JP2009075274A - Process cartridge protective structure and image forming apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively avoid incorrect installation of a process cartridge to an image forming apparatus housing while sufficiently protecting at least a photoreceptor. <P>SOLUTION: In the process cartridge protective structure, a protective cover 2 includes a cover base 3 which abuts on an image forming apparatus housing 10 to movably guide a process cartridge 1; a positioning retaining part 4 which is positioned and retained at a regular position on the image forming apparatus housing 10 side; and a discrimination part 5 which discriminates whether the positioning is performed to the regular position of the image forming apparatus housing or not. The image forming apparatus housing 10 includes an mounting discrimination part 6 which is disposed in a noninterference position with the discrimination part 5(5b) to allow the positioning of the protective cover 2 to the regular position in a condition where the process cartridge 1 is of an insertable/mountable type, and is disposed in an interference position with the discrimination part 5(5b) to prohibit the positioning of the protective cover 2 to the regular position in a condition where the process cartridge 1 is of a non-insertable/mountable type. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a process cartridge protection structure and an image forming apparatus using the same.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a removable protective cover is provided on a process cartridge including a photosensitive member, and the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive member is protected by the protective cover, and the process cartridge is inserted and mounted from the image forming apparatus housing. A technique is disclosed in which a protective cover is used as a guide member, and the protective cover is separated from the process cartridge in a direction opposite to the insertion direction in accordance with the insertion operation of the process cartridge into the image forming apparatus housing.

JP-A-8-292706 (Embodiment of the Invention, FIGS. 24 to 27)

  The technical problem of the present invention is to sufficiently protect at least the photoreceptor and effectively avoid erroneous mounting of the process cartridge to the image forming apparatus casing.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a protective cover is detachably attached to a process cartridge that is detachably inserted into the image forming apparatus casing and includes at least the photosensitive member, and the process cartridge is inserted and attached to the image forming apparatus casing. In the process cartridge protection structure, the external cover portion of the photosensitive member is protected by a protective cover, and the protective cover is removed from the process cartridge when the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing. The protective cover covers the external exposed portion of the photosensitive member of the process cartridge so that the process cartridge can be moved by contacting the image forming apparatus housing when the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing. Cover base to be guided and process cartridge image of the cover base A positioning holding portion that is provided on the insertion direction side of the image forming apparatus housing and is positioned and held at a normal position of the image forming apparatus housing when the process cartridge is mounted; and an image forming apparatus housing of the process cartridge of the cover base An identification unit that is provided on the insertion direction side of the body and identifies whether or not the image forming apparatus housing is positioned at a normal position;
On the other hand, the image forming apparatus housing is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the identification unit so as to allow the protective cover to be positioned at a normal position under the condition that the process cartridge can be inserted and mounted. A process cartridge protection structure comprising: a mounting discriminating unit disposed at a position interfering with the discriminating unit so as to prohibit the positioning of the protective cover to a normal position under the condition that it cannot be inserted and mounted. It is.

The invention according to claim 2 is the process cartridge protection structure according to claim 1, wherein the protective cover includes a plurality of identification portions.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the process cartridge protection structure according to the second aspect, the protective cover includes identification portions on both sides of the process cartridge, and the identification portions are arranged asymmetrically. This is a process cartridge protection structure.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the process cartridge protection structure according to the first aspect, the process cartridge includes an identification unit that identifies whether or not the image forming apparatus housing is positioned at a regular position. It is characterized in that the process cartridge is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the mounting determination unit of the image forming apparatus housing under the condition that it can be inserted and mounted, and at a position that interferes with the condition that the process cartridge cannot be inserted and mounted. This is a process cartridge protection structure.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the process cartridge protective structure according to the first aspect, the protective cover has an identification part that is detachable from the cover base.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the process cartridge protection structure according to the fourth aspect, the mounting determination portion is a common component provided corresponding to both the protective cover and both identification portions of the process cartridge. This is a process cartridge protection structure.
The invention according to claim 7 is the process cartridge protection structure according to claim 1, wherein the mounting discriminating part is detachable from the housing of the image forming apparatus.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the process cartridge protection structure according to the first aspect, the mounting determination unit guides the process cartridge inserted from the protective cover into the image forming apparatus housing under the condition that the process cartridge can be inserted and mounted. The process cartridge protection structure is also used as a guide member.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge having at least a photosensitive member incorporated in an image forming apparatus housing is detachably inserted and mounted, and the process cartridge is inserted and mounted in the image forming apparatus casing. Previously, the external exposed portion of the photoconductor is protected, and has a protective cover that is removed from the process cartridge when the process cartridge is inserted into the housing of the image forming apparatus, and the protective cover is a photoconductor of the process cartridge. A cover base that covers the external exposed portion of the image forming apparatus and that contacts the image forming apparatus housing when the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing, and the process of the cover bases. The process cartridge is installed on the side of the cartridge in the direction of insertion into the image forming apparatus housing. A positioning holding portion that is positioned and held at a normal position of the image forming apparatus housing when being worn, and provided on a side of the cover base in a direction in which the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing; The image forming apparatus housing allows the positioning of the protective cover to the normal position under the condition that the process cartridge can be inserted and mounted. As described above, it is arranged at a position that interferes with the identification unit so as to prohibit the positioning of the protective cover to the normal position under the condition that the process cartridge is of a type that cannot be inserted and mounted in a position that does not interfere with the identification unit. An image forming apparatus including a mounting determination unit.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the image forming apparatus housing is provided with a plurality of insertion openings, and a process cartridge is inserted into each insertion opening. The body includes a mounting determination unit corresponding to each insertion port, and the mounting determination unit located between adjacent insertion ports is provided corresponding to the identification unit of the protective cover of each process cartridge corresponding to the adjacent insertion port. An image forming apparatus.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the positioning holding portion has an elastic holding piece that can be elastically deformed, and is latched and held in a positioning hole formed in the housing of the image forming apparatus. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus housing includes a plurality of insertion holes into which the process cartridges are inserted and mounted, and the positioning holes are formed on both sides of the insertion holes so that positioning on one side of the predetermined insertion holes is performed. The hole is an image forming apparatus characterized in that it also serves as a positioning hole on the other side of the adjacent insertion opening.

According to the first aspect of the invention, in the process of mounting the process cartridge to the image forming apparatus casing, it is possible to effectively avoid erroneous mounting of the process cartridge to the image forming apparatus casing while at least sufficiently protecting the photosensitive member. can do.
According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to deal with more types than the process cartridge.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent the process cartridge from being inserted from the upside down direction.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the process cartridge is inserted and mounted without a protective cover, erroneous mounting of the process cartridge can be effectively prevented when the process cartridge is inappropriate.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5, sharing of a protective cover is realizable.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, only one mounting determination unit is required for the identification units of both the protective cover and the process cartridge, and the apparatus configuration can be simplified.
According to the seventh aspect of the invention, sharing of the image forming apparatus housing can be realized.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 8, the insertion attitude | position of a process cartridge can be stabilized by using the mounting | wearing discrimination | determination part also as a guide member.
According to the ninth aspect of the invention, in the process of mounting the process cartridge to the image forming apparatus casing, it is possible to effectively avoid erroneous mounting of the process cartridge to the image forming apparatus casing while at least sufficiently protecting the photosensitive member. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing the above.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 10, a mounting | wearing discrimination | determination part can be shared and an apparatus structure can be simplified.
According to the invention of claim 11, the size of the image forming apparatus housing in the direction in which the insertion ports are arranged can be reduced, and the image forming apparatus can be downsized.

