JP4366355B2 - Process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a process cartridge including a driving force transmission mechanism and an image forming apparatus. Here, the image forming apparatus is an apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic method. For example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, etc.), a facsimile apparatus, and the like. Etc. are included.

  Further, the process cartridge is a cartridge in which a charging unit, a developing unit or a cleaning unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, or a charging unit, At least one of developing means and cleaning means and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, or at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member Are integrated into a cartridge so as to be detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

  The driving force transmission mechanism uses, for example, meshing of a concavo-convex member constituted by a twisted polygon to a rotating body as a driven system with driving force from a driving system having a driving source in the image forming apparatus main body. It is a form of transmission.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a driving system for a photosensitive drum as an image carrier in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (such as a copying machine or a printer) has a driving gear that receives and transmits a driving force of a motor provided in the apparatus body. The gear shaft is coaxial with the drive gear and rotates integrally. When driving the photosensitive drum by this driving system, there are a driving method using a through shaft and a driving method using a coupling. An outline of the driving method using the through shaft is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a gear shaft 13 connected to the drive gear 12 is passed through the photosensitive drum 80 and used as a drum shaft. At this time, the photosensitive drum 80 is rotatably supported integrally with the gear shaft 13. As a result, the rotation of the driving gear 12 that transmits the driving force of the motor 11 is directly transmitted as the rotation of the photosensitive drum 80.

  On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows an outline of a driving method by coupling. As shown in FIG. 6, the gear shaft 13 and the photosensitive drum 80 are connected by a coupling 23, and the driving force of the motor 11 is transmitted through the gear shaft 13.

  When both driving methods are compared, the driving method by coupling is excellent in terms of cost. Further, the image forming system centered on the photosensitive drum is integrated with the developing device in the form of a process cartridge, and the detachability with respect to the apparatus main body tends to be regarded as important. In connection with this, the advantage of the coupling which connects two different shafts and transmits the driving force has attracted more attention. In particular, among various coupling forms, driving force transmission by engagement of the concave-convex coupling 41 as shown in FIG. 7 is frequently used.

  However, the driving method using the coupling is inferior in terms of transmission accuracy compared to the driving method using the through shaft, and there are concerns about problems such as the declination and eccentricity of the two shafts at the connecting portion. As a coupling that solves these problems, there is a coupling having a polygonal shape in which a concavo-convex shape is twisted as in Patent Document 1. An example is shown in FIG.

  A concave member 14 having a twisted hole (hereinafter referred to as “twisted hole”) 50 having a regular triangle cross section is provided at the tip of the gear shaft 13 constituting the drive system I of the apparatus main body. On the other hand, one end of a photosensitive drum 80 as a cylindrical body constituting the driven system II is provided with a regular triangular projection 10 that fits into the twist hole 50 and has the same twist angle. The convex member 53 having the equilateral triangular projection 10 also serves as a drum flange. In this example, a regular triangular protrusion is used, but other polygonal protrusions may be used. When rotation is applied with these concavo-convex members 14 and 53 fitted, the contact surfaces of the concavo-convex members 14 and 53 become twisted ridges 60, so that the photosensitive drum 80 is drawn into the apparatus main body and positioned. Further, the two biaxial shafts that are different due to the pulling effect are coupled by the concavo-convex members 14 and 53. As a result, the backlash in the thrust direction and the circumferential direction of the photosensitive drum 80 is eliminated.

  Furthermore, FIG. 9 shows an arbitrary cross section in a state in which the concavo-convex members 14 and 53 are fitted. Before rotational driving, as shown in FIG. 9A, the equilateral triangular twisted protrusion 10 of the driven side 72 (broken line) is fitted into the twisted hole 50 of the driving side 71 (solid line) of the equilateral triangle. It is in a combined state. Here, the center C1 and the center C2 do not coincide with each other because there is a backlash. However, after the rotational drive, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), equilateral triangles that are similar to each other abut at three points equally, so that the centers C1 and C2 of the concavo-convex members automatically coincide. Driving force is transmitted by the contact force F generated between the concavo-convex members in the state of FIG. 9B.

