JP2014066795A - Image forming apparatus, cartridge, image forming apparatus body, and incorrect cartridge insertion prevention system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of recognizing whether or not a cartridge to be inserted is adjustable in the vicinity of an insertion port, and reliably preventing incorrect insertion with a simple configuration without causing extention in a longitudinal direction of an image forming apparatus body.SOLUTION: Only when a second contact part 73b provided to a cartridge is brought into contact with a contact target part 15c provided to a movable member 15 of an image forming apparatus body, so as to move the movable member to a first retreat position Z1, a first contact part provided to the cartridge can be brought into contact with a second target contact part 15d provided to the movable member, so as to further move the movable member to a second retreat position Z2; and only when the movable member is moved to the second retreat position, the cartridge can be inserted into the image forming apparatus body.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, a cartridge, an image forming apparatus main body, and a cartridge erroneous insertion prevention system.

  Here, the image forming apparatus is an apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium using various known image forming principles and methods such as an electrophotographic process, an electrostatic recording process, and a magnetic recording process. For example, a copying machine, a printer (for example, a laser printer, an LED printer, etc.), a facsimile machine, a word processor, an image display device (an electronic blackboard or an electronic white board), and the like are included. The recording medium is an image on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus, and includes, for example, paper, an OHT sheet, a secondary transfer member, and the like.

  The cartridge is a cartridge in which a part or all of the image forming unit having an image carrier on which an image is formed and an image forming process means acting on the image carrier is integrally formed. Then, it is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body, and contributes to an image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium. The main body of the image forming apparatus is a component part of the image forming apparatus excluding the cartridge in the cartridge type image forming apparatus.

  As an image carrier, an image can be formed by an electrophotographic photosensitive member in an electrophotographic process, an electrostatic recording dielectric in an electrostatic recording process, a magnetic recording magnetic material in a magnetic recording process, and various other image forming principles and methods. The member is mentioned. The image forming process means is an image forming process device that acts on the image carrier to form an image.

  Hereinafter, for convenience, a cartridge-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be described as an example. Examples of the cartridge include a process cartridge and a developing cartridge.

  The process cartridge can be removed from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus by integrally forming at least one of charging means, developing means, and cleaning means as an electrophotographic process means and an electrophotographic photosensitive member as an image carrier. It is to be attached to. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body is hereinafter referred to as an apparatus main body.

  Accordingly, the process cartridge includes one in which the developing means as the process means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge and detachably attached to the apparatus main body. The process cartridge includes a cartridge in which a charging unit, a developing unit or a cleaning unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member as process units are integrated into a cartridge and detachably mounted on the apparatus main body.

  A process cartridge having an electrophotographic photosensitive member and developing means integrally is called a so-called integral type. A process cartridge integrally including an electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means other than the developing means is referred to as a so-called separation type. That is, a process cartridge in which the developing means is provided in a developing unit separate from the process cartridge and forms an image in a pair with the developing unit is referred to as a so-called separation type.

  The process cartridge can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body by the user himself. Therefore, maintenance of the apparatus main body can be easily performed.

  The developing cartridge includes a developing roller (a developer carrying member that applies a developer to the electrophotographic photosensitive member). Further, the developer roller contains a powder developer (toner) used to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and is detachably mounted on the apparatus main body. .

  In the case of a developing cartridge, the electrophotographic photosensitive member is attached to the apparatus main body or a cartridge support member. Alternatively, the electrophotographic photosensitive member is provided in the so-called separation type process cartridge (in this case, the process cartridge does not have a developing unit). The developing cartridge can also be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body by the user himself. Therefore, maintenance of the apparatus main body can be easily performed.

  Therefore, the cartridge includes the so-called integral type or the so-called separation type process cartridge. The cartridge includes a case where a so-called separation type process cartridge and a developing cartridge are used as a pair. The cartridge includes a case where the electrophotographic photosensitive member is fixedly attached to the apparatus main body or the cartridge support member, and the developing cartridge is detachably used so as to act on the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The cartridge includes a unit that is detachably mounted on the apparatus main body and contributes to an image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium.

  In a cartridge type image forming apparatus, not only a cartridge that is compatible with the main body of the image forming apparatus to which the cartridge is mounted but also a cartridge that is not compatible may be mounted in the cartridge mounting portion of the apparatus main body. This is a so-called cartridge insertion error. Hereinafter, a cartridge that conforms to the main body of the image forming apparatus is referred to as a conforming cartridge, and a cartridge that does not conform is referred to as a nonconforming cartridge.

  Here, the nonconforming cartridge includes a cartridge of a different model from the image forming apparatus main body. Although it is not a cartridge of a different model, a plurality of cartridges with different developer colors are mounted on the corresponding cartridge mounting section and used for the image forming apparatus main body. The case where it is mounted is also included.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a method for preventing erroneous insertion of the incompatible cartridge as described above. This is because the protective shutter of the photosensitive drum that is opened in conjunction with the cartridge insertion operation provided on the cartridge is opened earlier than the compatible cartridge in the case of an incompatible cartridge, and the main body shutter abutting portion provided on the main body of the apparatus is opened. It is made to contact. This contact prevents erroneous insertion of an incompatible cartridge.

  Further, Patent Document 2 prevents erroneous insertion by retracting a restricting member movably provided in the apparatus main body by a moving member movably provided in the cartridge in conjunction with the cartridge insertion operation. A method has been proposed.

Japanese Patent No. 3658381 Japanese Patent No. 4667444

  In the above conventional example, even when a non-conforming cartridge is inserted into the apparatus main body, the cartridge can be inserted to the back of the cartridge mounting portion of the apparatus main body, so that it is difficult for the user to recognize that it is a non-conforming cartridge. There was a case.

  In Patent Document 2, since a movable member for preventing erroneous insertion is provided in both the cartridge and the image forming apparatus main body, it is configured when it is necessary to prevent erroneous insertion between a plurality of products. There was a risk that the cost would be complicated.

  Further, since the image forming apparatus main body is provided with a member movable in the longitudinal direction, there is a possibility that the image forming apparatus main body becomes large in the longitudinal direction.

  The present invention is a further development of the above prior art. It is an object of the present invention to be able to recognize whether or not it is compatible in the vicinity of a cartridge insertion opening of an image forming apparatus, and to reliably prevent erroneous insertion with an easy configuration without affecting the longitudinal direction of the image forming apparatus main body. is there.

  In order to achieve the above object, a typical configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, and includes a first contact portion and a second contact portion. And a cartridge that is attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus main body, and a movable member that has a first contact portion and a second contact portion and is movable between a protruding position and a retracted position. When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the first abutting portion is configured such that the second abutting portion abuts on the first abutted portion and the movable member is first retracted from the protruding position. By moving to the position, it becomes possible to abut on the second abutted portion, and the first abutting portion can move the second abutted portion only when it can abut on the second abutted portion. The first contact portion and the second contact portion can pass through the first member in the movable direction of the movable member with respect to the movable member. Characterized by passing the side of the contact portion.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to arrange an erroneous insertion prevention configuration in the vicinity of the cartridge insertion opening of the image forming apparatus. In addition, erroneous insertion can be reliably prevented between a plurality of products with an easy configuration without affecting the longitudinal direction of the image forming apparatus main body. Accordingly, it is possible to recognize whether or not it is compatible in the vicinity of the cartridge insertion opening of the image forming apparatus, and it is possible to reliably prevent erroneous insertion with an easy configuration without affecting the longitudinal direction of the image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of an erroneous insertion prevention configuration when a cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body in Embodiment 1. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus main body in a state in which an opening / closing door is opened and a cartridge attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body. It is a vertical right side view of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a cartridge portion in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a cartridge cleaning unit and a developing unit. (A) is the partial perspective view which looked at the left guide member part of the cartridge mounting part, (b) is the partial perspective view which looked at the right guide member part. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when a cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body. It is a perspective view explaining the structure of an incorrect insertion prevention member. It is sectional drawing explaining the structure of an incorrect insertion prevention member. It is explanatory drawing of an incorrect insertion prevention structure. It is an enlarged view of an erroneous insertion prevention boss and an erroneous insertion prevention member. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram (No. 1) of the erroneous insertion preventing configuration when taking out the inserted cartridge from the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram (No. 2) of the erroneous insertion prevention configuration when the inserted cartridge is taken out from the image forming apparatus main body. It is explanatory drawing of the incorrect insertion prevention boss | hub of a nonconforming cartridge. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the incorrect insertion prevention structure at the time of non-conforming cartridge insertion. It is explanatory drawing of the incorrect insertion prevention structure of a different image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram of a misinsertion prevention configuration when a nonconforming cartridge is inserted into a different image forming apparatus main body.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Example 1]
(1) Overall Schematic Description of Image Forming Apparatus Example FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 100 in this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an image forming apparatus body A with the open / close door 13 open, and the image forming apparatus body. FIG. 4 is a vertical right side view of the image forming apparatus 100. FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 100 in this embodiment is a cartridge type electrophotographic laser printer (electrophotographic image forming apparatus) that forms an image on a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a sheet material) P using an electrophotographic process. That is, an image corresponding to the electrical image information input from the external host device 300 (FIG. 4) such as a personal computer to the control circuit unit (control means) 200 is formed on the sheet material P and output as an image formed product (hard copy). can do.

