CN218848578U - Processing box - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, the process cartridge including a casing, at least one rotary member rotatably mounted in the casing, at least one of a developing member and a photosensitive member rotatably mounted in the casing, and a separating mechanism; when the process cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the main assembly, the developing member and the photosensitive member are opposed; the separating mechanism comprises a separating piece which can move between a combining position and a separating position; when the process cartridge is operated, the separating member is held at the engaging position by the rotating member in a rotating state, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are brought close to each other; when the process cartridge stops operating, the rotary member stops rotating, the separating member moves from the engaging position to the separating position, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are separated from each other; the rotating member includes a developing member and/or a photosensitive member, and the separating member is not necessarily controlled by the image forming apparatus but is determined according to the rotation state of the rotating member, so that the number of parts of the image forming apparatus can be reduced and the structure can be simplified.

Description

Processing box

Technical Field

The utility model relates to an electrophotographic image forming field especially relates to a detachably installs processing box in electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

Background

In the conventional process cartridge, a developing member carrying a developer is generally supplied toward a photosensitive member having an electrostatic latent image formed on a surface thereof to develop the electrostatic latent image, the developing member and the photosensitive member are brought close to each other when the process cartridge is in operation, and a separating mechanism is provided in the process cartridge in order to prevent the surface of the photosensitive member from being contaminated by the developing member and the surface of the developing member from being deformed by long-term pressing of the photosensitive member when the process cartridge is not in operation.

In order to reduce the load of the image forming apparatus, there is a type of urging member which is separated from the separating mechanism after applying an urging force to the separating mechanism, a state in which the developing member and the photosensitive member are separated from each other is held by a holder provided in the process cartridge, and when the process cartridge needs to be operated again, the urging member applies an urging force again to the separating mechanism to release the held state of the holder, and thereafter, the urging member is separated from the separating mechanism again.

When the processing box stops working, no matter the force applying piece applies the acting force to the separating mechanism all the time, or the force applying piece is separated from the separating mechanism after the acting force is applied, the action of the force applying piece is required to be controlled by the imaging equipment.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

Therefore, the utility model provides a processing box, the action of the separating mechanism who sets up in this processing box does not rely on imaging device control, but is according to the state autonomous control that processing box is located to reduce imaging device's spare part quantity, simplify imaging device's structure, do benefit to imaging device's cost control.

In order to realize the purpose of the invention, the utility model adopts the following technical proposal:

a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus, the process cartridge including a housing, at least one rotary member rotatably mounted in the housing, at least one of a developing member and a photosensitive member rotatably mounted in the housing, and a separating mechanism; when the process cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the main assembly, the developing member and the photosensitive member are opposed; the separating mechanism comprises a separating piece which can move between a combining position and a separating position; when the process cartridge is operated, the separating member is held at the engaging position by the rotating member in a rotating state, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are brought close to each other; when the process cartridge stops operating, the rotary member stops rotating, the separating member moves from the engaging position to the separating position, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are separated from each other; the rotating member comprises a developing member and/or a photosensitive member; the separating piece in the separating mechanism can move between the combining position and the separating position according to the rotating state of the rotating piece without being controlled by the imaging equipment, so that the response speed of the separating mechanism is improved, the number of parts of the imaging equipment is reduced, and the structure of the imaging equipment is simplified.

Further, the process cartridge or the main assembly is provided with an abutting portion, a second gap is formed between the separating member and the abutting portion when the separating member is at the coupling position, and a first gap is formed between the developing member and the photosensitive member when the separating member reaches the separating position and the separating member abuts against the abutting portion.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the separating member is arranged to be rotatable about both its own axis of rotation and the axis of rotation of the rotating member.

Specifically, separating mechanism still includes moving part and compels and pushes away the piece, and the separating part is supported by the moving part, and compels to push away the piece and be used for compeling to push away the moving part for the separating part has the trend towards the separation position motion.

The rotating member drives the separating member to rotate, the thrust generated between the rotating member and the separating member forces the urging member to elastically deform, and the separating member is kept at the combination position.

In some embodiments, the process cartridge includes at least one of a first unit and a second unit coupled to each other and relatively movable, the first unit including a first unit casing and a developing member rotatably mounted in the first unit casing, the second unit including a second unit casing and a photosensitive member rotatably mounted in the second unit casing, the separation mechanism being provided in the first unit or the second unit.

Further, the process cartridge may further include a driving force receiving member for receiving the driving force from the image forming apparatus, and a driving force transmitting assembly including a driving member for receiving the driving force of the driving force receiving member and driving the developing member to rotate, the separating member being provided to be combined with the driving member.

