnating the toner in this volume. The agitator 65 can preferably be implemented by stamping (or laser cutting) and can be formed from a metal sheet with spring characteristics, which maintains the shape of the agitator during assembly and operation. The complete part comprising the bar 65, the extension 65a and the folded portions 65aa and 65bb, can preferably be made by stamping all the features in one operation. As shown for the preferred embodiment, illustrated herein, the bar 65 may have a length approximately equal to the length of the toner adding roller, which may be, for example, 220 mm; and have an example height of approximately 7 mm; a thickness of 1.3 mm, which is selected to give an agitator mass of the whole stamped piece, for example about 20 grams. As the stir bar 65 is driven by gravity, it is P1657 / 97MX selects that the mass or weight provides a sufficient driving force to push the stacked toner along the wall 65aaa towards the toner adding roller 45, but the mass or weight is limited so as not to affect the detection function of torque of the hopper blade 63. The articulation segments 65aa and 65bb and the associated distance from the pins 103a and 103b towards the stirring bar 65, determine the arc sweep of the bar 65, as it falls from the upward position towards the downward position. In the present preferred embodiment, the pivot distance of 13.5 mm, for example, allows the pallet to be swept from an upward position, which leaves a space of 3 mm between the bottom of the bar 65 and the wall 61aa, towards a 3 mm position above the toner 45 add roller. With this design the weight of the pallet is effectively applied to move the toner over the distance swept by the arc. A shorter pivot distance would result in an insufficient trip to capture and manage toner, and would require a heavier paddle to exert the same force on the toner, at the distance swept across the arc. The pins 103a and 103b are smaller diameter (e.g. 1 mm) than their holes in which they fit in the portions 65aa and 65bb to prevent adhesion due to toner buildup. P1657 / 97MX The extension 65a is long enough to engage the active segment of the pallet 63. Additionally, the length of the extension 65a is long enough to overlap the active segment of the pallet 63 when the extension 65a engages the pallet first 63 to avoid scraping the blade surface. A small radius (0.5 mm, for example) is placed on the lower tip of the extension 65a to avoid scraping the blade 63 as it releases the extension 65a. The overall length and elasticity of the agitator 65 allows it to be assembled on the pins 103a and 103b simply by separating the pieces. Accordingly, the design of the agitator functions to resolve stalling or deprivation of toner and to deliver toner from the entrance of the hopper 61 to the toner addition roller 45., in the active area. The agitator 65 and its extensions 65a, 65aa and 65bb are one piece. The bar 65 of the agitator is internally driven, without gears, cams or external seas would be required by an externally driven agitator. Therefore the cost of the gears and the complexity, the se the friction and the toner leaks are eliminated in the problem areas. The agitator 65 is activated frequently enough to move the toner and prevent deprivation, without P1657 / 97MX add excessive agitation or damage to the toner. This design improves the first-in, first-out, toner management from hopper 61 to the smaller area containing the toner 45 adding roller, avoiding excessive toner management in the raised position and discouraging return of toner from the area of the toner adding roller 45 to the hopper 61.

DIMENSIONS With the cartridge installed for operation, the location of the contact point of the toner adding roller 45 with the developer roller 43 is 105 degrees from the vertical. The contact point angle of the photoconductive drum 49 relative to the developing roller 43 is 95 degrees from the vertical. As noted earlier, the point of contact of the scraper blade is 20 degrees from the vertical. The length that comes from the bottom of the hopper 61 towards the horizontal plane that coincides with the edge of the upper surface 69 near the hopper 61 is 61.96 mm, creating an initial opening of approximately 26.7 mm (as indicated previously, the surface 61aa background is at 35.3 mm). The upper surface 69 has a slightly upward angle to a higher point at 64.34 mm.

P1657 / 97MX The diameter of the toner addition roller 45 is 14 mm and is located with its circumference 1 mm above the bottom of the hopper body 271 immediately below it. The diameter of the developer roller 43 is 20.11 mm and is located on its circumference 2 mm above the bottom of the hopper body 271, immediately below it. The length from the bottom of the hopper 61 to the horizontal plane that coincides with the bottom of the developer roller 43 is 23.7 mm, and the length corresponding to the bottom of the toner addition roller 45 is 22.6 mm. The diameter of the photoconductive drum 49 is 30 mm. The bottom of the body 271 under the rollers 43 and 45 is at 6 degrees, at an upward angle to provide sufficient space to guide the ribs 225 on the outside of the body 271.

