Abstract:
A printer cartridge including a cartridge casing to accommodate a plurality of rotating units rotating in parallel with each other, the cartridge casing being formed with a support opening on at least one side thereof in the axial direction of the rotating units, and a side plate, at least a part of which is welded to the cartridge casing, to cover the support opening, the side plate including support parts to support axial ends of the rotating units. Since the side plate is not easily disconnected from the cartridge casing, damage of rotating bodies accommodated within the cartridge casing, leakage of the toner, and insertion of foreign matters may be prevented.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2005-38416, filed May 9, 2005, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     An aspect of the present invention relates to a printer cartridge formed with side plates to support an internally accommodated rotating unit.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional printer cartridge  100  comprises a cartridge casing  101 , within which a multiplicity of rollers, including a photoconductive drum (not shown), are accommodated, and a side plate  102  that is engaged with both sides of the cartridge casing  101 . The side plate  102  is engaged with the cartridge casing  101  to cover openings (not shown) formed on both sides of the cartridge casing  101 . Additionally, the side plate  102  supports both sides of a rolling shaft of major rotating unit, such as a photoconductive drum, a development roller, a toner supply roller, which are internally accommodated in the cartridge casing  101  through a plurality of support parts  103 .  
         [0006]     An engagement of the side plate  102  to the cartridge casing  101  is generally made by a screw coupling  104 . However, since the screw coupling  104  may be freely connected and disconnected, a user may arbitrarily disconnect the side plate  102  from the printer cartridge  100  while the printer cartridge  100  is in use. Since the side plate  102  supports major rotating units that are internally accommodated in the cartridge casing, the rotating units may be shifted or damaged, and the toner stored inside the cartridge casing  101  may be leaked. In addition, external or foreign particles may be inserted into the inside of the open cartridge casing  101 .  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention provides a printer cartridge capable of preventing damage of rotating units accommodated inside a cartridge casing, leakage of a toner and insertion of foreign particles, by having side plates that are not easily disconnected from the cartridge casing.  
         [0008]     Another aspect of the present invention provides a printer cartridge having a side plate coupling structure convenient for maintenance and repair, by having the side plate and the cartridge casing easily disconnected from each other as needed.  
         [0009]     A further aspect of the present invention provides a printer cartridge having a coupling structure whereby the side plate is not only easily disconnected, but also may be reconnected after disconnection.  
         [0010]     According to another aspect of the present invention, these and/or other objects may be accomplished by providing a printer cartridge, comprising a cartridge casing to accommodate rotating entities rotating in parallel with each other, being formed with a support opening on at least one side thereof in the axial direction of the rotating entities, and a side plate to cover the support opening, at least a part of which is welded to the cartridge casing, being formed with support parts to support side ends of the rotating entities.  
         [0011]     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.  
         [0012]     The cartridge casing may have one or more penetrating holes on a rim extending around the support opening, and the side plate may have an insertion projection inserted into the penetrating hole, being welded to the cartridge casing. In this case, the insertion projection may have a leading end projected toward the interior of the cartridge casing through the penetrating hole, which is welded to the cartridge casing.  
         [0013]     The side plate may have one or more penetrating holes on a rim extending around the circumference thereof, and the cartridge casing may include an insertion projection formed on a rim extending around the circumference of the support opening, inserted into the penetrating hole of the side plate, and welded to the side plate. In this case, the insertion projection may have a leading end projected to the outside of the cartridge casing through the penetrating hole, being welded to the cartridge casing.  
         [0014]     The leading end of the insertion projection may be welded by any one of heat, ultrasound, pressure and vibration.  
         [0015]     The printer cartridge may further comprise an engaging device to engage the side plate with the cartridge casing.  
         [0016]     According to another aspect of the present invention, these and other objects may be accomplished by providing a printer cartridge, comprising a cartridge casing to accommodate a plurality of rotating units rotating in parallel with each other, and the cartridge casing being formed with a support opening on at least one side thereof in the axial direction of the rotating units; a side plate, to cover the support opening, the side plate being formed with support parts to support axial ends of the rotating units; a permanent coupling device to permanently couple at least a part of the side plate to the cartridge casing; and an engaging device to engage the side plate to the cartridge casing. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional printer cartridge;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a part of a printer cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged side view illustrating the part of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.  