Outline of Embodiment First, an outline of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described.
FIGS. 1A and 1B schematically show an outline of a process cartridge protection structure according to an embodiment embodying the present invention.
In the figure, the process cartridge protection structure according to the present embodiment has a protective cover 2 detachably attached to a process cartridge 1 that is detachably inserted and attached to the image forming apparatus housing 10 and includes at least the photosensitive member 1a. Before the insertion and mounting of the first image forming apparatus housing 10, the protective cover 2 protects the externally exposed portion of the photosensitive member 1 a, and the process cartridge 1 is inserted and mounted in the image forming apparatus housing 10. A process cartridge protection structure in which the protective cover 2 is removed from the cartridge 1, wherein the protective cover 2 covers and exposes an externally exposed portion of the photosensitive member 1 a of the process cartridge 1 and the image forming apparatus housing 10. When the process cartridge 1 is inserted into the image forming apparatus, it contacts the image forming apparatus housing 10 to A cover base 3 that guides the cartridge 1 movably, and is provided on the cover base 3 on the insertion direction side of the process cartridge 1 into the image forming apparatus housing 10. When the process cartridge 1 is mounted, the image forming apparatus housing Positioning and holding portion 4 that is positioned and held at a normal position of body 10 and provided in the direction of insertion of process cartridge 1 into image forming apparatus housing 10 of cover base 3 to the normal position of image forming apparatus housing Identification section 5 (for example, 5a, 5b) for identifying whether or not the image forming apparatus is positioned. On the other hand, when the image forming apparatus housing 10 is of a type in which the process cartridge 1 can be inserted and mounted, The process cartridge 1 is of a type that is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the identification unit 5 (for example, 5a) so as to allow positioning to a position and that the process cartridge 1 cannot be inserted and mounted A condition in which with a mounting determination unit 6 disposed in the identification unit 5 (e.g., 5b) and a position interfering to prohibit the positioning of the normal position of the protective cover 2.
1A is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the protective cover is allowed to be positioned, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the protective cover is allowed to be positioned. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 7 denotes an extrusion member for pushing out the process cartridge 1 from the protective cover 2.

In such technical means, the process cartridge 1 is a unit in which at least a unit including the photosensitive member 1a is integrally formed as a cartridge, and the unit in the cartridge is detachable from the image forming apparatus housing 10. is there.
The protective cover 2 mainly protects at least the external exposed portion of the photosensitive member 1a before the process cartridge 1 is inserted and mounted in the image forming apparatus housing 10 in order to mainly protect the deterioration and damage of the photosensitive member 1a. What is necessary is just to be removed from the process cartridge 1 after the process cartridge 1 is inserted and mounted.
Here, “protect at least the externally exposed portion of the photoconductor 1 a” only needs to include the externally exposed portion of the photoconductor 1 a as an object to be protected by the protective cover 2, and the protective cover 2 is exposed to the outside of the photoconductor 1 a. In addition to covering all of the portion, a part of the external exposed portion of the photoconductor 1a is covered, and the remaining portion of the external exposed portion of the photoconductor 1a is covered with a protective member (such as a sheet or film) attached to the protective cover 2. Including things.

  Further, “before the process cartridge 1 is inserted into the image forming apparatus casing 10” includes a state before the process cartridge 1 is completely inserted into the image forming apparatus casing 10, and the process cartridge 1 is shipped. For example, a process in which the process cartridge 1 is inserted and mounted or the like is performed. Note that “insertion mounting” means mounting as a result of insertion. In addition, the point of time when the protective cover 2 is attached to the process cartridge 1 includes, of course, an aspect in which the protective cover 2 is attached since the process cartridge 1 is shipped and conveyed, but is not limited to this. 1 includes a mode in which a protective sheet or the like that is different from the protective cover 2 is protected during shipping and transport, and the protective sheet or the like is removed immediately before insertion into the image forming apparatus housing 10 and the protective cover 2 is attached.

Furthermore, the protective cover 2 only needs to include the cover base 3, the positioning holding unit 44, and the identification unit 5.
Here, the cover base 3 covers at least the photosensitive member 1a, and comes into contact with the image forming apparatus casing 10 when the process cartridge 1 is inserted into the image forming apparatus casing 10, so that the process cartridge 1 can be moved. If it does, it is not limited to a form surrounding the entire process cartridge 1, and may be appropriately selected.
The guide portion of the process cartridge 1 is not limited to the rail-shaped guide member as long as the process cartridge 1 is engaged so as to be relatively movable, and may be appropriately selected such as using the wall surface of the cover base 3. .

Further, since it is necessary to position and hold the protective cover 2 at the normal position with respect to the image forming apparatus housing 10, the positioning holding portion 4 is required. The positioning holding portion 4 here includes a wide range such as a portion in which a positioning pin fits into the positioning hole, but preferably has a structure that cannot be pulled out when the protective cover 2 is positioned and held but can be pulled out when the process cartridge 1 is inserted and mounted. preferable.
Further, the identification unit 5 may be integrated with the cover base 3 or may be a separate body. Here, the type of process cartridge means a specification or a destination.
Further, the mounting determination unit 6 may be integrated with the image forming apparatus housing 10 or may be a separate body.
In the mounting determination unit 6, “non-interference” means that the mounting determination unit 6 does not interfere with the identification unit 5 in positioning the protective cover 2 at the normal position. It means that both are in a disturbing positional relationship.

Furthermore, although the number of the identification units 5 is at least one, it is preferable to provide a plurality of identification units 5 from the viewpoint of handling more types of process cartridges 1.
Here, from the viewpoint of more surely preventing insertion of the process cartridge 1 from the upside down direction, the identification unit 5 is provided on both sides of the process cartridge 1 and the identification units 5 are asymmetrically arranged. Can be mentioned.
Further, the identification unit 5 may be provided on the protective cover 2, but from the viewpoint of enabling the process cartridge 1 to be mounted without the protective cover 2, the identification unit 5 can be moved to the normal position of the image forming apparatus housing. An identification unit 5 for identifying whether or not it is positioned, and this identification unit 5 is a position that does not interfere with the condition that the process cartridge 1 can be inserted into and mounted on the mounting determination unit 6 of the image forming apparatus housing 10. In addition, there may be mentioned a mode in which it is arranged at an interference position under the condition that it cannot be inserted and mounted.

From the viewpoint of sharing the protective cover 2, it is preferable to have the identification unit 5 that is detachable from the cover base 3. As a mounting method in this case, it is possible to appropriately select screwing, snap fitting, or the like.
Furthermore, from the viewpoint of sharing the mounting determination unit 6, there is an aspect in which the common component is provided corresponding to both the protective cover 2 and both identification units 5 of the process cartridge.
Furthermore, from the viewpoint of sharing the image forming apparatus housing 10, it is sufficient to use a mounting determination unit 6 that is detachable from the image forming apparatus housing 10. The attachment method in this case is the same as that of the identification unit 5.
Further, as a preferable mode of the mounting determination unit 6, there is a mode that also serves as a guide member that guides the process cartridge inserted from the protective cover 2 into the image forming apparatus housing 10 under the condition that the process cartridge 1 can be inserted and mounted. It is done.

