Abstract:
A drive gear for a generally cylindrical imaging component. The drive gear includes a body for engaging the generally cylindrical imaging component; a cylindrical shaft attached to the body, the cylindrical shaft having an end surface; and three prongs extending longitudinally outward from the end surface.

Description:
[0001]    The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/269,354, entitled “Driveshaft Shipping Cap” and filed Dec. 18, 2015 which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to manufacturing, remanufacturing or repairing replaceable imaging components, and more particularly to apparatus and techniques for a shipping cap securing a dongle gear extending from the end of a drum or roller, such as an organic photo conductor (OPC) drum. The drum or roller may be used in a replaceable imaging cartridge adapted for holding marking material, such as toner. 
         [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 dongle gear, which extends from the end of the hub, 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. The replacement OPC drum assembly may include a replacement dongle gear attached to one end of the replacement OPC drum. The dongle gear may shift or pivot when the replacement OPC drum assembly is not installed in the cartridge. The present invention provides for a shipping cap which attaches to the end of the OPC drum assembly and maintains the correlation of the dongle with the OPC&#39;s geometric center line. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    In one aspect of the present invention, a drive gear assembly for use in an imaging cartridge comprises a generally cylindrical imaging component having a first axis of rotation; a gear hub attached to an end of the generally cylindrical imaging component; a dongle gear connected to the gear hub having a second axis of rotation, the dongle gear adapted to assume a first position in which the second axis of rotation is not aligned with the first axis of rotation, the dongle gear adapted to assume a second position in which the second axis of rotation is aligned with the first axis of rotation the drive gear; and a shipping cap secured to the drive gear assembly for maintaining the dongle gear in the second position. 
         [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 in one aspect of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  shows a side view of a drum assembly in another aspect of the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  shows a shipping cap for maintaining alignment of the dongle gear rotational axis and drum rotational axis when a drum assembly is not attached to an imaging cartridge; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  shows a shipping cap attached to a drum assembly for maintaining alignment of the dongle gear rotational axis and drum rotational axis when the drum assembly is not attached to an imaging cartridge; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  shows a shipping cap attached to a drum assembly for maintaining alignment of the dongle gear rotational axis and drum rotational axis when the drum assembly is not attached to an imaging cartridge; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  shows a shipping lock secured to a drum assembly; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  shows the shipping lock attached to a drum assembly. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    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 providing a shipping cap or lock for a drum or roller, such as an organic photo conductor (OPC) drum, for example, of a replaceable imaging cartridge adapted for holding marking material, 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. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  shows a side view of a drum assembly  100  in one aspect of the present invention. 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. A dongle gear  106  having an outer rim  107  may extend from the gear hub  104  and engages with a printer which drives the rotation of the gear hub  104 . The dongle gear  106  may pivot or slide such that the center axis of the dongle  106  is not aligned with the center axis of the drum  102  when the drum assembly is not installed in an imaging cartridge. 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows a side view of a drum assembly  200  in one aspect of the present invention. The drum assembly  200  may include a photoconductive drum  202 , such as an OPC drum for example, comprising a coated cylindrical aluminum tube. A gear hub  204  extends from a first end of the drum  202 . The gear hub  204  may include gear teeth. A dongle gear  206  having an outer rim  207  may extend from the gear hub  204  and engage with a printer which drives the rotation of the gear hub  204 . A centering member  208  attached to a post of the dongle gear  206  may engage with the imaging cartridge when the dongle gear  206  is extended, keeping the axis of the dongle  206  aligned with the axis of the drum  202  when the drum assembly is installed in an imaging cartridge. The dongle gear  106  may pivot or slide such that the center axis of the dongle  206  is not aligned with the center axis of the drum  202  when the drum assembly is not installed in an imaging cartridge. 
         [0017]    In one aspect, the present invention provides techniques for keeping the axis of a dongle gear, such as the dongle gear  106  or the dongle gear  206 , for example, aligned with the axis of a roller or drum, such as the photoconductive drum  102  or the photoconductive drum  202 , for example, when the dongle gear of a drum assembly, such as the drum assembly  100  or the drum assembly  200 , for example, is not installed in an imaging cartridge. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  show a shipping cap  300  for maintaining alignment of the dongle gear axis and drum axis when the drum assembly is not attached to an imaging cartridge. The shipping cap  300  comprises a first end  302  connected through a body  304  to a second end  306 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , when attached to the drum assembly  100  or  200 , for example, the second end  306  of the shipping cap  300  holds the dongle gear  106  or  206  in place to ensure that the axis of the dongle gear  106  or  206  is aligned with the axis of the drum  102  or  202 . The second end of the shipping cap  300  may be sized to friction fit with the rim  107  or  207  of the dongle gear  106  or  206 . The first end  302  may physically engage with the flange  104  or  204  or other portion of the drum assembly  100  or  200  by, for example, being sized to friction fit with the drum flange  104  or  204 , or may be engaged to the drum assembly  100  or  200  in another suitable manner. When secured to the drum assembly  100  or  200 , the shipping cap  300  prevents the dongle gear  106  or  206  from shifting out of alignment with the axis of the drum  102  or  202 . The shipping cap  300  may include indentations  308  to further secure the dongle gear  106  or  206  in place by contacting the centering member  205  of the drum assembly  200 .  FIG. 4  shows the shipping cap  300  attached to the drum assembly  200 , but may be attached to the drum assembly  100  or other suitable drum assemblies. 
         [0019]      FIG. 5  shows a shipping cap  500  attached to a drum assembly  100  or  200  in accordance with another aspect of the present invention. The shipping cap  500  shipping cap  500  comprises a first end  502  connected through a body  504  to a second end  506 . The shipping cap  500  functions in a similar manner to the shipping cap  300 , but without the indentations  308 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 7  shows a shipping lock  700  in accordance with another aspect of the present invention. The shipping lock  700  may comprise a generally flat body  702  with an opening  704 . The body  702  may be generally disc-shaped.  FIG. 6  shows the shipping lock  700  secured to the drum assembly  200  by placing the shipping lock  700  between the centering element  208  and the top of the drum flange  204 . The thickness of the body  702  may be selected such a friction fit is formed when the shipping lock  700  is inserted between the centering element  208  and the top of the drum flange  204 . 
         [0021]    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.