JP2018116305A - Cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop a prior art configuration.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus has an apparatus body and a cartridge. The apparatus body includes a drive output member that has an output coupling provided with a concave part and an output gear provided coaxially and can tilt, advance and retreat. The cartridge includes: an input coupling having a driving force receiving part that can move in a radial direction of a photoreceptor and is configured to enter the concave part to receive driving force to rotate the photoreceptor; an input gear that is engaged with the output gear to receive rotational force; and a regulation part that regulates inclination of the drive output member to engage the output coupling with the input coupling. The apparatus body further includes an inclination providing part that inclines the drive output member to move away from the regulation part in association with movement of the drive output member from an advance position to a retreat position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 30

Description

The present invention relates to a cartridge and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using the cartridge.
Here, the cartridge is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. One example is a process cartridge. The process cartridge is a cartridge in which a photosensitive member and process means acting on the photosensitive member are integrally formed, and is detachably attached to the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
For example, the photosensitive member and at least one of the developing unit, the charging unit, and the cleaning unit as the process unit are integrally formed into a cartridge. The image forming apparatus in the present application is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming system.
Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (such as an LED printer and a laser beam printer), a facsimile machine, and a word processor.

In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “image forming apparatus”), an electrophotographic photosensitive member that is generally a drum type as an image carrier, that is, a photosensitive drum (electrophotographic photosensitive drum) is uniformly formed. Charge. Next, an electrostatic latent image (electrostatic image) is formed on the photosensitive drum by selectively exposing the charged photosensitive drum. Next, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is developed as a toner image with toner as a developer. Then, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred to a recording material such as recording paper or plastic sheet, and the toner image is applied to the recording material by applying heat or pressure to the toner image transferred onto the recording material. Image recording is performed by fixing.
Such an image forming apparatus generally requires toner replenishment and maintenance of various process means. In order to facilitate this toner replenishment and maintenance, a photosensitive cartridge, a charging unit, a developing unit, a cleaning unit, and the like are combined into a cartridge into a cartridge, and a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus has been put into practical use. ing.
According to this process cartridge system, part of maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by the user himself without depending on a service person in charge of after-sales service. Therefore, the operability of the apparatus can be remarkably improved, and an image forming apparatus with excellent usability can be provided. For this reason, this process cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.
In addition, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-260, the above-described image forming apparatus is provided with a coupling provided at the tip for transmitting driving from the image forming apparatus main body to the process cartridge and driven by a spring toward the process cartridge. One having a transmission member is known.
The drive transmission member of the image forming apparatus moves to the process cartridge side by being pressed by a spring when the door of the image forming apparatus main body is closed. By doing so, the drive transmission member engages (couples) with the coupling of the process cartridge, and the drive transmission can be transmitted to the process cartridge. Further, when the opening / closing door of the image forming apparatus main body is opened, the drive transmission member is moved away from the process cartridge against the spring by the cam. By doing so, the drive transmission member can be disengaged from the coupling of the process cartridge (coupling), and the process cartridge can be detached from the image forming apparatus main body.

JP-A-8-328449

  The object of the invention according to the present application is to further develop the aforementioned prior art.

The typical composition of this application is:
In the image forming apparatus,
(1) An apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, wherein (1-1) an output coupling provided with a recess and an output gear are provided coaxially so as to be tiltable and movable back and forth. The body,
(2) A cartridge detachable from the apparatus main body,
(2-1) a photoconductor;
(2-2) A driving force receiving portion provided at an end of the photoconductor and configured to receive a driving force for entering the recess and rotating the photoconductor; and the driving force receiving portion An input coupling having a support portion that is movably supported in the radial direction of the photoreceptor;
(2-3) an input gear for receiving a rotational force by engaging with the output gear;
(2-4) a restricting portion for engaging the output coupling with the input coupling by restricting the inclination of the drive output member;
A cartridge having
With
The drive output member is movable back and forth between an advanced position for engaging the output coupling with the input coupling and a retracted position for releasing the output coupling from the input coupling.
Furthermore, the device body is
An inclination imparting portion is provided that inclines the drive output member away from the restricting portion as the drive output member moves from the advanced position to the retracted position.

  The aforementioned prior art can be further developed.

Explanatory drawing of the drive transmission part of the process cartridge which concerns on a 1st Example. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus main body and a process cartridge of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the process cartridge which concerns on a 1st Example. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the link part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the link part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing of the guide part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive row | line | column part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the positioning part of the longitudinal direction of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing of the positioning part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. 1 is a perspective view of a drive transmission unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. 1 is a perspective view of a developing roller gear of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. 1 is a perspective view of a drive transmission unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is a perspective view of the drive transmission part of the process cartridge which concerns on a 1st Example. It is a perspective view of the developing roller gear of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the drive train of the process cartridge which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive train of the process cartridge which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive transmission member center determination part which concerns on a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the control part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the control part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. 1 is a perspective view of a bearing of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing of the drive transmission part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing of the control part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing concerning a 2nd Example. It is explanatory drawing which concerns on a 2nd Example. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of a 2nd Example. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of a 2nd Example. It is sectional drawing of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which shows the modification of other Examples. It is a perspective view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus showing a modification of other embodiments. It is sectional drawing of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which shows the modification of other Examples. It is a perspective view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus showing a modification of other embodiments. It is sectional drawing of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which shows the modification of other Examples. It is a perspective view of the process cartridge and drive output member which show the modification of other Examples. It is a perspective view of the process cartridge and drive output member which show the modification of other Examples.

<Example 1>
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Note that the direction of the axis of rotation of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is the longitudinal direction.
In the longitudinal direction, the side on which the electrophotographic photosensitive drum receives driving force from the image forming apparatus main body is defined as a driving side, and the opposite side is defined as a non-driving side.
The overall configuration and the image forming process will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus main body (electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, image forming apparatus main body) A and a process cartridge (hereinafter referred to as cartridge B) of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge B.
Here, the apparatus main body A is a portion obtained by removing the cartridge B from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

<Entire configuration of electrophotographic image forming apparatus>
The electrophotographic image forming apparatus (image forming apparatus) shown in FIG. 2 is a laser beam printer using an electrophotographic technique in which the cartridge B is detachably attached to the apparatus main body A. When the cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus main body A, an exposure device 3 (laser scanner unit) for forming a latent image on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum 62 as an image carrier of the cartridge B is disposed. In addition, a sheet tray 4 storing a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a sheet material PA) that is an image forming target is disposed below the cartridge B. The electrophotographic photosensitive drum 62 is a photosensitive member (electrophotographic photosensitive member) used for forming an electrophotographic image.
Further, the apparatus main body A includes a pickup roller 5a, a feeding roller pair 5b, a conveying roller pair 5c, a transfer guide 6, a transfer roller 7, a conveying guide 8, a fixing device 9, along the conveying direction D of the sheet material PA. A pair of discharge rollers 10, a discharge tray 11, and the like are sequentially arranged. The fixing device 9 includes a heating roller 9a and a pressure roller 9b.

<Image formation process>
Next, an outline of the image forming process will be described. Based on the print start signal, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum (hereinafter referred to as photosensitive drum 62 or simply referred to as drum 62) is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow R with a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed).
The charging roller (charging member) 66 to which the bias voltage is applied contacts the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62 and uniformly charges the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62.
The exposure device 3 outputs a laser beam L corresponding to the image information. The laser light L passes through a laser opening 71 h provided in the cleaning frame 71 of the cartridge B, and scans and exposes the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, in the developing unit 20 as a developing device, the toner T in the toner chamber 29 is agitated and conveyed by the rotation of the conveying member (agitating member) 43 and sent out to the toner supply chamber 28.
The toner T is carried on the surface of the developing roller 32 by the magnetic force of the magnet roller 34 (fixed magnet). The developing roller 32 is a developer carrying member that carries a developer (toner T) on its surface in order to develop the latent image formed on the drum 62.
While the toner T is frictionally charged by the developing blade 42, the layer thickness on the circumferential surface of the developing roller 32 as a developer carrying member is regulated.

  The toner T is supplied to the drum 62 according to the electrostatic latent image and develops the latent image. Thereby, the latent image is visualized as a toner image. The drum 62 is an image carrier that carries a latent image or an image (toner image, developer image) formed of toner on the surface thereof. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet material PA stored in the lower part of the apparatus main body A is moved to the sheet tray by the pickup roller 5a, the feeding roller pair 5b, and the conveying roller pair 5c in accordance with the output timing of the laser beam L. 4 is sent out. Then, the sheet material PA is conveyed to the transfer position between the drum 62 and the transfer roller 7 via the transfer guide 6. At this transfer position, the toner images are sequentially transferred from the drum 62 to the sheet material PA.

The sheet material PA onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the drum 62 and conveyed to the fixing device 9 along the conveyance guide 8. Then, the sheet material PA passes through the nip portion between the heating roller 9a and the pressure roller 9b constituting the fixing device 9. A pressure / heat fixing process is performed in the nip portion, and the toner image is fixed to the sheet material PA. The sheet material PA that has undergone the toner image fixing process is conveyed to the discharge roller pair 10 and discharged to the discharge tray 11.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the drum 62 after the transfer is used again in the image forming process after the residual toner on the outer peripheral surface is removed by the cleaning blade 77. The toner is stored in the waste toner chamber 71 b of the toner cleaning unit 60 removed from the drum 62. The cleaning unit 60 is a unit having a photosensitive drum 62.
In the above, the charging roller 66, the developing roller 32, the transfer roller 7, and the cleaning blade 77 are process means that act on the drum 62.

<Configuration of the entire cartridge>
Next, the entire configuration of the cartridge B will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge B, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views for explaining the configuration of the cartridge B. FIG. In the present embodiment, the screws for connecting the parts will be omitted.
The cartridge B includes a cleaning unit (photoreceptor holding unit, drum holding unit, image carrier holding unit, first unit) 60 and a developing unit (developer carrier holding unit, second unit) 20.
In general, the process cartridge is an electrophotographic photosensitive member and at least one of process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and is integrated into a cartridge so that the main body (apparatus main body) of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is formed. Detachable. Examples of process means include charging means, developing means, and cleaning means.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning unit 60 includes a drum 62, a charging roller 66, a cleaning member 77, and a cleaning frame 71 that supports them. On the drive side, the drum 62 is rotatably supported by a hole 73 a of a drum bearing 73 on a drive side drum flange 63 provided on the drive side. In a broad sense, the drum bearing 73 and the cleaning frame 71 can also be collectively referred to as a cleaning frame.
On the non-driving side, as shown in FIG. 5, a hole portion (not shown) of the non-driving side drum flange is rotatably supported by a drum shaft 78 press-fitted into a hole portion 71 c provided in the cleaning frame 71. It is the composition which becomes.
Each drum flange is a supported part that is rotatably supported by a bearing part.

In the cleaning unit 60, the charging roller 66 and the cleaning member 77 are disposed in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62.
The cleaning member 77 includes a rubber blade 77a that is a blade-like elastic member formed of rubber as an elastic material, and a support member 77b that supports the rubber blade. The rubber blade 77 a is in contact with the drum 62 in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the drum 62. That is, the rubber blade 77 a is in contact with the drum 62 so that the tip end portion thereof faces the upstream side in the rotation direction of the drum 62.
As shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner removed from the surface of the drum 62 by the cleaning member 77 is stored in a waste toner chamber 71 b formed by the cleaning frame 71 and the cleaning member 77.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a squeeze sheet 65 for preventing waste toner from leaking from the cleaning frame 71 is provided at the edge of the cleaning frame 71 so as to contact the drum 62.

The charging roller 66 is rotatably attached to the cleaning unit 60 via charging roller bearings (not shown) at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame 71.
The longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame 71 (longitudinal direction of the cartridge B) is substantially parallel to the direction (axial direction) in which the rotation axis of the drum 62 extends. Therefore, hereinafter, the axial direction of the drum 62 is intended when the longitudinal direction or the axial direction is simply referred to, unless otherwise specified.
The charging roller 66 is in pressure contact with the drum 62 by the charging roller bearing 67 being pressed toward the drum 62 by the biasing member 68. The charging roller 66 rotates following the rotation of the drum 62.

