JP2013218072A - Developing device, process cartridge and method of assembling developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a seal member is likely to be bent and sandwiched between parts in assembling a process cartridge or a developing device.SOLUTION: There is provided a developing device 4 used in an image forming apparatus which comprises: a developing roller 25 for carrying a developer; a developing chamber 31b in which the developing roller 25 is provided; a developer storage chamber 31a for storing a developer; an opening 31c provided on a wall between the developer storage chamber 31a and the developing chamber 31b; a seal member 40 for sealing the opening 31c in an unsealable manner; and an unsealing member 41 connected to one end of the seal member 40, wherein the developing device has a part 42 to be engaged at an end of the unsealing member 41 and the shape of the part 42 to be engaged is non-circular.

Description

  The present invention relates to a developing device used in an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

  Here, the image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium. Examples of the image forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine using an electrophotographic image forming system, an electrophotographic printer (laser beam printer, LED printer, etc.), a facsimile apparatus, a word processor, and the like.

  The process cartridge is a cartridge in which the developing means (developing device) and the image carrier are integrally formed, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body. Further, it means that at least the charging means and the image carrier are integrally formed into a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body.

  In an image forming apparatus (electrophotographic image forming apparatus) using an electrophotographic image process, a process cartridge system is adopted. That is, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and the process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally formed as a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. According to this process cartridge system, maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by the user himself without relying on a service person. Therefore, operability can be remarkably improved. For this reason, this process cartridge system is widely used in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, light corresponding to image information such as a laser, an LED, or a lamp is selectively irradiated onto a photosensitive drum uniformly charged by a charging device. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing unit. Further, the development formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is transferred to a recording medium. As a result, an image is formed on the recording medium.

  The developing device frame in the developing unit is provided with a developer accommodating chamber and a developing chamber, and the developer is supplied from the developer accommodating chamber to the developing chamber. An opening for supplying the developer is provided between the developer storage chamber and the developing chamber, and the opening is sealed with a seal member.

  In a conventional image forming apparatus, a process cartridge including an automatic opening device (opening member) that automatically opens a seal member when the process cartridge is used is known (Patent Document 1). One end of the sealing member is fixed to the opening member, and the opening member is rotationally driven by the driving means, and the opening is opened by winding the sealing member.

JP 2005-43535 A

  The opening member that winds up the sealing member is rotatably supported, and is not fixed when the developing device or the process cartridge is assembled (rotation is not restricted). Therefore, there is a possibility that the sealing member coupled to the opening member may be bent when the developing device or the process cartridge is assembled. When the seal member is bent, there is a possibility of hindering assembly of various members to the developing device or the process cartridge.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a developing device and a process cartridge that can be easily assembled. It is another object of the present invention to provide an assembling direction of the developing device.

A typical configuration relating to the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.
In a developing device used in an image forming apparatus,
A developing roller carrying a developer;
A developing chamber provided with the developing roller;
A developer storage chamber for storing the developer;
An opening communicating the developer storage chamber and the development chamber;
A sealing member for sealing the opening so as to be openable;
An unsealing member that is coupled with the sealing member and winds the sealing member by rotating to open the opening;
With
The opening member has a non-circular engaged portion for restricting the rotation of the opening member at one end in the axial direction thereof.

Furthermore, the present invention provides
In the assembling method of the developing device,
The developing device, comprising: a developing chamber for disposing a developing roller carrying the developer; a developer accommodating chamber for accommodating the developer; and an opening communicating the developing chamber and the developer accommodating chamber. A sealing step of attaching a seal member to the frame body and sealing the opening;
An unsealing member attaching step for coupling an unsealing member that winds up the sealing member by rotating with the sealing member, and attaching the unsealing member to the developing device;
Provided after the unsealing member attaching step for restricting rotation of the unsealing member in a state where the engaging member is engaged with a non-circular engaged portion provided at one end in the axial direction of the unsealing member. Rotation control process,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for assembling a developing device.

