JP2016105207A - Process Cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a process cartridge in which an operation of removing a development cartridge from a drum cartridge is easy.SOLUTION: A process cartridge comprises: a drum cartridge 6 having a photoreceptor drum 61; a development cartridge 7 which has a development roller 71 for supplying developer to the photoreceptor drum 61 and is removably attached to the drum cartridge 6; a lock lever 200 which is provided to the drum cartridge 6 and is capable of being operated so as to switch between a lock state in which movement of the development cartridge 7 attached to the drum cartridge 6 toward its removal direction is restricted and a lift state in which the lock state is released and the development cartridge 7 is moved toward the removal direction; and a holding surface 302 for holding a state in which the development cartridge 7 has been moved to the removal direction by the operation of the lock lever 200.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum cartridge and a process cartridge including a developing cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the drum cartridge.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a process cartridge including a drum cartridge and a developing cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the drum cartridge (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Specifically, the process cartridge includes a lock lever that is rotatably provided on the drum cartridge.

  When the developing cartridge is mounted on the drum cartridge, the lock lever contacts a part of the developing cartridge and locks the developing cartridge from being detached from the drum cartridge. Further, the lock lever is configured not to come into contact with the developer cartridge when the user rotates the lock lever, and unlocks the developer cartridge.

JP 2006-72284 A

  However, in the above-described process cartridge, the developing cartridge is unlocked only when the user rotates the lock lever, and when the user releases the lock lever, the developing cartridge is again locked by the lock lever. For this reason, the user has to operate the lock lever with one hand while removing the developing cartridge from the drum cartridge with the other hand, so that the operability is poor.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a process cartridge that can be easily removed from a drum cartridge.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a process cartridge of the present invention includes a drum cartridge having a photosensitive member and a developer carrier that shares the developer with the photosensitive member, and is configured to be detachable from the drum cartridge. Switching between a locked state that restricts movement of the developing cartridge attached to the drum cartridge in the direction of detachment and a lift state that releases the locked state and moves the developing cartridge in the direction of detachment. The lock member comprised so that it was possible, and the holding | maintenance part are provided.
The holding unit holds the developing cartridge in a state in which the developing cartridge is moved in the separation direction by an operation of switching the lock member from the locked state to the lifted state.

  According to the process cartridge configured as described above, by operating the lock member, the developing cartridge detached from the drum cartridge is held by the holding portion, so that the developing cartridge can be grasped by the hand operating the lock member. The developing cartridge can be easily removed from the drum cartridge.

In the above-described process cartridge, the developing cartridge has a developing frame on which the developer carrying member is provided and a stirring member provided in the developing frame, and the drum cartridge has a drum frame on which the photosensitive member is provided. You may do it.
In this case, the developer carrier may have a rotation shaft, and the drum frame may have a receiving portion that receives the rotation shaft of the developer carrier.
In this case, the lock member may have a contact portion that contacts the developing cartridge when the lock member is switched from the locked state to the lifted state.
The lock member is configured to be detached from the drum cartridge by moving a portion of the developing frame provided with the stirring member while the receiving portion receives the rotation shaft of the developer carrier, and is in a lift state. In this case, it is desirable that the abutting portion is disposed closer to the developer carrying body than the central axis of the stirring member.

  According to the process cartridge configured as described above, the movement amount of the developing cartridge can be increased even if the operation of the locking member is small by disposing the locking member at a position close to the rotation center of the developing cartridge. .

  Further, in the process cartridge described above, the lock member is rotatably supported by the drum cartridge, and rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the developing cartridge in accordance with the switching operation of the lock member from the locked state to the lifted state. The contact portion contacts the developer cartridge on the developer carrier side of the rotation axis of the lock member, and the developer cartridge has a contact surface with which the contact portion contacts, and the inclination of the contact surface is the same as that of the lock member. It is desirable that the inclination of the surface connecting the rotation axis of the developer carrier and the rotation axis of the lock member is closer to the inclination of the surface perpendicular to the rotation direction of the lock member at the contact point of the contact surface.

  According to the process cartridge configured as described above, the force by which the lock member pushes up the contact surface is reliably transmitted to the contact surface.

The process cartridge described above may further include a pressing member that is provided in the drum cartridge and biases the developing cartridge mounted on the drum cartridge so that the developer carrying member presses the photosensitive member.
In this process cartridge, it is desirable that the pressing member has a holding portion.

