CN115061342A

CN115061342A - Developing cartridge and process cartridge

Info

Publication number: CN115061342A
Application number: CN202210825879.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄定飞
Original assignee: Zhongshan Hongpengtai Plastic Mould Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Zhongshan Hongpengtai Plastic Mould Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-10
Filing date: 2019-01-18
Publication date: 2022-09-16
Also published as: CN115061343A; CN115202169A; CN109459922B; CN109459922A

Abstract

The invention relates to a developing box and a processing box, wherein the developing box is detachably arranged in a developing box accommodating groove, the developing box comprises a shell, a driving force receiving part and a counting assembly, the driving force receiving part is positioned at the longitudinal tail end of the shell, the counting assembly comprises a counting part and a resetting device combined with the counting part, the driving force receiving part is used for receiving external driving force and driving the counting part and a counted part outside the developing box to count, and after the counting part finishes counting, the counting part is limited by the resetting device and cannot rotate; when the developing box is taken out from the containing groove, the limitation of the counting piece is released, and the resetting device forces the counting piece to rotate by a first angle; when the developing cartridge is mounted to the accommodating groove again, the reset device forces the counting member to continue to rotate by the second angle to return to the initial position where counting is started, which not only simplifies the use operation of the end user, but also enables the end user to continue using the developing cartridge by replenishing new developer into the developing cartridge.

Description

Developing cartridge and process cartridge

The patent application of the invention is a divisional application with the invention name of 'developing box and processing box with automatic reset' and the application number of 201910049814.7, which is proposed to the Chinese patent office on 2019, 01, month and 18.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of electrophotographic image formation, and more particularly, to a developing cartridge and a process cartridge usable in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

Background

The developing box is a necessary consumable of office equipment such as a printer or a copier, and is used for accurately grasping the residual amount of a developing agent in the developing box and further providing a message for a terminal user to replace the developing box in time.

Each part in the existing developing cartridge is generally designed to be still usable after the developer in the developing cartridge is used up, and if the developing cartridge is discarded by an end user at this time, not only the office cost of the end user is increased, but also the current living environment is polluted, so that how to utilize the developing cartridge to the maximum extent needs to be considered.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a developing box, which is detachably arranged in a developing box accommodating groove and comprises a shell, a driving force receiving part and a counting assembly, wherein the driving force receiving part is positioned at the longitudinal tail end of the shell; when the developing box is taken out from the containing groove, the limitation of the counting piece is released, and the resetting device forces the counting piece to rotate by a first angle; when the developing cartridge is mounted to the accommodating tank again, the reset means forces the counting member to continue to rotate by the second angle to return to the initial position where counting is started.

Preferably, the first angle is greater than the second angle.

The developing box comprises a counting part, a power receiving part, a non-power receiving part and a power input part, wherein the counting part comprises a cylinder, the power receiving part and the non-power receiving part are arranged in the circumferential direction of the cylinder; the non-driving force receiving portion corresponds to an angle less than or equal to the sum of the first angle and the second angle.

The reset device comprises a reset action rod and a forced pushing part, wherein the reset action rod can move in a telescopic mode along the direction intersecting with the rotation axis of the counting piece, and when counting is completed, the forced pushing part is abutted to one part of the counting piece.

In some embodiments, the reset action lever is retracted when the developing cartridge is mounted to the accommodating tank, and the counting member may be restricted by the reset action lever, and the reset action lever is extended when the developing cartridge is removed from the accommodating tank, and the limit of the counting member is released by the reset action lever.

In some embodiments, the return-action lever protrudes from below the developing cartridge to be in an extended state when the developing cartridge is not mounted to the accommodating groove, and the return-action lever is depressed by the accommodating groove to reach a retracted state from the extended state when the developing cartridge is mounted to the accommodating groove.

The present invention also provides a process cartridge including a drum assembly in which the accommodating groove is formed, and the developing cartridge as described above.

As described above, the counter member located in the developing cartridge and/or the process cartridge can be reset as the developing cartridge is removed and remounted, i.e., the counter member can be automatically brought to the initial position to start counting without being manually operated, not only so that the use operation of the end user becomes simple, but also the end user can continue to use the developing cartridge by replenishing new developer into the developing cartridge.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a developing cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a drum assembly according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a partial structure of the developing cartridge according to the present invention, viewed in a vertical direction.

