JP2006308882A - Process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent stuffing of paper dust dropping from a paper dust removing brush 41 between a lower film 43 and a photoreceptive drum 14, and to prevent it from flying into the inside of a laser printer 1. <P>SOLUTION: A movable part 43a of the lower film 43 is stuck to a base 42, formed integrally with a drum cartridge 15 using a double-sided adhesive tape so as to be extended in the counter direction, with respect to the rotation of the photoreceptive drum 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus in which the process cartridge is detachably provided.

  Conventionally, a lower film is provided below the conductive brush so as to block between the photosensitive drum and the frame of the drum cartridge in order to accumulate paper dust captured by the conductive brush in the drum cartridge. In addition, one end of the lower film is fixed to the frame of the drum cartridge, and its free end extends in the forward direction of the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum and contacts the surface of the photosensitive drum. Such a technique is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2001-242755 A

  However, if the free end of the lower film extends as described above, the distance between the conductive brush and the free end of the lower film is shortened. Therefore, when the tips of the conductive brush spread, When the free end interferes, paper dust dropped from the conductive brush easily enters between the lower film and the photosensitive drum, and further, there is a risk that the paper dust is scattered in the image forming apparatus main body.

  Therefore, in the present invention, a process for preventing foreign matter such as paper dust captured by the brush from entering between the brush and the sheet member due to interference between the brush and the sheet member and scattering in the image forming apparatus main body. An object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge and an image forming apparatus including the process cartridge.

  The process cartridge according to claim 1 is a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, and a photosensitive member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and sliding with the photosensitive member. A brush provided to remove foreign matter adhering to the photoconductor, and a movable part that extends in a counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the photoconductor and elastically contacts the photoconductor, And a flexible sheet member fixed upstream and downward in the moving direction of the photosensitive member, and a base on which the sheet member is fixed.

  The process cartridge according to claim 2 is the process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the base includes a facing surface facing the brush, a back surface facing away from the brush, and a facing surface facing the photoconductor. And a projecting end surface having a smaller area than the back surface, and the sheet member is bonded to the back surface.

  A process cartridge according to a third aspect of the present invention is the process cartridge according to the first aspect, wherein the base has a facing surface facing the brush, a back surface facing away from the brush, and the facing surface facing the photoconductor. And a projecting end surface having an area smaller than that of the back surface, and the sheet member is bonded to the facing surface.

  A process cartridge according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the process cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a developer is carried on the developer and the developer is supplied to the photosensitive member. A layer thickness regulating blade that regulates the layer thickness of the carried developer, and in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the surface of the photosensitive member in a region of the sheet member in contact with the photosensitive member, The width is provided narrower than the width of the layer thickness regulating blade.

  A process cartridge according to a fifth aspect is the process cartridge according to the fourth aspect, wherein the layer thickness regulating blade has a layer thickness of the developer carried on the surface of the developer carrier while sliding on the surface of the developer carrier. The sheet is provided in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the surface of the photosensitive member in a region of the sheet member in contact with the photosensitive member, including a restricting portion for restriction and play portions provided at both ends of the restricting portion. The width of the member is narrower than the width of the restricting portion.

  A process cartridge according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the process cartridge according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the sheet member is in surface contact with the photoconductor in a state where a tip of the movable portion is separated from the photoconductor. It is provided.

  A process cartridge according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the process cartridge according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the base is integrally formed with the process cartridge.