In the present embodiment model, an image forming apparatus using such a protective structure is provided.
Here, in the aspect in which the image forming apparatus housing 10 is provided with a plurality of insertion openings, and the process cartridge is inserted and attached to each insertion opening, from the viewpoint of sharing the attachment determination unit 6, the image forming apparatus casing 10 includes a mounting determination unit 6 corresponding to each insertion port, and the mounting determination unit 6 located between adjacent insertion ports corresponds to the identification unit 5 of the protective cover 2 of each process cartridge 1 corresponding to the adjacent insertion port. Can be provided.
Further, from the viewpoint of downsizing the image forming apparatus housing 10, the positioning holding portion 4 has an elastic holding piece that can be elastically deformed, and is latched and held in a positioning hole formed in the image forming apparatus housing 10. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus housing 10 includes a plurality of insertion openings into which the process cartridge 1 is inserted and mounted, and the positioning holes are formed on both sides of the insertion opening so that one of the predetermined insertion openings is provided. The positioning hole on the side can also be used as the positioning hole on the other side of the adjacent insertion port.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
-Overall configuration of image forming device-
FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the first embodiment of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
In the figure, an image forming apparatus includes an image forming section 22 (specifically, black, yellow, magenta, and cyan) of four colors in an image forming apparatus casing (hereinafter referred to as apparatus casing) 21 (specifically, in this embodiment). 22a to 22d) are arranged in a horizontal direction with a slightly inclined positional relationship obliquely upward, and an intermediate transfer belt 23 that is circulated and conveyed along the arrangement direction of the image forming units 22 is disposed thereon. On the other hand, a recording material supply device 24 in which the recording material P can be supplied is disposed below the apparatus housing 21, and an image-formed recording material is discharged and accommodated in the upper portion of the apparatus housing 21. The recording material discharge receptacle 26 is provided, and the recording material from the recording material supply device 24 is discharged to the recording material discharge receptacle 26 via a recording material conveyance path 25 extending along the vertical direction.

In the present embodiment, each of the image forming units 22 (22a to 22d) is, for example, for black, yellow, for example, in order from the upstream side in the circulation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 23, as shown in FIGS. A magenta toner image and a cyan toner image (arrangements are not necessarily in this order) are formed. For example, a photoconductor 31 formed in a drum shape, and a charger 32 that precharges the photoconductor 31. An exposure device 33 that writes an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 31 charged by the charger 32, a developing device 34 that visualizes the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 31 with each color toner, and a photosensitive member And a cleaner 35 for cleaning residual toner on the body 31.
Here, the exposure device 33 is common to each image forming unit 22, and deflects and scans light from a light source such as a semiconductor laser (not shown) of each color component in the exposure container 331 by a deflection mirror 332. The optical image is guided to the exposure position on the corresponding photosensitive member 31 through an imaging lens and a mirror (not shown).

Further, the intermediate transfer belt 23 is stretched around stretch rolls 41 to 44, and is circulated and moved, for example, using the stretch roll 41 as a drive roll. A primary transfer device 51 (for example, a primary transfer roll) is disposed on the back surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23 corresponding to each photoconductor 31, and a voltage having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer device 51. As a result, the toner image on the photosensitive member 31 is electrostatically transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 23 side.
Further, a secondary transfer device 52 (for example, a secondary transfer roll) is disposed at a site corresponding to the stretching roll 41 on the downstream side of the image forming unit 22d located on the most downstream side in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 23. The primary transfer image on the intermediate transfer belt 23 is secondarily transferred (collectively transferred) to the recording material.
Further, an intermediate cleaner 53 for cleaning residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 23 is provided at a portion corresponding to the stretching roll 41 on the downstream side of the secondary transfer portion of the intermediate transfer belt 23.
Here, the intermediate transfer belt 23 uses a resin such as polyimide, polycarbonate, polyester, polypropylene, or various rubbers containing an appropriate amount of an antistatic agent such as carbon black, and has a volume resistivity of 10 ⁶ to 10 ¹⁴ Ω. -It is formed to be cm.
Further, in the present embodiment, the recording material sent out by the feeder 61 of the recording material supply device 24 is conveyed by an appropriate number of conveyance rolls (not shown) in the recording material conveyance path 25, and the alignment roll 62. , After passing through the secondary transfer portion of the secondary transfer device 52 and fixing the unfixed toner image by, for example, heat and pressure by the fixing device 66, the recording material discharge receptacle 26 via the discharge roll 67. It is designed to be discharged and accommodated.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 38 (38a to 38d) denotes a toner replenisher for replenishing new toner to the developing device 34 of each image forming unit 22 (22a to 22d).

―Image forming part―
In particular, in the present embodiment, the photoreceptor 31 is configured as a process cartridge 70 integrated with the charger 32 and the cleaner 35 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. 70 is detachably attached to the apparatus housing 21 to construct a part of the image forming unit 22 of each color component.
Here, the charger 32 has a charging container 321 opened at a portion facing the photoreceptor 31, and a charging roll 322 that is in contact with or close to the surface of the photoreceptor 31 is disposed in the charging container 321. is there.
Further, the cleaning device 35 has a cleaning container 351 having an opening at a portion facing the photoconductor 31, and an elastic scraping plate that contacts the photoconductor 31 at an opening edge along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning container 351. In addition, an elastic sealing material 353 that contacts the photosensitive member 31 is provided at the other edge of the opening along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning container 351, and the cleaning container 351 is scraped by an elastic scraping plate 352. A leveling and conveying member 354 for leveling the residue such as toner along the longitudinal direction is provided.
For this reason, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, the process cartridge 70 has a part around the photoreceptor 31 covered with the charger 32 and the cleaner 35, and the rest of the photoreceptor 31 is covered. The peripheral part of the structure is directly exposed as the exposed part M.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the developing device 34 is mounted separately from the process cartridge 70 on the apparatus housing 21 side, and is opened facing the photoconductor 31 and contains a developer containing at least toner. The developer container 341 is provided, and a developer holder 342 capable of transporting the developer toward a developing area located at a position facing the photoconductor 31 is disposed at an opening portion of the developer container 341. A pair of developer agitating / conveying members 343 and 344 capable of agitating and conveying the developer while circulating the developer is disposed on the back side of the developer holding body 342 of the developing container 341. The developer holding body 342 and the developer holding body are provided. A developer supply member 345 is provided between the developer agitating and conveying member 343 located on the 342 side and the developer agitated and conveyed can be supplied to the developer holding body 342. The developer holding member 342 is further provided with the developer supplying member 342. It is obtained so as to supply the developer to the developing zone the sheet has been developer after restricted to a predetermined layer thickness by the layer thickness regulating member 346.

―Process cartridge―
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the process cartridge 70 has a cartridge frame 71 formed of, for example, a synthetic resin such as ABS resin, and the cartridge frame 71 is exposed to light. The body 31, the charger 32, and the cleaner 35 are integrally incorporated.
Note that the configuration of the process cartridge 70 is not limited to the above-described aspect, and can be suitably applied to an aspect in which a monochrome image is formed.
In addition to the above-described embodiment, the process cartridge 70 may be, for example, a cartridge in which only the photosensitive member 31 is formed, or the photosensitive member 31 and the charger 32 may be integrated and detachable from the apparatus housing 21. The photosensitive member 31 and the developing device 34 are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the photosensitive member 31 and the cleaning device 35 are integrally formed into a cartridge. In addition, there are those that can be attached to and detached from each other, and those that combine the photosensitive member 31 and two or more of the process devices into an integral cartridge so that they can be attached to and detached from the apparatus housing 21.