As described above, the coupling for engaging and abutting the twisted polygonal concavo-convex member enables the drawing effect of the photosensitive drum by rotational driving, positioning, backlashing, and biaxial automatic alignment at low cost. Therefore, it is considered effective for driving a photosensitive drum in a cartridge form.
JP-A-11-167335

  The techniques shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are very effective as a configuration for transmitting a rotational force to the photosensitive drum. The present invention is a further development of the above-described prior art.

The object of the present invention is to stabilize the support state of the cylinder that is the driven system even when the contact of the concavo-convex member collapses due to the driven system being rapidly rotated by other forces received from other than the driving system. A process cartridge and an image forming apparatus that are equipped with a driving force transmission mechanism that can maintain the alignment accuracy regardless of the size of the backlash between the concavo-convex members and can improve color misregistration. Is to provide.

The above object is achieved by a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an image carrier that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, a drive source, a first coupling unit that rotates from the drive of the drive source, and an image carrier that is attached to the image carrier. A second coupling portion that rotates integrally with the body, a shaft portion that is provided in the first coupling portion and protrudes in the coupling direction, and a fitting that is provided in the second coupling portion and engages with the shaft portion. And the second coupling part is a protrusion having a polygonal cross section to be coupled, and the first coupling part is a hole twisted in a shape larger than this cross section, In the image forming apparatus in which the protrusion and the twisted hole mesh with each other and the drive is transmitted to the image carrier,
The shaft portion for determining the positional relationship between the torsion hole and the protruding portion passes through the torsion hole and protrudes from the torsion hole, and the shaft portion is fitted into the fitting hole provided in the protruding portion to carry the image. An image forming apparatus is provided that extends to the inside of the body .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus main body having a drive system having a drive source and a first coupling unit that rotates from the drive of the drive source can be attached to and detached from the image carrier. A second coupling portion that rotates integrally with the image carrier, and the second coupling portion is a protrusion having a polygonal cross section to be coupled, and the first coupling portion has a cross section In a process cartridge that is a twisted hole with a larger shape, and the projection and the twisted hole mesh with each other to transmit drive to the image carrier,
A shaft portion provided in the first coupling portion and projecting in the coupling direction; and a fitting hole provided in the second coupling portion and fitted in the shaft portion; and the shaft portion and the fitting play of the hole is smaller than the fitting backlash of the twisted hole and said polygonal projection, determines the positional relationship between the twisted hole and the projection portion by fitting of the fitting hole of the shaft portion, provided in said projection The process cartridge is characterized in that the fitting hole formed has a hole shape in which the shaft portion that fits into the fitting hole can be extended to the inside of the image carrier .

  According to the present invention, even when the driven side is quickly rotated by other force received from other than the driving side and the contact of the concavo-convex member is broken, the support state of the cylinder on the driven side is stably maintained. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the alignment accuracy regardless of the size of the backlash between the concavo-convex members. Therefore, it is possible to improve the color misregistration and obtain a high quality image.

  Hereinafter, the driving force transmission mechanism, the process cartridge, and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same member as the above-mentioned member.

Example 1
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the image forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is an electrophotographic color image forming apparatus having an intermediate transfer belt 82, and the image forming unit 1 for yellow, magenta, cyan and black along the horizontal plane of the intermediate transfer belt 82. 2, 3, 4 are juxtaposed. In the figure, Y, M, C, and K subscripts indicate yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. In FIG. 1, the arrangement of each color is Y, M, C, and K from the left, but different arrangement orders may be used.

  Each of the image forming units 1 to 4 includes photosensitive drums 80Y, 80M, 80C, and 80K as image carriers, charging devices 86Y, 86M, 86C, and 86K, an exposure device (not shown), and developing units 81Y, 81M, and 81C. , 81K.

  The photosensitive drums 80Y, 80M, 80C, and 80K, the charging devices 86Y, 86M, 86C, and 86K, and the developing units 81Y, 81M, 81C, and 81K are each united as a process cartridge as shown in FIG. And is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus main body via a mounting means (not shown).