INSTALLATION OF THE CARTRIDGE Figure 10 is a left front view of the interior of a printer with which the cartridge of the invention described herein can be used as a preferred embodiment. The cartridge 1 is installed in the printer 291 (Figure 10) from the front to the end position that remains inside the printer 291. To achieve this, the guide wings 9a and 9b are initially guided P1657 / 97MX by a lower track 293 on a curved track, which guide the cartridge 1 under the laser print head (not shown) and on the paper feeder elements 295. The path is downward, which uses gravity while Insert cartridge 1, thus facilitating insertion. The guide 293 (and a guide not shown, which is a mirror image of the guide 293 on the opposite side of the printer 291) has the same curvature as the wings 9a, 9b so that the wings 9a, 9b can follow guide 293 and its opposite guide. The upper guide 297 is parallel to the guide 293. The guide 297 extends further into the printer than the guide 293. A guide (not shown), which is a mirror image of the guide 297, is on the opposite side of the guide 297. the printer 291. The guide 297 encounters a drive surface 13bb much earlier during the insertion of the cartridge l. As the cartridge 1 moves backward, the operating surface 13bb is rotated to open the shutter 7 (as the surface 13aa rotates upon encountering a mirror image of the guide 297 on the left side of the printer ). This early movement of the shutter 7 is very advantageous since it eliminates the need for space and mechanisms that would be required if the drive were to be present at the end of the insertion of the cartridge 1. P1657 / 97MX Also shown in Figure 10 is the position roller right reference 299 on which the contact surface 133a rests when the cartridge is inserted. The contact surface 161 a will rest on an identical roller (not shown) on the opposite side of the printer 291. To the rear of the roller 299 is the V block 301, which is shown more clearly in Figure 11, and an associated electrical contact 302. Further back is a vertical tab 303 which will contact the shutter 7 to keep it open, as will be described. As the cartridge 1 is inserted, the fins 9a, 9b are guided by the guides 293 and 297 and the mirror image guide (not shown) on the opposite side of the printer 291. A continuous insertion, the fins 9a, 9b fit outside the lower guide 293 (and its mirror image guide) and the arrow 47 of the photoconductive drum 49 falls within the V block 301 and a mirror image of the V block (not shown) on the opposite side of the 291. A thin sheet metal hanging 302 (Figure 11, shown in the side view) is brought into contact and bent a little by the arrow 47 as it is guided by the V block 301. This creates a connection for operate the potential towards the arrow 47. When the cartridge 1 falls towards the block in V 301, the tab 303 is put in P1657 / 97MX contact with shutter 7 to keep it open. Prior to this, the longer length of the upper guide 297 was sufficient to keep the shutter 7 open. In this final position of the cartridge 1, this is located more precisely with respect to the functional elements. The cartridge 1 is held in the printer 291 as described below, in the heading "Surfaces of Reference. "To remove the cartridge, it is held by the handles 3a, 3b and quickly pulled down and outwardly, the wings 9a and 9b enter again between the guides 293 and 297 and the cartridge can be pulled and released.