In some embodiments, the separating member includes a force receiving portion for receiving the pushing force, and an urging force acting portion that receives the urging force released by the urging member, and when the force receiving portion receives the pushing force, the separating member is held at the engaging position, and when the acting portion receives the urging force, the separating member moves from the engaging position to the disengaging position.

More specifically, the movable member includes a main body portion by which the separating member is rotatably supported, and a rotating portion and a guided portion connected to the main body portion, the movable member being rotatably provided in the process cartridge through the rotating portion, the guided portion being guided by the guide portion provided in the process cartridge.

Preferably, the rotating portion is provided coaxially with the developing member; the guide part is provided with a first limiting part and a second limiting part, when the guided part is combined with the first limiting part, the separating piece is located at the separation position, and when the guided part is combined with the second limiting part, the separating piece is located at the combination position.

Accordingly, the present invention also provides a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, the process cartridge including a casing and at least one rotary member rotatably mounted in the casing, the process cartridge further including a separating mechanism and at least one of a developing member and a photosensitive member rotatably mounted in the casing; when the process cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the main assembly, the developing member and the photosensitive member are opposed; the separating mechanism includes a separating member movable between an engaged position and a separated position following a rotation state of the rotating member; when the rotary member rotates, the separating member is located at the coupling position, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are close to each other; when the rotary member is not rotated, the separating member is located at a separating position, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are separated from each other; the rotating member includes a developing member and/or a photosensitive member.

Drawings

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

Fig. 1B is a side view as viewed from the non-driving end in the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge.

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along section AA in FIG. 1A.

Fig. 2 is a partially exploded view of the driving end of the cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a second unit driving end of the process cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a movable member in the process cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 5A is an exploded schematic view of the separation mechanism of the process cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 5B is a side view of the stent viewed in the longitudinal direction.

Fig. 6A is a side view of the process cartridge of the present invention viewed from the driving end in the longitudinal direction when the process cartridge is in the operating state.

Fig. 6B is a sectional view of the process cartridge of the present invention taken along the BB section in fig. 1A in the operating state.

Fig. 7A is a side view of the process cartridge of the present invention viewed from the driving end in the longitudinal direction when the process cartridge is in a non-operating state.

Fig. 7B is a sectional view taken along a BB section in fig. 1A when the process cartridge of the present invention is in a non-operating state.

Detailed Description

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

[ Structure of processing Box ]

Fig. 1A is a perspective view of a process cartridge according to the present invention; fig. 1B is a side view as viewed from the non-driving end in the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge; FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along section AA in FIG. 1A.

The process cartridge C includes at least one of a first unit 10 and a second unit 20 coupled to each other and relatively movable, and a driving force receiving member at a longitudinal end of the process cartridge, the first unit 10 including a first unit housing 11 and a first rotating member 12 rotatably mounted in the first unit housing 11, the second unit 20 including a second unit housing 21 and a second rotating member 22 rotatably mounted in the second unit housing 21, the driving force receiving member for receiving a driving force and driving the first rotating member 12 to rotate about a first rotation axis L1, and the second rotating member 22 to rotate about a second rotation axis L2 parallel to the first rotation axis L1.

The driving force receiving member may be provided in one, or may be provided in two having a first driving force receiving member 41 and a second driving force receiving member 42 as shown in fig. 1A, wherein the first driving force receiving member 41 is used to drive the first rotating member 11 to rotate, and the second driving force receiving member 42 is used to drive the second rotating member 22 to rotate.

The process cartridge C further includes a grip portion/handle 15 provided at one of the first unit 10 and the second unit 20, and the user can detachably mount the process cartridge C to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus through the grip portion 15.

To make the following description clearer, a direction parallel to the first rotation axis L1/the second rotation axis L2 is defined herein as a longitudinal direction x, a side where the driving force receiving member 41/42 is located is a first end C1, an end opposite to the first end C1 in the longitudinal direction is a second end C2, a direction directed from the first end C1 to the second end C2 is a-x direction, and a direction directed from the second end C2 to the first end C1 is a + x direction, and in some embodiments, the first driving force receiving member 41 and the second driving force receiving member 42 may also be respectively provided at both longitudinal ends of the process cartridge, in which case, the side where the first driving force receiving member 41 is located may be regarded as the first end C1, and the side where the second driving force receiving member 42 is located may be regarded as the second end C2; the process cartridge C also has a height direction z intersecting the longitudinal direction, and the direction directed to the second rotating member 22 by the grip 15 is the-z direction and the direction directed to the grip 15 by the second rotating member 22 is the + z direction.