  An image forming apparatus according to an eighth aspect includes the process cartridge according to any one of the first to seventh aspects.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sheet member is fixed on the upstream side in the moving direction of the photosensitive member with respect to the brush, and the movable portion of the sheet member extends in the counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the photosensitive member. The distance between the brush and the tip of the movable part can be increased. That is, the movable part and the brush interfere with each other, so that the foreign matter dropped from the brush is not easily caught between the photosensitive member and the sheet member. As a result, foreign matter can be prevented from scattering in the image forming apparatus.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since the sheet member is adhered to the back surface having a larger area than the protruding end surface, it is difficult to peel off and can be used for a long time.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the sheet member is adhered to the opposing surface having a larger area than the protruding end surface, it is difficult to peel off and can be used for a long period of time. Further, since the sheet member is fixed to the surface facing the brush of the base, the sheet member covers the portion facing the brush of the base, and the foreign matter falls on the sheet member. That is, it is possible to prevent the foreign matter from dropping and staying on a portion other than the sheet member.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the width of the sheet member is narrower than the width of the layer thickness regulating blade in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the surface of the photosensitive member in the region of the sheet member in contact with the photosensitive member. Therefore, the layer thickness of the developer carrying member is not regulated by the layer thickness regulating blade substantially uniformly, and the developer supplied to the photosensitive member with an excessive thickness is scraped off by the sheet member to contaminate the inside of the image forming apparatus. Can reduce the risk.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the width of the sheet member is larger than the width of the restricting portion of the layer thickness restricting blade in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the surface of the photoreceptor in the region of the sheet member in contact with the photoreceptor. Since it is provided narrowly, the layer thickness is not substantially uniformly regulated by the developer carrying member, and the sheet member scrapes off the developer supplied to the photosensitive member with an excessive thickness and may contaminate the inside of the image forming apparatus. Can be reduced more reliably.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, since the sheet member is provided so as to come into surface contact with the photosensitive member in a state where the tip of the movable part is separated from the photosensitive member, the tip of the movable part adheres to the surface of the photosensitive member. The risk of contaminating the inside of the image forming apparatus by scraping off the toner can be reduced.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the base and the process cartridge are integrally formed, the process of attaching the base to the process cartridge can be omitted. Further, a member for fixing the base to the process cartridge can be eliminated.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from scattering in the image forming apparatus.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a main part showing an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a laser printer 1 includes a feeder unit 3 for supplying paper as a recording medium in a main body casing 2, an image forming unit 12 for forming a predetermined image on the supplied paper, and a scanner unit. 11 and a fixing unit 13.

  The feeder unit 3 is detachably mounted on the bottom of the main casing 2, the paper pressing plate 6 provided in the paper feeding tray 5, and above one end of the paper pressing plate 6. Pickup roller 7 provided, paper feed roller 8 and paper feed pad 9 provided above one end of the paper feed tray 5, and registration roller provided downstream of the paper feed roller 8 in the paper transport direction 10.

  The sheet pressing plate 6 can stack sheets in a stacked manner, and an end far from the pickup roller 7 is rotatably supported, and a near end is vertically moved by a motor (not shown). It can be moved.

  The paper feed roller 8 and the paper feed pad 9 are disposed so as to face each other, and the paper feed pad 9 is pressed toward the paper feed roller 8 by a spring (not shown) disposed on the back side of the paper feed pad 9. Yes.

  The uppermost sheet on the sheet pressing plate 6 is pressed toward the pickup roller 7 by a motor (not shown) from the back side of the sheet pressing plate 6, and the sheet feeding roller 8 and the sheet feeding pad 9 are rotated by the rotation of the pickup roller 7. Sent between. The sheet sandwiched between the sheet feed roller 8 and the sheet feed pad 9 is fed to the registration roller 10 one by one by the rotation of the sheet feed roller 8.

  The registration roller 10 is composed of two rollers on the driving side and the driven side, and the sheet sent from the sheet feeding roller 8 is sent to the image forming unit 12 after a predetermined registration.

  The scanner unit 11 is provided in the upper part of the main casing 2 and includes a laser light emitting unit (not shown), a polygon mirror that is driven to rotate, a lens, a reflecting mirror, and the like, and predetermined image data emitted from the laser light emitting unit. A laser beam based on the above is passed or reflected by a polygon mirror, a lens, and a reflecting mirror, and irradiated on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 of the image forming unit 12 by high-speed scanning.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view showing the image forming unit 12. The image forming unit 12 is disposed below the scanner unit 11 and is detachably mounted on the main body casing 2, and a photosensitive drum 14 as a photosensitive member, a developing cartridge 16, an electrostatic latent image, and the like. A scorotron charger 17 as charging means for forming the forming means, a transfer roller 18 as transfer means, and the like are provided. The developing cartridge 16 is detachably attached to the drum cartridge 15, and includes a developing roller 19 as a developer carrying member, a layer thickness regulating blade 20, a supply roller 21, and a toner 50 as a developer (FIGS. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a toner box 22 and the like in which are shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. The process cartridge of the present invention refers to a cartridge provided with a photoreceptor, and corresponds to the drum cartridge 15 or the image forming unit 12 in this embodiment.

  The toner box 22 is filled with a positively chargeable nonmagnetic one-component toner 50 as a developer. Examples of the toner 50 include polymerizable monomers such as styrene monomers such as styrene, and acrylic monomers such as acrylic acid, alkyl (C1 to C4) acrylate, and alkyl (C1 to C4) methacrylate. A polymerized toner obtained by copolymerizing the toner by a known polymerization method such as suspension polymerization is used.

  The toner 50 in the toner box 22 is agitated by an agitator 23 supported by a rotation shaft provided at the center of the toner box 22 and sent to the supply roller 21.

