Patent ID: 7110693

Claim:
A repair contact over-plate used in a toner cartridge used in an image forming apparatus comprising of a dry toner style printer, copy machine or facsimile machine; whereby the toner cartridge includes a toner hopper and a waste toner hopper; and whereby the waste toner hopper includes a photoreceptor, a cleaning blade, a charging device for electrostatically charging the photoreceptor and a container to receive waste toner, and whereby the toner hopper includes a storage tank, a gear housing, an electrically conductive flange and a developer roller; and whereby the gear housing includes a base and a double-spring contact subassembly; and whereby the double-spring contact subassembly includes two leaf spring contact legs and is intend to be in electrical communication with a printer's power supply when the toner cartridge is installed into an image forming apparatus; and whereby the electrically conductive flange includes a first portion that fits inside the developer roller and has electrical continuity with an inner wall of the developer roller, and whereby a second portion of the electrically conductive flange has a region that is cylindrical in shape including a bore; and whereby a coil-spring contactor includes a first end and a second end whereby the first end is positioned in the bore of the second portion of the electrically conductive flange; and whereby said repair contact over-plate is adjacent the double-spring contact subassembly of the gear housing and presses against the two leaf spring contact legs; and whereby said repair contact over-plate has at least two attachment-alignment holes; and whereby said at least two attachment-alignment holes of said repair contact over-plate fit over at least two posts of the gear housing to secure said repair contact over-plate to the gear housing; and whereby the second end of the coil-spring contactor engages said repair contact over-plate so as to cause electrical communication between the double-spring contact subassembly of the gear housing, said repair contact over-plate, the coil-spring contactor, said electrically conductive flange and said developer roller.