  An operation unit 102 can input information such as various image forming conditions to the control circuit unit 200. The operation unit 102 has a display unit that displays various types of information. In this embodiment, the operation unit 102 is disposed on the opening / closing door 13 of the image forming apparatus main body A.

  Here, with respect to the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the front side (front side) is a side on which the sheet tray 4 containing the sheet material P is moved in and out almost horizontally. The back side (back side) is the side opposite to the front side. Left and right are left or right when the image forming apparatus 100 is viewed from the front side. Up and down are up or down in the direction of gravity. An image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter, referred to as “apparatus main body”) A is an image forming apparatus constituent part obtained by removing the cartridge B from the image forming apparatus 100.

  Regarding the cartridge B of this embodiment or the members constituting the cartridge B, the longitudinal direction is the direction of the rotation axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum 62 as an image carrier, and the direction G1 for attaching and detaching the cartridge B to the apparatus main body A, The direction is orthogonal to G2 (FIG. 3). The short direction is the directions G1 and G2 in which the cartridge B is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body A. The front side refers to the surface viewed from the upstream side in the direction G1 in which the cartridge B is inserted into the apparatus main body A, and the back side refers to the opposite surface when viewed from the front side of the cartridge B (viewed from the downstream side in the cartridge insertion direction G1). The surface). Left and right are left or right when the cartridge B is viewed from the front side.

  In FIG. 4, a substantially central portion in the apparatus main body A is a cartridge mounting portion 101. The cartridge B is detachably mounted on the mounting portion 101. In this embodiment, the cartridge B is an integrated process cartridge as will be described later. That is, an electrophotographic photosensitive drum (hereinafter referred to as a drum) 62 as an image carrier on which an image is formed, and charging means 66, developing means 32, and cleaning means as image forming process means acting on the drum 62. 77.

  In this embodiment, the charging means 66 is a charging roller (conductive elastic roller), the developing means 32 is a non-contact developing type developing roller using magnetic one-component toner as a developer, and the cleaning means 77 is a cleaning blade.

  In a state where the cartridge B is mounted on the mounting portion 101 of the apparatus main body A in a predetermined manner, the image forming apparatus 100 can perform an image forming operation. That is, the driving force receiving portion 63 (FIG. 3) of the cartridge B is coupled to a driving output portion (not shown) on the apparatus main body A side. As a result, the driving force of the driving mechanism (not shown) on the apparatus main body A side is transmitted to the cartridge B side, and the rotating members such as the drum 62, the developing roller 32, and the developer conveying member 43 can be driven. In the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the right side of the apparatus main body A and the right side of the cartridge B are the driving side, and the left side is the non-driving side.

  Further, the electrical contact portion (not shown) on the cartridge B side is electrically connected to the electrical contact portion (not shown) on the apparatus body A side. Thereby, it is possible to apply a bias to a power receiving member such as the charging roller 66 and the developing roller 32 on the cartridge B side from a power supply unit (not shown) on the apparatus main body A side.

  A laser scanner unit 3 as an exposure device (exposure means) is disposed above the cartridge B. This unit 3 outputs a laser beam L modulated in accordance with electrical image information input from the external host device 300 to the control circuit unit 200. The laser beam L enters the cartridge B from the exposure window 74 on the upper surface of the cartridge and scans and exposes the surface of the drum 62. A transfer roller (transfer means) 7 is in contact with the lower surface of the drum 62 of the cartridge B to form a transfer nip portion with the drum 62. The transfer roller 7 is a conductive elastic roller and is applied with a predetermined transfer bias.

  A sheet tray 4 containing a sheet material P is disposed below the transfer roller 7. The tray 4 can be moved in and out almost horizontally from the front side of the image forming apparatus 100 (front loading). The sheet material P can be replenished by pulling out the tray 4 from the image forming apparatus 100 like a drawer. The pulled-out tray 4 can be pushed and stored in the image forming apparatus. 2 and 4, S1 indicates the pull-out direction of the tray 4, and S2 indicates the push-in direction. A handle 4 a is provided on the front side of the tray 4.

  A pickup roller 5 a, a retard roller pair 5 b, a transport roller pair 5 c, a registration roller pair 5 d, and a pre-transfer guide 6 are sequentially disposed on the front side in the apparatus main body A, above the tray 4. Thus, a sheet material conveyance path from the tray 4 to the transfer roller 7 is configured.

  Further, a fixing device (fixing means) 9 including a heating roller 9a and a pressure roller 9b is disposed on the back side in the apparatus main body A. A sheet material conveyance guide 8 is disposed between the transfer roller 7 and the fixing device 9. Further, on the back side of the fixing device 9 in the apparatus main body A, a conveying roller pair 10a, a sheet material conveying path 10b extending upward from the conveying roller pair 10a, and a discharge roller pair 10 beyond the conveying roller pair 10a are sequentially arranged. Yes. The upper surface of the apparatus main body A is a discharge tray 11.

  The image forming operation is as follows. The control circuit unit 200 activates the drive mechanism unit based on the print start signal. Thereby, the drum 62 is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the clockwise direction indicated by an arrow R in FIG. The laser scanner unit 3, the developing roller 32, the developer conveying member 43, the transfer roller 7, the fixing device 9 and the like are also driven at a predetermined direction and speed. The charging roller 66 rotates following the rotation of the drum 62. A predetermined charging bias is applied to the charging roller 66 from the power feeding unit. As a result, the surface of the drum 62 is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and potential.

  The uniformly charged surface of the drum 62 is scanned and exposed with a laser beam L modulated in accordance with an image signal output from the laser scanner unit 3. Thereby, an electrostatic image corresponding to the exposure pattern is formed on the surface of the drum 62. The electrostatic image is developed as a toner image (developer image) by the developing roller 32 and conveyed to a transfer nip portion between the drum 62 and the transfer roller 7.

  On the other hand, the pickup roller 5a is driven at a predetermined control timing together with the output timing of the laser light L. As a result, the sheet material P is fed out from the sheet tray 4 and separated and fed by the retard roller pair 5b. Then, the sheet material P is introduced to the transfer nip portion at a predetermined control timing through the conveyance roller pair 5c, the registration roller pair 5d, and the pre-transfer guide 6, and is nipped and conveyed. While the sheet material P is nipped and conveyed through the transfer nip portion, a predetermined transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 7 from the power feeding portion. As a result, the toner image on the drum 62 side is sequentially transferred onto the surface of the sheet material P.

  The sheet material P that has passed through the transfer nip is separated from the surface of the drum 62 and is introduced into the fixing device 9 by the conveyance guide 8. After the sheet material is separated, the transfer residual toner is removed (cleaned) by the cleaning blade 77 and repeatedly used for image formation.

  The sheet material P introduced into the fixing device 9 is nipped and conveyed at the fixing nip portion and heated and pressurized. As a result, the unfixed toner image is fixed on the sheet material surface as a fixed image. The sheet material P exiting the fixing device 9 is sequentially discharged through the conveying roller pair 10a, the sheet material conveying path 10b, and the discharging roller pair 10 onto the discharge tray 11 as an image formed product. An arrow D indicates the sheet material conveyance direction (recording medium conveyance direction).

(2) Cartridge Next, the configuration of the cartridge B will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the cartridge B portion in FIG. The cartridge B in this embodiment is an integrated process cartridge and is a combined body of the cleaning unit 60 and the developing unit 20. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the cleaning unit 60 and the developing unit 20.

  The cleaning unit 60 has a cleaning frame 71 that is long in the left-right direction. A drum 62 as an image carrier on which an image is formed, and a charging roller 66 and a cleaning blade 77 as image forming process means that act on the drum 62 are disposed on the frame 71.

  The drum 62 is disposed between the left and right side plates 71L and 71R of the frame 71 with the left shaft portion and the right shaft portion rotatably held via bearing members.

  The charging roller 66 is arranged on the upper side of the drum 62 in parallel with the drum 62, and is rotatably held between the left and right side plates 71 </ b> L and 71 </ b> R of the frame body 71 via a bearing member and is also pressed. The drum 62 is pressed with a predetermined pressing force.

