CN218957028U - Chip rack, chip assembly and processing box - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to a chip carrier for mounting at least a part of a chip and a conductive member for establishing an electrical connection between the chip and an external contact pin; the chip rack comprises a main body and a rear side plate arranged on the main body, wherein the rear side plate is provided with a plurality of installation parts capable of installing conductive sheets, the conductive sheets comprise a first part and a third part which are mutually connected, and the installation parts comprise a bearing part for bearing the first part and a limiting part for limiting the third part; the third part is used for being electrically connected with at least one part of the chip, and the first part is used for being abutted against the side surface of the contact pin; a contact groove allowing the contact pin to enter is formed between the bearing part and the limiting part, and the contact groove is provided with a rear exposure opening which is exposed at least towards the direction in which the contact pin is positioned, so that the conductive piece can be contacted with the side surface of the contact pin and not contacted with the tail end of the contact pin any more, and the technical problem that the contact pin cannot extend is solved.

Description

Chip rack, chip assembly and processing box

Technical Field

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

Background

Conventionally, in order to establish a communication connection between a process cartridge in which a chip is mounted in a process cartridge, a mounting direction end of a process cartridge 100K such as disclosed in european patent EP2037327 is provided with a chip 180, contacts of the chip 180 are exposed in a direction opposite to the mounting direction, a main body cover (door cover) of an image forming apparatus to which the process cartridge is applied is provided with a terminal contact point (contact pin) with which the chip 180 is contacted, the contact pin is provided to be retractable by abutting against an elastic member, with the door cover closed, an end face of the contact pin abuts against a contact terminal of the chip 180, and at the same time, the elastic member is elastically deformed, the contact pin is retracted in a direction opposite to the mounting direction, and a communication connection between the chip 180 and the image forming apparatus is established, and when the door cover is opened, the contact pin is reset to be extended again.

It is expected that the elastic member may be elastically deformed and fatigued during long-term use of the imaging device, so that the contact pin cannot return to the extended state from the retracted state, and thus even if the door is closed, the contact pin cannot make good electrical contact with the chip 180, and thus a stable communication connection between the chip and the imaging device cannot be established.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, the utility model provides the chip frame capable of mounting the chip, the chip assembly with the chip frame and the processing box, and adopts the following technical scheme that the contact mode of the contact pins of the imaging equipment and the chip is changed, the phenomenon that the contact pins cannot extend is prevented, and stable communication connection is ensured between the chip and the imaging equipment.

A chip carrier for mounting at least a portion of the chip and a conductive member for establishing an electrical connection between the chip and an external contact pin; the chip rack comprises a main body, a combination part connected with the main body, a supporting piece arranged on the main body and a rear side plate intersected with the supporting piece, wherein the supporting piece is used for supporting at least one part of the chip; the rear side plate is provided with a plurality of mounting parts capable of mounting the conductive sheet, the conductive sheet comprises a first part and a third part which are connected with each other, and the mounting parts comprise a bearing part for bearing the first part and a limiting part for limiting the third part; the third part is used for being electrically connected with at least one part of the chip, and the first part is used for being abutted against the side surface of the contact pin; a contact groove allowing the contact pin to enter is formed between the bearing part and the limiting part, and the contact groove is provided with a rear exposure opening which is exposed at least towards the direction in which the contact pin is positioned.

In some embodiments, the contact groove further has an upper exposure opening exposed toward a side opposite to the restriction portion.

Further, the contact groove is in a penetrating state along the exposing direction of the rear exposure opening.

A first interval allowing the first part to enter is formed between the bearing part and the limiting part, and a second interval allowing the third part to enter is formed between the limiting part and the supporting piece.

In some embodiments, the chip carrier further comprises an identified portion for identifying the chip.

The chip assembly provided by the utility model comprises the chip frame, at least one part of a chip mounted on the chip frame and a conductive piece.

Preferably, the first portion includes at least a communication portion protruding toward the contact groove, the communication portion abutting against the contact pin.

The chip includes a substrate, a storage portion provided at the substrate, and a contact terminal electrically connected to the storage portion, the contact terminal facing the support.

The present utility model provides a process cartridge comprising a housing accommodating a developing material and a chip assembly as described above, the chip assembly being detachably coupled to the housing.

Preferably, the housing is provided with a plurality of different bonding sites, and the chip assembly is bonded with the different bonding sites to form different types of process cartridges.