  The supply roller 21 is disposed so as to be rotatable in the arrow direction (counterclockwise direction), and the developing roller 19 is disposed so as to be rotatable in the arrow direction (counterclockwise direction) so as to face the supply roller 21. . The supply roller 21 and the developing roller 19 are in contact with each other in a state where each of them is compressed to some extent.

  The supply roller 21 has a metal roller shaft covered with a roller made of a conductive foam material. The developing roller 19 has a metal roller shaft covered with a roller made of a conductive rubber material. More specifically, the roller portion of the developing roller 19 has a urethane rubber or silicone rubber coating layer containing fluorine on the surface of a roller body made of conductive urethane rubber or silicone rubber containing carbon fine particles. It is covered. A predetermined transfer bias having a reverse polarity is applied to the transfer roller 18 with respect to the photosensitive drum 14.

  In addition, a layer thickness regulating blade 20 is disposed in the vicinity of the developing roller 19. The layer thickness regulating blade 20 includes a contact portion 20a having a semicircular cross section provided with insulating silicone rubber at the tip. The contact portion 20 a is pressed against the developing roller 19, thereby regulating the thickness of the toner 50 on the surface of the developing roller 19 substantially uniformly.

  Further, a toner seal 40 is affixed to the frame of the developing cartridge 16 in order to prevent the toner 50 from leaking from the gap between the frame of the developing cartridge 16 and both ends of the developing roller 19.

  The toner 50 sent from the agitator 23 is supplied to the developing roller 19 by the rotation of the supply roller 21. At this time, the toner 50 is positively frictionally charged between the supply roller 21 and the developing roller 19, and further developed. As the developing roller 19 rotates, the toner 50 supplied onto the roller 19 enters between the contact portion 20a of the layer thickness regulating blade 20 and the developing roller 19, where it is further sufficiently frictionally charged. , And is carried on the developing roller 19 as a thin layer having a substantially constant thickness.

  The photosensitive drum 14 is disposed at a side position of the developing roller 19 so as to be rotatable in the arrow direction (clockwise) around the axis in a state of being in contact with the developing roller 19 in an opposing manner. The photosensitive drum 14 is formed of a positively charge-dispersed single-layer photoreceptor in which a drum main body is grounded and a surface portion thereof has a charge generating material dispersed in a charge transport layer.

  Further, on the upstream side of the scorotron charger 17, a paper dust removing brush 41 is provided as a brush for removing paper dust as foreign matter adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 14. Further, a lower film 43 as a sheet member that contacts the photosensitive drum 14 is provided below the paper dust removing brush 41 so as to close a gap between the frame of the drum cartridge 15 and the photosensitive drum 14. The lower film 43 is for collecting paper dust falling from the paper dust removing brush 41 in the frame of the drum cartridge 15, and will be described in detail later.

  The scorotron charger 17 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 14 so as to face the photosensitive drum 14 with a predetermined interval therebetween. The scorotron charger 17 is a positively charged scorotron charger that generates corona discharge from a charging wire such as tungsten. The scorotron charger 17 includes a corona wire 24, a shield 25 that covers the corona wire 24, and a corona wire 24. The grid electrode 26 is provided so as to face the surface of the photosensitive drum 14, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is uniformly charged to a positive polarity. In the laser printer 1, the charged potential on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 after charging is set to 870V.

  The surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is uniformly positively charged by the scorotron charger 17 and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser beam from the scanner unit 11 to form an electrostatic latent image based on predetermined image data. Is done. In the laser printer 1, the potential of the portion exposed by the laser beam on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is set to 150 to 170V.

  Then, when the developing roller 19 rotates and the positively charged toner 50 carried on the developing roller 19 comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 14 so as to face the electrostatic latent image 14, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14. An image, that is, a surface of the photosensitive drum 14 that is uniformly positively charged, is supplied to a portion of the photosensitive drum 14 that is exposed to a laser beam and the potential of which is lowered, and is selectively carried to be visualized. By means of this, reversal development is achieved. In the laser printer 1, a voltage of 400 to 450 V is applied to the developing roller 19 as a bias voltage.