  According to the process cartridge configured as described above, the number of parts can be reduced by providing the member for pressing the developing cartridge and the supporting member as one common part.

  In the process cartridge having the pressing member described above, it is desirable that the developing cartridge be configured to jump up in the releasing direction by a force received from the pressing member when the developing cartridge is released from the drum cartridge by the lock member.

  According to the process cartridge configured as described above, when the developing cartridge is detached from the drum cartridge by the lock member, the developing cartridge jumps up, so that it is easy to confirm that the developing cartridge has been detached.

  According to the present invention, since the holding unit that holds the developing cartridge detached from the drum cartridge by the operation of the lock member is provided, the developing cartridge detached from the drum cartridge is held by the holding unit. As a result, the developing cartridge can be grasped with the hand operating the locking member, and therefore, the operation of removing the developing cartridge from the drum cartridge is easy.

It is a figure which shows the laser printer provided with the process cartridge which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a developing cartridge. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where the developing cartridge is mounted on the drum cartridge. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a lock lever is rotated in a state where the developing cartridge is mounted on the drum cartridge. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the developing cartridge has moved from the drum cartridge in the direction of separation. It is figure (a), (b) explaining the inclination of a contact surface. It is a figure which shows the locking member with which the process cartridge which concerns on 2nd Embodiment was equipped, Comprising: The figure (a) which shows a locked state, and the figure (b) which shows a lift state. It is a perspective view of the process cartridge which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
In the following description, first, a schematic configuration of the laser printer 1 including the process cartridge 5 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described, and then a characteristic part of the present invention will be described.

  In the following description, the direction will be described with reference to the user who uses the laser printer 1. That is, the left side in FIG. 1 is “front”, the right side is “rear”, the front side is “right”, and the back side is “left”. Also, the vertical direction in FIG.

<Schematic configuration of laser printer>
As shown in FIG. 1, the laser printer 1 includes a paper feeding unit 3 for supplying paper S into the apparatus main body 2, an exposure device 4, a process cartridge 5 for transferring a toner image onto the paper S, and paper The image forming apparatus mainly includes a fixing device 8 that thermally fixes the toner image transferred onto S.

  The paper feed unit 3 is provided in the lower part of the apparatus main body 2 and mainly includes a paper feed tray 31, a paper pressing plate 32, and a paper feed mechanism 33. The paper S stored in the paper feed tray 31 is moved upward by the paper pressing plate 32 and supplied toward the process cartridge 5 (between the photosensitive drum 61 and the transfer roller 63) by the paper feed mechanism 33.

  The exposure apparatus 4 is disposed in the upper part of the apparatus main body 2 and includes a laser light emitting unit (not shown), a polygon mirror, a lens, a reflecting mirror, and the like that are not shown. In this exposure device 4, the surface of the photosensitive drum 61 is exposed by scanning the surface of the photosensitive drum 61 at high speed with laser light (see the chain line) based on the image data emitted from the laser light emitting unit.

  The process cartridge 5 is disposed below the exposure apparatus 4 and is configured to be detachably mounted to the apparatus main body 2 through an opening formed when the front cover 21 provided on the apparatus main body 2 is opened. The process cartridge 5 includes a drum cartridge 6 and a developing cartridge 7.

The drum cartridge 6 mainly includes a photosensitive drum 61, a charger 62, and a transfer roller 63. The developing cartridge 7 is detachably attached to the drum cartridge 6, and includes a developing roller 71, a supply roller 72, a layer thickness regulating blade 73, and a toner storage portion 74 that stores toner. And an agitator 75 as an example of a stirring member provided in the toner containing portion 74.

  In the process cartridge 5, the surface of the photosensitive drum 61 is uniformly charged by the charger 62 and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser light from the exposure device 4, whereby an image is formed on the photosensitive drum 61. An electrostatic latent image based on the data is formed. The toner in the toner container 74 is stirred by the agitator 75 and then supplied to the developing roller 71 via the supply roller 72 and enters between the developing roller 71 and the layer thickness regulating blade 73 to have a constant thickness. Is carried on the developing roller 71 as a thin layer.

  The toner carried on the developing roller 71 is supplied from the developing roller 71 to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 61. As a result, the electrostatic latent image is visualized and a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 61. Thereafter, the sheet S is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 61 and the transfer roller 63 so that the toner image on the photosensitive drum 61 is transferred onto the sheet S.