As described above, the chip carrier is provided with the contact groove exposed to the contact pin, a part of the conductive member is located in the contact groove, another part of the conductive member is electrically connected with the chip, the contact pin on the door can enter the contact groove, the conductive member is in contact with the side surface of the contact pin, and is not in contact with the end surface of the contact pin any more, so that the contact pin does not need to perform telescopic action, the problem that the contact pin cannot extend out does not exist, and the contact pin and the conductive member can form stable electrical connection.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a process cartridge according to the present utility model.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a chip carrier according to the present utility model.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of a chip assembly in accordance with the present utility model.

Fig. 4A is a side view of a conductive element after it has been mounted to a chip carrier, as viewed in a second direction.

Fig. 4B is a perspective view of a conductive element after it is mounted to a chip carrier.

Fig. 4C is a side view looking in a second direction after the contact pins are in electrical contact with the chip.

Detailed Description

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

[ overall structure of Process Cartridge ]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a process cartridge according to the present utility model.

The process cartridge 10 includes a casing 1 accommodating a developing material and a rotary 3 rotatably mounted to the casing 1, the rotary 3 being for outputting the developing material to the outside or inputting the developing material into the casing 1, and the existing electrophotographic image forming system generally includes a developing unit and an image forming unit, which may exist separately or may be combined to form one body; for the developing unit, the rotary 3 may be regarded as a developing member for conveying a new developer, which is unused, to the outside of the casing, and for the image forming unit, the rotary 3 may be regarded as a photosensitive member for conveying a waste developer, which is used, to the inside of the casing; the chip rack and chip assembly described below are applicable whether the process cartridge 10 is a stand-alone developing unit/imaging unit or includes a developing unit and an imaging unit.

As further shown in fig. 1, the process cartridge 10 has intersecting first, second and third directions, wherein the first direction is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge 10, the second direction is parallel to the width direction of the process cartridge 10, and the third direction is parallel to the height direction of the process cartridge 10, and preferably the first, second and third directions are perpendicular to each other. The process cartridge 10 is mountable and removable in a second direction in which the rotary 3 is located on one side of the casing 1 and the end face 1a is located on the other side of the casing 1, i.e., the rotary 3 is disposed opposite to the end face 1a in the second direction; in the first direction, the process cartridge 10 has a driving end 10a for receiving a driving force and a conductive end 10b for receiving electric power, i.e., the driving end 10a and the conductive end 10b are disposed opposite to each other in the first direction, and the chip assembly 2 is closer to the conductive end 10b than the driving end 10b, on the one hand, the influence of vibration generated by the driving end on the chip assembly 2 when the process cartridge 10 is operated can be reduced, and on the other hand, the complexity of a circuit within the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

Further, the process cartridge 10 further includes a chip assembly 2 detachably coupled to the casing 1, in which the developing member 3 is disposed opposite to the chip assembly 2 in a second direction, the mounting direction of the process cartridge 10 is parallel to the second direction, the developing member 3 is located forward/downstream of the mounting direction, the chip assembly 2 is located rearward/downstream of the mounting direction, and a portion of the chip assembly 2 forms the end face 1a, that is, the end face 1a is not a specific face but may be changed according to a shape change of the process cartridge, and in which any face located at the end of the casing can be regarded as the end face 1a; providing the chip assembly 2 in detachable combination with the housing 1 will have the following beneficial effects:

(1) The mold structure for manufacturing the housing 1 can be simplified;

(2) The assembly of the chip assembly 2 and the assembly of other parts in the processing box 10 can be separately carried out, so that the assembly difficulty of the processing box 10 is reduced, and the assembly speed of the processing box 10 is increased;

(3) The detection can be carried out before the shell 1 is installed in the chip assembly 2, so that the chip assembly 2 with problems can be maintained or replaced in time;

(4) Even if the chip assembly 2 is found to be problematic after the process cartridge 10 is completely assembled, the chip assembly 2 can be removed and repaired or replaced without having to damage the housing 1.

(5) Different combining positions can be arranged on the shell 1, and the chip assembly 2 is arranged at the corresponding position according to the model of the processing box 10, so that the universality of the shell 1 is improved; as shown in fig. 1, the housing 1 is provided with a first bonding site 11 and a second bonding site 12, and the chip assembly 2 bonded to the first bonding site 11 will form a first type of process cartridge, and the chip assembly 2 bonded to the second bonding site 12 will form a second type of process cartridge.

[ chip Assembly ]

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a chip carrier according to the present utility model; FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a chip assembly in accordance with the present utility model; fig. 4A is a side view of a conductive element after it has been mounted to a chip carrier, as viewed in a second direction; fig. 4B is a perspective view of a conductive element after it has been mounted to the chip carrier; fig. 4C is a side view looking in a second direction after the contact pins are in electrical contact with the chip.