  The cleaning blade 77 is an elastic blade, and is fixed to a predetermined portion of the waste toner chamber 71b in the frame 71 through a rigid support member 77a such as metal. The blade 77 is disposed in a counter posture with respect to the rotation direction R of the drum 62 and is in contact with the drum 62 with a predetermined pressing force.

  In this embodiment, the developing unit 20 is a non-contact developing device using a magnetic one-component toner as the developer T. The unit 20 includes a toner storage container 21, an upper lid 22, a developing container 23, a developing blade 42, a developing roller 32, a magnet roller 34, a developer conveying member 43, a left first side member 26L, and a right second side member 26R. The assembly includes the biasing members 46L and 46R.

  A magnetic one-component toner T as a developer is stored in a toner chamber 29 composed of the toner storage container 21, the upper lid 22, the first side member 26L, and the second side member 26R. The developing container 23 communicates with the toner chamber 29 through the opening 29a. In the toner chamber 29, a developer conveying member 43 that is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG.

  The developing roller 32 is disposed in the developing container 23. The developing roller 32 is a hollow roller (sleeve), and is rotatably disposed between the left and right first and second side members 26L and 26R via bearing members. Spacer rollers 38 </ b> L and 38 </ b> R serving as interval holding members are rotatably disposed concentrically with the developing roller 32 at both left and right ends of the developing roller 32. The spacer rollers 38L and 38R have the same outer diameter and are larger than the outer diameter of the developing roller 32 by a predetermined amount.

  A non-rotating magnet roller (fixed magnet) 34 is inserted concentrically inside the developing roller 32. The developing blade 42 is an elastic member that has a base side fixed to the developing container 23 and a tip side that is in contact with the developing roller 32 so as to abut against the developing roller 32. The developing blade 42 has a layer thickness of toner carried on the surface of the developing roller 32. It is a member to regulate. The roller surface opposite to the opening 29 a side of the developing roller 32 is exposed to the outside from the developing container 23.

  The cleaning unit 60 and the developing unit 20 are coupled to each other by left and right coupling members 75L and 75R so that the coupling members 75L and 75R can be rotated. Details of this coupling method will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, rotation holes 23 b </ i> L and 23 b </ i> R parallel to the rotation axis of the developing roller 32 are provided at the tips of the left and right arm portions 23 a </ i> L and 23 a </ i> R formed at the left and right ends of the developing container 23. On the other hand, the left and right side plates 71L and 71 of the cleaning frame 71 are formed with fitting holes 71aL and 71aR for fitting the left and right coupling members 75L and 75R, respectively.

  The left and right arm portions 23aL and 23aR are aligned with predetermined positions of the cleaning frame 71, and the left and right coupling members 75L and 75R are inserted into the rotation holes 23bL and 23bR and the fitting holes 71aL and 71aR, respectively. The left and right coupling members 75L and 75R are on the same axis.

  By coupling the cleaning unit 60 and the developing unit 20 in this way, the cleaning unit 60 and the developing unit 20 are coupled so as to be rotatable about the coupling members 75L and 75R.

  At this time, the left and right urging members (coil springs) 46L and 46R attached to the bases of the left and right arm portions 23aL and 23aR come into contact with the cleaning frame 71. The urging members 46L and 46R urge the developing unit 20 toward the cleaning unit 60 with the left and right coupling members 75L and 75R as the rotation center.

  As a result, the left and right spacer rollers 38L and 38R of the developing roller 32 are reliably pressed against the outer peripheral surface portions of the left and right ends of the drum 62, and the developing roller 32 is not in contact with the drum 62 at a predetermined interval α as shown in FIG. Is held opposite. An exposure window 74 is formed between the cleaning unit 60 and the developing unit 20.

  In a state where the cartridge B is mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 101 in a predetermined manner, the cleaning unit 60 of the cartridge B is pressed against the positioning portion on the apparatus main body A side by a fixing mechanism (not shown) on the apparatus main body A side. . Accordingly, the cartridge B is held in a state where the cartridge B is positioned and fixed to the apparatus main body A. Further, the driving force receiving portion 63 (FIG. 3) of the cartridge B is coupled to a driving output portion (not shown) on the apparatus main body A side. The electrical contact portion (not shown) on the cartridge B side is electrically connected to the electrical contact portion (not shown) on the apparatus body A side. In this state, the image forming apparatus 100 can perform an image forming operation.

  That is, the drum 62 is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow R in FIG. The charging roller 66 rotates following the rotation of the drum 62. The developing roller 32 is driven to rotate around the magnet roller 34 in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow U at a predetermined speed. A predetermined charging bias and a developing bias are applied to the charging roller 66 and the developing roller 32 at a predetermined control timing, respectively.

  The conveying member 43 is driven to rotate at a predetermined speed in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow C. The toner T in the toner chamber 29 is conveyed to the toner supply chamber 28 in the developing container 23 through the opening 29 a by a sheet member (paddle) 43 a provided on the conveyance member 43 by the rotation of the conveyance member 43. The sheet member 43a is made of a sheet-like flexible material such as PPS, PC, or PET, and agitates and conveys the toner T.

  A part of the toner T conveyed to the toner supply chamber 28 is carried on the surface of the developing roller 32 by the magnetic force of the magnet roller 34 and is conveyed by the rotation of the developing roller 32, and is subjected to layer thickness maintenance regulation by the developing blade 42 on the way. The layer thickness is adjusted. The toner layer is continuously conveyed to a developing portion which is a portion facing the developing roller 32 and the drum 62 by the rotation of the developing roller 32, and used for developing the electrostatic image on the drum 62. The undeveloped toner layer is conveyed back to the toner supply chamber 28 by the subsequent rotation of the developing roller 32, and the toner in the toner supply chamber 28 is again supplied to the developing roller 32.

  After the toner image is transferred to the sheet material P, the drum 62 has the remaining toner on the outer peripheral surface removed by the cleaning blade 77, and is used again in the image forming process. The toner removed from the drum 62 is stored in the waste toner chamber 71 b of the cleaning unit 60.

(3) Cartridge Replacement Method As the cartridge B is used for image formation, the developer (toner) T contained in the developing unit 20 is consumed.

  Therefore, for example, a means (not shown) for detecting the developer remaining amount of the cartridge B is provided, and in the control circuit unit 200, the detected remaining amount value is set as a preset threshold value for cartridge life warning or life warning. Let them compare. For the cartridge B in which the detected remaining value is less than the threshold value, a life warning or a life warning is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 102. Thus, the user is urged to prepare a replacement cartridge B, or the replacement of the cartridge B is urged to maintain the quality of the output image.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the apparatus main body A is provided with an opening / closing door 13 that can open a substantially upper half on the front side of the apparatus main body A and a substantially front half on the upper surface side. Yes. The open / close door 13 is attached to the apparatus main body A so as to be openable / closable at the center of a hinge portion (rotation center) 13a. The open / close door 13 is raised at the center of the hinge portion 13a as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 in a closed position W1 that is tilted toward the front side of the apparatus main body A, and as viewed from the front of the apparatus as shown in FIG. It can be rotated to the open position W2.

  The closing position W1 of the open / close door 13 is held by a lock means (not shown). By putting a finger on the handle portion 13b of the open / close door 13 and moving a lock release member disposed on the handle portion 13b, the lock is released and the open / close door 13 can be moved from the closed position W1 to the open position W2. . In this embodiment, the replacement of the cartridge B with the apparatus main body A is performed with the open / close door 13 opened as shown in FIG.

  When the open / close door 13 is moved from the closed position W1 to the open position W2, the open / close door 13 is held at the open position W2 by the standing force of the stand member 13c. By opening the opening / closing door 13, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening 103 formed in the substantially upper half on the front side of the apparatus main body A and the near half on the near side on the upper surface side is opened. The opening 103 is an opening having a size that allows the cartridge B to pass when the cartridge B is inserted into the cartridge mounting portion 101 inside the apparatus main body A and allows the cartridge B to pass outside the apparatus main body A. .

  When the cartridge B is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 101 of the apparatus main body A, the front side (the developing unit 20 side) of the mounting cartridge B is exposed from the opening 103. In a state where the cartridge B is not mounted, the cartridge mounting portion 101 can be seen (FIG. 3).