The process cartridge C may be configured to be mounted directly to a predetermined position of the image forming apparatus in the z direction, or may be configured to be mounted to a drawer tray movable in and out of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus in the z direction, and then the user pushes the tray into the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, and the process cartridge C reaches the predetermined position as the user closes the door of the image forming apparatus.

Further, the process cartridge C further includes a first end cover 40 and a second end cover 30 at both longitudinal ends, respectively, through which the driving force receiving member is exposed to the outside, as will be described below by taking as an example that the first driving force receiving member 41 and the second driving force receiving member 42 are both provided at the first end C1, at which time the first driving force receiving member 41 and the second driving force receiving member 42 are exposed to the outside from the first end cover 40 at the same time; the first and second caps 40 and 30 are used to combine the first and second units 10 and 20, and in practice, the first and second caps 40 and 30 may be provided separately from the first and second unit cases 11 and 21, respectively, or may be provided such that at least one of them is formed integrally with the first or second unit case 11 or 21, and thus, the first and second caps 40 and 30 may be regarded as a part of both the first and second unit cases 11 and 21.

Further, the process cartridge C further includes an elastic member 31 provided between the first unit 10 and the second unit 20, the elastic member 31 being for urging the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 to approach each other, thereby keeping the developing member and the photosensitive member in a state of approaching each other as described later. Preferably, the elastic member 31 is exposed outward through the second end cap 30 to facilitate quick assembly and disassembly of the process cartridge C.

The first unit 10 is for containing a developer, the first rotary member 12 is a developing member for carrying the developer, and the second rotary member 22 is a photosensitive member for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface thereof, so that the first unit 10 can be referred to as a developing unit, the second unit 20 can be referred to as a photosensitive unit, and the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are brought close to each other when the process cartridge C is operated, and in the process cartridge employing contact development, the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are in a state of being in contact with each other, and in the process cartridge employing skip development, the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are in a state of being separated from each other by a predetermined gap; in order to prevent the surface of the photosensitive member 22 from being contaminated by the developer on the surface of the developing member 12 when the process cartridge stops operating, and to prevent the developing member 12 from being deformed by the photosensitive member 22 due to long-term pressing, the process cartridge is further provided with a separating mechanism 6, in the case of a process cartridge using contact development, the separating mechanism 6 forces the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 to separate from each other, so that the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are switched from contact to non-contact, and the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 do not collide due to accidental shaking of the process cartridge, and in the case of a process cartridge using jumping development, the separating mechanism forces the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 to separate from each other, so that the distance separating the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 from each other is larger than the predetermined gap, and also functions to prevent the surface of the photosensitive member 22 from being contaminated by the developer on the surface of the developing member 12 and colliding due to accidental shaking of the process cartridge.

The process cartridge C may be an integrated structure or a split structure, the integrated structure refers to that the process cartridge C includes the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 at the same time, and when the life of any one of the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 is exhausted, a user needs to take out and replace the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 at the same time; the split structure means that the processing box C is only provided with the first unit 10 or the second unit 20, and a user only needs to replace one of the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 which has exhausted the service life; however, no matter whether the process cartridge C is an integral structure or a separate structure, when the process cartridge C stops operating, the separating mechanism 6 can make the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 switch from a state of approaching to each other to a state of separating from each other, and therefore, the structure of the process cartridge C adopting the separating mechanism 6 according to the present invention can be simplified in that the process cartridge C includes a housing (at least one of the first unit housing 11 and the second unit housing 21), a rotating member (at least one of the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22) rotatably mounted in the housing, and a separating mechanism provided in the housing, and the process cartridge C of the integral structure will be explained as an example below.

[ SEPARATION MECHANISM ]

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of the drive end of the cartridge according to the present invention; fig. 3 is a perspective view of a second unit driving end of the process cartridge according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a movable member in the process cartridge according to the present invention;

fig. 5A is an exploded schematic view of a separation mechanism of the process cartridge according to the present invention; fig. 5B is a side view of the stent viewed in the longitudinal direction.

