Patent Application
20090087217
The present invention generally relates to manufacturing, remanufacturing or repairing replaceable imaging components, and more particularly to apparatus and techniques for adjusting the imaging characteristics of a replaceable imaging cartridge adapted for holding marking material.
In the imaging industry, there is a growing market for the remanufacture and refurbishing of various types of replaceable imaging cartridges such as toner cartridges, drum cartridges, inkjet cartridges, and the like. These imaging cartridges are used in imaging devices such as laser printers, xerographic copiers, inkjet printers, facsimile machines and the like, for example. Imaging cartridges, once spent, are unusable for their originally intended purpose. Without a refurbishing process these cartridges 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 or ink, cleaning, adjusting or replacing any worn components and reassembling the imaging cartridge.
In one aspect of the present invention a method of remanufacturing an imaging cartridge includes providing the imaging cartridge comprising a developer material supplying roller and a developer roller, the developer material supplying roller for supplying developer material to the outer surface of the developer roller, the imaging cartridge further comprising a developer blade which regulates a layer of thickness of the developer material on the outer surface of the developer roller, the developer blade held in a first position to exert a first pressure on the outer surface of the developer roller, the imaging cartridge further comprising a photosensitive drum rotatably held in a fixed position with respect to the developer roller and adapted for receiving a portion of the developer material from the surface of the developer roller as the photosensitive drum and the developer roller rotate; providing a replacement developer material having a set of characteristics; and adjusting the position of the developer blade to a second position to exert a second pressure on the outer surface of the developer roller, the second position of the developer blade selected to function with the replacement developer material having the first set of characteristics, wherein the second pressure exerted on the outer surface of the developer roller by the developer blade is a different pressure from the first pressure exerted on the outer surface of the developer roller by the developer blade.
In another aspect of the present invention, a remanufactured imaging cartridge includes a developer material supplying roller and a developer roller, the developer material supplying roller for supplying developer material to the outer surface of the developer roller; a developer blade which regulates a layer of thickness of the developer material on the outer surface of the developer roller; a developer blade mounting bracket holding the developer blade; a developer blade spacing member disposed between the developer blade mounting bracket and a portion of the imaging cartridge, the thickness of the developer blade spacing member selected to determine the lateral position of the developer blade; a photosensitive drum rotatably held in a fixed position with respect to the developer roller and adapted for receiving a portion of the developer material from the surface of the developer roller as the photosensitive drum and the developer roller rotate; and a replacement developer material having a set of characteristics, the position of the developer blade adjusted to exert a pressure on the outer surface of the developer roller, the position of the developer blade selected to function with the replacement developer material having the set of characteristics.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of remanufacturing an imaging cartridge having a developer frame includes providing a developer blade mounting bracket holding a developer blade, the developer blade comprising a first positioning member and a second positioning member, the first positioning member disposed at a substantially right angle with respect to the second positioning member; providing a spacer; and attaching the developer blade mounting bracket to the developer frame of the imaging cartridge, the spacer disposed between the developer blade mounting bracket and the developer frame. The method may include attaching the spacer to the developer blade mounting bracket. The spacer may attached to the first positioning member of the developer blade mounting bracket. The spacer may be disposed between the developer frame and the second positioning member of the developer blade mounting bracket. The method may include attaching the spacer to the developer frame. The spacer may be disposed between the developer frame and the second positioning member of the developer blade mounting bracket. The spacer may disposed between the developer frame and the first positioning member of the developer blade mounting bracket.
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 systems and techniques for repairing, manufacturing or remanufacturing a toner cartridge, such as an HP 2600 toner cartridge, are disclosed. Other embodiments having different structures and operations for the repair, remanufacture and operation of other types of replaceable imaging components and for various types of imaging devices, such as laser printers, inkjet printers, copiers, facsimile machines and the like, do not depart from the scope of the present invention.
As the widths of the slots 206 and 208 are greater the diameters of the screws 304 and 402, respectively, the lateral position of the developer blade assembly 200 may be advantageously adjusted (while remanufacturing the imaging cartridge 100) to a desired location before the screws 304 and 402 are tightened. Such adjustment may affect the pressure the developer blade 106 applies to the developer roller 104, which will in turn affect various imaging characteristics of the imaging cartridge 100, such as increasing or decreasing backgrounding and print density, for example. Such adjustment may be advantageous to improve printing performance when using replacement toner which has different characteristics from the toner originally used in the imaging cartridge. Alternatively, or in addition to, the longitudinal position of the developer blade assembly 200 may also be adjusted to affect the imaging characteristics.
As shown in
As shown in
In another aspect of the present invention, the longitudinal position of the developer blade assembly 200 may also be adjusted to affect the imaging characteristics. As shown in
In another aspect of the present invention, as the lateral position of the developer blade 106 is adjusted, an unworn section of the developer blade 106 may be placed in contact with the developer roller 104. During use of the imaging cartridge 100, a section of the developer blade 106 is worn slightly due to the frictional contact with the developer roller 104. When the imaging cartridge 100 is remanufactured, moving the developer blade 106 to a new position may bring an unworn section of the developer blade 106 in contact with the developer roller 104. Having an unworn section of the developer blade 106 in contact with the developer roller 104 may increase the pressure the developer blade 106 applies to the developer roller 104 and may affect various imaging characteristics of the imaging cartridge 100, such as increasing or decreasing backgrounding and print density, for example.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that any arrangement that 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.
