JP3352141B2 - Process cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process cartridge used for image formation and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a printer forms a latent image by selectively exposing a uniformly charged photosensitive drum (image carrier), and visualizes the latent image with toner. At the same time, the toner image is transferred to a recording medium to record an image.
In such an apparatus, maintenance of each member is performed by a specialized service person.

The photosensitive drum, the charger, the developing device, the cleaning section, and the like are integrated into a cartridge to form a cartridge. When the user attaches the cartridge to the apparatus main body, the toner can be supplied and the life of the toner can be extended. In addition, the components such as the photoreceptor which can be replaced and which facilitate maintenance are put into practical use.

In such a cartridge, a rotatable charging roller, a developing sleeve and the like are arranged around the image carrier, and the charging roller and the like are positioned relative to the image carrier in the rotation axis direction. There is a need. Therefore, one end of the rotating shaft is pressed by a spring or the like, and the other end of the rotating shaft is brought into contact with a cartridge frame (frame) for positioning.

[0005]

However, in many cases, the rotating shaft of a charging roller or the like generally uses a metal shaft.
When the metal shaft rotates while contacting the frame, the sliding may cause the frame to be scraped. For this reason, conventionally, a material such as polyacetal which is resistant to sliding with metal is used for the frame. However, if a frame (frame) is made of polyacetal, there is a problem that the cost is increased.

In this regard, if the frame can be made of a material such as HIPS, the cost can be reduced.
When a frame (frame body) is made of such a material, there is a problem that shaving occurs due to sliding with the metal shaft, which causes play in the direction of the rotation axis, resulting in inaccurate positioning.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems,
Provided is a process cartridge and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a charging roller is positioned in a thrust direction with respect to a photosensitive drum, and there is no need to use a material that is resistant to sliding for a frame, and a cost can be reduced by selecting a cheap material. It is something you want to do.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a typical configuration according to the present invention is a process cartridge detachable from a main body of an image forming apparatus, comprising a photosensitive drum, a frame, and the photosensitive drum. A first bearing member provided on the frame to receive a shaft portion at one end of the charging roller, the charging roller being configured to be slidable in a direction of urging the photosensitive drum, A spring member for pressing the shaft portion of the one end in a thrust direction when attached to the first bearing member, slidably provided in a direction for biasing the photosensitive drum, provided on the frame, A second bearing member that receives a shaft portion at the other end of the charging roller and that is integrally provided with a contact portion that comes into contact with a thrust end of the shaft portion at the other end. Characteristic It was.

[0009]

With the above configuration, the shaft portion at one end is pressed in the thrust direction by the spring member, and the end portion of the other end shaft in the thrust direction comes into contact with the contact portion. The charging roller is positioned in the thrust direction. In addition, since the shaft of the charging roller does not contact the frame, it is not necessary to use a material that is resistant to sliding with metal for the frame, and it is possible to select an inexpensive material.

[0010]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] Next, a process cartridge in which a charging roller as one of the process means is assembled by an assembling method according to a first embodiment of the present invention and an image forming apparatus using the process cartridge will be described with reference to the drawings. I do.

{Overall Description of Process Cartridge and Image Forming Apparatus Mounted with Process Cartridge} First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus will be outlined. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a cross-sectional configuration of a laser printer having a process cartridge, which is one mode of an image forming apparatus, FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the cross-sectional configuration of the process cartridge, and FIG.

This image forming apparatus A is, as shown in FIG.
The optical system 1 irradiates a light image based on image information to form a latent image on a photosensitive drum, which is an image carrier, and develops the latent image with a developer (hereinafter, toner) to form a toner image. Then, the recording medium 2 is conveyed by the conveying unit 3 in synchronization with the formation of the toner image, and the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred by the transfer unit 4 in the image forming unit formed as a process cartridge B. The image is transferred to the recording medium 2, the recording medium 2 is conveyed to the fixing unit 5, the transferred toner image is fixed, and the image is discharged to the discharge unit 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, the process cartridge B constituting the image forming section rotates the photosensitive drum 7 as an image bearing member and uniformly charges the surface thereof by a charging means 8, thereby forming the optical cartridge. The light image from the system 1 is exposed to the photosensitive drum 7 via the exposure unit 9 to form a latent image, and the developing unit 10 forms a toner image corresponding to the latent image to make it a visible image. Then, the transfer unit 4 transfers the toner image to the recording medium 2.
After the transfer, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 7 is removed by the cleaning means 11.

The process cartridge B includes a toner frame 12, which is a first frame having a toner reservoir, a developing frame 13, which is a second frame having a developing sleeve and the like, a photosensitive drum 7, and a cleaning device. The cleaning frame 14 is a third frame having the means 11 and the like. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 15a denotes an operation unit, which includes a recording number setting button, a density setting button, a test print button, a lamp for notifying that a cartridge will be described later, and the like.

Next, the configuration of each part of the image forming apparatus A and the process cartridge B mounted thereon will be described in detail.

{Image Forming Apparatus} First, the image forming apparatus A
Regarding the configuration of each part of, optical system, conveying means, transfer means,
The fixing unit and the cartridge mounting unit will be described in this order.

(Optical System) The optical system 1 irradiates a light image on the photosensitive drum 7 by irradiating light based on image information read from an external device or the like. As shown in FIG. The 15 optical units 1a contain a polygon mirror 1b, a scanner motor 1c, an imaging lens 1d, a reflection mirror 1e, and a laser diode 1f.