Fig. 4A is an overall structural schematic view of the power receiver in the developing cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 4B is a plan view as viewed along the rotational axis of the power receiver in the developing cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the counter assembly in the developing cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 6A and 6B are schematic views of the overall structure of the counter member according to the present invention.

Fig. 6C is a plan view of the counter element according to the present invention.

Fig. 7A and 7B are perspective views of a second frame in the developing cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 7C is a side view of the second frame in the developing cartridge relating to the present invention.

Fig. 8A to 8D are schematic views showing the positions of the respective parts of the counter assembly before the developing cartridge according to the present invention is mounted.

Fig. 9A to 9D are schematic views showing positions of respective parts of the counter assembly before the developing cartridge according to the present invention is mounted and starts to operate.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a state of the counting assembly according to the present invention at the start of counting.

FIGS. 11A-11D are schematic views of the position of the components of the counting assembly of the present invention after the counting is completed.

Detailed Description

In order to make the description more accurate, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings, and first, the respective orientations of the process cartridge according to the present invention are defined with respect to the orientation of the developing cartridge, the longitudinal direction of the developing cartridge 10 is defined as the longitudinal direction X, the width direction of the developing cartridge 10 is defined as the lateral direction Y, and the height direction of the developing cartridge 10 is defined as the vertical direction Z.

[ Structure of developing Cartridge and Process Cartridge ]

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a developing cartridge relating to the present invention; fig. 2 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a drum assembly according to the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, the developing cartridge 10 is mountable in a mounting direction a, and includes a casing 11, a rotary 12 rotatably mounted in the casing, an end cap 13 at an end of the casing 11, and a power receiving member 20 and a counting assembly 30 mounted on the casing 11, wherein, the power receiving element 20 is used for receiving driving force from the outside and transmitting to the counting assembly 30, two longitudinal ends of the housing 11 are respectively a driving end Q and a conductive end E, the end cap 13 is fixedly mounted at one longitudinal end of the housing 11, the power receiving element 20 and the counting assembly 30 are rotatably mounted at the longitudinal ends of the housing 11, that is, they can be located at the same longitudinal end of the housing 11, or can be located at two longitudinal ends of the housing 11, however, the counting assembly 30 always receives the driving force of the power receiving element 20 to work regardless of the arrangement of the power receiving element 20 and the counting assembly 30; in the embodiment of the invention, the counting assembly 30 and the power receiving element 20 are both located at the driving end Q of the housing 11, and the power receiving element 20 is exposed through the end cover 13.

The power receiving member 20 is for receiving a driving force from the outside, rotating about a rotation axis L2, and transmitting the driving force to the rotary member 12 and the counter assembly 30, respectively; the counting assembly 30 is also exposed through the end cap 13 and rotates about a rotation axis L3, the rotation axis L2 being located downstream of the rotation axis L3 in the mounting direction a; further, the housing 11 includes a first frame 111 and a second frame 112 connected to each other, the first frame 111 and the second frame 112 enclose an accommodating chamber for accommodating the developer, and the developer in the accommodating chamber is supplied to the rotary member 12 when the developing cartridge 10 operates.

With regard to the above orientation of the developing cartridge 10/process cartridge, the mounting direction a of the developing cartridge 10 and the lateral direction Y are parallel to each other, and further, it is defined that the direction from the conductive end E of the developing cartridge 10 toward the driving end Q is + X direction, the direction in the lateral direction which is the same direction as the mounting direction a is + Y direction, and the direction from the second frame 112 toward the first frame 111 is + Z direction.

As shown in fig. 2, the drum assembly 50 includes a bottom plate 59, and a first plate 51, a second plate 52, a third plate 53, and a fourth plate 54, which extend from the periphery of the bottom plate 59 in the same direction, respectively, the first plate 51, the second plate 52, the third plate 53, the fourth plate 54, and the bottom plate 59 enclose and form an accommodating groove 55 for accommodating the developing cartridge 10, the developing cartridge 10 is fixedly mounted to the accommodating groove 55 in a detachable manner, the developing cartridge 10 and the drum assembly 50 are combined to form a process cartridge, the process cartridge is detachably mounted to an office equipment such as a printer or a copying machine, when the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating chamber is consumed, the end user takes the process cartridge out of the equipment, and then takes the developing cartridge 10 out of the accommodating groove 55, so that the developing cartridge 10 can be replenished with new developer or replaced with a new developing cartridge; also, the drum assembly 50 has the same orientation according to the orientation of the developing cartridge 10 defined above.