As shown in the figure, the process cartridge C further includes a protective cover 13 located between the first end cap 40 and the first unit case 11, a bracket 14, and a driving force transmission assembly 5 for transmitting a driving force, the bracket 14 is fixedly connected with the first unit case 11, the protective cover 13 is fixedly connected with the first unit case 11 directly or through the bracket 14, and the bracket 14 is located between the first unit case 11 and the protective cover 13 in the longitudinal direction; the driving force transmission assembly 5 for transmitting the driving force received by the first driving force receiving member 41 to the developing member 12, the driving force transmission assembly 5 comprising a first driving member 51 and a second driving member 52, wherein the first driving member 51 is combined with the first driving force receiving member 41, and the second driving member 52 is combined with the developing member 12, so that the driving force of the driving force receiving member 41 can be transmitted to the developing member 12 sequentially via the first driving member 51 and the second driving member 52, and preferably, the second driving member 52 is disposed at a longitudinal end of the developing member 12 and can be referred to as a developing member driving member; alternatively, the driving force transmission assembly 5 may be provided as a gear set, in which case the first driving member 51 and the second driving member 52 will be the first gear 51 and the second gear 52, respectively, and the driving force transmission assembly 5 may also be replaced with other components capable of transmitting the driving force, for example, a pulley, a friction wheel, a ratchet, a rack and pinion structure, etc., as long as the driving force of the first driving force receiving member 41 can be transmitted to the developing member 14.

In some embodiments, the first driving force receiving member 41 may be further coaxially disposed with the developing member 12, and a driving force is transmitted therebetween by means of D-shaped fitting, key groove fitting, etc., so that the first driving force receiving member 41 can directly drive the developing member 12 to rotate. The first driving force receiving member 41 is exposed through the protective cover 13, that is, the driving force transmitting assembly 5 and the first driving force receiving member 41 are located between the first unit case 11 and the protective cover 13 to be protected.

The separating mechanism 6 includes a movable member 61, a separating member 62 and an urging member 63, the movable member 61 is disposed movably relative to the first unit housing 11, the movable manner may be rotation or sliding/translation, the separating member 62 may move between a separating position and a combining position along with the movement of the movable member 61, and the urging member 63 is used for urging the movable member 61, so that the separating member 62 has a tendency to move toward the separating position; when the separating member 62 is located at the separating position, the process cartridge C is not operated, the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 are separated from each other, or the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are in a state of being separated from each other, and when the separating member 62 is located at the coupling position, the process cartridge C is operated, the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 are brought close to each other, or the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are in a state of being brought close to each other.

Specifically, the separating member 62 is a gear rotatable about a rotation axis L3 parallel to the rotation axis L2, and the separating member 62 is engaged with the second gear 52, so that the separating member 62 is rotatable with the rotation of the second gear 52 and can be stopped with the stop of the second gear 52, the separating member 62 is located at the coupling position when the developing member 12 is rotated with the second gear 52, and the separating member 62 reaches the separating position from the coupling position when the developing member 12 is stopped with the second gear 52; it can be seen that the position of the separating member 62 is determined by the state of the developing member 12/second gear 52, and not by the state of the urging member in the image forming apparatus for applying the urging force to the separating member 62, and the separating member 62 does not have to be engaged with the urging member and is not affected by the state of the urging member, and therefore, even if the urging member is cancelled, the separating member 62 can still achieve the separation of the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 from each other.

Preferably, the movable member 61 is rotatably provided with respect to the first unit housing 11, as shown in fig. 4, the movable member 61 includes a main body portion 611, a rotating portion 612, a guided portion 614, and a combining portion 617, the separating member 62 is rotatably supported by the main body portion 611, for example, the separating member 62 is supported by a rotating shaft 64 formed separately from the main body portion 611, and the rotating shaft 64 may be formed integrally with the main body portion 611; the rotating portion 612 is rotatably coupled to one of the first unit housing 11, the bracket 14, the cover 13, and the first cap 40; the urging member 63 may be selected as a member having elasticity, for example, the urging member 63 is a compression spring, a rubber block, a tension spring, etc., and the urging member 63 is preferably a compression spring having one end combined with the combining portion 617 and the other end combined with one of the first unit housing 11, the bracket 14, the protecting cover 13 and the first end cap 40; the guided portion 614 is used to guide the trajectory of the reciprocating motion of the separating member 62 between the separating position and the coupling position.

In view of facilitating the assembly of the separating mechanism 6, the rotating shaft 64 is preferably formed separately from the movable member 61, the main body portion 611 is formed with a receiving cavity 613 capable of receiving the separating member 62, when the separating mechanism 6 is assembled, the separating member 62 can be first placed in the receiving cavity, and then the rotating shaft passes through a first supporting portion 615 and a second supporting portion 616 provided on a side wall of the receiving cavity 613, in some embodiments, at least one of the first supporting portion 615 and the second supporting portion 616 can be provided as a through hole extending in the longitudinal direction, and one of the first supporting portion 615 and the second supporting portion 616 can be provided as a blind hole extending in the longitudinal direction to form a groove shape.