  According to the present invention, assembly of the developing device and the process cartridge can be simplified by suppressing the bending of the seal member.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which fixed the opening member by the fixing member. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a process cartridge. It is the whole perspective view which attached the sealing member to the opening part. It is the fragmentary perspective view which showed arrangement | positioning of a sealing member and an opening member. It is the fragmentary perspective view which showed arrangement | positioning of the support hole of an opening member. It is explanatory drawing which showed the drive row | line | column of the opening member and the drive means. FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the process cartridge after the cover member is assembled. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the state which the seal member bent at the time of the assembly of a bearing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the shape of the engagement hole provided in the end surface of an opening member. It is explanatory drawing which showed the shape of the other engagement hole. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the support part of the opening member to the bearing. It is a flowchart which shows the attachment procedure of an opening member and a sealing member. It is explanatory drawing showing the shape of the opening member and to-be-engaged part in Example 2. FIG.

<Example 1>
Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of a full-color laser beam printer as an example of an image forming apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes the photosensitive drums 1 (1 a, 1 b, 1 c, 1 d) as four image carriers arranged side by side with respect to the horizontal direction. The photosensitive drum 1 is rotationally driven in a clockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a driving means (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 1, a charging device 2, a scanner unit 3, a developing unit 4, an electrostatic transfer device 5, a cleaning member 6, and the like are disposed in order according to the rotation direction. The charging device 2 (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) is a device that is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 as an image carrier and uniformly charges the photosensitive layer.

  The charging device 2 is a conductive roller as a primary charging unit formed in a roller shape. The conductive roller is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by applying a charging bias voltage to the conductive roller.

  The scanner unit 3 as a latent image forming unit is a unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 by irradiating a laser beam based on image information. In other words, the scanner unit 3 selectively exposes the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 1 with laser light corresponding to an image signal, for example, by a laser diode (not shown), to thereby form an electrostatic latent image. It is a unit that forms. The scanner unit 3 as a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on the charging surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is provided below the photosensitive drum 1 in the gravitational direction. The developing unit 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) develops the developer supplied to the developing roller 25 (25a, 25b, 25c, 25d) by attaching it to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. , A developing device for visualizing the image.

  The electrostatic transfer device 5 is a device that transfers the developer image on the photosensitive drum 1 to the transfer material M. The cleaning member 6 (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) removes the transfer residual developer remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer. In FIG. 2, the electrostatic transfer device 5 is illustrated as an intermediate transfer unit including an intermediate transfer body and a casing related thereto.

  The photosensitive drum 1 as the image carrier, the charging device 2 as the charging means, the developing unit 4 and the cleaning member 6 are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the process cartridge 7 (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d). Is configured. The process cartridge 7 is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body (image forming apparatus main body) 100A of the image forming apparatus 100. The apparatus main body 100A is a part obtained by removing the process cartridge 7 from the image forming apparatus 100.

  The electrostatic transfer device 5 provided in the apparatus main body 100A is provided with an intermediate transfer belt 9 that circulates and moves so as to face and face all the photosensitive drums 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d. The developer images on the photosensitive drums 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d are sequentially primary-transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 9 sequentially. The developer image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 9 circulates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 and is transferred to the transfer material M by the secondary transfer roller 70. The four primary transfer rollers 58 (58a, 58b, 58c, 58d) are in contact with the inner side of the intermediate transfer belt 9, respectively, and at positions facing the four photosensitive drums 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, respectively. It is installed side by side. A positive polarity bias is applied to these primary transfer rollers 58 during transfer, and positive polarity charges are applied to the intermediate transfer belt 9. Due to the electric field generated at this time, a negative polarity developer image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 9 in contact with the photosensitive drum 1.

  Here, a plurality of transfer materials M are accommodated in the paper feed cassette 17 provided in the apparatus main body 100A. The transfer material M in the paper feed cassette 17 is separated and fed one by one and conveyed to the secondary transfer roller 70. The fixing unit 74 includes a rotating heating roller 74a and a pressure roller 74b that presses against the rotating roller 74 and applies heat and pressure to the transfer material M. The transfer material M on which the developer image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred is conveyed by the pressure roller 74b when passing through the fixing unit 74, and is given heat and pressure by the heating roller 74a, thereby developing a plurality of color developers. The image is fixed on the surface of the transfer material M. The transfer material M is discharged from the main body by the paper discharge roller 72 after the developer image is thermally fixed by the fixing unit 74.

