JPH0926740A - Process cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of processes for assembling a drum shutter and to reduce the cost of assembly. SOLUTION: One end 7a of a torsion coil spring 7 engaged with the drum shutter 1 is bent to be obtuse and the bent part of the spring 7 is pressed by the rib A3a of a frame body A3 at the time of assembling a cleaning frame body A3 and a developing frame body A1, so that a cartridge where the drum shutter is in a closed state is obtained at the same time as completing the assembly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus main body to which the process cartridge can be attached.

Here, the image forming apparatus includes, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, an LED printer, a laser beam printer, etc.), an electrophotographic facsimile machine, an electrophotographic word processor, etc.

Further, as the process cartridge, a charging means, a developing means or a cleaning means and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. Also, at least one of the charging means, the developing means or the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member can be integrally attached and detached. Further, it means that at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member can be integrally attached and detached.

[0004]

The present invention is a further development of the prior art described below.

In view of this, the present invention has developed a structure of a spring for urging the drum shutter, and provides an appropriate restoring force to the spring at the same time as assembling the cartridge and protects the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The purpose is to obtain a process cartridge with the shutter closed.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems A first invention of the present invention is:
In a process cartridge detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, a rotatable electrophotographic photosensitive member, process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a shutter member provided to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member, An elastic body attached to the rotary shaft of the shutter member for urging the shutter member, and in the process of assembling the process cartridge, the process cartridge is assembled at the same time when the process cartridge components are assembled. A biasing force is applied to the elastic body according to a behavior, and the shutter member is biased so as to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge comprises a container against which the abutting tip of the elastic body abuts and a container having a rotation shaft on which the elastic body can be rotatably mounted. And the container having the rotating shaft are rotatably fixed, and the contact tip is bent so that the contact tip of the elastic body contacts a part of the container against which the contact tip of the elastic body abuts. At the same time as assembling
The shutter member is biased so as to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member while the bent portion of the elastic body is pressed by the abutting portion of the frame body of the container having the rotating shaft. The process cartridge according to the invention.

In the above structure, at the same time when the process cartridge is assembled, the bent end portion of the elastic body is pushed by a part of the process cartridge frame body, and the drum shutter protects the photosensitive drum. Since it is closed, the number of steps can be reduced as compared with the conventional one, and a drum shutter having the same function as the conventional one can be obtained.

A third aspect of the present invention is the process cartridge, wherein the charging means, the developing means or the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge.
The process cartridge according to the first or second aspect of the invention is characterized in that the cartridge is removable from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge is a cartridge in which at least one of a charging means, a developing means, and a cleaning means and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge and is attached to or detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, which enables the process cartridge.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the process cartridge is one in which at least a developing means and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge so as to be attachable to and detachable from the apparatus main body. It is the process cartridge according to the first or second invention.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus equipped with a detachable process cartridge, a rotatable electrophotographic photosensitive member, process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and the electrophotographic photosensitive member. A shutter member provided to protect the body, and an elastic body attached to a rotating shaft of the shutter member for urging the shutter member. The process cartridge is assembled in the process cartridge. At the same time as the assembling of the process cartridge, a biasing force is applied to the elastic body by the behavior of the process cartridge during assembly, and the shutter member is biased so as to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The process cartridge is detachable. And an image forming apparatus.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge comprises a container to which the abutting tip of the elastic body abuts, and a container having a rotation shaft on which the elastic body can be rotatably mounted. And the container having the rotating shaft are rotatably fixed, and the contact tip is bent so that the contact tip of the elastic body contacts a part of the container against which the contact tip of the elastic body abuts. At the same time as assembling
A sixth feature of the present invention, wherein the shutter member is biased so as to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member while the bent portion of the elastic body is pressed by the abutting portion of the frame body of the container having the rotating shaft. The image forming apparatus according to the invention.

[0014]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic forming process, a photosensitive drum and process means acting on the photosensitive drum are integrally made into a cartridge so that the cartridge can be attached to and detached from a main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge system is adopted. According to this process cartridge system, maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by the user himself without relying on a service person, so that operability can be remarkably improved. Therefore, this process cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.