Continuing with the orientation of the process cartridge 10 hereinafter, the chip assembly 2 includes the chip frame 6 and the conductive member 7 and the chip 5 detachably mounted on the chip frame 6, and the chip 5, the conductive member 7 and the chip frame 6 are detachably combined, which also has the advantageous effects of the above-mentioned items (2) - (4).

(chip)

The chip 5 includes a substrate 51, and a storage part 52 and a contact terminal 53 provided on the substrate 51, the contact terminal 53 being used for forming an electrical connection with a contact pin in the image forming apparatus, and further establishing a communication connection between the chip 5 and the image forming apparatus, the storage part 52 being used for storing various parameter information of the process cartridge, the contact terminal 53 being electrically connected with the storage part 52, whereby the contact terminal 53 can be separated from the substrate 51 as long as the contact terminal 53 can be electrically connected with the contact pin.

(conductive member)

The conductive member 7 is used for electrically connecting the contact pin and the contact terminal 53, alternatively, the conductive member 7 is integrally or separately formed of a conductive material, for example, the conductive member 7 is integrally or separately injection-molded of conductive plastic, or the conductive member 7 is integrally or separately bent of conductive steel sheet. As shown in fig. 3, the conductive member 7 includes a first portion 71 and a second portion 72 and a third portion 73 connected to the first portion 71, respectively, the first portion 71 extending substantially in the third direction, wherein at least a communication portion 71a for abutting against the stylus is provided, and preferably, the first portion 71 is further provided with at least one connection portion 71b connected to the communication portion 71a, and when the connection portion 71b is provided as one, the connection portion 71b is connected to one of the second portion 72 and the third portion 73, and the communication portion 71a is connected to the other of the second portion 72 and the third portion 73; when the two connection portions 71b are provided, the two connection portions 71b are connected to the second portion 72 and the third portion 73, respectively, and the communication portion 71a is located between the two connection portions 71 b; the third portion 73 extends in a direction intersecting the third direction, and in the second direction, the third portion 73 has a front end 73a and a rear end 73b and an extension 73c between the front end 73a and the rear end 73b, the extension 73c being provided with an abutment terminal 73e for electrical contact with the contact terminal 53; the junction of the first portion 71 and the third portion 73 is closer to the rear end 73b of the third portion as a whole.

Specifically, the communicating portion 71a is configured to be elastically deformable in the first direction, for example, in some embodiments, the communicating portion 71a is a partially arched conductive steel sheet/conductive plastic, and in other embodiments, the communicating portion 71a may be configured to abut against the elastic member; the contact terminal 73e is formed to be elastically deformable in the third direction, and the contact terminal 73e may be a single member or may be formed by a part of the extension portion 73c in a cantilever manner.

(chip rack)

The chip carrier 6 includes a main body 61, a joint 62 connected to the main body 61, a support 63 provided at the main body 61, and a rear side plate 65 intersecting the support 63, the support 63 being located in front of the rear side plate 65 in the second direction, the support 63 being for supporting at least the contact terminals 53, the support 63 including a support plate 631 extending in a plane perpendicular to the third direction; further, when the contact terminals 53 are disposed on the substrate 51, the support 63 further includes the limiting grooves 64 disposed at both ends of the support plate 631, in the first direction, the support plate 631 is located between the two limiting grooves 64, in the second direction, the limiting grooves 64 are opened toward the front, at least a portion of the rear of the limiting grooves 64 is closed, the substrate 51 is inserted into the limiting grooves 64 from the opening, and the contact terminals 53 face the support plate 631, so that, when the chip assembly 2 is mounted on the housing 1, in the first direction, the chip 5 can be protected by the limiting grooves 64, in the second direction, the chip 5 can be protected by the housing 1 and the rear plate 65/the limiting part 662, respectively, in the third direction, the chip 5 can be protected by the limiting grooves 64 and the support plate 631, not only dust or developer hardly reaches the contact terminals 53, but also the chip 5 is hardly affected by external force, and thus, reliability of the chip 5 can be effectively ensured.