(Process cartridge configuration)
Next, a process cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 shows a main cross section of the process cartridge 7. The process cartridge 7a, the process cartridge 7b, the process cartridge 7c, and the process cartridge 7d that respectively contain yellow, magenta, cyan, and black developers have substantially the same configuration. Therefore, hereinafter, the process cartridges 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d will be collectively described as the process cartridge 7.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the process cartridge 7 according to the first embodiment is divided into a drum unit 26 that holds the photosensitive drum 1 and a developing unit 4 that is a developing device.

  The drum unit 26 has a cleaning frame 27 as a frame that supports each member provided in the drum unit 26, and the cleaning frame 27 is charged on the circumference of the photosensitive drum 1 and the photosensitive drum 1 as primary charging means. A roller 2 is provided. Further, the cleaning frame 27 remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and a flexible sheet member 28 that seals a residual transfer developer from between the photosensitive drum 1 and the cleaning frame 27, so-called waste developer leakage. A cleaning member 6 for removing the waste developer is provided. The waste developer removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the cleaning member 6 is accommodated in a waste developer chamber 27 a provided in the cleaning frame 27.

  The developing unit 4 is a developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 as described above. The developing unit 4 has a structure that is rotatably supported with respect to the drum unit 26. That is, the coupling holes 12 provided at both ends of the developing frame 31 that is the frame of the developing unit 4 and the support holes 13 provided at both ends of the cleaning frame 27 of the drum unit 26 are combined to form both ends of the drum unit 26. The pin is inserted from. Further, the developing unit 4 is always urged by the pressurizing spring 38 to rotate around the support hole 13 to bring the developing roller 25 into contact with the photosensitive drum 1.

  The developing unit 4 conveys the developer frame 31, the developing roller 25 that contacts the photosensitive drum 1 and rotates in the direction of arrow A, and the developer contained in the developer containing chamber 31 a to the developing chamber 31 b. A developer conveying member 36 is provided. The developer accommodating chamber 31a and the developing chamber 31b are spaces formed by the developing frame 31. The developer is accommodated in the developer accommodating chamber 31a, and the developing roller 25 is disposed in the developing chamber 31b. Be placed. The developer conveying member 36 includes a conveying sheet 36a and a conveying member rotating shaft 36b. The conveyance member rotation shaft 36b rotates about the rotation shaft, and the conveyance sheet 36a passes the opening 31c from the developer storage chamber 31a to the development chamber 31b, and conveys the developer.

  The opening 31c that communicates between the developer storage chamber 31a and the development chamber 31b is sealed by a seal member 40 when the process cartridge 7 is not used. When the process cartridge 7 is used, the opening 31c can be opened by removing the seal member 40. At this time, the developer can be supplied from the developer storage chamber 31a to the development chamber 31b. Details of the opening procedure of the opening part 31c will be described later.

  A developer supply roller 34 that rotates in the direction of arrow B in contact with the developing roller 25 and a developing blade 35 for thinning the developer are disposed on the circumference of the developing roller 25.

  As the developing roller 25 rotates, the developer applied on the developing roller 25 is conveyed to a developing unit where the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing roller 25 face each other. In the developing unit, the developer on the developing roller 25 is attached to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by a developing bias applied from a power source (not shown). Thereby, the electrostatic latent image is developed and visualized. Here, the developer remaining on the surface of the developing roller 25 without contributing to the development of the electrostatic latent image is returned to the developing chamber 31b with the rotation of the developing roller 25 and collected.

(Seal configuration)
The seal configuration and the opening method of the seal member 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the seal member 40 is adhered to the edge of the opening 31c of the developing device frame 31 and seals the opening 31c so that the developer leaks from the developer storage chamber 31a. It is preventing.

  As shown in FIG. 6, one end of the seal member 40 is bonded (coupled) to a seal opening member (hereinafter referred to as an opening member) 41. The opening member 41 is attached to a support portion (attachment portion) 45 of the developing frame 31 and is rotatably supported. On one end side in the axial direction of the opening member 41, a recess having a quadrangular cross-sectional shape is provided, whereby a support hole 42 is formed. Details of the support hole 42 will be described later.