MANUFACTURING THE CARTRIDGE All molded parts follow the technical requirements (to avoid distortion during cooling) to maintain adjacent surfaces with the same thickness. Consequently, the molded buttons seen from the rear (shown for example in Figure 13) appear as holes seen from that part. The circles in the drawings with curved lines that cross, indicate the gate where the molten resin will be received, towards the interior of the mold (shown for example in Figure 13). The cartridge unit 1 starts with the union of the P1657 / 97MX hopper body 271 to its 99 and 101 end members, with pallet 63 installed. The interior of the end member 99 is shown in Figure 12 and the interior of the member 101 is shown in Figure 13. The two pieces are molded of polystyrene resin. Each of the members 99 and 101 is coupled to its corresponding body side 271 (Figure 9). The flanges 321 of the member 101 enter the slot 275 on the right edge of the member 271. The flange 322 of the member 99 enters the slot (not shown) on the left edge of the member 271 that coincides with the flange 322. These portions are they hold tightly in a fixation and are ultrasonically joined, with the paddle 63 inserted before the last of the two end members is welded together. A bushing (not shown) then snaps into the central hole 325 of the member 101 about the arrow on the blade 63 and a second bushing (not shown) similarly presses about the arrow on the blade 63 in the central hole 329. The stir bar 65 (Figure 9) is then flexed and installed by mounting the end portion 65aa of the pin 103a and the end portion 65bb on the pin 103b. The toner addition roller 45 with low friction washers at each end is then installed P1657 / 97MX angled its arrow through hole 333 (Figure 12) on the member 99, straightening and then moving the roller 45 laterally, to cause its arrow to pass through a snap-fit bushing (not shown) into the receptacle 335 of the member 101. Before installing the toner addition roller 45 and the engagement plate 173, a sickle-shaped seal having a semicircular central body (not shown) is installed on each side of the location of the developer roller 43. This seal is illustrated in the Bulletin IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 3B, August 1990, pp. 29-30, entitled "Toner Seal for Printer." The location of this seal on the right side of the surface labeled 383 is shown in Figure 13. This is what typically happens as a putty is first applied at each end of the location so that the seal and seal ends Flexible elongate is pressed into the putty. The seal has ridges directed slightly towards the center. A seal system like this is the one used essentially in the previous cartridges. The scraper blade 91 (best seen in Figure 6) is then installed by pulling it vertically upwardly behind the flange 365 (Figure 13) to the right. In the complete cartridge 1, the blade 91 is P1657 / 97MX holds at the bottom, by contact with the developer roller 43. The developer roller 43 with the low friction washers at each end, installed by placing the left end of its arrow past the end member 99 (Figure 12) and threading the right end of its arrow through the center hole of the hub 375, shown in Figure 15. The engagement plate 173 shown alone in Figure 14. It has a hole 351 for receiving the arrow from the toner adding roller 45 and the hole 359 for the arrow of the developing roller 43. A central hole 353 will receive the screw 175 but the hole 353 is considerably more larger than the arrow of the screw 175. The engagement plate 173 has an arrow 355, an arrow 357 and a tongue 361 extending to the right. The engagement plate 173 is brought to the member 99 while the arrows of the toner adding roller 45 and the developing roller 43 are placed through the holes 351 and 359, respectively. The engagement plate 173 is rotated until the tongue 361 abuts the edge of the scraper blade 91. This serves as a locator for the engagement plate 173 and the scraper blade 91. The screw 175 is then tightened in the hole 353 to fix plate 173 in that position. P1657 / 97MX Gears 169, 165 and 171 are pressed on arrows 355, 357 and 363 (Figure 5, on member 99). (As shown in Figure 14, these arrows have an enlarged head with a space so that it can be flexible when a force of pressure is received). The gear 167 is also pressed onto the arrow of the toner adding roll 45. The paddle gear unit 163 is pressed onto the paddle arrow 63. These gears and the drive coupling 41 are keyed on their arrows by two matching cross sections on the arrow. "D" shape. The bushing 375 has a flat outer segment 377 which allows the bushing 375 to enter the opening 379 (FIG. 13) in the member 101, since the opening 379 is circular with an open segment in less than half a circle, where the 375 bushing can adjust in one orientation. The bushing 375 is then rotated in a direction to rotate the lower tab 381 downward, which removes the orientation in which the bushing 375 can fit through the incomplete segment 379 and locks the bushing 375 in place. The installed bushing 375 is shown in Figure 16. In operation, the developer roller 43 rotates in a direction that causes the tab 381 to rotate downwardly. The advantage of the hub 375 is that it provides a relatively easy installation and easy change of the developer roller 43 in case a member needs to be replaced.

