JP2020154088A - Process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a process cartridge that can prevent the occurrence of an image defect and can reduce the size of and simplify the device, and an image forming apparatus using the same.SOLUTION: A process cartridge 9 comprises: a unit body 23; an image carrier 3 that is rotatably supported by the unit body 23; a charging member 4 that is in contact with a surface of the image carrier 3 to charge the image carrier 3; a charging holding member 28 that is movable and holds the charging member 4; a protective cover 24 that is movably supported by the unit body 23 and selectively occupies a first position to expose the image carrier 3 and a second position to cover the image carrier 3; a contact member 25 that is provided integrally with the protective cover 24 and moves in association with the movement of the protective cover 24; and a moving member 33 that moves in contact with the moving contact member 25 and is brought into contact with the charging holding member 28 in association with the movement to move the charging holding member 28. When the protective cover 24 occupies the first position, the process cartridge brings the charging member 4 into contact with the surface of the image carrier 3, and when the protective cover 24 occupies the second position, separates the charging member 4 from the surface of the image carrier 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus.

It is known that an electrophotographic image forming apparatus has a photoconductor that is an image carrier and a charging member that charges the surface of the photoconductor, and has a process cartridge that is detachably configured with respect to the apparatus main body. There is. In this process cartridge, when a contact-type charging member that comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor is used as the charging member, if the charging member is left in contact with the photoconductor for a long time, a creep phenomenon occurs and density unevenness occurs. There was a problem.
In order to solve this problem, in order to avoid the occurrence of the creep phenomenon, a technique for bringing the charged member into contact with and detached from the photoconductor by rotating the charged member when attaching and detaching the process cartridge to and from the photoconductor. Has been proposed (see, for example, "Patent Document 1").

In the process cartridge having the above-described configuration, the device body is provided with a protrusion shape in the same direction as the cartridge body provided with the charging member is attached to and detached from the device body, and the cartridge body side is provided with a portion that fits into the above-mentioned protrusion shape. It was configured so that the charging member was brought into contact with and separated from the surface of the photoconductor in conjunction with the attachment and detachment of the cartridge.
However, in this configuration, since it is necessary to provide a contact / detachment mechanism for the charging member on the device main body side as well, there is a problem that the device main body becomes large in the direction of attaching / detaching the cartridge.
An object of the present invention is to provide a process cartridge capable of solving the above-mentioned problems, preventing the occurrence of image defects, and reducing the size and simplification of the apparatus, and an image forming apparatus using the same.

The invention according to claim 1 comprises a unit main body, an image carrier rotatably supported by the unit main body, a charging member that contacts the surface of the image carrier and charges the image carrier, and the charging. It selectively occupies a movable charge holding member that holds the member, a first position that is movably supported by the unit body and exposes the image carrier, and a second position that covers the image carrier. The protective cover, a contact member integrally provided with the protective cover and moving with the movement of the protective cover, and the moving contact member are in contact with the moving contact member, and are in contact with the charge holding member with the movement. A moving member for moving the charge holding member is provided, and when the protective cover occupies the first position, the charged member is brought into contact with the surface of the image carrier, and the protective cover moves the second position. It is characterized in that the charged member is separated from the surface of the image carrier when occupied.

According to the present invention, when the process cartridge is removed from the main body of the apparatus, the charging member that has been in pressure contact with the peripheral surface of the image carrier is separated from the peripheral surface of the image carrier, so that the charging member is deformed due to the creep phenomenon. It can be prevented and the occurrence of image defects can be prevented. Further, since the charging member can be attached to and detached from the surface of the image carrier by the configuration inside the process cartridge, it is not necessary to provide the charging member attachment / detachment mechanism on the apparatus main body side, and the apparatus main body can be miniaturized and configured. Can be simplified.