  The other end side of the opening member 41 has a gear shape, and receives a driving force from the apparatus main body 100 </ b> A via the gear train 43. Here, the gear train 43 includes a plurality of gears supported by bearings 44 as shown in FIG. 7, and is driven by a drive source (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 100. The gear train 43 is a transmission unit that transmits driving force from the apparatus main body 100 </ b> A to the opening member 41. The bearing 44 is a support member that supports the gear train 43 and forms the bearing of the developing roller 25.

  After the gear train 43 is attached to the bearing 44, as shown in FIG. 8, the cover member 47 is attached to the bearing 44, and the unsealing member 41 and the gear train 43 are pressed so as not to come off in the axial direction of the developing roller 25.

  The unsealing member 41 is rotationally driven by the driving force transmitted from the gear train 43, and winds the seal member 40 from the opening 31c. That is, the unsealing member 41 removes the sealing member 40 from the opening 31c by wrapping the sealing member 40 around the body, and opens the opening 31c.

  The procedure for assembling the seal member 40 and the configuration of the seal member 40 and each part related thereto will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 9, 10, and 13. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for assembling the seal member 40 and the opening member 41 to the developing unit.

  First, as step S1 shown in FIG. 13, the seal member 40 is attached to the developing device frame 31, and the opening 31c is sealed by the seal member 40 (sealing step).

  Next, as step S2 and step S3 shown in FIG. 13, one end of the seal member 40 is bonded (bonded) to the opening member 41, and then the opening member 41 is assembled to the support portion (attachment portion) 45 (opening member). Installation process).

  Thereafter, the bearing 44 is moved in the direction C in FIG. 9 and assembled to the developing device frame 31. After the bearing 44 is assembled to the developing device frame 31, the gear train is attached to the bearing 44.

  Here, when the bearing 44 and the gear train 43 are assembled to the developing device frame 31, when the phase of the unsealing member 41 is not fixed, that is, when the unsealing member 41 can freely rotate, as shown in FIG. There is a possibility that the seal member 40 bends greatly in the vicinity of the opening member 41. If the bearing 44 is assembled to the developing device frame 31 while the sealing member 40 is bent, the sealing member 40 may be erroneously sandwiched between the bearing 44 and the developing device frame 31. Further, when the gear train 43 is assembled to the bearing 44, there is a possibility that the seal member 40 is sandwiched between meshing portions (drive transmission portions) of the opening member 41 and the gear train 43.

  In addition, it is conceivable that the opening member 41 is assembled to the support portion 45 after the bearing 44 is assembled to the developing device frame 31. In this case, the opening is performed so that the seal member 40 does not affect the assembly of the bearing 44. It is necessary to work with the member 41 held.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, before the bearing 44 and the gear train 43 are assembled to the developing device frame 31, a rotation restricting step is provided as step S4 shown in FIG. That is, the fixing member 46 is inserted into the non-circular support hole 42 as shown in FIG. 10A so that the sealing member 40 does not bend as shown in FIG. The opening member 41 was rotated in the D direction. Further, in this state, the fixing member 46 is held and fixed to hold the phase of the opening member 41 (a state in which the rotation of the opening member 41 is restricted).

  Here, the fixing member 46 is a tool (wrench) for rotating the opening member 41 and is an engaging member that engages with the opening member. The cross-sectional shape of the fixing member 46 is a quadrangle corresponding to the support hole 42, and the fixing member 46 can be inserted into the support hole 42. The support hole 42 is an engaged portion that can engage with a fixing member 46 that is an engaging member.

  Before assembling the bearing 44 and the gear train 43 to the developing device frame 31, the assembly process of the process cartridge is performed in a state in which the deflection of the seal member 40 is suppressed by providing a rotation restricting step (step S <b> 4 in FIG. 13). Can do. That is, the bearing 44 can be assembled to the developing device frame 31 while maintaining the state in which the deflection of the sealing member 40 is suppressed, and the sealing member 40 is prevented or suppressed from being sandwiched between the bearing 44 and the developing device frame 31 or the like. be able to.

  After step S4 (rotation restriction step) in FIG. 13, the bearing 44 is assembled to the developing device frame 31 as step S5. Thereafter, in step S6, the gear train 43 is assembled to the bearing 44, and the gear train 43 is engaged with the opening member 41 so that the driving force can be transmitted from the gear train 43 to the opening member 41 (attaching transmission means). Process).

  Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the shape of the support hole 42 is a quadrangle, but may be another shape. Specifically, it may be non-circular as shown in FIGS. 11 (a), (b), and (c). If it is non-circular, the unsealing member 41 can be rotated and fixed in an arbitrary phase by inserting a fixing member 46 corresponding to the shape of the non-circular support hole 42 into the support hole 42 and rotating it. That is, the rotation of the opening member 41 can be restricted when the developing unit is assembled. In particular, if the shape of the support hole 42 is polygonal as shown in FIGS. 10, 11 (a) and 11 (b), the fixing member 46 can be easily engaged with the support hole 42, and the fixing member 46 can open the opening member Since rotation of 41 is easy to regulate, it is more preferable.

  In this embodiment, the support portion (attachment portion) 45 of the unsealing member 41 is disposed on the developing device frame 31, but the support portion 45 may be disposed on the bearing 44 as shown in FIG. At this time, the assembly order of the opening member 41 and the like is preferably the order of step S1, step S2, step S5, step S4, and step S6 in FIG.

  Even when the opening member 41 is supported by the support portion 45 of the bearing 44, the fixing member 46 may be inserted into the support hole 42 to fix the phase of the opening member 41. Thus, when the gear train 43 is attached to the bearing 44, the seal member 40 can be prevented from being sandwiched between the gear train 43 and the bearing 44 or between the gear train 43 and the opening member 41.

  Here, it is desirable that the support hole 42 faces the outside of the developing unit 4 (developing frame 31). When the support hole 42 faces outward from the developing unit 4, the fixing member 46 can be easily inserted into the support hole 42, and the opening member 41 can be easily fixed (rotation restricted) by the fixing member 46.

  In summary, when assembling a developing device (developing unit) having a seal member and a process cartridge, the seal member bends in the vicinity of the opening member, and the bent portion is sandwiched between the members such as the developing device. There was a thing. This may hinder the assembly of the developing device or the like. As a countermeasure, it is conceivable that a wall is provided in the developing device to surround the opening member so that the bent portion of the sealing member does not protrude outside the wall. However, at this time, the size of the developing device or the like is increased because the opening member is surrounded by the wall.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the sealing member is bent, the fixing member (engaging member) is engaged with the opening member, the opening member is rotated, and a part of the sealing member is wound up, thereby The deflection of the member is eliminated. If the rotation of the unsealing member is restricted in this state and the assembly operation of the developing device or the like is performed, the sealing member 40 can be prevented from being sandwiched between the components of the developing unit 4. Therefore, the assembly of the developing device (developing unit) and the process cartridge can be simplified.

<Example 2>
As another embodiment, a configuration in which the shape of the engaged portion provided in the opening member 41 is different from that of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the engaged portion and the fixing member engaged with the non-engagement portion in the present embodiment. The description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is omitted, and a configuration different from that of the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, a convex portion 41 b having a square cross-sectional shape is formed at one end portion in the axial direction of the opening member 41. The convex portion 41 b is an engaged portion of the opening member 41, protrudes from one end portion of the opening member 41, and engages with a fixing member 146 for restricting the rotation of the opening member 41. The fixing member 146 used in the present embodiment is a wrench having a hole 146a for engaging with the convex portion 41b as shown in FIG.

  That is, the hole portion 146a provided in the fixing member 146 has a quadrangular shape corresponding to the shape of the convex portion 41b, and the convex portion 41b can enter the hole portion 146b. When the protrusion 41b enters the hole 146b, the fixing member 146 and the protrusion 41b are engaged. By rotating the fixing member 146 in the direction of the arrow D2 in this state, it is possible to take up part of the seal member 40 by the opening member 41 and eliminate the slack of the seal member 40. Further, by fixing the fixing member 146 in this state, the rotation of the unsealing member 41 is restricted, and it is possible to suppress the bending of the sealing member 40 when the developing unit 4 is assembled.

  In addition, the shape of the convex part 41b does not need to be restricted to a quadrangle. That is, if the cross-sectional shape of the convex portion 41 b is non-circular, the opening member 41 is rotated by the fixing member 146 by providing the fixing member 146 with a hole portion that engages with the convex portion 41 b, thereby eliminating the deflection of the seal member 40. be able to. As a result, the assembly of the developing unit (developing apparatus) and the process cartridge can be simplified.

