Patent Application
20070140732
The present invention relates to remanufacturing and modifying imaging process cartridges, such as printer toner cartridges, and more particularly to techniques for modifying an imaging process cartridge intended to operate in one type of imaging device, such as a printer, to operate in additional types of imaging devices.
In the printing industry, there is a growing market for the remanufacture and refurbishing of various types of imaging components such as toner cartridges, ink cartridges, magnetic rollers, seals, and the like. Toner cartridges, once spent, are unusable for their originally intended purpose. Without a refurbishing process, they would simply be discarded, even though the cartridge itself may still have potential life. As a result, techniques have been developed specifically to address this issue. These processes may entail, for example, the disassembly of the various structures of the cartridge, replacing toner, cleaning, adjusting or replacing any worn components and reassembling the cartridge.
The differences between printer cartridges for various types of printing devices may only be slight or subtle. In many instances it may only be an indentation or protuberance in the body of the cartridge. In other cases it may be not only a physical attribute of the body of the cartridge, but also the addition of a communications device. Certain style cartridges may be plentiful and relatively inexpensive simply because of certain factors such as the supply in the market or initial cost while other style cartridges may not be available in quantity or too expensive for cost effective use in remanufacturing. The easiest and most economic solution would be to simply convert the inexpensive style cartridges into the more costly style cartridge in order to meet this market demand. Additionally, it would be desirable to convert a cartridge into a type of cartridge that can be used in many different printer types.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, techniques are provided for modifying a printer cartridge intended to operate in one type of printer to operate in another type of printer or operate in a plurality of types of printers.
In one aspect of the present invention, a method of modifying an imaging process cartridge, the imaging process cartridge sized to be installed in a first type of imaging device and not sized to be installed in a second type of imaging device, includes: providing the imaging process cartridge comprising a cartridge body and a gear side end plate attached to the cartridge body, said gear side end plate comprising a generally elongated shape having a generally curved first end, a generally planar second end and a limiting projection element disposed substantially equidistant the first end and the second end, the limiting projection element extending outward from said gear side end plate; removing the gear side end plate from the cartridge body; providing a replacement gear side end plate comprising a generally longitudinal shape having a generally curved first end and a generally planar second end, the replacement gear side end plate not comprising a limiting projection element disposed substantially equidistant the first end and the second end; and attaching the replacement gear side end plate to the cartridge body to form a modified imaging process cartridge.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of modifying an imaging process cartridge, the imaging process cartridge sized to be installed in a first type of imaging device and not sized to be installed in a second type of imaging device, includes: providing the imaging process cartridge comprising a cartridge body and a gear side end plate attached to the cartridge body, the gear side end plate comprising a generally elongated shape having a generally curved first end, a generally planar second end and a limiting projection element disposed substantially equidistant the first end and the second end, the limiting projection element extending outward from said gear side end plate; and removing said limiting projection element extending outward from said gear side end plate and disposed substantially equidistant the first end and the second end to form a modified imaging process cartridge, said modified imaging process cartridge sized to be installed in both the first type of imaging device and the second type of imaging device
A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
The following detailed description of preferred embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings which illustrate specific embodiments of the invention. In the discussion that follows, specific techniques for converting an imaging process cartridge, such as a toner printer cartridge, for installation into one or more different types of printers are disclosed. Other embodiments having different structures and operations for the conversion of other types of cartridges for use with other types of printers do not depart from the scope of the present invention.
Other types of laser printers, such as the HP4250 and HP4350 laser printers, for example, utilize a toner cartridge with many similarities, but also with one or more differences which prevent an unmodified HP4300 toner cartridge from being installed or operating in such other printers. Certain modifications can be made to HP4300 toner cartridge to allow the modified toner cartridge to be installed in additional printer types.
Other types of laser printers, such as the HP4200, HP4300 and HP4345 laser printers, utilize a toner cartridge with many similarities, but also with a few important differences which prevent an unmodified HP4350 toner cartridge from operating in such other printers. Certain modifications can be made to HP4350 toner cartridge to allow the modified toner cartridge to be installed in additional printer types
By removing the gear side end plate 104 from the toner cartridge 100 and replacing it with the universal gear side end plate 400, the toner cartridge 100 may be modified to allow the toner cartridge 100 to be installed in additional types of printers. The gear side end plate 104 may be removed by unscrewing the screws 116 described above. Additionally, to ensure that the toner cartridge 100 with the universal gear side end plate 400 is readily installed in the additional printer types, it may be desirable to remove a small portion of the toner cartridge 100 in the area adjacent where the limiting projection element 120 and the slide-shaped member 122 were located prior to the installation of the universal gear side end plate 400. This area may be removed with a file, knife, or other type of cutting tool, for example. Additionally, the electronic circuit 114, which was adapted for communication with only the first printer type, may be replaced with a replacement electronic circuit which is adapted for use with all the printer types. The replacement electronic circuit may be PrintDetect™ chip available from Static Control Components, Inc.
The universal gear side end plate 400 may be formed by fabricating, by injection molding for example, a new end plate conforming to the size requirements of the universal gear side end plate 400. Alternatively, the gear side end plate 104 may removed from the toner cartridge 100 and modified to form the universal gear side end plate 400. To perform such a modification, the limiting projection element 120 and a portion of the slide-shaped member 122 should be removed. The removal of these portions may be accomplished by using a knife, a RotoZip® cutter or the like, for example. To ensure an accurate cut, a jig may be used to correctly position and guide the RotoZip® cutter along a guide path to perform this removal.
By removing the contact side end plate 206 from the toner cartridge 200 and replacing it with the universal contact side end plate 800, the toner cartridge 200 may be modified to allow the toner cartridge 200 to be installed in additional types of printers. The contact side end plate 206 may be removed by breaking the welds 218, described above. Additionally, the electronic circuit 214, which was adapted for communication with only the first printer type, may be replaced with a replacement electronic circuit which is adapted for use with many printer types. The replacement electronic circuit may be PrintDetect™ chip available from Static Control Components, Inc.
The universal contact side end plate 800 may be formed by fabricating, by injection molding for example, a new end plate conforming to the size requirements of the universal contact side end plate 800. Alternatively, the contact side end plate 206 may removed from the toner cartridge 200 and modified to form the universal contact side end plate 400. To perform such a modification, the first wall 604 and portions of the second wall 606 and the third wall 608 should be removed. The removal of these portions may be accomplished by using a knife, a RotoZip® cutter or the like, for example. To ensure an accurate cut, a jig may be used to correctly position and guide the RotoZip® cutter along a guide path to perform this removal.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and that the invention has other applications in other environments. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention. The following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the Invention to the specific embodiments described herein.