As shown in FIG. 3, the developing unit 20 includes a developing roller 32, a developing container 23 that supports the developing roller 32, a developing blade 42, and the like. The developing roller 32 is rotatably attached to the developing container 23 by bearing members 27 (FIG. 5) and 37 (FIG. 4) provided at both ends.
A magnet roller 34 is provided in the developing roller 32. In the developing unit 20, a developing blade 42 for regulating the toner layer on the developing roller 32 is disposed. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a spacing member 38 is attached to the developing roller 32 at both ends of the developing roller 32, and the spacing roller 38 and the drum 62 abut so that the developing roller 32 is a drum. 62 and a slight gap. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a blowout prevention sheet 33 for preventing the toner from leaking from the developing unit 20 is provided at the edge of the bottom member 22 so as to contact the developing roller 32. Further, a transport member 43 is provided in the toner chamber 29 formed by the developing container 23 and the bottom member 22. The conveying member 43 agitates the toner stored in the toner chamber 29 and conveys the toner to the toner supply chamber 28.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cartridge B is configured by combining a cleaning unit 60 and a developing unit 20.
When the developing unit and the cleaning unit are coupled, first, the center of the developing first support boss 26a of the developing container 23 with respect to the first suspension hole 71i on the driving side of the cleaning frame 71 and the second suspension hole 71j on the non-driving side. The center of the development second support boss 23b is aligned with the center. Specifically, by moving the developing unit 20 in the direction of arrow G, the development first support boss 26a and the development second support boss 23b are fitted into the first suspension hole 71i and the second suspension hole 71j. Thereby, the developing unit 20 is movably connected to the cleaning unit 60. More specifically, the developing unit 20 is connected to the cleaning unit 60 so as to be rotatable (rotatable). Thereafter, the cartridge B is formed by assembling the drum bearing 73 to the cleaning unit 60.

The first end portion 46La of the driving side biasing member 46L is fixed to the surface 23c of the developing container 23, and the second end portion 46Lb contacts the surface 71k that is a part of the cleaning unit.
Further, the first end portion 46Ra of the non-driving side biasing member 46R is fixed to the surface 23k of the developing container 23, and the second end portion 46Rb contacts the surface 71l which is a part of the cleaning unit.
In this embodiment, the driving side biasing member 46L (FIG. 5) and the non-driving side biasing member 46R (FIG. 4) are formed by compression springs. The driving-side biasing member 46L and the non-driving-side biasing member 46R bias the developing unit 20 toward the cleaning unit 60 by the biasing force of these springs so that the developing roller 32 is surely pressed toward the drum 62. To do. The developing roller 32 is held at a predetermined interval from the drum 62 by a spacing holding member 38 attached to both ends of the developing roller 32.

<Cartridge installation>
Next, with respect to mounting of the cartridge, FIG. 1 (a), FIG. 1 (b), FIG. 6 (a), FIG. 6 (b), FIG. 6 (c), FIG. 8 (a), FIG. 8 (b), FIG. 9, FIG. 10 (a), FIG. 10 (b), FIG. 11 (a), FIG. 11 (b), FIG. 12 (a), FIG. This will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 13A, 13B, 14, 15, 16, and 17. FIG.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of a cartridge for explaining the shape around the drive transmission portion. 6A is a perspective view of the cylindrical cam, FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the first side plate viewed from the outside of the apparatus main body A, and FIG. 6C is a perspective view of the cylindrical cam on the first side plate. Attached sectional view (FIG. 6 (b
) Arrow direction). 7A is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus link portion for explaining the link configuration, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus drive portion for explaining the movement of the drive transmission member. is there.

  FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the drive side guide portion of the image forming apparatus for explaining the mounting of the cartridge, and FIG. 8B is a non-drive side guide of the image forming apparatus for explaining the mounting of the cartridge. It is sectional drawing of a part. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the image forming apparatus drive train section for explaining the positional relationship of the drive train before closing the doors. FIG. 10A is an explanatory view immediately before fitting of the image forming apparatus positioning portion for explaining the positioning of the process cartridge B in the longitudinal direction. FIG. 10B is an explanatory view after the image forming apparatus positioning portion is fitted for explaining the positioning of the process cartridge B in the longitudinal direction. FIG. 11A is a drive side sectional view of the image forming apparatus for explaining the positioning of the cartridge. FIG. 11B is a non-drive side sectional view of the image forming apparatus for explaining the positioning of the cartridge.

  12A is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus link portion for explaining the link configuration, and FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus drive portion for explaining the movement of the drive transmission member. . FIG. 13A is a perspective view of the drive transmission member for explaining the shape of the drive transmission member. FIG. 13B is an explanatory diagram of the drive transmission unit of the apparatus main body A for explaining the drive transmission unit. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the drive unit of the image forming apparatus for explaining the engagement space of the drive transmission unit. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member for explaining the engagement space of the drive transmission member. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member for explaining the engagement of the drive transmission member.

  First, the configuration and operation from the opened state to the closed state of the open / close door 13 of the apparatus main body A will be described. As shown in FIG. 7A, the apparatus main body A is provided with an opening / closing door 13, a cylindrical cam link 85, a cylindrical cam 86, cartridge pressing members 1 and 2, cartridge pressing springs 19 and 21, and a front plate 18. Yes. As shown in FIG. 7B, the apparatus main body A includes a drive transmission member bearing 83, a drive transmission member 81, a drive transmission member biasing spring 84, a first side plate 15, and a non-side plate 16 (see FIG. 10a). Is provided.

The opening / closing door 13 is an opening / closing member for opening / closing a mounting portion (a space for accommodating the cartridge) for mounting the cartridge B.
The open / close door 13 is rotatably attached to the first side plate 15 and the non-side plate 16. As shown in FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b), and 6 (c), the cylindrical cam 86 is attached to the first side plate 15 so as to be rotatable and movable in the longitudinal direction AM. It has parts 86a and 86b, and has one end part 86c on the non-driving side in the longitudinal direction following the slope. The first side plate 15 has two inclined surface portions 15d and 15e facing the two inclined surface portions 86a and 86b, and an end surface 15f facing the one end portion 86c of the cylindrical cam 86. As shown in FIG. 7A, the cylindrical cam link 85 has bosses 85a and 85b at both ends. The bosses 85a and 85b are rotatably attached to attachment holes 13a provided in the opening / closing door 13 and attachment holes 86e provided in the cylindrical cam 86, respectively. When the opening / closing door 13 is rotated and opened, the rotating cam link 85 moves in conjunction with the opening / closing door 13. The cylindrical cam 86 is rotated by the movement of the rotary cam link 85, and the slope portions 86a and 86b first come into contact with the slope portions 15d and 15e provided on the first side plate 15, respectively. When the cylindrical cam 86 further rotates, the slope portions 86a and 86b slide along the slope portions 15d and 15e, so that the cylindrical cam 86 moves to the drive side in the longitudinal direction. Finally, the cylindrical cam 86 moves until one end portion 86c of the cylindrical cam 86 contacts the end surface 15f of the first side plate 15.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the drive transmission member 81 has a drive-side end portion (fixed end 81c) in the axial direction fitted into the drive transmission member bearing 83 so that the drive transmission member 81 is rotatable and axially movable. It is supported movably. Further, the drive transmission member 81 has a central portion 81 d in the longitudinal direction having a gap M with the first side plate 15. Further, the drive transmission member 81 has an abutting surface 81e, and the cylindrical cam 86 has an other end 86d facing the abutting surface 81e. The drive transmission member spring 84 is a compression spring. One end 84 a abuts on a spring seat 83 a provided on the drive transmission member bearing 83, and the other end 84 b abuts on a spring seat 81 f provided on the drive transmission member 81. ing. Thereby, the drive transmission member 81 is urged to the non-drive side in the axial direction (left side in FIG. 7B). By this urging, the abutting surface 81e of the drive transmission member 81 and the other end 86d of the cylindrical cam 86 are in contact with each other.

As described above, when the cylindrical cam 86 moves to the drive side (right side in FIG. 7B) in the longitudinal direction, the drive transmission member 81 is pushed by the cylindrical cam 86 and moves to the drive side. As a result, the drive transmission member 81 takes the retracted position. That is, the drive transmission member 81 is retracted from the movement path of the cartridge B in conjunction with the movement of the open / close door 13 to the open position. Thereby, a space for mounting the cartridge B is secured in the image forming apparatus main body A.
The cylindrical cam 86 is a retraction member (retraction mechanism) that moves the drive transmission member 81 to the retraction position in conjunction with the opening / closing door 13 moving to the open position.

Next, the mounting of the cartridge B will be described. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the first side plate 15 has a guide rail upper 15g and a guide rail 15h as a guide, and the non-side plate 16 has a guide rail upper 16d and a guide. Rail 16e. The drum bearing 73 provided on the drive side of the cartridge B has a guided portion 73g and a rotation-stopped portion 73c. In the mounting direction of the cartridge B (see arrow C), the guided portion 73g and the rotation-prevented portion 73c are upstream of the axis of the coupling convex portion 63b (see FIG. 1A, details will be described later) (FIG. 16). The arrow AO side in FIG.
The mounting direction of the cartridge B is a direction substantially orthogonal to the axis of the drum 62. In the case of upstream or downstream in the mounting direction, upstream and downstream are defined in the moving direction of the cartridge B just before the mounting to the apparatus main body A is completed.

  The cleaning frame 71 has a positioned portion 71d and a rotation-stopped portion 71g on the non-driving side in the longitudinal direction. When the cartridge B is mounted from the cartridge insertion port 17 of the apparatus main body A, the driven side of the cartridge B is guided by the guided portion 73g and the rotation-stopped portion 73c of the cartridge B by the upper guide rail 15g and the guide rail 15h of the apparatus main body A. The On the non-driving side of the cartridge B, the positioned portion 71d and the rotation-stopped portion 71g of the cartridge B are guided by the guide rail 16d and the guide rail 16e of the apparatus main body A. Thus, the cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus main body A.

Here, a developing roller gear (developing gear) 30 is provided at the end of the developing roller 32 (see FIGS. 9 and 13B). That is, the developing roller gear 30 is attached to the shaft portion (shaft) of the developing roller 32.
The developing roller 32 and the developing roller gear 30 are coaxial and rotate about the axis Ax2 shown in FIG. The developing roller 32 is arranged such that its axis Ax2 is substantially parallel to the axis Ax1 of the drum 62 axis. Therefore, the axial direction of the developing roller 32 (developing roller gear 30) is substantially the same as the axial direction of the drum 62.
The developing roller gear 30 is an input gear (cartridge side gear, driving input member) to which a driving force (rotational force) is input from the outside of the cartridge B (that is, the apparatus main body A). The developing roller 32 is configured to rotate by the driving force received by the developing roller gear 30.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the developing roller gear 30 and the coupling protrusion 63b are exposed on the side of the drive side of the cartridge B on the drum 62 side of the developing roller gear 30. An open space 87 is provided.
The coupling convex part 63b is a driving side drum flange 63 attached to the end of the drum.
(See FIG. 9). The coupling convex part 63b is an input coupling (drum side coupling part, cartridge side coupling part, photoconductor side coupling part, input) to which a driving force (rotational force) is inputted from the outside of the cartridge B (that is, the apparatus main body A). Coupling part, drive input part) (see FIG. 9). The coupling convex portion 63 b is disposed coaxially with the drum 62. That is, the coupling convex part 63b rotates around the axis Ax1.