  The fixing device 8 is disposed behind the process cartridge 5 and sandwiches the fixing belt between a heating unit 81 having a halogen heater, a fixing belt, a nip plate, and the like, which are not shown, and a nip plate of the heating unit 81. The pressure roller 82 is mainly provided. In the fixing device 8, the toner image transferred onto the paper S is thermally fixed while the paper S passes between the heating unit 81 and the pressure roller 82. The paper S on which the toner image has been thermally fixed is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 22 by a paper discharge roller 23.

<Detailed configuration of process cartridge>
As described above, the process cartridge 5 includes the drum cartridge 6 and the developing cartridge 7 that can be attached to and detached from the drum cartridge 6.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the developing cartridge 7 has a grip portion 101 that is gripped by a user at the front end of a housing (developing frame) 100, and rotatably supports a developing roller 71 at the rear end of the housing 100. ing. A lock rib 110, a protrusion 120, and a lift rib 130 are formed on the right side wall 102 of the casing 100, and a pressed rib 140 is formed on the right side wall 102 and the left side wall (not shown) of the casing 100. Has been.

  The locking rib 110 is a thin plate-like protrusion that protrudes outward from the right side wall 102 of the housing 100. The locking rib 110 has a substantially horizontal surface 111 that extends in the front-rear direction and faces upward when the developing cartridge 7 is mounted on the drum cartridge 6.

  The protruding portion 120 is a portion that is disposed above the locking rib 110 and protrudes outward from the right wall 102 of the housing 100. The protrusion 120 is formed at the same position as the rotation axis (center axis) 75A of the agitator 75 when viewed from the left-right direction.

  The lift rib 130 is a thin plate-like protrusion that protrudes outward from the right side wall 102 of the housing 100, which is disposed behind the protrusion 120, obliquely above the lock rib 110. The lift rib 130 has a contact surface 131 that extends in a direction from the protrusion 120 toward the developing roller 71 and faces obliquely downward in the front. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, the inclination of the contact surface 131 is such that the surface L1 perpendicular to the rotation direction R of the lock lever 200 at a contact point between the lock lever 200 and the contact surface 131 described later. It is closer to the inclination of the surface L2 connecting the rotation axis of the developing roller 71 and the rotation axis of the lock lever 200 than the inclination.

Returning to FIG. 2, the pressed rib 140 is a thin plate-like protrusion that protrudes outward from the right side wall 102 and the left side wall (not shown) of the housing 100, which is disposed in front of the locking rib 110. The pressed rib 140 is formed in a U shape that is convex forward when viewed in the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the drum cartridge 6 includes a drum frame 6A, a photosensitive drum 61 rotatably supported at the rear portion of the drum frame 6A, a swing arm 300 as an example of a pressing member, and a lock member. And a lock lever 200 as an example.

  On the side wall of the drum frame 6 </ b> A, a receiving portion 64 that receives the rotation shaft 71 </ b> A of the developing roller 71 is formed in front of the photosensitive drum 61. The receiving portion 64 is formed in a substantially U shape in a side view with the front side open, and receives the rotation shaft 71A of the developing roller 71 therein.

  The swing arm 300 is swingably supported on the front end portions of the left and right walls of the drum cartridge 6. The swing arm 300 extends substantially upward from the swing center 310 supported by the drum cartridge 6, has a pressing surface 301 facing rearward, and extends upward and obliquely upward from the upper end of the pressing surface 301. And a holding surface 302 as an example of a holding portion facing upward. In front of the swing center 310, a coil spring 320 that biases the swing arm 300 clockwise in FIG. 3 is provided.

  The urging force of the coil spring 320 is set to such an extent that when the developing cartridge 7 is detached from the drum cartridge 6 by the operation of the lock lever 200, it can be jumped up in the removing direction by the force received from the swing arm 300.

  The lock lever 200 moves the portion of the housing 100 (development cartridge 7) provided with the agitator 75 upward in a state where the receiving portion 64 receives the rotation shaft 71A of the development roller 71, thereby developing cartridge 7. 3 is a member that separates the developer cartridge 7 from the drum cartridge 6. The lock state (state in FIG. 3) that restricts the movement of the developing cartridge 7 attached to the drum cartridge 6 in the disengagement direction, and the lock by rotating from the lock state While being able to cancel the state, it can be switched to a lift state (the state shown in FIG. 5) in which the developing cartridge 7 is moved in the disengaging direction.