In such a process cartridge, a drum shutter is provided in order to protect the photosensitive drum before mounting the apparatus main body, and when mounted in the image forming apparatus main body, the drum shutter opens to expose the drum to the transfer roller. On the contrary, when the process cartridge is taken out from the image forming apparatus main body, the drum shutter is closed, and an elastic body such as a torsion coil spring is incorporated in the rotary shaft of the drum shutter so as to protect the photosensitive drum. .

In order to incorporate the drum shutter incorporating the elastic body into the frame of the image forming apparatus, a restoring force is applied to the elastic body before the incorporation, the state is incorporated into the cartridge frame as it is, and the restoring force after the incorporation. It was common to obtain the process cartridge in which the drum shutter is closed so as to protect the photosensitive drum.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention is a process cartridge detachably mountable to a printer body, in which a rotatable electrophotographic photosensitive drum, a charging device which acts on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a developing unit. And a cleaning device, a shutter member provided to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a spring attached to a rotary shaft of the shutter member to bias the shutter member, In the process of assembling the cartridge, at the same time as assembling the process cartridge, the spring is urged by the frame body assembled to the frame body to which the rotary shaft of the shutter member is attached so as to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. The process cartridge is characterized in that the shutter member is biased to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge comprises a developing container against which the abutting tip of the spring abuts, and a cleaning container having a rotating shaft to which the spring can be rotatably mounted. And the cleaning container having the rotating shaft are rotatably fixed, and the abutting tip is bent so that the abutting tip of the spring comes into contact with a part of the developing vessel that abuts, Simultaneously with the assembling of the process cartridge, the shutter member is biased so as to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive drum while pressing the bent portion of the spring by the abutting portion of the frame body of the cleaning container having the rotating shaft. First characterized by
2 is a process cartridge according to the embodiment of the invention.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the process cartridge is a cartridge in which a charging device, a developing device or a cleaning device and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrated into a cartridge, and the cartridge is attached to the printer body. First or second, characterized in that it is detachable
2 is a process cartridge according to the embodiment of the invention.

In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, the process cartridge is a cartridge in which at least one of a charging device, a developing device, and a cleaning device and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the process cartridge is attached to the printer body. The process cartridge according to the first or second embodiment of the invention is characterized in that it is detachable.

In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the process cartridge is one in which at least a developing device and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally made into a cartridge so that it can be attached to and detached from the printer body. Characteristic No. 1
Alternatively, it is the process cartridge according to the embodiment of the second invention.

According to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus equipped with a detachable process cartridge, a rotatable electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a charger acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. A developing device and a cleaning device, a shutter member provided to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a spring member attached to a rotation shaft of the shutter member to urge the shutter member. Then, in the process of assembling the process cartridge, a biasing force is applied to the spring member by the behavior of the process cartridge assembling at the same time as the process cartridge is assembled to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. An image forming apparatus characterized in that a process cartridge for urging a shutter member can be attached and detached. A.

According to a seventh embodiment of the present invention, the process cartridge comprises a cleaning container against which the abutting tip of the spring member abuts, and a developing container having a rotation shaft on which the spring member can be rotatably mounted. The cleaning container to which the abutting tip hits and the developing container having the rotating shaft are rotatably fixed, and the abutting tip abuts a part of the cleaning container to which the abutting tip of the spring member abuts. The tip is bent, and at the same time as the process cartridge is assembled, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is protected while the bent portion of the spring member is pressed by the abutting portion of the frame of the developing container having the rotating shaft. The image forming apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the shutter member is biased as described above.

Next, the above embodiment will be described in detail.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a process cartridge using the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof.

The drum shutter 1 of the process cartridge A is pivotally attached to the tip of a shutter arm rotatably provided on the developing device frame A1 about an axis 2 and at the rotational center hole 4 of the cartridge frame A2. One end of the link member 5 is fitted and pivotally supported, and the other end of the link member 5 is joined to the link member 5 so as to be rotatably supported. When it is not attached to the image forming apparatus main body B (see FIG. 3), it is biased to be closed by a torsion coil spring 7 in order to protect the photosensitive drum 6.