Preferably, the guided portion 614 is provided as a protruding portion protruding from the main body portion 611, and the rotation axis L3 of the separating member 62 passes through the guided portion 614, so that the separating member 62 can be moved in synchronization with the guided portion 614, not only can the movement of the separating member 62 be precisely controlled, but also the size of the separating mechanism 6 can be reduced.

Further, the process cartridge C further includes a guide portion 141 operable to guide the guided portion 614, the movement locus and the movement range of the movable member 61 are limited by the engagement of the guided portion 614 with the guide portion 141, specifically, the guide portion 141 is formed in a groove shape, the specific position thereof can be determined according to the position of the guided portion 614, preferably, the movable member 61 is rotatably engaged with the protective cover 13 by a rotating portion 612, the guided portion 614 protrudes from the main body portion 611 in the direction of the first unit housing 11, the guide portion 141 is provided on the support bracket 14, that is, the movable member 61 is provided between the support bracket 14 and the protective cover 13 in the longitudinal direction, so that the longitudinal dimension of the process cartridge C is not changed; in some embodiments, the guide portion 141 may also be provided on the first unit housing 11, and the movable piece 61 may also be provided on the first end cap 40; in other embodiments, the movable element 61 may also be disposed on the bracket 14 or the first unit housing 11, and it is possible to realize that the structures of the guide portion 141 and the guided portion 614 are interchangeable, that is, the guide portion 141 is disposed in the form of a protrusion, and the guided portion 614 is disposed in the form of a groove.

More preferably, the rotating portion 612 is disposed coaxially with the developing device 12, that is, the rotation axis of the rotating portion 612 is also L1, the rotation track of the movable element 61 is shown by a circle R in fig. 5B, the center of the circle R is located on the rotation axis L1, the guide portion 141 has a first limiting portion 141a and a second limiting portion 141B, the guided portion 614 can reciprocate between the first limiting portion 141a and the second limiting portion 141B, and the first limiting portion 141a and the second limiting portion 141B are located in the circumferential direction of the circle R, that is, the separating device 62 is disposed to rotate about its own rotation axis L3 and also about the developing device 12/the rotation axis L1/the second gear 52; when the guided portion 614 is engaged with the first restriction portion 141a, the separating member 62 is located at the separation position, and when the guided portion 614 is engaged with the second restriction portion 141b, the separating member 62 is located at the engagement position.

[ mutual approaching and separating of developing and photosensitive articles ]

Fig. 6A is a side view of the process cartridge according to the present invention viewed from the driving end in the longitudinal direction when the process cartridge is in the operating state; fig. 6B is a sectional view taken along a section BB in fig. 1A when the process cartridge according to the present invention is in an operating state; fig. 7A is a side view of the process cartridge according to the present invention viewed from the driving end in the longitudinal direction when the process cartridge is in the non-operating state; fig. 7B is a sectional view taken along a BB section in fig. 1A when the process cartridge of the present invention is in a non-operating state.

When the process cartridge C is operated, the first driving force receiving member 41 receives a driving force from the image forming apparatus and rotates in the clockwise direction v1 of fig. 6A, the developing member 12 is driven to rotate in the counterclockwise direction v3 of fig. 6A by the combination of the first gear 51 and the second gear 52, the second driving force receiving member 42 receives a driving force from the image forming apparatus and rotates in the clockwise direction v2 of fig. 6A, and when the photosensitive member 22 is coaxially disposed with the second driving force receiving member 42, the photosensitive member 22 also rotates in the clockwise direction v2 of fig. 6A, and the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 approach each other by the elastic force of the elastic member 31.

As shown in fig. 6B, the second gear/developing member gear 52 for driving the developing member 12 to rotate is engaged with the gear as the separating member 62, the second gear 52 also rotates in the direction indicated by v3, the separating member 62 rotates in the direction indicated by v4, at the engaging point Q of the second gear 52 and the separating member 62, the second gear 52 applies a thrust force G in the tangential direction of the point Q to the separating member 62, the thrust force G pushes the movable member 61 to rotate around the rotating portion 612 until the guided portion 614 engages with the second limiting portion 141B, the movable member 61 stops rotating, the urging member 63 elastically deforms, but the separating member 62 remains engaged with the second gear 52, and the separating member 62 still rotates along with the rotation of the second gear 52, and the elastic deformation state of the urging member 63 is maintained under the thrust force G; preferably, the direction of the urging force G coincides with the direction in which the urging member 63 elastically deforms, so that the magnitude requirement of the urging force G can be reduced, the load of the process cartridge is reduced, and finally, the power required to be output by the image forming apparatus is reduced; as shown in fig. 6A, the second gap g2 is formed between the separating member 62 and the abutting portion 401 provided on the first end cap 40 at this time, that is, the separating member 62 is located at the joining position.