In the present embodiment, in the process cartridge 70, the charger 32 and the cleaner 35 are disposed below the horizontal line including the center of the photoreceptor 31 in the gravity direction. As described above, the charger 32 is disposed below the photosensitive member 31 so that a part of the cartridge frame 71 is inserted into a positioning unit or the apparatus housing 21 for positioning with respect to a protective cover 100 described later. It can be used as a guide for time guidance, and positioning elements and guide elements that are provided separately can be reduced, which is advantageous in realizing space saving and reduction in the number of parts, which have been increasingly demanded in recent years. .
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the process cartridge 70 is inserted into and attached to the cartridge receiving portion 211 of the apparatus housing 21, and the guide protrusions (see FIG. (Not shown) or the outer wall of the charging container 321 of the charger 32 is installed in the apparatus housing 21 and is slid and guided by a guide member (such as a guide rail or a guide wall) to keep its insertion posture in a predetermined posture. .

−Protective cover−
In the present embodiment, the process cartridge 70 has a protective cover 100 before being inserted into the apparatus housing 21 as shown in FIGS.
The protective cover 100 protects the exposed portion M (see FIG. 3B) of the photosensitive member 31 of the process cartridge 70 and prevents the process cartridge 70 from being removed from the apparatus housing 21 after being inserted and mounted. It is attached detachably.
In the present embodiment, the protective cover 100 has a substantially hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape surrounding the entire process cartridge 70 and has a cover base 101 extending in the longitudinal direction. The cover base 101 is integrally manufactured from a synthetic resin such as ABS resin.
The cover base 101 is provided with guide portions (guide rails 102 (see FIG. 23) and guide inner walls 103) at portions corresponding to the guide protrusions 73 of the cartridge frame 71 and the outer wall of the charging container 321 of the charger 32. It has been. That is, in this example, the guide rail 102 is provided inside the bottom wall of the cover base 101 to guide and slide the guide protrusion 73 of the cartridge frame 71, and the guide inner wall 103 is provided on the inner surface of the side wall of the cover base 101. Thus, the outer wall of the charging container 321 of the charger 32 is guided and slid to regulate the insertion posture of the process cartridge 70.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4, 7, and 8, a guide slit 110 is provided on the upper wall of the cover base 101 of the protective cover 100 along the longitudinal direction of the cover base 101. The guide slit 110 is a long one that opens at the side edge of the device casing 21 of the cover base 101, and an operation lever 120 for extruding the process cartridge 70 in the protective cover 100 is slidable in the guide slit 110. To move to.
In the present embodiment, the operation lever 120 has a lever main body 121 (see FIG. 10) that can slide along the guide slit 110, and the lever main body 121 slides along the edge of the guide slit 110. A hook-shaped stopper 122 is formed, and a connecting piece 123 (see, for example, FIG. 10) that can be connected to a connection receiving portion 72 (for example, see in FIG. 11) of the cartridge frame 71 of the process cartridge 70 is formed in the lever main body 121. It is a thing.
A stopper step 111 is formed in the vicinity of the terminal opening of the guide slit 110 to come into contact with the stopper 122 of the operation lever 120. Moreover, the terminal opening width of the guide slit 110 is larger than the slit width of other parts. It is set narrowly.
In the present embodiment, the connecting piece 123 of the operation lever 120 restrains and holds the process cartridge 70 when the process cartridge 70 is positioned in the protective cover 100 by a restraining mechanism described later. The restraint holding state with the process cartridge 70 is released when the process cartridge 70 is inserted and mounted in the cartridge receiving portion 211.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since there is a gap as the guide slit 110 in the protective cover 100, there is a possibility that light enters the protective cover 100 from the guide slit 110 and deteriorates the photoconductor 31. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to add a flexible protective sheet 112 to the protective cover 100 to prevent light from entering from the guide slit 110. Further, in the case where the charger (charging roll) 32 using the contact charging method is unitized as the process cartridge as in the present embodiment, the photosensitive member 31 is frictionally charged by the charging roll 321 during transportation or the like. There is a risk of it. In this case, the flexible protective sheet 112 is prevented from being charged by being sandwiched between the charging roll 321 and the photoconductor 31, and at least a part of the flexible protective sheet 112 is disposed outside the protective cover 100 from the guide slit 110. Thus, the deterioration of the photosensitive member 31 is reduced, the frictional charging of the photosensitive member 31 by the charging roll 322 is prevented, and the flexible protective sheet 112 can be easily removed when the process cartridge 70 is inserted. .

-Positioning and holding mechanism-
Further, a positioning and holding mechanism 130 is provided on the cover base 101 on the side in which the process cartridge 70 is inserted into the apparatus housing 21.
The positioning and holding mechanism 130 positions and holds the cover base 101 so that it cannot be pulled out when the process cartridge 70 is inserted and mounted, and releases the positioning and holding state after the process cartridge 70 is inserted and mounted.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4, 7, and 8, the positioning and holding mechanism 130 is provided with a pair of positioning and holding pieces 131 and 132 on both left and right sides of one end side in the longitudinal direction of the cover base 101. It is. The positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 have elastically deformable elastic protruding pieces 133 that protrude from the longitudinal ends of the cover base 101 toward the apparatus housing 21, and hook-like hooking claws at the ends of the elastic protruding pieces 133. 134 is formed integrally. Here, the elastic protruding piece 133 is formed in a thin plate shape in its thickness direction (thickness of the elastic protruding piece 133 in the direction of arrow A), and its free end is substantially horizontal (in the direction of arrow A). Applicable) can be swung.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of positioning holes 141 and 142 are formed in the opening periphery of the cartridge receiving portion 211 of the apparatus housing 21. In particular, in the present embodiment, the apparatus housing 21 has a plurality of cartridge receiving portions 211, and the other positioning hole 142 of the predetermined cartridge receiving portion 211 has one positioning hole 141 of the adjacent cartridge receiving portion 211. The structure is shared.
The positioning holders 131 and 132 of the protective cover 100 are inserted into the positioning holes 141 and 142 of each cartridge receiving portion 211 while being elastically deformed in a direction away from each other, and positioned at the edges of the positioning holes 141 and 142. The hooking claws 134 of the holding pieces 131 and 132 are held so that they cannot be pulled out. Here, the elastic deformation means that the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 of the protective cover 100 can be deformed by the mounting force when the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 are mounted in the positioning holes 141 and 142.
Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 in particular, a tapered portion 135 whose opening width is gradually narrowed toward the terminal opening is formed in front of the retaining step portion 111 in the guide slit 110. As shown by an arrow B in FIG. 7, the tapered portion 135 spreads the protective cover 100 outward with the guide slit 110 sandwiched when the operation lever 120 arrives. It functions to release the holding state with the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132.

Next, a method for mounting the process cartridge 70 using the positioning and holding mechanism 130 will be described.
First, the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 provided on the protective cover 100 are inserted into the positioning holes 141 and 142 at the opening edge of the cartridge receiving portion 211 of the apparatus housing 21 (see FIGS. 4 to 6).
At this time, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 are inserted into the positioning holes 141 and 142 while being elastically deformed as indicated by the arrow A, and then hooked through the hooking claws 134, thereby The protective cover 100 and the process cartridge 70 are positioned and held with respect to the body 21 so that they cannot be pulled out.
In this state, the protective cover 100 is not only positioned with respect to the apparatus housing 21, but is fixed so that it cannot be pulled out even if the hand is removed from the protective cover 100 when the process cartridge 70 is inserted.