The number of conductive members 7 corresponds to the number of contact terminals 53, and correspondingly, the chip carrier 6 is further provided with mounting portions 66 corresponding to the number of conductive members 7, and each mounting portion 66 is capable of mounting one conductive member 7. As shown in the drawings, the mounting portion 66 includes a bearing portion 661 and a restricting portion 662, the bearing portion 661 is at least used for bearing the first portion 71, the restricting portion 662 is used for restricting the conductive member 7 in the third direction, the plurality of mounting portions 66 are arranged in sequence, preferably, the bearing portion 661 of each mounting portion is integrally formed with the restricting portion 662 of the next mounting portion, the bearing portion 661 and the restricting portion 662 in the mounting portions at both ends in the first direction are integrally formed with the main body 61, thus, the mounting portion 66 can be regarded as being cut-formed to the rear side plate 65, the bearing portion 661 and the restricting portion 662 are part of the rear side plate 65, that is, the chip holder 6 can be integrally formed, each mounting portion 66 forms an upper exposure opening 667 in the third direction and forms a rear exposure opening 20 in the second direction (direction in which the contact pin is located), in the third direction, the restricting portion 661 is lower than the mounting portion 661, a contact groove 666 allowing the contact pin to enter is formed between the mounting portion 661 and the restricting portion 662, specifically, the upper end of the restricting portion 662 and the upper end of the mounting portion 662 form a contact groove 666 intersecting the upper exposure opening 667 in the exposure opening in the third direction.

In the first direction, a first space 663 is formed between the carrying portion 661 and the restriction portion 662, in the third direction, a second space 664 is formed between the restriction portion 662 and the support plate 631, and when the conductive member 7 is mounted, the third portion 73 may be inserted into the second space 664 in an inclined posture behind the restriction portion 662 in the second direction so that the front end 73a of the third portion reaches the front of the restriction portion 662, the first portion 71 is inserted into the first space 663, the conductive member 7 is pushed to a predetermined position in the second direction, and finally, the conductive member 7 is restricted by the mounting portion 661 and the restriction portion 662 in the first direction, the conductive member 7 is pressed downward by the restriction portion 662 in the third direction, and at the same time, the conductive member 7 is also restricted in the second direction, so that the conductive member 7 is bonded to the chip carrier 6, and the communication portion 71a in an arch shape/protruding shape with respect to the mounting portion 661 is located in the contact groove 666.

Further, at least one of the rear end of the conductive member 7 and the rear end of the chip rack 6 is further provided with a restriction member (not shown) for restricting the movement of the conductive member 7 in the second direction, for example, the rear end of the chip rack 6 is provided with a projection, or the rear end 73b of the third portion of the conductive member 7 is provided with a projection combined with the chip rack 6, or the third portion of the conductive member 7 is provided with an elastic projection like the abutment terminal 73e, which abuts against the restriction portion 662 when the conductive member 7 is pushed to a predetermined mounting position.

As can be seen from the above description, the conductive sheet second portion 72 can be stably bonded to the chip frame 6 even if not bonded to the chip frame 6, and at this time, the conductive sheet second portion 72 of the conductive sheet 7 can be omitted; when the second portion 72 is required to be combined with the chip frame 6, as shown in the figure, the chip frame 6 further includes a fixing portion 665 provided on the mounting portion 661, and after the second portion 72 is combined with the fixing portion 665, both sides of the first portion 71 are fixed, so that the communication portion 71a is more beneficial to form stable electrical contact with the contact pins; preferably, the fixing portion 665 is further provided with an inclined surface 6651 coupled to the second portion 72, and the inclined surface 6651 is provided not only to facilitate the mounting of the second portion 72 but also to make the coupling of the second portion 72 to the mounting portion 661 tighter.

Further, the substrate 51 is further provided with a recognition portion 54, and accordingly, the chip rack 6 is provided with a recognized portion 67 that can be recognized by the recognition portion 54, and the recognition portion 54 and the recognized portion 67 are provided, so that not only can the substrate 51 be quickly mounted at a correct position be ensured, but also the type of the chip 5 can be distinguished according to the type of the process cartridge 10, and the type of the mounted chip 5 can be ensured to be correct.

Accordingly, the chip module 2 is assembled by first mounting the conductive member 7 to the predetermined position of the chip frame 6, at this time, the contact terminal 73e faces upward as the extension 73 reaches above the support plate 631, and then inserting the chip substrate 51 from the opening of the limiting groove 64 in the second direction according to the positions of the recognition portion 54 and the recognized portion 67, and thus, the contact terminal 73e is elastically deformed and brought into close contact with the contact terminal 53.

[ contact of chip Assembly with contact pins ]

As described above, the chip assembly 2 can be mounted at the corresponding position of the housing 1 according to the model of the process cartridge 10, as shown in fig. 1, when the chip assembly 2 is mounted, the upper exposure port 667 is blocked by the housing 1, and the rear exposure port 20 located at the rear end of the housing 1 is exposed rearward in the mounting direction, but the first portion 71/communicating portion 71a is not facing rearward but is facing in a direction parallel to the first direction.