Each member such as the photosensitive drum 6 is housed and supported in a cartridge frame A2 in which a developing frame A1 which is a first frame and a cleaning frame A3 which is a second frame are housed and supported to form a cartridge. Then, the image forming apparatus main body B is mounted.

The mounting means of the process cartridge A is below the opening when the opening / closing member 21 of the image forming apparatus main body B is opened, and as shown in FIG. A guide rail 8 formed in a curved shape that is downward and bulges downward is provided substantially symmetrically, and a first inclined surface 9a is provided at the entrance side of the guide rail 8 and, subsequently, the first inclined surface 9a. A second inclined surface 9b having an inclination larger than that of 9a is formed. A receiving recess 22 is formed at the end of the guide rail 8.

A guide member 23 is attached above the guide rail 8 so as to follow the guide rail 8.

On the other hand, guide portions which are guided along the guide rails 8 are formed on both end faces of the process cartridge A in a direction perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction corresponding to the guide rails 8. This guide part is for the process cartridge A.
The cartridge frame A2 of the frame assembly is formed so as to project from substantially symmetrical positions on both outer side surfaces of the cartridge frame A2.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the boss 24 and the rib 25 are integrally formed. The boss 24 and the rib 25 are formed integrally with the cleaning frame A3 to which the photosensitive drum 6 is attached, the boss 24 is located on an extension line of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 6, and the rib 25 is continuous from the boss 24. Then, it extends in a curved shape (substantially an arc shape in this embodiment) which bulges downward in conformity with the shape of the guide rail 8 in the rear of the insertion direction of the process cartridge A.

In the above structure, when the process cartridge A is mounted, as shown in FIG.
1 is opened and the boss 24 and the rib 25 are inserted along the guide rail 8. The guide rail 8 is formed in a substantially arc shape, and the guide member 23 above the guide rail 8 also has a shape following this, and the rib 25 has a similar substantially arc shape. The cartridge A is substantially horizontal. When the process cartridge A is further pushed in, the abutting member 26 provided in the image forming apparatus main body B is pressed.
Comes into contact with abutting surfaces 27 provided near both ends of the tip of the cleaning frame A3, and then the boss 24 of the process cartridge A is set into the receiving recess 22 formed at the end of the guide rail 8 to be set and further opened and closed. When the member 21 is closed, the process cartridge A is pressed by a part of the link device 28 supporting the opening / closing member 21 and is positioned immovably.

On the other hand, when the process cartridge A is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body B along the guide rail 8 as described above as shown in FIG. 3, the projecting portion 5a of the link member 5 is inclined in the image forming apparatus. The drum shutter 1 is adapted to open by contacting the surfaces 9a and 9b and moving as shown in FIG. On the contrary, when the process cartridge A is taken out, the protruding portion 5a is separated from the inclined surfaces 9a and 9b, and the restoring force of the torsion coil spring 7 causes the drum shutter 1 to close again.

The image signal produced by the image forming apparatus main body B is converted into a laser beam 10 by the optical system 1, and the charging roller 11
Is irradiated onto the rotating photosensitive drum 6 whose surface is uniformly charged. Next, the toner agitated by the agitating means 13 in the toner container 12 moves to the developing device 14, and is formed on the latent image formed and moved from the developing sleeve 15 to the portion of the photosensitive drum 6 irradiated with the laser beam 10. Move on to. The toner transferred onto the photosensitive drum 6 is transferred to the transfer material sent by the pickup roller 16a, the conveyance roller 16b, and the registration roller 16c of the paper feed mechanism of the image forming apparatus main body B. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 6 without being transferred is scraped off into the waste toner container 19 by the cleaning blade 18.

The process cartridge A has a developing frame A1 including the toner container 12, the developing sleeve 15 and the like.
Can be divided into a photosensitive drum 6, a charging roller 11, and a cleaning frame A3 including a cleaning blade 18 and the like, and both can be joined and separated by a joining member 20 as shown in FIG.

Next, the developing frame A1 and the cleaning frame A3
The connection configuration of will be described. Incidentally, FIG. 5 shows both frame bodies A1,
It is a disassembled perspective view before the combination of A3. Also, both frame bodies A1,
A3 is rotatably coupled via the arm portions 29 on both sides of the developing device frame A1, but since the configuration is the same on the left and right,
Here, only one side will be described.