Further, in the present embodiment, the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 are fitted into the positioning holes 141 and 142 on the apparatus housing 21 side, and the end of the protective cover 100 and the cartridge receiving section 211 of the apparatus housing 21 are fitted. Since the opening edge is in contact, the inclination of the process cartridge 70 with respect to the insertion direction when the apparatus housing 21 is inserted is reduced even if the protective cartridge 100 is released when the process cartridge 70 is inserted.
Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, when the operation lever 120 is pushed out in the insertion direction of the process cartridge 70 along the guide slit 110 provided in the protective cover 100, a guide portion (provided on the process cartridge 70 ( The guide ridges and the guide outer walls are guided by guide rails 102 and guide inner walls 103 provided on the protective cover 100 and guide portions (guide rails and guide inner walls) provided on the device casing 21. 21 is inserted.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the guide slit 110 has a taper portion 135 in front of the retaining step portion 111 with a narrow interval, and the operation lever 120 has a taper with a narrow interval. When pushed out to the position of the portion 135, as shown by B in FIG. 7, the protective cover 100 is spread outwardly with the guide slit 110 interposed therebetween, and accordingly, the positioning and holding that is hooked in the positioning holes 141 and 142 The pieces 131 and 132 are pushed outward as indicated by an arrow C in FIG. 7, and the positioning holding state in which the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 cannot be pulled out is released along with the insertion operation of the process cartridge 70.
In particular, in the present embodiment, since the hooking claws 134 inside the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 are fixed to the apparatus housing 21, the protective cover 100 is unlocked and can be removed.
As described above, since the tapered portion 135 for releasing the holding state of the positioning holding pieces 131 and 132 is provided in the vicinity of the apparatus housing 21 side of the guide slit 110, as shown in FIG. After being inserted into and attached to the body 21, the fixed state (positioning state) of the protective cover 100 with respect to the apparatus housing 21 is released.
As a result, the process cartridge 70 is slidably guided in the longitudinal direction along the guide rail 102 and the guide inner wall 103 of the protective cover 100 and inserted into the apparatus housing 21.

―Restraining mechanism―
In the present embodiment, a restraining mechanism 150 (see FIG. 10) for restraining the process cartridge 70 is provided in the protective cover 100.
The restraint mechanism 150 restrains the process cartridge 70 on the cover base 101 side when the process cartridge 70 is located in the cover base 101, and the process cartridge 70 when the process cartridge 70 is inserted into the apparatus housing 21. It is released from the cover base 101.
Hereinafter, each of the representative aspects 1 to 5 of the restraining mechanism 150 will be described.

<Typical Mode of Restraint Mechanism 1: See FIGS. 10 to 13>
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the operation lever 120 has a stopper 122 and a connecting piece 123 on the lever main body 121, while the cartridge frame 71 of the process cartridge 70 has a cartridge frame 71. As shown in FIG. 11, a concave connection receiving portion 72 into which the connection piece 123 can be fitted is provided.
Here, the restraining mechanism 150 used in this embodiment is configured such that the connection piece 123 of the operation lever 120 is fitted and connected to the connection receiving portion 72 of the process cartridge 70 in a state where the operation lever 120 is positioned at the initial position of the protective cover 100. The process cartridge 70 is restrained in the protective cover 100.
In particular, in this embodiment, the operation lever 120 is slidably provided along the guide slit 110 of the protective cover 100, and has a bowl-shaped stopper with the opening edge of the guide slit 110 of the protective cover 100 as the guide surface 151. 122 is slidably guided.
The guide surface 151 has an inclined portion 152 that faces upward in the direction in which the process cartridge 70 is inserted into the apparatus housing 21, and the inclined portion 152 is a pushing distance from the initial position of the operation lever 120 to the extrusion completion position. The height dimension is inclined with respect to L so that the height dimension is displaced by h.

In this example, the height dimension h is expressed by h = L · tan θ, and this height dimension h is larger than the amount D of engagement of the connection piece 123 of the operation lever 120 with respect to the connection receiving portion 72 of the process cartridge 70. It is set large.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, when the restraining mechanism 150 moves the operation lever 120 by L from the initial position to the extrusion completion position, the restraining mechanism 150 causes the operation lever 120 to move by the inclined portion 152 of the guide surface 151. The relative position of 120 to the process cartridge 70 changes, and as shown in FIG. 13, the connecting piece 123 of the operation lever 120 is detached from the connection receiving portion 72 of the process cartridge 70, and the connection state between the two is released.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, when the operation lever 120 reaches the push-out completion position, the restraint state of the process cartridge 70 in the protective cover 100 by the restraining mechanism 150 is released, and the process cartridge 70 is protected. It is removed from the cover 100 and inserted into the cartridge receiving part 211 of the apparatus housing 21.

<Representative aspect 2 of restraint mechanism: See FIGS. 14 to 21>
The restraint mechanism 150 according to this aspect has substantially the same configuration as that of the representative aspect 1 shown in FIG. 10, but further, when the operation lever 120 is located at the initial position, the operation lever 120 moves in the operation direction. It is restrained by an initial position restraining mechanism 160 (see FIG. 16).
The initial position restraining mechanism 160 is provided with blocking ribs 161 (see FIG. 18) on both sides of the guide slit 110 of the protective cover 100 corresponding to the initial position of the operation lever 120. On the other hand, a part of the operation lever 120 is hooked to restrain the movement of the operation lever 120.
As shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the operation lever 120 used in this embodiment forms a leg portion 125 that fits into the guide slit 110 at a lower portion of the grip portion 124, and a part of the leg portion 125 includes a leg portion 125. A connection piece 123 that fits into the connection receiving portion of the process cartridge 70 is formed.

The leg portion 125 of the operation lever 120 has a pair of elastic restraining pieces 162 that fit into the guide slit 110. The elastic restraint piece 162 is formed of an elastically deformable plate whose lower side is a cantilevered fulcrum, and a pair of elastic restraint pieces are in contact with the blocking rib 161 outside the upper free end of the elastic restraint piece 162. A flange portion 163 for elastically deforming the piece 162 so as to fall inward is provided, and at least two steps of inclined guide surfaces 164 and 165 are formed at the contact portion of the flange portion 163 with the blocking rib 161. .
Here, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 21, the angle α between the first inclined guide surface 164 and the blocking rib 161 with respect to the operation direction (extrusion direction) of the operation lever 120 is the next inclined guide surface 165. And an angle β with the blocking rib 161 is set to be larger.
More specifically, the angle α of the first inclined guide surface 164 of the flange portion 163 is set so as to receive a component force enough to support the weight of the process cartridge 70 in consideration of the bending rigidity of the elastic restraint piece 162. The angle β of the next inclined guide surface 165 of the flange 163 is set to be a component force direction that can be reduced more than the component force at α.
In this embodiment, the operation lever 120 is detachable with respect to the initial position of the guide slit 110, and the guide groove portion 115 formed at the initial position of the guide slit 110 on the outer surface of the elastic restraining piece 162. A guide protrusion 166 is formed to be fitted to.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, for example, even if the process cartridge 70 is loaded in the protective cover 110 and the opening of the protective cover 100 is directed downward, the initial position restraining mechanism 160 causes the first ridge 163 of the operation lever 120 to be Since the inclined guide surface 164 contacts the blocking rib 161, the operation lever 120 is restrained from moving by the blocking rib 161.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the initial position restraining mechanism 160 is formed with the two-step inclined guide surfaces 164 and 165 on the collar portion 163, so that when the operation lever 120 is pushed out, the pushing operation force of the operation lever 120 is reduced. Reduced.