  When the cartridge B is mounted on the mounting portion 101, the fixing mechanism is released by an interlocking mechanism (not shown) that interlocks with the movement of the open / close door 13 from the closed position W1 to the open position W2, and the cartridge B is positioned and fixed. The state is released. Further, the coupling of the driving output unit on the apparatus main body A side to the driving force receiving unit 63 of the cartridge B is released. As a result, the cartridge B can be removed from the mounting portion 101.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, on the cartridge B side, on the outer surfaces of the left and right side plates 71L and 71R of the cleaning frame 71 of the cleaning unit 60, attachment / detachment guide bosses (attachment / removal restricting portions) 72La and 72Lb, 72Ra and 72Rb are provided symmetrically.

  In this embodiment, two of these attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La and 72Lb and 72Ra and 72Rb are provided at predetermined intervals on the downstream side and the upstream side in the insertion direction G1 of the cartridge B, respectively. The detachable guide bosses 72La and 72La are located on the downstream side, and the detachable guide bosses 72Lb and 72Lb are on the upstream side.

  On the other hand, on the inner surfaces of the left and right side plates 16L, 16R in the cartridge mounting portion 101 on the apparatus main body A side, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the left and right guide members 12L, 12R is provided. The guide members 12L and 12R are inclined members that are inclined downward toward the rear as viewed from the front side of the apparatus. The guide members 12L and 12R are provided with guide grooves 12La and 12Ra, respectively. The guide grooves 12La and 12Ra are bilaterally symmetric and are inclined obliquely downward toward the rear as viewed from the front side of the apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the groove width H of the guide grooves 12La and 12Ra is set to be slightly wider than the diameter I of the attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La, 72Lb, 72Ra and 72Rb of the cartridge B.

  The left and right guide bosses 72La, 72Lb, 72Ra, 72Rb on the left and right sides of the cartridge B mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 101 are engaged with the guide grooves 12La, 12Ra of the left and right guide members 12L, 12R, respectively. The detachable guide bosses 72La, 72Lb, 72Ra, 72Rb are guided along the guide grooves 12La, 12Ra.

  When the cartridge B is taken out from the mounting portion 101 of the apparatus main body A, the front side of the mounting cartridge B exposed from the opening 103, that is, the developing unit 20 side is gripped. Then, the cartridge B is removed from the left and right guide bosses 72La, 72Lb, 72Ra, 72Rb along the guide grooves 12La, 12Ra of the left and right guide members 12L, 12R, respectively, and the arrow G2 in FIGS. Move in the direction. Thereby, the cartridge B is taken out from the apparatus main body A to the outside.

  When the cartridge B is inserted into the mounting unit 101 of the apparatus main body A, the cartridge B is inserted into the mounting unit 101 through the opening 103 with the developing unit 20 side first and the cleaning unit 60 side first. Then, the left and right attachment / detachment bosses 72La, 72Lb, 72Ra, 72Rb on the cartridge B side are engaged with the guide grooves 12La, 12Ra of the left and right guide members 12L, 12R, respectively.

  Further, while inserting the cartridge B along the left and right guide bosses 72La, 72Lb, 72Ra, 72Rb along the guide grooves 12La, 12Ra of the left and right guide members 12L, 12R, the insertion of the arrow G1 in FIGS. Move in the direction. At this time, the insertion / removal guide bosses 72La, 72Lb, 72Ra, 72Rb of the cartridge B are regulated by the guide grooves 12La, 12Ra, so that the insertion posture of the cartridge B is maintained. Then, the cartridge B is sufficiently inserted until its insertion movement is restricted by a restricting portion (not shown).

  Then, the open / close door 13 is moved from the open position W2 to the closed position W1 against the rising force of the stand member 13c, closed, and held by the locking means. The fixing mechanism performs a fixing operation by an interlocking mechanism that interlocks with the movement of the open / close door 13 from the open position W2 to the closed position W1. As a result, the cartridge B is positioned and fixed to the positioning portion on the apparatus main body A side. Further, the driving output unit on the apparatus main body A side is coupled to the driving force receiving unit 63 of the cartridge B.

(4) Incorrect insertion prevention configuration Next, an erroneous insertion prevention configuration of the cartridge will be described. First, (4-1) a case where the compatible cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1 will be described. Thereafter, (4-2) the case where the nonconforming cartridge B2 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1, and (4-3) the case where the nonconforming cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A2 different from the apparatus main body A1 will be sequentially described.

  Note that the case where the compatible cartridge B2 is inserted into the apparatus main body A2 has the same configuration as the case where the compatible cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1, and thus the description thereof is omitted. In addition, in the apparatus main body A1 and the apparatus main body A2, and in the cartridge B1 and the cartridge B2, members and parts having the same function are denoted by the same symbols.

(4-1) Case where the compatible cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1 First, the case where the compatible cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIGS.

  On the non-driving side of the cleaning frame 71 of the cartridge B1, that is, on the outer surface of the left side plate 71L in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. A portion 73b (hereinafter referred to as an erroneous insertion prevention boss) is provided.

  The erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b may be provided on either the drive side (right side) or the non-drive side (left side) of the cartridge B1, or may be provided on both sides. In this embodiment, a case where the cartridge B1 is provided on the non-driving side will be described.

  In addition, since an erroneous insertion prevention configuration of the apparatus main body A1 to be described later needs to be arranged on the side of the cartridge B1 where the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b are provided, in this embodiment, it is arranged on the non-drive side. explain.

On the other hand, the left guide member 12L of the apparatus main body A1 is provided with an erroneous insertion preventing groove 12Lb as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7A and FIGS. Here, as shown in FIG.
The distance between the upper surface 12Lb1 of the erroneous insertion prevention groove 12Lb and the lower surface 12La1 of the guide groove 12La is J. In addition, the distance between the tangent line K1 on the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b side of the attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La and 72Lb and the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b in the cartridge B1 is K. The distance J is set narrower than the distance K.

  Therefore, when the cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1, as described above, the insertion / removal prevention bosses 73a and 73b are erroneously inserted by placing the attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La and 72Lb of the cartridge B along the guide groove 12La. It passes through the prevention groove 12Lb.

  Here, the difference between the distance K between the tangent line K1 and the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b and the distance J between the upper surface 12Lb1 and the lower surface 12La1 is based on the difference between the groove width H of the guide groove 12La and the diameter I of the detachable guide boss 72La. Is also widely set (KJ> HI). Therefore, the cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1 without the erroneous insertion preventing bosses 73a and 73b coming into contact with the upper surface 12Lb1 of the erroneous insertion preventing groove 12Lb.

  As a result, as described above, the insertion posture of the cartridge B1 when the cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1 is held by the attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La and 72Lb of the cartridge B1 being restricted by the guide groove 12La. .

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7A, the apparatus main body A1 has an erroneous insertion preventing member (movable member) 15 so that a part thereof protrudes into the erroneous insertion preventing groove 12Lb of the left guide member 12L. Is provided. As shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 9, the guide member 12 </ b> L has a recess 12 </ b> Lc formed on the surface that contacts the side plate 16 </ b> L of the apparatus main body A <b> 1.

  The concave amount M in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction of the device) of the recess 12Lc is set deeper than the width N in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction of the device) of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15. As shown in FIG. 10, the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 is urged in the direction of arrow E by the compression springs 17a and 17b in the recess 12Lc of the guide member 12L, and is retractably accommodated in the direction of arrow F.

  At this time, the protrusion amount restricting convex portions 15a and 15b provided on the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 abut on the protrusion amount restricting convex portions 12Ld and 12Le provided on the guide member 12L, respectively. The amount of protrusion from the guide member 12L is restricted. In this way, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is held at the protruding position Y where a part protrudes into the erroneous insertion preventing groove 12Lb of the guide member 12L.

  As described above, when the cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1, the detachable guide bosses 72La and 72Lb of the cartridge B1 pass through the guide groove 12La, and the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b pass through the erroneous insertion prevention groove 12Lb. To do. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the cartridge B1 can be inserted into the apparatus main body A1 by moving the cartridge B1 in the direction of the arrow G1, which is the insertion direction with respect to the guide member 12L.

  Next, the operation of the erroneous insertion prevention structure when the cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is an auxiliary view of FIG. 1 and is an enlarged view of the erroneous insertion preventing bosses 73a and 73b on the cartridge B1 side and the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 on the apparatus main body A1 side. Hereinafter, it demonstrates along operation | movement of a misinsertion prevention structure to (a)-(f) of FIG.

  (A): The cartridge B1 is moved in the insertion direction of the arrow G1 along the attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La and 72Lb of the cartridge B1 along the guide groove 12La of the guide member 12L. At this time, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is in a free state and is located at the protruding position Y.

  (B): Then, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a comes into contact with the first contacted portion 15c (hereinafter referred to as the first convex portion) of the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 at the protruding position Y. At this time, the push-up surface 73a1 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a abuts on the surface 15c1 of the first convex portion 15c of the erroneous insertion prevention member 15, thereby retracting the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 in the arrow F direction.