It is a schematic block diagram of the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic of the process cartridge used in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic explaining the operation of the process cartridge used in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic explaining the operation of the process cartridge used in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic explaining the operation of the process cartridge used in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic explaining the operation of the process cartridge used in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic explaining the operation of the process cartridge used in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic explaining the operation of the process cartridge used in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic explaining the operation of the process cartridge used in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the printer 1 which is a monochrome image forming apparatus has a rotatable photoconductor 3 which is an image carrier inside the apparatus main body 2. Around the photoconductor 3, a charging roller 4 as a charging member that uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 3, and an exposure apparatus that exposes the surface of the charged photoconductor 3 to form an electrostatic latent image. LED 5, a developing device 6 that supplies toner to the formed electrostatic latent image for development, a toner cartridge 7 that contains toner as a developer to be supplied to the developing device 6, and transfer residual toner from the surface of the photoconductor 3. A cleaning blade 8 as a photoconductor cleaning means for removing the photoconductor, a static elimination means (not shown) for eliminating and initializing the surface of the photoconductor 3 and the like are provided.
The above-mentioned photoconductor 3, charging roller 4, LED 5, developing device 6, toner cartridge 7, cleaning blade 8, and static elimination means (not shown) are integrally configured, and a process cartridge 9 that can be attached to and detached from the device main body 2 is provided. It is configured. The process cartridge 9 will be described later.

The developing apparatus 6 has a developing roller 10 that is arranged close to the surface of the photoconductor 3 and supplies toner to the surface of the photoconductor 3. A negative potential bias voltage is applied to the core of the developing roller 10 from a bias power source (not shown). Further, a negative potential bias voltage is also applied to the charging roller 4 from another bias power source (not shown).
As the photoconductor 3 rotates, the transfer residual toner scraped from the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 3 by the cleaning blade 8 is transported to a collection container (not shown) by a transport means (not shown). The charging roller 4 charges the surface of the photoconductor 3 cleaned after static elimination to a uniform high potential to initialize it. After that, the LED 5 selectively exposes the surface of the photoconductor 3 based on the image data, and the surface of the photoconductor 3 charged with a uniform high potential is exposed to a low potential portion whose potential is attenuated by the exposure. An electrostatic latent image consisting of a high potential portion is formed. Then, the toner is transferred from the developing device 6 to the formed low potential portion, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized into a toner image by the toner.

Below the main body 2 of the apparatus, a paper feed tray 11 containing a large number of sheets P, which is a recording medium, a paper feed roller 12 for feeding the paper P from the paper feed tray 11, and a paper P to be fed are provided. A separation roller 13 that separates the sheets one by one is arranged. A transport roller pair 14 and a resist roller pair 15 for transporting the paper P are arranged on the downstream side of the paper feed roller 12 in the paper transport direction.
A transfer roller 16 for transferring the toner image formed on the photoconductor 3 to the paper P is arranged at a position facing the photoconductor 3 via the paper transport path, and is downstream of the transfer roller 16 in the paper transport direction. A fixing device 19 having a heating roller 17 and a pressurizing roller 18 is arranged on the side.
On the downstream side of the fixing device 19 in the paper transport direction, a transport roller pair 20 for transporting the fixed paper P, a discharge roller pair 21 for discharging the paper P to the outside of the machine, and a discharge for discharging the discharged paper P are loaded. A paper tray 22 is arranged.

A toner image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 3 by the above-described process, and the paper feed roller 12 and the separation roller 13 rotate to feed one sheet of paper P from the paper feed tray 11. The fed paper P is conveyed to the transfer roller pair 14 and sent to the resist roller pair 15, and the resist roller pair 15 rotates at a predetermined timing so as to be directed between the photoconductor 3 and the transfer roller 16. Will be sent.
The fed paper P is pressed against the photoconductor 3 by the transfer roller 16 and is subjected to a transfer bias, whereby the toner image formed on the photoconductor 3 is transferred onto the paper P. The paper P on which the toner image is transferred is sent to the fixing device 19, and the toner image is melted and fixed by heat and pressure. The paper P on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed by the transfer roller pair 20 and then discharged onto the paper output tray 22 by the discharge roller pair 21.

FIG. 2 shows the process cartridge 9 used in the first embodiment of the present invention. The process cartridge 9 has the above-mentioned photoconductor 3, charging roller 4, LED 5, developing device 6, toner cartridge 7, cleaning blade 8 and the like inside the unit main body 23, and is removable from the device main body 2. Is. The toner cartridge 7 can be easily attached to and detached from the unit body 23, and the toner can be easily replenished.