When an image signal is given from an external device such as a computer or a word processor (host 62 (see FIG. 60)), the laser diode 1f emits light in accordance with the image signal, and the laser beam is emitted to the polygon mirror 1b as the image light. Irradiate. The polygon mirror 1b is rotated at a high speed by a scanner motor 1c.
Image light reflected by the imaging lens 1d and the reflection mirror 1e
The surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is selectively exposed to light to form a latent image on the photosensitive drum 7 in accordance with image information.

(Recording Medium Conveying Means) Next, the structure of the conveying means 3 for conveying the recording medium 2 (for example, recording paper, OHP sheet, cloth or thin plate) will be described. The recording medium 2 according to the present embodiment can be of two types: manual feeding and cassette feeding. The configuration for manual feeding is
As shown in FIG. 1, when one or a plurality of recording media 2 are set on the feeding tray 3a and image formation is started, the recording medium 2 on the feeding tray 3a is fed into the apparatus by a pickup roller 3b, and When a plurality of recording media 2 are set, the recording media 2 are separated and fed one by one by the separation roller pairs 3c1 and 3c2, and are conveyed so that the leading end of the recording medium 2 abuts the registration roller pairs 3d1 and 3d2. Then, the pair of registration rollers 3d1 and 3d2 are driven and rotated in accordance with the image forming operation to convey the recording medium 2 to the image forming section. Further, the recording medium 2 after image formation is conveyed to the fixing unit 5 and discharged to the discharge unit 6 by the intermediate discharge roller 3e and the discharge roller pairs 3f1 and 3f2. A guide member 3g for guiding the conveyance of the recording medium 2 is provided between the rollers.

The feed tray 3a comprises an inner member 3a1 and an outer member 3a2. When not used, the inner member 3a1 is stored in the outer member 3a2. As shown in FIG. Make up the exterior.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the configuration for feeding the cassette has a mounting portion for the cassette 3h at the inner bottom of the apparatus main body 15, and when the recording medium 2 is not manually fed, the mounting portion is provided. The recording medium 2 in the cassette 3h attached to the pair is fed one by one from the upper portion to the pair of registration rollers 3d1 and 3d2 by the pickup roller 3i and the feeding roller 3j.
The registration rollers 3d1 and 3d2 and thereafter are conveyed by the same members as those used in the manual feeding. A sensor 3k detects the presence or absence of the recording medium 2 in the cassette 3h.

(Transfer Means) The transfer means 4 is for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 7 in the image forming section to the recording medium 2, and the transfer means 4 of this embodiment is, as shown in FIG. , And the transfer roller 4. That is, the recording medium 2 is configured to be pressed against the photosensitive drum 7 of the mounted process cartridge B by the transfer roller 4, and a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 7 is applied to the transfer roller 4. (For example, in the case of the present embodiment, constant current control is performed at a DC voltage of about 1000 V), so that the toner on the photosensitive drum 7 is transferred to the recording medium 2.

(Fixing Means) The fixing means 5 fixes the toner image transferred to the recording medium 2 by applying a voltage to the transfer roller 4. As shown in FIG. 1, a driving roller 5a that is driven and rotated, and a fixing roller 5 that has a heater 5c inside and is driven to rotate by being pressed against the driving roller 5a.
b. That is, when the recording medium 2 onto which the toner image has been transferred by the image forming unit passes between the driving roller 5a and the fixing roller 5b, pressure is applied by pressing both rollers 5a and 5b, and the heat generated by the fixing roller 5b is generated. To apply heat. Thus, the toner transferred to the recording medium 2 is fixed on the recording medium 2.

(Cartridge mounting means) A cartridge mounting means for mounting the process cartridge B is provided in the image forming apparatus A. The mounting and dismounting of the process cartridge B with respect to the apparatus main body is performed by opening the openable cover 16. That is, a hinge is provided at the upper part of the apparatus main body 15.
An opening / closing cover 16 that can be opened and closed by 16a is attached. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a left guide member 17 and a right guide member 18 are attached to the inner wall surface of the main body.
The left and right guide members 17 and 18 have first guide portions 17a and 18a inclined forward and second guide portions 17b and 18 above them.
b are provided at symmetrical positions. Bearings 17c, 18c for supporting a drum bearing of the process cartridge B described later are provided at the distal ends of the first guides 17a, 18a, and the second guides 17b, 18b are provided with steps 17b1,
18b1 is provided.

The left guide member 17 has a second guide portion 17b.
A cartridge rotation restricting guide 17d is provided above the cartridge rotation restricting guide 17d. Further, the right guide member 18 is provided with a shutter cam portion 18d for opening and closing the drum shutter 35 of the process cartridge B above the second guide portion 18b.

A pressurizing member 19 is mounted above the rotation restricting portion 17d and the shutter cam portion 18d, and urges the mounted process cartridge B downward by a torsion coil spring 19a. Further, abutment members 20 for positioning the process cartridge B are provided on the front portions (front portions in the cartridge insertion direction) of the left and right guide members 17 and 18.

After the opening / closing cover 16 is opened, the process cartridge B receives the first guide portions 17a, 17a of the guide members 17, 18.
The cartridge B is mounted by being guided by the first guide portion 18a and the second guide portions 17b, 18b. The mounting of the cartridge B will be described in detail after the configuration of the process cartridge B is described.

{Process Cartridge} Next, the structure of each part of the process cartridge B mounted on the image forming apparatus A will be described.

