CN116149152A

CN116149152A - Developing cartridge

Info

Publication number: CN116149152A
Application number: CN202111584748.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄景宏
Original assignee: Topjet Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Topjet Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-11-19
Filing date: 2021-12-22
Publication date: 2023-05-23
Also published as: CN118151507A; CN116149151A; CN216956676U; CN114296328A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a developing cartridge suitable for an image forming apparatus provided with a detecting member, the developing cartridge including a housing, and a driving force receiving member, a driving member, and a counting assembly at an end of the housing, wherein the driving force receiving member sequentially transmits driving force received from outside to the driving member and the counting assembly; the counting assembly comprises a rotating body and a counting piece which are combined with each other, and the rotating body drives the counting piece to interact with the detecting part under the drive of the driving piece; the rotating body is provided with a delay device, the driving piece is provided with a trigger piece, and the delay device is used for prolonging the counting time of the counting piece; the extended count time period is the time period required by the trigger piece to rotate from the first position to the second position; when the delay device is opposite to the driving part, the trigger part is at the first position, and when the delay device is not opposite to the driving part, the trigger part is at the second position, and the delay device is arranged on the rotating body and does not occupy the space in the developing box, so that the structure of the developing box is simplified.

Description

Developing cartridge

The present invention claims priority to the chinese prior application of application number CN202122860826.3, the applicant's name "developing cartridge" at 11/19 of 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of electrophotographic image forming, and more particularly, to a developing cartridge detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

Background

The developing cartridge is a consumable product used in an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer or a copier in which toner necessary for image formation is stored, and in operation, a power receiving member in the developing cartridge receives a driving force from the image forming apparatus, and a toner feeding member for supplying toner to a surface of a developing member for supplying toner to a surface of a photosensitive member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed and the developing member are each rotated in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined speed.

In order to enable the imaging device to accurately grasp the service condition of the developing box, a part named as a counting assembly is arranged in the existing developing box, when the developing box is firstly installed to the imaging device and begins to work, the counting assembly is mutually touched with a detection part in the imaging device, and the service life, the model and other information of the developing box are known by the imaging device through parameters such as the touch duration, the touch interval, the touch times and the like of the counting assembly and the detection part.

Disclosure of Invention

For two different types of developing cartridges, there may be a case where the counting assembly is identical in structure but different in rotation speed, the two types of counting assemblies are arranged in one design direction which can be generally considered, and in order to reduce the rotation speed of the counting assembly which is faster in rotation speed, it is common practice to arrange a speed reducing member such as a speed reducing gear between the counting assembly and the driving member, however, the arrangement of the speed reducing member necessarily occupies a part of the space of the developing cartridge, which is disadvantageous in simplification of the structure of the developing cartridge.

The invention provides a developing cartridge, which is suitable for an imaging device provided with a detection part, and comprises a shell, a driving force receiving part, a driving part and a counting assembly, wherein the driving force receiving part is positioned at the tail end of the shell, and the driving force receiving part sequentially transmits driving force received from the outside to the driving part and the counting assembly; the counting assembly comprises a rotating body and a counting piece which are combined with each other, and the rotating body drives the counting piece to interact with the detecting part under the drive of the driving piece; the rotating body is provided with a delay device, the driving piece is provided with a trigger piece, and the delay device is used for prolonging the counting time of the counting piece; the extended count time period is the time period required by the trigger piece to rotate from the first position to the second position; when the delay device is opposite to the driving piece, the trigger piece is in a first position, and when the delay device is not opposite to the driving piece any more, the trigger piece is in a second position; the delay device is arranged on the rotating body, and the delay device does not occupy the space in the developing box additionally, so that the structure of the developing box is simplified.

Wherein the angle through which the trigger rotates from the first position to the second position is less than 360 °; the trigger member in the second position may force the rotator to rotate until the delay means is no longer opposite the driver member.

In the embodiment of the invention, when the delay device is opposite to the driving piece, the rotating body is kept static, and the counting piece is in a counting state; in some embodiments, the counting member is provided with at least one counting protrusion, and when the delay device is opposite to the driving member, the counting protrusion is continuously abutted to the detecting member, and the rotating body is further provided with a triggered member, and the triggered member can be triggered by the triggering member to drive the rotating body to rotate again.

The triggered piece is opposite to the delay device when seen along the rotation axis of the rotating body, and extends along the radial direction of the rotating body, and the triggered piece does not extend beyond the rotating body.

In a further embodiment, the counter is provided with at least two counter protrusions arranged at intervals in the direction of rotation of the counter, the detection means being located between the two counter protrusions when the delay means are opposite the driving member.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a developing cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partially exploded view of the drive end of the developing cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a partially exploded view of the conductive end of the developing cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a developing cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention taken along a plane parallel to the front-rear direction thereof.

Fig. 5 is an overall side view of the developing cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above from below.

Fig. 6A is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above from below.

Fig. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the developing cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention taken along a plane parallel to the front-rear direction thereof and passing through the driving force receiving member and the driving gear at the same time.

Fig. 7 is an overall side view of the developing cartridge according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the cover is hidden and viewed from above and below.

Fig. 8 is a partially exploded view of the drive end of the developing cartridge according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9A is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the third embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above from below.

Fig. 9B is a side view of the developing cartridge according to the third embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the left to the right thereof.

Fig. 10 is a side view of the developing cartridge according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the left to the right thereof.

Fig. 11 is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention as seen from above in the lower direction thereof.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the drive end of the developing cartridge according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention with the drive end cap hidden.

Fig. 13 is a side view of the developing cartridge according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from left to right in the left-right direction thereof.

Fig. 14 is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention as seen from above and below.

Fig. 15 is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention as seen from above in the lower direction thereof.

Fig. 16A and 16B are perspective views of a counting section in a counting assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 17A is a plan view of a counting assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention, as seen along the rotation axis thereof.

Fig. 17B is a bottom view of a counting assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the invention, as seen along the rotational axis thereof.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a stirring bar gear according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 19A to 19F are schematic views of a counting process of a counting section in a counting assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a perspective view of a counting section in a counting assembly according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 21 is a perspective view of a counting section in a counting assembly according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 22 is a top view of a counter assembly in combination with a driver according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[ integral Structure of developing Cartridge ]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a developing cartridge according to the present invention. The developing cartridge C has a front-rear direction, a left-right direction, and an up-down direction as shown, and can be mounted to the image forming apparatus generally in the front-rear direction toward the front 101, taken out toward the rear 102, and one end for receiving a driving force from the image forming apparatus is referred to as a driving end 103, corresponding to the left side in the drawing, and one end for receiving electric power from the image forming apparatus is referred to as a conductive end 104, corresponding to the right side in the drawing.

The developing cartridge C includes a housing 1 accommodating toner, a rotary 2 rotatably installed in the housing 1, a driving force receiving member 3 at a driving end 103, a counting assembly 5 provided on the same side as the driving force receiving member 3, and a gear set 4 for transmitting driving force between the driving force receiving member 3 and the counting assembly 5, the driving force receiving member 3 for receiving driving force from an image forming apparatus and driving the rotary 2 and the counting assembly 5 to operate; the rotary 2 extends in the left-right/longitudinal direction of the developing cartridge and is rotatably supported by the casing 1, and specifically, a developing member 21 for supplying toner to the outside is one of the rotary, a toner feeding member 22 (shown in fig. 4) which is in contact with the developing member 21 and is for feeding toner to the developing member 21 is also one of the rotary, a stirring member 23 for stirring the toner to prevent it from agglomerating, and a stirring member 23 for also feeding the toner to the toner feeding member 22 is also one of the rotary.