  The lock lever 200 is rotatable between the photosensitive drum 61 on the right side wall of the drum cartridge 6 and the swing arm 300, more specifically, near the rear end of the protruding portion 120 of the developing cartridge 7 when viewed from the left-right direction. It is supported by. That is, the lock lever 200 is supported on the developing roller 71 side with respect to the rotating shaft 75A of the agitator 75. The lock lever 200 is restricted from rotating clockwise by a stopper (not shown), and is kept in a locked state when not being operated by the user.

  The lock lever 200 mainly includes a main body part 210, an operation lever 220 as an example of an operation part, and a resin spring 212.

  The main body 210 is a substantially rectangular plate member whose center 211 is rotatably supported on the right side wall of the drum cartridge 6. The main body 210 has an abutment rib 230 as an example of an abutment portion extending in the front-rear direction on the edge located at the lowest position in the locked state.

  The contact rib 230 is a thin plate-like protrusion that extends from the main body 210 to the inside of the drum cartridge 6, that is, toward the developing cartridge 7. The contact rib 230 is formed in an arc shape that is convex toward the outside of the main body 210.

The abutting rib 230 is disposed between the locking rib 110 and the protruding portion 120 of the developing cartridge 7 in the locked state, abuts against the surface 111 of the locking rib 110 from above, and the direction in which the developing cartridge 7 is detached (hereinafter referred to as “removing cartridge”) , It is simply referred to as “withdrawal direction”). Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6B, the contact rib 230 is separated from the lock rib 110 in the lift state, and the front end portion in the rotation direction of the lock lever 200 is the center 211 of the main body 210. The developing roller 71 is further in contact with the contact surface 131 with respect to the rotation axis of the lock lever 200. That is, in the lift state, the front end portion of the contact rib 230 in the rotation direction of the lock lever 200 is disposed closer to the developing roller 71 than the rotation shaft 75A of the agitator 75.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the operation lever 220 is disposed on the edge of the main body 210 opposite to the contact rib 230 with the center 211 in between. In the locked state, the operation lever 220 extends substantially in the front-rear direction and is formed to protrude forward from the main body 210. When the lock is released, the operation lever 220 is pushed downward by the user, so that the lock lever 200 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing, that is, in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the developing cartridge 7 when being released from the drum cartridge 6. It is rotated and displaced from the locked state to the lifted state.

  The resin spring 212 has flexibility and extends downward from the lower end of the main body 210. As shown in FIG. 4, when the lock lever 200 is rotated counterclockwise from the locked state to the lifted state, the resin spring 212 abuts against the protrusion 65 formed on the inner wall of the drum cartridge 6 to bend. It is supposed to be. As a result, a biasing force that returns to the locked state is applied to the lock lever 200 that has been displaced to the lifted state.

Next, operations and effects of the process cartridge 5 configured as described above will be described.
When the developing cartridge 7 is attached to the drum cartridge 6, the swing arm 300 comes into contact with the pressed rib 140 of the developing cartridge 7 from the front as shown in FIG. Specifically, the pressing surface 301 of the swing arm 300 abuts against the front end of the pressed rib 140, and the pressed rib 140 is pressed rearward by the urging force from the coil spring 320, whereby the developing cartridge 7 is moved to the developing roller. 71 is biased so as to press against the photosensitive drum 61.

  Then, the abutment rib 230 of the lock lever 200 in the locked state abuts on the surface 111 of the locking rib 110 of the developing cartridge 7 from above. As a result, the development cartridge 7 is restricted from moving in the disengagement direction by the lock lever 200 and cannot be removed from the drum cartridge 6.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the user pushes the front end of the operation lever 220 of the lock lever 200 downward and displaces it, the lock lever 200 rotates counterclockwise in the figure. With this rotation, the abutment rib 230 moves rearward and obliquely upward, so that it is substantially retracted from the locking rib 110.

  When the operation lever 220 of the lock lever 200 is further displaced, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the abutment rib 230 abuts against the abutment surface 131 of the lift rib 130 and pushes up the lift rib 130. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, the abutment rib 230 is in a position retracted from the releasing direction of the locking rib 110, so that the developing cartridge 7 is moved in the releasing direction by the pushing force of the lock lever 200. To do. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6A, the inclination of the contact surface 131 and the inclination of the surface L1 orthogonal to the rotation direction R of the lock lever 200 at the contact point between the lock lever 200 and the contact surface 131 Since the inclination of the contact surface 131 is closer to the inclination of the surface L2 connecting the rotation axis of the developing roller 71 and the rotation axis of the lock lever 200, the contact ribs 230 are formed on the contact surface 131. The pushing force is reliably transmitted to the contact surface 131.