P1657 / 97MX during subsequent tests. The impeller copy 41 is then pressed on the left end of the arrow of the developing roller 43, using a locating wedge to separate the copy 41 slightly from the cover 31. The mounting rollers 141a and 141b are pre-applied by press fit during the end of the hopper 61. An adhesive tape is applied through the top of the scraper blade 91. A spring or spring 191 then flexes in place to urge the scraper blade 91 downwardly. After the toner is installed and tested for leaks, the aforementioned upper stop members on each side of the edges 199a and 199b are applied individually and remain in place, held by their adhesive layer at the rear. The coding wheel 135 is also installed by snap fit. With the rollers 43 and 45 and the scraper blade 91 in place, the metal contact 93 is inserted between the ribs 139. The contact 93 has sides in the shape of an arrowhead to join the ribs 139 and extends upwards and over the two posts 385 (Figure 4) in the member 101a and extending towards a bent end which is pressed against the scraper blade 91. The contacts 95 and 97 similarly have arrowhead-shaped sides that are buried in the ribs 139 and P1657 / 97MX end in short bent ends 387, 389, respectively, which are pressed against the arrows of the roller 45 and 43, respectively. Contact grease is added to the contacts and arrows. All of the above is part of the revelatory unit. The photoconductor and cover unit is assembled separately. The wiper blade panel 73a (see Figure 3) is installed using screws 77a and 77b. Link arms 11b, 17a, 17b and 15a, 15b are assembled in a known manner by buttons having extensions that enter coupling holes in adjacent arms. The arms are then rotated towards operating positions where the extensions do not find openings and therefore lock the members together while leaving them free to rotate. The links 13a to lia and 13b to llb are held by a pin 401 with the hook, as shown in Figure 17. The pin 401 has a circular flexible arm 403 and the arms lia and llb have a engaging edge 405b (the edge of the opposite side is not shown). The pin 401 is inserted through the holes of the member 13a and lia and another pin 401 is inserted through the holes of the members 13b and 11b. The pins 401 are then rotated until their arms 403 are flexed P1657 / 97HX around the ridges 405b and the flange on the opposite side, respectively, and then recover to engage under the shoulder 405b and the flange on the opposite side, respectively. This keeps the four-bar linkage in place. The pin 401 has an arrow 407 (best seen in Figure 4), which extends into the slot (not shown), on each side of the cleaner 27 to add stability to each of the four-bar linkages. The plug 7 is installed by flexing the plug 7 and placing the pin 431b and the pin on the opposite side (Figure 1) and inserting a pin 431b and the pin on the opposite side, into the holes in the sides of the locating surface 29a, 29b, respectively. The pin 431b has a spiral compression spring 433 wound around it, which is tensioned to push the cover 7 upwards. As best seen in Figure 19, one end of the spring 132a is connected through a hole in the connector tongue 431 of the cover 33, 'on one side, and the opposite end of the spring 132a is temporarily attached to the hole. 39a of the cover 33. As seen in Figure 20, the spring 132b is connected through a hole in the connector tongue 242 of the cover 241, on one side and the opposite end of the spring P1657 / 97MX 132b is temporarily attached to the orifice 243 of the cover 241. The photoconductive drum 49 is installed inside the cleaner housing unit, placing the drum and the two gears 49a and 145 (see Figures 4 and 5) in position a the thin washer (not shown) on the left side, and inserting the arrow 47 through that unit and the housings 31 (Figure 2) and 253 (Figure 8). Typical E-shaped fasteners are installed at each end of the eyebrow 47 to keep the drum and the arrow preventing lateral movement. As shown in Figure 18, an extension hub 145a of the gear 145 has an internal copper blade 421 with three sharp points 421a. The copper foil 421 has an elongated member 42lb that extends over the central hole. The hub 145a is inserted into the drum 49. The points 421a are buried within the aluminum cylinder that forms the interior of the drum 49, creating a physical as well as electrical connection. The arrow 47 is then screwed through the gear 145, the drum 49 and then through the gear 49a. This bends the elongated member 421b so that it is pressed against the arrow 47 and makes electrical contact. The developer unit is then placed before the photoconductor unit and cover and both are removed P1657 / 97MX together. The covers 33 and 241, 245 flex outwards and then close in their final position. The springs 132a and 132b are removed from the holes 39a and 243 and manually attached to the buttons 131a and 131b, respectively. This completes the cartridge 1. It will be easily understood "that any joint where the toner is contained should be sealed. Immediately inside the bearings of the