When the process cartridge C stops operating, as shown in fig. 7A and 7B, the first driving force receiving member 41 and the second driving force receiving member 42 do not rotate any more, and accordingly, the developing member 12 and the second gear 52 do not rotate any more, the second gear 52 does not apply the pushing force G to the separating member 62 engaged therewith, the urging member 63 releases the urging force in the direction P in fig. 6A, the separating member 62 is forced to rotate the movable member 61 about the rotating portion 612 again until the guide portion 614 engages with the first restriction portion 141a, the movable member 61 stops rotating, and the separating member 62 abuts against the abutting portion 401, that is, the separating member 62 is located at the separating position, the direction P being opposite to the direction of the pushing force G; the urging force released by the urging member 63 is larger than the elastic force of the elastic member 31, and thus the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 can be relatively moved, and the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are moved from the aforementioned mutually approaching state to the mutually separated state, as shown in fig. 7A, with a first gap g1 formed between the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22; it should be noted that for a process cartridge employing the jumping development, the first gap g1 will be larger than the developing gap originally formed between the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22.

When the process cartridge C needs to start its operation again, the second gear 52 drives the separating member 62 to rotate in accordance with the rotation of the first driving force receiving member 41 and the second driving force receiving member 42, and at this time, a pushing force G is generated again between the second gear 52 and the separating member 62, and under the action of the pushing force G, the urging member 63 is elastically deformed, the movable member 61 is rotated about the rotating portion 612, the separating member 62 is disengaged from the abutting portion 401, and the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are moved from a state of being separated from each other to a state of being close to each other by the elastic force of the elastic member 31.

Specifically, when the process cartridge C is mounted to a predetermined position of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are opposed, and one of the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 is positioned relative to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, that is, one of the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 is immovable relative to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, then, when the separating member 62 reaches the separating position, the unit movable relative to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus of the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 will be pushed by the separating member 62, the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 are separated from each other, and accordingly, the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are also shifted from a state of being close to each other to a state of being separated from each other. Preferably, the second unit 20 provided with the photosensitive member 22 is disposed so as to be positioned as the process cartridge C reaches a predetermined position of the image forming apparatus, and when the separating member 62 reaches the separating position, the first unit 10 is rotated about the rotational axis of the first driving force receiving member 41, so that the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 are separated from each other, and the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are shifted from a state of being close to each other to a state of being separated from each other.

[ other remarks ] A

According to the above description, the separating member 62 functions to receive the urging force of the second gear 52 and transmit the urging force to the abutting portion 401, and in some embodiments, the separating member may be divided into the force receiving portion that receives the urging force and the acting portion for abutting with the abutting portion 401, and when the force receiving portion receives the urging force to be received, the separating member may be held at the engaging position, and when the acting portion receives the urging force released by the urging member 63, the separating member moves from the engaging position to the separating position, and at the same time, the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 shift from the state of being close to each other to the state of being separated from each other, and thus, for the acting portion, the force receiving portion may also be regarded as a part of the driving force transmission assembly 5, for example, the above-described separating member 62 in the gear shape may also be regarded as a force receiving portion, or, in other words, as the third gear 53 in the driving force transmission assembly 5, and the third gear 53 may also be provided so as to be engaged with the first gear 51 or the first driving force receiving member 41, and likewise, when the first driving force receiving member 41 receives the driving force for rotation, the third gear 53 may receive the urging force G, the acting portion does not abut against the abutting portion, and the separating member is in the engaged position, and when the first driving force receiving member 41 stops rotating, the acting portion abuts against the abutting portion by the urging force of the urging member 63, and the separating member reaches the separated position, and at the same time, the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are in a state of being close to each other.

In some embodiments, the separating element 62 may be configured to move with the rotation of the stirring/supplying element (not shown) in the first unit 10, in a manner of rotation or sliding/translation, and when the stirring/supplying element rotates, the separating element 62 is not abutted against the abutting portion 401 and is in the engaged position, and when the stirring/supplying element stops rotating, the separating element 62 is abutted against the abutting portion 401 and reaches the separated position.