[ Power receiving Member ]

Fig. 3 is a side view of a partial structure of a developing cartridge according to the present invention viewed in a vertical direction; FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the overall configuration of the power receiver in the developer cartridge according to the present invention; fig. 4B is a plan view as viewed along the rotational axis of the power receiver in the developing cartridge according to the present invention.

As described above, the developing cartridge 10 further includes the power transmission assembly 40 between the power receiving element and the counting assembly 30 in the transverse direction Y, as shown in fig. 3, the power transmission assembly 40 includes the first gear 41 engaged with the power receiving element 20 and the second gear 42 engaged with the counting assembly 30, respectively, the first gear 41 and the second gear 42 are engaged with each other, and when the power receiving element 20 receives the external driving force, the driving force is transmitted to the counting assembly 30 through the first gear 41 and the second gear 42 in sequence, and thus, the second gear 42 can be regarded as the power input member of the counting assembly 30; upon receiving the driving force from the power input 42, the counter assembly 30 will rotate in the direction indicated by r about the rotational axis L3.

In order to facilitate differentiation of products sold in various countries and regions by manufacturers of office equipment such as printers or copiers, manufacturers of the office equipment such as printers or copiers often design different positions of the process cartridge/developing cartridge to be combined with office equipment such as printers or copiers or different sizes of power output members of the office equipment such as printers or copiers to be combined with the power receiving member 20 in the developing cartridge 10 for the same type of process cartridge.

When manufacturers design the different sizes of the pto to achieve products for different countries or regions, compatible product design manufacturers can design the pto 20 to be universal for the same type of process cartridge but applicable to different countries or regions by designing the pto 20 to be universal, that is, by modifying or redesigning the pto 20, because the production and sales chain is short.

As shown in fig. 4A and 4B, the power receiving element 20 according to the present invention can be applied to two types of power output elements, and thus, the developing cartridge 10 to which the power receiving element 20 is attached can also be applied to two types of office equipment such as a printer or a copier.

The power receiving member 20 includes a cylindrical rotating body 21 and a power output portion 22 connected to the rotating body 21, the rotating body 21 having an outer surface 21a and an inner surface 21b, a base body 21c protruding radially inward from the inner surface 21b, and a first coupling portion 21d and a second coupling portion 21e further protruding inward from the base body 21c, the first coupling portion 21d and the second coupling portion 21e being used to couple with different power output members, respectively; an avoiding groove 21h is further provided between the first coupling portion 21d and the second coupling portion 21e in the rotation direction r' of the power receiving element 20, and the avoiding groove 21h enables the power output element coupled with the second coupling portion 21e to smoothly reach a position coupled with the second coupling portion 21 e;

as shown in the figure, in the power receiving element 20, the base body 21c and the first and

second coupling portions

21d and 21e are each provided in two sets and are arranged diametrically opposite to each other, and only one set will be described herein; the first coupling portion 21d and the second coupling portion 21e have a first coupling surface 21f and a second coupling surface 21g, respectively, the first coupling surface 21f is located upstream of the first coupling portion 21d, the second coupling surface 21g is located upstream of the second coupling portion 21e in the rotation direction r', and the avoiding groove 21h is formed to be recessed from a portion between the first coupling surface 21f and the second coupling surface 21g away from the rotation center, so that the avoiding groove 21h has an avoiding surface 21j, the avoiding surface 21j being an arc surface, as shown in fig. 4B, the avoiding surface 21j being a smooth curve when viewed along the rotation axis L2, and the avoiding surface 21j having one end connected to the first coupling surface 21f and the other end connected to the second coupling surface 21 g; when the second engaging portion 21d is engaged with the corresponding power output member, the power output member can be smoothly engaged with the second engaging surface 21g through the escape groove 21 h.

The power receiving element 20 further includes a supporting plate 21i coupled to the inner surface 21b, the supporting plate 21i supporting the base body 21c, the supporting plate 21i also supporting the power output element when the power output element is coupled to the power receiving element 20, and further, providing a non-smooth surface to a side of the supporting plate 21i facing the base body, so that, when the power output element is coupled to the power receiving element 20, the wobbling of the power output element relative to the power receiving element 20 is effectively suppressed, and the power receiving element 20 can more stably receive the driving force output from the power output element.