  Each of the photosensitive drums 80Y, 80M, 80C, and 80K is uniformly charged by the charging devices 86Y, 86M, 86C, and 86K, and then a latent image corresponding to the image information is formed by the exposure device (not shown) to the photosensitive drums 80Y, 80M, and 80K. The latent images formed on the 80C and 80K are visualized as toner images by the developing means 81Y, 81M, 81C and 81K for the respective colors, and the driving roller 85 is obtained by the action of the transfer devices 87Y, 87M, 87C and 87K. As a result, primary transfer is performed while sequentially superposing on the intermediate transfer belt 82 rotating in the arrow B direction. Thereafter, the secondary transfer unit 83 performs batch transfer onto a transfer material that is a recording medium conveyed as indicated by an arrow C from the paper supply units 90 and 91. The batch-transferred transfer material is conveyed to a fixing device 84 to obtain a full-color fixed image.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge B of the present embodiment includes a developing unit D in which a photosensitive drum 80 and a developing unit 81 are integrally formed by a developing frame 112, and a charging unit 86, a charging brush 111, and the like as a charging frame. The charging unit C integrally formed by 113 is assembled.

  Next, the drive system provided in the apparatus main body will be described with reference to FIG.

  The drive system I includes a motor 11, a drive gear 12, a gear shaft 13, and a concave member 14 provided in the apparatus main body. The drive gear 12 rotates in response to the drive force from the motor 11 of the drive source, and the output shaft coaxial with the drive gear 12, that is, the gear shaft 13 rotates integrally with the drive gear 12. The gear shaft 13 is fitted into a fitting hole 14 a provided in the concave member 14 and penetrates the concave member 14. Here, both the fitting portion L of the gear shaft 13 and the fitting hole 14a of the concave member 14 are supported so as to be rotatable integrally with each other, for example, by a D-shaped cross-section with a part of the circumference cut.

  The concave member 14 has a twisted hole (hereinafter referred to as “twisted hole”) 50 having a polygonal cross section (for example, equilateral triangle; see FIG. 7) on one end portion side in the axial direction, and is attached to the gear shaft 13. In the state, the center of the torsion hole 50 coincides with the rotation center axis of the gear shaft 13. By providing the torsion hole 50 in the concave member 14, the shape of the torsion hole 50 can be easily changed by replacing the concave member 14. Further, the size of the torsion hole 50 can be set regardless of the outer diameter of the gear shaft 13.

  Further, the gear shaft 13 has two tightening grooves 13a and 13b at positions where the concave member 14 is sandwiched, and E-type retaining rings 15 and 17 are fitted into the tightening grooves 13a and 13b. The concave member 14 is positioned by the drum side E-type retaining ring 15. Thereby, the engagement position of the polygonal protrusion 10 and the torsion hole 50 to be described later can be defined. On the other hand, the drive gear side E-type retaining ring 17 serves as an attachment portion for the spring member 16 as urging means. Thus, the spring-like member 16 is interposed between the drive gear side E-type retaining ring 17 and the concave-shaped member 14, and urges the concave-shaped member 14 against the drum-side E-type retaining ring 15. Accordingly, the concave member 14 can be moved with respect to the axial direction of the gear shaft 13, and by switching the rotation direction of the driving system I, the concave and convex members can be reliably and easily engaged and removed by using the twist. . Instead of using the tightening grooves 13a and 13b and the E-type retaining rings 15 and 17, a flange portion in which the shaft diameter of the gear shaft 13 is partially enlarged may be provided.

  Next, the driven system II will be described. The photosensitive drum 80 (80Y, 80M, 80C, 80K) as a cylinder that is a driven body includes drum flanges at both ends in the longitudinal direction. One end is a drum flange (not shown), and rotatably supports the photosensitive drum 80. The other end is a drum flange 18 that is integrally formed with a polygonal (for example, equilateral triangle) protrusion 10 that fits into the torsion hole 50 of the concave member 14. That is, the torsion hole 50 and the polygonal protrusion 10 are used as a coupling. Further, the drum flange 18 has a through hole 19 at the center thereof, which protrudes from the concave member 14 and fits with an extension (shaft member) 130 of the gear shaft 13. The extension portion 130 of the gear shaft 13 and the through hole 19 are fitted to assist the support of the photosensitive drum 80, and a more reliable support state can be obtained. As described above, the photosensitive drum 80 is set on the image forming apparatus main body in the form of a process cartridge and is detachably supported for the purpose of maintenance and replacement.

