JP2020170198A - Developing cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a developing cartridge capable of excellently supplying electric power to a layer thickness regulating blade.SOLUTION: A developing cartridge 1 includes: a casing 11 for storing toner therein; a developing roller 12; a supply roller 13 for supplying the toner to the developing roller 12; a layer thickness regulating blade 20 for coming into contact with the peripheral surface of the developing roller 12; and a supply electrode 100. The supply electrode 100 is electrically connected to the supply roller 13 and the layer thickness regulating blade 20, and includes an electrode member 40 electrically connected to a rotation shaft (shaft 13A) of the supply roller 13, and a connecting member (spring 50) for electrically connecting the electrode member 40 and the layer thickness regulating blade 20 to each other. The electrode member 40 is made of a conductive resin.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a developing cartridge including a developing roller, a feeding roller and a layer thickness regulating blade.

Conventionally, the developing cartridge includes a developing roller, a supply roller that supplies toner to the developing roller, a layer thickness regulating blade that defines the thickness of toner on the developing roller, and a supply electrode that contacts the supply roller. Is known (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-114018

In a developing cartridge as in the prior art, it is desired to apply a voltage to the layer thickness regulating blade.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a developing cartridge capable of satisfactorily supplying electric power to a layer thickness regulating blade.

In order to solve the above problems, the developing cartridge according to the present invention comes into contact with a housing for accommodating toner, a developing roller, a supply roller for supplying toner to the developing roller, and a peripheral surface of the developing roller. A layer thickness regulating blade, a supply electrode electrically connected to the supply roller and the layer thickness regulating blade, and an electrode member electrically connected to the rotation shaft of the supply roller, and the electrode member and the said. It is a connecting member that electrically connects the layer thickness regulating blade, and has a supply electrode having the layer thickness regulating blade and the connecting member that comes into contact with the electrode member.
The electrode member is made of a conductive resin.

According to this structure, a voltage can be applied to the layer thickness regulating blade via the supply electrode.

Further, the connecting member may be a spring.

Further, the spring is a coil portion extending in the axial direction of the supply roller and a linear arm portion extending from the coil portion toward the layer thickness regulating blade, and is an arm portion in contact with the layer thickness regulating blade. And may have.

Further, the electrode member has a base formed with holes for fixing the electrode member to the housing, and the coil portion is arranged between the base and the housing and comes into contact with the base. You may be doing it.

According to this, since the coil portion is arranged between the base and the housing, the coil portion can be brought into good contact with the base.

Further, the housing may be a boss to which a screw is fixed, and may have a boss to be inserted into the hole of the base, and the coil portion may be supported by the boss.

According to this, since the coil portion is supported by the boss, the spring can be well positioned with respect to the housing.

Further, the developing cartridge may have a developing electrode electrically connected to the developing roller.

Further, the developing electrode may be fixed to the boss by the screw.

Further, the developing electrode may be made of a conductive resin.

Further, the arm portion may have a holding portion that sandwiches a part of the housing and the layer thickness regulating blade.

According to this, since a part of the housing and the layer thickness regulating blade are sandwiched by the sandwiching portion, the contact state between the spring and the layer thickness regulating blade can be kept good.

Further, the layer thickness regulating blade has a blade that comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the developing roller and a support member that supports the blade, and the arm portion may be in contact with the blade.

According to this, since the supply electrode is electrically connected to the blade without the support member, the electric power can be satisfactorily supplied to the blade.

Further, the spring may be arranged between the housing and the base.

According to this, since the spring is arranged between the base and the housing, the spring can be brought into good contact with the base.

Further, the electrode member has a first portion that comes into contact with the supply roller and a second portion that is arranged at a position different from the first portion and is in contact with an external electrode, and the base is the base. The first portion and the second portion may be connected.

Further, the connecting member may have a plate-shaped portion fixed to the housing by a screw together with the supporting member.