toner blade 63 and the toner adding roll 45, synthetic rubber end seals are placed. Figure 13 shows a receptacle 335 having upper and lower tabs, which receive the seal, the seal has engaging extensions that fit into the tabs to prevent rotation thereof. The ends of the cleaning chamber 27 have foam walls with exterior adhesive to ensure their positioning. As already known, other extended joints have a plastic tape (polyethylene terephthalate) where one side has pressure sensitive adhesive applied along it, by means of the adhesive. As is well known, the developer roller 43 is sealed with a tape that is cantilevered from the bottom of the body 271 that is to be placed in front of the roller 43. A second adhesive strip seals the trailing edge away from the body 271. This seal It is basically typical and is not part of the invention. P1657 / 97MX TONER In a cartridge of the preferred embodiment 1, monocomponent electrophotographic toner is used, which can basically be of the conventional type. The amount of toner in the hopper 61 is limited by the pressure that deteriorates the print quality and the detection of the toner level by the toner resistance in the pallet 63. When the cartridge 1 is in the installed position, a typical upper level of toner will be 10 mm above the upper barrier wall 61aa. The presence of toner at that higher typical level is indicated in Figure 9 by 425 surface toner lines, but the toner is shown as transparent, to facilitate understanding of the pattern. The real toner is, of course, a dry and opaque powder. During use, the toner is depleted to lower levels and moved by the pallet 63. As is conventional, the developer roller 43 applies toner 425 to the photoconductive drum 49 to reveal electrostatic images on the photoconductive drum 49.

REFERENCE SURFACES Figure 19 shows only the roller 141a of the hopper unit, as it is finally installed and, for example, placed on a flat surface 441 which is an extension of the cover 33. Similarly, P1657 / 97MX Figure 20 moves only the roller 141b of the hopper unit, in the form finally installed and, therefore, located on a flat surface 443 which is an extension of the cover 241. This placement of a unit with the photoconductive roller and a unit with the developer roller for lateral adjustment of the rollers, It is essentially the same as the cartridges of the prior art. However, in the described embodiment of the cartridge of this invention, the cartridge 1 has the flat surfaces 133a and 161a and the printer 291 has the second set of rollers (roller 299, Figure 10 and its mirror image) on which the surfaces flat 133a and 161a, respectively, rest. In the previous cartridges, a second set of rollers was part of the cartridge. Like the previous cartridges, the two sets of rollers 141a, 141b, 299, and the mirror roller, image 299, define a plane of movement to guide the developer roller 43 towards the intended contact with the photoconductive drum 49. The Figure 19 shows the tab 23 which is an extension of the cover 33 and, when the cartridge 1 is installed in a printer as shown in Figure 19, it generally remains above a flat surface 445 of the printer frame. Similarly, as shown in Figure 20, a top planar flange 447 is a P1657 / 97MX cover extension 241, and when the cartridge 1 is installed in a printer, it remains above a flat surface (448 of Figure 10) of the printer frame. A flat bottom surface 449 (Figure 19) is under a tab 23 of the cover 33 and a flat bottom surface 451 (Figure 20) of the cover 245 is the edge 447. The bottom surfaces 449 and 451 are locator surfaces resting on the surfaces of frame 445 and 448, respectively. Figure 21 shows the right side of the cartridge 1 installed in a printer, with emphasis on the cantilevered roller 461 pressing on the locator surface 29b. A second cantilevered roller (not shown) that is a mirror image of the roller 461 exits and presses down the locator surface 29a. The roller 461 and its mirror image roller are attached to the frame of the printer. They are firmly pushed downward by a spiral spring 463 for the roller 461 and a mirror image spiral spring for the mirror image roller. As the cartridge 1 is inserted into the printer by the movement of the wings 9a in the guides 293 and 297 and the wing 9b in the corresponding mirror image guides, the locator surface 29b encounters the cantilevered roller 461 and the surface locator 29a P1657 / 97MX encounters a corresponding mirror image cantilever roller, and the locator surfaces 29a, 29b rotate those rollers upwardly as the cartridge 1 continues to move. When the wing 9a comes out of the guide 293 and is finally placed by the arrow 47, remaining in the V block 301, the cantilevered roller 461 comes into full contact with the surface 29b, as shown in Figure 21. When the top cover of the printer is closed, a leaf spring placed downwardly on the printer covers the contact tabs 23 on the left front of the cover 33 and a second spring placed down on the printer covers the surfaces of the printer. contact 447 on the right cover 241. This