  Here, the case where a regular triangle is selected as the polygon in the cross-sectional shapes of the twist hole and the protrusion will be described.

  The equilateral triangular protrusion 10 provided on the driven side is fitted into the twisted hole 50 having the equilateral triangular cross section provided on the driving side (hereinafter referred to as “concave portion fitting”). By driving, the drive gear 12, the gear shaft 13, and the concave member 14 rotate integrally. At this time, the extension 130 of the gear shaft 13 and the hole 19 on the drum flange side are also fitted together (hereinafter referred to as “shaft hole fitting”). The concave member 14 is attached so that the center of the torsion hole 50 is located on the rotation center axis of the gear shaft 13, and the center of the hole 19 that fits the extension 130 of the gear shaft 13 is on the center axis of the equilateral triangular protrusion 10. Position. Since the torsion hole 50 and the equilateral triangular protrusion 10 are equilateral triangles whose cross sections are similar to each other, they are brought into contact with each other at three points equally by the rotation (the state shown in FIG. 9B). That is, the photosensitive drum 80 is drawn into the apparatus main body side and positioned, and at the same time, the twist hole 50 and the polygonal protrusion 10 are automatically aligned so that their axial centers coincide. At this time, the axial center of the aligned twist hole 50 and the equilateral triangular protrusion 10 exists on the rotation center axis of the gear shaft 13, and the shaft hole fitting does not hinder the automatic alignment function. In addition, by using the gear shaft 13 as a fitting shaft through the concave member 14 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to further increase the coaxial accuracy of the drive system and the driven system.

  Further, the backlash for fitting the shaft hole is made smaller than the backlash for fitting the concave and convex portions. Accordingly, the maximum play in the radial direction of the photosensitive drum (hereinafter referred to as “radial direction”) is regulated by the play in the shaft hole fitting, regardless of the size of the play in the concave and convex portions. Accordingly, the shaft hole fitting play is designed to be as small as possible within a range that does not hinder the rotation of the photosensitive drum 80, so that even if the photosensitive drum 80 is rapidly rotated due to disturbance of the intermediate transfer belt 82 or the like, the radial displacement Therefore, the alignment accuracy can be maintained with almost no occurrence of squeezing, and the deterioration of the driving force transmission accuracy can be minimized. Further, since the unevenness fitting backlash can be increased, the engagement between the twist hole 50 and the polygonal protrusion 10 can be improved, and the operability as a cartridge can be improved.

  Further, by providing the taper-shaped portion 98 at the tip of the extension portion 130 of the gear shaft 13, the shaft hole can be easily fitted, and a guide effect can be provided when the cartridge is mounted.

  In this embodiment, the polygonal projection is used, but a polygonal projection twisted at the same rate as the twisted hole 50 may be used. In this case, since the contact form of the two during transmission of the driving force changes from a point to a twisted ridgeline, the effect of pulling in the photosensitive drum by increasing the contact surface and the strengthening of the coupling force between the two axes can be achieved. .

  In this embodiment, the case where the driving force transmission mechanism of the present invention is applied to the photosensitive drum driving in the image forming apparatus has been described. However, the driving force transmission mechanism of the present invention can also be used as a driving force transmission mechanism for other rotating bodies.

  In this embodiment, the driving force is transmitted from the motor 11 via the drive gear 12. However, the output shaft of the motor 11 and the gear shaft 13 are directly connected without using the drive gear 12. It doesn't matter.

Example 2
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the first embodiment, the extension 130 of the gear shaft 13 is used as a shaft hole fitting shaft, whereas in this embodiment, the shaft hole fitting shaft is a separate member.