According to this, since the connecting member can be co-tightened to the housing together with the support member, the connecting member can be brought into good contact with the layer thickness regulating blade by the fastening force at the time of co-fastening.

Further, the connecting member may be made of a conductive resin.

Further, the connecting member may be made of metal.

Further, the housing may have a cam surface for moving the supply electrode in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the supply roller.

Further, the support member may have a through hole for inserting a screw.

According to the present invention, electric power can be satisfactorily supplied to the layer thickness regulating blade.

It is a perspective view which shows the development cartridge which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the developing electrode, the supply electrode, etc. It is sectional drawing which shows the spring, the housing, the support member and a blade. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the contact part of a spring, and a blade. FIG. 3A is a view of the electrode member viewed from the housing side, and FIG. 3B is a view showing the relationship between the cam surface of the housing and the cam surface of the electrode member. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the supply electrode which concerns on a modification. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the supply electrode which concerns on a modification is assembled to a housing.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
As shown in FIG. 1, the developing cartridge 1 includes a housing 11, a developing roller 12, a supply roller 13 (see FIG. 2), a handle 14, a layer thickness regulating blade 20, a developing electrode 30, and a supply electrode. It includes 100 and a bearing 60. The supply electrode 100 is a member that is electrically connected to the supply roller 13 and the layer thickness regulating blade 20. The supply electrode 100 includes an electrode member 40 and a spring 50.

The housing 11 contains toner inside. The housing 11 is made of a non-conductive resin. The housing 11 has a side wall 15. The side wall 15 is located at one end of the developing roller 12.

The developing roller 12 is a roller that supplies toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor (not shown). The developing roller 12 is rotatable about the first axis X1 extending in the axial direction. The developing roller 12 has a shaft 12A (see FIG. 2) extending in the axial direction. The developing roller 12 is located at one end 11A of the housing 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, the supply roller 13 is a roller that supplies toner to the developing roller 12. The supply roller 13 is rotatable about the second axis X2 extending in the axial direction. The supply roller 13 has a shaft 13A extending in the axial direction. The supply roller 13 is in contact with the developing roller 12.

Returning to FIG. 1, the handle 14 is a portion gripped by the user. The handle 14 is located at the other end 11B of the housing 11.

The layer thickness regulating blade 20 is a member that defines the thickness of the toner on the developing roller 12. The layer thickness regulation blade 20 includes a blade 21 and a support member 22 that supports the blade 21.

The blade 21 is a rectangular sheet metal that is long in the axial direction. The blade 21 is made of a metal such as stainless steel. The thickness of the blade 21 is smaller than the thickness of the support member. One end of the blade 21 in the lateral direction is fixed to the support member 22 by welding or the like. The other end of the blade 21 in the lateral direction is in contact with the peripheral surface of the developing roller 12.

The blade 21 may have a rubber member at the other end of the blade 21 in the lateral direction. In this case, the rubber member of the blade 21 may be brought into contact with the developing roller 12.

The support member 22 is made of a metal such as an electrogalvanized steel sheet. The support member 22 has a first wall 22A and a second wall 22B. The first wall 22A supports the surface of the blade 21 opposite to the developing roller 12. The second wall 22B is located at the end of the first wall 22A opposite to the developing roller 12. The second wall 22B extends from the first wall 22A toward the side opposite to the blade 21.

The first wall 22A has two protrusions 22C. Each protruding portion 22C protrudes from the second wall 22B on the side opposite to the developing roller 12. The second wall 22B is located between the protrusions 22C in the axial direction. Each protrusion 22C has a through hole 22D for inserting the first screw S1 (only one is shown). Each protrusion 22C is fastened to the housing 11 by the first screw S1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 11 has a fixed wall 16 to which the protrusion 22C is fixed. The side wall 15 has an opening 15A penetrating in the left-right direction. The opening 15A overlaps the fixed wall 16 and the protrusion 22C when viewed from the axial direction. Further, a part of the opening 15A is located on one end 11A side of the housing 11 with respect to the protruding portion 22C. As a result, the contact portion 53D of the spring 50, which will be described later, can be inserted into the blade 21 side of the side wall 15 through the opening 15A.