In some embodiments, the separating mechanism 6 may also be provided in the second unit 20, for example, the separating member 62 may be movable with rotation of the second driving force receiving member 42/the photosensitive member 22, or may be provided to be movable with rotation of a charging member (not shown) that charges the surface of the photosensitive member 22, in a manner that is also rotational, or sliding/translational, and the separating member 62 may be in the engaged position without abutting against the abutting portion 401 when the second driving force receiving member 42/the photosensitive member 22/the charging member is rotated, and the separating member 62 may be in the disengaged position with abutting against the abutting portion 401 when the rotation of the second driving force receiving member 42/the photosensitive member 22/the charging member is stopped.

According to the inventive concept of the present invention, the components rotatable in the process cartridge, such as the developing member 12, the stirring member for stirring the developer, the supplying member for supplying the developer to the developing member 12, the photosensitive member 22, the charging member for charging the surface of the photosensitive member 22, the first driving force receiving member 41, the second driving force receiving member 42, and the driving force transmission assembly 5, can be regarded as the rotating members in the process cartridge, at least a part of the separating member 62 can be disposed to be coupled with any one of the rotating members, at least a part of the separating member 62 moves with the rotation of the rotating member, at this time, the separating member 62 is in the coupling position not abutting against the abutting portion 401, and when the rotation of the rotating member is stopped, at least a part of the separating member abuts against the abutting portion 401 to reach the separating position.

As for the position of the abutting portion 401, it is not necessarily limited, but can be appropriately adjusted depending on the position of the separating member 62 as long as the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 can be brought from a state of being close to each other to a state of being separated from each other after the separating member 62 is brought into abutment with the abutting portion 401, and it is achievable that the abutting portion 401 is provided at one of the components of the first end cap 40, the second unit housing 21, the first unit housing 11, the holder 14, the protective cover 13, and the like, and further, the abutting portion 401 may also be provided at a certain position in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus.

As described above, the process cartridge C may be of an integral type structure or of a split type structure, and when the process cartridge C is of a split type structure, the separating mechanism 6 may be provided in either the first unit 10 or the second unit 20, so that the separating member 62 can be brought from the coupling position to the separating position, and then the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 can be switched from a state of being close to each other to a state of being separated from each other, regardless of the form of the structure of the process cartridge C.

In some embodiments, the elastic member 31 may be replaced by a pair of magnetic members, for example, a magnetic member is provided in each of the first unit 10 and the second unit 20, opposite sides of the pair of magnetic members are opposite in magnetism, and the urging force released by the urging member 63 is larger than the magnetic force of the pair of magnetic members, when the elastic member 63 is urged to be elastically deformed by the urging force G generated between the second gear 52 and the separating member 62, the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are brought close to each other by the magnetic force, and when the urging force G is small, the urging force is released by the elastic member 63, the separating member 62 abuts against the abutting portion 401, and the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are separated from each other, so that the elastic member 31 and the pair of magnetic members may be regarded as a combined member for urging the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 to move toward the close state.

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The separating mechanism 6 can realize the switching of the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 from the state of being close to each other to the state of being separated from each other, and the separating mechanism 6 does not receive the acting force applied by the image forming apparatus during the movement, but is autonomously controlled according to the state of the process cartridge, and for the image forming apparatus, the force applying member originally used for applying the acting force/separating force to the separating mechanism 6 can be omitted, and at the same time, the control part for controlling the movement of the force applying member can be omitted, so that the number of parts of the image forming apparatus is reduced, the structure can be simplified, and the cost thereof can be effectively controlled.

Specifically, the separation mechanism 6 controls its state according to the state of the rotary member in the process cartridge, when the process cartridge is operated, the rotary member rotates, the separation mechanism 6/the separation member 62 is held at the coupling position by the rotary member in the rotating state, the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 are in the state of being close to each other, when the process cartridge is stopped, the rotary member stops rotating, the separation mechanism 6/the separation member 62 moves from the coupling position to the separation position, and the developing member 12 and the photosensitive member 22 shift from the state of being close to each other to the state of being separated from each other, which improves the response speed of the separation mechanism 6/the separation member 62, and the change in the position of the separation mechanism 6/the separation member 62 is performed substantially simultaneously with the change in the state of the rotary member without waiting for the urging member in the image forming apparatus to apply the separation force to the separation mechanism 6 after the rotary member stops rotating.

Since the separating member 62 is provided so as to move with the rotation of the rotating member, the specific arrangement position of the separating mechanism 6/separating member 62 may not necessarily be defined, and as described above, the separating mechanism 6/separating member 62 may be provided in either the first unit 10 or the second unit 20; further, the separating mechanism 6/the separating member 62 may be provided at both the first end C1 and the second end C2 in the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge, whereby it can be seen that the degree of freedom in designing the separating mechanism 6/the separating member 62 is greatly improved.

