Patent ID: 8660469

Claim:
A toner cartridge for an imaging device, the toner cartridge comprising: a housing comprising a top, a front, a rear, a bottom, a first side, and a second side forming an enclosed reservoir for holding a quantity of toner, the front of the housing having a first portion having an opening into a first region of the enclosed reservoir and extending along a width of the first portion and a second portion closed to the reservoir; a paddle assembly rotatably mounted within the enclosed reservoir below the opening in the front of the housing, the paddle assembly comprising: a drive shaft having ends rotatably mounted to the first and second sides; a frame mounted on the drive shaft having a pair of aligned arms radially extending from the drive shaft, one of the pair of aligned arms positioned near each of the first and second sides, and the frame having a cross member connected to distal ends of the pair of aligned arms; a main scraper mounted in a cantilevered manner from a first segment of the cross member, the main scraper having an interference contact with interior surfaces of the front, top, rear and bottom of the housing; and a secondary scraper mounted in a cantilevered manner from a second segment of the cross member, the secondary scraper having an interference contact with interior surfaces of the front, top, rear and bottom of the housing and positioned in an overlapping relation with the main scraper with a portion of the main scraper positioned outwardly in front of a portion of the secondary scraper; and a toner exit assembly having an exit port in communication with the opening in the first portion of the front of the housing, the toner exit assembly delivering toner received from the enclosed reservoir via the opening to the exit port; wherein, during rotation of the paddle assembly, the main scraper and the secondary scraper scrape toner adhering to interior surfaces of the front, rear, and bottom of the housing, a distal portion of the main scraper directing toner from the first region of the enclosed reservoir into the opening in the first portion of the front of the housing, and a distal portion of the secondary scraper directing toner from a second region of the enclosed reservoir into the first region of the enclosed reservoir, wherein the paddle assembly further comprises a side scraper mounted in a cantilevered manner on an arm of the pair of aligned arms and having an interference contact with the adjacent side, wherein the paddle assembly further comprises a space formed between an inner member and an outer member of the arm of the pair of arms on which the side scraper is mounted, wherein a base portion of the side scraper is inserted through the space, wrapped over the inner member, and mounted on an inner side of the inner member, wherein a force applied by the side scraper to the adjacent side is dependent upon a spacing width between the outer and inner members of the arm.