The drive-side drum flange 63 having the coupling protrusion 63b is called a coupling member (drum-side coupling member, cartridge-side coupling member, photoconductor-side coupling member, drive-input coupling member, input-coupling member). is there.
In the longitudinal direction of the cartridge B, the side on which the coupling convex portion 63b is provided is the driving side, and the opposite side corresponds to the non-driving side.
As shown in FIG. 9, the developing roller gear 30 has a gear part (input gear part, cartridge side gear part, developing side gear part) 30a and an end face 30a1 provided on the drive side of the gear part ( (Refer FIG. 1 (a), (b), FIG. 9). The teeth (gear teeth) formed on the outer periphery of the gear portion 30 a are helical teeth that are inclined with respect to the axis of the developing roller gear 30. That is, the developing roller gear 30 is a helical gear (see FIG. 1A).

  Here, the “lotus tooth” includes a shape in which a plurality of protrusions 232a are arranged along a line inclined with respect to the axis of the gear to substantially form a lotus tooth portion 232b (see FIG. 14). . In the configuration shown in FIG. 14, the gear 232 has a large number of protrusions 232b on its peripheral surface. The set of five protrusions 232b can be regarded as forming a row inclined with respect to the gear axis. Each row of the five protrusions 232b corresponds to the teeth of the gear portion 30a.

The drive transmission member (drive output member, main body side drive member) 81 has a gear portion (main body side gear portion, output gear portion) 81 a as an output gear for driving the developing roller gear 30. The gear portion 81a has an end surface 81a1 at an end portion on the non-driving side (see FIGS. 13A and 13B).
The teeth (gear teeth) formed in the gear portion 81 a are also helical teeth that are inclined with respect to the axis of the drive transmission member 81. That is, the drive transmission member 81 is also provided with a portion serving as a helical gear.
The drive transmission member 81 has a coupling recess 81b. The coupling recess 81b is an output coupling (main body side coupling portion, output coupling portion) provided on the apparatus main body side. The coupling recess 81b is formed by forming a recess capable of coupling with a coupling protrusion 63b provided on the drum side on a protrusion (cylindrical portion) provided at the tip of the drive transmission member 81.

A space (space) 87 (see FIG. 1) configured to expose the gear portion 30a and the coupling convex portion 63b allows the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 when the cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus main body A. For placement. Accordingly, the space 87 is larger than the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 (see FIG. 15).
Since the space 87 exists, the drive transmission member 81 does not interfere with the cartridge B when the cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus main body A. As shown in FIG. 15, the space 87 allows the cartridge B to be attached to the apparatus main body A by disposing the drive transmission member 81 therein.
Further, when the cartridge B is viewed along the axis of the drum 62 (the axis of the coupling convex portion 63 b), the gear teeth formed on the gear portion 30 a are arranged at positions close to the peripheral surface of the drum 62.

In the axial direction of the developing roller gear 30, the gear teeth of the gear portion 30a have an exposed portion exposed from the cartridge B (see FIG. 1).
If the gear portion 30 a of the developing roller gear 30 is exposed from the driving side developing side member 26, the gear portion 81 a meshes with the gear portion 30 a without interfering with the driving side developing side member 26 and can transmit driving.
Then, at least a part of the exposed portion of the gear portion 30a is arranged further outside (drive side) of the cartridge B than the tip 63b1 of the coupling convex portion 63b, and faces the axis of the drum. (See FIGS. 1 and 9). FIG. 9 shows a state in which the gear teeth arranged on the exposed portion 30a3 of the gear portion 30a face the rotation axis of the drum 62 (rotation axis of the coupling portion 63b) Ax1. In FIG. 9, the axis Ax1 of the drum 62 is above the exposed portion 30a3 of the gear portion 30a.

In FIG. 9, since at least a part of the gear portion 30 a protrudes toward the drive side from the coupling convex portion 63 b in the axial direction, the gear portion 30 a overlaps with the gear portion 81 a of the drive transmission member 81 in the axial direction. Since a part of the gear part 30a is exposed to face the axis Ax1 of the drum 62, the gear part 30a and the gear part 81a of the drive transmission member 81 are in the process of inserting the cartridge B into the apparatus main body A. Can touch.
With the above arrangement relationship, the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 and the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 can be engaged with each other in the process of mounting the cartridge B on the apparatus main body A.

In the mounting direction C of the cartridge B, the center (axis line) of the gear portion 30a is arranged on the upstream side (arrow AO side in FIG. 16) with respect to the center (axis line) of the drum 62.
As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the drum bearing 73 has a fitted portion 73h as a positioned portion (axially positioned portion) in the longitudinal direction (axial direction).
The first side plate 15 of the apparatus main body A has a fitting portion 15j that can be fitted to the fitted portion 73h. The position of the cartridge B in the longitudinal direction (axial direction) is determined by fitting the fitted portion 73h of the cartridge B with the fitting portion 15j of the apparatus main body A in the above-described mounting process (FIG. 10B). )reference). In this embodiment, the fitted portion 73h is a slit (groove) (see FIG. 1B).

  Next, a state in which the open / close door 13 is closed will be described. As shown in FIGS. 8 (a), 8 (b), 11 (a), and 11 (b), the first side plate 15 includes an upper positioning portion 15a, a lower positioning portion 15b, and a rotation stopping portion 15c for positioning. The non-side plate 16 has a positioning portion 16a and a rotation stop portion 16c. The drum bearing 73 includes a positioning portion (first positioning portion, first protrusion, first projecting portion) 73d and positioning target portion (second positioning portion, second protrusion, second projection). Overhang portion) 73f.

  The cartridge pressing members 1 and 2 are rotatably attached to both ends of the opening / closing door 13 in the axial direction. The cartridge pressing springs 19 and 21 are attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the front plate provided in the image forming apparatus A, respectively. The drum bearing 73 has a pressed portion 73e as an urging force receiving portion, and the cleaning frame 71 has a pressed portion 71o on the non-driving side (see FIG. 3). By closing the open / close door 13, the pressed portions 73e and 71o of the cartridge B are pressed by the cartridge pressing members 1 and 2 biased by the cartridge pressing springs 19 and 21 of the apparatus main body A (see FIG. 11).

  As a result, on the drive side, the positioned portion upper portion 73d, the positioned portion lower portion 73f, and the rotation preventing portion 73c of the cartridge B come into contact with the positioning portion upper portion 15a, the positioning portion lower portion 15b, and the rotation preventing portion 15c of the apparatus main body A, respectively. . As a result, the cartridge B and the drum 62 are positioned on the drive side. On the non-driving side, the positioned portion 71d and the rotation-stopped portion 71g of the cartridge B abut on the positioning portion 16a and the rotation-stopping portion 16c of the apparatus main body A, respectively. As a result, the cartridge B and the drum 62 are positioned on the non-driving side.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the positioned portion upper portion 73 d and the positioned portion lower portion 73 f are arranged in the vicinity of the drum 62. Further, the positioned portion upper portion 73d and the positioned portion lower portion 73f are arranged along the rotation direction of the drum 62.
In the drum bearing 73, it is necessary to secure a space (arc-shaped depression) 73l for disposing the transfer roller 7 (see FIG. 11) between the positioned portion upper portion 73d and the positioned portion lower portion 73f. Therefore, the positioned portion upper portion 73d and the positioned portion lower portion 73f are arranged apart from each other.

  The positioned portion upper portion 73d and the positioned portion lower portion 73f are protrusions protruding from the drum bearing 73 toward the inner side in the axial direction. As described above, it is necessary to secure the space 87 around the coupling convex portion 63b. For this reason, the upper portion 73d and the lower portion 73f to be positioned are not protruded outward in the axial direction, but instead are protruded inward to secure the space 87.

  Further, the positioned portion upper portion 73d and the positioned portion lower portion 73f are arranged so as to partially cover the driving side drum flange 63 provided at the end portion of the photosensitive drum 62. When the positioned portion 73d and the drive side drum flange 63 are projected onto the axis of the drum 62, the projected areas of the positioned portion 73d and the drive side drum flange 63 overlap at least partially. In this regard, the lower positioned portion 73f is similar to the upper positioned portion 73d (see FIG. 11).

  The pressed portions 73e and 71o are protrusions of the frame of the cleaning unit disposed on one end side (drive side) and the other end side (non-drive side) of the cartridge B in the longitudinal direction. In particular, the pressed portion 73 e is provided on the drum bearing 73. The pressed parts 73 e and 71 o protrude in a direction that intersects the axial direction of the drum 62 and away from the drum 62.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the drive-side drum flange 63 has a coupling protrusion 63b on the drive side and a tip 63b1 at the tip of the coupling protrusion 63b. The drive transmission member 81 has a coupling recess 81b and a tip 81b1 of the coupling recess 81b on the non-driving side. By closing the open / close door 13, the cylindrical cam 86 is connected to the non-driving side in the longitudinal direction via the rotary cam link 85 while the inclined portions 86 a and 86 b rotate along the inclined portions 15 d and 15 e of the first side plate 15. Move to the side closer to the cartridge B). Accordingly, the drive transmission member 81 in the retracted position is moved to the non-drive side (side approaching the cartridge B) in the longitudinal direction by the drive transmission member spring 84. Since the gear teeth of the gear part 81a and the gear part 30a are inclined with respect to the moving direction of the drive transmission member 81, the movement of the drive transmission member 81 causes the gear teeth of the gear part 81a to abut against the gear teeth of the gear part 30a. At this point, the movement of the drive transmission member 81 to the non-drive side stops.
Even after the drive transmission member 81 stops, the cylindrical cam 86 further moves to the non-drive side, and the drive transmission member 81 and the cylindrical cam 86 are separated.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 1, 13A, and 17, the drum bearing 73 has a concave bottom surface 73i. The drive transmission member 81 has a bottom portion 81b2 for positioning at the bottom of the coupling recess 81b. The coupling recess 81b of the drive transmission member 81 is a hole having a substantially triangular cross section. The coupling recess 81b has a shape twisted in the counterclockwise direction N as viewed from the non-driving side (the cartridge side, the opening side of the recess 81b) as it goes to the driving side (the back side of the recess 81b). The gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 is a helical gear and has gear teeth that are twisted in the counterclockwise direction N as it goes to the drive side when viewed from the non-drive side (cartridge side).

The gear portion 81a and the coupling recess 81b are arranged so that the axis of the gear portion 81a and the axis of the coupling recess 81b overlap the axis of the drive transmission member 81. That is, the gear portion 81a and the coupling recess 81b are arranged coaxially (concentrically).
The coupling convex part 63b of the driving side drum flange 63 has a substantially triangular cross section and a convex shape (convex part, protrusion). The coupling convex portion 63b has a shape twisted in the counterclockwise direction O from the driving side (the tip side of the coupling convex portion 63b) toward the non-driving side (the bottom side of the coupling convex portion 63b) (FIG. 1). reference). That is, the coupling convex portion 63b is inclined (twisted) in the counterclockwise direction (the rotation direction of the drum) as it goes from the outside to the inside of the cartridge in the axial direction.

In addition, the coupling convex part 63b is a driving force receiving part that actually receives a driving force (rotational force) from the coupling concave part 81b at a part (ridge line) forming a corner of the triangular prism (a triangle apex). The driving force receiving portion is inclined toward the rotating direction of the drum as it goes from the outside to the inside of the cartridge in the axial direction. Moreover, the inner surface (inner peripheral surface) of the coupling recess 81b serves as a driving force application unit for applying a driving force to the coupling projection 63b.
The cross-sectional shapes of the coupling convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b are not strict triangles (polygons) such as broken corners, but are called substantial triangles (polygons). That is, the coupling convex portion 63b has a shape in which a protrusion that is substantially a triangular prism (rectangular prism) is twisted. However, the shape of the coupling protrusion 63b is not limited to this. If the coupling recess 81b can be coupled, that is, if it can be engaged and driven, the shape of the coupling protrusion 63b may be changed. For example, three bosses 163a are arranged at the apexes of a triangle, and each boss 163a is twisted with respect to the drum 62 axial direction (see FIG. 18).