Further, in fig. 4B, a straight line L is drawn through the rotation center, the straight line L also passes through the middle points of two arcs located between the first combining portion 21d and the second combining portion 21e along the rotation direction r', and the first combining surface 21f and the second combining surface 21g respectively form angles α and β with respect to the straight line L, and in the embodiment of the present invention, the following are satisfied: alpha is less than beta, therefore, the second joint surface 21g can ensure a larger contact surface with the corresponding power output member, the contact between the two is more stable, and the phenomenon of slippage can not occur.

[ counting Assembly ]

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of a counter assembly in the developing cartridge according to the present invention; FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic views showing the overall structure of a counting member according to the present invention; FIG. 6C is a top view of a counter according to the present invention; fig. 7A and 7B are perspective views of a second frame in the developing cartridge according to the present invention; fig. 7C is a side view of the second frame in the developing cartridge according to the present invention.

As shown in fig. 5, in order to make the description clearer, only the counting assembly 30 and the housing 11 are shown, the counting assembly 30 includes a counting member 31 and a reset means combined with the counting member 31, the resetting device is used for restoring the counting piece 31 to the initial position for starting counting after the counting piece 31 finishes counting, and comprises a resetting action rod 33, a first elastic piece 32, a second elastic piece 34 and an urging part 164, wherein the first elastic piece 32 is arranged between the counting piece 31 and the end cover 13, for urging the counting member 31 toward the housing 11, the second elastic member 34 is combined with the return action lever 33, so that the return action lever 33 is retractable, and the reset action lever 33 expands and contracts in the height direction Z of the developing cartridge 10, the urging portion 164 is inclined with respect to the rotation axis L3, for urging the counting member 31, which has completed counting, toward the initial position where counting is started, under the cooperation with the first elastic member 32; when the assembly of the developing cartridge 10 is completed, the return action lever 33 protrudes from the casing 11 in a direction intersecting the rotation axis L3 so that a straight line of the length direction of the return action lever 33 intersects the rotation axis L3, preferably, the straight line of the length direction of the return action lever 33 is orthogonal to the rotation axis L3 so that a straight line of the extending and contracting direction of the return action lever 33 is orthogonal to the rotation axis L3, more preferably, the return action lever 33 protrudes in the-Z direction; further, the + Z direction of the developing cartridge is set to be upward, and the-Z direction is set to be downward, so that the return action lever 33 protrudes downward of the developing cartridge, and the return action lever 33 extends and contracts in the up-down direction of the developing cartridge.

In the process of mounting the developing cartridge 10 to the accommodating groove 55, the return action lever 33 is pressed by the bottom plate 59 of the drum assembly 50 to retract in the + Z direction (upward), and when the developing cartridge 10 is completely fixedly mounted to the accommodating groove 55, the return action lever 33 is always pressed by the bottom plate 59, and the second elastic member 34 is compressively deformed; when the developing cartridge 10 is taken out of the accommodating groove 55, the bottom plate 59 no longer presses the return-action lever 33, and the return-action lever 33 projects in the-Z direction (downward) by the elastic return force of the second elastic member 34.

The second frame 112 of the casing 11 has a distal end face 14, the counting assembly 30 is mounted on the distal end face 14, and as shown in the drawing, the developing cartridge 10 further includes a support column 15, a guide rail 16, and a support 17 provided on the casing 11 (the distal end face 14); the counting member 31 is rotatably mounted on the support column 15; the reset action lever 33 is supported by the supporting member 17, the second elastic member 34 is located between the supporting member 17 and the reset action lever 33, in order to ensure the smooth movement of the reset action lever 33, the developing cartridge 10 further includes an auxiliary supporting member 18 provided on the casing 11, the reset action lever 33 is supported by both the supporting member 17 and the auxiliary supporting member 18; when the counting assembly 30 works, the counting member 31 is guided by the guide track 16 to gradually get away from the housing 11, the first elastic member 32 is compressed, and after counting is completed, the counting member 31 moves towards the direction close to the housing 11 under the urging action of the first elastic member 32; preferably, the first elastic member 32 and the second elastic member 34 are both compression springs.