As shown in fig. 1, the developing member 21 is disposed near the front of the developing cartridge C, the driving force receiving member 3 is located at the rear of the developing member 21 in the front-rear direction, and the counting assembly 5 is located at the rear of the driving force receiving member 3, so that the driving force receiving member 3 is closer to the developing member 21 than the counting assembly 5, and compared with the resistance force received during the rotation of the developing member 21 during the operation of the developing cartridge C, which is much larger than the resistance force received during the rotation of the counting assembly 5, at this time, the driving force receiving member 3 is disposed closer to the developing member 21, and the driving force transmission between the driving force receiving member 3 and the developing member 21 can be ensured to be more efficient.

As further shown in fig. 1, the developing cartridge C further includes a driving end cap 11 mounted at the driving end 103, and both the driving force receiving member 3 and the counting assembly 5 are exposed through the driving end cap 11, so that the counting member 51 in the counting assembly 5 can interact with the detecting member in the image forming apparatus when the driving force is transmitted to the counting assembly 5.

Example one

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a portion of the drive end of a developer cartridge according to one embodiment of the invention; FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a portion of the conductive end of a developer cartridge according to a first embodiment of the invention; fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a developing cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention taken along a plane parallel to a front-rear direction thereof; fig. 5 is an overall side view of the developing cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above from below.

As shown in fig. 2, the housing 1 includes a bottom case 1a and a face cover 1b combined with each other, the toner chamber 10 is located between the bottom case 1a and the face cover 1b, the bottom case 1a has a left side wall 1a1 located at the driving end 103 and a right side wall 1a2 located at the conductive end 104, the toner chamber 10 is located between the left side wall 1a1 and the right side wall 1a2, and the developing member 21, the toner feeding member 22 and the stirring member 23 are supported by the left side wall 1a1 and the right side wall 1a2, respectively; the powder filling port 13 is arranged on the left side wall 1a1 or the right side wall 1a2, and when the carbon powder in the carbon powder cavity 10 is consumed, a user can supplement new carbon powder into the carbon powder cavity 10 through the powder filling port 13.

The gear set 4 includes a first gear 41 coupled to the driving force receiving member 3, a second gear 42 and a third gear 43 respectively located at the distal ends of the developing member 21 and the powder feeding member 22, and a fourth gear 44 coupled to the counting assembly 5, and thus, the second gear 42 may be referred to as a developing member gear, and the third gear 43 may be referred to as a powder feeding member gear, wherein the first gear 41 is simultaneously engaged with the second gear 42 and the third gear 43 in the front-rear direction, the first gear 41 and the fourth gear 44 are spaced apart from each other, and driving force is transmitted therebetween through an intermediate transmission assembly; the first gear 41 may be integrally formed with the driving force receiving member 3, or may be separately formed as long as the driving force of the driving force receiving member 3 can be stably transmitted to the first gear 41, and preferably, the first gear 41 is disposed coaxially with the driving force receiving member 3.

In this embodiment, the rotation axis L23 of the stirring member 23 is parallel to the rotation axis of the developing member 21, and the fourth gear 44 is coaxially disposed with the stirring member 23 and may be referred to as a stirring member gear, and the driving force received by the driving force receiving member 3 is transmitted from the driving end 103 to the conductive end 104, and then transmitted from the conductive end 104 back to the driving end 103. As shown in fig. 3, at least one of the developing member 21 and the powder feeding member 22 may be used to transmit the driving force from the driving end 103 to the conductive end 104, and correspondingly, the gear set 4 further includes a fifth gear 45 disposed at the conductive end 104 and a seventh gear 47 disposed coaxially with the stirring member 23, and the connection manner between the fifth gear 45 and the seventh gear 47 may be adjusted according to the rotation direction requirement of the counting assembly 5, the size requirement of the developing cartridge, and the like, for example, the connection may be achieved by direct engagement between the two or the connection may be achieved by one or more sixth gears 46. For the present embodiment, the seventh gear 47 at the conductive end 104 may be regarded as a driving force input gear of the stirring member 23, the fourth gear 44 at the driving end 103 may be regarded as a driving force output gear, and for the counting assembly 5, the fourth gear 44 may be regarded as a driving gear.

As shown in fig. 3, the developing cartridge C further includes a conductive end cap 12 mounted on the conductive end 104, and the fifth gear 45, the sixth gear 46 and the seventh gear 47 are all located between the right side wall 1a2 of the bottom shell and the conductive end cap to be protected, so that the driving force received by the driving force receiving member 3 is transmitted to the conductive end 104 through the developing member 21 and/or the powder feeding member 22, then transmitted to the stirring member 23 through the fifth gear 45, the sixth gear 46 and the seventh gear 47, finally transmitted to the fourth gear 44 by the stirring member 23, and then the counting assembly 5 is driven to operate by the fourth gear 441.

As shown in fig. 5, the developing cartridge C further includes first and second urging

portions

14a and 14b provided at both left and right sides, the first and second urging

portions

14a and 14b receiving urging forces when the developing cartridge is mounted, thereby urging the developing cartridge C to be held at a predetermined position where the developing member 21 is in contact with a photosensitive member (not shown). Alternatively, the first urging portion 14a and the second urging portion 14b may be provided on the end caps on the left and right sides, or may be formed protruding from the left and right sides of the casing 1, and the first urging portion 14a and the second urging portion 14b may be substantially aligned in the left and right direction (as shown by the broken line in fig. 4), and the urging forces may be more effectively transmitted to the developing member 21 in the width direction/front-rear direction/lateral direction of the developing cartridge C, with the first urging portion 14a and the second urging portion 14b being closer to the front 104/developing member 21.

Fig. 6A is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above in the lower direction thereof; fig. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the developing cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention taken along a plane parallel to the front-rear direction thereof and passing through the driving force receiving member and the driving gear at the same time.

In the present embodiment, the first urging portion 14a is integrally formed with the drive end cover 11, and thus, in fig. 6A, the first urging portion 14a is hidden together with the drive end cover 11. The counting assembly 5 comprises a counting piece 51, a driven body 52 and a pushing piece 57, wherein the counting piece 51 and the driven body 52 are combined with each other, the pushing piece 57 is used for pushing the driven body 52, the driving gear 44 is combined with the driven body 52, driving force is sequentially transmitted to the counting piece 51 through the driving gear 44 and the driven body 52, the counting piece 51 interacts with a detection component in the imaging device in the rotating process, and the driven body 52 and the driving gear 44 keep good combination under the action of the pushing piece 57; further, the counting assembly 5 further includes a supporting body 53 combined with the driven body 52, and the supporting body 53 and the counting member 51 are respectively located at two sides of the driven body 52 along the left-right direction, and the supporting body 53, the driven body 52 and the counting member 51 may be collectively referred to as a counting portion of the counting assembly 5, and the pushing member 57 may be referred to as a pushing portion of the counting assembly 5, where the counting portion may be integrally formed or separately formed, and is not limited herein. In the present embodiment, the counting portion is mounted by means of point support, and as shown in the drawing, the left side wall 1a1 is formed with a plurality of positioning projections 17 protruding therefrom, the plurality of positioning projections 17 being arranged in the circumferential direction of the counting portion/driven body 52, the circumferential inner surface or outer surface of the supporting body 53 being in contact with the positioning projections 17 to realize that the counting portion is positioned in the housing 1, the circumferential area of the supporting body 53 being positioned is larger than in the existing shaft hole fitting manner, so that the rotation is smoother.

As further shown in fig. 2, the end cap 11 has an end cap body 110, and a first through hole 111, a second through hole 112 and an extension plate 113 provided on the end cap body, the driving force receiving member 3 is exposed through the first through hole 111, at least the counter member 51 in the counter assembly 5 is exposed through the second through hole 112, further, a plurality of auxiliary protrusions 114 are provided on a side of the extension plate 113 facing the housing 1, and when the end cap 11 is mounted, the auxiliary protrusions 114 are combined with the counter member 51, and at this time, both left and right sides of the counter portion are positioned, so that stability of the counter portion during counting is ensured.