The process cartridge B has an image carrier and at least one process means. Here, examples of the process means include a charging means for charging the surface of the image carrier, a developing means for forming a toner image on the image carrier, and a cleaning means for cleaning toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier. As shown in FIG. 3, the process cartridge B of this embodiment includes a charging unit 8, an exposing unit 9, a developing unit 10 for developing with toner, and a cleaning unit 11 around an electrophotographic photosensitive drum 7 as an image carrier. Are integrated by covering them with a housing composed of a toner frame 12, a developing frame 13, and a cleaning frame 14, and are detachably attached to the apparatus main body 15.

Next, the structure of each part of the process cartridge B will be described with reference to the photosensitive drum 7, charging means 8, exposure section 9, developing means.
10 and the cleaning means 11 will be described in detail in this order.

(Photosensitive Drum) The photosensitive drum 7 according to the present embodiment is a drum base 7a made of cylindrical aluminum.
Is coated with an organic photosensitive layer 7b. Then, the photosensitive drum 7 is moved to the cleaning frame 14 as shown in FIG.
The drive motor 71 (see FIG. 60) provided on the apparatus body side to the helical gear 7c (see FIG. 8A) fixed to one end in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 7 so as to be rotatable. By transmitting the force, the photosensitive drum 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 in accordance with the image forming operation.

As shown in the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 8A, the photosensitive drum 7 has a boss 7d1 of a gear flange 7d attached to one end in the longitudinal direction and a bearing 14 of a frame 14.
a, a metal shaft 21 (in the present embodiment, made of iron) is inserted into the hole of the resin helical gear 7c attached to the other end, and the shaft 21 is fixed to the frame 14. To be rotatable with respect to the frame 14. The shaft 21 has a shaft portion 21a.
And a flange portion 21b are integrally formed, and the flange portion 21b is attached and fixed to the frame body 14 with a screw 21c. The gear flange 7d is a spur gear, and the helical gear 7c receives the driving force from the main body to transmit the rotating force of the rotating photosensitive drum 7 to the transfer roller 4 to rotate the roller 4.

The metal shaft 21 is a conductive member, and a conductive member 22 (made of phosphor bronze in this embodiment) is formed on the drum inner surface of the photosensitive drum on the side where the metal shaft 21 is inserted. The metal shaft 21 is inserted into contact with the conductive member 22 when the metal shaft 21 is inserted. As a result, the photosensitive drum 7 is grounded to the apparatus main body via the conductive member 22 and the metal shaft 21 as described later.
That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the conductive member 22 is fitted and fixed to a boss 7c2 formed on the side surface of the flange portion 7c1 of the helical gear 7c, and has a hole 22a through which the metal shaft 21 is inserted. In addition, a contact portion 22b having a spring property is provided so as to cover the hole portion 22a. When the metal shaft 21 is inserted into the hole 22a, the tip of the shaft 21 contacts the contact portion 22b so as to push out the contact portion 22b. Further, the conductive member 22 is provided with a forked claw portion 22c protruding left and right, and the flange portion 7c1 is
The claw portion 22c contacts the inner peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7.

At the time of image formation, the photosensitive drum 7 is rotated, and a DC voltage and an AC voltage are superimposed and applied to a charging roller 8 constituting a charging means in contact with the drum 7, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is Is uniformly charged. At this time, in order to uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum, it is preferable to apply a DC voltage and an AC voltage to the charging roller 8 in a superimposed manner, and increase the frequency of the AC voltage. However, when the frequency of the AC voltage exceeds about 200 Hz, the so-called “charging noise” caused by the vibration of the photosensitive drum 7 and the charging roller 8 increases.

That is, when an AC voltage is applied to the charging roller 8, an attractive force acts between the photosensitive drum 7 and the charging roller 8 due to an electrostatic force, and the mutual attraction between the maximum value and the minimum value of the AC voltage is large. Then, the charging roller 8 is attracted to the photosensitive drum 7 while being elastically deformed. Further, in the central part of the AC voltage, the mutual attraction force decreases, and the charging roller 8
Tends to move away from the photosensitive drum 7 by the recovery force of the elastic deformation of the photosensitive drum. For this reason, the photosensitive drum 7 and the charging roller 8 generate vibration twice as high as the frequency of the applied AC voltage. Further, when the charging roller 8 is attracted to the photoreceptor drum 7, the mutual rotation is braked, and vibration due to stick-slip also occurs as if a wet glass surface is rubbed with a finger, and these generate charging noise. Appear.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to reduce the vibration of the photosensitive drum 7, as shown in the sectional view in the rotation radial direction of FIG. 8A and FIG. A filler 7e made of a rigid or elastic body is provided substantially at the center in the direction. The material of the filler 7e may be a metal such as aluminum or brass, a ceramic such as cement or gypsum, or a rubber material such as natural rubber. Any of these may be appropriately selected in consideration of productivity, workability, weight effect, cost, and the like. In this embodiment, aluminum having a weight of about 120 g is used as the filler 7e.

The shape of the filler 7e is cylindrical or cylindrical (in this embodiment, a cylindrical member is used as shown in FIG. 8B). For example, it is smaller by about 100 μm than the inner diameter of the photosensitive drum 7. The filler 7e having an outer diameter is inserted and attached into the hollow drum base 7a. That is, the drum base 7
The gap between a and the filler 7e is set to a maximum of 100 μm or less,
An adhesive (for example, cyanoacrylate or epoxy resin) 7f is applied to the outer periphery of the filler or the inner periphery of the drum base 7a, and the filler 7e is inserted and attached into the drum base 7a.

As described above, the filling material 7 is contained in the photosensitive drum 7.
By providing e, the photosensitive drum 7 rotates stably, and the vibration accompanying the rotation of the photosensitive drum 7 during image formation is suppressed. For this reason, even if the frequency of the AC voltage applied to the charging roller 8 is increased, generation of charging noise can be suppressed.