interaction of a cartridge with a printer cover is generally conventional, as illustrated by the U.S. Patent No. 5,365,315 to Baker et al. As the printer cover closes, a loading roller mechanism moves to the shutter 5 and then continues downward movement to open the shutter 5 by pushing it down and bringing a loading roller in contact with the photoconductor 49. A laser beam for discharging the drum 49 is also directed through the left opening after the shutter 5 is pivoted downward, as shown in the P1657 / 97MX United States No. 5,526,097 Rea. In summary, the photoconductor unit and cover is placed downward by the front surfaces 449 and 451, is placed downwards by the arrow 47 in the block in V 301 and in the V-block mirror image and the location is maintained downwards by the cantilevered roller 461 on the surface 29b and the cantilevered mirror image roller on the surface 29a. The developing unit is positioned laterally by springs or springs 132a and 132b that move the unit so that the developing roller 43 contacts the photoconductor 49, and is placed downwardly by the rim 133a resting on the roller 299 and the flange 16a that rests on the mirror image roller towards the roller 299. The developing unit does not require an upward locator that has enough weight to not move upwards. The edges 133a and 161a resting on the roller 299 and the mirror image roller, respectively, allow the developing unit to be adjusted laterally. In previous cartridges, both sets of rollers were on tracks in the cartridge. This required difficult tolerances to locate the bottom of the cartridge inside the printer. In the cartridge of the invention, the edges 133a and 161a have no parts P1657 / 97MX linked to the medium guide ribs 223 and 225, which are the same molded pieces as the flanges 133a and 16th Figure 22 shows an extension of the side member 99 held in a slot 471 at the bottom of the cover 25. This provides the lateral location between the hopper unit and the cover 25. A generally similar lateral location structure is found in the previous cartridges. If desired, the end portions of the end members 99 and 101 may have an upper flange or stop, which will strike the cover 25 during rough handling and thus limit the relative upward movement of the hopper unit relative to the cover 25. When installed in the printer, the frame members come into contact with the left cover 31 and the right cover 241 to ensure they do not contact the hopper unit and interfere with its free movement on the roller 299 and its mirror image roller at edges 133a and 161a, respectively.

VENTING THROUGH THE PLUG The plug 143 (Figure 24) in a preferred form, is a venting element that allows the air to escape from the P1657 / 97MX cartridge 1 while the toner is blocked. The cartridge 1 in the developed mode is designed to operate at high printing speed, from 8 to 24 or more sheets per minute. This operation generates a potentially damaging internal pressure level during the operation, which contributes to the presence of toner leaks from the cartridge 1. To release this pressure, the plug 143 has a labyrinth design that ends in a felt filter. Normally leaks, although not only in this way, occur immediately after the cartridge is inactive. The internal pressure in the hopper 61 is created by the introduction of air with toner 425 carried by the developer roller 43 beyond the seal (not shown) under the developer roller 43. The toner addition roller 45 sucks this air / toner mixture moving it away from the developer roller, which creates an increase in pressure in the hopper 61, until an equilibrium pressure is reached. As shown in Figure 23, the cap 143 is formed as a single molded part 481 having a circular base member 483 and a circular cap member 485, separated by a thin connector arm 487, having a central notch 489 for allow bending like a solid joint. The base 483 has a series of external holes 491 equally spaced around the entire P1657 / 97MX bottom circumference of the base 483. Extending from the bottom of the base 483 and positioned inwardly is a circular wall 493 having spaced rectangular openings 495 at the outer end of the wall 493, equally spaced around each other. The entire circumference of the wall 493. Similarly, the lid 485 has a circular wall 497 extending from the upper part of the lid 485 and having rectangular openings 499 at the outer end of the wall 497, spaced in a manner equal around the circumference of the wall 497. A standard fleece disc 501 F3 is pressed into the center of the cover 485, where it is brought into contact with the interior of the holes 503 (Figure 24) in the center of the cap 485. To complete cap 143 as shown in Figure 24, cap 485 and base 483 are intermeshed by bending arm 487 at hinge point 489. In this position no part of openings 499 is opposite the outer holes 491 and no part of the openings 495 is opposite the openings 499. Figure 25 is a stepped, cross-sectional view of Figure 24, showing all holes 495 and 499, and indicates the stepped path through the angles 505a and 505b on the arrow 505.