As described above, the driving gear 44 is coaxial with the stirring member 23 and driven by the stirring member 23 to transmit the driving force to the counting assembly 5, that is, the driving gear 44 may transmit the driving force to the counting assembly 5 while receiving the driving force of the stirring member 23, and for the counting assembly 5, the driving gear 44 may be regarded as the driving member of the counting assembly, and thus, the distance between the driving gear 44 and the bracket of the left side wall 1a1 and the distance between the counting assembly 5 and the left side wall 1a1 may be shortened to the greatest extent in the left-right direction, and the size of the developing cartridge C in the left-right direction of the positions corresponding to the driving gear 44 and the counting assembly 5 may be reduced; even if the distance between the counting assembly 5 and the left side wall 1a1 cannot be changed, limited by the position of the detecting member in the image forming apparatus, the driven body 52 may be disposed close to the left side wall 1a1, specifically, the left side surface 52a of the driven body 52 is close to the left side wall 1a1, and the purpose of reducing the size of the developing cartridge C can be achieved as well.

In the conventional developing cartridge, at least one intermediate gear is further provided between the first gear 41 and the driving gear 44, and as shown in fig. 6A, the distance between the first gear 41 and the left side wall 1a1 is greater than the distance between the driven body 52 and the left side wall 1a1 in the left-right direction, and obviously, the driving force is transmitted from the first gear 41 to the driven body 52, the intermediate gear must be provided with at least two stages, and accordingly, the driving gear 44 must be provided with two stages, and at this time, the dimension of the developing cartridge in the left-right direction, particularly the positions corresponding to the intermediate gear and the driving gear 44, cannot be reduced.

As shown in fig. 6B, when being cut along a plane parallel to the front-rear direction and passing through the driving force receiving member and the driving gear at the same time, a part of the first urging portion 14a will be retained, the rotation center of the driving force receiving member 3/the first gear 41 is M, the rotation center of the stirring member 23/the driving gear 44 is N, the maximum distance between the first gear 41 and the driving gear 44 is S3, the minimum distance is S2, the distance between the two rotation centers is S1, the first urging portion 14a is located at least in the region defined by the maximum distance S3, further, the first urging portion 14a is located in the region defined by the distance S1 between the two rotation centers, and a part of the first urging portion 14a is opposite to the region defined by the minimum distance S2, and in the region defined by the minimum distance S2, since no other components are provided, the region is formed as a vacant region in which the position and shape of the first urging portion 14a can be adjusted according to the demand. For example, when the positions of only the first urging portions 14a of the two types of developing cartridges are slightly different, the production mold of the developing cartridge can be simplified, thereby reducing the production cost and the management cost; alternatively, when a large urging force is required for a certain type of developing cartridge, a reinforcing portion that can reinforce the strength of the first urging portion 14a may be provided in the vacant area.

On the other hand, the drive gear 44 only needs to be provided at one stage and disposed close to the left side wall 1a1, the diameter of the drive gear 44 and the size in the left-right direction are reduced; in the present embodiment, the first urging portion 14a is provided on the drive end cap 11, and the overlapping area of the first urging portion 14a and the drive gear 44 in the left-right direction can be reduced, even no overlapping area occurs, and the interference between the drive end cap 11 and the drive gear 44 can be reduced or eliminated during the assembly of the developing cartridge C; in the embodiment described below, when the first urging portion 14a protrudes from the left side wall 1a1, interference does not occur between the reduced diameter drive gear 44 and the first urging portion 14a, that is, there is no overlap between the first urging portion 14a and the drive gear 44 on a plane perpendicular to the left-right direction.

In actual operation, the counting assembly 5 needs to be disengaged from the driving gear 44 and kept still after the counting is completed, the driven body 52 is set to be a "half-tooth gear" having a tooth missing portion 522 (as shown in fig. 8) and a tooth portion 521, and the tooth portion 521 is opposite to the driving gear 44 during the counting, and the tooth missing portion 522 is opposite to the driving gear 44 when the counting is completed; the driving body 52 is arranged as a full-tooth gear (as shown in fig. 6B), and the counter element 51 and the driven body 52 are arranged to be combined in a separable manner in a second manner, so that the counter element 51 can receive the driving force of the driven body 52 when counting, and the counter element 51 is separated from the driven body 52 when counting is completed; in a third mode, at least one of the driving gear 44 and the driven body 52 is provided to be movable in a movement direction intersecting the left-right direction, and during counting, the driving gear 44 and the driven body 52 are coupled to each other, and when counting is completed, at least one of the driving gear 44 and the driven body 52 is moved in the movement direction so that the two are decoupled.

The first method sets a high requirement on the precision of the driven body 52, and the second method sets the counter element 51 and the driven body 52 in a separate form, which not only results in complicated assembly process, but also is disadvantageous in maintaining the working stability of the counter assembly 5, and when the third method is adopted, it is preferable that the driving gear 44 is disposed to be movable in the moving direction, and more preferably, the moving direction is orthogonal to the left-right direction, and at the same time, since the driving gear 44 and the first pushing portion 14a are also separated from each other, as shown in fig. 6B, a space where the driving gear 44 is movable is larger, so that the device for moving the driving gear 44 will have a larger degree of freedom of design.

The absence of other members in the above-mentioned void region and the spacer region means that no functional members are provided, for example, a protrusion or a chute for supporting a certain member, but a protrusion or a recess provided due to the mold requirement of the product is allowed.

Example two

In this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, when the driving force is transmitted from the conductive end 104 toward the driving end 103, the stirring member 23 is not used any more, but a driving shaft 24 parallel to the stirring member 23 is used, and the rotation axis L24 of the driving shaft 24 is also parallel to the rotation axis of the developing member 21. Preferably, the drive shaft 24 is located closer to the front 101 than the stirring member 23 in the front-rear direction, and the drive gear 44 is arranged coaxially with the drive shaft 24, but there is still a vacant area between the drive gear 44 and the first gear 41.

As shown in fig. 7, the driving gear 44 and the driven body 52 in the counting assembly are separated from each other, and the driving gear 44 is provided to be movable in the moving direction, and the driving gear 44 and the driven body 52 are separated from each other before the developing cartridge C is mounted, so that the driving gear 44 does not touch the first gear 41 nor the driven body 52 during transportation of the developing cartridge C, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the driving gear 44, the first gear 41 and the driven body 52; when the developing cartridge C is mounted to a predetermined position or the developing cartridge C is started to operate, the driving gear 44 is returned to the position where it is combined with the driven body 52, so that the counting assembly 5 can receive the driving force required for counting, and after the counting is completed, the driving gear 44 is returned to the position where it is separated from the driven body 52 again.

Similarly, in this embodiment, the driving gear 44 is only required to be disposed at one stage, and a space S4 is also formed between the driving gear 44 and the first pushing portion 14a, and the space and the empty space provide space for the driving gear 44 to move, so that the device for moving the driving gear 44 has a greater degree of freedom of design.

Alternatively, it is possible to control whether the drive shaft 24 transmits the driving force from the conductive end 104 to the driving end 103 according to the stage in which the counting assembly 5 is located, and when the counting assembly 5 needs to count, the drive shaft 24 may transmit the driving force from the conductive end 104 to the driving end, and when the counting assembly 5 finishes counting, the transmission process of the drive shaft 24 is cut off, and the cutting off may be performed at any position of the drive shaft 24, or between the drive shaft 24 and a left side gear thereof or between the drive shaft 24 and a right side gear thereof.

Example III

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a portion of the drive end of a developer cartridge according to a third embodiment of the invention; fig. 9A is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the third embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above in the lower direction thereof; fig. 9B is a side view of the developing cartridge according to the third embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the left to the right thereof.

Unlike the above-described embodiment, in the present embodiment, the driving force received by the driving force receiving member 3 is not transmitted to the conductive end 104, but is transmitted to the counting assembly 5 at the driving end 103 in such a manner that the belt 15 is combined with the driving force receiving member 3 or the first gear 41 and the driving gear 44, respectively, as a kind of transmission member.