         [0022]     In the present invention, “a printer cartridge” refers to a device used as the printer cartridge is mounted in an image forming apparatus so as to print images on a printing medium. This image forming apparatus may be a printer, a multi-operational printer, a facsimile machine, or a copy machine.  
         [0023]     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a printer cartridge  200  according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a cartridge casing  210  having support openings  211  formed on both side ends thereof, internally accommodating a plurality of rotating units therein, and a side plate  220  coupled to the cartridge casing  210 , to thereby cover the support openings  211 .  
         [0024]     A photoconductive drum  201  to form toner images on a sheet of printing paper, a development roller  202  to develop the toner on the photoconductive drum  201 , a supply roller  203  to supply the toner to the development roller  202 , and a storage tank to store the toner therein are accommodated inside the cartridge casing  210 . In an embodiment of the invention, the photoconductive drum  201 , the development roller  202 , the supply roller  203 , and the storage tank are sequentially adjacent. The photoconductive drum  201  and each of the rollers  202  and  203  are arranged so as to rotate about axial lines parallel to each other, and neighboring rollers are rotated in correspondence with each other.  
         [0025]     Support openings  211 , allowing the side plates  220  that are attached to the support openings  211  to support the photoconductive drum  201  and axial ends of each of the other rollers  202  and  203 , are formed on both side ends of the cartridge casing  210 , and will be described later.  
         [0026]     A penetrating hole  212  provided for attachment of the side plate  220  is formed on the circumference of the support opening  211  of the cartridge casing  210 . Here, it is noted that, in this embodiment, a single penetrating hole  212  is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to the use of a single penetrating hole  212 . Indeed, a plurality of penetrating holes  212  may be provided as needed.  
         [0027]     On one side of the support opening  211  of the cartridge casing  210  are formed a plurality of engaging grooves  213 . The number of engaging grooves  213  may vary as needed. As will be described later, the positions thereof may be determined in association with and to correspond to the penetrating hole  212  described above.  
         [0028]     The side plate  220  is coupled to a side end of the cartridge casing  210  to cover the support opening  211 . An insertion projection  221  is projected from the side plate  220  and onto a position that corresponds to the penetrating hole  212  of the cartridge casing  210 . Similarly, engaging holes  222  are formed on positions corresponding to those of the engaging grooves  213 .  
         [0029]     Accordingly, when the side plate  220  is coupled, the insertion projection  221  is inserted into the penetrating hole  212 , and engaging holes  222  respectively contact each of the engaging grooves  213  so as to correspond in position to the engaging grooves  213 . The side plate  220  and the cartridge casing  210  are then coupled to each other by engaging devices, for example, screws  230  extending through the engaging holes  222 . The engaging devices may not be limited to the screws  230 , and may refer to any devices that may detachably couple the side plate  220  to the cartridge casing  210 .  
         [0030]     The insertion projection  221  inserted into the penetrating hole  212  may be permanently coupled to the cartridge casing by welding, as will be described later.  
         [0031]     A plurality of support parts  223 ,  224  and  225 , which respectively support axial ends of the photoconductive drum  201 , the development roller  202  and the supply roller  203 , are formed inside the side plate  220 . The central axial positions of the photoconductive drum  201  and the rollers  202  and  203  are then fixed and their rotation, in the fixed position, is supported by the support parts  223 ,  224  and  225 .  
         [0032]      FIG. 3  illustrates an insertion of the insertion projection  221  into the penetrating hole ( 212  of  FIG. 2 ) of the cartridge casing  210 , when the side plate  220  is coupled to the cartridge casing. As illustrated, a leading end of the insertion projection  221  passes through the penetrating hole ( 212  of  FIG. 2 ) and is projected toward the interior of the cartridge casing  210 .  