(Charging means) The charging means is for charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 7, and in this embodiment, a so-called contact charging method as disclosed in JP-A-63-149669 is used. I have. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the charging roller 8 is rotatably provided in the cleaning frame 14. The charging roller 8 has a conductive elastic layer provided on a metal roller shaft 8a, a high-resistance elastic layer provided thereon, and a protective film provided on the surface thereof. The conductive elastic layer is EPD
It is composed of a material in which carbon is dispersed in an elastic rubber layer such as M or NBR, and has a function of guiding a bias voltage supplied to the roller shaft 8a. The high-resistance elastic layer is made of urethane rubber or the like, and includes a small amount of conductive fine powder (for example, carbon) as an example. Even in this case, the leak current to the photosensitive drum 7 is limited to prevent the bias voltage from dropping sharply. The protective layer is made of N-methylmethoxylated nylon, and functions so that the plastic material of the conductive elastic layer or the high-resistance elastic layer does not touch the photosensitive drum 7 and deteriorate the surface of the photosensitive drum 7. I do.

As shown in FIG. 11 (a), the roller shaft 8a is supported by a first bearing member 23 and a second bearing member 24 which are slightly slidable in the direction of the photosensitive drum 7. 14, the bearing members 23 and 24 are urged toward the photosensitive drum 7 by a spring 25 to bring the charging roller 8 into contact with the photosensitive drum 7. That is, the bearing members 23 and 24 are forcibly fitted into the recesses 14t of the frames 14s1 and 14s2 of the frame 14, respectively, and are slidably mounted in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Urged in the direction of the photosensitive drum 7.
Further, a convex portion 14t1 is provided at the tip of the concave portion 14t so that the bearing members 23 and 24 do not fall out of the concave portion 14t. The charging roller 8 is attached to the bearing members 23 and 24 by rotatably fitting the roller shaft 8a.

As shown in FIG. 11B, the bearing members 23 and 24 have a U-shaped fitting portion 77 for receiving the roller shaft 8a. Of the roller shaft 8a is narrower than the diameter of the roller shaft 8a. When assembling the roller shaft 8a with the roller shaft 8a,
When the fitting 78 is forcibly fitted into the fitting portion 77, the entrance 78 is elastically deformed and expanded, and when the roller shaft 8a is completely fitted in the fitting portion, the expanded entrance 78 elastically returns and narrows. . Therefore, the roller shaft 8a does not fall off from the bearing members 23 and 24.

When an image is formed, the charging roller 8 rotates following the rotation of the photosensitive drum 7, and at this time, a DC voltage and an AC voltage are applied to the charging roller 8 in a superimposed manner, as described above. 7 is uniformly charged.

For this purpose, a metal contact member having a spring property is provided at one axial end of the metal roller shaft 8a of the charging roller 8.
Then, a voltage is applied to the charging roller 8 from the apparatus main body side via the contact member 26.

In this embodiment, in addition to the power supply from the contact member 26, the bearing member 23 is formed of a conductive member such as a conductive polyacetal resin, and a spring 25 for biasing the bearing member 23 is used. (Conductivity) is configured to be supplied with power from the apparatus main body. Therefore, the bearing member from the spring 25
The voltage is applied to the roller shaft 8a via the switch 23 as well.

The cleaning frame 14 has the contact member
A regulating member 14b for suppressing deformation of the roller 26 is provided. Even if a force to the left side in FIG. 10 is applied to the roller shaft 8a by dropping the process cartridge B or the like, the contact member 26 is regulated. It contacts the member 14b to prevent the contact member 26 from being plastically deformed. Further, the regulating member 14b regulates the axial movement (movement to the left in FIG. 10) of the charging roller 8, so that the charging roller 8 is always positioned on the photosensitive drum 7.

Further, the contact member 26 is constituted by a leaf spring member. The contact member 26 is brought into contact with one axial end of the charging roller 8 to move the charging roller 8 in the thrust direction (FIG. 10).
To the right).

On the other hand, the other end in the axial direction of the charging roller 8 is positioned by a bearing member 24. That is, the bearing member
24, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 (a), a key-shaped abutting portion 24a is integrally formed with the bearing member main body. By abutting the axial end of the roller shaft 8a against the abutting portion 24a, the movement of the roller shaft 8a to the right in the axial direction in FIG. 10 is restricted. The bearing member 24 is made of polyacetal (POM), has good sliding properties with the metal roller shaft 8a, and has excellent wear resistance.

As described above, the roller shaft 8a is pressed in the thrust direction by the contact member 26 in contact with one end, and the other end of the roller shaft 8a is positioned in contact with the abutting portion 24a of the bearing member 24. The movement in the direction is regulated. Therefore, the roller shaft 8a is provided with a contact member 26 having high wear resistance.
And the abutment portion 24a of the bearing member 24.
4 would not be contacted. Here, it is conceivable that the axial end of the roller shaft 8a is brought into contact with the frame body 14 so as to restrict the movement in the axial direction. 8a, such as polyphenylene oxide resin (PP
O) or the like. On the other hand, as in the present embodiment, the abutting portion 24a is attached to the wear-resistant bearing member 24.
Is provided, the position of the charging roller 8 in the axial direction can be accurately determined, and the torque can be reduced. Further, it is not necessary to increase the abrasion resistance of the frame 14, and in this embodiment, the frame 14 can be made of, for example, polystyrene resin (PS), which is cheaper than PPO, and the process cartridge B can be reduced in cost.