As shown in fig. 8, the driving force receiving member 3 or the first gear 41 is provided with a driving portion coupled with the belt 15, and the driving gear 44 includes a driven portion 441 and a gear body 442 coupled with each other, wherein the driven portion 441 is farther from the housing 1 than the gear body 442; as shown in fig. 9A, the first urging portion 14a protrudes leftward from the housing 1, and the belt 15 is further away from the left side wall 1a1 than the first urging portion 14a in the left-right direction, and the installation and running of the belt 15 are not restricted by the first urging portion 14 a.

In the front-rear direction, the first pushing portion 14a is located between the driving portion and the driven portion 441, specifically, as shown in fig. 9B, the driving portion is coaxially disposed with the driving force receiving member 3/the first gear 41, the driven portion 441 is coaxially disposed with the gear body 442, so that the rotation center of the driving portion is M, the rotation center of the driven portion is N, the maximum distance between the driving portion and the driving gear 44 is S3 along the line MN of the two rotation centers, and as in the first embodiment, the first pushing portion 14a is located at least in the region defined by the maximum distance S3, further, the first pushing portion 14a is located in the region defined by the distance S1 between the two rotation centers, and a portion of the first pushing portion 14a is opposite to the region defined by the minimum distance S2, and the region defined by the minimum distance S2 is formed as a void region, which is beneficial for adjusting the position and shape of the first pushing portion 14a in the void region according to the requirement.

Further, when viewed in the left-right direction, the first urging portion 14a is not overlapped with at least the gear body 442 of the drive gear 44, with a space S4 formed therebetween, and after counting is completed, interruption of the driving force between the drive gear 44 and the counting assembly 5 can be achieved by arranging at least the gear body 442 of the drive gear 44 to be movable in the moving direction, preferably, the whole of the drive gear 44 is arranged to be movable in a plane perpendicular to the left-right direction, and since the belt 15 is farther from the housing 1 than the first urging portion 14a, the driven portion 441 does not interfere with the first urging portion 14a when the whole of the drive gear 44 is moved. As shown in fig. 9B, the present embodiment employs a missing gear in which the driven body 52 is provided with a tooth 521 and a missing tooth 522 to achieve interruption of the transmission of the driving force between the driving gear 44 and the counting assembly 5.

Example IV

Fig. 10 is a side view of the developing cartridge according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the left to the right thereof; fig. 11 is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention as seen from above in the lower direction thereof.

The third embodiment is an alternative implementation of the third embodiment, and is different in that in the third embodiment, the driving portion and the third gear/powder feeding member gear 43 are coaxially disposed, and a hollow area still needs to be formed between the driving portion and the driven portion 441, and the driving force is transmitted between the driving portion and the driven portion through the belt 15; the plane of the movement direction of the belt 15 and the rotation axis of the driving portion may be perpendicular to each other, or may be in an angle shape, so long as the belt 15 can transmit the driving force from the driving portion to the driven portion 441, and from the viewpoint of saving effort and stability of the driving force transmission, it is preferable that the plane of the movement direction of the belt 15 is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the driving portion.

As shown in fig. 11, the belt 15 is further away from the left sidewall 1a1 than the first pushing portion 14a in the left-right direction, so that the belt 15 is installed and operated without interfering with the first pushing portion 14 a; as shown in fig. 10, the rotation center of the driving portion is P, the rotation center of the driven portion 441 is still coaxially disposed with the driving gear 44, the rotation center is N, along the connecting line PN of the two rotation centers, the maximum distance between the driving portion and the driven portion 441 is S3, the minimum distance between the two rotation centers is S2, the distance between the two rotation centers is S1, the first pushing portion 14a is located in the area defined by the maximum distance S3, further, the first pushing portion 14a is located in the area defined by the distance S1, further, the first pushing portion 14a is located in the area defined by the minimum distance S2, that is, the first pushing portion 14a is located in the empty area; meanwhile, when viewed in the left-right direction, the first urging portion 14a does not overlap at least with the gear body 442 of the drive gear 44, forming a space S4 therebetween. The driving gear 44/gear body 441 in the present embodiment has a larger movable space, and the degree of freedom of design of the first urging portion 14a is also higher than that of the above-described embodiment.

Example five

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the drive end of the developer cartridge of the fifth embodiment of the present invention with the drive end cap hidden; fig. 13 is a side view of the developing cartridge according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from left to right in the left-right direction thereof.

In the present embodiment, the driving force transmission between the driving force receiving member 3/first gear 41/third gear 43, which is directly a driving portion or provided with a driving portion, and the driving gear 44, which is a driven portion, is replaced with the gear lever 16 by a belt, that is, in the present embodiment, the transmitting member is the gear lever 16. As shown in the drawing, the gear lever 16 includes a lever body 163, and a first coupling portion 161 and a second coupling portion 162 respectively located at two ends of the lever body 163, wherein the first coupling portion 161 is used for coupling with the driving portion, the second coupling portion 162 is coupled with the driving gear 44, and the lever body 163 is not in contact with the first pushing portion 14 a; likewise, the rotation axis of the gear lever 16 and the rotation axis of the driving part may be perpendicular to each other, or may be formed in an angle shape, so long as the gear lever 16 is capable of transmitting the driving force from the driving part to the driven part, and preferably, the rotation axis of the gear lever 16/lever body 163 is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the driving part, and hereinafter, the first coupling part 161 and the first gear 41 will be described as an example.

Preferably, each of the first coupling portion 161 and the second coupling portion 162 is provided with a plurality of teeth in a rotational direction thereof, and the driving gear 44 includes a positioning portion 443 and a gear body 441 coupled to each other, the positioning portion 443 being for positioning the driving gear 44 with respect to the driving end cover 11. The gear body 441 is combined with the second combining portion 162 and the counting assembly 5 at the same time, as shown in fig. 13, a distance between a rotation center M of the driving force receiving member 3 and a rotation center N of the gear body 441 is S1, a minimum distance between the first gear 41 and the gear body 441 is S2 along a connecting line direction of the two rotation centers MN, a gap area is formed therebetween, the first pushing portion 14a is located in the gap area, at least the lever body 161 is located in the gap area in the gear body 16, the first pushing portion 14a is separated from the gear lever when viewed in a left-right direction, and a space area S4 is formed between the first pushing portion 14a and the gear body 441. As in the fourth embodiment, the driving gear 44/gear body 441 in the present embodiment has a larger movable space, and the degree of freedom in design of the first urging portion 14a is also higher. Alternatively, the first coupling portion 161 of the gear lever may be coupled with the powder feeding gear/third gear 43, the rotation axis of which is parallel to the rotation axis of the driving force receiving member.

Example six

Fig. 14 is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention as seen from above and below; fig. 15 is a drive end side view of the developing cartridge according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention as seen from above in the lower direction thereof.

Unlike the fifth embodiment, the positioning portion 443 is not provided on the driving gear 44 in the present embodiment, and thus the driving gear 44 in the present embodiment is the gear body 441 in the fifth embodiment, and the second coupling portion 162 of the gear lever 16 is coupled with the driving gear 44. As in the fifth embodiment, a space is still formed between the first gear 41 and the driving gear 44, the first pushing portion 14a is located in the space, and meanwhile, a space S4 is also formed between the first pushing portion 14a and the driving gear 44, so that the driving gear 44 has a larger movable space, and the degree of freedom of design of the first pushing portion 14a is also higher.

Further, since the positioning portion 443 is eliminated, the size of the driving gear 44 can be reduced in the left-right direction, and accordingly, the size of the developing cartridge C at the position corresponding to the driving gear 44 and the gear lever 16 can be reduced.

The area defined by the minimum distance S2, the area defined by the distance S1, and the area defined by the maximum distance S3 refer to the area corresponding to the distance S1/S2/S3 in a direction perpendicular to the straight line MN/PN in space, and thus, the empty area can be understood as the area corresponding to the minimum distance S2 in a direction perpendicular to the straight line MN/PN in space, and a part of the transmission member 15/16 is located in the empty area; the spacer may be understood as a region between a portion of the drive gear 44 overlapping/equal-sized with the first urging portion 14a and the first urging portion 14a, as viewed in the up-down direction.