P1657 / 97MX As shown in Figure 25, the plug is supported by a snap fit wherein the bottom circumference of the base 483 is slightly smaller than the circumference of the lid 485. In operation, when the pressure increases in the cartridge 1, the air, potentially containing toner particles, enters the apertures 491 that are inside the hopper 61. This air enters the circular chamber 507, which is illustrated by the arrow 505, and is blocked by the wall 497 immediately opposite the hole 491 and, therefore, must move to the right or to the left, as illustrated by the bent arrow 505a, to reach the openings 499. Air then enters the chamber 509. That air is blocked by the wall 493 and must also move to the right or to the left, as shown by the bent arrow 505b, to reach the openings 495, which are at the opposite end of the chamber 509. In passing through the openings 495, as shown by the arrow 505, the air enters the central chamber 511 and passes through the felt filter 501 and then leaves the cartridge 1 through the holes 503. (Figure 23 shows four tabs central 513a, 513b, which divide to camera 511 in four equal parts. However, the tabs 513a-513d are for the structural support of the felt disk 501 and as functionally, the camera 511 can be a single camera).

P1657 / 97MX The labyrinth configuration of plug construction 143 results in continuous operation as an air vent, with only the smallest accumulation of toner inside the plug 143. The internal chambers 507, 509 and 511 are concentric circles.

P1657 / 97MX

Claims (10)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content of the following CLAIMS is claimed as property; A toner cartridge comprising: a first unit element "comprising a handle at the upper front end; a cleaning chamber at the rear end, - paredee lateral left and right, each of the side walls has a housing to receive loosely a pin placed in the housing, the element has openings near the camera to mount a photoseneible roller, - a second unit member comprising a toner hopper, a first paer and a second pin extending from each side of the hopper, and means for mounting a developer roller to rotate to receive the toner from the hopper, - a first spring connected between the first pin on the left side of the cartridge and the left side wall; a second spring connected between the first pin on the right side of the cartridge and the right side wall, - P1657 / 97MX the second pin on the left side of the cartridge is placed in the housing on the left side so that it is held by the housing on the left side; and the second pin on the right side of the cartridge is placed in the housing on the right side so that it is held by the housing on the right side.
2. 2. The cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a flat edge on the side of the unobstructed hopper for resting on a roller member in the imaging apparatus.
3. 3. The cartridge according to claim 2, further comprising elongate top locating elements on opposite sides of the cartridge in the center of the cartridge. The cartridge according to claim 3, having bent planes on opposite sides of the cartridge for guided movement, the flat members being substantially continuous with respect to their movement guided by their essentially continuous grooves and also comprising a lower shutter mounted on a link , on each side, to rotate the shutter forward and upward, each of the links is integrated to an actuator surface generally positioned above each of the flat members, so that the P1657 / 97MX insertion of the flat members into a groove rotate the actuator surfaces towards the wings, rotation moves the shutter forward and upward. The cartridge according to claim 4, also comprising locating surfaces on each side of the cartridge, comprising: a central arrow of the photosensitive roller extending so that the central arrow is unobstructed to serve as a lower locator. The cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the hopper contains electrophotographic toner to reveal electrostatic images. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the hopper contains electrophotographic toner to reveal electrostatic images. The cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the hopper contains electrophotographic toner to reveal electrostatic images. The cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the hopper contains electrophotographic toner to reveal electrostatic images. The cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the hopper contains electrophotographic toner to reveal electrostatic images. PT657 / 97MX