The material of the bearing member 24 need not be limited to polyacetal, but may be made of any other material such as nylon, as long as the material has high wear resistance with the metal roller shaft 8a. good.

In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 8
The voltage applied to the charging roller 8 in order to charge is controlled by a constant current control with an AC component V _PP = about 1800 V and a DC component V _DC1 = about −670 V.

(Exposure Unit) The exposure unit 9 exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 uniformly charged by the charging roller 8 to a light image irradiated from the optical system 1 and exposes the surface of the drum 7 to an electrostatic latent image. The opening 9 for guiding the optical image light between the developing frame 13 and the cleaning frame 14 on the upper surface of the process cartridge B as shown in the external view of the cartridge in FIG. Are provided to constitute an exposure unit. That is, the rectangular notch 9a is formed on the upper surface 13r of the developing frame 13.
Is provided, and the upper wall portion 14n of the cleaning frame 14 is arranged so as to cover a part of the notch 9a.
Is composed.

(Developing Means) Next, the developing means 10 will be described. This is to visualize the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 7 by the exposure with toner. Although the image forming apparatus A can use either magnetic or non-magnetic toner for development, this embodiment shows an example in which a process cartridge B containing magnetic toner as a one-component magnetic developer is mounted. ing.

The magnetic toner used for the development uses a polystyrene resin as a binder resin, and among them, a styrene-acryl resin is used.

As a coloring material which can be further added to the magnetic toner, conventionally known carbon black, copper phthalocyanine, iron black and the like can be used.

As the magnetic fine particles contained in the magnetic toner, a substance which is magnetized when placed in a magnetic field is used.
Powders of ferromagnetic metals such as iron, cobalt and nickel, or alloys and compounds such as magnetite and ferrite can be used.

The developing means 10 for forming a toner image with the magnetic toner has a toner reservoir 10a for accommodating toner as shown in the sectional view of FIG. A toner feeding member 10b that rotates in the direction of the arrow is provided. Further send out the toner,
The developing sleeve 10d having the magnet 10c therein is rotated to form a thin toner layer on the surface. This developing sleeve
When a toner layer is formed on 10d, frictional charge between the toner and the developing sleeve 10d is obtained due to friction between the toner and the developing sleeve 10d. Further, a developing blade 10e is attached in contact with the surface of the developing sleeve 10d to regulate the toner layer thickness.

In this embodiment, as a developing bias, an AC component V _PP = about 1600 V and a DC component V _DC2 = about −50.
0 V is applied. Note that the DC component V _DC2 of the developing bias, the DC component V _DC1 of the charging bias as described above (approximately - 670V) in the context of the value of V _DC1 -V _DC2 is higher -50 V (+ increases to the side) Fog may occur.

The toner reservoir 10a and the toner feed member 10b are provided on the toner frame 12, and the developing sleeve 10
d, The developing blade 10e is attached to the developing frame 13.
The longitudinally joined portions of the two frame members 12 and 13 are integrally formed by ultrasonic welding.

The developing sleeve 10 on which the toner layer is formed
d and the photosensitive drum 7 are positioned so as to face each other with a minute interval (about 250 μm). For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in the exploded view of FIG. 12, the outer diameter of the developing sleeve 10d is larger than the outer diameter of the developing sleeve by the above-mentioned distance outside the toner layer forming area near the both ends in the axial direction. A ring member 10f is provided, and the ring member 10f contacts the photosensitive drum 7 outside the latent image forming area.

A gear 10g is attached to one end of the developing sleeve 10d in the axial direction, and the gear 10g and the developing sleeve 10d rotate integrally. 10g of this gear is the developing frame
When the cleaning frame 13 and the cleaning frame 14 are connected, the helical gear 7c of the photosensitive drum 7 is meshed with the
The developing sleeve 10d is rotated according to the rotation of. Further, the gear 10g meshes with a gear (not shown) connected to the toner feeding member 10b, and transmits the rotational force of the photosensitive drum 7 to the toner feeding member 10b.

Thus, at the time of image formation, the toner feeding member
10b rotates to send the toner in the toner reservoir 10a to the developing sleeve 10d, and a toner layer having a constant thickness is formed on the surface of the developing sleeve 10d by the developing blade 10e. The toner is transferred according to the image.

The formation of the toner layer on the developing sleeve 10d is supplied only to the carbon-coated portion applied to the developing sleeve 10d, and the longitudinal direction (axial direction) of the photosensitive drum 7 is set.
The length of the photosensitive layer area, the area charged by the charging roller 8, and the length of the toner layer supply area (development area) to the developing sleeve 10d are configured to have a relationship of photosensitive layer area> charge area> developing area. .

It is necessary to prevent the toner in the toner reservoir 10a from leaking between the developing sleeve 10d and the developing frame 13. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, a seal 10h for preventing toner leakage is attached to both longitudinal side edges of the opening 13a provided in the developing frame 13 for sending out the toner to the developing sleeve 10d. A blowout sheet 10i that is in contact with the entire lower side edge of the opening 13a in the longitudinal direction of the developing sleeve 10d is attached.

The thickness of the toner leakage prevention seal 10h is equal to the thickness of the step formed on the lower edge 13o of the developing frame 13. When the seal 10h is attached to the developing frame 13, the seal Is the same height as the lower edge 13o.
The blowing sheet 10i is attached to the upper surface of the lower edge 13o by a double-sided tape (not shown). The longitudinal direction of the blowing sheet 10i is longer than the longitudinal direction of the opening 13a, and both ends thereof overlap and overlap with the toner leakage prevention seal 10h, and the leading edge in the short direction is on the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 10d in the axial direction. Abut with an appropriate pressing force.

