US 11,927,911 B2
Replaceable unit for an electrophotographic image forming device having a movable electrical connector
James Richard Leemhuis, Lexington, KY (US); and Kyle Bradley Martin, Lexington, KY (US)
Assigned to Lexmark International, Inc., Lexington, KY (US)
Filed by LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL, INC., Lexington, KY (US)
Filed on Sep. 12, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/942,398.
Application 17/942,398 is a continuation of application No. 17/315,758, filed on May 10, 2021, granted, now 11,500,325.
Application 17/315,758 is a continuation of application No. 16/939,664, filed on Jul. 27, 2020, granted, now 11,036,177, issued on Jun. 15, 2021.
Application 16/939,664 is a continuation of application No. 16/382,759, filed on Apr. 12, 2019, granted, now 10,761,476, issued on Sep. 1, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0004116 A1, Jan. 5, 2023
Int. Cl. G03G 21/16 (2006.01); G03G 15/00 (2006.01); G03G 21/18 (2006.01)
CPC G03G 21/1652 (2013.01) [G03G 15/80 (2013.01); G03G 21/1821 (2013.01); G03G 2221/1657 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A replaceable unit for an electrophotographic image forming device, comprising:
a housing having a top, a bottom, a front and a rear positioned between a first side and a second side of the housing, the housing has a reservoir for holding toner;
a developer roll rotatably positioned on the housing, a portion of an outer surface of the developer roll is exposed along the front of the housing for supplying toner from the reservoir to a corresponding photoconductive drum;
an electrical connector on the first side of the housing, the electrical connector includes an electrical contact for contacting a corresponding electrical contact in the image forming device, the electrical contact of the replaceable unit is electrically connected to processing circuitry mounted on the replaceable unit, the electrical connector is movable between a first position and a second position, the electrical contact of the replaceable unit moves outward from the first side of the housing along a side-to-side dimension of the housing when the electrical connector moves from the first position to the second position such that the electrical contact of the replaceable unit is positioned further outward along the side-to-side dimension of the housing when the electrical connector is in the second position than when the electrical connector is in the first position, the electrical contact of the replaceable unit faces downward and is unobstructed from below when the electrical connector is in the second position permitting the corresponding electrical contact in the image forming device to contact the electrical contact of the replaceable unit from below; and
an interface gear on the second side of the housing, at least a portion of the interface gear is exposed on the front of the housing for mating with a corresponding drive gear and receiving rotational force from the corresponding drive gear.