With the door closed, the contact pins 13 enter the contact grooves 666 from the rear exposure port 20, and then the first portions 71/communicating portions 71a abut against the side surfaces of the contact pins 13, whereby an electrical connection/communication connection is established between the contact pins 13 and the contact terminals 53 through the conductive members 7; further, the first portion 71/communicating portion 71a protruding toward the contact groove 666 in the first direction makes the size of the contact groove 666 slightly smaller than the size of the corresponding position of the stylus 13, and thus the first portion 71/communicating portion 71a is deformed by the stylus, and finally, the first portion 71/communicating portion 71a comes into closer contact with the stylus 13.

The housing 1 may be further configured such that, when the chip assembly 2 is mounted, the upper exposure opening 667 is exposed upward, and when the contact pins 13 are closed with the door, the contact pins 13 can enter the contact grooves 666 from the upper exposure opening 667, and stable contact between the contact pins 13 and the conductive members 7 can be achieved, so that the structure of the housing 1 is simplified; it will be appreciated that when the upper exposure opening 667 is set to be exposed upwardly, the stylus 13 can enter the contact groove 666 more smoothly; further, the contact groove 666 penetrates the rear side plate 65 in the second direction, so that the stylus 13 can be smoothly entered into the contact groove 666; preferably, after the contact pins 13 enter the contact grooves 666, the end faces of the contact pins 13 reach above the support 63, and the internal space of the chip carrier 2 is fully utilized.

As described above, the chip 5 is inverted, i.e., the contact terminals 53 face downward/toward the support plate 631 (the support 63), and thus the chip 5 can be effectively protected, the contact terminals 53 establish electrical connection/communication connection with the contact pins 13 through the conductive members 7, and specifically, the side surfaces of the contact pins 13 are abutted against the conductive members 7, and not the end surfaces of the contact pins 13 are abutted against the conductive members 7 any more, and thus, after the door is closed, the contact pins 13 do not have to be retracted, nor the contact pins 13 have to be extended when the door is opened, and the elastic members originally used for forcing the contact pins to extend do not have the phenomenon of elastic deformation fatigue, and the electrical connection/communication connection between the contact pins 13 and the chip 5 can be effectively maintained during long-term use of the imaging apparatus; it is possible that the chip 5 may also not have to be mounted upside down to the chip carrier 6, but in the normal way, in which case the contact terminals 53 will face upwards, but also that good electrical contact is achieved between the conductive elements 7 and the contact terminals 53, and that the side of the contact pins 13 will not be affected by abutment with the conductive elements 7.

Claims (10)

1. A chip carrier for mounting at least a portion of the chip and a conductive member for establishing an electrical connection between the chip and an external contact pin; the chip rack comprises a main body, a combination part connected with the main body, a supporting piece arranged on the main body and a rear side plate intersected with the supporting piece, wherein the supporting piece is used for supporting at least one part of the chip;

it is characterized in that the method comprises the steps of,

the rear side plate is provided with a plurality of mounting parts capable of mounting the conductive sheet, the conductive sheet comprises a first part and a third part which are connected with each other, and the mounting parts comprise a bearing part for bearing the first part and a limiting part for limiting the third part;

the third part is used for being electrically connected with at least one part of the chip, and the first part is used for being abutted against the side surface of the contact pin;

a contact groove allowing the contact pin to enter is formed between the bearing part and the limiting part, and the contact groove is provided with a rear exposure opening which is exposed at least towards the direction in which the contact pin is positioned.

2. The chip carrier according to claim 1, wherein the contact groove further has an upper exposure opening exposed toward a side opposite to the restriction portion.

3. The chip carrier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact groove is in a penetrating state in a direction in which the rear exposure opening is exposed.

4. A chip carrier according to claim 3, wherein a first space is formed between the carrier and the limiter for allowing the first part to enter, and a second space is formed between the limiter and the support for allowing the third part to enter.

5. The chip carrier of claim 4, wherein the chip carrier further comprises an identified portion for identifying the chip.

6. A chip assembly comprising a chip carrier according to any one of claims 1-5 and at least a portion of a chip and a conductive element mounted on the chip carrier.

7. The chip assembly of claim 6, wherein the first portion includes at least a communication portion protruding toward the contact groove, the communication portion abutting the contact pin.

8. The chip assembly of claim 6, wherein the chip includes a substrate, a storage portion disposed on the substrate, and contact terminals electrically connected to the storage portion, the contact terminals facing the support.

9. A process cartridge comprising a housing accommodating a developing material, and the chip assembly according to claim 6 or 7 or 8, the chip assembly being detachably combined with the housing.

10. A process cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the housing is provided with a plurality of different bonding sites, and the chip assembly is bonded with the different bonding sites to form different types of process cartridges.

Images