The state of the overlap will be described in more detail. Since the thickness of the developing blade 10e is about 1.3 mm, as shown in FIG. 13, the longitudinal end of the developing blade 10e and the toner leakage prevention seal 10h cannot overlap with each other. There is a minute gap 10k. Then, the toner leakage prevention seal 10h and the blowout sheet 10i overlap in the axial direction outside of the gap 10k.

[0066] Thus, in forming a toner layer on the developing sleeve 10d, adheres to the developing sleeve 10d in a state in which the toner t _m that passes through the gap 10k is raised. However, the the rotation area of the toner t _m due to the absence of the toner leak preventing seals 10h, the toner t _m is collected into the toner sump 10a through the blow sheet 10i, it does not spill outside the cartridge.

FIG. 14A shows a cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. 12, and FIG. 14B shows a cross section taken along the line BB in FIG. This figure 14
As shown in (a), the blow-out sheet 10i and the toner leakage prevention seal 10h are attached to each other without bending at their overlapping portions and are substantially parallel to each other. Here, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, if the blowing sheet 10i is bent and is not in close contact with the toner leakage prevention seal 10h, there is a possibility that toner may leak from the gap S between the two. As in the example, if the blowing sheet 10i is not bent and is in close contact with the toner leakage prevention seal 10h, there is no possibility of the toner leakage.

In the structure of the present embodiment, the contact angle of the leading edge at which the blowout sheet 10i contacts the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 10d is defined by the state of the upper surface of the toner leakage prevention seal 10h. The accuracy of the upper surface does not vary. Therefore, the initial setting accuracy of the contact angle does not vary much. Furthermore, since the blowing sheet 10i is not used in a bent state, the contact angle of the sheet 10i is unlikely to change with time. Therefore, it is difficult for the toner stored in the toner frame 12 to leak out between the blowing sheet 10i and the developing sleeve 10d.

Incidentally, there is a possibility that the toner leaks from between the developing blade 10e and the developing frame 13 as well. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 and the partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 15, three long ribs 13b, 13c, and 13d are provided at the portion where the developing frame 13 abuts in the longitudinal direction of the developing blade 10e.
The first rib 13b and the second rib 13c are
e, and the third rib 13d is pressed against a blade mounting member 10j made of sheet metal or the like to mount the developing blade 10e. Further, when the tip of the second rib 13c that is in pressure contact with the developing blade 10e is formed in a sharp edge shape, the first rib 13b contacts the developing blade 10e, and the third rib 13d contacts the blade mounting member 10j. The tip of the edge-shaped second rib 13c is made of rubber and has a thickness of about 1.3.
The developing blade 10e has a length of about mm.

The edge-shaped second rib 13c is formed in a curved shape in which the central portion in the longitudinal direction slightly projects from both sides. For this reason, when attaching the developing blade 10e to the frame 13, screws near both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade attaching member 10j are screwed. Even if the central portion in the longitudinal direction is bent at this time, as described above, the second rib 13c is formed. (Preferably, about 0.1 to 0.5 mm in an A4 size width recordable cartridge).
The rib 13c surely bites into the developing blade 10e over the entire longitudinal direction. Therefore, there is no gap between the developing frame 13 and the blade 10e, and the occurrence of toner leakage can be prevented.

Even if a gap is formed between the edge-shaped second rib 13c and the developing blade 10e and the toner leaks from the gap, since the third rib 13d is in contact with the blade mounting member 10j, this portion is not removed. The toner is prevented from leaking from the outside. In particular, since the contact portion between the second rib 13c and the developing blade 10e and the contact portion between the third rib 13d and the blade mounting member 10j have a step corresponding to the thickness of the developing blade 10e and are not linear, The toner hardly leaks from the contact portion between the second rib 13c and the blade 10e through the contact portion between the third rib 13d and the blade mounting member 10j.

The developing means 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with a toner remaining amount detecting mechanism for detecting toner remaining in the toner reservoir 10a. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 16, a metal antenna wire 27 is attached to a toner passage from the toner reservoir 10 a to the developing sleeve 10 d at a connecting portion between the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 as shown in FIGS. I have. By causing the antenna wire 27 to function as a first electrode and the developing sleeve 10e to function as a second electrode, when a voltage is applied between the two electrodes, if there is toner between the two electrodes, the capacitance between the two is large, When the toner runs out, the capacitance decreases. Therefore, the control unit 60 (see FIG. 60) can detect the remaining amount of toner by detecting the change in the capacitance, and sets the value of the electric signal of the capacitance to a predetermined reference value. By comparing, it is possible to detect the "no toner" state. When the controller 60 detects the "toner out" state, for example, it flashes a lamp (process cartridge replacement notification) or the like to notify the replacement of the process cartridge B. A specific circuit for detecting the remaining amount of toner will be described later.

Here, since the joint between the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 is welded on the longitudinal side, the toner does not leak. However, welding cannot be performed on the short side of the joint. This is to prevent the toner in the toner reservoir 10a of the unused process cartridge B from leaking.
As shown in FIG. 12, an opening 12e provided in the toner frame 12 is covered and sealed with a cover film 28, and an end of the cover film 28 is exposed outward from a short side of the joint, This is for pulling out the end of the film 28 at the start of use. For this reason, a seal for preventing toner leakage is provided at the short-side joint between the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13.
29 is attached to prevent leakage of toner from the joint.