Further, a concave portion 29a is formed on the top surface of the arm portion 29 of the developing device frame A1, and the concave portion 29a is cleaned while the developing device frame A1 and the cleaning frame member A3 are rotatably coupled to each other. It is provided below the mounting hole 31 of the frame A3. Further, a through hole 29b through which a pin 32 described later penetrates is provided at the tip of the arm portion 29.
Is formed.

In the above structure, when the developing frame body A1 and the cleaning frame body A3 are joined together, as shown in FIG. 5, the arm portion 29 provided on the developing frame body A1 is joined to the joint portion of the cleaning frame body A3. And the pin 32 is inserted into the through hole 29 of the arm portion 29 from the hole 33 provided in the cleaning frame A3.
penetrate b. As a result, the developing frame body A1 and the cleaning frame body A3 are rotatably coupled about the pin 32.

The coupling member 20 having the spring 34 attached thereto is dropped into the attachment hole 31 so as not to return from the attachment hole 31 by pivoting, and the spring 34 is recessed 29.
Compress and fix to the bottom of a.

As a result, a ring member having a larger developing gap in the radial direction than the central portion of the roller 15 serving as spacers attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the developing sleeve 15 attached to the developing device frame A1 by the urging force of the spring 34. (Not shown) contacts the photosensitive drum 6 to position the developing sleeve 15 with respect to the photosensitive drum 6.

In the above-mentioned assembly process, as shown in FIG. 6, the shutter arm 3 is inserted into the rotary shaft 2 and one end 7b of the shutter arm 3 comes into contact with the projection 3a of the shutter arm 3 so that the shutter arm 3 pivots about the rotary shaft 2 of the shutter arm 3. The other end 7a of the torsion coil spring 7 whose clockwise rotation is stopped is bent at an obtuse angle. In the process of combining the developing frame body A1 and the cleaning frame body A3 when assembling the process cartridge, the end portion 7a of the spring 7 contacts the rib A3a of the cleaning frame body A3. As this combination process proceeds further, the torsion coil spring 7 rotates counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 2 and the shutter arm 3 also rotates in the same direction, so that the drum shutter 1 protects the photosensitive drum 6. Finally, the drum shutter 1 is closed by the spring 7 so as to protect the photosensitive drum 6.

As a result, in order to mount the drum shutter 1, the work of hooking one end 7a of the torsion coil spring 7 into the recess provided in the drum shutter and the torsion coil spring 7 hooked after the drum shutter 1 is mounted.
You can reduce the work of removing. And the developing device frame A1
After the cleaning frame body A3 and the cleaning frame body A3 are coupled as in the step of FIG. 5, the process cartridge A is kept in the state where the drum shutter 1 is closed.

(Form of Second Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows a process cartridge using the present invention, which is a cleaning frame A.
A torsion coil spring 7 and a rotation shaft 2 for rotatably supporting the same.
And the tip portion 7 of the torsion coil spring 7 is attached to the developing device frame A1.
This is the case where the portion A1a with which a contacts. Also in this case, the tip end portion 7a of the torsion coil spring 7 has the developing frame A1
When the cartridge is assembled, the developing device frame A1 pushes the tip portion 7a of the torsion coil spring 7 and the drum shutter 1 is closed so as to protect the drum 6 at the same time as the assembly is completed. Can be obtained.

The above-mentioned process cartridge is one in which the charging means, the developing means or the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrated into a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. In addition, at least one of the charging means, the developing means, and the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge so that the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body.
Further, it refers to a device in which at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed as a cartridge so as to be detachable from the apparatus main body.

