Abstract:
Systems and methods of reusing an imaging component include providing a used photoconductive drum assembly comprising a cylindrical photoconductive drum and a gear hub extending from an end of the photoconductive drum; removing the gear hub from the end of the photoconductive drum; and crimping a replacement photoconductive drum to the gear hub to form a remanufactured drum assembly.

Description:
[0001]    The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/029,773 filed Jul. 28, 2014 which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to remanufacturing or repairing replaceable imaging components, and more particularly to apparatus and techniques for removing a drum gear from a drum, such as an organic photo conductor (OPC) drum, for example, and attaching that drum gear to another drum. 
         [0003]    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. 
         [0004]    OPC drums may include a coated aluminum tube having hubs extending from each end of the tube. One hub may include a gear, such as a tri-lobe gear or a dongle gear, which engages with the printer and is driven by the printer to rotate the OPC drum and/or other combination of elements. Typically, the OPC drum is rotatably held in place by opposing plates or brackets. During the remanufacturing of a laser printer toner cartridge, the OPC drum may need to be replaced due to the wear or damage to the OPC drum. When replacing the OPC drum, it may be desirable to reuse all or part of the drum gears as these parts typically have a longer lifespan than the rest of the drum. Previously, adhesive has been used to attach the drum gears to replacement OPC drum. However, this technique may suffer from several disadvantages, including increasing the difficulty of reusing the drum gears for several remanufacturing cycles and the need to modify or scratch the surface of the drum gears to ensure adequate adhesion between the drum gear and the interior of the OPC drum. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    In one aspect of the present invention a methods of reusing an imaging component include providing a used photoconductive drum assembly comprising a cylindrical photoconductive drum and a gear hub extending from an end of the photoconductive drum; removing the gear hub from the end of the photoconductive drum; and crimping a replacement photoconductive drum to the gear hub to form a remanufactured drum assembly. 
         [0006]    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. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  shows a side view of a drum assembly. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2A  shows an isometric view of a gear hub removal tool. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2B  shows a side view of the gear hub removal tool of  FIG. 2A . 
           [0010]      FIG. 2C  shows an end view of the gear hub removal tool of  FIG. 2A . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3A  shows an isometric view of a gear hub removal tool. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3B  shows a side view of the gear hub removal tool of  FIG. 3A . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3C  shows an end view of the gear hub removal tool of  FIG. 3A . 
           [0014]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  show an isometric view of a gear hub removal tool. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4C  shows a side view of the gear hub removal tool of  FIG. 4A . 
           [0016]      FIG. 4D  shows an end view of the gear hub removal tool of  FIG. 4A . 
           [0017]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  show an isometric view of a gear hub removal tool. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5C  shows a side view of the gear hub removal tool of  FIG. 5A . 
           [0019]      FIG. 5D  shows an end view of the gear hub removal tool of  FIG. 5A . 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  shows a side view of the gear hub. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  shows a side view of a remanufactured drum assembly. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  shows an isometric view of a gear hub installation tool. 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  shows an isometric view of a gear hub installation tool with a gear hub and a replacement drum. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    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, reusing or remanufacturing a toner cartridge or parts thereof, such as an OPC drum, 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. 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  shows a side view of a drum assembly  100 . The drum assembly  100  may include a photoconductive drum  102 , such as an OPC drum for example, comprising a coated cylindrical aluminum tube. A gear hub  104  extends from a first end of the drum  102 . The gear hub  104  may include gear teeth  110  and a rim  112 . A gear (not shown), such as a dongle gear or a tri-lobe gear, may extend from the gear hub  104  and engage with a printer which drives the rotation of the gear hub  104 . A nondriven hub  106  may extend from a second end of the drum  102 . The nondriven hub  106  may have an outer diameter greater than an outer diameter (24 mm for example) of the photoconductive drum  102 . The rim  112  may have an outer diameter of 27 mm for example. The gear hub  104  may be held in place by crimps  108  formed in opposing sides of the first end of the drum  102 , an adhesive, or other techniques. 
         [0026]    When a spent toner cartridge including the drum assembly  100  is remanufactured, it may be desirable to replace the photoconductive drum  102  with a new or recoated drum but reuse the gear hub  104 . In one aspect of the present invention, the spent toner cartridge may be disassembled to allow removal of the drum assembly  100 . Alternatively, a cutter, such as a pipe cutter or hacksaw for example, may be used to make one or more cuts through the photoconductive drum  102  to allow the drum assembly  100  to be removed in two or more pieces. 
         [0027]    After the photoconductive assembly  100  has been removed from the spent toner cartridge, the gear hub  104  may be removed. A variety of techniques may be utilized to remove the gear hub  104 .  FIGS. 2A-2C  show views of a gear hub removal tool  200  in accordance with one aspect of the present invention. The gear hub removal tool  200  may include a hollow cylindrical portion  202  and a flange  204 . The inner diameter of the cylindrical portion  202  may be sized to be slightly greater than the outer diameter of photoconductive drum  102 , but less than the outer diameter of the rim  112 . If the gear hub  104  does not include a rim  112 , the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion  202  may be sized less than the outer diameter of the gear teeth. For photoconductive drums which have been cut or for which the outer diameter of the nondriven hub  106  are not an impediment, the photoconductive assembly  100  may be inserted into gear hub removal tool  200  with the flange  204  facing the gear hub  104 . The gear hub removal tool  200  may then be forcefully moved into contact with gear hub  104  to remove the gear hub  104  from the photoconductive drum assembly  100 . In an alternate embodiment, the gear hub removal tool  200  does not include a flange. 