However, as described above, one end of the antenna wire 27 is connected to the frames 12 and 13 in order to apply a voltage.
Therefore, it is necessary to protrude outward from the frame body from the joint portion of the above, and to provide a contact portion 27a at the end. Therefore, the antenna wire 27 must be protruded to the outside through the short-side joint between the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 to which the toner leakage prevention seal 29 is attached. To attach this antenna wire 27,
As shown in FIG. 17, a concave portion 13e is formed in a joint portion of the developing frame 13, and an adhesive 30 such as silicon is applied to the concave 13e, and then the antenna wire 27 is dropped and adhered to the developing frame 13.
When the antenna wire 27 is dropped, as shown in FIG. 17, the adhesive 30 applied to the concave portion 13e rises so as to protrude from the concave portion 13e. If the adhesive 30 is solidified in this state, the seal 29 may not completely adhere to the developing frame 13 even when the toner leak prevention seal 29 is stuck, and a gap 31 may be formed. Although the gap 31 is small, since the toner is minute particles, the toner may leak from the gap 31.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18A, the antenna wire 27 is dropped into the recess 13e to which the adhesive 30 is applied, and then rises from the recess 13e as shown in FIG. 18B. Use an adhesive to stick the antenna wire
The swell is evened out so as to extend above 27 (to hide the antenna wire 27). After that, FIG. 18 (c)
As shown in, when the toner leakage prevention seal 29 is attached,
The seal 29 adheres tightly to the joining surface of the developing frame body 13 without forming a gap, thereby preventing toner leakage as described above. As shown in FIG. 18B, when the swelling of the adhesive 30 is leveled, an adhesive may be added in addition to the raised adhesive 30 so as to hide the antenna wire 27.

Since the contact portion 27a of the antenna wire 27 is exposed to the outside, the exposed portion of the antenna wire 27 may be hit, for example, when the process cartridge B is operated. The toner leakage prevention seal 29 is made of urethane foam or the like having a thickness of about 4 mm. This is shown in FIG. 19A when the exposed portion of the antenna wire 27 is hit due to its elasticity. As antenna wire 27
May rise from the developing frame 13. Also at this time, a minute gap 32 is formed between the frame 13 and the antenna wire 27, and there is a possibility that toner may leak from the gap 32.

For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19B, the antenna wire 27 at the joint portion between the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 has a “C” shape in the direction from the developing frame 13 to the toner frame 12. A bent portion 27b bent in a shape is provided. Since the seal 29 having a thickness of about 4 mm is compressed to about 1 mm at the bent portion 27b, it hardly elastically deforms. Therefore, even if an impact is applied to the exposed portion of the antenna wire 27 as described above, the antenna wire 27 does not rise from the recess 13e of the developing frame 13. This allows
Since there is no gap as shown in FIG. 19A, there is no possibility of toner leakage.

(Toner Leakage Prevention Seal) Next, the toner leakage prevention seal 29 will be described.
It is stuck on both longitudinal sides of 12 openings 12e. And figure
As shown in FIG. 12, on the upper surface of the seal 29 on the side from which the cover film 28 is pulled out, a shred prevention sheet 29a having a width smaller than the width in the short direction of the seal 29 and a thickness of about 0.01 mm to 1 mm is attached. is there.

The reason for providing the shred prevention sheet 29a is as follows. That is, it is necessary to manually remove the cover film 28 closing the opening 12e at the start of use of the cartridge B. At this time, the operator pulls the film 28 in the film pulling direction (the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the opening 12e).
There is no problem if it is pulled out in parallel. However, when the film is drawn at an angle α with respect to the film drawing direction as shown in FIG. 20, the cover film 28 is drawn as shown in FIG.
There is a possibility that the short side direction of the sheet is moved in one direction (upward in FIG. 21) and shrunk, and the fold thereof rubs against the toner leakage prevention seal 29 to tear off the seal 29 (the hatched portion in FIG. 21). When the toner leak prevention seal 29 is broken, toner may leak from the gap to stain the operator's hand, or toner may fall into the apparatus main body and stain the recording medium on which recording is performed.

On the other hand, if the toner leak prevention seal 29 on the side from which the cover film 28 is pulled out is provided with the shred prevention sheet 29a as in this embodiment, the folds are formed when the cover film 28 is pulled out as described above. Even if it occurs, the shred prevention sheet 29a protects the seal 29, and the seal 29 does not break. Therefore, there is no possibility of toner leakage regardless of the direction in which the cover film 28 is pulled out.

In the short direction of the seal 29, the opening
By providing the shredding prevention sheet 29a on the 12e side, when the cover film 28 is pulled out, the toner attached to the film 28 is scraped off by the shredding prevention sheet 29a, and hands are stained with the pulled out film 28. Can be prevented.

When the toner leakage preventing seal 29 and the shredding prevention sheet 29a are welded and joined to the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13, the two sides (in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cover film is pulled out) are formed. The upper and lower sides of FIG.
Since the sheet 29a is firmly fixed by being bitten by the sheet 13, the sheet 29a does not slip from the seal 29.

Here, the material for the shred prevention sheet 29a is preferably a material that is resistant to rubbing with the cover film 28, and for example, polyethylene terephthalate or a high-density polyethylene sheet is suitable.

In the case where the shred prevention sheet 29a, which is narrower than the width of the toner leak prevention seal 29 in the width direction, is attached,
As shown in FIG. 22, when the sheet 29a is attached at a predetermined interval U from the edge 29b of the toner leak prevention seal 29 in the cover film pull-out direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 22), when the cover film 28 is pulled out Nied 29b
Thus, the toner attached to the film 28 can be scraped off more effectively. If the interval U is set to about 5 mm or less, the effect of preventing the toner leakage prevention seal 29 from being broken when the cover film 28 is pulled out does not decrease.