[0044]

【Example】

 Material of developing frame A1 Synthetic resin Material of cleaning frame A3 Synthetic resin Material of torsion coil spring 7 Spring steel

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In the process of assembling the process cartridge, the number of steps can be reduced, and a process cartridge having a drum shutter having the same function as the conventional one can be obtained, and the cost of assembling can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a process cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a process cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the process cartridge according to the present invention during mounting when it is mounted in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the completion of mounting when the process cartridge according to the present invention is mounted in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the coupling between the toner developing frame and the cleaning frame in the process cartridge automatic assembly process according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which a spring abuts on the cleaning frame during the coupling of the toner developing frame and the cleaning frame in the process cartridge automatic assembling process according to the present invention. , B indicate after assembly.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state in which the spring abuts on the cleaning frame during the coupling of the toner developing frame and the cleaning frame in the process cartridge automatic assembling step according to the present invention. , B indicate after assembly.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Process cartridge A1 ... Development frame A2 ... Cartridge frame A3 ... Cleaning frame A3a ... Cleaning frame reinforcing rib B ... Image forming apparatus main body
1 ... Drum Shutter 2 ... Shutter Arm Rotating Shaft 3 ... Shutter Arm 3a ... Projection 4 ... Rotation Center Hole 5 ... Link Member 5a ... Link Member Projection 6 ... Photosensitive Drum 7 ... Torsion Coil Spring 7a ... Torsion Coil Spring Tip part bent at an obtuse angle 7b ... One end 8 ... Cartridge insertion guide rail 9a ... First inclined surface 9b ...
Second inclined surface 10 ... Laser light 11 ... Charging roller 1
2 ... Toner container 13 ... Stirring means 14 ... Developing device 15
... Development sleeve 16a ... Pickup roller 16b
... Conveying roller 16c ... Registration roller 18 ... Cleaning blade 19 ... Waste toner container 20 ... Coupling member 21 ... Opening / closing member 22 ... Reception recess 23 ... Guide member
24 ... Boss 25 ... Rib 26 ... Abutting Member 27 ...
Contact surface 28 ... Link device 29 ... Arm portion 29a ...
Recess 31 ... Mounting hole 32 ... Pin 33 ... Through hole 34
…spring.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Etsuichi Sasako 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Shinya Noda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Kya Non non corporation

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A process cartridge detachable from an image forming apparatus main body, comprising a rotatable electrophotographic photosensitive member,
Process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, a shutter member provided to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and an elastic body attached to a rotating shaft of the shutter member for urging the shutter member. In the assembling step of the process cartridge, a biasing force is applied to the elastic body by the behavior of assembling the process cartridge at the same time as the assembling of the constituent members of the process cartridge to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member. A process cartridge, wherein the shutter member is biased to. 2. The process cartridge comprises a container with which the abutting tip of the elastic body abuts and a container with a rotating shaft on which the elastic body can be rotatably attached, and the container with which the abutting tip abuts and the rotating shaft. A container is rotatably fixed, and the abutting tip is bent so that the abutting tip of the elastic body abuts a part of the container against which the abutting tip of the elastic body abuts. While pressing the bending portion of the elastic body at the contact portion of the frame body of the container with the shaft,
2. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the shutter member is biased so as to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member. 3. The process cartridge comprises a charging unit, a developing unit or a cleaning unit, and an electrophotographic photosensitive member which are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 4. The process cartridge is a cartridge in which at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed as a cartridge and can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 5. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge so as to be attachable to and detachable from the apparatus main body. Process cartridge. 6. An image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge, which is provided to protect a rotatable electrophotographic photoconductor, process means acting on the electrophotographic photoconductor, and the electrophotographic photoconductor. A shutter member and an elastic body attached to a rotation shaft of the shutter member for urging the shutter member, and in the assembly process of the process cartridge, the process cartridge is assembled at the same time as the process cartridge is assembled. An image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge is attachable / detachable, which applies an urging force to the elastic body according to a behavior of assembling the constituent members to urge the shutter member to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member. . 7. The process cartridge comprises a container with which the abutting tip of the elastic body abuts and a container with a rotating shaft on which the elastic body can be rotatably attached, and the container with which the abutting tip abuts and the rotating shaft. A container is rotatably fixed, and the abutting tip is bent so that the abutting tip of the elastic body abuts a part of the container against which the abutting tip of the elastic body abuts. While pressing the bending portion of the elastic body at the contact portion of the frame body of the container with the shaft,
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the shutter member is biased so as to protect the electrophotographic photosensitive member.