The housing 11 has a boss 17. A second screw S2 for jointly tightening the electrode member 40, the bearing 60, and the developing electrode 30 is fixed to the tip of the boss 17. The housing 11 has a protruding portion 18 projecting from the side wall 15 toward the electrode member 40. The protruding portion 18 has a cam surface 18A. The cam surface 18A is a surface for moving the electrode member 40 in a direction orthogonal to the second axis X2. The cam surface 18A is inclined so as to approach the side wall 15 as the distance from the second axis X2 increases.

The developing electrode 30 is a member that is electrically connected to the shaft 12A of the developing roller 12. The developing electrode 30 is made of a conductive resin. The developing electrode 30 has a first contact portion 31, a cover portion 32, and a mounting hole 33.

The first contact portion 31 is a surface that comes into axial contact with the first main body side electrode provided in the main body housing when the developing cartridge 1 is mounted on the main body housing of the image forming apparatus (not shown). The first contact portion 31 is orthogonal to the axial direction. The first contact portion 31 is located at a position different from the shaft 12A of the developing roller 12.

The cover portion 32 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape so as to cover the peripheral surface of the shaft 12A of the developing roller 12. The inner peripheral surface of the cover portion 32 is in contact with the shaft 12A of the developing roller 12.

The mounting hole 33 is a hole into which the above-mentioned second screw S2 enters. The mounting hole 33 faces the boss 17 of the housing 11 in the axial direction. The developing electrode 30 is fixed to the boss 17 by the second screw S2.

The bearing 60 is made of a non-conductive resin. The bearing 60 has a base portion 60A, a first support portion 61, a second support portion 62, a through hole 63, a first protrusion 65, and a second protrusion 66. The base portion 60A is formed in a flat plate shape orthogonal to the axial direction. The bearing 60 is arranged between the developing electrode 30 and the electrode member 40 in the axial direction.

The first support portion 61 is formed in a cylindrical shape protruding from the base portion 60A toward the housing 11. The first support portion 61 supports the shaft 12A of the developing roller 12 on its inner peripheral surface.

The second support portion 62 has a cylindrical portion that protrudes from the base portion 60A on the side opposite to the housing 11, and a bottom portion that closes the opening at the tip of the cylindrical portion. The second support portion 62 supports the shaft 13A of the supply roller 13 on its inner peripheral surface.

The through hole 63 is a circular through hole into which the boss 17 of the housing 11 enters. The through hole 63 is located at a position axially opposed to the boss 17.

The first protruding portion 65 and the second protruding portion 66 project from the base portion 60A to the side opposite to the housing 11. The first protruding portion 65 is adjacent to the first side 41A of the second contact portion 41 of the electrode member 40, which will be described later. The second protruding portion 66 is adjacent to the second side 41B orthogonal to the first side 41A of the second contact portion 41 described later.

The electrode member 40 is a member that is electrically connected to the shaft 13A, which is the rotation shaft of the supply roller 13. The electrode member 40 is made of a conductive resin. The electrode member 40 has a base 40A, a first portion 42, and a second portion 44. The electrode member 40 is movable in a direction orthogonal to the shaft 13A of the supply roller 13.

The base 40A is formed in a flat plate shape orthogonal to the axial direction. The base 40A has a hole 43. The base 40A connects the first portion 42 and the second portion 44. The base 40A is located between the bearing 60 and the housing 11 in the axial direction.

The hole 43 is a hole for fixing the electrode member 40 to the housing 11. The boss 17 of the housing 11 is inserted into the hole 43. The diameter of the hole 43 is larger than the outer diameter of the boss 17. A rib 45 is formed around the hole 43 so as to project toward the side opposite to the housing 11. The rib 45 is formed in a substantially arc shape when viewed from the axial direction.