Example seven

Fig. 16A and 16B are perspective views of a counting portion of a counting assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 17A is a top view of a counting assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the invention, as viewed along its axis of rotation; fig. 17B is a bottom view of a counting assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the invention, as seen along the rotational axis thereof.

As described above, the transmission of the driving force from the driving force receiving member 3 to the driving gear 44 is no longer achieved by the gear provided between the driving force receiving member 3 and the driving gear 44, and thus, with respect to the manner of transmission using the gear, the driving gear 44 in the present invention may not coincide with the predetermined rotational speed, or the rotational speed of the driving gear 44 may be faster or slower than the predetermined rotational speed, and further, the counting assembly 5 may be faster or slower than the predetermined rotational speed, so that the counting function of the counting assembly 5 may not be achieved; alternatively, the diameter of the counting assembly 5 is reduced to reduce the manufacturing cost thereof, and at this time, the rotation speed of the counting assembly 5 becomes faster.

To this end, the invention also provides a speed adjusting assembly between the driving gear 44 and the counting assembly 5, for adjusting the rotation speed of the counting assembly 5 when driven by the driving gear 44 according to the counting requirement of the counting assembly 5, so that the counting assembly 5 can realize the counting function. When the rotational speed of the drive gear 44 is slower than the predetermined rotational speed, it is necessary to increase the rotational speed of the counting assembly 5, and it is often achieved in a simple manner, for example, by increasing the diameter of the drive gear 44 and simultaneously decreasing the diameter of the driven body 52.

In this embodiment, the speed adjusting means is actually a delay means, and the average speed of the counting means 5 during counting is reduced without changing the rotational speed of the driving gear 44, so that the time required for the counting means 51 to rotate by a predetermined angle is prolonged during counting of the counting means 5.

As shown in fig. 16A and 16B, in the present embodiment, the counting portion of the counting assembly 5 includes a counting member 51 and a driven member 52 combined with each other, and similarly, the counting member 51 and the driven member 52 may be integrally formed or may be separately formed, and the driven member 52 is configured to receive the driving force of the driven portion, thereby driving the counting member 51 to rotate in the direction indicated by r1 about the rotation axis L5, and to interact with the detecting member in the image forming apparatus; in the present embodiment, the counter 51 is provided directly or indirectly on the left side surface 52a of the driven body 52.

The counting member 51 includes a cylinder 510 connected to the driven body 52 and at least one counting protrusion formed to extend radially outward along the cylinder 510, and the counting protrusion toggles or presses a detecting member in the image forming apparatus during counting of the counting assembly 5, and in this embodiment, the counting member 51 is provided with a first counting protrusion 511 and a second counting protrusion 512 arranged at intervals in a rotation direction r 1; it is understood that the cylinder 510 may be omitted, and the first and

second counting protrusions

511 and 512 are directly combined with the driven body 52 and rotated with the rotation of the driven body 52.

The counting part further includes a triggered member 55 for driving the driven body 52 to rotate, and when the driven body 52 is in a stopped rotation state, the triggered member 55 is triggered by an external trigger member 445 (shown in fig. 18) to drive the driven body 52 to continue to rotate. Preferably, the triggered member 55 is a force-receiving protrusion coupled to at least one of the driven body 55 and the supporting body 53, and more preferably, the triggered member 55 is coupled to both the driven body 55 and the supporting body 53 at the same time, and the triggered member 55 is formed to protrude radially outward from the circumferential surface of the supporting body 53, but the triggered member 55 does not protrude beyond the driven body 52, preventing the triggered member 55 from generating unnecessary interference. When the counting portion is arranged to rotate about a rotation axis, the counting portion further comprises a sleeve 54 coupled to the driven body 52, said sleeve 54 extending from the right side surface 52b of the driven body 52 along the rotation axis L5.

The driven body 52 is provided as a rotating body rotatable about a rotation axis L5, and the driving portion 521 and the non-driving portion 522 are arranged in a circumferential direction of the rotating body, wherein the driving portion 521 is for receiving an external driving force to rotate the rotating body 52, the non-driving portion 522 is for shutting off the driving force transmitted to the rotating body 52 so that the rotating body 52 is not rotated any more, in this embodiment, the driving portion 521 is provided as a tooth portion arranged in the circumferential direction of the rotating body, and the non-driving portion 522 is provided as a tooth missing portion arranged in the circumferential direction of the rotating body.

When the counter assembly 5 and the driving gear 44 are disengaged in the first manner described in the first embodiment, the driving portion 521 includes at least a first driving portion 521a and a second driving portion 521b spaced apart from each other in the rotation direction of the rotating body, and the non-driving portion 522 includes at least a first non-driving portion 522a and a second non-driving portion 522b spaced apart from each other in the rotation direction of the rotating body, and when the counter assembly 5 is in the counter state, the first driving portion 521a, the second driving portion 521b and the second non-driving portion 522b are opposed to the driving gear 44; when the counting assembly 5 completes counting, the first non-driving part 522a is opposite to the driving gear 44.

As shown in fig. 17A and 17B, the first driving portion 521a, the second non-driving portion 522B, the second driving portion 521B, and the first non-driving portion 522a are disposed adjacent to each other in this order in the rotation direction r1 of the rotating body, and the rotating body 52 receives the driving force to rotate when the second driving portion 521B is opposite to the driving gear 44 during the counting of the counting assembly 5, and stops rotating as the second non-driving portion 522B is opposite to the driving gear 44 without the rotating body 52 receiving the driving force, and thus, the second non-driving portion 522B may be regarded as an example of a shut-off portion for temporarily shutting off the transmission of the driving force between the driving gear 44 and the rotating body 52; when triggered by an external component, the rotator 52 starts rotating again until the first driving part 521a is opposite to the driving gear 44, and then, the rotator 52 continues rotating, and when the first non-driving part 522a is opposite to the driving gear 44, the counting assembly 5 completes counting, and the rotator 52 remains stationary, and the first non-driving part 522a may be regarded as a formal embodiment for completely shutting off the driving force transmission between the driving gear 44 and the rotator 52, and the rotator 52 remains stationary regardless of whether the driving gear 44 continues rotating.

Regarding the position of the triggered member 55, based on the inventive concept of the present invention, when the triggered member 55 is triggered by the trigger member 445, the triggered member 55 can drive the rotating body 52 to start to rotate again; preferably, when the triggered member 55 is seen along the rotation axis L5, the triggered member 55 faces the second non-driving portion 522b, and more preferably, the triggered member 55 is located substantially at the middle position of the arc corresponding to the second non-driving portion 522b in the rotation direction r1, so that the first driving portion 521a and the driving gear 44 can be smoothly engaged when the triggered member 55 is triggered.

The driving gear 44 includes a main body 440, teeth 441 provided in a circumferential direction of the main body, D-shaped portions 444 provided in the main body 440, and a trigger 445 extending radially outwardly along a circumferential surface of the main body, and the stirring member 23 or the driving shaft 24 is coupled with the D-shaped portions 444, so that the driving gear 44 can obtain driving force transmitted from the stirring member 23 or the driving shaft 24; the trigger 445 is configured as an extension protrusion capable of pushing the triggered member 55.

Before describing the operation of the counting assembly, the structure of the second counting protrusion 512 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 16A and 17A, as shown in the drawing, the first counting protrusion 511 and the second counting protrusion 512 are disposed at intervals along the rotation direction r1, the second counting protrusion 512 is formed as a fan-shaped extension body having an upper side plate 5121 located upstream, a lower side plate 5122 located downstream, and an arc plate 5123 located between the upper side plate and the lower side plate, the arc plate 5123 has a front end 512a located at the upstream end and a rear end 512b located at the downstream end, and the radial outer side of the arc plate 5123 forms an arc surface 512c having an arc length m.