Furthermore, in this example, a position restriction mechanism 170 that restricts the position of the operation lever 120 at the extrusion completion position is provided.
For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the position regulating mechanism 170 is provided with a step 171 on the opening side of the tapered portion 135 of the guide slit 110 of the protective cover 100, and when the operation lever 120 is pushed to the extrusion completion position, As shown in FIGS. 19 to 21, a stepped portion 172 provided on a part of the leg portion 125 of the operation lever 120 is hooked on the stepped portion 171.
In this embodiment, when the operation lever 120 reaches the push-out completion position, the positioning holding mechanism 130 moves while expanding the taper portion 135 of the guide slit 110. When the protective cover 100 is elastically deformed with the spreading operation, there is a concern that the operation lever 120 is pushed back by the reaction force of the protective cover 100 accompanying the elastic deformation.
At this time, if the operation lever 120 is returned from the extrusion completion position, the positioning holding state by the positioning holding mechanism 130 may not be released.
In this aspect, the position control mechanism 170 restricts the position of the operation lever 120 to the extrusion completion position.

<Typical aspect 3 of restraint mechanism: See FIG. 22>
In FIG. 22 (a), the restraining mechanism 150 moves the operation lever 120 from the initial position of the protective cover 100 to the extrusion completion position, and disengages the operation lever 120 from the protection cover 100 at the extrusion completion position. is there.
In this embodiment, the process cartridge 70 is restrained by the operation lever 120 until the operation lever 120 is detached from the protective cover 100, and the process cartridge 70 is restrained by the operation lever 120 by removing the operation lever 120 from the protection cover 100. The state should be released.
Moreover, what is shown in FIG.22 (b) is mentioned as a deformation | transformation form of this aspect. The restraining mechanism 150 moves the operation lever 120 from the initial position of the protective cover 100 to the push-out completion position, and moves the operation lever 120 upward at the push-out completion position without detaching it. What is necessary is just to make it release a restraint state.

<Representative aspect 4 of restraint mechanism: See FIGS. 23 to 29>
The restraining mechanism 150 according to this aspect is provided on the protective cover 100 on the side in which the process cartridge 70 is inserted into the apparatus housing 21.
As shown in FIGS. 23 to 27, the restraining mechanism 150 includes a torsion spring 180 as an elastically deformable elastic restraining member that holds the process cartridge 70 in the protective cover 100 at a restraining position where the process cartridge 70 comes into contact with and restrains. The torsion spring 180 is provided with a holding portion 182 to which a torsional force is applied to the rotation fulcrum 181, and the holding portion is formed in a latching recess 74 formed in a part of the cartridge frame 71 of the process cartridge 70. The process cartridge 70 is pressed by the pressing portion 182 so that the process cartridge 70 does not fall off.
On the other hand, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 23 to 27, the apparatus housing 21 includes a protruding member 190 as a restraint releasing member provided to face a torsion spring 180 as an elastic restraining member. The projecting member 190 faces the pressing portion 182 of the torsion spring 180 when the process cartridge 70 is inserted into the apparatus housing 21, and holds the pressing portion in a direction against a torsional force when contacting the pressing portion 182. What is necessary is just to move 182 from a restraint position to a restraint release position.

Therefore, according to the restraining mechanism according to this aspect, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, the pressing portion 182 of the torsion spring 180 is placed in the protective cover 100 before the process cartridge 70 is inserted and attached to the apparatus housing 21. The process cartridge 70 is held and restrained.
On the other hand, when the process cartridge 70 is inserted into and attached to the apparatus housing 21, if the protective cover 100 is to be positioned and held with respect to the apparatus housing 21 by the positioning and holding mechanism 130, the protruding member 190 is pressed by the pressing portion of the torsion spring 180. The restraint state of the process cartridge 70 by the pressing portion 182 is released by coming into contact with 182. For this reason, when the operation lever 120 is pushed out, the process cartridge 70 is pushed out from the protective cover 100 and inserted into the apparatus housing 21.

<Representative Aspect 5 of Restraint Mechanism: See FIGS. 30 to 32>
The restraining mechanism 150 of this aspect includes the elastic restraining piece 200 provided on the protective cover 100 on the side of the process cartridge 70 in the insertion direction of the apparatus housing 21. This elastic restraint piece 200 is formed by forming an elastic piece 201 that swings around one end as a fulcrum on a part of the protective cover 100, and a hook portion 202 to which the process cartridge 70 is restrained at the tip of this elastic piece 201. .
On the other hand, a projecting member 190 as a restraint releasing member is provided on the apparatus housing 21 side. The projecting member 190 faces the hooking portion 202 of the elastic restraining piece 200, and the elastic piece 201 is in contact with the hooking portion 202. Is moved from the restraint position to the restraint release position.
Therefore, according to the restraining mechanism according to this aspect, as shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, the hooking portion 202 of the elastic restraining piece 200 is placed in the protective cover 100 before the process cartridge 70 is inserted and attached to the apparatus housing 21. The process cartridge 70 is held in and restrained.
On the other hand, when the process cartridge 70 is inserted into and attached to the apparatus housing 21, when the protective cover 100 is to be positioned and held with respect to the apparatus housing 21 by the positioning and holding mechanism 130, the protruding member 190 hooks the elastic restraining piece 200. The restraint state of the process cartridge 70 by the hooking portion 202 is released by coming into contact with the portion 202. For this reason, when the operation lever 120 is pushed out, the process cartridge 70 is pushed out from the protective cover 100 and inserted into the apparatus housing 21.
A plurality of modes may be appropriately selected for the restraining mechanism 150. When a plurality of restraining mechanisms 150 are employed, the restraining performance of the process cartridge 70 within the protective cover 100 can be further enhanced. It is.

―Process cartridge identification structure―
In general, since the type (for example, specification and destination) of the process cartridge 70 differs depending on the type of the image forming apparatus, it is necessary to insert and mount an appropriate process cartridge 70 to the image forming apparatus.
In the present embodiment, a process cartridge identification structure that is effective in properly mounting the process cartridge 70 protected by the protective cover 100 according to the type of the image forming apparatus is provided.
Hereinafter, typical aspects 1 and 2 of the process cartridge identification structure will be described.

<Representative Aspect of Process Cartridge Identification Structure 1: See FIGS. 33 to 36>
In this aspect, the identification component 210 is provided on the protective cover 100 on the side of the process cartridge 70 in the direction of insertion into the apparatus housing 21. This identification component 210 is non-interfering between the identification component 210 and the mounting determination component 230 so as to allow the protective cover 100 to be positioned at a normal position in relation to the mounting determination component 230 provided in the apparatus housing 21 described later. Alternatively, as long as interference between the identification component 210 and the mounting determination component 230 occurs so as to prohibit positioning to the regular position, the shape or the like is arbitrary and may be formed integrally with the protective cover 100. Alternatively, it may be attached as a separate part.
In this example, as shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, the identification component 210 is detachably attached to a pair of component receiving portions 220 formed of, for example, concave portions formed in advance on both sides of the cover base 101 of the protective cover 100.
Here, the identification component 210 has a component main body 212 that fits into the component receiving portion 220, and the component main body 212 has an identification protrusion 213 that is predetermined according to the type of the process cartridge 70. It is arranged to project from the side.
In particular, in this example, the identification component 210 is asymmetrically arranged on both sides of the protective cover 100, and the insertion direction of the process cartridge 70 is uniformly restricted.
In this example, an identification component 215 for identifying the type of the process cartridge 70 is also provided on the side in which the process cartridge 70 is inserted into the apparatus housing 21. For example, the identification component 215 is formed integrally with a part of the cartridge frame 71 or attached as a separate component.