  The gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 is a helical gear, and has a shape twisted (tilted) in the clockwise direction P from the driving side toward the non-driving side (see FIG. 1). That is, as the gear portion 30a moves in the axial direction from the outside to the inside of the cartridge, the gear teeth (the helical teeth) of the gear portion 30a are inclined (twisted) in the clockwise direction P (the rotation direction of the developing roller and the developing roller gear). ing. That is, the gear 30a is inclined (twisted) in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the drum 62 from the outer side to the inner side in the axial direction.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the drive transmission member 81 is rotated clockwise CW (FIG. 13: opposite to the arrow N) when viewed from the non-drive side (cartridge side) by a motor (not shown). Then, a thrust force (force generated in the axial direction) is generated by the meshing of the helical teeth between the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30. A force FA in the axial direction (longitudinal direction) is applied to the drive transmission member 81, and the drive transmission member 81 tends to move to the non-drive side (side approaching the cartridge) in the longitudinal direction. That is, the drive transmission member 81 approaches and contacts the coupling convex portion 63b.

Then, when the triangular phase of the coupling concave portion 81b and the coupling convex portion 63b is matched by the rotation of the drive transmission member 81, the coupling convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b are engaged (coupled). .
When the convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b are engaged with each other, the coupling concave portion 81b and the coupling convex portion 63b are both twisted (tilted) with respect to the axis, and a new thrust force FC is generated.

That is, a force FC directed toward the non-driving side in the longitudinal direction (side approaching the cartridge) acts on the drive transmission member 81. The force FC and the above-described force FA are combined, and the drive transmission member 81 further moves to the non-drive side (side approaching the cartridge) in the longitudinal direction. That is, the coupling convex portion 63 has an effect of bringing the drive transmission member 81 closer to the coupling convex portion 63b side of the cartridge B.
The drive transmission member 81 attracted by the coupling convex portion 63b is positioned in the longitudinal direction (axial direction) with the distal end portion 81b1 of the drive transmission member 81 abutting against the concave bottom surface 73i of the drum bearing 73.

  Further, a reaction force FB of the force FC acts on the drum 62, and the drum 62 moves to the driving side (side closer to the drive transmission member 81, outside the cartridge B) in the longitudinal direction by the reaction force (resistance force) FB. That is, the drum 62 and the coupling convex part 63b are drawn toward the drive transmission member 81 side. As a result, in the drum 62, the tip end portion 63b1 of the coupling convex portion 63b contacts the bottom portion 81b2 of the coupling concave portion 81b. As a result, the drum 62 is also positioned in the axial direction (longitudinal direction).

That is, when the coupling convex part 63b and the coupling concave part 81b are attracted to each other, the positions of the drum 62 and the drive transmission member 81 in the axial direction are determined.
In this state, the drive transmission member 81 takes the drive position (advance position). In other words, the drive transmission member 81 is a position for transmitting a driving force to the coupling convex portion 63b and the gear portion 30b, and is in a position advanced toward the cartridge.

Further, the center of the tip of the drive transmission member 81 is determined with respect to the drive side drum flange 63 by the triangular alignment action of the coupling recess 81 b. That is, the drive transmission member 81 is aligned with the drum flange 63, and the drive transmission member 81 and the photosensitive member are coaxial. As a result, the drive is transmitted from the drive transmission member 81 to the developing roller gear 30 and the drive-side drum flange 63 with high accuracy.
The coupling concave portion 81b and the coupling convex portion 63b engaged with the coupling concave portion 81b can also be regarded as the alignment portion. That is, the coupling concave portion 81b and the coupling convex portion 63b engage with each other so that the drive transmission member 81 and the drum are coaxial with each other. In particular, the coupling concave portion 81b is referred to as a main body side alignment portion (image forming apparatus main body side alignment portion), and the coupling convex portion 63b is referred to as a cartridge side alignment portion.

As described above, the coupling engagement is assisted by the force FA and the force FC that are applied to the drive transmission member 81 toward the non-drive side.
Further, by positioning the drive transmission member 81 with the drum bearing (bearing member) 73 provided in the cartridge B, the positional accuracy of the drive transmission member 81 with respect to the cartridge B can be increased.

Since the positional accuracy in the longitudinal direction between the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 and the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 is improved, the width of the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 can be kept small. The cartridge B and the apparatus main body A for mounting the cartridge B can be reduced in size.
In summary, the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 are helical teeth. A lotus tooth has a higher contact ratio between gears than a flat tooth. As a result, the rotation accuracy of the developing roller 30 is improved, and the developing roller 30 rotates smoothly.

Further, the direction in which the helical teeth of the gear part 30a and the gear part 81a are tilted is defined so that a force (force FA and force FB) that the gear part 30a and the gear part 81a meet each other is generated. That is, by rotating in a state where the gear portion 30a and the gear portion 81a are engaged with each other, the coupling concave portion 81b provided in the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling convex portion 63b provided at the end portion of the photosensitive drum 62 The force that brings As a result, the drive transmission member 81 moves toward the cartridge B, and the coupling concave portion 81b approaches the coupling convex portion 63b. As a result, the coupling (coupling) between the coupling recess 81b and the coupling protrusion 63b is assisted.

  The drive transmission member 81 is urged toward the coupling convex portion 63b by an elastic member (drive transmission member spring 84) (see FIG. 7B). In the present embodiment, the force of the drive transmission member spring 84 can be weakened by the amount of force FA and force FC (see FIG. 13B). Then, since the frictional force between the drive transmission member spring 84 and the drive transmission member 81 generated when the drive transmission member 81 rotates is also reduced, the torque necessary for rotating the drive transmission member 81 is reduced. The load applied to the motor for rotating the drive transmission member 81 can also be reduced. Further, the sliding sound between the drive transmission member 81 and the drive transmission member spring 84 can be reduced.

  In this embodiment, the drive transmission member 81 is urged by the elastic member (spring 84), but the elastic member is not necessarily required. That is, the elastic member is eliminated if the gear part 81a and the gear part 30a are arranged so as to at least partially overlap each other in the axial direction, and the gear part 81a and the gear part 30a are engaged when the cartridge B is mounted to the apparatus main body A. be able to. That is, in this case, when the gear portion 81a rotates, a force for attracting the coupling convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b is generated by the meshing of the gear portion 81a and the gear portion 30a. That is, even if there is no elastic member (spring 84), the drive transmission member 81 approaches the cartridge B by the force generated by the meshing of the gears. As a result, the coupling recess 81b can be engaged with the coupling protrusion 63b.

Thus, when there is no elastic member, since the frictional force between the elastic member and the drive transmission member 81 is lost, the rotational torque of the drive transmission member 81 is further reduced. Further, it is possible to eliminate a sound generated by sliding between the drive transmission member 81 and the elastic member. Further, since the number of parts of the image forming apparatus can be reduced, the configuration of the image forming apparatus can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.
In this embodiment, the helical gear is used as the developing roller gear 30 that engages with the drive transmission member 81, but another gear may be used as long as the drive transmission is possible. For example, it is a thin spur gear 230 that can enter the tooth-to-tooth gap 81e of the drive transmission member 81. The thickness of the flat teeth was set to 1 mm or less. Also in this case, since the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 has a helical tooth, a force that causes the drive transmission member 81 to move toward the non-drive side is generated by the meshing of the gear portion 81a and the spur gear 230 (see FIG. 19).

Further, the member that applies the load of the developing roller to the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 may not be the developing roller gear.
For example, FIG. 20 discloses a drive input gear 88 that meshes with the drive transmission member 81, a developing roller gear 80 provided on the developing roller, idler gears 101 and 102, and a conveying gear (agitating gear, developer conveying gear) 103. .
In FIG. 20, the driving force is transmitted from the driving input gear 88 to the developing roller gear 80 via one idler gear 101. The idler gear 101 and the developing roller gear 80 are drive transmission mechanisms (cartridge side drive transmission mechanism, development side drive transmission mechanism) for transmitting a driving force from the drive input gear 88 to the development roller 32.

On the other hand, the idler gear 102 is a gear that transmits a driving force from the driving input gear 88 to the stirring gear 103. The transport gear 103 is attached to the transport member 43 (see FIG. 3), and the transport member 43 is rotated by the driving force received by the transport gear 103.
Further, the load applied to the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 may not be the load of the developing roller. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, the driving force received by the drive input gear 88 may be transmitted only to the conveying member 43 (see FIG. 3) via the idler gear 102 without being transmitted to the developing roller 32. it can. However, when the cartridge having the developing roller 32 has such a configuration, it is necessary to separately transmit a driving force to the developing roller 32. In this case, the cartridge B needs a gear 162 a that transmits a driving force from the drum 62 to the developing roller gear 30.

Further, in the present embodiment, as a means for aligning the core of the drive transmission member 81 with the core of the drum 62, the triangular alignment operation of the coupling convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b is used.
However, as shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, a cylindrical boss (projection) 363b is provided on one of the drive transmission member 381 and the drive-side drum drum flange 363, and the other is fitted with the boss. A hole 381b to be formed may be provided. Even with such a configuration, the axis of the drive transmission member 381 and the drum 62 can be overlapped.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the alignment of the drive transmission member 81 is performed in the triangular shape of the coupling convex and concave portions 81b and 63b, but may be performed in other shapes. A modification is shown using FIG. The drive transmission member 181 shown in FIG. 23 has a convex portion (boss) 181c at the center of the coupling concave portion 181b. The convex portion 181c is a protrusion that is disposed so as to overlap the axis of the drive transmission member 181 and protrudes along the axis. On the other hand, the coupling convex part shown by FIG. 23 has the hollow (recessed part) for engaging with the convex part 181c in the center. The concave portion is a depression that is disposed so as to overlap the rotation axis of the drum 62 and is recessed along this axis. By making the drive transmission member 181 and the drum 62 coaxial, it is easy to maintain the accuracy of the center distance (distance between the axes) between the gear portion 181a and the gear portion 30a, and the drive is stably transmitted to the developing roller gear 30. .

  In this embodiment, the drum 62 is driven by the engagement between the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling convex portion 63b. However, as shown in FIG. 24B, the drum 62 is driven inside the cartridge. It can also be performed from the gears 330b and 95b. In the configuration shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, the developing roller gear 330 is provided not only on the gear portion (input gear portion) 330a for receiving driving from the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 but also on the drum 62. It has the gear part 330b (output gear part) for outputting a driving force toward. The drum flange 95 fixed to the end portion of the drum 62 has a gear portion 95b (input gear portion) for receiving a driving force from the gear portion 330b, instead of having a coupling convex portion. Further, the drum flange 95 has a cylindrical portion 95a. In this case, the cylindrical portion 95 a provided at the end portion of the drum 62 functions as positioning of the drive transmission member 81 by fitting with a coupling recess 81 b provided at the tip of the drive transmission member 81. Both the concave portion 81 b and the cylindrical portion 95 a act as a centering portion for aligning the axis of the drive transmission member 81 and the axis of the drum 62. When the coupling recess 81b and the cylindrical portion 95a are engaged, the drum 62 and the drive transmission member 81 are substantially overlapped with each other and are coaxially arranged. That is, alignment is performed.

FIG. 25 shows a modified example of the alignment part shape. FIG. 25 shows the drum flange 63 provided with a cylindrical portion 95a.
As a first modification, in FIG. 25, the shape of the alignment portion 195b constitutes only a part of a circle. If the arc portion 195c of the aligning portion 195b is sufficiently larger than the arc shape of the thinned portion 81b3 (FIG. 13), the aligning portion 195b has an aligning action.
Any configuration can be regarded as a centering portion that is substantially coaxial with the drum. That is, each of the alignment portions 95a, 195b, and 295c is arranged so that the axis of the drum is the center.

In this embodiment, the coupling convex portion 63b is fixed to the drum 62. However, a movable coupling convex portion can be provided. For example, the coupling 263b shown in FIG. 26 can move in the axial direction with respect to the drum 62, and is biased by the spring 94 toward the driving side in a state where no force is applied from the outside. When the cartridge B is attached to the apparatus main body A, the end portion 263a of the coupling 263b contacts the drive transmission member 81. The coupling convex portion 263b can be retracted to the non-drive side (the side away from the drive transmission member 81) while contracting the spring 94 by the force received from the drive transmission member 81. With such a configuration, it is not always necessary to retract the drive transmission member 81 to such an extent that it does not come into contact with the coupling convex portion 263b.