The first portion 42 is formed in a cylindrical shape protruding from the base 40A toward the housing 11. The inner peripheral surface of the first portion 42 is in contact with the shaft 13A of the supply roller 13.

The second portion 44 is arranged at a position different from that of the first portion 42. The second portion 44 projects from the base 40A toward the side opposite to the housing 11. The tip surface of the second portion 44 is the second contact portion 41. The second contact portion 41 is a surface that comes into axial contact with the second main body side electrode provided on the main body housing when the developing cartridge 1 is mounted on the main body housing of the image forming apparatus (not shown). That is, the second portion 44 is in contact with the second main body side electrode, which is an external electrode.

The second contact portion 41 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the axial direction. The second contact portion 41 is orthogonal to the axial direction. The second contact portion 41 is located at a position different from that of the shaft 13A of the supply roller 13. Specifically, the second contact portion 41 is located on the opposite side of the hole 43 from the first portion 42.

The electrode member 40 is connected to the blade 21 via a spring 50. That is, the electrode member 40 is electrically connected to the blade 21 via a member other than the support member 22. The electrode member 40 can move with respect to the spring 50 in a direction orthogonal to the shaft 13A of the supply roller 13 in a state of being in contact with the spring 50.

The spring 50 is a connecting member for electrically connecting the base 40A of the electrode member 40 and the blade 21. The spring 50 is made of metal. The spring 50 has a coil portion 51, an arm portion 52, and a holding portion 53. As shown in FIG. 3, the coil portion 51 extends in the axial direction of the supply roller 13. The coil portion 51 is arranged between the base 40A and the housing 11. That is, the spring 50 is arranged between the base 40A and the housing 11. The coil portion 51 is in contact with the base 40A and the housing 11. The coil portion 51 is in a state of being shortened from its natural length when the electrode member 40 is attached to the housing 11.

In the state where the electrode member 40 is attached to the housing 11, the boss 17 has entered the coil portion 51. As a result, the coil portion 51 is supported on the outer peripheral surface of the boss 17.

Returning to FIG. 2, the arm portion 52 is formed in a linear shape. The arm portion 52 extends from the end of the coil portion 51 on the housing 11 side toward the blade 21. Specifically, it extends from the end of the coil portion 51 on the housing 11 side toward the outside in the radial direction of the coil portion 51. Specifically, the arm portion 52 extends from the coil portion 51 toward one end 11A of the housing 11. The arm portion 52 has a holding portion 53 that sandwiches and supports the fixed wall 16 that is a part of the housing 11 and the blade 21. The holding portion 53 is provided on the tip end side of the arm portion 52.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sandwiching portion 53 sandwiches and supports the fixing wall 16, the support member 22, and the blade 21. The sandwiching portion 53 has a U shape when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the surface of the blade 21 and a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. Here, the surface of the blade 21 is the surface of the blade 21 opposite to the support member 22.

The sandwiching portion 53 mainly has a first portion 53A, a second portion 53B, a third portion 53C, and a contact portion 53D. The first portion 53A extends axially. The first portion 53A is in contact with the fixed wall 16.

The second portion 53B extends from the end of the first portion 53A opposite to the housing 11 toward one end 11A (see FIG. 2) of the housing 11. The second portion 53B is axially separated from the fixing wall 16, the support member 22, and the blade 21.

The third portion 53C extends from the end of the second portion 53B opposite to the first portion 53A toward the blade 21. The third portion 53C is inclined with respect to the surface of the blade 21. Specifically, the third portion 53C is inclined so as to approach the first portion 53A as it approaches the blade 21 in the axial direction.

The contact portion 53D is a portion that comes into contact with the surface of the blade 21. The contact portion 53D is provided at the end of the third portion 53C on the blade 21 side.