  In FIG. 4, the drive system I includes a motor 11, a drive gear 12, a gear shaft 13, and a concave member 14 provided in the apparatus main body. The concave member 14 and the gear shaft 13 are connected by a connecting member 90, and the concave member 14 is attached to the tip of the gear shaft 13. The connecting member 90 has a hole 92 at one end and a flange 94 for positioning the concave member 14 at the tip, and a fitting hole 95 that fits the gear shaft 13 at the other end. The connecting member 90 and the gear shaft 13 are fixed by a fastening member 93 or the like. Further, the connecting member 90 is configured such that the concave member 14 can rotate integrally, for example, by a D-shaped section whose cross section is partially cut.

  As in the case of the first embodiment, the concave member 14 has a twist hole 50 having a polygonal cross section at one axial end on the side facing the photosensitive drum 80. Here, the central axes of the drive gear 12, the gear shaft 13, the hole 92 provided in the connecting member 90, and the torsion hole 50 are all coaxial and rotate together. Similarly to the case of the first embodiment, the concave member 14 is urged by the spring member 16 and can move in the axial direction.

  On the other hand, the driven system II is a photosensitive drum 80 having drum flanges at both ends, and a process cartridge detachable from the apparatus main body including the photosensitive drum 80. The drum flange 18 on the side facing the torsion hole 50 in the drum flange is integral with the polygonal protrusion 10 that fits in the torsion hole 50. In addition, a shaft member 91 that fits into a hole 92 provided in the connecting member 90 is provided coaxially with the central axis of the polygonal protrusion 10. A part of the shaft member 91 protrudes from the end face of the polygonal protrusion 10. At this time, by making the protruding length of the shaft member 91 shorter than the depth of the hole 92, the positioning of the photosensitive drum 80 drawn into the apparatus main body is abutted between the end surface of the polygonal protrusion 10 and the bottom surface of the torsion hole 50. It is done by. The shaft member 91 is fixed to the drum flange 18 by press-fitting or bonding, and rotates together with the photosensitive drum 80. Similarly to the first embodiment, the backlash of the shaft member 91 and the hole 92 is made smaller than the backlash of the concave and convex portion.

  With the above configuration, as in the first embodiment, alignment accuracy can be maintained with almost no radial displacement even if the photosensitive drum 80 is rapidly rotated due to disturbance of the intermediate transfer belt 82 or the like, and driving force transmission accuracy can be maintained. Can be minimized. Further, by providing the taper-shaped portion 98 at the tip of the shaft member 91, a guide effect can be provided when the cartridge is mounted.

  Further, by making the fitting shaft as a separate part like the shaft member 91, the shaft can be changed to a material having more excellent slidability and strength. Furthermore, the backlash amount of the shaft hole fitting can be easily changed and adjusted by exchanging the shaft.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the shaft member 91 is provided so as to protrude from the polygonal protrusion 10, but it can also be configured to protrude from the bottom surface of the torsion hole 50, and the same effect can be obtained. .

  As in the case of the first embodiment, the polygonal protrusion in this embodiment may be a polygonal protrusion twisted at the same rate as the twisted hole 50.

  In this embodiment, the polygonal protrusion 10 is provided on the driven side and the torsion hole 50 is provided on the driving side. However, the same effect can be obtained even if the mounting side is reversed.

As described above, in the process cartridge and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the image carrier can be attached to and detached from the drive system by fitting the polygonal protrusion and the twisted hole, and the above-mentioned multiple cartridges fitted to each other can be attached. The driving force of the drive system is transmitted to the driven system by contact with a plurality of points or surfaces of the square protrusion and the torsion hole, and the torsion hole side has a shaft member protruding in the longitudinal direction, and the multiple The square projection side has a hole that fits with the shaft member, so that the driven side can be driven even when the driven side is quickly rotated by other forces received from other than the driving side and the contact of the concavo-convex member is broken. It is possible to maintain a stable support state of the image carrier on the side and maintain alignment accuracy regardless of the size of the backlash between the concavo-convex members, and therefore, it is possible to improve color misregistration. High quality images can be obtained.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows one Example of the process cartridge which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows one Example of the driving force transmission mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the other Example of the driving force transmission mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the drive method of the photosensitive drum by a through shaft. It is a figure for demonstrating the drive method of the photosensitive drum by coupling. It is explanatory drawing which shows the coupling using uneven | corrugated type | mold engagement. It is a figure for demonstrating the coupling using the mesh | engagement of the twist hole with a polygonal cross section, and the protrusion of a twist polygon. It is a figure for demonstrating the automatic alignment by contact | abutting of the uneven | corrugated member of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Polygonal projection 11 Motor (drive source)
13 Output shaft 13a, 13b Tightening groove (Mounting part)
14 Concave member 16 Spring member (biasing means)
19 Through hole 50 Polygonal twist hole 80 Photosensitive drum (Cylinder / Electrophotographic photosensitive member)
98 Tapered portion 130 Output shaft extension (shaft member)
I Drive system II Driven system