  That is, the retracted amount of the drive transmission member 81 that is interlocked with the opening of the open / close door 13 (see FIG. 2) can be reduced by the amount that the coupling convex portion 263b can retract. That is, the apparatus main body A can be reduced in size. In addition, the edge part 263a of the coupling convex part 263b was made into the inclination part (inclined surface, chamfering surface). With such a configuration, when the end portion 263a contacts the drive transmission member 81 when the cartridge is attached or detached, the end portion 263a is likely to receive a force for retracting the coupling convex portion 263b. However, it is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the contact portion on the drive transmission member 81 side that contacts the coupling convex portion 263b may be an inclined portion.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 24, the cylindrical portion 95 a is provided on the drum 62. However, as shown in FIG. 27, a centering portion such as a cylindrical portion 95a may be provided on the frame (that is, the drum bearing 73) of the cleaning unit 60. Specifically, the drum bearing 173 is provided with an arc-shaped protrusion 173a for contacting the periphery of the cylindrical portion 81i. In this modified example, the protrusion 173a is engaged with the cylindrical portion 81i to correspond to an alignment portion that aligns the drive transmission member 81. More strictly speaking, the inner peripheral surface of the protrusion 173a facing the drum axial line side (in other words, facing the inner side in the radial direction of the drum) is the aligning portion. The center of the alignment part is disposed so as to overlap the axis of the drum. That is, the protrusion 173a is disposed so as to be substantially coaxial with the drum. In addition, a taper (inclined portion) is provided at the edge of the tip of the protrusion 173a, and when the tip of the protrusion 173a hits the cylindrical portion 81i, the cylindrical portion 81i can be easily guided into the internal space of the protrusion 173a. Yes.

<Coupling engagement conditions>
Next, the conditions for engaging the coupling will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 1, 9, 13 (a), 17, 28 (a), 28 (b), and 28 (c). To do. FIG. 28A is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus driving unit as viewed from the driving side in order to explain the gap between the coupling units. FIG. 28B is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus driving unit as viewed from the driving side in order to explain the gap between the coupling units. FIG. 28C is a cross-sectional view for explaining the meshing force.
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 28A and FIG. 28B, the drum bearing 73 restricts the movement of the drive transmission member 81 and restricts (suppresses) the drive transmission member 81 from tilting. It has a restricting portion 73j as an inclination restricting portion (movement restricting portion, position restricting portion, stopper).
The drive transmission member 81 has a cylindrical portion 81i (see FIG. 28B) on the non-drive side (side closer to the cartridge B). The cylindrical part 81i is a cylindrical part (projection part) in which a coupling concave part 81b is formed (see FIG. 13A).

  As described above, when the drive transmission member 81 starts rotating, the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 are engaged with each other as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the coupling concave portion 81b and the coupling convex portion 63b are not coupled, or the coupling is insufficient. In this state, when the gear portion 81a transmits a driving force to the gear portion 30a, a meshing force FD (FIG. 28A) is generated in the gear portion 81a due to the meshing of the gears. When this meshing force FD is applied to the drive transmission member 81, the drive transmission member 81 is inclined (FIG. 28C). That is, as described above, the drive transmission member 81 is supported only on the fixed end 81c (see FIG. 7B: the end far from the cartridge B), which is the end on the drive side. The drive transmission member 81 is inclined with 81c (fixed end) as a fulcrum. Then, the end (free end, tip) on the side where the coupling recess 81b of the drive transmission member 81 is provided moves.

  If the drive transmission member 81 is greatly inclined, the coupling recess 81b cannot be coupled to the coupling protrusion 63b. In order to avoid this, the inclination of the drive transmission member 81 is suppressed (restricted) within a certain range by providing the cartridge B with a restricting portion 73j. That is, when the drive transmission member 81 is inclined, the restricting portion 73j supports the drive transmission member 81, thereby preventing the inclination from increasing.

The restricting portion 73j of the drum bearing 73 is an arcuate curved surface portion arranged so as to face the axis of the drum 62 (the axis of the coupling convex portion 63b). The restricting portion 73j can also be regarded as a protruding portion protruding so as to cover the drum axis. A space between the restricting portion 73j and the drum axis is a space in which the components of the process cartridge B are not disposed, and the drive transmission member 81 is disposed in this space. The restricting portion 73j faces the space 87 shown in FIG. 1, and the restricting portion 73j forms an edge (outer edge) of the space 87.
The restricting portion 73j is disposed at a position where the drive transmission member 81 can be prevented from moving (tilting) by the meshing force FD.

  As shown in FIG. 28A, the direction in which the meshing force FD is generated is determined by the front pressure angle α of the gear portion 81a (that is, the front pressure angle α of the developing roller gear 30). The direction in which the meshing force FD is generated is the upstream AK in the rotational direction of the drum 62 with respect to an arrow (half straight line) LN extending from the center 62a of the drum 62 (that is, the center of the drive transmission member 81) toward the center 30b of the developing roller gear 30. It is inclined (90 + α) toward

  Note that the restricting portion 73j is not necessarily arranged on the line FDa, and the restricting portion 73j may be arranged near the half straight line FDa. Specifically, it is desirable that at least a part of the restricting portion 73j is arranged somewhere in the range of plus or minus 15 degrees with respect to the half line FDa. The half line FDa is a line obtained by rotating the half line LN to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the drum 62 by (90 + α) degrees. Therefore, the restricting portion 73j is preferably in the range of (75 + α) degrees to (105 + α) degrees upstream of the half line LN in the drum rotation direction with the center of the drum 62 as the origin.

Moreover, as another example of suitable arrangement | positioning of the control part 73j, the some control part 73j may be arrange | positioned separately on the both sides of the half line FDa so that the half line FDa may be pinched | interposed (refer FIG. 29). . Also in this case, it can be considered that the restricting portion 73j is arranged across the line FDa.
The restricting portion 73j is preferably arranged on the upstream side AO (see FIG. 16) in the cartridge mounting direction C (see FIG. 11A) with respect to the center (axis line) of the coupling convex portion 63b. This is because the mounting of the cartridge B is not hindered by the restricting portion 73j.

Even if the drive transmission member 81 is inclined by the gap AA and the misalignment of the misalignment AB occurs between the couplings, in order for the coupling to be engaged, the shortest gap V between the couplings should satisfy the following. .
V> AB
That is, if the misalignment amount AB is smaller than the shortest gap V between the coupling convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b, the coupling convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b can allow the misalignment amount AB, and the engagement To do.

In addition, if the phase of the coupling recessed part 81b with respect to the coupling convex part 63b changes, the shortest gap V between both coupling parts will also change. That is, when the phases of the coupling portions are shifted, the shortest gap V between the coupling convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b becomes smaller than the misalignment amount AB.
However, if there is at least one phase relationship satisfying “V> AB” between the coupling portions, the coupling convex portion 63b and the coupling concave portion 81b are engaged. This is because the coupling concave portion 81b contacts the coupling convex portion 63b while rotating. The coupling concave portion 81b can be engaged (coupled) with the coupling convex portion 63b at a timing when the coupling concave portion 81b rotates to an angle satisfying “V> AB”.

  Therefore, even if the drive transmission member 81 is tilted by the meshing force, the gap V between the couplings is larger than the misalignment amount AB between the coupling parts, so that the engagement is possible.

Further, at the time of image formation, it is necessary that the regulating portion 73j and the tooth tip of the drive transmission member 81a do not contact each other. That is, the distance BB from the center of the drum 62 to the restricting portion 73j (a distance measured in the direction orthogonal to the axis of the drum) needs to be longer than the radius BF of the gear portion 81a tooth tip of the drive transmission member 81a. From the above conditions, BB> BF
Need to be met.
In the present embodiment, the restricting portion 73j is formed with a continuous surface. Specifically, the restricting portion 73j is a curved surface (arc surface) that opens to the axial line side of the drum 62 and is curved like a bow. In other words, it has a bay shape (bay portion) opened on the axis side of the drum 62.

However, as shown in the explanatory views of the cartridge in FIGS. 29A and 29B, even if the restricting portion 89j is formed by a plurality of portions (a plurality of surfaces 89j) that are intermittent in the rotation direction of the drum 62. Good. In this case as well, by connecting a plurality of intermittent portions, the restricting portion can be regarded as forming a bay shape (bay portion) that is open on the axis side of the drum 62.
That is, there is a difference between the restriction part being one continuous part or a plurality of intermittent parts, but the restriction part shown in FIG. 1 and the restriction part shown in FIG. It has a bow-like shape (bay shape, curved surface portion, curved portion) opened on the axis side.

<Modified example of support structure of drive transmission member>
As described above, the drive transmission member 81 has the gear portion 81a and the coupling recess 81b on the tip side. The drive transmission member 81 can move forward and backward, and can be tilted (can be tilted). When the drive transmission member 81 advances toward the cartridge side while rotating, and the coupling recess 81b is engaged with the coupling projection 63b, it is desirable to reduce the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81 with respect to the drum 62. . Therefore, as described above, the restriction portion 73j is provided in the cartridge to suppress the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81 when the drive transmission member 81 is driven.

On the other hand, in order to remove the cartridge from the apparatus main body, the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 must be disengaged from the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30. In order to smoothly cancel the meshing, it is desirable that the drive transmission member 81 can be tilted so that the gear portion 81a can be detached from the gear portion 30a. Therefore, if the drive transmission member 81 is supported so as to be smoothly tiltable, the cartridge can be removed more smoothly.
On the other hand, in order to incline the drive transmission member 81 and disengage the gear portion 81a from the gear portion 30a, it is desirable to incline the drive transmission member 81 so as not to contact the restricting portion 73j when the cartridge is removed.
Further, when the drive transmission member 81 is easily inclined, the drive transmission member 81 is set at a predetermined inclination angle when the cartridge is mounted so that the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 is surely engaged with the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30. It is required to be retained.

Therefore, a modification of the present embodiment will be shown below. In this modification, while supporting the drive transmission member 81 so that the drive transmission member 81 is more inclined, when mounting or removing the cartridge,
A configuration for inclining the drive transmission member 81 to a suitable posture and angle will be described.

  First, FIG. 30A, FIG. 30B, FIG. 30C, FIG. 31A, FIG. 31, FIG. 32A, and FIG. I will explain. FIG. 30A is a perspective explanatory view for explaining the support structure of the drive transmission member. FIG. 30B is a cross-sectional view in the axial direction around the drive transmission member for explaining the support structure of the drive transmission member when the drive is applied. FIG. 30C is a cross-sectional view in the axial direction for explaining a support configuration around the drive transmission member when no drive is applied. FIG. 31 is a perspective view for explaining the shape of the first bearing. FIG. 32A is a perspective view seen from the drive side for explaining the drive side support structure around the drive transmission member. FIG. 32B is a cross-sectional view in the direction perpendicular to the axis for explaining the drive-side support structure around the drive transmission member. FIG. 32C is a cross-sectional view in the direction perpendicular to the axis for explaining the support structure on the non-drive side around the drive transmission member.

First, the rear end side (fixed end side, drive side) of the drive transmission member 81 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 30A and 30B, the second side plate 93 fits and supports the first bearing 94. Further, the first bearing 94 supports the outer diameter portion of the second bearing 95 by the inner diameter portion thereof. A gap is provided between the first bearing 94 and the second bearing 95, and the first bearing 94 supports the second bearing 95 so as to be tiltable. Therefore, the second bearing 95 is supported by the second side plate 93 so as to be tiltable. This will be described in detail below.