  A transfer roller 18 facing the photosensitive drum 14 is disposed below the photosensitive drum 14 so as to be rotatable in an arrow direction (counterclockwise direction). In the transfer roller 18, a metal roller shaft is covered with a roller made of a conductive rubber material, and a transfer bias having a reverse polarity is applied to the photosensitive drum 14. Therefore, the visible image carried on the photosensitive drum 14 is transferred to the sheet while the sheet passes between the photosensitive drum 14 and the transfer roller 18.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing unit 13 is disposed on the downstream side of the developing unit 12, the heating roller 27, the pressing roller 28 pressed toward the heating roller 27, and the heating roller 27 and the pressing unit. A conveyance roller 29 provided on the downstream side of the roller 28 is provided. The heating roller 27 is made of a metal and includes a halogen lamp for heating, and the toner 50 transferred onto the sheet in the developing unit 12 is passed between the heating roller 27 and the pressing roller 28 while the sheet passes between the heating roller 27 and the pressing roller 28. After the heat fixing, the sheet is conveyed to a pair of discharge rollers 30 by a conveying roller 29. The sheet 3 sent to the pair of discharge rollers 30 is discharged onto the discharge tray 31 by the discharge rollers 30.
[Lower film]
Hereinafter, the lower film 43 that characterizes the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the lower film 43 of FIG.

  Under the paper dust removing brush 41, a base 42 is provided integrally with the frame of the drum cartridge 15. The base forms a paper powder storage section 44 having an L-shaped cross section, and the paper powder storage section 44 is opened toward the paper powder removal brush 41.

  The base 42 protrudes toward the photosensitive drum 14 at a portion facing the paper dust removing brush 41, a back surface 42 b facing away from the paper dust removing brush 41, and the photosensitive drum 14. It has a protruding end surface 42c that is opposed and has a smaller area than the opposing surface 42a and the back surface 42b.

  The lower film 43 is affixed to the opposing surface 42 a with double-sided tape, and the movable portion 43 a is provided so as to extend in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 14.

  Further, the lower film 43 has flexibility, a tip portion is separated from the photosensitive drum 14, and is in elastic contact and surface contact with the photosensitive drum 14 at the curved surface portion.

  By the way, the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the surface of the photosensitive member in the region of the sheet member of the present invention that contacts the photosensitive member corresponds to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 14 in this embodiment. Accordingly, the width of the lower film 43 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 14 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. 4 is a plan view of the vicinity of the developing roller 19 from the direction A in FIG. That is, it is a diagram showing the relationship among the contact portion 20a, the developing roller 19, and the toner seal 40. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a circle in FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the vicinity of the tip of the contact portion 20a in the layer thickness regulating blade 20. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, a layer thickness regulating blade 20 that uniformly arranges the toner 50 carried on the developing roller 19 is provided. More specifically, a rubber member 201a is provided at the tip of the contact portion 20a. The rubber member 201 a includes a regulating portion 2010 a that extends substantially parallel to the surface of the developing roller 19 and regulates the toner 50 carried while sliding on the surface of the developing roller 19 to a substantially uniform layer thickness. . The rubber member 201a has play portions 2011a at both ends of the restricting portion 2010a, and the play portions 2011a are turned up by sliding with the surface of the developing roller 19, as shown in FIG. A gap is formed between the surface of the developing roller 19.

  As shown in FIG. 5, toner seals 40 are provided in the vicinity of both ends of the developing roller 19 with a slight gap from the rubber member 201 a.

  According to such a configuration, as the developing roller 19 rotates, the toner 50 is pushed up between the toner seal 40 and the rubber member 201a. The pushed up toner 50 adheres to the photosensitive drum 14.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the width of the lower film 43 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 14 is set to be narrower than the width L of the restricting portion 2010a as shown in FIG.

  According to such a configuration, the paper dust adhering to the photosensitive drum 14 is captured by the paper dust removing brush 41. When a certain amount of paper dust accumulates on the brush bristles of the paper dust removal brush 41, the paper dust falls and stored in the paper powder storage unit 44. When paper dust falls in the vicinity of the contact position between the lower film 43 and the photosensitive drum 14, it is pushed up to the paper dust storage unit 44 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum.

  The frame configuration of the drum cartridge 15 in this embodiment will be additionally described with reference to FIGS. The drum cartridge 15 is formed by integrally combining a lower frame 15a and an upper frame 15b. FIG. 7 is a diagram in which the upper frame 15b of the drum cartridge 15 is removed.

  Next, the effect of the present embodiment will be described.

  Since the lower film 43 is provided so as to extend in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 14, the tip of the paper dust removing brush 41 and the lower film 43 interfere with each other, so that the lower film 43 and the photosensitive drum are in contact with each other. 14 is difficult to jam paper dust. As a result, it is possible to prevent paper dust from scattering from between the lower film 43 and the photosensitive drum 14 and contaminating the inside of the laser printer 1.

  Further, since the lower film 43 is bonded to the opposing surface 42a having a larger area than the protruding end surface 42c with a double-sided tape, it is less likely to be peeled off than when attached to the protruding end surface 42c and can be used for a long time. .