A protective cover 24 for protecting the photoconductor 3 during transportation or the like is attached to the unit main body 23. The protective cover 24 is movably supported by the unit body 23, and the photoconductor 3 is exposed at the first position as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 and the photoconductor 3 as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. It selectively occupies a second position to cover. The protective cover 24 is urged to occupy the second normal position by the urging force of an urging means (not shown), and is provided on the apparatus main body 2 when the process cartridge 9 is attached to the apparatus main body 2. It occupies the first position by being moved in contact with a member that does not.
As shown in FIG. 3, a contact member 25, which is a protrusion having a cylindrical shape, is integrally attached to the protective cover 24 via a bracket (not shown). The contact member 25 is movable in the arcuate groove 26 formed on the side wall of the unit body 23 partially shown in FIG. 3, and is shown by a solid line when the protective cover 24 occupies the first position. The position occupies the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line when the protective cover 24 occupies the second position.

As shown in FIG. 3, the charging roller 4 is rotatably supported by the bearing member 27, and the bearing member 27 is attached to the charging holding member 28 via a bracket (not shown). A cleaning roller 29 as a rotatable cleaning member for cleaning the peripheral surface of the charging roller 4 is pressure-welded to the charging roller 4. The cleaning roller 29 made of an elastic member such as a sponge is rotatably supported by the bearing member 30, and the bearing member 30 is attached to the charge holding member 28 via a bracket (not shown).
The charge holding member 28 is movably supported by a rail member (not shown) provided on the unit main body 23 in a direction perpendicular to the tangent line of the charging roller 4 with respect to the photoconductor 3 in FIG. A compression coil spring 31 which is an urging member that applies an urging force in a direction in which the charging roller 4 presses against the photoconductor 3 is arranged between the unit body 23 and the charging holding member 28. There is.

At a position between the groove portion 26 and the charge holding member 28, a rod-shaped moving member 33 rotatably supported by a support shaft 32 planted in the unit main body 23 is arranged. One end of the moving member 33 is arranged in the moving path of the contact member 25 that moves with the movement of the protective cover 24, and the other end is arranged in the moving path of the charging holding member 28 that moves along the rail member (not shown). The contact member 25 and the charge holding member 28 rotate with the movement of the contact member 25 and the charge holding member 28.
A stopper 34, which is a regulating member planted on the side wall of the unit main body 23, is arranged near the upper portion on one end side of the moving member 33. The stopper 34 is arranged so as to be located in the moving path of the moving member 33, whereby the moving member 33 has a range in which one end contacts the stopper 33 and the other end is in the charge holding member 28 in a state where no external force acts. It is held between the contact area.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the moving member 33 is in a state where the protective cover 24 occupies the first position as shown by a solid line in FIG. 3, that is, when the process cartridge 9 is attached to the apparatus main body 2. Without contacting the contact member 25 or the charge holding member 28, the charge holding member 28 is urged in the pressure contact direction of the charging roller 4 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 31, and the charging roller 4 has a peripheral surface of the photoconductor 3 It is pressed against the surface of.
From this state, when the process cartridge 9 is removed from the apparatus main body 2 and the protective cover 24 is manually moved to the second position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the contact member 25 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. Displace to the position shown in. The protective cover 24 that occupies the second position is held in the second position by a holding member (not shown).

When the contact member 25 is further displaced while being in contact with one end of the moving member 33 due to the displacement, the moving member 33 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3 about the support shaft 32, and the moving member 33 is charged by the other end. The holding member 28 is moved away from the photoconductor 3 against the urging force of the compression coil spring 31. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the peripheral surface of the charging roller 4 is separated from the surface of the photoconductor 3.
When the process cartridge 9 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2 from the state shown in FIG. 4, the holding state by the holding member (not shown) is released by contacting the member (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body 2, and the protective cover 24 is urged (not shown). It is moved by the urging force of the means and occupies the first position. As the protective cover 24 moves from the second position to the first position, the contact member 25 is moved from the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 3 to the position shown by the solid line, thereby urging the moving member 33. After being released, the charge holding member 28 is moved by the urging force of the compression coil spring 31, and the charge roller 4 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 3 to be in the state shown in FIG. The rotation range of the moving member 33 is restricted by bringing one end into contact with the stopper 34, and when the contact member 25 moves next time, one end can be reliably brought into contact with the contact member 25.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when the process cartridge 9 is not used for a long period of time, that is, when the process cartridge 9 is removed from the apparatus main body 2, it is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 3. Since the charging roller 4 is separated from the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 3, deformation of the charging roller 4 due to the creep phenomenon can be prevented, and the occurrence of image defects can be prevented. Further, since the charging roller 4 can be attached to and detached from the surface of the photoconductor 3 by the configuration inside the process cartridge 9, it is not necessary to provide the charging roller 4 attachment / detachment mechanism on the apparatus main body 2 side, and the apparatus main body 2 It is possible to reduce the size and simplify the configuration.
Further, since the moving range of the moving member 33 is regulated by the stopper 34 in a state where no external force acts, one end of the moving member 33 must be surely brought into contact with the contact member 25 when the contact member 25 moves next time. Can be done.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the process cartridge 42 shown in the present embodiment, the contact member 25 is integrally provided with a protective cover (not shown) similar to the protective cover 24, and when the protective cover occupies the first position, it is shown by a solid line in FIG. The indicated positions occupy the positions indicated by the alternate long and short dash lines in FIG. 5 when the protective cover occupies the second position.
The charging roller 4 is rotatably supported by the bearing member 35, and the bearing member 35 is rotatably supported by the charging holding member 36 via a bracket (not shown). A moving piece 38 and a stopper 43 that can come into contact with the cleaning support member 37, which will be described later, are attached to the bearing member 35. The moving piece 38 and the stopper 43 are configured to be rotatable around the rotation center of the bearing member 35 as the bearing member 35 rotates.