The counting process of the counting assembly 5 is described below in connection with fig. 19A-19F, in which only the drive gear 44 and the counting section are shown for a clearer description of the operation of the counting section.

When the developing cartridge C is mounted to the image forming apparatus but has not yet started to operate, the counting projection and the detecting member 9 in the image forming apparatus may or may not be in contact with each other, and the speed regulating assembly according to the present invention is applicable regardless of the relative positions of the two. In fig. 19A, before the developing cartridge C starts to operate, the first counting protrusion 511 and the detecting member 9 come into contact with each other, the teeth 441 of the driving gear 44 are engaged with the second driving portion 521b, and when the driving force of the driving force receiver 3 starts to rotate the driving gear 44 in the direction indicated by r2, the rotating body 52 is driven to rotate around the direction indicated by r1, and the detecting member 9 continuously interacts with the first counting protrusion 511.

As shown in fig. 19B, when the first count protrusion 511 moves out of engagement with the detection member 9, the detection member 9 starts to come into contact with the front end point 512a of the second count protrusion 512, the drive gear 44 faces the second non-drive section/cut-off section 522B, and at this time, the rotating body 52 is held stationary, and accordingly, the second count protrusion 512 is held in contact with the detection member 9 at all times. During engagement of the drive gear 44 with the second drive portion 521b, both the trigger 445 and the triggered member 55 move toward the region of the drive gear 44 opposite the rotary body 52, but the trigger 445 reaches the region prior to the triggered member 55, so that interference between the triggered member 55 and the trigger 445 does not occur.

As the drive gear 44 continues to rotate in the direction indicated by r2, as shown in fig. 19C, the trigger 445 reaches the upstream of the triggered member 55 in the rotation direction r1, and then the triggered member 55 is triggered, the rotating body 52 starts to rotate again in the direction indicated by r1, as shown in fig. 19D and 19E, the drive gear 44 starts to mesh with the first driving portion 521a, the arcuate surface 512C abuts against the detecting member 9 until the drive gear 44 is opposed to the first non-driving portion/main 522a, as shown in fig. 19F, the counting assembly 5 finishes counting and stops rotating, and the drive gear 44 still rotates in the direction indicated by r2, at which time the detecting member 9 comes out of contact with the rear end point 512b of the second counting protrusion 511.

When the driving gear 44 starts to be opposite to the cut-off portion 522B or when the driving gear 44 just disengages from the second driving portion 521B, the trigger 445 is located at the first position shown in fig. 19B, and when the trigger 445 reaches the second position shown in fig. 19C to start to trigger the triggered member 55 with the rotation of the driving gear 44, the first position and the second position are described for clarity, and the trigger 445 in the first position and the trigger 445 in the second position are both shown in fig. 19C, wherein the trigger 445 in the first position is indicated by the dotted line, the trigger 445 in the second position is indicated by the solid line, the triggers 445 in the second position are respectively located at both sides of the triggered member 55 in the rotation direction r1, and the rotation angle β of the trigger 445 is β < 360 ° in the rotation direction r2 of the trigger 445 from the first position to the second position, and the second protrusion 512 is kept in contact with the detecting member 9, so that the process of the detecting member 9 and the interaction of the second protrusion 512 with the detecting member 9 is simulated.

In the process of the driving gear 44 meshing with the first driving portion 521a, the detecting member 9 abuts against the arcuate surface 512c, and when the driving gear 44 is about to reach a position opposed to the first non-driving portion 522a, the detecting member 9 reaches the rear end point 512b of the arcuate surface 512c, and when the driving gear 44 is opposed to the first non-driving portion 522a, the detecting member 9 is out of contact with the arcuate surface 512c, and at this time, the counting is completed.

As can be seen from the above, in the present embodiment, the duration of the abutment of the detecting member 9 with the second counting protrusion 512 is equal to the sum of the duration of the rotation angle α (as shown in fig. 17A) of the driving body 52 and the duration of the rotation angle β of the driving gear 44, wherein the angle α is the angle between the front end point 512a and the rear end point 512b, corresponds to the arc length of the arc plate 5123 extending along the r1 direction, and the angle β corresponds to the arc length of the trigger 445 rotating from the first position to the second position. For the existing counter, the time for which the second counting protrusion 512 in the present embodiment abuts against the detecting member 9 is prolonged, which is the time required for the rotation angle β of the driving gear 44, and thus the second non-driving/cutting portion 522b can be regarded as one embodiment of the delay means, and the cutting portion 522b is used to temporarily cut off the driving force received by the rotating body 52, so that the rotating body 52 is kept stationary to achieve the delay; the triggered member 55 is used to be triggered by the external trigger member 445 so that the rotary body 52 is rotated again by the driving force, and thus the triggered member 55 can be regarded as one embodiment of the restarting means; the process between the temporary cutting off of the driving force until the driving force is again obtained of the rotating body 52 is a delay stage in which the counting assembly 5 is still in the counting state, specifically, the detecting member 9 is kept in abutment with the second counting protrusion 512; thus, even if the rotation speed of the driving teeth 44 becomes high, the purpose of ensuring the counting function of the counting assembly 5 can be achieved without changing the structure of the second counting protrusion 512.

For the second driving portion 521b, before the developing cartridge C starts to operate, it is advantageous that the teeth 441 of the driving gear be positioned to engage with the upstream end of the second driving portion 521b, and that the detecting member 9 be out of abutment with at least the first counting protrusion 511 or be positioned to be in abutment with the second counting protrusion 512 when the teeth 411 are out of engagement with the downstream end of the second driving portion 521b, that is, the arc length of the second driving portion 521b be at least sufficient to rotate the first counting protrusion 511 out of abutment with the detecting member 9. When the second driving portion 521b has teeth, the number of teeth is at least 6, so that when the driving gear 44 is disengaged from the second driving portion 521b or when the driving gear 44 is opposed to the cut-off portion 522b, the first count protrusion 511 is disengaged from the detecting member 9, preferably at least 7, and it is possible to prevent the detecting member 9 from being disengaged from the first count protrusion 511 due to a manufacturing error, but the detecting member 9 cannot reach a position where the second count protrusion 512 is engaged, that is, the position accuracy requirements of the first count protrusion 511 and the second count protrusion 512 are lowered.

Based on the technical concept of the present embodiment, the delay device is disposed on the rotating body 52 to achieve the purpose of slowing down the rotation speed of the counting assembly 5/the rotating body 52/the counting protrusions 511/512, thereby ensuring that the counting function of the counting assembly 5 is achieved.

When the trigger 445 is provided only in one and the relative position of the drive gear 44 is unchanged, the position and shape of the counting protrusion may be set according to the total length of time and/or the interval length that the counting assembly 5 needs to cause the detecting member 9 to be abutted, for example, when the total length of time that the second counting protrusion 512 in the present embodiment is abutted with the detecting member 9 needs to be further increased/decreased, this may be achieved by extending/shortening the arc length of the arc face 512 c; when the total length of time that the first counting protrusion 511 abuts against the detecting member 9 in the present embodiment needs to be increased, it may be achieved that the arc surface that abuts against the detecting member 9 is provided at the first counting protrusion 511, and accordingly, the number of teeth of the second driving portion 521b needs to be increased, or by shortening the arc length of the second driving portion 521b, at which time the cut-off portion 522b is already opposite to the driving gear 44, but the first counting protrusion 511 remains in an abutting state against the detecting member 9, it may also be provided at the upstream of the second driving portion 521b such that the driving gear 44 is equivalent to idling until the trigger 445 triggers the triggered member 55, and further, if the total length of time that the second counting protrusion 512 abuts against the detecting member 9 does not need to be changed, there will be no longer a separate cut-off portion between the first driving portion 521a and the second driving portion 521b, the first driving portion 521a and the second driving portion 521b are integrally connected, the driving gear 44 is combined with the first driving portion 521a and the second driving portion 521b until completion, and only one cut-off portion is provided at the circumference of the rotating body 52.