  Furthermore, since the lower film 43 is affixed to the opposing surface 42a which is a surface which opposes the paper dust removal brush 41 of the base 42, the part which the lower film 43 opposes the paper dust removal brush 41 of the base 42 is used. In the covered state, the paper dust falls on the smooth lower film 43 surface. That is, it is possible to prevent the paper powder from dropping and staying on the uneven portion other than the lower film 43.

  Further, since the width of the lower film 43 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 14 is made narrower than the width of the restricting portion 2010a, it is pushed up between the toner seal and the restricting portion 2010a on the developing roller 19, and the layer thickness is increased. In this state, the lower film 43 can be prevented from scraping off the toner 50 adhering to the photosensitive drum 14.

  Further, the lower film 43 has a tip portion separated from the photosensitive drum 14 and is in contact with the photosensitive drum 14 at the curved surface portion, so that the sharp tip portion can prevent the toner 50 on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 from being scraped off.

  Further, since the base 42 is provided integrally with the frame of the drum cartridge 15, the step of attaching the base 42 to the drum cartridge 15 can be omitted. Furthermore, a member for fixing the base 42 to the drum cartridge 15 can be eliminated.

  In the drum cartridge 15 in the present embodiment, the configuration of the present invention is also useful when the photosensitive drum 14 is assembled to the drum cartridge 15. This will be described. As described above, the frame of the drum cartridge 15 includes the lower frame 15a and the upper frame 15b, and the base 42 and the support portion for the photosensitive drum 14 are provided on the lower frame 15a. As shown in FIG. 7, when the upper frame is not attached and the upper part is opened, the lower film 43 is bonded to the base 42, and then the photosensitive drum 14 is assembled to the lower frame 15a from above. .

  At this time, the photosensitive drum 14 pushes down the movable portion 43 a of the lower film 43 and moves the movable portion 43 a to a position extending in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 14. That is, with this configuration, the step of positioning the movable part on the photosensitive drum 14 can be eliminated. Moreover, since the attachment surface of the lower film 43 is the opposing surface 42a which is easy to see from above, the attachment becomes easy.

  Although the above has been described as the best embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the attachment surface of the lower film 43 may be the back surface 42b. Since the back surface 42b has a larger area than the facing surface 42a and the protruding end surface 42c, the back surface 42b is reliably attached and is difficult to peel off even when used for a long time.

It is a center sectional view of laser printer 1 in an example. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming unit in the embodiment. It is a principal part enlarged view of the lower film vicinity in an Example. FIG. 3 is a plan view from the direction A in the vicinity of the developing roller in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a circle in FIG. 4. It is a schematic diagram of the contact part vicinity of a present Example. FIG. 4 is a diagram excluding the upper frame of the drum cartridge.

Explanation of symbols

14 Photosensitive drum 41 Paper dust removing brush 42 Base 43 Lower film

Claims (8)

A process cartridge detachably attachable to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, and a photosensitive member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed;
A brush provided to remove foreign matter adhering to the photoconductor while sliding with the photoconductor;
A flexible portion that extends in the counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the photoconductor and elastically contacts the photoconductor, and is fixed to the brush on the upstream side and in the moving direction of the photoconductor. A sheet member;
A process cartridge comprising a base on which the sheet member is fixed.   The base has a facing surface facing the brush, a back surface facing away from the brush, and a protruding end surface facing the photoconductor and having a smaller area than the facing surface and the back surface, The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the sheet member is bonded to the back surface.   The base has a facing surface facing the brush, a back surface facing away from the brush, and a protruding end surface facing the photoconductor and having a smaller area than the facing surface and the back surface, The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the sheet member is bonded to the facing surface. A developer carrying member that carries the developer and supplies the developer to the photosensitive member;
A layer thickness regulating blade for regulating the layer thickness of the developer carried on the developer carrying body,
The width of the sheet member is set to be narrower than the width of the layer thickness regulating blade in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the surface of the photosensitive member in a region where the sheet member is in contact with the photosensitive member. The process cartridge according to claim 1.   The layer thickness regulating blade is provided at a regulation portion that regulates the layer thickness of the developer carried on the surface of the developer carrier while sliding on the surface of the developer carrier, and at both ends of the regulation portion. The sheet member has a width narrower than a width of the restricting portion in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the surface of the photosensitive member in a region of the sheet member that contacts the photosensitive member. The process cartridge according to claim 4, wherein:   6. The process according to claim 1, wherein the sheet member is provided so as to be in surface contact with the photoconductor in a state where a tip of the movable part is separated from the photoconductor. cartridge.   The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the base is integrally formed with the process cartridge. An image forming apparatus comprising the process cartridge according to claim 1.

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