The apparatus main body A is provided with a second side plate (second drive side plate) 93. The second side plate 93 is a sheet metal (plate-like metal), and a hole 93a is provided by drawing the sheet metal. A second bearing 95 and a first bearing 94 for supporting the second bearing 95 are fitted in the hole 93 a of the second side plate 93. The drive transmission member 81 is rotatably supported by the second bearing 95. That is, the rear end side of the drive transmission member 81 is supported by the first bearing 94 via the second bearing 95. The first bearing 94 is a bearing support portion (support portion) for supporting the second bearing 95.
There is a backlash (gap) between the first bearing 94 and the second bearing 95. In this embodiment, it is about 0.2 mm. Due to this looseness, the drive transmission member 81 can be tilted as shown in FIG.

  That is, in this modification, instead of providing the above-mentioned bearing 83 (see FIG. 17) in the hole 93a, the drive transmission member 81 is supported by providing the two first bearings 94 and the second bearing 95 in the hole 93a. ing. In this modification, the drive transmission member 81 is made smoother by using two bearings 94 and 95 which are fitted to each other with a gap therebetween, and one of the bearings 94 and 95 can be largely tilted (tiltable) with respect to the other. Tilt to.

  As shown in FIG. 31, a V-shaped portion 94 a is provided on the inner periphery of the first bearing 94. The V-shaped portion 94 a is configured by two protruding portions (projections) protruding from the inner peripheral portion of the first bearing 94. Since the two protruding portions form a V shape, these are collectively referred to as the V shape portion 94a.

As described above, there is a gap between the first bearing 94 and the second bearing 95 so that the second bearing 95 can be inclined with respect to the first bearing 94. However, when the drive transmission member 81 transmits drive to the cartridge (see FIG. 17), it is necessary to align the axis of the drive transmission member 81 with the axis of the photosensitive drum 62. That is, when the drive transmission member 81 is driven, the second bearing 95 needs to be accurately supported by the first bearing 94 without being inclined with respect to the first bearing 94. Therefore, when the drive transmission member 81 is driven, the second bearing 95 is kept in a substantially horizontal state by bringing the second bearing 95 into contact with the V-shaped portion 94a composed of two protruding portions (projections). The drive transmission member 81 is accurately supported by the two bearings 95 in a substantially horizontal state. The V-shaped portion 94 a is a posture determining unit (posture holding unit) that maintains the posture of the drive transmission member 81.

  In order to determine the phase of the first bearing 94, that is, to prevent the first bearing 94 from rotating in the apparatus main body, the first bearing 94 is provided with a hole 94b as a rotation stopper. On the other hand, the second side plate 93 is provided with a protrusion 93b. The phase of the first bearing 94 is fixed by fitting the hole 94b and the convex portion 93b. That is, the first bearing 94 is fixed so as not to rotate with respect to the second side plate 93. Further, the phase of the V-shaped portion 94a provided in the first bearing 94 is also fixed.

  The second side plate 93 is provided with three hole portions 93e around the hole portion 93g. In the rotational direction of the drive transmission member 81, the downstream side of each hole 93e has a radial width smaller than the upstream width. On the other hand, a foot portion 95 a is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the second bearing 95. The foot 95a extends radially outward from the bearing 95, and its distal end bends and extends along the axial direction toward the non-driving side, and the most distal end further bends and extends radially outward. Yes. That is, the foot portion 95a is bent in a crank shape. The foot portions 95a are provided in three at positions corresponding to the three hole portions 93e, respectively. The three foot portions 95a of the second bearing 95 are inserted into the wide regions of the three hole portions 93e of the second side plate 93.

  Thereafter, when the second bearing 95 is rotated with respect to the second side plate 93 along the rotational direction of the drive transmission member 81, the three foot portions 95a enter the region where the width of the hole portion 93e is narrowed, and the foot portions The tip of 95a is locked to the second side plate 93. Here, as described above, the tip of the foot portion 95a is bent in a crank shape and extends outward in the radial direction. Therefore, the movement of the second bearing 95 in the axial direction is restricted when the tip of the foot portion 95a contacts the second side plate 93. That is, the second bearing 95 is fixed in the axial direction. On the other hand, there is a backlash between the foot 95a of the second bearing 95 and the hole 93e of the second side plate 93, and the second bearing 95 can be tilted with respect to the second side plate 93 within the gap. Become.

  Further, the second bearing 95 has a boss portion 95b whose fixed end side extends in the radial direction from the outer peripheral surface and whose distal end side is bent with respect to the fixed end side and extends toward the non-driving side along the axial direction. . This is a rotation stopper for the second bearing 95. The second side plate 93 has a hole 93f as a rotation stop at a position corresponding to the boss 95b. The rotation of the second bearing 95 with respect to the second side plate 93 is restricted by the boss 95b entering the hole 93f. That is, the second bearing 95 is fixed in the rotational direction.

As shown in FIG. 32A, the second side plate 93 is provided with a drive idler gear (gear member) 96 for transmitting drive from a motor (not shown) to the drive transmission member 81. Further, as shown in FIG. 31, the V-shaped portion 94a is provided near the center of the first bearing 94 in the axial direction, and is provided in the vicinity of the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81 in the axial direction. The second bearing 95 (drive transmission member 91) is inclined with the V-shaped portion 94a as a fulcrum. Therefore, the tilt fulcrum of the drive transmission member 81 is close to the position of the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81 in the axial direction.
When the drive transmission member 81 is tilted, the change in the inter-axis distance between the drive idler gear 96 and the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81 and the alignment deviation of the tooth trace can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to stabilize the meshing of the gear that has started to be driven.

  Here, when the length HB in the axial direction of the V-shaped portion 94a is long, in order for the drive transmission member 81 to tilt, it is necessary to increase the backlash between the first bearing 94 and the second bearing 95. The effect on the meshing is increased. Therefore, considering the balance with the meshing of the gear, it is preferable that the V-shaped portion 94a has a small axial length HB, which is about 0.5 mm in this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 32A, the phase of the V-shaped portion 94a is such that the engagement force CG (FIG. 22A) is generated by the engagement between the drive idler gear 96 and the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81. The drive transmission member 81 is disposed at a position where the drive transmission member 81 can be stably held. That is, when the drive transmission member 81 receives the meshing force CG, the second bearing 95 that supports the drive transmission member 81 tends to move in the meshing force CG direction. However, the second bearing 95 is abutted against the V-shaped portion 94a of the first bearing 94 by disposing the V-shaped portion 94a on the downstream side in the CG direction. As a result, the second bearing 95 is stably held by the first bearing 94, and the drive transmission member 81 is also stably held via the second bearing 95. Further, the radial position of the V-shaped portion 94a is such that the inter-axis distance between the drive idler gear 96 and the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81 is appropriate when the second bearing 95 comes into contact with the V-shaped portion 94a. It is a position. That is, the drive transmission member 81 is held at a position where the idler gear 96 and the drive transmission member 81 can mesh with each other.

  Thereby, when the drive is not applied, the drive transmission member 81 can be tilted in the backlash by gravity with the V-shaped portion 94a as a fulcrum. Further, when the drive is applied, the second bearing 95 is urged to the V-shaped portion 94a by the meshing force, and the distance between the shafts of the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81 and the drive idler gear 96 is accurate. Take a well determined first posture. As a result, the rotational power can be accurately transmitted.

Next, the front end side (free end side, non-drive side) of the drive transmission member 81 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 30B, the drive transmission member 81 has a backlash between the drive transmission member 81 and the hole 15k due to the hole 15k provided in the first side plate (first drive side plate) 15. And is supported. Thereby, as shown in FIG.30 (c), the drive transmission member 81 can take the 2nd attitude | position which inclined the axis line.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 32 (b), a V-shaped portion 15m as a bearing (holding portion) of the drive transmission member 81 when the cartridge B is not mounted is provided in the hole portion 15k of the first side plate 15. Is provided. The V-shaped portion 15 m is disposed below the hole portion 15 k of the first side plate 15. This is to support the drive transmission member 81 inclined by gravity. However, the V-shaped portion 15m is not disposed at the lowermost portion of the hole portion 15k in the gravity direction (vertical direction) CN, and the drive transmission member 81 is held in the V-shaped portion 15m so as to be in the gravity direction. Will tilt in different directions. In FIG. 32 (b), the drive transmission member 81 is held by the V-shaped portion 15m, so that the tip end side is tilted in the lower right direction.

  That is, the drive transmission member 81 can be engaged with the gear portion 30a of the developing roller 30 by tilting the front end side of the drive transmission member 81 in a direction different from the gravity direction instead of simply tilting in the direction of gravity. 81 is held.

  More specifically, the phase of the V-shaped portion 15m is such that the center of the first gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 is within a predetermined range when the drive transmission member 81 abuts on the V-shaped portion 15m. It is decided to arrange in. That is, the V-shaped portion 15m is arranged such that the center of the first gear portion 81a is arranged on the arc CI with the radius CH as the distance between the center of the developing roller 32 and the center of the drum 62 with the developing roller 32 as the center. Is provided. In this embodiment, the backlash other than the V-shaped receiving portion 15m between the drive transmission member 81 and the hole portion 15k of the side plate 15 is about 1 mm at the time of image formation. As a result, the drive transmission member 81 is brought into contact with the V-shaped portion 15m by its own weight when the drive is not applied, and the distance between the developing roller gear 30 and the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 is appropriately set. The When driving is started to be input to the drive transmission member 81 in a state where the cartridge is mounted on the apparatus main body, the drive transmission member 81 can stably mesh with the developing roller gear 30.

  In this modification, the drive transmission member 81 is inclined and arranged at a predetermined position using its own weight, but as shown in FIG. 33, the spring 97 is biased toward the V-shaped portion 15m. May be. Thereby, the gear part 81a of the drive transmission member 81 can be arrange | positioned in a predetermined position more reliably. The spring 97 is an inclination imparting portion (biasing member, elastic member) that tilts the drive transmission member 81 by applying a force to the drive transmission member 81 to bias the drive transmission member 81.

<Removal of cartridge in modification>
6A, 6B, 6C, 7, 30B, and 30C show the operation from the closed state to the open state of the open / close door 13 of the apparatus main body A. 34 (a), 34 (b), and 34 (c).

  FIG. 34A is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis relating to the peripheral configuration of the drive transmission member, and shows a cross section viewed from the drive side in a state where the drive transmission member is in the retracted position. FIG. 34B is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the drive member is in the drive position (advance position). FIG. 34C is a cross-sectional view seen from the drive side for explaining the movement of the drive transmission member when pulling out the cartridge.

  First, the process until the coupling is disengaged will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 7A. When the open / close door 13 is rotated and opened, the cylindrical cam 86 is rotated via the rotating cam link 85, and the slope portions 86a and 86b of the cylindrical cam 86 are in contact with the slope portions 15d and 15e. Further, when the open / close door 13 is opened, the slope portions 86a and 86b slide along the slope portions 15d and 15e, so that the cylindrical cam 86 moves to the drive side CO (FIG. 7B). By this movement, the coupling irregularities 63b and 81b are disengaged. Further, when the open / close door 13 is opened, the coupling convex portion 63b and the concave portion 81b are detached.

Next, the process from when the coupling is disengaged until the cartridge B is pulled out will be described.
As shown in FIG. 30b, the second side plate 93 is provided with a protruding portion 93c extending to the non-driving side at a position facing a portion having a smaller diameter than the tooth bottom portion of the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81. ing. The protrusion 93c has a height HH when it comes into contact with the drive transmission member 81 when the opening / closing door 13 is opened and the drive transmission member 81 moves away from the cartridge (FIG. 30C). ). In this embodiment, the height HH is about 2.1 mm. Further, the protruding portion 93 c is provided on the second side plate 93 on the regulating portion 73 j (FIG. 8) side from the center of the drive transmission member 81. Further, the second side plate 93 does not hinder the drive transmission member 81 from being tilted when the drive transmission member 81 abuts the projection 93c in a phase opposite to that of the projection (projection or protrusion) 93c. A recess 93d is provided as an escape portion (retracting portion). Thus, after the opening / closing door 13 is opened and the coupling is disengaged, the opening / closing door 13 is further opened, so that the drive transmission member 81 moves to the driving side by the rotation of the cylindrical cam 86 and protrudes. It contacts the portion 93c (see FIG. 7 and FIG. 30 (c)).