The cleaning roller 29 is rotatably supported by the bearing member 39, and the bearing member 39 is held by the cleaning support member 37. The cleaning support member 37 is movably supported along a rail (not shown) provided on the charge holding member 36 in a direction perpendicular to the tangent line of the charge roller 4 to the photoconductor 3 in FIG. Further, the charge holding member 36 is also movably supported in the same direction as the cleaning support member 37 by a rail member (not shown) provided on the unit body 44, and is supported between the charge holding member 36 and the unit body 44. A compression coil spring 31 is arranged. The cleaning support member 37 is urged in a direction approaching the photoconductor 3 by an urging means (not shown), and the cleaning roller 29 is pressed against the charging roller 4 with a predetermined pressure contact force by this urging force.

At a position between the moving path of the contact member 25 and the charging roller 4, a rod-shaped moving member 41 rotatably supported by a support shaft 40 planted in the unit main body 44 is arranged. One end of the moving member 41 is arranged in the moving path of the contact member 25, and the other end is arranged in the rotating path of the moving piece 38 between the moving piece 38 and the stopper 43. It rotates as the 25 and the moving piece 38 move. A stopper 34 for restricting the movement of the moving member 41 is arranged near the upper portion on one end side of the moving member 41.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a state in which the protective cover (not shown) in which the contact member 25 occupies the solid line position occupies the first position, that is, a state in which the process cartridge 42 is attached to the apparatus main body 2. Then, the moving member 41 does not come into contact with the contact member 25 or the moving piece 38, the charging holding member 36 is urged in the pressure contact direction of the charging roller 4 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 31, and the charging roller 4 is urged in the pressure contact direction. The surface is pressed against the surface of the photoconductor 3.
As described above, the cleaning roller 29 made of an elastic member such as a sponge may be deformed due to a habit because it is in pressure contact with the charging roller 4 when the process cartridge 42 is stored for a long period of time. Due to the deformation, a predetermined pressure contact amount cannot be obtained with respect to the charging roller 4, and the cleaning performance may deteriorate. In this second embodiment, the occurrence of this defect is prevented.

From the state shown in FIG. 5, when the process cartridge 42 is removed from the apparatus main body 2 and the protective cover (not shown) is manually moved toward the above-mentioned second position, the contact member 25 is moved in the middle of the movement. It is displaced from the position shown in FIG. 6 to the position shown in FIG. Then, when the contact member 25 is further displaced while being in contact with one end of the moving member 41 due to the displacement, the moving member 41 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 5 about the support shaft 40, and the moving member 41 is at the other end. The moving piece 38 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG.
As the moving piece 38 rotates, the cleaning support member 37 that comes into contact with the cleaning support member 37 is moved from the photoconductor 3 in FIG. 5 along a rail (not shown) provided on the charge holding member 36 against the urging force of the urging means (not shown). Move in the direction away. By this movement, the pressure contact state of the cleaning roller 29 with respect to the charging roller 4 is released as shown in FIG.