         [0028]    For photoconductive drums which have not been cut and the nondriven hub  106  is an impediment to the insertion of the gear hub  104  into the gear hub removal tool  200  (due to the inner diameter of the gear hub removal tool  200  being less than the outer diameter of the nondriven hub  106 ), an alternative technique may be used.  FIGS. 3A-3C  show views of a gear hub removal tool  300  in accordance with another aspect of the present invention. The gear hub removal tool  300  may include a trough portion  302  and a flange  304 . The inner diameter D 1  of the trough portion  302  may be sized to be slightly greater than the outer diameter of the photoconductive drum  102 . The photoconductive assembly  102  may be placed in the trough portion  302  with the flange facing the gear hub  104 . The gear hub removal tool  300  may then be forcefully moved into contact with the gear hub  104  to remove the gear. The gear may then be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol or other techniques if needed. In an alternate embodiment, the gear hub removal tool  300  does not include a flange. 
         [0029]    For photoconductive drums which have not been cut and the nondriven hub  106  is an impediment to the insertion of the gear hub  104  into the gear hub removal tool  200  (due to the inner diameter of the gear hub removal tool  200  being less than the outer diameter of the nondriven hub), another alternative technique may be used.  FIGS. 4A-4D  show views of a gear hub removal tool  400  in accordance with another aspect of the present invention. The gear hub removal tool  400  includes a hollow cylindrical portion  402  and a flange  404  which may comprise a first half  402 A and a second half  402 B held together by a flexible O-ring  406  disposed in a slot. The inner diameter of the hollow cylindrical portion  402  may be sized to be slightly greater than the outer diameter of the photoconductive drum  102 . The photoconductive assembly  102  may be placed in the trough portion  302  with the flange facing the gear hub  104  by forcing the two halves  402 A and  402 B apart by stretching the O-ring  406 . The gear hub removal tool  400  may then be forcefully moved into contact with the gear hub  104  to remove the gear. In an alternate embodiment, the gear hub removal tool  400  does not include a flange. 
         [0030]      FIGS. 5A-5D  show views of a gear hub removal tool  500  in accordance with another aspect of the present invention. The gear hub removal tool  500  includes a hollow cylindrical portion  502  and a flange  504 . A removable insert  506  is disposed in the hollow cylindrical portion  502  and a removable washer  508  is disposed in the flange  504 . The inner diameters of the removable insert  506  and removable washer  508  may be sized to be slightly greater than the outer diameter of photoconductive drum  102 , but less than the outer diameter of the rim  112 . If the gear hub  104  does not include a rim  112 , the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion may be sized less than the outer diameter of the gear teeth. For photoconductive drums which have been cut or for which the outer diameter of the nondriven hub  106  are not an impediment, the photoconductive assembly  100  may be inserted into gear hub removal tool  500  with the flange  504  facing the gear hub  104 . The gear hub removal tool  500  may then be forcefully moved into contact with gear hub  104  to remove the gear hub  104  from the photoconductive drum assembly  100 . For drums having different diameters than the photoconductive drum  102 , differently sized washers and O-rings may be utilized. 
         [0031]    Other techniques may be used to remove the gear hub  104 . For example, a plunger which is inserted down the length of the photoconductive drum  102  may be used to remove the gear hub  104 . Alternatively, a tool may be used to deform the photoconductive drum  102  near the gear hub  104  to loosen the gear hub  104  and allow its removal. After removal, the gear may then be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol or other techniques if needed. 
         [0032]      FIG. 6  shows a side view of the gear hub  104  which has been removed from the first end of the drum  102 . The gear hub  104  may include crimp notches  114  which facilitate the crimping of a drum to the gear hub  104 . 
         [0033]    After the gear hub  104  has been removed from the photoconductive drum  102 , the gear hub  104  may be attached to a replacement photoconductive drum  702  to form a remanufactured drum assembly  700 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . In a preferred embodiment, the gear hub  104  is inserted into an end of the replacement photoconductive drum  702  and is crimped in two places in opposing sides of the drum  702  to form crimps  708 . Crimping deforms the metal of the replacement photoconductive drum  702  to hold the gear hub  704  in place.  FIG. 8  shows a gear hub attachment apparatus  800  in accordance with one aspect of the present invention and  FIG. 9  shows the gear hub attachment apparatus  800  with the replacement photoconductive drum  702  being crimped onto the gear hub  104 . The gear hub attachment apparatus include crimp presses  802  and  804 , gear press  806 , and a drum holder  808 . The crimp presses  802  and  804  include a crimp stakes  802   a  and  804   a , respectively. The gear press  806  includes a gear hub retaining member  806   a . To attach the gear hub  104  to the replacement photoconductive drum  702 , the photoconductive drum  702  is placed in the drum holder  808  with the crimp notches  114  aligned with the crimp stakes  802   a  and  804   a . The gear press  808  may then be used to insert and hold the gear hub  104  into the photoconductive drum  702 . The crimp presses  802  and  804  may then be used to form crimps  708  by forcing the crimp stakes  802   a  and  804   a  to deform the metal of the replacement photoconductive drum  702  into the crimp notches  114 . In one aspect, the tips of the crimp stakes  802   a  and  804   a  may be rounded so that metal of the replacement photoconductive drum  702  bends cleanly and does not break or become weak. 
         [0034]    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.