  As a result, the gear part 81a of the drive transmission member 81 can be inclined in the direction away from the protruding part 93c, that is, away from the restricting part 73j. In the present embodiment, the second posture is taken with an inclination of about 3.9 °. The protruding portion 93c is an inclination imparting portion (contact portion) that contacts the drive transmission member 81 and tilts the drive transmission member 81 when the drive transmission member 81 is retracted away from the cartridge. The protruding portion 93 c is also a protruding portion that protrudes toward the drive transmission member 81.

Hereinafter, the condition of the protrusion 93c will be described in more detail.
As shown in FIG. 34C, when the cartridge B is taken out from the apparatus main body A, the engagement between the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 needs to be released. However, as shown in FIG. 34B, when the drive transmission member 81 is in the drive position (advanced position) (when the coupling concave portion 81b of the drive transmission member 81 is engaged with the coupling convex portion 63a). The restricting portion 73j is close to the drive transmission member with respect to the drive transmission member 81. When the drive transmission member 81 moves in the direction of the arrow CK to move the gear 81a away from the gear portion 30a with the drive transmission member 81 being close to the restriction portion 73j, the drive transmission member 81 contacts the restriction portion 73j. End up. There may be a case where the meshing between the gear portion 81a and the gear portion 30a is difficult to be smoothly eliminated.

Therefore, in the present modification, when the drive transmission member 81 is moved to the retracted position (when the coupling recess 81b is detached from the coupling projection 63a), the drive transmission member 81 is moved away from the restricting portion 73j by the protrusion 93c. So tilted. This is the state shown in FIG. A solid line indicates a state where the drive transmission member 81 is in the retracted position, and a broken line indicates a state where the drive transmission member 81 is in the drive position (advance position). As the drive transmission member 81 moves from the drive position to the retracted position, it can be seen that the distance between the drive transmission member 81 and the restricting portion 73j increases.
If an attempt is made to remove the cartridge in this state, the drive transmission member 81 meshed with the gear portion 30a does not come into contact with the restricting portion 73j, and the arrow is moved away from the gear portion 30a by the force received from the gear portion 30a. It can move in the CK direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 34 (c), the meshing between the gear portion 81a and the gear portion 30a is eliminated, and the cartridge can be removed.

  Thus, in order to cancel the engagement (meshing) between the gear portion 81a and the gear portion 30a without the drive transmission member 81 and the restricting portion 73j coming into contact with each other, the following conditions are necessary.

The applied amount AH of the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the gear 30a of the developing roller gear 30 (see FIG. 34B) is the distance (gap between the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the restricting portion 73j when the cartridge is removed. ) Must be smaller than CL (FIG. 34 (a)). The distance CL is measured along the direction CK extending from the stop of the drum 62 toward the center of the developing roller 32. The applied amount AH is a distance measured along the radial direction of the gear portion 81a.
This is shown in the formula:
AH <CL
It is.

Here, when the drive transmission member 81 is at the drive position (FIG. 34B), the distance (gap) between the restriction portion 73j and the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81, measured along the CK direction, is CM. And Further, CN (FIG. 34 (a)) is a size where the gap is increased by the drive transmission member 81 moving from the drive position to the retracted position.
Then CL = CM + CN
Therefore, the above equation can be expressed as the following equation.
AH <CM + CN
If this is transformed,
CN> AH-CM
It is.
In this embodiment, AH is about 1.3 mm, CM is about 0.5 mm, and CN is about 2.2 mm.
That is, the protrusion 93c may move the drive transmission member 81 by a distance CN that satisfies the above equation by tilting the drive transmission member 81.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 34A, when the open / close door 13 is opened, the drive transmission member 81 is brought into contact with the protruding portion 93c of the second side plate 93 and tilted. A gap CL in which the drive transmission member 81 can move is more than the radial engagement AH between the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30. As a result, when the cartridge B is pulled out from the apparatus main body A, the meshing between the gears 81a and 30a is smoothly released. That is, the cartridge B can be easily pulled out from the apparatus main body A.

  As another method of widening the gap between the drive transmission member 81 and the restricting portion 73j, a method of reducing the diameter of the coupling convex portion 92b more than the gap and increasing the play between the coupling concave and convex portions 91b and 92b can be considered. On the other hand, by increasing the gap between the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 and the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 by the above method, the diameter of the coupling convex portion 92b can be increased, and the cartridge is maintained while maintaining the coupling strength. The operability when the B is pulled out can be improved.

  In this embodiment, the inclination of the drive transmission member 81 is regulated by the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 by the driving engagement force before coupling engagement. However, the place to be regulated is not limited to this configuration, and for example, as shown in FIG. Even when the restricted place is different, by opening the opening / closing door 13 and tilting the drive transmission member 91a away from the developing roller gear 30, it is possible to achieve both improvement in rotational accuracy and operability as described above. .

In this embodiment, as a means for inclining the drive transmission member 81, the drive transmission member 81 is inclined in contact with the protruding portion 93c of the second side plate 93, but other methods may be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 36, it is the slope part (inclination part) 98c provided in the 2nd side board 98. In FIG. On the non-driving side, the sloped portion 98c is provided so that the height of the inclined portion 98c is higher on the regulating portion 73j (FIG. 8) side. As a result, even in the inclined surface portion 98c, the drive transmission member 81 contacts the inclined surface portion 98c of the second side plate 98 and tilts along the inclined surface portion 98c, and the first gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 is regulated. Tilt away from 73j.
In FIG. 36, the upper part of the sloped part 98c corresponds to the protrusion (projected part) 93c shown in FIG. 30C, and the lower part of the sloped part 98c is the escape part (recessed part) shown in FIG. It corresponds to 93d. The inclined surface portion 98c is an inclination imparting portion (contact portion) that contacts the retracting drive transmission member 81 to incline the drive transmission member 81.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 37, a slope 99d may be provided on the end face of the cylindrical cam 99 on the drive side. The slope portion 99d is provided on the drive side so that the height of the slope portion 99d is lowered on the regulation portion 73j side. Thus, when the open / close door 13 is opened, the inclined surface portion 99d of the cylindrical cam 99 comes into contact with the drive transmitting member 81, so that the drive transmitting member 81 is inclined following the inclined surface portion 99d. As a result, the operability can be improved while maintaining the coupling strength as described above.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 38, the second side plate 93 may be provided with a protruding portion 93c, and the cylindrical cam 99 may be further provided with a slope portion 99d. The protruding portion 93c of the second side plate 93 is provided on the non-driving side so that the height of the inclined surface portion 99d is higher on the regulating portion 73j side. The inclined surface 99d of the cylindrical cam 99 is provided on the drive side so that the height of the inclined surface 99d is lowered on the restricting portion 73j side, and further connects the protruding portion 93c and the recessed portion 93d of the second side plate 93. This is a slope 99d having an angle CM that is substantially the same as the line CL. Thus, when the open / close door 13 is opened, in the above-described example, the vicinity of the protrusion 93c of the drive transmission member 81 is pushed by the cylindrical cam 99 and tilted. On the other hand, in this example, the drive transmission member 81 can be pushed to the non-drive side over the entire slope portion 99d of the cylindrical cam 99, and the drive transmission member 81 can be efficiently tilted.

As described above, when the inclination of the drive transmission member 81 in this modification is summarized, the first bearing 94,
The drive transmission member 81 is held by the second bearing 95 so that it can be inclined more smoothly.
In a state where the cartridge B is detached from the apparatus main body, the tip of the drive transmission member 81 is held by the V-shaped portion 15m, or the drive transmission member 81 is urged by the spring 97, whereby the drive transmission member 81 is inclined. This inclination direction does not coincide with the gravity direction. When the cartridge is mounted in the apparatus main body, the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 is transmitted to the inclined posture (second posture: FIG. 30 (c)) that can be smoothly meshed with the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30. The member 81 is held.

  On the other hand, when the drive transmission member 81 is inclined as shown in FIG. 30 (c), the coupling recess 81b of the drive transmission member 81 and the cup of the drive side drum flange 63 are shown as shown in FIG. 32 (b). The positions of the cores (rotation axes) with the ring convex portion 63b are shifted. If the cores (rotation axes) are largely displaced more than the backlash between the couplings, the coupling recess 81b and the coupling protrusion 63b cannot be engaged as they are. However, as shown in FIG. 28, the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 are engaged with each other, and the apparatus main body A is driven, whereby the drive transmission member 81 is engaged in the engagement pressure angle direction. The meshing force FD is applied. As a result, as shown in FIG. 28A or FIG. 28B, the drive transmission member 81 is inclined in the pressure angle direction. Further, when the drive transmission member 81 abuts against the restricting portion 73j, the misalignment amount AB between the coupling concave portion 81b and the coupling convex portion 63b of the drive transmission member 81 is reduced, and the coupling concave portion 81b and the coupling convex portion are reduced. 63b becomes engageable. That is, the angle formed by the rotation axis of the coupling recess 81b and the rotation axis of the coupling protrusion 63b is reduced to the extent that the coupling recess 81b and the coupling protrusion 63b are allowed to engage.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13B, the drive transmission member 81 moves to the drum 62 side by the engagement force FC in the thrust direction of the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81, and the coupling is actually engaged. .
That is, the drive transmission member 81 is slid by the meshing force of the gear with the cartridge B, and the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81 is regulated by the regulating portion 73j of the cartridge B. As a result, even in the apparatus main body A in which the drive transmission member 81 is inclined, the misalignment between the couplings can be reduced and both couplings can be engaged.

On the other hand, when the opening / closing door 13 is opened, the drive transmission member 81 is retracted, and when the coupling concave portion 81a is disengaged from the coupling convex portion 63a, an inclination imparting portion (protrusion portion or inclined portion). However, the drive transmission member 81 is inclined. This is to incline the drive transmission member 81 away from the restricting portion 73j in order to disengage the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 from the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30. When the drive transmission member 81 moves so that the meshing between the gears is eliminated, the drive transmission member 81 can be prevented from coming into contact with the restricting portion 73j. Alternatively, even if the drive transmission member 81 comes into contact with the restricting portion 73j, it can be suppressed that it affects the removal of the cartridge.
The functions, materials, shapes and relative arrangements of the components described in the above-described embodiments and modifications are intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified. It is not a thing.

<Example 2>
Next, the form of Example 2 of this invention is demonstrated based on Fig.39 (a), FIG.39 (b), and FIG.40. FIG. 39A is a cross-sectional view in the axial direction around the drive transmission member for explaining the support structure of the drive transmission member when the drive is applied. FIG. 39B is a cross-sectional view in the axial direction for explaining the support structure around the drive transmission member when the drive is not applied. FIG. 40 is a perspective view for explaining the shape of the bearing.
In the present embodiment, parts different from the above-described embodiment will be described in detail. Unless otherwise noted, the material, shape, etc. are the same as in the previous embodiment. Such parts are given the same numbers and will not be described in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 39 (a), 39 (b), and 40, the annular rib 194a provided on the first bearing 194 allows the drive transmission member 81 to be tilted while driving with the drive idler gear 96. It is a shape for improving the distance between the shaft of the transmission member 81 and the second gear portion 81j with high accuracy. The annular rib 194a is a portion corresponding to the first bearing 94 in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the difference between the annular rib 194a in this embodiment and the first bearing 94 in Embodiment 1 will be described in detail.
An annular ring rib 194a is provided on the outer periphery of the first bearing 194, and the annular rib 194a is fitted to the second side plate. The rear end side of the drive transmission member 81 is rotatably fitted and supported by the first bearing 194. As a result, as shown in FIG. 39 (b), the drive transmission member 81 can be tilted by gravity with the vertex 194a1 of the circular arc of the annular rib 194a as a fulcrum in a state where the drive is not applied.