When the contact member 25 is further displaced from the state shown in FIG. 6, the moving member 41 further rotates the moving piece 38 in the clockwise direction by the other end, and the rotated moving piece 38 further exposes the cleaning support member 37. Move it away from body 3. Here, when the pressure contact state of the cleaning roller 29 with respect to the charging roller 4 is released, the movement of the cleaning support member 37 with respect to the charging holding member 36 is restricted, and when the cleaning support member 37 is moved by the moving piece 38, the charging holding member 36 Also integrally moves away from the photoconductor 3. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the peripheral surface of the charging roller 4 is separated from the surface of the photoconductor 3. When the contact member 25 is displaced to the position shown in FIG. 7, the protective cover (not shown) occupies the second position, and the protective cover (not shown) that occupies the second intention is held in the second position by the holding member (not shown).

When the process cartridge 42 is mounted on the device main body 2 from the state shown in FIG. 7, the holding state by the holding member (not shown) is released by contacting the member (not shown) provided on the device main body 2, and the protective cover (not shown) is not shown. It is moved by the urging force of the force means and occupies the first position. Along with this, the contact member 25 is moved from the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 5 to the position shown by the solid line, the urging by the moving member 41 and the moving piece 38 is released, and the charge holding member 36 is attached to the compression coil spring 31. While being moved by the force, the cleaning support member 37 is moved by the urging force of an urging means (not shown), the charging roller 4 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 3, and the peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 29 is the peripheral surface of the charging roller 4. It is pressed against the surface and is in the state shown in FIG. The rotation range of the moving member 41 is regulated by contacting one end with the stopper 34, and the rotation range of the bearing member 35 is regulated by contacting the moving piece 38 or the stopper 43 with the other end of the moving member 41. As a result, when the contact member 25 moves next time, the moving member 41 can be surely brought into contact with the contact member 25, and the moving member 41 can be surely brought into contact with the moving piece 38.

According to the second embodiment described above, the cleaning roller 29 has the same effect as that of the first embodiment and is pressed against the peripheral surface of the charging roller 4 when the process cartridge 42 is not used for a long period of time. Is separated from the peripheral surface of the charging roller 4, so that the cleaning roller 29 can be prevented from being deformed by pressure contact with the charging roller 4. As a result, it is possible to prevent a deterioration in cleaning performance due to the cleaning roller 29 not being able to obtain a predetermined pressure contact amount with respect to the charging roller 4 due to deformation.
Further, since the moving range of the moving member 41 and the moving piece 38 is regulated by the stopper 34 and the stopper 43 in a state where no external force acts, the moving member 33 is moved to the contact member 25 and the moving piece when the contact member 25 moves next time. It can be reliably contacted with 38.

FIG. 8 shows the process cartridge 44 used in the third embodiment of the present invention. The process cartridge 44 has a protective cover 24, a contact member 25, and a groove 26 similar to the process cartridge 9.
The charging roller 4 is rotatably supported by a bearing member 27, and the bearing member 27 is attached to the charging holding member 46 via a bracket (not shown). The cleaning roller 29 is rotatably supported by the bearing member 30, and the bearing member 30 is attached to the charge holding member 46 via a bracket (not shown). The cleaning roller 29 is pressure-welded to the charging roller 4 by a predetermined pressure-contact force.

The charge holding member 46 is movably supported by a rail member (not shown) provided on the unit main body 47 in a direction perpendicular to the tangent line of the charging roller 4 with respect to the photoconductor 3 in FIG. The other end of the tension coil spring 48 whose one end is fixed to the side surface of the unit body 47 is attached to the. The tension coil spring 48 applies an urging force in the direction in which the charging roller 4 is separated from the photoconductor 3 to the charging holding member 46.
The charge holding member 46 is illustrated so that when the contact member 25 is displaced from the second position to the first position, the contact member 25 can ride on the upper surface from the state shown in FIG. No slope is formed.

In the third embodiment, when the protective cover 24 occupies the first position, the charge holding member 46 is subjected to the charge roller 4 against the urging force of the tension coil spring 48 by the contact member 25 located on the upper surface thereof. The charging roller 4 is urged in the pressure contact direction of the above, and its peripheral surface is pressure-welded to the surface of the photoconductor 3.
From this state, when the process cartridge 45 is removed from the apparatus main body 2 and the protective cover 24 is manually moved to the second position shown by the solid line in FIG. 9, for example, the contact member 25 is shown from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Displace to the position shown in 9. The charge holding member 46 from which the contact member 25 is separated from the upper surface is moved in a direction away from the photoconductor 3 by the urging force of the tension coil spring 48, and as a result, the peripheral surface of the charge roller 4 is the photoconductor as shown in FIG. Separated from the surface of 3. The protective cover 24 that occupies the second position is held in the second position by a holding member (not shown).