As shown in fig. 6A, 6B and 6C, the counting member 31 includes a cylindrical body 31a, a power receiving portion 31e and a non-power receiving portion 31f provided in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical body 31a, a toggle protrusion 31g and a guided rod 31h protruding from the cylindrical body 31a in opposite directions, respectively, the cylindrical body 31a having a top plate 31B, a bottom surface 31C and an outer surface 31d, the toggle protrusion 31g protruding from the top plate 31B, the guided rod 31h protruding beyond the bottom surface 31C for coupling with the guide rail 16; the power receiving portion 31e and the non-power receiving portion 31f are both located on the outer surface 31d, preferably, the power receiving portion 31e is a tooth provided on the outer surface 31d, thus, the power receiving portion 31e can also be regarded as a toothed portion on the counting member 31, the non-power receiving portion 31f is a non-toothed portion on the counting member 31, when the toothed portion 31e is opposite to the second gear 42 as the power input member, the counting member 31 can receive the driving force of the second gear 42 to rotate around the rotation axis L3, when the non-toothed portion 31f is opposite to the second gear 42, the power transmission between the counting member 31 and the second gear 42 is interrupted, and the counting member 31 is no longer driven to rotate.

Further, the counter 31 further includes a mounting post 31k projecting from the top plate 31b in the same direction as the guided rod 31h, the mounting post 31k being formed with a mounting hole allowing the support post 15 to pass therethrough, as shown in fig. 6C, an annular groove 31j being formed between the cylindrical body 31a and the mounting post 31k when viewed along the rotation axis L3; furthermore, the counting member 31 further includes a stopper 31i protruding from the cylinder 31a in the same direction as the guided rod 31h, and the reset action rod 33 contacts the stopper 31i to restrict the rotation of the counting member 31 after the counting is completed; when the developing cartridge 10 is taken out from the accommodating groove 55, the reset action lever 33 no longer restricts the counting member 31, the counting member 31 is forced to rotate by a first angle by the cooperation of the urging portion 164 and the first elastic member 32, when the developing cartridge 10 is mounted to the accommodating groove 55 again, the reset action lever 33 applies an action force to the counting member 31 to force the counting member 31 to rotate by a certain angle around the rotation axis thereof, specifically, the reset action lever 33 urges the blocking portion 31i to cause the counting member 31 to continue to rotate by a second angle back to the initial position where counting is started.

As shown in fig. 6B and 6C, the stopper 31i includes the urging surface 31i1 and the stopper surface 31i2 provided therein, and the reset operation lever 33 is opposed to the stopper surface 31i2 after the counting member 31 finishes counting, and the reset operation lever 33 is opposed to the urging surface 31i1 when the developing cartridge 10 is mounted to the housing groove 55 again. The second angle is an angle θ 2 corresponding to the pushing surface 31i1, and an angle θ corresponding to the toothless portion 31 f.

As shown in fig. 7A, 7B and 7C, the support member 17 and the auxiliary support member 18 are respectively provided with a first support groove 171 and a second support groove 181 for matching with the outer surface of the return action lever 33, and the return action lever 33 is cylindrical, so that the first support groove 171 and the second support groove 181 are both arc-shaped; the guide rail 16 includes a first portion 161, a second portion 162, and a third portion 163 connected in this order, wherein the first portion 161 is closest to the housing 11, the second portion 162 is gradually distant from the housing 11, and the third portion 163 is farthest from the housing 11, and the first portion 161, the second portion 162, and the third portion 163 are connected to form a circle when viewed along the rotation axis L3; in the embodiment of the present invention, the urging portion 164 is an inclined surface inclined with respect to the rotation axis L3, and the urging portion 164 may be provided directly on the housing 11 or may be provided on the guide rail 16, and preferably, as shown in fig. 7A, the urging portion 164 is provided between the third portion 163 and the first portion 161 of the guide rail 16 in the circumferential direction of the guide rail 16.

As shown in fig. 7C, when viewed along the rotation axis L3, the angle corresponding to the pushing part 164 is θ 1, and the first angle of rotation of the counting member 31 is the angle θ 1 corresponding to the pushing part 164, and θ ≦ (θ 1+ θ 2) is satisfied.