  When the lock lever 200 is rotated by a predetermined amount, as shown in FIG. 5, the pressed rib 140 moves upward and the contact with the pressing surface 301 of the swing arm 300 is released. At this time, the swing arm 300 swings clockwise in the figure by the urging force of the coil spring 320, and the holding surface 302 pushes the pressed rib 140 strongly and pushes up the pressed rib 140. Thereby, although not shown, the developing cartridge 7 jumps up, so that it is easy to confirm that the developing cartridge 7 has detached from the drum cartridge 6.

  Thereafter, the pressed rib 140 bounced up descends onto the holding surface 302 of the swing arm 300 and is supported by the holding surface 302. As a result, even when the lock lever 200 returns to the locked position, the developing cartridge 7 is held in the state of moving in the detaching direction. As described above, the process cartridge 5 includes the holding surface 302 that holds the developing cartridge 7 detached from the drum cartridge 6 by the operation of the lock lever 200 in a moving state in the disengagement direction, so that the user operates the lock lever 200. The developing cartridge 7 can be easily detached from the drum cartridge 6 by grasping the holding portion 101 of the developing cartridge 7 with the hand thus made.

  The lock lever 200 is not at the front end side of the drum cartridge 6 but at the contact point between the developing roller 71 and the photosensitive drum 61 that is the rotation center of the developing cartridge 7 on the developing roller 71 side of the rotating shaft 75A of the agitator 75. Therefore, even when the displacement amount of the lock lever 200 is small, the movement amount of the developing cartridge 7 in the detaching direction can be increased.

  Since the swing arm 300 has a holding surface 302 for holding the developing cartridge 7 detached from the drum cartridge 6, the developing cartridge 7 detached from the drum cartridge 6 is held separately from the swing arm 300. Compared with the case where a member is provided, the number of parts can be reduced.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the first embodiment, the lock member and the holding portion are formed separately, but in the second embodiment, the lock member and the holding portion are formed as one component. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, locking ribs 110 and lifting ribs 130 are formed on the side wall of the developing cartridge 7.

  The locking rib 110 is disposed below a lock member 400 described later. The locking rib 110 has a surface 111 facing upward.

  The lift rib 130 is disposed above a lock member 400 described later. The lift rib 130 has a contact surface 131 facing obliquely downward in the front direction.

  The lock member 400 is in a locked state that restricts the movement of the developing cartridge 7 attached to the drum cartridge 6 in the releasing direction (the state shown in FIG. 7A), releases the locked state, and removes the developing cartridge 7 in the releasing direction. It can be switched to a lift state (the state of FIG. 7 (b)) to be moved to.

The lock member 400 mainly includes a main body 410, a lock protrusion 420, and a lift protrusion 430 as an example of a contact portion.

  The main body 410 is formed of two discs, one is provided on the inside of the left wall of the drum cartridge 6 and the other is provided on the outside of the left wall of the drum cartridge 6 as shown in FIG. They are connected by a connecting shaft that is shown with reference numerals omitted. The main body 410 is rotatably supported by the drum cartridge 6.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the main body 410 arranged inside the drum cartridge 6 has a groove 411 formed on the surface facing the drum cartridge 6. The groove 411 is formed on the edge of the main body 410 along the circumferential direction. The groove 411 is formed in such a length that a projection 412 described later contacts the lower end of the groove 411 in the locked state and the projection 412 contacts the upper end of the groove 411 in the lifted state.

  The locking protrusion 420 is a substantially triangular protrusion in a side view that protrudes downward from the main body 410 in the locked state. In the locked state, the locking protrusion 420 abuts on the surface 111 of the locking rib 110 of the developing cartridge 7 from above, and restricts the movement of the developing cartridge 7 in the detaching direction.

  The lift protrusion 430 is a protrusion that is disposed on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the main body 410 relative to the lock protrusion 420 and protrudes outward from the main body 410 in a substantially triangular shape. As shown in FIG. 7B, the lift protrusion 430 contacts the contact surface 131 of the lift rib 130 of the developing cartridge 7 in the lift state to push up the lift rib 130. .

  As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a protrusion 412 that protrudes toward the developing cartridge 6 and that engages with the groove 411 is formed on the inner surface of the drum cartridge 6.