When the process cartridge 45 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2 from the state shown in FIG. 9, the holding state by the holding member (not shown) is released by contacting the member (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body 2, and the protective cover 24 is urged (not shown). It is moved by the urging force of the means and occupies the first position.
As the protective cover 24 moves from the second position to the first position, the contact member 25 is moved from the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 8 to the position shown by the solid line. When moving to the solid line position, the contact member 25 rides on the upper surface of the charge holding member 46 via an inclined portion (not shown) formed on the upper surface of the charge holding member 46, whereby the charge holding member 46 is driven by the charging roller. 4 is moved in a direction approaching the photoconductor 3, and the peripheral surface of the charging roller 4 is pressed against the surface of the photoconductor 3 with a predetermined pressure contact force.

According to the third embodiment, the same action and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the moving member 33 used in the first embodiment can be omitted. As a result, the configuration can be further simplified, and the process cartridge and the image forming apparatus can be miniaturized and the cost can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment and each modification, an example in which a monochrome printer is used as the image forming apparatus is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this as the image forming apparatus, and the present invention can be applied to a color printer, a facsimile, a multifunction device, and the like. is there. Further, in the present embodiment and the modified example, the configuration in which the paper P is used as the recording medium on which the image is formed is shown, but the paper P is not limited to the envelope or the packaging bag, and the transparency, the postcard, the envelope, or the like. Paper, thin paper, coated paper (coated paper, art paper, etc.), tracing paper, transparencies, transparencies, resin films, etc. are also included, and any substance that can form a sheet and form an image can be used. You may use it.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and unless otherwise specified in the above description, the present invention described in the claims. Various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the purpose. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention merely exemplify the most preferable effects arising from the present invention, and the effects according to the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

1 Image forming device (printer)
3 Image carrier (photoreceptor)
4 Charging member (charging roller)
9,42,45 Process cartridge 23,44,47 Unit body 24 Protective cover 25 Contact member 28,36,46 Charge holding member 29 Cleaning member (cleaning roller)
33, 41 Moving member 34 Regulatory member (stopper)
37 Cleaning support member

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-194977

Claims (7)

With the unit body
An image carrier rotatably supported by the unit body and
A charging member that contacts the surface of the image carrier and charges the image carrier,
A movable charge holding member that holds the charge member,
A protective cover that is movably supported by the unit body and selectively occupies a first position that exposes the image carrier and a second position that covers the image carrier.
A contact member that is provided integrally with the protective cover and moves as the protective cover moves.
It is provided with a moving member that comes into contact with the moving contact member and moves, and with the movement, comes into contact with the charge holding member and moves the charge holding member.
When the protective cover occupies the first position, the charging member is brought into contact with the surface of the image carrier, and when the protective cover occupies the second position, the charging member is brought into contact with the image carrier. A process cartridge that is separated from the surface of the. In the process cartridge according to claim 1,
A process cartridge comprising a regulating member that regulates the movement of the moving member when the contact member is not moving. In the process cartridge according to claim 1 or 2.
A process cartridge comprising a cleaning member that comes into contact with the surface of the charged member to clean the surface of the charged member. In the process cartridge according to claim 3,
The cleaning member is movably supported with respect to the charging member and has a cleaning support member that can be moved by the moving member. The movement of the cleaning support member causes the cleaning member to come into contact with and separate from the surface of the charging member. A process cartridge that features that. With the unit body
An image carrier rotatably supported by the unit body and
A charging member that contacts the surface of the image carrier and charges the image carrier,
A movable charge holding member that holds the charge member,
A protective cover that is movably supported by the unit body and selectively occupies a first position that exposes the image carrier and a second position that covers the image carrier.
It is provided with a contact member that is provided integrally with the protective cover and moves as the protective cover moves.
When the protective cover occupies the first position, the charging member is brought into contact with the surface of the image carrier, and when the protective cover occupies the second position, the charging member is brought into contact with the image carrier. A process cartridge that is separated from the surface of the. In the process cartridge according to claim 5,
A process cartridge comprising a cleaning member that comes into contact with the surface of the charged member to clean the surface of the charged member. An image forming apparatus comprising the process cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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