The angle θ 1 corresponding to the urging portion 164 and the angle θ corresponding to the toothless portion 31f further have the following relationship: when θ ≦ θ 1, that is, the first angle θ 1 that the counting member 31 rotates under the action of the urging portion 164 exceeds the angle θ corresponding to the toothless portion 31f, the counting member 31 can directly return to the initial state of starting counting, and at this time, the urging surface 31i1 on the blocking portion 31i becomes unnecessary; when theta is larger than theta 1, the first angle theta 1 of the counting piece 31 rotated by the pushing part 164 does not exceed the angle theta corresponding to the non-toothed part 31f, the toothed part 31e is not yet engaged with the second gear 42, the counting piece 31 needs to be rotated by a second angle theta 2 under the action of the reset action rod 33, and finally the toothed part 31e of the counting piece 31 is engaged with the second gear 42, namely theta is less than or equal to (theta 1+ theta 2).

[ counting and resetting procedure of counting Assembly ]

As described above, the urging surface 31i1 becomes unnecessary under the condition that the urging portion 164 satisfies a certain condition, however, in order that the overall structure of the counter assembly 30 does not become complicated and the movement of the counter piece 31 is more easily controlled, it is preferable that the stopper portion 31i is provided with the urging surface 31i1, which will be described below in the case where the urging surface 31i1 is provided; when the urging surface 31i1 is not provided, as long as the urging portion 164 satisfies the above condition, the counting process and the resetting process of the counting member 31 are the same as those described below.

Fig. 8A to 8D are schematic views showing the positions of the respective parts of the counter assembly before the developing cartridge according to the present invention is mounted. For ease of description, only the components associated with the counting assembly 30 are shown.

When the developing cartridge 10 is in the non-mounted state, that is, the developing cartridge 10 is not mounted to the housing groove 55, as shown in the figure, the toothed portion 31e of the counting member 31 is about to mesh with the second gear 42, the non-toothed portion 31f is opposite to the second gear 42, the counting member 31 does not rotate with the rotation of the second gear 42, and the guided rod 31h contacts the first portion 161 of the guide rail 16; the reset action lever 33 is in an extended state; as shown in fig. 8C and 8D, the return-action lever 33 is opposed to the urging surface 31i1 in the vertical direction Z, and the return-action lever 33 at least partially overlaps with the urging surface 31i1 when viewed in the vertical direction Z; since the counting member 31 cannot perform the counting operation, the state of the counting member 31 is referred to as a pre-reset state.

When the developing cartridge 10 is mounted to the accommodating groove 55, the return action lever 33 receives the urging force of the bottom plate 59 of the drum assembly 50, the return action lever 33 is gradually retracted in the + Z direction, the second spring 34 is gradually compressed, as described above, since the reset action lever 33 is opposite to the urging surface 31i1, the gradually retracted reset action lever 33 will urge the urging surface 31i1 to exert an urging force, which, in the present embodiment, the urging surface 31i1 is inclined with respect to the line in which the retracting direction of the return operation lever 33 is located, and therefore, when the reset action lever 33 applies an urging force to the urging surface 31i1, the counter 31 will be driven to rotate about the rotation axis L3 by the second angle θ 2 in the direction indicated by r, as shown in fig. 9A and 9B, the toothed portion 31e of the counting member 31 comes into engagement with the second gear 42, as shown in fig. 9C and 9D, the return action lever 33 no longer overlaps the urging surface 31i 1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the counting assembly according to the present invention in a starting state; FIGS. 11A-11D are schematic views of the position of the components of the counting assembly of the present invention after the counting is completed.

When the process cartridge formed after the developing cartridge 10 is combined with the drum assembly 50 is mounted to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the power receiving element 20 can be combined with the power output element provided in the apparatus, and the power receiving element 20 is driven to rotate about the rotational axis L2, and as the power receiving element 20 rotates, the driving force can be transmitted to the counter element 31 through the power transmission assembly 40, and thus, the counter element 31 starts to rotate about the rotational axis L3 in the direction indicated by r.

The position of the stopper 31i satisfies: as shown in fig. 6C, the distance d between the point of the stopper 31i closest to the rotation center and the center of the circle is greater than the maximum radius of the guide rail 16 (as shown in fig. 7C), and thus, when the counter 31 is supported by the support member 15 to rotate about the rotation axis L3, no interference occurs between the stopper 31i and the guide rail 16.

As shown in fig. 10, the counting member 31 returns to an initial position for starting counting, which may be described as: the guided rod 31h reaches the first position at the adjacent of the first portion 161 and the second portion 162 of the guide rail 16; or the position of the counter 31 when the toothed portion 31e of the counter 31 starts to engage with the second gear 42 as shown in fig. 9A to 9D, at which the guided rod 31h is located at the second position that has not reached the vicinity of the first portion 161 and the second portion 162 of the guide rail 16; or the counting member 31h is located at any one position between the first position and the second position; that is, the initial position of the counting member 31 may be any one of the above three cases, and when the counting member 31 is located at the initial position, the guide rod 31h is located at a position contacting the first portion 161 of the guide rail 16.

