US 11,698,602 B2
Toner cartridge having front cover
Jonghyun Park, Seongnam-si (KR); Janghyun Son, Seongnam-si (KR); and Hojin Jang, Seongnam-si (KR)
Assigned to Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P., Spring, TX (US)
Appl. No. 17/792,463
Filed by HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P., Spring, TX (US)
PCT Filed Oct. 22, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/056838
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 13, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/252005, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 16, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2020-0070153 (KR), filed on Jun. 10, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0041507 A1, Feb. 9, 2023
Int. Cl. G03G 21/18 (2006.01); G03G 15/08 (2006.01)
CPC G03G 21/1842 (2013.01) [G03G 15/0881 (2013.01); G03G 2215/066 (2013.01); G03G 2221/1654 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a main body provided with a mounting portion and an interference member; and
a toner cartridge mountable on the mounting portion, the toner cartridge including:
a housing to contain toner,
a coupling portion,
a front cover coupled to one end of the housing via the coupling portion, and
a switching member to weaken a coupling force of the coupling portion by interfering with the interference member when the toner cartridge is mounted on the mounting portion,
wherein
the coupling portion includes a first coupling portion disposed at one of the housing and the front cover, and a second coupling portion provided at the other one of the housing and the front cover and coupled to the first coupling portion, and
the switching member includes the second coupling portion, and is provided at the other one of the housing and the front cover to elastically switch from a first state in which the first and second coupling portions are coupled to each other to a second state in which the coupling force of the first and second coupling portions is weakened so that the front cover is separable from the housing, by interfering with the interference member when the toner cartridge is mounted on the mounting portion.