More specifically, the separating member 62 is provided so as to be rotatable about the self rotation axis L3 as well as about the rotation axis L1 of the developing member 12/second gear 52/rotating member, so that the separating member 62 can be held at the coupling position by the thrust generated when the second gear 52 is rotated in mesh with the separating member 62 without the separating member 62 affecting the rotation of the second gear 52, and also, when the rotation of the developing member 12/second gear 52/rotating member is stopped, the separating member 62 is rotated relative to the second gear 52 to reach the separating position, and during the rotation of the separating member 62, the second gear 52 is still stationary, and the stationary state of the developing member 12 is not affected.

As described above, when the separating member 62 is provided as a gear that can mesh with the second gear 52, the separating member 62 can simultaneously have the functions of receiving the urging force and abutting against the abutting portion 401, which is advantageous in reducing the number of parts of the separating mechanism 6, simplifying the structure of the separating mechanism 6, and allowing the size of the process cartridge C to be controlled.

Claims (12)

1. A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, the process cartridge including a housing and at least one rotary member rotatably mounted in the housing,

the process cartridge further includes a separation mechanism and at least one of a developing member and a photosensitive member rotatably mounted in the casing;

when the process cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the main assembly, the developing member and the photosensitive member are opposed;

the separating mechanism comprises a separating piece which can move between a combining position and a separating position;

when the process cartridge is operated, the separating member is held at the engaging position by the rotating member in a rotating state, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are brought close to each other;

when the process cartridge stops operating, the rotary member stops rotating, the separating member moves from the engaging position to the separating position, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are separated from each other;

the rotating member includes a developing member and/or a photosensitive member.

2. A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge or the main assembly is provided with an abutting portion, a second gap is formed between the separating member and the abutting portion when the separating member is at the coupling position, the separating member abuts the abutting portion when the separating member reaches the separating position, and a first gap is formed between the developing member and the photosensitive member.

3. A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the separating member is provided so as to be rotatable about both of its rotational axis and a rotational axis of the rotating member.

4. A process cartridge according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the separating mechanism further includes a movable member and an urging member, the separating member being supported by the movable member, the urging member being for urging the movable member so that the separating member has a tendency to move toward the separating position.

5. A process cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the rotating member rotates the urging member when the process cartridge is in operation, and the urging member is urged by an urging force generated therebetween to be elastically deformed, the urging member being held at the engaging position.

6. A process cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the process cartridge includes at least one of a first unit and a second unit which are coupled to each other and relatively movable, the first unit including a first unit casing and a developing member rotatably mounted in the first unit casing, the second unit including a second unit casing and a photosensitive member rotatably mounted in the second unit casing, the separation mechanism being provided in either the first unit or the second unit.

7. A process cartridge according to claim 6, further comprising a driving force receiving member for receiving the driving force from the image forming apparatus, and a driving force transmitting assembly including a driving member for receiving the driving force of the driving force receiving member and driving the developing member to rotate, the separating member being provided in combination with the driving member.

8. A process cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the separating member includes a force receiving portion for receiving the urging force and an urging force acting portion for receiving the urging force released from the urging member, the separating member is held at the engaging position when the force receiving portion receives the urging force, and the separating member is moved from the engaging position to the separating position when the urging force is received by the acting portion.

9. A process cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the movable member includes a main body portion by which the separating member is rotatably supported, and a rotating portion and a guided portion connected to the main body portion, the movable member being rotatably provided in the process cartridge through the rotating portion, the guided portion being guided by a guide portion provided in the process cartridge.

10. A process cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the rotation portion is provided coaxially with the developing member.

11. A process cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the guide portion has a first regulating portion and a second regulating portion, the separating member is located at the separating position when the guided portion is engaged with the first regulating portion, and the separating member is located at the engaging position when the guided portion is engaged with the second regulating portion.

12. A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, the process cartridge including a housing and at least one rotary member rotatably mounted in the housing,

the process cartridge further includes a separating mechanism and at least one of a developing member and a photosensitive member rotatably mounted in the casing;

when the process cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the main assembly, the developing member and the photosensitive member are opposed;

the separating mechanism includes a separating member movable between an engaged position and a separated position following a rotation state of the rotating member;

when the rotary member rotates, the separating member is located at the coupling position, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are close to each other;

when the rotary member is not rotated, the separating member is located at a separating position, and the developing member and the photosensitive member are separated from each other;

the rotating member includes a developing member and/or a photosensitive member.

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