As the counter 31 rotates in the direction indicated by r about the rotation axis L, the guided rod 31h starts to gradually move away from the housing 11 along the second portion 162 of the guide rail 16, the toggle projection 31g also gradually moves away from the housing 11, while the first spring 32 located between the counter 31 and the housing 13 is gradually compressed, and when the guided rod 31h reaches the third portion 163 of the guide rail 16, the counter 31 is farthest away from the housing 11, the toggle projection 31g starts to toggle the counted piece, and the first spring 32 is no longer compressed; when the counting member 31 finishes counting, the guided rod 31h is out of contact with the third portion 163 of the guide rail 16 and moves in a direction approaching the housing 11 by the elastic restoring force of the first spring 32, as shown in fig. 11A, the guided rod 31h reaches a position contacting the urging portion 164 from the third portion 163, but the elastic restoring force of the first spring 32 is not yet released, as shown in fig. 11B, the toothless portion 31f of the counting member 31 opposes the second gear 42, the counting member 31 stops rotating by no longer receiving the driving force of the second gear 42, and at the same time, as shown in fig. 11C and 11D, the blocking surface 31i2 of the blocking portion 31i is adjacent to the return action rod 33, and due to the inclination of the urging portion 164 with respect to the rotation axis L3, the counting member 31 tends to continue to approach the housing 11 and rotate around the rotation axis in a direction indicated by r by the remaining elastic restoring force of the first spring 32, however, the stopper 31i of the counter 31 is stopped by the reset action rod 33, and the counter 31 is prevented from continuing to rotate, so that the counter 31 can be maintained in a state where counting is completed, that is, the toothless portion 31f of the counter 31 is opposed to the second gear 42, and the guided rod 31h reaches a position where it contacts with the end of the urging portion 164 away from the housing 11.

The counting process of the counting assembly 30 is described above, and the resetting process of the counting assembly 30 will be described next.

When the developing cartridge 10 is taken out of the accommodating groove 55, the return action lever 33 is no longer pressed by the bottom plate 59 of the drum assembly 50, and the return action lever 33 will move in the-Z direction by the elastic return force of the second spring 34, returning from the retracted state to the extended state shown in fig. 8B and 8D.

After the counting member 31 finishes counting, as described above, the first spring 32 still has a partial elastic restoring force not yet released, the guided rod 31h is located at a position contacting with one end of the urging portion 164 away from the housing 11, when the return-action lever 33 returns from the retracted state to the extended state, the return-action lever 33 will no longer contact the blocking portion 31i, that is, the blocking portion 31i will no longer be blocked, the counter 31 will rotate about the rotation axis L3 in the direction indicated by r under the combined action of the elastic return force of the first spring 32 and the urging portion 164 until the guided lever 31h reaches the end of the urging portion 164 close to the housing 11, the counter 31 reaches the pre-reset state from the state in which counting is completed, that is, the guided rod 31h contacts the first portion 161 of the guide rail 16, as shown in fig. 8A and 8B, the toothed portion 31e of the counter 31 is about to mesh with the second gear 42.

When the developing cartridge 10 is mounted to the housing groove 55 again, the reset operation lever 33 is pressed by the bottom plate 59 of the drum assembly 50 again, the reset operation lever 33 reaches the retracted state shown in fig. 9B and 9D, and the counting member 31 returns to the initial position where counting is started.

As can be seen from the above description, the counting member 31 is divided into two processes from the completion of counting to the initial position where counting is started, namely, the process of taking out the developing cartridge 10 from the accommodating groove 55 and the process of remounting the developing cartridge 10 to the accommodating groove 55 again, specifically: during the process of taking out the developing cartridge 10 from the accommodating groove 55, the counting member 31 reaches the pre-reset state from the state in which the counting is completed, and the counting member 31 is rotated in the direction indicated by r by the first angle θ 1 around the rotation axis L3 under the combined action of the elastic reset force of the first spring 32 and the urging portion 164, at this time, the counting member 31 does not mesh with the second gear 42, and also does not rotate with the rotation of the second gear 42; in the process in which the developing cartridge 10 is mounted to the housing groove 55 again, the counter member 31 reaches the reset state from the pre-reset state, and is rotated by the second angle θ 2 in the direction indicated by r about the rotation axis L3 by the reset operation lever 33, at which time the counter member 31 is engaged with the second gear 42 so as to be rotatable in accordance with the rotation of the second gear 42.