When the shape of the counting protrusions 511/512 is not changed, but the length of time that the counting protrusions abut against the detecting member 9 needs to be reduced, one or more trigger pieces may be additionally provided on the driving gear 44, and when the driving gear 44 rotates, the trigger pieces provided additionally trigger the triggered piece 55 earlier than the trigger piece 445 in the present embodiment, and the rotating body 52 can also be converted earlier from the state of temporarily shutting off the driving force to the state of receiving the driving force again, and the total length of time that the second counting protrusions 512 abut against the detecting member 9 is reduced.

In the case of the counter 51 having a plurality of counting protrusions, if it is necessary to control the interval between the abutment of two adjacent counting protrusions with the detecting member 9 to be longer, this can be achieved by decreasing the arc length of the second driving portion 521b, at which time the period in which the second driving portion 521b receives the driving force from the driving gear 44 becomes shorter, that is, the arc length of the second driving portion 521b only needs to ensure that the previous counting protrusion rotates out of abutment with the detecting member 9 without having to bring the latter counting protrusion into abutment with the detecting member 9.

Example eight

On the basis of the seventh embodiment, the present embodiment will further describe a counting section provided with a plurality of cutoff portions, that is, the delay device in the present embodiment includes a plurality of cutoff portions. As shown in fig. 20, the structure of the counter 51 is not changed in the present embodiment, but two cut-off portions are provided on the rotating body 52 so that the total counting time period of the counter 51 is longer, and thus the present embodiment can also be regarded as another implementation of extending the total abutment time period of the second counting protrusion 512 and the detecting member 9 in the seventh embodiment.

In the rotation direction r1, the rotating body 52 includes a first driving portion 521a, a second driving portion 521b, a third driving portion 521c, a first non-driving portion 522a, a second non-driving portion 522b, and a third non-driving portion 522c, when the counting assembly 5 is in the counting state, the driving gear 44 is opposed to at least one of the first driving portion 521a, the second driving portion 521b, the third driving portion 521c, the second non-driving portion 522b, and the third non-driving portion 522c, and when the counting assembly 5 is completed, the driving gear 44 is opposed to the first non-driving portion 522a, and thus, the areas where the first driving portion 521a, the second driving portion 521b, the third driving portion 521c, the second non-driving portion 522b, and the third non-driving portion 522c are referred to as a counting area of the rotating body 52, and the area where the first non-driving portion 522a is located is referred to as a non-counting area of the rotating body 52; also, for the seventh embodiment, the areas where the first driving part 521a, the second driving part 521b, and the second non-driving part 522b are located may be referred to as a count area, the area where the first non-driving part 522a is located may be referred to as a non-count area, and the count area and the non-count area are adjacently disposed on the circumference of the rotating body along the rotation direction of the rotating body 52.

It should be noted that the counting area and the non-counting area herein are divided according to whether the counting assembly 5 is in the counting state or not, not according to the shape or arc length of the respective driving and non-driving portions, that is, even if the arc length of the first driving portion 521a is set so that the counting assembly 5 has completed counting, the driving gear 44 is still opposed to/engaged with the first driving portion 521a, and a portion of the first driving portion 521a that has not yet been opposed to/engaged with the driving gear 44 should be regarded as a portion of the first non-driving portion 522 a.

In the counting region, in the rotation direction r1, the second driving portion 521b, the second non-driving portion 522b, the third driving portion 521c, the third non-driving portion 522c, and the first driving portion 521a are arranged in order from upstream to downstream, the rotating body 52 is rotatable by receiving the driving force when the driving gear 44 is opposed to/engaged with the second driving portion 521b, the third driving portion 521c, and the first driving portion 521a, and the rotating body 52 is stationary by not receiving the driving force when the driving gear 44 is opposed to/engaged with the second non-driving portion 522b, the third non-driving portion 522c, and thus the second non-driving portion 522b and the third non-driving portion 522c may be regarded as a first cut-off portion and a second cut-off portion, respectively.

As shown in fig. 20, the restarting means in the present embodiment includes a first trigger 55 and a second trigger 56 which are respectively opposed to a first cut-off portion 522b and a second cut-off portion 522c, wherein the first trigger 55 is for causing the rotating body 52 to rotate again to oppose/engage the driving gear 44 with a third driving portion 521c after being triggered, the second trigger 55 is for causing the rotating body 52 to rotate again to oppose/engage the driving gear 44 with the first driving portion 521a after being triggered, and the third driving portion 521c is located between the first trigger 55 and the second trigger 56 in the rotation direction r 1.

As described above, the counting area in the present embodiment is provided with the plurality of cut-off portions, so that the total length of the abutment/non-abutment between the counting protrusion and the detecting part 9 is lengthened in the counting process of the counting assembly 5, and the counting function of the counting assembly 5 is smoothly realized.

Example nine

The present embodiment further evolved from the eighth embodiment in which the counter member 51 is still provided with the first and

second counting protrusions

511 and 512 separated from each other in the rotation direction r1, the second counting protrusion 512 being provided in the same shape as the first counting protrusion 511 rather than an arc extending in the rotation direction r1, as compared with the seventh embodiment in which the counting period of the first counting protrusion 511 is the same as the counting period of the second counting protrusion 512 for the two counting protrusions, but the delay means in the counting region causes the interval period of the first and

second counting protrusions

511 and 512 abutting against the detecting member 9 to be elongated during the counting of the counting assembly 5, and thus the present embodiment can be regarded as another embodiment for elongating the interval period of the two adjacent counting protrusions abutting against the detecting member 9.

Example ten

In the present embodiment, the diameter of the counting assembly 5 is reduced, and at this time, the diameters of the rotating body 52 and the counting member 51 are reduced, and the rotation speed is increased, so that the counting assembly 5 with reduced diameter can be used in the developing cartridge to which the counting assembly before reduced diameter is applied, and the counting assembly 5 also needs to be provided with the above-mentioned delay device.

As shown in fig. 22, the first driving portion 521a, the second non-driving portion 522 b/the delay means/the cut-off portion, the second driving portion 521b, and the first non-driving portion 522a are sequentially arranged on the circumference of the rotating body 52 in the rotation direction r1 of the rotating body 52, the second non-driving portion 522b is located between the first driving portion 521a and the second driving portion 521b, and since the rotation speed of the rotating body 52 is increased, the number of teeth can be reduced to not less than 2 when the second driving portion 521b is provided as teeth, that is, the first count protrusion 511 can be disengaged from the detecting member 5 as the rotating body 52 rotates from a position opposite to the upstream of the second driving portion 521b to a position opposite to the downstream of the second driving portion 521b when the number of teeth of the second driving portion 521b is 2; due to the provision of the cut-off portion 522b, the count duration of the count assembly 5 is lengthened.

It can be seen that the minimum value of the number of teeth of the second driving part 521b may vary within a range of 2 to 6, and the specific number thereof may vary according to the diameter variation of the rotary body 52.

When the counting assembly 5 described in the seventh to ninth embodiments is completed, the rotating body 52 no longer receives the driving force by the way in which the first non-driving portion 522a provided therein is opposed to/engaged with the driving gear 44, i.e., the first disengagement way described in the first embodiment, and for the seventh to ninth embodiments, the arc length of the first non-driving portion 522a is not smaller than the circumference of the triggering member 445 when the driving gear 44 rotates with the driving gear 44, so that, when the driving gear 44 is opposed to/engaged with the first non-driving portion 522a, the triggering member 445 does not trigger the triggered member 55 to cause the rotating body 52 to continue rotating even if the driving gear 44 continues rotating.

