Abstract:
Systems and methods of remanufacturing an imaging cartridge include providing the imaging cartridge comprising a developer material supplying roller, a developer roller, 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, 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 set of characteristics.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     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. 
     SUMMARY 
     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. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary imaging cartridge in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of an exemplary developer blade assembly; 
         FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional perspective view of a left side of the developer blade assembly and a portion of the developer frame; 
         FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional perspective view of a right side of the developer blade assembly and a portion of the developer frame; 
         FIG. 5  shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the imaging cartridge; 
         FIG. 6  shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the imaging cartridge in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the imaging cartridge in accordance with another aspect of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the imaging cartridge in accordance with another aspect of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     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. 
       FIG. 1  shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary imaging cartridge  100 . The imaging cartridge comprises a photosensitive drum  102 , a developer roller  104 , a developer blade  106 , a hopper  108  for holding developer material and a developer material supplying roller  110 . During operation of the imaging cartridge  100 , developer material is moved by an agitator  112  from the hopper  108  to the developer material supplying roller  110  which deposits the developer material on the surface of the developer roller  104 . The developer blade  106  is attached to a developer blade mounting bracket  107  which is secured to a developer frame  114 . The developer blade  106  is thus against the rotating developer roller  104  and, as the developer roller  104  rotates, regulates the amount of developer material deposited on the surface of the developer roller  104 . As the photosensitive drum  102  is rotated, it is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and a predetermined potential by a charging device  116 . A laser beam  118  then forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum  102 . When developer material on the surface of the developer roller  102  is rotated to an area near the photosensitive drum  102 , some of the developer material moves to the charged area of the photosensitive drum  102  and develops the electrostatic latent image. 
       FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of an exemplary developer blade assembly  200 . The developer blade assembly  200  comprises the developer blade  106  attached to the developer blade mounting bracket  107 . The developer blade mounting bracket  107  may include a first positioning member  202  and a second positioning member  204 . In one aspect of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the developer blade mounting bracket  107  is shaped in a substantially L-shaped configuration, with the first positioning member  202  and the second positioning member  204  disposed at right angles with respect to each other. Slots  206  and  208  are disposed on a left end and a right end, respectively, of the second positioning member  204  of the developer blade mounting bracket  107 . A notch  210  is disposed on the left end of the first positioning member  202  of the developer blade mounting bracket  107 . 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  show cross-sectional exploded perspective views of a left end and a right end, respectively, of the developer blade assembly  200  and a portion of the developer frame  114 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , when the developer blade assembly  200  is attached to the developer frame  114 , the notch  210  engages a protrusion  300  of the developer frame  114 . The slot  206  aligns with a hole  302  and allows a screw  304  to be inserted through the slot  206  and into the hole  302 , thus securing the left end of the developer blade assembly  200  to the developer frame  114 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the slot  208  aligns with a hole  400  and allows a screw  402  to be inserted through the slot  208  and into the hole  400 , thus securing the right end of the developer blade assembly to the developer frame  114 . 
     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.  FIG. 5  shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the imaging cartridge  100  in accordance with the present invention and the lateral and longitudinal directions in which the developer blade assembly  200  may be adjusted. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , an adjustment tool  600  may be utilized to select a particular lateral position for the developer blade  106 . Before the screws  304  and  402  are fully tightened to secure the developer blade assembly  200  to the developer frame  114 , the adjustment tool  600  may be inserted between the first positioning member  202  and a portion of the developer frame  114 . While the first positioning member  202  is firmly pressed against the adjustment tool  600 , the screws  304  and  402  may then be tightened, securing the developer blade assembly  200  in place. The adjustment tool  600  may then be removed. The thickness of the adjustment tool  600  may be selected to ensure the proper lateral positioning of the developer blade assembly  200 . A thinner adjustment tool  600  lowers the developer blade  106 , increasing the pressure of the developer blade  106  against the developer roller  104 . Conversely, a thicker adjustment tool  600  raises the developer blade  106 , decreasing the pressure of the developer blade  106  against the developer roller  104 . In one aspect of the present invention, to determine an appropriate lateral positioning of the developer blade assembly  200 , a variety a lateral positions may be tried with a particular developer material and the printing results analyzed to select the lateral position which provides optimum or desired imaging results. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , in another aspect of the present invention, a spacer strip  700  may be disposed between the first positioning member  202  and a portion of the developer frame  114  to position the developer blade assembly  200 . The spacer strip  700  may include either or both adhesive layers  702  and  704  on opposing sides of the spacer strip  700  to securely adhere the first positioning member  202  in place prior to the screws  304  and  402  being fully tightened. The spacer strip  700  may suitably comprise high impact polystyrene (HIPS), metal, plastic or other suitable material. 
     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  FIG. 8 , a spacer  800  may be disposed between the second positioning member  204  and the developer frame  114 . A thinner spacer  800  increases the pressure of the developer blade  106  against the developer roller  104 . Conversely, a thicker spacer  800  decreases the pressure of the developer blade  104  against the developer roller  104 . The thickness of the spacer  800  may be selected to provide optimum or desired imaging results. The spacer  800  may be attached to the developer frame  114  or the second positioning member  204  with an adhesive. 
     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.