  In the process cartridge 5 of the second embodiment configured as described above, the locking protrusions 420 of the locking member 400 are the locking ribs 110 of the developing cartridge 7 when the developing cartridge 7 is mounted on the drum cartridge 6. Since the developing cartridge 7 is in contact with the surface 111 from above, the movement of the developing cartridge 7 in the detaching direction is restricted.

  When the user rotates the main body 410 of the lock member 400 counterclockwise in the drawing, the contact between the lock protrusion 420 and the lock rib 110 is released. When the lock member 400 is further rotated, the lift protrusion 430 comes into contact with the contact surface 131 of the lift rib 130, pushes up the lift rib 130, and moves the developing cartridge 7 in the separation direction.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, when the main body 410 of the lock member 400 is rotated until the protrusion 412 contacts the end of the groove 411 on the upstream side of the main body 410 in the rotational direction, the contact of the lift rib 130 is achieved. Since the contact surface 131 faces obliquely downward in the front, a force that rotates the lock member 400 counterclockwise acts on the lift projection 430. However, since the protrusion 412 is in contact with the end of the groove 411 on the upstream side of the main body 410 in the rotation direction, the lock member 400 is held in the state shown in FIG. That is, the lift projection 430 serves as a holding unit that holds the developing cartridge 7 detached from the drum cartridge 6 in a detached state.

  Accordingly, also in this embodiment, the process cartridge 5 includes the lift protrusion 430 that holds the developing cartridge 7 detached from the drum cartridge 6 by operating the lock member 400, so that the user can The developer cartridge 7 can be easily detached from the drum cartridge 6 by grasping the grip portion 101 of the developer cartridge 7 with the hand operating 400 and pulling it forward.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. About a concrete structure, it can change suitably in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

  In the embodiment, the photosensitive drum 61 is used as the photosensitive member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a belt-shaped photosensitive member may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the laser printer 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine and a multifunction machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser printer 5 Process cartridge 6 Drum cartridge 6A Drum frame 7 Developing cartridge 61 Photosensitive drum 62 Receiving part 71 Developing roller 75 Agitator 75A Rotating shaft 110 Locking rib 130 Lifting rib 131 Contact surface 140 Pressed rib 200 Lock lever 220 Operation lever 230 Abutment rib 300 Oscillating arm 301 Pressing surface 302 Holding surface 400 Lock member 420 Locking protrusion 430 Lifting protrusion

Claims (5)

A drum cartridge having a photoreceptor;
A developer cartridge having a developer carrier for supplying a developer to the photosensitive member and configured to be detachable from the drum cartridge, and a process cartridge comprising:
A locked state that is provided in the drum cartridge and restricts the movement of the developing cartridge mounted on the drum cartridge in the detaching direction; and a lift state that releases the locking state and moves the developing cartridge in the detaching direction; A locking member configured to be switchable to,
A process cartridge comprising: a holding unit that holds the developing cartridge in a state of being moved in the disengagement direction by a switching operation of the lock member from the locked state to the lifted state. The developing cartridge has a developing frame on which the developer carrying member is provided, and a stirring member provided in the developing frame,
The drum cartridge has a drum frame on which the photoconductor is provided,
The developer carrier has a rotating shaft,
The drum frame has a receiving portion for receiving a rotation shaft of the developer carrier,
The lock member has a contact portion that contacts the developing cartridge when the lock member is switched from the locked state to the lift state.
The lock member is configured to be detached from the drum cartridge by moving a portion of the developing frame provided with the stirring member in a state where the receiving portion receives the rotation shaft of the developer carrier. 2. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein in the lifted state, the contact portion is disposed closer to the developer carrying body than a central axis of the stirring member. The lock member is rotatably supported by the drum cartridge, and rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the developing cartridge in accordance with the switching operation of the lock member from the locked state to the lift state.
The contact portion contacts the developer cartridge on the developer carrier side of the rotation axis of the lock member,
The developing cartridge has a contact surface with which the contact portion contacts,
The inclination of the contact surface is greater than the inclination of the surface perpendicular to the rotation direction of the lock member at the contact point between the lock member and the contact surface, and the rotation axis of the developer carrier and the rotation axis of the lock member. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is close to an inclination of a surface connecting the two. A pressing member that is provided on the drum cartridge and biases the developing cartridge mounted on the drum cartridge so that the developer carrying member presses the photosensitive member;
The process cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressing member includes the holding portion.   The process cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the developing cartridge is configured to jump up in the detaching direction by a force received from the pressing member when the developing cartridge is detached from the drum cartridge by the lock member. .

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