As shown in FIG. 4, the contact portion 53D is formed in a U shape when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the surface of the blade 21. Specifically, the contact portion 53D has a U shape that opens toward the side wall 15 of the housing 11. The contact portion 53D extends from the third portion 53C toward the developing roller 12 when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the surface of the blade 21.

A fourth portion 53E is provided at the end of the contact portion 53D opposite to the third portion 53C. The fourth portion 53E is inclined so as to approach the third portion 53C toward the side wall 15 from the contact portion 53D.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the second portion 44 is formed in a box shape that opens toward the housing 11. The second portion 44 has a bottom surface 44A. The second portion 44 has a rib 46 protruding from the bottom surface 44A toward the housing 11.

The rib 46 is formed so as to extend along the diagonal line of the rectangular second contact portion 41. The rib 46 intersects the protrusion 18 (see FIG. 2) of the housing 11 described above when viewed from the axial direction. The tip surface of the rib 46 is a cam surface 46A along the cam surface 18A of the protruding portion 18 of the housing 11. That is, the cam surface 46A is inclined so as to approach the housing 11 as the distance from the second axis X2 increases.

The electrode member 40 is urged to the bearing 60 by the spring 50 described above. Therefore, the surface of the electrode member 40 on the housing 11 side is separated from the side wall 15.

Next, the action and effect of each member when the developing cartridge 1 is mounted on the main body housing will be described.
When the developing cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on the main body housing, the first main body side electrode comes into axial contact with the first contact portion 31 of the developing electrode 30. Further, the second main body side electrode comes into contact with the second contact portion 41 of the electrode member 40 in the axial direction. Here, the first main body side electrode and the second main body side electrode have a spring. Therefore, the second main body side electrode urges the electrode member 40 toward the housing 11.

When the electrode member 40 is urged toward the housing 11 in this way, the cam surface 46A of the electrode member 40 is pressed against the cam surface 18A of the housing 11 as shown in FIG. 5B. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the cam surface 18A of the housing 11 pushes the electrode member 40 in the direction away from the second axis X2. Therefore, the first portion 42 of the electrode member 40 can be brought into good contact with the shaft 13A of the supply roller 13.

When performing print control, the control device provided in the main body housing supplies electric power to the developing roller 12, the supply roller 13, and the blade 21. Specifically, the control device supplies electric power to the shaft 12A of the developing roller 12 via the developing electrode 30. Further, the control device supplies electric power to the shaft 13A of the supply roller 13 via the electrode member 40. Further, the control device supplies electric power to the blade 21 via the electrode member 40 and the spring 50.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the above-mentioned effects.
Since the supply electrode 100 is connected to the blade 21 without the support member 22, the electric power is better to the blade 21 than the structure in which the supply electrode 100 is connected to the blade 21 via the support member 22 which has been subjected to surface treatment and has low conductivity. Can be supplied to.

Since the spring 50 is sandwiched between the base 40A of the electrode member 40 and the housing 11, the contact state between the spring 50 and the base 40A can be kept good.

Since the coil portion 51 of the spring 50 is supported on the outer peripheral surface of the boss 17, the spring 50 can be satisfactorily positioned with respect to the housing 11.

Since the fixed wall 16 and the blade 21 are sandwiched by the holding portion 53 of the spring 50, the contact state between the spring 50 and the blade 21 can be kept good.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be used in various forms as illustrated below. In the following description, members having substantially the same structure as that of the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the electrode member 40 is connected to the blade 21 via the spring 50, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the electrode member 40 may be connected to the blade 21 via a connecting member 70 made of a conductive resin or metal as shown in FIG.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the supply electrode 200 has an electrode member 40 and a connecting member 70 similar to those in the above embodiment. The connecting member 70 has a plate-shaped portion 71 and an extending portion 72. The plate-shaped portion 71 faces the protruding portion 22C of the support member 22 and the blade 21. The plate-shaped portion 71 has a hole 71A into which the first screw S1 enters. As shown in FIG. 7, the plate-shaped portion 71 is fixed to the housing 11 together with the protruding portion 22C of the support member 22 by the first screw S1. The plate-shaped portion 71 is in contact with the blade 21.