Further, as shown in FIG. 34, a mounting discriminating component 230 for discriminating the suitability of the identification components 210 and 215 of the protective cover 100 and the process cartridge 70 is provided on the apparatus housing 21 side.
The mounting discriminating parts 230 are provided on both sides of the cartridge receiving portion 211 of the apparatus housing 21, and a total of three discriminating parts 210 including a pair of discriminating parts 210 of the protective cover 100 and an identification part 215 of the process cartridge 70. Whether or not 215 is appropriate is determined.
The mounting discriminating component 230 may be provided integrally with the device casing 21, but in this example, the mounting discriminating component 230 has a component main body 231 that can be attached to and detached from the device casing 21. The discrimination blocks 232 and 233 are integrally formed.
The discrimination blocks 232 and 233 of the attachment discrimination component 230 are arranged so as not to interfere with the identification components 210 and 215 when the protective cover 100 is positioned and held with respect to the apparatus housing 21 when the process cartridge 70 is an appropriate one. On the other hand, when the process cartridge 70 is improper, it is arranged to interfere with the identification components 210 and 215 when the protective cover 100 is positioned and held with respect to the apparatus housing 21.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, when an appropriate process cartridge 70 is inserted and mounted, as shown in FIG. 36, the protective cover 100 and the process cartridge 70 side are required to position and hold the protective cover 100 with respect to the apparatus housing 21. Since the identification parts 210 and 215 are arranged so as not to interfere with the determination blocks 232 and 233 of the mounting determination part 230 on the apparatus housing 21 side, the protective cover 100 is positioned and held on the apparatus housing 21, and in this state, the process The cartridge 70 is inserted and attached to the apparatus housing 21.

<Typical Aspect 2 of Process Cartridge Identification Structure: See FIGS. 37 to 48>
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 37 and 38, a mounting discriminating component 230 different from the representative embodiment 1 is used.
The mounting discriminating component 230 is formed by forming a substantially U-shaped discriminating block 234 on the side of the component main body 231 facing the cartridge receiving portion 211. The U-shaped concave portion 235 of the discriminating block 234 is formed in the process cartridge. It is used as a guide groove when 70 is inserted.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 39A to 39E, a mounting boss 236 and a screw hole portion 237 are formed on the back surface of the component main body 231, and the mounting determination component 230 is fixed to the apparatus housing 21 with screws. As shown in FIGS. 40A to 40E, a positioning boss 238 and an elastically deformable elastic mounting piece 239 are formed on the back surface of the component main body 231, and the device housing 21 is illustrated. The elastic mounting piece 239 may be hooked and fixed to the outer mounting hole.
FIG. 41 shows another type of mounting determination component 230.
In the figure, a mounting discriminating component 230 is provided with a discriminating block 240 in the lower region of the component main body 231, and the slope 241 facing the cartridge receiving portion 211 of the discriminating block 240 is attached to the process cartridge 70. It is used as a guide groove for insertion.
As shown in FIGS. 42A to 42E, the mounting structure of the mounting discriminating component 230 is also formed with a positioning boss 236 and a screw hole 237 on the back surface of the component main body 231 and fixed to the apparatus housing 21 with screws. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 43A to 43E, a positioning boss 238 and an elastically deformable elastic mounting piece 239 are formed on the back surface of the component main body 231, and the apparatus housing 21 is not shown. The elastic mounting piece 239 may be hooked and fixed to the mounting hole.

Here, when an appropriate process cartridge 70 is inserted and attached to the apparatus housing 21 shown in FIG. 38, for example, as shown in FIG. 44, the identification component 215 of the process cartridge 70 itself is not identical to the attachment determination component 230. Due to the interference, the process cartridge 70 is inserted and attached to the apparatus housing 21.
At this time, the U-shaped recess 235 of the mounting determination component 230 serves as a guide groove when the process cartridge 70 is inserted and mounted in the apparatus housing 21.
On the other hand, when an inappropriate process cartridge 70 is inserted into and mounted on the apparatus housing 21 shown in FIG. 38, the identification component 215 of the process cartridge 70 itself interferes with the mounting determination component 230, for example, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the process cartridge 70 is not accidentally inserted into the apparatus housing 21.

41, when the appropriate process cartridge 70 is inserted and mounted in the apparatus housing 21 shown in FIG. 41, for example, as shown in FIG. 46, the identification component 210 of the protective cover 100 does not interfere with the mounting determination component 230. Therefore, the protective cover 100 is positioned and held with respect to the apparatus housing 21, and the process cartridge 70 is inserted and attached to the apparatus housing 21.
On the other hand, when an inappropriate process cartridge 70 is inserted into and attached to the apparatus housing 21 shown in FIG. 46, the identification component 210 of the protective cover 100 interferes with the attachment determination component 230, for example, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the protective cover 100 is not positioned and held with respect to the apparatus housing 21.
48, when the appropriate process cartridge 70 is inserted into and mounted on all cartridge receiving portions 211 of the apparatus housing 21, the process cartridge 70 is inserted into and attached to each cartridge receiving portion 211 sequentially. Good.