However, when the counting assembly 5 completes the counting, the specific structure of the first non-driving part 522a becomes less important when the rotating body 52 and the driving gear 44 adopt the second or third uncoupling method described in the first embodiment, and at this time, the first non-driving part 522a may be provided as a tooth missing part as described above or may be provided as a tooth part, but regardless of the specific structure of the first non-driving part 522a, when the counting assembly 5 completes the counting, the counter 51 and the rotating body 52 are uncoupled, even if the rotating body 52 is still driven to rotate by the driving gear 44, the counter 51 will remain stationary, or at least one of the rotating body 52 and the driving gear 44 moves in a direction intersecting the left-right direction, and at this time, the rotation center of the driving gear 44 and the rotation center of the rotating body 52 are away from each other, and even if the driving gear 44 continues to rotate, the rotating body 52 cannot receive the driving force and remain stationary.

[ advantageous effects ]

As described above, when the driving force transmission method described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment is adopted, the driving force received by the driving force receiving member 3 from the image forming apparatus is transmitted from the driving end 103 to the conductive end 104 and then from the conductive end 104 to the driving end 103, and although the gear for transmitting the driving force is also required to be provided at the conductive end 104, the gear density of the side where the driving end 103 is located is effectively reduced, and the gears can be simultaneously mounted on both sides regardless of whether the developing cartridge C is manually assembled or machine assembled, compared with the existing developing cartridge in which the gear density of the side where the driving end is located is greater, and there is still an overlap between the gears in the left-right direction, the above-mentioned manner of simultaneously mounting the gears on both sides of the developing cartridge can instead improve the assembly efficiency.

The counting assembly 5 needs to be driven when counting, and does not need to be driven when counting is completed, when driving force is transmitted from the conductive end 104 to the driving end 103 by adopting the transmission shaft 24 parallel to the stirring frame 23, that is, driving force required by the counting assembly 5 is no longer from the stirring member 23, and the load of the stirring member 23 during rotation is not suddenly reduced, so that the working stability of the stirring member 23 is ensured. On the other hand, when the counting of the counting assembly 5 is completed, the driving force transmission of the driving shaft 24 may be set to be interrupted, the interruption of the driving force transmission does not affect the operation of the stirring member 23, and the interruption position has a large choice, for example, the interruption position may be at the conductive end 104, the driving end 103, or the body of the driving shaft 24.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a gap is formed between the driving force receiving member 3/the first gear 41/the third gear 43 directly serving as a driving portion or provided with a driving portion and the driving gear 44 directly serving as a driven portion or provided with a driven portion, the driving portion is located in front of the driven portion in the front-rear direction, the driving force is transmitted between the driving portion and the driven portion in a non-gear combination manner, the position of the counting assembly 5 can be adjusted in the gap according to the requirement, or the radial dimension of the driven body 52 can be adjusted according to the requirement, and correspondingly, the position of the driving gear 44 can also be adjusted in the gap, so that the developing cartridge C can be universally used in various types.

The empty space provides sufficient space for the movement of the driving gear 44, and as described above, the interruption of the driving force transmission between the driving gear 44 and the counting assembly 5 preferably causes at least one of the driving gear 44 and the driven body 52 to move in the moving direction, and since the driven body 52 is part of the counting assembly 5 and the counting assembly 5 also needs to interact with the detecting means in the image forming apparatus, the manner of the movement of the driving gear 44 in the moving direction is more preferable, and the existence of the empty space can allow the control device for controlling the movement of the driving gear 44 to have a higher degree of freedom in design.

As described above, at least a part of the first urging portion 14a is located in the vacant area, not only can the first urging portion 14a be made to be position-adjustable in the developing cartridge C according to the position of the external urging force applying member, but also a reinforcing portion having higher strength can be provided for the first urging portion 14 a; for example, when two types of developing cartridges differ only slightly in the position of the first urging portion 14a, the presence of the vacant area may enable the developing cartridges to become versatile; for example, when the urging force applied by the urging force applying member applied to a certain type of developing cartridge is large, the designer can make full use of the vacant area to design the reinforcing portion for the first urging portion 14a, and conversely, when the urging force applied by the urging force applying member is small, the designer can also make full use of the vacant area to design the dispersing portion for dispersing the urging force for the first urging portion 14 a.

The hollow area also simplifies the structure of the driving gear 44, and the driving gear 44 is only required to be provided at one stage regardless of whether it is coaxially provided with the stirring member 23, especially in the first and second embodiments, as described above, the sizes of the driving gear 44 and the counting assembly 5 can be reduced in the left-right direction, and thus the size of the developing cartridge C corresponding to the positions of the driving gear 44 and the counting assembly 5 can be reduced.

For the embodiment in which the belt 15 or the gear lever 16 is used to transmit the driving force from the driving portion to the driven portion, a gap is still formed between the driving force receiving member 3/the first gear 41/the third gear 43 as the driving portion and the driving gear 44 as the driven portion, and on the one hand, the conductive end 104 is not required to be provided with a gear for transmitting the driving force, and on the other hand, the existence of the gap can also enable the meter component 5 to have versatility, so that a space is provided for the driving gear 44 to move, and the first pushing portion 14a has a higher degree of freedom in design.

When the rotation speed of the driving gear 44 is faster or slower than the expected rotation speed, the counter device 5 can smoothly complete the counting process by arranging the speed adjusting assembly in the developing cartridge without changing the structure of the driving gear 44 or the counter device 51, and meanwhile, the structure of the speed adjusting assembly can be adjusted according to the counting requirement of the counter device 51 in the target developing cartridge, so that the same counter device 51 can be used in various models.

For the developing cartridge in which the speed adjusting member is provided as the time delay device, the time delay device is directly provided on the rotary 52, there is no need to additionally reserve a space for the time delay device in the developing cartridge C, the overall structure of the developing cartridge C is simplified, and the time delay device can also be integrally formed with the rotary 52, so that the time delay device can be installed along with the installation of the rotary 52 without increasing the installation steps of the developing cartridge.

Specifically, the delay device in the present invention is to make the rotating body 52 stay for a predetermined time to realize delay by disengaging the rotating body 52 from the driving member 44, and then to make the rotating body 52 and the driving member 44 combine again by restarting the device, so that it is known that the average speed of the counting assembly 5 is reduced, the time required for the counting member to rotate for a predetermined angle is prolonged, but the rotation speed of the driving gear 44 is not changed, the rotation speed of the rotating body 52 is not changed, the structure of the driving gear 44 is not changed, the counting assembly 5 only needs to increase the delay device which can be integrally formed with the rotating body 52, and the overall cost of the developing cartridge C can be controlled.

Claims

1. A developing cartridge adapted to an image forming apparatus provided with a detecting member, the developing cartridge including a housing, and a driving force receiving member, a driving member and a counting assembly at an end of the housing, wherein the driving force receiving member sequentially transmits a driving force received from an outside to the driving member and the counting assembly; the counting assembly comprises a rotating body and a counting piece which are combined with each other, and the rotating body drives the counting piece to interact with the detecting part under the drive of the driving piece;

The rotary body is provided with a delay device, the driving piece is provided with a trigger piece, and the delay device is used for prolonging the counting time of the counting piece;

the extended count time period is the time period required by the trigger piece to rotate from the first position to the second position;

the trigger member is in a first position when the delay device is initially opposed to the driving member, and in a second position when the delay device is no longer opposed to the driving member.

2. The developer cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the trigger member rotates from the first position to the second position through an angle of less than 360 °.

3. A developing cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the triggering member in the second position forces the rotary to rotate until the time delay device is no longer opposite the driving member.

4. A developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body is kept stationary and the counting member is in the counting state when the time delay means is opposed to the driving member.

5. A developing cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the counting member is provided with at least one counting protrusion which continuously abuts the detecting member when the delay means is opposed to the driving member.

6. The developing cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the rotary is further provided with a triggered member that is triggered by the trigger member to rotate the rotary again.

7. A developing cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the triggered member is opposed to the time delay device as viewed along the rotation axis of the rotary body.

8. The developing cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the triggered member extends in a radial direction of the rotary body, and the triggered member extends not more than the rotary body.

9. A developing cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the counting member is provided with at least two counting protrusions arranged at intervals in a rotation direction of the counting member, and the detecting member is located between the two counting protrusions when the delay device is opposed to the driving member.