  Further, the position of the annular rib 194 a in the axial direction is in the vicinity of the second gear portion 81 j of the drive transmission member 81. Thereby, the position in the axial direction of the inclination fulcrum of the drive transmission member 81 and the 2nd gear part 81j of the drive transmission member 81 is near. When the drive transmission member 81 is inclined, the change in the inter-axis distance between the drive idler gear 96 and the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81 can be reduced. Further, the change in the alignment deviation of the tooth trace can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to stabilize the meshing of the gears 81j and 96 that have started to be driven.

  On the other hand, in a state where driving is applied, the annular rib 194a of the first bearing 194 and the hole 193b of the second side plate 193 are fitted. Therefore, the inter-axis distance between the drive idler gear 96 and the second gear portion 81j of the drive transmission member 81 is accurate, and the rotational accuracy may be the same as that of the bearing in which the entire longitudinal region is fitted.

In this embodiment, the annular rib 194a is connected in the circumferential direction. However, as shown in FIG. 41, even if the annular rib 294a is interrupted, the drive transmission member 81 can be inclined in this case as well. In addition, the rotation accuracy by meshing with the drive idler gear 96 is good.
In this embodiment, the annular rib 194a is provided on the first bearing 194. However, as shown in FIG. 42, even if the annular rib 293a is provided on the second side plate 293, the drive transmission member is similarly inclined. It becomes possible.
The functions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the present embodiment or its modifications are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to those unless otherwise specified. Absent.

<Other examples>
In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet main body PA, which is a recording medium, is the apparatus main body A that is conveyed along the conveyance path d1, but this is not restrictive. For example, as shown in FIG. 43, the present invention can also be suitably applied to the apparatus main body A in which the sheet material PA is conveyed along the conveyance path d2.
In the above-described embodiment, the cartridge B is mounted by being guided by the guide rail of the apparatus main body A, but this is not a limitation. For example, as shown in FIGS. 44 and 45, the apparatus main body A is provided with a drawer member 200 as a moving member, the cartridge B is mounted on the drawer member 200, and the cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus main body A. The invention can be preferably applied. That is, the drawer member 200 is configured to be movable between an outer position located outside the apparatus main body A and an inner position located inside the apparatus main body A in a state where the cartridge B is supported. The cartridge A is attached to the drawer member 200 at the outer position, and moves to the inner position together with the drawer member 200 while being supported by the drawer member 200.

  Further, the mounting direction of the cartridge B in the above embodiment is a direction substantially orthogonal to the axis of the drum 62, but is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 46, the present invention can also be suitably applied to a configuration in which the cartridge B is mounted in the direction SO substantially parallel to the axis of the drum 62 with respect to the apparatus main body A.

  Further, in the cartridge B of the above embodiment, the toner chamber 29 for storing the toner and the toner supply chamber 28 are integrally formed by the developing container 23 and the bottom member 22, but this is not restrictive. For example, as shown in FIG. 47, the present invention can also be suitably applied to a configuration in which a cartridge BP having a toner supply chamber 28 and a cartridge BT having a toner chamber 29 are separable.

  In the above embodiment, the interval holding member 38 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62, and the developing roller 32 is pressed against the drum 62 with a small gap between the drum 62 and the developing roller 32. That is not the case. The present invention can be preferably applied to so-called contact development. For example, the present invention can be suitably applied to a configuration in which the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 32 is directly brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62 and the developing roller 32 is pressed against the drum 62. Further, an elastic member such as rubber is provided on the surface of the developing roller 32 including the magnet roller 34, and the elastic member is directly brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62 to press the developing roller 32 against the drum 62. The present invention can be preferably applied.

  In the embodiment, the developing unit 20 is connected to the cleaning unit 60 so that the developing unit 20 can be rotated (rotated) with respect to the cleaning unit 60. The developing unit 20 is biased to the cleaning unit 60 and the developing roller 32 is pressed against the drum 62 by the biasing force of the driving side biasing member 46L and the non-driving side biasing member 46R. is not. For example, the present invention can be suitably applied to a configuration in which the developing unit 20 is connected to the cleaning unit 60 so that the developing unit 20 can move in parallel with the cleaning unit 60. Further, the present invention can also be suitably applied to a configuration in which the developing unit 20 and the cleaning unit 60 are integrated so that the distance between the axis of the drum 62 and the axis of the developing roller 32 does not change.

  In addition, the present invention is suitable even when the configuration in which the developing unit 20 is moved with respect to the cleaning unit 60 so that the distance between the axis of the drum 62 and the axis of the developing roller 32 is larger than that during image formation. Can be applied to. In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 43, the apparatus body A is provided with the separation action part 100, and the developing unit 20 is provided with the separation action part 20a. Then, the separation unit 100 engages with the separation target unit 20 a and the separation unit 100 moves the separation unit 20 a, so that the development unit 20 is separated from the drum 62 so that the development roller 32 is separated from the drum 62. Move to 60. The separated action portion 20a may be configured to be integrated with the developing unit 20, or may be configured to be movable with respect to the developing unit 20.

Further, in the driving side drum flange 63 in the above embodiment, the coupling convex portion 63b has a shape that twists a protrusion that is substantially a triangular prism (rectangular prism), but this is not restrictive. For example, the present invention can be suitably applied even when the coupling portion 463b of the drive side drum flange 463 is configured as shown in FIG. Specifically, the coupling portion 463b receives a driving force for receiving a driving force from driving force applying portions 481b1, 481b2, 481b3 (not shown) of a driving transmission member 481 that is a driving output member provided in the apparatus main body A. Parts 463b1, 463b2, and 463b3. The driving force receiving portions 463b1, 463b2, and 463b3 are configured to be retractable to the outside in the radial direction of the drum 62 (not shown). In addition, the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 meshes with the gear portion 481a of the drive transmission member. Here, as shown in FIG. 48A, the driving force applying portions 481b1, 481b2, and 481b3 are concave portions provided on the shaft that protrudes toward the cartridge B from the gear portion 481a. That is, the driving force applying portions 481b1, 481b2, and 481b3 are concave portions that are recessed toward the center of the shaft in the radial direction of the shaft. As shown in FIG. 48B, the driving force receiving portions 463b1, 463b2, and 463b3 are each supported by a support portion. The support portion is a member that connects the inner peripheral portion of the coupling portion 563b and the driving force receiving portions 463b1, 463b2, and 463b3, and extends toward the inside of the coupling portion 563b. When viewed in the direction of the rotation axis of the drum 62, the support portion is inclined with respect to a line connecting the root of the support portion and the center of the coupling portion 563b. The support portion is deformable, and the driving force receiving portions 463b1, 463b2, and 463b3 are configured to be movable in the radial direction of the drum 62 (not shown). In the circumferential direction of the drum 62, when the positions of the driving force applying portions 481b1, 481b2, 481b3 and the positions of the driving force receiving portions 463b1, 463b2, 463b3 overlap, both engage. When the positions of the driving force applying portions 481b1, 481b2, 481b3 and the positions of the driving force receiving portions 463b1, 463b2, 463b3 do not overlap in the circumferential direction, the driving force receiving portions 463b1, 463b2, 463b3 are retracted outward in the radial direction. To do. Further, as shown in FIG. 49, the present invention is suitable even when the coupling portion 563b of the driving side drum flange 563 has a polygonal shape similar to a bevel gear provided with a plurality of inclined surfaces from the inner side to the outer side. Can be applied to. At this time, the coupling portion 563b receives a driving force from the driving force applying portion 581b of the driving transmission member 581 which is a driving output member of the apparatus main body A, and the gear portion 30a of the developing roller gear 30 and the gear portion 581a of the driving transmission member Mesh. The coupling portion 563b has a polygonal shape with the rotation axis of the coupling portion 563b as the centroid when viewed in a cross section having the rotation axis of the coupling portion 563b as a normal line. The coupling portion 563b has an inclined surface in which the radial distance from the centroid gradually increases from the outer side to the inner side of the cartridge B along the rotation axis of the coupling portion 563b. The inclined surface includes a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface. The second inclined surface is located outside the first inclined surface in the direction of the rotation axis of the coupling portion 563b. In addition, the gradual increase rate of the second inclined surface (the rate at which the radial distance increases with respect to the distance in the direction of the rotation axis) is large. The boundary between the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface is a boundary portion. Further, the present invention can be preferably applied to a configuration in which the coupling portion can move in a direction substantially parallel to the axial direction of the drum 62.

  In the above embodiment, the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81, which is a drive output member, meshes with the developing roller gear 30 for transmitting the drive to the developing roller 32, so that the drive transmitting member 81 is in the cartridge in the longitudinal direction. It was the structure which moved to the approaching side. However, the present invention is not limited to this as long as the drive transmission member 81 can move in the axial direction because the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 rotates while meshing with some member. For example, the gear portion 81 a of the drive transmission member 81 may mesh with a gear for transmitting drive to the charging roller 66 for charging the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62. Alternatively, the gear portion 81 a of the drive transmission member 81 may mesh with a gear for transmitting drive to a developer supply roller (not shown) for supplying toner to the development roller 32. Alternatively, the gear portion 81 a of the drive transmission member 81 may mesh with a gear for opening a seal member (not shown) for sealing the toner chamber 29 in which the toner T is stored and the toner supply chamber 28. . Alternatively, the gear portion 81 a of the drive transmission member 81 may mesh with a gear for transmitting driving to a conveyance member (agitating member) 43 for agitating and conveying the toner in the toner chamber 29. Alternatively, the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 may mesh with a gear for transmitting drive to the transfer roller 7 for transferring the toner image from the drum 62 to the sheet material PA. Alternatively, the gear portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 may mesh with a gear for transmitting drive to a waste toner transport member (not shown) for transporting the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner chamber 71b. In addition, each gear which meshes with the gear part 81a of the drive transmission member 81 may be directly connected to each part which transmits a drive, and may be indirectly connected via an idler gear etc.

  Further, the present invention is preferably applied to a configuration in which the driving force transmission path in the developing unit 20 is configured to switch between transmission and interruption of the driving force (rotational force) input to the developing unit 20 in the middle of the path. be able to.

  Further, the cartridge B of the above embodiment has a configuration in which a cleaning member for removing residual toner remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62 after the transfer from the drum 62 is provided, but this is not restrictive. For example, the present invention can be preferably applied to a configuration in which the cleaning member is not provided in the cartridge B. That is, the present invention can also be suitably applied to a configuration in which the developing unit 20 collects the residual toner from the drum 62 via the developing roller 32.

  In carrying out the present invention, the configurations and arrangements of the above-described embodiments may be appropriately selected and combined. For example, the apparatus main body A shown in FIG. 46 includes the drive transmission member 481 shown in FIG. 48, and the cartridge B shown in FIG. 46 includes the coupling portion 463b of the drive side drum flange 463 shown in FIG. Can be suitably applied.

30 Developing roller gear 30a Gear portion 32 Developing roller (developer carrier)
62 drum (electrophotographic photoreceptor)
62a drum center 63 driving drum flange (driven transmission member)
63b Coupling convex

Claims (1)

In the image forming apparatus,
(1) An apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus,
(1-1) An apparatus main body including an output coupling provided with a recess and an output gear provided coaxially so as to be tiltable and movable back and forth;
(2) A cartridge detachable from the apparatus main body,
(2-1) an electrophotographic photoreceptor;
(2-2) A driving force receiving portion provided at an end of the photoconductor and configured to receive a driving force for entering the recess and rotating the photoconductor; and the driving force receiving portion An input coupling having a support portion that is movably supported in the radial direction of the photoreceptor;
(2-3) an input gear for receiving a rotational force by engaging with the output gear;
(2-4) a restricting portion for engaging the output coupling with the input coupling by restricting the inclination of the drive output member;
A cartridge having
With
The drive output member is movable back and forth between an advanced position for engaging the output coupling with the input coupling and a retracted position for releasing the output coupling from the input coupling.
Furthermore, the device body is
An image forming apparatus comprising: an inclination imparting portion that inclines the drive output member away from the restricting portion as the drive output member moves from the advanced position to the retracted position.

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