  Then, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retracted to the first retracted position Z1 where the surface 15c2 of the first convex portion 15c contacts the surface 73a2 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73a. As a result, the cartridge B1 can further move in the direction of the arrow G1.

  (C): Similarly, when the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73b comes into contact with the first convex portion 15c, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retracted in the direction of arrow F. That is, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retracted to the first retracted position Z1 where the surface 15c2 of the first convex portion 15c contacts the surface 73b2 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73b.

  Thus, the first convex portion 15c of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retracted in the direction of arrow F, which is the retracting direction of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15, from the insertion path of the erroneous insertion preventing bosses 73a and 73b of the cartridge B1. Thereby, the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b pass in the direction of the arrow E rather than the first convex portion 15c.

  (D): When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a remains in the state where the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73b retracts the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 to the first retracted position Z1. 2 Abuts against the abutted portion 15d (hereinafter referred to as second convex portion).

  At this time, the push-up surface 73a1 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a contacts the surface 15d1 of the second convex portion 15d of the erroneous insertion prevention member 15, so that the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 is further moved away from the first retracted position Z1 by the arrow F. Evacuate in the direction.

  Then, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 retreats from the first retraction position Z1 to the second retraction position Z2 where the surface 15d2 of the second convex portion 15d contacts the surface 73a2 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a. As a result, the cartridge B1 can move in the direction of the arrow G1.

  (E): When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the surface 73b2 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73b is in the state of the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 with the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a retracting the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 to the second retracted position. It contacts the surface 15d2 of the second convex portion 15d. Thus, the second convex portion 15d of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retracted in the direction of arrow F, which is the retracting direction of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15, from the insertion path of the erroneous insertion preventing bosses 73a and 73b of the cartridge B1. Thereby, the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b pass in the direction of the arrow E rather than the second convex portion 15c.

  (F): By further moving the cartridge B1, the contact between the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73b of the cartridge B1 and the second convex portion 15d of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is released, and the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is moved to the protruding position Y. Return.

  In this way, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a, 73b is moved away from the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 by retracting the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 in the direction of the arrow F from the insertion path of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a, 73b of the cartridge B1. Can also pass in the direction of arrow E. Therefore, the cartridge B1 can be inserted up to the image forming position of the apparatus main body A1.

  Next, the operation of the erroneous insertion prevention configuration when the cartridge B1 in the cartridge mounting portion 101 is taken out of the apparatus main body A1 will be described with reference to (a) to (d) of FIG. 13A and (e) to (i) of FIG. Will be described. The operation at the time of taking out is the reverse of the operation at the time of insertion.

  (A): The cartridge B1 is moved in the take-out direction indicated by the arrow G2 along the attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La and 72Lb of the cartridge B1 along the guide groove 12La of the guide member 12L. At this time, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is in a free state and is located at the protruding position Y.

  (B): Then, the push-up surface 73b3 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73b comes into contact with the surface 15d3 of the erroneous insertion prevention member 15.

  (C): When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retreated in the direction of arrow F by the contact between the push-up surface 73b3 and the surface 15d3. The erroneous insertion preventing member 15 retracts to the second retracted position Z2 where the surface 15d2 of the second convex portion 15d contacts the surface 73b2 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73b. As a result, the cartridge B1 is further movable in the direction of the arrow G1, and the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73b and 73a both pass in the direction of the arrow E, which is the protruding direction of the second convex portion 15d.

  Even if the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73b passes through the surface 15d2 of the second convex portion 15d, the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73a is passing through the surface 15d2 of the second convex portion 15d, so that the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is in the second retracted position. Held at Z2.

  (D): When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a passes through the surface 15d2 of the second convex portion 15d, and the surface 73a1 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a contacts the surface 15d1 of the second convex portion 15d. The erroneous insertion preventing member 15 comes into contact with and protrudes in the direction of arrow E. At this time, the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73b is positioned corresponding to the first convex portion 15c, and the surface 15c2 of the first convex portion 15c is in contact with the surface 15c2 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73b, so that the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is the first. Hold in the retracted position.

  (E): When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73b passes through the first convex portion 15c, and the surface 73b1 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73b contacts the surface 15c1 of the first convex portion 15c.

  (F): Subsequently, the surface 73a3 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a contacts the surface 15c3 of the first convex portion 15c. In the process from (e) to (f), the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 moves slightly in the direction of arrow E from the first retracted position.

  (G): When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retracted in the direction of arrow F due to the contact between the surface 73a3 and the surface 15c3. The erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retracted to a position where the surface 15c2 of the first convex portion 15c contacts the surface 73a2 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73a. That is, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is retracted to the first retracted position Z1. As a result, the cartridge B1 can further move in the direction of the arrow G2.

  (H): When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the surface 73a2 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73a passes through the surface 15c2 of the first convex portion 15c, and the surface 73a1 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73a is the surface of the first convex portion 15c. 15c1.

  (I): When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a is separated from the first convex portion 15c, and the cartridge B1 is taken out from the apparatus main body A. The erroneous insertion preventing member 15 protrudes in the direction of arrow E and returns to the initial protruding position Y.

  In this way, the erroneous insertion preventing bosses 73a and 73b of the cartridge B1 pass through the direction of the arrow E, which is the protruding direction of the second convex portion 15d and the first convex portion 15c, of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15, so Can be taken out of the apparatus main body A1.

(4-2) When the Nonconforming Cartridge B2 is Inserted into the Apparatus Main Body A1 Next, the case where the nonconforming cartridge B2 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1 will be described with reference to FIG. 11, FIG. 14, and FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of an erroneous insertion prevention boss of the nonconforming cartridge B2. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the erroneous insertion preventing structure when the cartridge B2 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1.

  As shown in FIG. 14, erroneous insertion preventing bosses 73c and 73d are provided on the non-driving side (left side plate 71L) of the cleaning frame 71 of the cartridge B2 as in the case of the cartridge B1 (FIG. 11). . However, the distance O2 in the direction of the arrow G1 in FIG. 14 between the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73c and the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73d is the distance between the erroneous insertion prevention bosses 73a and 73b in the case of the cartridge B1 shown in FIG. It is set wider than O1.

  The operation when the cartridge B2 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  (A): The attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La and 72Lb of the cartridge B2 are moved along the guide groove 12La of the guide member 12L, and the cartridge B2 is moved in the cartridge insertion direction indicated by the arrow G1. At this time, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is in a free state and is located at the protruding position Y.

  (B): Then, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73 c comes into contact with the first convex portion 15 c of the erroneous insertion prevention member 15. At this time, the push-up surface 73c1 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73c comes into contact with the surface 15c1 of the first convex portion 15c of the erroneous insertion prevention member 15, thereby retracting the erroneous insertion prevention member 15 in the direction of arrow F. The erroneous insertion preventing member 15 moves to the first retracted position Z1 where the surface 15c2 of the first convex portion 15c contacts the surface 73c2 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73c. As a result, the cartridge B2 can further move in the direction of the arrow G1.

  (C) When the cartridge B2 is further moved, the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73c comes into contact with the surface 15d4 of the second convex portion 15d of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15. This is because the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is held in the protruding position Y by being biased in the direction of arrow E by the compression springs 17a and 17b as described above.

As a result, the cartridge B2 can no longer move in the direction of the arrow G1.
Therefore, it is impossible to insert the cartridge B2 up to the image forming position of the apparatus main body A1.

  When the cartridge B2 is taken out (moved in the G2 direction) from this state, the surface 73c3 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73c and the surface 15c3 of the first convex portion 15c come into contact with each other, and the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is in the first retracted position Z1. Is possible by moving up to. The erroneous insertion preventing member 15 returns to the protruding position Y when it is in a free state.

(4-3) When the Conforming Cartridge B1 is Inserted into the Apparatus Main Body A2 Next, FIG. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of an erroneous insertion preventing configuration of the apparatus main body A2 different from the apparatus main body A1. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the erroneous insertion preventing structure when the cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A2.

  As shown in FIG. 16, an erroneous insertion preventing member 18 is provided on the non-driving side of the apparatus main body A2, similarly to the apparatus main body A1. However, the distance Q2 between the first convex portion 18c and the second convex portion 18d of the erroneous insertion preventing member 18 in the direction of the arrow G1 that is the cartridge insertion direction is the first convex portion of the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 shown in FIG. It is set wider than the distance Q1 between 15c and the second convex portion 15d.