(A) is a schematic explanatory drawing showing the state of the process cartridge protection structure according to the embodiment embodying the present invention when the protective cover positioning is permitted, and (b) is the state of the process cartridge protection structure when the protective cover positioning is prohibited FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of the image formation part of each color component used by this Embodiment, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the process cartridge. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a process cartridge before being inserted into and mounted on an image forming apparatus casing used in the present embodiment. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus housing used in the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a positioning and holding state of the protective cover at the start of an operation for inserting and attaching the process cartridge to the image forming apparatus housing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of the positioning holding mechanism of a protective cover. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of inserting a process cartridge from a protective cover. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state when the process cartridge is completely inserted into the image forming apparatus housing. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the restraint mechanism of a process cartridge, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of an operation lever. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between an operation lever and a process cartridge in Fig.10 (a). It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of pushing in the operation lever of a protective cover to the pushing completion position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between an operation lever and a process cartridge in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the restraint mechanism of a process cartridge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which isolate | separated the operation lever from the protective cover in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of the operation lever of FIG. (A) is front explanatory drawing of the protective cover and operation lever at the time of process cartridge insertion mounting operation start, (b) is a BB sectional explanatory drawing in (a). It is XVIII-XVIII sectional view explanatory drawing in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the position control mechanism in the protective cover of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which pushed the operating lever of FIG. 14 in the pushing completion position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the principal part detail of an operation lever. (A) is a schematic front view and a schematic plan view showing still another example of the restraining mechanism of the process cartridge, and (b) is a schematic front view and a schematic plan view showing a modification of the restraining mechanism of (a). It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of the restraint mechanism of a process cartridge, and a restraint cancellation | release member. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the restraint cancellation | release member provided in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the principal part of the restraint mechanism and restraint cancellation | release member shown in FIG. (A) is a perspective view which shows the torsion spring as a restraint mechanism, (b)-(d) is an arrow view seen from B direction, C direction, and D direction in (a). (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the torsion spring as a restraint mechanism, and a restraint cancellation | release member, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the restraint state of the process cartridge by a torsion spring. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relative positional relationship of the restraint mechanism shown in FIG. 23, and a restraint cancellation | release member. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the restraint operation state by the restraint mechanism shown in FIG. 23, and the restraint releasing operation | movement process by a restraint releasing member. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the further another example of the restraint mechanism of a process cartridge, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the principal part of the restraint mechanism provided in the protective cover. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relative positional relationship of the restraint mechanism shown in FIG. 30, and a restraint cancellation | release mechanism. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the restraint operation state by the restraint mechanism shown in FIG. 30, and the restraint releasing operation | movement process by a restraint releasing member. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the identification structure of the process cartridge used in this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the identification part provided in process cartridge itself. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a mounting determination unit provided on the image forming apparatus housing side. FIG. 34 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the identification structure of the process cartridge shown in FIG. 33. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mounting judgment part of the other example of the identification structure of the process cartridge used in this Embodiment. FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram illustrating details of a mounting determination unit with a time-dependent structure of the process cartridge illustrated in FIG. 37. (A)-(e) are the plane part which shows the example of a component of the mounting | wearing judgment part shown in FIG. 37, the perspective view seen from the diagonal front, the front view, the side view, and the perspective view seen from the diagonal back. (A)-(e) are the plane part which shows the example of another component of the mounting | wearing judgment part shown in FIG. 37, the perspective view seen from the diagonal front, the front view, the side view, and the perspective view seen from the diagonal back. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the mounting | wearing judgment part corresponding to another type of process cartridge in this Embodiment. (A)-(e) is the plane part which shows the structural component example of the mounting | wearing judgment part shown in FIG. 41, the perspective view seen from diagonally front, the front view, the side view, and the perspective view seen from the diagonally back. (A)-(e) are the plane part which shows the example of another component of the mounting | wearing judgment part shown in FIG. 41, the perspective view seen from the diagonal front, the front view, the side view, and the perspective view seen from the diagonal back. FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an appropriate process cartridge is mounted in the process cartridge identification structure shown in FIG. 37. FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an inappropriate process cartridge is not mounted in the process cartridge identification structure shown in FIG. 37. FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an appropriate protective cover is attached in the process cartridge identification structure shown in FIG. 41. FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an inappropriate protective cover is attached in the process cartridge identification structure shown in FIG. 41. FIG. 38 is an explanatory view showing a state where all appropriate process cartridges are mounted in the process cartridge identification structure shown in FIG. 37.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Process cartridge, 1a ... Photoconductor, 2 ... Protective cover, 3 ... Cover base | substrate, 4 ... Positioning holding part, 5 (5a, 5b) ... Identification part, 6 ... Mounting discrimination | determination part, 7 ... Extrusion member, 10 ... Image Forming device housing

Claims (11)

A protective cover is detachably attached to a process cartridge that is detachably inserted into the image forming apparatus casing and includes at least the photosensitive member, and the photosensitive member is covered with the protective cover before the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus casing. A process cartridge protection structure in which the protective cover is removed from the process cartridge when the process cartridge is inserted into and mounted on the image forming apparatus housing.
The protective cover covers the external exposed portion of the photosensitive member of the process cartridge so that the process cartridge can be moved by contacting the image forming apparatus housing when the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing. A cover base for guiding;
A positioning holding portion that is provided on the side of the cover base on the insertion direction side of the process cartridge into the image forming apparatus housing and is positioned and held at a normal position of the image forming apparatus housing when the process cartridge is mounted;
An identification unit that is provided on the side of the cover base in the direction in which the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing, and that identifies whether the image forming apparatus housing is positioned at a normal position;
On the other hand, the image forming apparatus housing is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the identification unit so as to allow the protective cover to be positioned at a normal position under the condition that the process cartridge can be inserted and mounted. A process cartridge protection structure comprising: a mounting discriminating unit disposed at a position interfering with the discriminating unit so as to prohibit the positioning of the protective cover to a normal position under the condition that it cannot be inserted and mounted. . The process cartridge protection structure according to claim 1,
A process cartridge protection structure, wherein the protective cover includes a plurality of identification portions. The process cartridge protection structure according to claim 2,
A process cartridge protection structure characterized in that the protective cover is provided with identification portions on both sides of the process cartridge, and the identification portions are arranged asymmetrically. The process cartridge protection structure according to claim 1,
The process cartridge has an identification unit for identifying whether or not the image forming apparatus housing is positioned at a regular position, and this identification unit is a type in which the process cartridge can be inserted into and mounted on the mounting determination unit of the image forming apparatus housing. A process cartridge protection structure, characterized in that the process cartridge protection structure is disposed at a position that does not interfere under certain conditions and at a position that does not interfere with insertion and mounting. The process cartridge protection structure according to claim 1,
A process cartridge protective structure characterized in that the protective cover has an identification part detachably attached to the cover base. The process cartridge protection structure according to claim 4,
The process cartridge protection structure, wherein the mounting discriminating unit is a common component provided corresponding to both the protective cover and both identification units of the process cartridge. The process cartridge protection structure according to claim 1,
A process cartridge protection structure, wherein the mounting determination unit is detachable from the image forming apparatus housing. The process cartridge protection structure according to claim 1,
A process cartridge protection structure characterized in that the mounting discriminating portion also serves as a guide member for guiding the process cartridge inserted from the protective cover into the image forming apparatus housing under the condition that the process cartridge can be inserted and mounted. An image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive member is incorporated in an image forming apparatus housing is detachably inserted,
Before the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing, the exposed portion of the photoreceptor is protected, and a protective cover is provided that is removed from the process cartridge when the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing. And
The protective cover covers the external exposed portion of the photosensitive member of the process cartridge so that the process cartridge can be moved by contacting the image forming apparatus housing when the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing. A cover base for guiding;
A positioning holding portion that is provided on the side of the cover base on the insertion direction side of the process cartridge into the image forming apparatus housing and is positioned and held at a normal position of the image forming apparatus housing when the process cartridge is mounted;
An identification unit that is provided on the side of the cover base in the direction in which the process cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus housing, and that identifies whether the image forming apparatus housing is positioned at a normal position;
On the other hand, the image forming apparatus housing is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the identification unit so as to allow the protective cover to be positioned at a normal position under the condition that the process cartridge can be inserted and mounted. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a mounting determination unit disposed at a position that interferes with the identification unit so as to prohibit positioning of the protective cover to a normal position under a condition that the type cannot be inserted and mounted. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of insertion openings are provided in the image forming apparatus casing, and a process cartridge is inserted into each insertion opening.
The image forming apparatus housing includes a mounting determination unit corresponding to each insertion port, and the mounting determination unit located between adjacent insertion ports corresponds to the identification unit of the protective cover of each process cartridge corresponding to the adjacent insertion port. An image forming apparatus characterized by being provided. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9.
The positioning holding portion has an elastic holding piece that can be elastically deformed, and is latched and held in a positioning hole formed in the image forming apparatus housing,
On the other hand, the image forming apparatus housing includes a plurality of insertion holes into which the process cartridges are inserted and mounted. The positioning holes are formed on both sides of the insertion holes, and the positioning holes on one side of the predetermined insertion holes are adjacent insertion holes. An image forming apparatus that also serves as a positioning hole on the other side of the mouth.

Images