         [0033]     The leading end of the projected insertion projection  221  is later welded and fused onto the cartridge casing  210 . That is, the side plate  220  and the cartridge casing  210  are permanently coupled by a welding of the leading end of the insertion projection  221 . Here, the welding may be conducted by heat, ultrasound, pressure or vibration. In this case, heat, ultrasound, pressure and vibration may be respectively independent welding sources. Generally, welding accompanies heat generation.  
         [0034]     Accordingly, the side plate  220  is engaged with the cartridge casing  210  through the screws ( 230  of  FIG. 2 ), and is integrally coupled with the cartridge casing  210  via the welding of the leading end of the insertion projection  221 .  
         [0035]     As is discussed above, the side plate  220  is coupled to the side of a printer cartridge ( 200  of  FIG. 2 ). However, since the insertion projection  221  is welded to the cartridge casing  210  even if the screw coupling were to be released, the side plate  220  would not be disconnected from the cartridge casing  210 . Thus, the user is normally prevented from opening the inside of the cartridge casing  210  arbitrarily.  
         [0036]     Further, when an expert intends to open the cartridge casing  210  to engage in a repair or a recycling of the printer cartridge  200 , the screw coupling may be released and the insertion projection  221 , whose leading end is welded, is cut so as to disconnect the side plate  220 . The disconnected side plate  220  may then be re-coupled to the cartridge casing  210  by a screw coupling.  
         [0037]     It has been described that a single insertion projection  221  and a single penetrating hole  212  are coupled, with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, if necessary, two or more insertion projections  221  and penetrating holes  212  may be provided so as to combine the side plate  220  and the cartridge casing  210 .  
         [0038]     It has also been described that a welding coupling and a screw coupling are simultaneously applied to couple the side plate  220  and the cartridge casing  210 . However, if only one of the coupled methods is to be employed, only the welding method should be applied alone. In other words, a plurality of penetrating holes  212  are formed in a rim  212   a  extending around a support opening  211  of the cartridge casing  210  while a plurality of insertion projections  221  are correspondently formed on the circumference of the side plate  220 . Each insertion projection  221  is inserted into the penetrating hole  212  and then welded to the cartridge casing  210 .  
         [0039]     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the positions of the insertion projection  221  and the engaging hole  222  on the side plate  220  may be present on complementary positions, such as both side ends, and the middle of the side plate  220 , to couple the side plate  220  to the cartridge casing  210 .  
         [0040]     In an alternate embodiment, the side plate  220  may have a plurality of engaging holes  222  distributed in such a way so that the side plate  220  may be coupled to the cartridge casing  210  only through the screw coupling. Additionally, an insertion projection  221  may be formed so that the side plate  220  is not disconnected from the cartridge casing  210  when the screw coupling is released.  
         [0041]     It has been described above that an insertion projection  221  is formed on the side plate  220  and a penetrating hole  212  is formed on the cartridge casing  210 . In another alternate embodiment, the penetrating hole  212  may be formed on the side plate  220  and the insertion projection may be formed on the cartridge casing  210 . In this case, the leading end of the insertion projection is inserted into a penetrating hole  212 ′ in a rim  212   a ′ of the side plate and is then welded to the side plate  220 .  
         [0042]     As is described above, a printer cartridge according to the present invention is capable of preventing damage of rotating units accommodated inside a cartridge casing, leakage of a toner, and insertion of foreign particles since the side plate is not easily disconnected from the cartridge casing owing to an insertion projection welded to the cartridge casing. Also, the side plate and the cartridge casing are relatively easily disconnected by cutting the insertion projection as is necessary, thereby making repair and maintenance of the printer cartridge convenient. In addition, a user can easily ascertain whether the cartridge casing has been opened, by checking whether the insertion projection is cut or not.  
         [0043]     Further, in a printer cartridge having both an insertion projection for a welding coupling and an engaging hole for a screw coupling, the side plate may be re-coupled with screws once the side plate is disconnected by cutting the insertion projection.  
         [0044]     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.