Claims (15)

An image carrier that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, a drive source, a first coupling unit that rotates from driving of the drive source, and a second coupling unit that is attached to the image carrier and rotates integrally with the image carrier. A shaft portion that is provided in the first coupling portion and protrudes in the coupling direction, and a fitting hole that is provided in the second coupling portion and engages with the shaft portion . The coupling part is a protrusion having a polygonal cross-section to be coupled, and the first coupling part is a hole twisted in a shape larger than the cross-section, and the protrusion and the twist hole are meshed to carry an image. In an image forming apparatus in which driving is transmitted to a body,
The shaft portion for determining the positional relationship between the torsion hole and the protruding portion passes through the torsion hole and protrudes from the torsion hole, and the shaft portion is fitted into the fitting hole provided in the protruding portion to carry the image. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus extends to the inside of the body . 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a central axis of each of the shaft portion and the fitting hole is coaxial with a polygonal protrusion or a central axis on the mounting side of the torsion hole. . The member having the twisted hole can be moved in the axial direction relative to the polygonal protrusion by an axial biasing means, and the shaft portion has a mounting portion for the biasing means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shaft portion is attached to the torsion hole and is integrally rotatable. The shaft portion is an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 4, characterized in that a part of the output shaft for transmitting the driving force to the image bearing member from said driving source. The shaft portion is an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 5, characterized in that it has a tapered portion at its distal end. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims to 6 claim 1 wherein the polygonal projections, characterized in that it has a twisted shape at the same rate as the twist bore. The image forming apparatus main body having a drive system having a drive source and a drive system having a first coupling portion that rotates from the drive of the drive source can be attached to and detached from the image carrier, and the image carrier is rotated integrally with the image carrier. A coupling portion, and the second coupling portion is a protrusion having a polygonal cross-section to be coupled, and the first coupling portion is a hole twisted in a shape larger than the cross-section. In the process cartridge in which the protrusion and the torsion hole mesh with each other and the drive is transmitted to the image carrier,
A shaft portion provided in the first coupling portion and projecting in the coupling direction; and a fitting hole provided in the second coupling portion and fitted in the shaft portion; and the shaft portion and the fitting play of the hole is smaller than the fitting backlash of the twisted hole and said polygonal projection, determines the positional relationship between the twisted hole and the projection portion by fitting of the fitting hole of the shaft portion, provided in said projection The process cartridge , wherein the fitting hole has a hole shape in which the shaft portion fitted to the fitting hole can be extended to the inside of the image carrier . 9. The process according to claim 8 , wherein the shaft portion and the fitting hole are coaxial with respect to a central axis whose central axis is the mounting side of the polygonal protrusion or the twist hole. cartridge. 10. The process cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the shaft portion includes means for positioning a member having the torsion hole in an axial direction. 11. The member having the twisted hole can be moved in the axial direction relative to the polygonal protrusion by an axial biasing means, and the shaft portion has a mounting portion for the biasing means. The process cartridge according to claim 10 . 12. The process cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the shaft portion is a part of an output shaft that transmits a driving force from the driving source to the image carrier . The process cartridge according to any one of claims 8 to 12 , wherein the polygonal protrusion has a shape twisted at the same ratio as the twist hole. The process cartridge according to any one of claims 8 13, characterized in that said image bearing member is an electrophotographic photosensitive member. 15. The process cartridge according to claim 14 , further comprising at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit.

Images