The extending portion 72 extends from the plate-shaped portion 71 toward the rib 45 of the electrode member 40. Specifically, the extending portion 72 extends along the plane perpendicular direction of the plate-shaped portion 71. The tip of the extending portion 72 is in contact with the rib 45. Also in this form, since the supply electrode 200 is connected to the blade 21 without passing through the support member 22, the electric power is transferred to the blade 21 as compared with the structure in which the supply electrode 200 is connected via the support member 22 which has been subjected to surface treatment and has low conductivity. Can be supplied well. Further, in this form, since the connecting member 70 is fastened together with the support member 22 to the housing 11, the connecting member 70 can be brought into good contact with the blade 21 by the fastening force at the time of the joint tightening.

In the above embodiment, the connecting member (50, 70) is configured separately from the electrode member 40, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the connecting member may be integrally formed with the electrode member. For example, the connecting member 70 shown in FIG. 7 may be integrally formed with the electrode member 40.

The materials such as the developing electrode 30, the electrode member 40, and the spring 50 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the developing electrode 30 and the electrode member 40 may be made of another conductive material such as metal. Further, the spring 50 may be made of another conductive material such as a conductive resin.

In the above embodiment, the spring 50 having the coil portion 51 is exemplified as the spring, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the spring may be, for example, a leaf spring.

Each element described in the above-described embodiment and modification may be arbitrarily combined and implemented.

1 Development cartridge 11 Housing 12 Development roller 13 Supply roller 20 Layer thickness regulation blade 21 Blade 22 Support member 30 Development electrode 40A Base 50 Spring 100 Supply electrode

Claims (16)

A housing that houses toner inside,
With a developing roller
A supply roller that supplies toner to the developing roller and
A layer thickness regulating blade that comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the developing roller,
A supply electrode that is electrically connected to the supply roller and the layer thickness regulating blade.
An electrode member that is electrically connected to the rotating shaft of the supply roller,
A connecting member that electrically connects the electrode member and the layer thickness regulating blade, and has a supply electrode having the layer thickness regulating blade and a connecting member that comes into contact with the electrode member.
The electrode member is a developing cartridge made of a conductive resin. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is a spring. The spring is a coil portion extending in the axial direction of the supply roller and a linear arm portion extending from the coil portion toward the layer thickness regulating blade, and has an arm portion in contact with the layer thickness regulating blade. The developing cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the developing cartridge is provided. The electrode member has a base in which a hole for fixing the electrode member to the housing is formed.
The developing cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the coil portion is arranged between the base and the housing and is in contact with the base. The housing is a boss to which a screw is fixed and has a boss that is inserted into the hole of the base.
The developing cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the coil portion is supported by the boss. The developing cartridge according to claim 5, further comprising a developing electrode that is electrically connected to the developing roller. The developing cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the developing electrode is fixed to the boss by the screw. The developing cartridge according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the developing electrode is made of a conductive resin. The developing cartridge according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the arm portion has a sandwiching portion that sandwiches a part of the housing and the layer thickness regulating blade. The layer thickness regulating blade has a blade that comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the developing roller and a support member that supports the blade.
The developing cartridge according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the arm portion is in contact with the blade. The developing cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the spring is arranged between the housing and the base. The electrode member is
The first part in contact with the supply roller and
It has a second portion that is located at a different position from the first portion and is in contact with an external electrode.
The developing cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the base connects the first portion and the second portion. The developing cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the connecting member has a plate-shaped portion fixed to the housing by a screw together with the support member. The developing cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the connecting member is made of a conductive resin. The developing cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the connecting member is made of metal. The developing cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the support member has a through hole for inserting a screw.

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