  This is because when the compatible cartridge B2 is inserted into the apparatus main body A2, the cartridge B2 can be inserted by the same operation as when the compatible cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A1. That is, the first convex portion 18c and the second convex portion 18d of the erroneous insertion preventing member 18 are provided at a position where the cartridge B2 can be inserted to the image forming position of the apparatus main body A2.

  That is, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73c contacts the second convex portion 18d of the erroneous insertion prevention member 18 in a state where the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73d retracts the erroneous insertion prevention member 18 to the first retraction position Z1. In addition, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73c is set so that the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73d contacts the second convex portion of the erroneous insertion prevention member 18 in a state where the erroneous insertion prevention member 18 is retracted to the second retracted position.

  The operation when the cartridge B1 is inserted into the apparatus main body A2 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  (A): The cartridge B1 is moved in the insertion direction of the arrow G1 along the attachment / detachment guide bosses 72La and 72Lb of the cartridge B1 along the guide groove 12La of the guide member 12L. At this time, the erroneous insertion preventing member 18 is in a free state and is located at the protruding position Y.

  (B): Then, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73 a comes into contact with the first convex portion 18 c of the erroneous insertion prevention member 18. At this time, the push-up surface 73a1 of the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a abuts on the surface 18c1 of the first convex portion 18c of the erroneous insertion prevention member 18, thereby retracting the erroneous insertion prevention member 18 in the direction of arrow F. The erroneous insertion preventing member 18 moves to the first retracted position Z1 where the surface 18c2 of the first convex portion 18c contacts the surface 73a2 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73a. As a result, the cartridge B1 can further move in the direction of the arrow G1.

  Similarly, even when the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73b contacts the first convex portion 18c, the cartridge B1 can be further moved in the arrow G1 direction by retracting the erroneous insertion prevention member 18.

  In this way, the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73a and the erroneous insertion prevention boss 73b of the cartridge B1 pass in the direction of arrow E of the first convex portion 18c of the erroneous insertion prevention member 18.

  (3) When the cartridge B1 is further moved, the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73a contacts the surface 18d4 of the second convex portion 18d of the erroneous insertion preventing member 18. This is because the erroneous insertion preventing member 18 is held at the protruding position Y by being urged in the direction of arrow E by the compression springs 17a and 17b.

  As a result, the cartridge B1 cannot move any more in the direction of the arrow G1. Therefore, it is impossible to insert the cartridge B1 up to the image forming position of the apparatus main body A2.

  When the cartridge B2 is taken out (moved in the G2 direction) from this state, the surface 73c3 of the erroneous insertion preventing boss 73c and the surface 15c3 of the first convex portion 15c come into contact with each other, and the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is in the first retracted position Z1. Is possible by moving up to. The erroneous insertion preventing member 15 returns to the protruding position Y when it is in a free state.

(5) Summary In summary of the first embodiment, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 is as follows.

  1) An image forming apparatus 100 that forms an image on a recording medium (P). The image forming apparatus main body A is provided with a cartridge B provided with a first contact portion 73a and a second contact portion 73b. Moreover, it has the movable member 15 which has the 1st to-be-contacted part 15c and the 2nd to-be-contacted part 15d, and can move between the protrusion position Y and the retracted position Z.

  When the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the first contact portion 73a can contact the second contacted portion 15d at the following time. That is, the second abutting portion 73b abuts on the first abutted portion 15c and moves the movable member 15 from the protruding position Y to the first retracted position Z1, so that the second abutted portion 15d Abutment is possible.

  The first contact portion 73a can pass through the second contacted portion 15d only when it can contact the second contacted portion 15d. The first contact part 73 a and the second contact part 73 b pass through the movable member 15 on the first contact part 73 a side in the movable directions E and F of the movable member 15.

  2) When the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the second contact portion 73b can contact the second contacted portion 15d at the following time. That is, the first contact portion 73a contacts the second contacted portion 15d, and the movable member 15 is retracted from the protruding position Y to the second retracted position Z2 that is retracted from the first retracted position Z1. Only when is it possible to contact the second contacted portion 15d. The second contact part 73b can pass through the second contacted part 15d only when it can contact the second contacted part 15d.

  3) The first contact portion 73a and the second contact portion 73b are provided on the downstream side in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A and in the retracting direction of the movable member 15. The planes 73a1 and 73b1 are inclined to the F side.

  4) The first contacted portion 15c and the second contacted portion 15d are provided on the upstream side in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A and on the movable member 15. It has flat surfaces 15c1 and 15d1 inclined toward the protruding direction E.

  5) The first contacted portion 15c is disposed on the upstream side of the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A with respect to the second contacted portion 15d.

  6) The movable member 15 is urged to the protruding position Y by urging means 17a and 17b.

  7) The movable member 15 is held by a guide member 12L that guides the cartridge when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A. The cartridge is provided with detachable bosses 72La and 72Lb which are guided by the guide member 12L when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A.

  The configuration of the cartridge B is as follows.

  1) The first contacted portion 15c and the second contacted portion 15d have a movable member 15 that can move between the protruding position Y and the retracted position Z, and forms an image on the recording medium P. The cartridge B is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body A of the image forming apparatus 100.

  A first contact portion 73a and a second contact portion 73b are provided. When inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the first contact portion 73a can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the second abutting portion 73b abuts on the first abutted portion 15c and moves the movable member 15 from the protruding position Y to the first retracted position Z1, so that the second abutted portion 15d Abutment is possible.

  The first contact portion 73a can pass through the second contacted portion 15d only when it can contact the second contacted portion 15d. The first contact part 73 a and the second contact part 73 b pass through the movable member 15 on the first contact part 73 a side in the movable directions E and F of the movable member 15.

  2) When inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the second contact portion 73b can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the first contact portion 73a contacts the second contacted portion 15d, and the movable member 15 is retracted from the protruding position Y to the second retracted position Z2 that is retracted from the first retracted position Z1. Only when is it possible to contact the second contacted portion 15d. The second contact part 73b can pass through the second contacted part 15d only when it can contact the second contacted part 15d.

  3) The first contact portion 73a and the second contact portion 73b are provided on the downstream side in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A and in the retracting direction of the movable member 15. The planes 73a1 and 73b1 are inclined to the F side.

  The configuration of the image forming apparatus main body A is as follows.

  1) The image forming apparatus main body (A) of the image forming apparatus 100 in which the cartridge B provided with the first contact part 73a and the second contact part 73b is detachable and forms an image on the recording medium P. The movable member 15 includes a first contacted portion 15c and a second contacted portion 15d, and is movable between the protruding position Y and the retracted position Z.

  Then, when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the first contact portion 73a can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the second abutting portion 73b abuts on the first abutted portion 15c and moves the movable member 15 from the protruding position Y to the first retracted position Z1, so that the second abutted portion 15d Abutment is possible.

  The first contact portion 73a can pass through the second contacted portion 15d only when it can contact the second contacted portion 15d. The first contact part 73 a and the second contact part 73 b pass through the movable member 15 on the first contact part 73 a side in the movable directions E and F of the movable member 15.

  2) When the cartridge B is inserted, the second contact portion 73b can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the first contact portion 73a contacts the second contacted portion 15d, and the movable member 15 is retracted from the protruding position Y to the second retracted position Z2 that is retracted from the first retracted position Z1. Only when is it possible to contact the second contacted portion 15d. The second contact part 73b can pass through the second contacted part 15d only when it can contact the second contacted part 15d.

  3) The first contacted portion 15c and the second contacted portion 15d are provided on the upstream side in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A and on the movable member 15. It has flat surfaces 15c1 and 15d1 inclined toward the protruding direction E.

  4) The first contacted portion 15c is disposed upstream of the second contacted portion 15d in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A.

  5) The movable member 15 is biased to the protruding position Y by biasing means 17a and 17b.

  6) The movable member 15 is held by a guide member 12L that guides the cartridge when the cartridge is inserted. The cartridge is provided with detachable bosses 72La and 72Lb guided by the guide member 12L when the cartridge is inserted.

  The configuration of the erroneous insertion prevention system for the cartridge B is as follows.

  This is an erroneous insertion prevention system for a cartridge B that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body A of the image forming apparatus 100 that forms an image on a recording medium P. The image forming apparatus main body A includes a first contacted portion 15c and a second contacted portion 15d, and includes a movable member 15 movable between a protruding position Y and a retracted position Z. The cartridge B is provided with a first contact portion 73a and a second contact portion 73b.

  Then, when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the first contact portion 73a can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the second abutting portion 73b abuts on the first abutted portion 15c and moves the movable member 15 from the protruding position Y to the first retracted position Z1, so that the second abutted portion 15d Abutment is possible.

  The first contact portion 73a can pass through the second contacted portion 15d only when it can contact the second contacted portion 15d. The first contact part 73 a and the second contact part 73 b pass through the movable member 15 on the first contact part 73 a side in the movable directions E and F of the movable member 15.