(Summary)
As described above, even when the opening member 41 is provided with the support hole 42 (see FIG. 1) as the engaged portion, or when the convex portion 41b (see FIG. 14) is provided, the deflection of the seal member 40 is eliminated. Thus, the assembling work of the developing unit (developing device) and the like can be simplified. In the second embodiment, the fixing member 146 as the engaging member is engaged with the convex portion 41b as the engaged portion. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, when the non-circular convex portion 41 is provided at one end portion of the unsealing member 41, even when the fixing member 146 is not used, the assembling operator directly handles the convex portion 41b when assembling the developing unit 4. It becomes easy to regulate the rotation of the unsealing member 41 by pinching it.

  In Example 2, when the rotation of the unsealing member 41 is restricted using the fixing member 146 (see FIG. 14), the fixing member 146 needs to have a size enough to surround the convex portion 41b. In contrast, the fixing member 46 (see FIG. 1) used in Example 1 has a cross-sectional size smaller than that of the support hole 42 (see FIG. 6). That is, the fixing member 46 used in the first embodiment can be made smaller than the fixing member 146. When assembling a developing device (developing unit) or the like, if it is difficult to secure a space for using a large tool, a fixing member 46 is used after providing a support hole 42 (see FIG. 6) in the opening member 41. It is desirable.

  In addition to this, when the engaged portion is provided on the opening member, the shape and size of the engaged portion may be appropriately selected based on the configuration of the developing device and the opening member, the assembly procedure, and the like.

M Recording medium 1 (1a to 1d) Photosensitive drum 4 (4a to 4d) Developing unit (developing device)
7 (7a to 7d) Process cartridge 25 (25a to 25d) Developing roller 31 Developing frame 31a Developer accommodating chamber 31b Developing chamber 31c Opening portion 40 Sealing member 41 Opening member 41b Protruding portion (engaged portion)
42 Support hole (engaged part)
43 Gear train (transmission means)
44 Bearing (support member)
45 Supporting part (mounting part)
46 Fixing member (engaging member)
47 Cover member 100A apparatus main body (image forming apparatus main body)
100 Image forming apparatus

Claims (12)

In a developing device used in an image forming apparatus,
A developing roller carrying a developer;
A developing chamber provided with the developing roller;
A developer storage chamber for storing the developer;
An opening communicating the developer storage chamber and the development chamber;
A sealing member for sealing the opening so as to be openable;
An unsealing member that is coupled with the sealing member and winds the sealing member by rotating to open the opening;
With
The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the opening member has a non-circular engaged portion for restricting rotation of the opening member at one end in the axial direction thereof.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the engaged portion is a hole portion recessed from one end portion of the opening member.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the engaged portion is a convex portion protruding from one end portion of the opening member.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the engaged portion restricts rotation of the unsealing member by being engaged with an engaging member.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the engaged portion has a polygonal shape.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the engaged portion faces outward of the developing device.   The developing device according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit configured to transmit a driving force for rotating the unsealing member from an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus to the unsealing member. . The developing device includes a frame that forms the developing chamber and a developer accommodating chamber,
The developing device according to claim 1, wherein an attachment portion for attaching the opening member is provided on the frame body. Furthermore, the developing device
A support member for supporting the transmission means;
The developing device according to claim 7, wherein an attachment portion for attaching the opening member is provided on the support member. In a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the main body of an image forming apparatus,
An image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed;
A developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A process cartridge comprising: In the assembling method of the developing device,
A frame having a developing chamber for disposing a developing roller for carrying the developer, a developer accommodating chamber for accommodating the developer, and an opening communicating the developing chamber and the developer accommodating chamber. A sealing step of attaching the sealing member and sealing the opening;
An unsealing member attaching step for coupling an unsealing member that winds up the sealing member by rotating with the sealing member, and attaching the unsealing member to the developing device;
Provided after the unsealing member attaching step for restricting rotation of the unsealing member in a state where the engaging member is engaged with a non-circular engaged portion provided at one end in the axial direction of the unsealing member. Rotation control process,
A method for assembling a developing device.   12. The development according to claim 11, further comprising a transmission means attaching step provided after the rotation regulating step, wherein a transmission means for transmitting a driving force from the image forming apparatus main body to the opening member is attached to the developing device. How to assemble the device.

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