As described above, when the urging portion 164 satisfies the angle θ 1 ≧ θ corresponding thereto, the urging surface 31i1 no longer needs to be provided, and at this time, the counting member 31 can be returned from the counting completion to the initial position at which the counting is started only by one process, and in the process of removing the developer cartridge 10 from the accommodating groove 55, the reset action lever 33 no longer restricts the counting member 31 by the stopper portion 31i, and the counting member 31 is rotated by the angle θ 1 in the direction indicated by r about the rotation axis L3 by the combined action of the elastic reset force of the first spring 32 and the urging portion 164, so that the counting member 31 directly reaches the reset state, that is, the toothed portion 31e on the counting member 31 meshes with the second gear 42, and is contacted by the guide lever 31h with the first portion 161 of the guide rail 16, and the counting member 31 can rotate with the rotation of the second gear 42.

The embodiment in which the reset operation lever 33 is pressed by the bottom plate 59 of the drum assembly 50 when the developing cartridge 10 is mounted to the housing groove 55 has been described above, however, the reset operation lever 33 may also be pressed by other portions of the drum assembly 50, for example, the reset operation lever 33 is pressed by at least one of the first plate 51, the second plate 52, the third plate 53, and the fourth plate 54 of the drum assembly 50, as long as it can be ensured that the reset operation lever 33 can receive a force to force the retraction thereof when the developing cartridge 10 is mounted.

According to the developing cartridge 10 and the processing cartridge provided by the invention, when the developer in the developing cartridge 10 is completely consumed and taken out, after a terminal user adds new development and installs the developing cartridge 10 to office equipment such as a printer or a copier again, the counting assembly 30 in the developing cartridge 10 can be automatically reset, the counting assembly 30 does not need to be manually reset by the terminal user, the use experience of the terminal user is improved, the terminal user is more willing to achieve the purpose of reusing the developing cartridge 10 by supplementing the new developer to the developing cartridge 10, and the purpose of utilizing the developing cartridge 10 to the maximum extent is achieved.

Claims

1. The developing box is detachably installed in the developing box accommodating groove and comprises a shell, a driving force receiving part and a counting assembly, wherein the driving force receiving part is positioned at the longitudinal tail end of the shell, the counting assembly comprises a counting part and a resetting device combined with the counting part, and the driving force receiving part is used for receiving external driving force and driving the counting part and a counted part outside the developing box to count;

when the developing box is taken out from the containing groove, the limitation of the counting piece is released, and the resetting device forces the counting piece to rotate by a first angle;

when the developing cartridge is mounted to the accommodating tank again, the reset means forces the counting member to continue to rotate by the second angle to return to the initial position where counting is started.

2. A developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first angle is larger than the second angle.

3. A developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the counting member includes a cylindrical body, a power receiving portion and a non-power receiving portion provided in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical body, the developing cartridge further includes a power input member for inputting a driving force to the counting member, the power receiving portion is opposed to the power input member when the counting member counts, and the non-power receiving portion is opposed to the power output member when the counting member completes counting.

4. A developing cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the angle corresponding to the non-driving force receiving portion is smaller than or equal to a sum of the first angle and the second angle.

5. A developing cartridge according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the reset device includes a reset action lever and a urging portion, wherein the reset action lever is telescopically movable in a direction intersecting with a rotational axis of the counting member, and the urging portion abuts a part of the counting member when counting is completed.

6. A developing cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the reset operation lever is retracted when the developing cartridge is mounted to the accommodating groove, the counting member is restrained by the reset operation lever, and the reset operation lever is extended when the developing cartridge is taken out from the accommodating groove, the reset operation lever releasing the restraint of the counting member.

7. A developing cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the return action lever projects from below the developing cartridge in the extended state when the developing cartridge is not mounted to the accommodating groove, and the return action lever is depressed by the accommodating groove to reach the retracted state from the extended state when the developing cartridge is mounted to the accommodating groove.

8. A process cartridge characterized by comprising a drum assembly in which said accommodating groove is formed, and a developing cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 7.