  By adopting the erroneous insertion prevention configuration as described above, the erroneous insertion prevention configuration can be arranged near the cartridge insertion opening of the image forming apparatus main body A. Further, the erroneous insertion preventing member 15 is disposed in the concave portion 12Lc of the guide member 12L, the moving direction is the direction of arrows E and F in FIG. 1, and the erroneous insertion preventing bosses 73a and 73b are in FIG. By passing the direction of the arrow E, the longitudinal direction of the apparatus main body A is not affected. Further, the configuration is easy, and erroneous insertion can be reliably prevented between a plurality of products.

  Therefore, the image forming apparatus main body can recognize whether or not it is compatible in the vicinity of the cartridge insertion opening of the image forming apparatus A, and can reliably prevent erroneous insertion with an easy configuration without affecting the longitudinal direction of the image forming apparatus main body. A and cartridge B can be provided.

[Example 2]
In the configuration of Embodiment 1, the first contact portion 73a (73e) and the second contact member 73b (73f) are arranged on the image forming apparatus main body A side, and the movable member 15 (18) is arranged on the cartridge B side. It is also possible to adopt a configuration for preventing erroneous insertion.

  That is, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 is as follows.

  1) An image forming apparatus 100 that forms an image on a recording medium P. A cartridge B which is provided with a first contacted portion 15c and a second contacted portion 15d and has a movable member 15 movable between a protruding position Y and a retracted position Z and which is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body A. Have It has the 1st contact part 73a and the 2nd contact part 73b.

  Then, when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the first contact portion 73a can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the second abutting portion 73b abuts on the first abutted portion 15c and moves the movable member 15 from the protruding position Y to the first retracted position Z1, so that the second abutted portion 15d Abutment is possible.

  The first contact portion 73a can pass through the second contacted portion 15d only when it can contact the second contacted portion 15d. The first contact part 73 a and the second contact part 73 b pass through the movable member 15 on the first contact part 73 a side in the movable directions E and F of the movable member 15.

  2) When the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the second contact portion 73b can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the first contact portion 73a contacts the second contacted portion 15d, and the movable member 15 is retracted from the protruding position Y to the second retracted position Z2 that is retracted from the first retracted position Z1. Only when is it possible to contact the second contacted portion 15d. The second contact part 73b can pass through the second contacted part 15d only when it can contact the second contacted part 15d.

  3) The first contact portion 73a and the second contact portion 73b are provided on the downstream side in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A and in the retracting direction of the movable member 15. The planes 73a1 and 73b1 are inclined to the F side.

  4) The first contacted portion 15c and the second contacted portion 15d are provided on the upstream side in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A and on the movable member 15. It has flat surfaces 15c1 and 15d1 inclined toward the protruding direction E.

  5) The first contacted portion 15c is disposed upstream of the second contacted portion 15d in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A.

  6) The movable member 15 is urged to the protruding position Y by urging means 17a and 17b.

  The configuration of the cartridge B is as follows.

  1) A cartridge B that has a first contact portion 73a and a second contact portion 73b and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body A of the image forming apparatus 100 that forms an image on the recording medium P. The movable member 15 is provided with a first contacted portion 15c and a second contacted portion 15d, and is movable between a protruding position Y and a retracted position Z.

  Then, when inserting into the image forming apparatus main body (A), the first contact portion 73a can come into contact with the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the second abutting portion 73b abuts on the first abutted portion 15c and moves the movable member 15 from the protruding position Y to the first retracted position Z1, so that the second abutted portion 15d Abutment is possible.

  The first contact portion 73a can pass through the second contacted portion 15d only when it can contact the second contacted portion 15d. The first contact part 73 a and the second contact part 73 b pass through the movable member 15 on the first contact part 73 a side in the movable directions E and F of the movable member 15.

  2) When the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the second contact portion 73b can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the first contact portion 73a contacts the second contacted portion 15d, and the movable member 15 is retracted from the protruding position Y to the second retracted position Z2 that is retracted from the first retracted position Z1. Only when is it possible to contact the second contacted portion 15d. The second contact part 73b can pass through the second contacted part 15d only when it can contact the second contacted part 15d.

  3) The first contacted portion 15c and the second contacted portion 15d are provided on the upstream side in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A and on the movable member 15. It has flat surfaces 15c1 and 15d1 inclined toward the protruding direction E.

  4) The first abutted portion 15c is disposed upstream of the second abutted portion 15d in the insertion direction G1 when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A.

  5) The movable member 15 is biased to the protruding position Y by biasing means 17a and 17b.

  The configuration of the image forming apparatus main body A is as follows.

  1) A cartridge B having a first contacted portion 15c and a second contacted portion 15d and having a movable member 15 movable between a protruding position Y and a retracted position Z is detachable. 2 is an image forming apparatus main body A of the image forming apparatus 100 that forms an image. It has the 1st contact part 73a and the 2nd contact part 73b.

  Then, when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the first contact portion 73a can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the second abutting portion 73b abuts on the first abutted portion 15c and moves the movable member 15 from the protruding position Y to the first retracted position Z1, so that the second abutted portion 15d Abutment is possible.

  The first contact portion 73a can pass through the second contacted portion 15d only when it can contact the second contacted portion 15d. The first contact part 73 a and the second contact part 73 b pass through the movable member 15 on the first contact part 73 a side in the movable directions E and F of the movable member 15.

  2) When the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the second contact portion 73b can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the first contact portion 73a contacts the second contacted portion 15d, and the movable member 15 is retracted from the protruding position Y to the second retracted position Z2 that is retracted from the first retracted position Z1. Only when is it possible to contact the second contacted portion 15d. The second contact part 73b can pass through the second contacted part 15d only when it can contact the second contacted part 15d.

  3) The first contact portion 73a and the second contact portion 73b are inclined to the downstream side in the insertion direction G1 when inserting the cartridge B into the retraction direction F of the movable member 15. It has planes 73a1 and 73b1.

  The configuration of the erroneous insertion prevention system for the cartridge B is as follows.

  This is an erroneous insertion prevention system for a cartridge B that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body A of the image forming apparatus 100 that forms an image on a recording medium P. The image forming apparatus main body A includes a first contact portion 73a and a second contact portion 73b. The cartridge B is provided with a first contacted portion 15c and a second contacted portion 15d, and has a movable member 15 movable between a protruding position Y and a retracted position Z.

  Then, when the cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body A, the first contact portion 73a can contact the second contacted portion 15d as follows. That is, the second abutting portion 73b abuts on the first abutted portion 15c and moves the movable member 15 from the protruding position Y to the first retracted position Z1, so that the second abutted portion 15d Abutment is possible.

  The first contact portion 73a can pass through the second contacted portion 15d only when it can contact the second contacted portion 15d. The first contact part 73 a and the second contact part 73 b pass through the movable member 15 on the first contact part 73 a side in the movable directions E and F of the movable member 15.

  The same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained by the configuration of the second embodiment.

[Other matters]
1) The functions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified.

  2) In the present invention, the image forming apparatus is not limited to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus of the embodiment. The image forming apparatus includes an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium using various other known image forming principles and methods such as an electrostatic recording process and a magnetic recording process.

  3) The image forming apparatus is not limited to one cartridge that can be attached and detached. Also included is an image forming apparatus that forms a color image or the like by detachably mounting a plurality of cartridges having different colors or the like on respective predetermined mounting portions.

  4) The cartridge is not limited to the integrated process cartridge of the embodiment. A separation type process cartridge having an image forming process means acting on an image carrier on which an image is formed, and a developing means for developing a latent image formed on the image carrier on which an image is formed with a developer. Development cartridges are included. In addition, a unit that is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus main body and contributes to an image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium is included.

