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US-12625462-B2 - Movable toner cartridge handle and image forming apparatus

US12625462B2US 12625462 B2US12625462 B2US 12625462B2US-12625462-B2

Abstract

An image forming device, including: a housing; a drawer movable between an inside position at which the drawer is located inside the housing and an outside position at which the drawer is located outside the housing; a drum cartridge including a photoconductive drum and a developer roller and mountable on the drawer; a toner cartridge storing toner to be supplied to the developer roller and mountable on the drawer, wherein the drawer includes a first guide that guides the toner cartridge in mounting the toner cartridge on the drawer, and wherein the drum cartridge includes a second guide connected to the first guide in a state in which the drum cartridge is mounted on the drawer, the second guide being configured to guide the toner cartridge in mounting the toner cartridge on the drawer in the state in which the drum cartridge is mounted on the drawer.

Inventors

  • Kazuna Taguchi
  • Shougo Sato

Assignees

  • BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20240919
Priority Date
20190902

Claims (10)

  1. 1 . An image forming apparatus, comprising: a housing having an opening; a drum cartridge including a photoconductive drum and a developer roller and mountable on the housing through the opening; and a toner cartridge including a toner storage portion storing toner to be supplied to the developer roller and a handle movable between a first position and a second position, the toner cartridge being mountable on the drum cartridge, and wherein, in a state in which the toner cartridge is mounted on the drum cartridge and the drum cartridge is mounted on the housing, the handle is located downstream of an upstream end of the toner storage portion of the toner cartridge in a first direction in which the drum cartridge is mounted on the housing.
  2. 2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein in a state in which the toner cartridge is mounted on the drum cartridge, the drum cartridge is unmountable on the housing when the handle is located at the first position and is mountable on the housing when the handle is located at the second position.
  3. 3 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the handle is pivotable about an axis that extends in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and includes a grip that is located at a position nearer to the opening than the axis in the state in which the toner cartridge is mounted on the drum cartridge and the drum cartridge is mounted on the housing.
  4. 4 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising a drawer movable through the opening between an inside position at which the drawer is located inside the housing and an outside position at which the drawer is located outside the housing, wherein the drum cartridge is mountable on the drawer in a state in which the drawer is located at the outside position, and wherein the drum cartridge, on which the toner cartridge is mounted, is mounted on the housing by moving the drawer from the outside position to the inside position.
  5. 5 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the toner cartridge includes: a discharge opening through which the toner is discharged; and a shutter movable between a closing position at which the shutter closes the discharge opening and an open position at which the shutter opens the discharge opening, and wherein the shutter moves in conjunction with the handle.
  6. 6 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the handle and the shutter are configured such that the shutter is located at the closing position when the handle is located at the first position and the shutter is located at the open position when the handle is located at the second position.
  7. 7 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the drum cartridge includes a guide groove that guides the toner cartridge when the toner cartridge is mounted on the drum cartridge, wherein the shutter includes a rib-like protrusion to be guided by the guide groove, wherein, in a state in which the handle is located at the first position, a direction in which the protrusion extends coincides with a direction in which the guide groove extends and the toner cartridge is mountable on the drum cartridge, and wherein, in a state in which the handle is located at the second position, the direction in which the protrusion extends does not coincide with the direction in which the guide groove extends and the toner cartridge is unmountable on the drum cartridge.
  8. 8 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising a drawer movable through the opening between an inside position at which the drawer is located inside the housing and an outside position at which the drawer is located outside the housing, wherein an inlet opening of the guide groove is located outside the housing when the drawer, on which the drum cartridge is mounted, is located at the outside position.
  9. 9 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the handle is pivotable about a pivot axis that extends in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and wherein the shutter pivots about the pivot axis of the handle.
  10. 10 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the handle includes a grip, wherein the toner cartridge includes a toner storage portion in which the toner is stored, wherein, when the handle is located at the first position, the grip is located distant from the toner storage portion, and wherein, when the handle is located at the second position, the grip is located so as to extend along the toner storage portion.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/180,323, filed Mar. 8, 2023, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,147,189, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/881,716, filed Aug. 5, 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,635,729, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/518,965, filed Nov. 4, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,487,241, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/003,167, filed Aug. 26, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,199,809, which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-159905, which was filed on Sep. 2, 2019, and which applications are incorporated herein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications. BACKGROUND Technical Field The following disclosure relates to an image forming device. Description of Related Art An image forming device conventionally includes a device housing, a drawer, and a process cartridge. The drawer is movable between an inside position at which the drawer is located inside the device housing and an outside position at which the drawer is located outside the device housing. The process cartridge is mountable on the drawer. The process cartridge includes a photoconductive drum and a developer roller. The process cartridge is capable of storing toner. SUMMARY The process cartridge of the known image forming device includes the photoconductive drum and the developer roller as described above. When the amount of the toner remaining in the process cartridge of the known image forming device is reduced, for instance, the entirety of the process cartridge including the photoconductive drum needs to be replaced even though the photoconductive drum need not be replaced. It is thus difficult to achieve cost reduction. Accordingly, one aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an image forming device including a drawer in which (a) a drum cartridge including a photoconductive drum and a developer roller and (b) a toner cartridge storing toner can be replaced independently of each other. In one aspect of the present disclosure, an image forming device includes: a housing; a drawer movable between an inside position at which the drawer is located inside the housing and an outside position at which the drawer is located outside the housing; a drum cartridge including a photoconductive drum and a developer roller and mountable on the drawer; a toner cartridge storing toner to be supplied to the developer roller and mountable on the drawer, wherein the drawer includes a first guide that guides the toner cartridge in mounting the toner cartridge on the drawer, and wherein the drum cartridge includes a second guide connected to the first guide in a state in which the drum cartridge is mounted on the drawer, the second guide being configured to guide the toner cartridge in mounting the toner cartridge on the drawer in the state in which the drum cartridge is mounted on the drawer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The objects, features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of the present disclosure will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of an embodiment, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an image forming device according to one embodiment; FIG. 2 is an explanatory view for explaining a movement of a drawer, the view illustrating a state in which the drawer of FIG. 1 is located at an outside position; FIG. 3 is an explanatory view for explaining mounting of a drum cartridge on the drawer, the view illustrating a state in which the drum cartridge and a toner cartridge are detached from the drawer of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining mounting of the toner cartridge on the drawer, the view illustrating a state in which the drum cartridge is mounted on the drawer of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a plan view of the drawer of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the drawer taken along line A-A in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a plan view of the drum cartridge of FIG. 1; FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the drum cartridge taken along line B-B in FIG. 7, the view illustrating a state in which a shutter is located at a closing position; FIG. 8B is a view of the drum cartridge of FIG. 8A illustrating a state in which the shutter is located at an open position; FIG. 9A is a side view of the drum cartridge of FIG. 7; FIG. 9B is a side view of the drum cartridge of FIG. 7 viewed in a direction opposite to a direction viewed in FIG. 9A; FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of the drum cartridge taken along line C-C in FIG. 7, the view illustrating the state in which the shutter is located at the closing position; FIG. 10B is a view of the drum cartridge of FIG. 10A illustrating the state in which the shutter is located at the open position; FIG. 11 is a plan view of the toner cartridge in a state i