  100..Image forming apparatus, A..Image forming apparatus main body, B..Cartridge, P..Recording medium, 73a..First contact portion, 73b..Second contact portion, 12L.12R..Guide Member, 12Lb, 12Rb ... guide groove, 15 ... movable member, 15c ... first contacted part, 15d ... second contacted part, Y ... projecting position, Z1, ... first retracted position, Z2 ... Second retraction position

Claims (32)

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
A cartridge provided with a first contact portion and a second contact portion, which is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus;
A movable member having a first abutted portion and a second abutted portion and movable between a protruding position and a retracted position;
When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the first abutting portion is configured such that the second abutting portion abuts on the first abutted portion and moves the movable member from the protruding position. By moving to the first retracted position, the second contacted portion can be contacted, and the first contacted portion can be contacted with the second contacted portion only when the second contacted portion can be contacted. It is possible to pass through a contact portion, and the first contact portion and the second contact portion pass through the first contact portion in the movable direction of the movable member with respect to the movable member. Image forming apparatus.   When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the second abutting portion is configured such that the first abutting portion abuts on the second abutted portion and the movable member is retracted from the protruding position. Only when retracted to the second retracted position retracted from the position, the second contact portion can contact the second contact portion, and the second contact portion can contact the second contact portion. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus can pass through the second contacted part only when   The first contact portion and the second contact portion have a plane inclined toward the downstream side in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus and to the side in the retracting direction of the movable member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The first abutted portion and the second abutted portion are inclined to the upstream side in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body and to the side in the protruding direction of the movable member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The first contact portion is disposed upstream of the second contact portion in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is biased to the protruding position by a biasing unit.   The movable member is held by a guide member that guides the cartridge when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body, and the cartridge receives the cartridge when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detachable boss guided by a guide member. An image forming apparatus of an image forming apparatus having a first contacted part and a second contacted part and having a movable member movable between a protruding position and a retracted position and forming an image on a recording medium A cartridge that is detachable from the main body,
A first abutting portion and a second abutting portion are provided. When the first abutting portion is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the second abutting portion is the first abutted portion. And the movable member is moved from the protruding position to the first retracted position so as to be able to come into contact with the second contacted portion, and the first contacted portion contacts the second contacted portion. The first abutting portion and the second abutting portion can pass through the second abutted portion only when they can contact, and the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion are in contact with the movable member in the movable direction of the movable member. A cartridge characterized by passing through the contact side.   When inserted into the image forming apparatus main body, the second abutting portion is configured such that the first abutting portion abuts on the second abutted portion and moves the movable member from the protruding position to the first retracted position. Only when retracted to the retracted second retracted position, the second abutted portion can contact the second abutted portion, and the second abutting portion can be contacted only with the second abutted portion. The cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the cartridge can pass through the second contacted portion.   The first contact portion and the second contact portion have a plane inclined toward the downstream side in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus and to the side in the retracting direction of the movable member. The cartridge according to claim 8 or 9, wherein An image forming apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus for detachably attaching a cartridge provided with a first contact part and a second contact part and forming an image on a recording medium,
A movable member having a first contact portion and a second contact portion and movable between a protruding position and a retracted position; The first abutting part is abutted against the second abutted part by moving the movable member from the protruding position to the first retracted position when the second abutting part abuts on the first abutted part. The first abutting portion can pass through the second abutted portion only when the first abutting portion can abut on the second abutted portion, and the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion can be passed. The image forming apparatus main body, wherein the contact portion passes the first contact portion side in the moving direction of the movable member with respect to the movable member.   When the cartridge is inserted, the second abutting portion is configured such that the first abutting portion abuts on the second abutted portion and the movable member is retracted from the protruding position to the first retracted position. 2 can be brought into contact with the second contacted portion only when retracted to the retracted position, and the second contacted portion can be brought into contact with the second contacted portion only when it can be contacted with the second contacted portion. The image forming apparatus main body according to claim 11, wherein the image forming apparatus main body can pass through the contact portion.   The first abutted portion and the second abutted portion are inclined to the upstream side in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body and to the side in the protruding direction of the movable member. The image forming apparatus main body according to claim 11, comprising:   12. The first contact portion is disposed upstream of the second contact portion in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus main body according to claim 13.   The image forming apparatus main body according to claim 11, wherein the movable member is biased to the protruding position by a biasing unit.   The movable member is held by a guide member that guides the cartridge when the cartridge is inserted, and the cartridge is provided with a detachable boss that is guided by the guide member when the cartridge is inserted. The image forming apparatus main body according to claim 11, wherein the main body is an image forming apparatus main body. A system for preventing erroneous insertion of a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium,
The image forming apparatus main body has a first contacted portion and a second contacted portion, and has a movable member movable between a protruding position and a retracted position,
The cartridge is provided with a first contact portion and a second contact portion,
When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the first abutting portion is configured such that the second abutting portion abuts on the first abutted portion and the movable member is moved from the protruding position to the first retracted position. The first abutting portion passes through the second abutted portion only when it can abut against the second abutted portion. The first abutment portion and the second abutment portion can pass through the first abutment portion in the movable direction of the movable member with respect to the movable member. system. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
A cartridge that is provided with a first contact portion and a second contact portion and has a movable member that is movable between a protruding position and a retracted position;
A first contact portion and a second contact portion;
When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the first abutting portion is configured such that the second abutting portion abuts on the first abutted portion and moves the movable member from the protruding position. By moving to the first retracted position, the second contacted portion can be contacted, and the first contacted portion can be contacted with the second contacted portion only when the second contacted portion can be contacted. It is possible to pass through a contact portion, and the first contact portion and the second contact portion pass through the first contact portion in the movable direction of the movable member with respect to the movable member. Image forming apparatus.   When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the second abutting portion is configured such that the first abutting portion abuts on the second abutted portion and the movable member is retracted from the protruding position. Only when retracted to the second retracted position retracted from the position, the second contact portion can contact the second contact portion, and the second contact portion can contact the second contact portion. 19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the image forming apparatus can pass through the second contacted part only when.   The first contact portion and the second contact portion have a plane inclined toward the downstream side in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus and to the side in the retracting direction of the movable member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   The first abutted portion and the second abutted portion are inclined to the upstream side in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body and to the side in the protruding direction of the movable member. 21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:   The first contact portion is disposed upstream of the second contact portion in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above.   23. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the movable member is biased to the protruding position by a biasing unit. A cartridge having a first abutting portion and a second abutting portion and detachable from an image forming apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
A movable member provided with a first abutting portion and a second abutting portion and movable between a protruding position and a retracted position, and when inserted into the image forming apparatus main body, The contact portion can come into contact with the second contacted portion when the second contact portion contacts the first contacted portion and the movable member is moved from the protruding position to the first retracted position. The first contact portion can pass through the second contact portion only when it can contact the second contact portion, and the first contact portion and the second contact portion. Passes through the first contact portion side in the movable direction of the movable member with respect to the movable member.   When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the second abutting portion is configured such that the first abutting portion abuts on the second abutted portion and the movable member is retracted from the protruding position. Only when retracted to the second retracted position retracted from the position, the second contact portion can contact the second contact portion, and the second contact portion can contact the second contact portion. 25. The cartridge according to claim 24, wherein the cartridge can pass through the second contacted part only when.   The first abutted portion and the second abutted portion are inclined to the upstream side in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body and to the side in the protruding direction of the movable member. 26. The cartridge according to claim 24 or 25, wherein:   27. The first contact portion is disposed upstream of the second contact portion in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body. The cartridge according to any one of the above.   28. The process cartridge according to claim 24, wherein the movable member is biased to the protruding position by a biasing means. An image forming apparatus in which a first contacted portion and a second contacted portion are provided, and a cartridge having a movable member movable between a protruding position and a retracted position is detachable and forms an image on a recording medium. An image forming apparatus main body,
A first abutting portion and a second abutting portion, and when the cartridge is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body, the first abutting portion is configured such that the second abutting portion is the first abutted portion. And the movable member is moved from the protruding position to the first retracted position so as to be able to come into contact with the second contacted portion, and the first contacted portion contacts the second contacted portion. The first abutting portion and the second abutting portion can pass through the second abutted portion only when they can contact, and the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion are in contact with the movable member in the movable direction of the movable member. An image forming apparatus main body passing through a contact side.   When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the second abutting portion is configured such that the first abutting portion abuts on the second abutted portion and the movable member is retracted from the protruding position. Only when retracted to the second retracted position retracted from the position, the second contact portion can contact the second contact portion, and the second contact portion can contact the second contact portion. 30. The image forming apparatus main body according to claim 29, wherein the image forming apparatus main body can pass through the second contacted portion only when the time passes.   The first contact part and the second contact part have a plane inclined toward the downstream side in the insertion direction when the cartridge is inserted and toward the retracting direction of the movable member. Item 31. The image forming apparatus main body according to Item 29 or 30. A system for preventing erroneous insertion of a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium,
The image forming apparatus main body has a first contact portion and a second contact portion,
The cartridge is provided with a first contact portion and a second contact portion, and has a movable member movable between a protruding position and a retracted position,
When the cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, the first abutting portion is configured such that the second abutting portion abuts on the first abutted portion and the movable member is moved from the protruding position to the first retracted position. The first abutting portion passes through the second abutted portion only when it can abut against the second abutted portion. The cartridge is characterized in that the first contact portion and the second contact portion pass through the first contact portion in the movable direction of the movable member with respect to the movable member. Insertion prevention system.