The shred prevention sheet 29a does not have to be narrower than the width of the toner leakage prevention seal 29 in the short direction as described above, and may be affixed to the entire upper surface of the seal 29. good.

(Each Size of Photoconductor Drum, etc.) Next, each size and arrangement of the photoconductor drum 7, the charging roller 8, and the developing sleeve 10d according to the present embodiment will be exemplified with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be appropriately selected.

(1) Number of teeth of the helical gear 7c → 32 teeth (2) Diameter (D1) of the helical gear 7c → about 31.85 mm (3) Width (W1) of the helical gear 7c → about 9.8 mm (4) Number of teeth of gear flange 7d → 43 teeth (5) Diameter (D2) of gear flange 7d → about 32 mm (6) Width (W2) of gear flange 7 d → about 5.6 mm (7) Length of photosensitive drum 7 ( (L1) → approximately 254 mm (8) Length of photoconductor coating area of photoconductor drum 7 (L2) → approximately 250 mm (9) Diameter of photoconductor drum 7 (D3) → approximately 30 mm (10) Metal of photoconductor drum 7 Diameter of shaft 21 (D4) → about 10mm (11) Length of developing sleeve 10d (L3) → about 246mm (12) Length of carbon coated portion of developing sleeve 10d (L4) → about 216mm (13) Developing sleeve 10d diameter (D5) → about 16mm (14) Outer diameter (D6) of ring member 10f → about 16.5m m (15) Length of ring member 10f (L5) → about 12mm (16) Length of ring member 10f (L6) → about 9mm (17) Outer diameter (D7) of drum contact part of ring member 10f → about 16.7mm (18) Thickness of the drum contact part of the ring member 10f (E1) → about 0.3mm (19) Width of the drum contact part of the ring member 10f (W3) → about 4mm (20) Teeth of the developing gear 10g Number → 17 teeth (21) Diameter of developing gear 10g (D8) → About 18.1mm (22) Width of developing gear 10g (W4) → About 8.3mm (23) Length (L7) of charging bias contact part 49 → About 7mm (24) Width of charging bias contact 49 (W5) → about 7.8mm (25) Length of developing bias contact 48 (L8) → about 6mm (26) Width of developing bias contact 48 (W6) → about 9.4mm (27) Diameter of contact 27a of antenna wire 27 (D9) → about 2mm (28) Width of contact 27a of antenna wire 27 (W7) → About 15.5mm (29) Length of charging roller 8 (L8) → About 251mm (30) Length of charging part (rubber part) of charging roller 8 (L9) → About 225mm (31) Diameter of charging roller 8 ( (D10) → about 12mm (32) Length of roller shaft 8a (L10) → about 12mm (33) Diameter of roller shaft 8a (D11) → about 6mm

Here, the helical gear 7c and the developing gear 10g
Is a so-called helical gear, and when the gear 7c receives a driving force from the main body, the photosensitive drum 7 mounted with play receives a thrust force in the direction of the gear 7c. Then, the photosensitive drum 7 is moved in the thrust direction by receiving the thrust force, and is brought into contact with the cleaning frame 14 to be positioned in the thrust direction.

(Cleaning Unit) Next, the cleaning unit 11 is for removing the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 7 after transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 7 to the recording medium 2 by the transfer unit 4. . As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning means 11 comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 7, and a cleaning blade 11a for scraping off the toner remaining on the drum 7 and the cleaning blade 11a for scooping the scraped toner. Located below the blade 11a,
And a squeeze sheet 11b in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 7
And a waste toner reservoir 11c for storing the scooped waste toner. The squeeze sheet 11b is in light contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 7, and allows the residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 to pass therethrough, and removes the toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 by the blade 11a. 7 Guide in the direction away from the surface.

The blade 11a is a developing blade 10e.
Similarly to the above, a blade 11a made of rubber or the like is attached to a blade attachment member 11d made of a sheet metal or the like with a double-sided tape or the like, and the attachment member 11d is attached to the cleaning frame 14 with screws. The squeeze sheet 11b is attached to the squeeze sheet sticking seat surface (edge) 11c1 of the waste toner reservoir 11c with a double-sided tape or the like.

Here, it is necessary to prevent the waste toner stored in the waste toner reservoir 11c from leaking from between the longitudinal ends of the cleaning blade 11a and the cleaning frame 14 opposed thereto. Therefore, the blade 11a
Are adhered to both ends in the longitudinal direction, but if the blade 11a and the toner leakage prevention seal are not completely adhered, the toner will be transmitted through the gap between them and toner leakage will occur. . Similarly, a waste toner reservoir 11c for attaching the toner leakage prevention seal and the squeeze sheet 11b.
If the squeeze sheet affixing seat surface 11c1 is not completely in contact, the toner will leak through the gap.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 25, toner leakage prevention seals 11e are provided at both longitudinal ends of the cleaning blade 11a. The structure of the portion provided with the seal 11e will be described in more detail. As shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, the seal 11e is attached to both ends of the edge of the waste toner reservoir 11c. Both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade 11a are adhered. A partition member 11c3 protrudes from the upper edge 11c2 of the waste toner reservoir 11c so that the inner surface of the seal 11e contacts the upper edge 11c2.

Here, the attachment of the toner leakage prevention seal 11e will be described. First cleaning blade 11
mounting a to the cleaning frame 14, the edge S ₂ of the seal 11e is brought into close contact with both longitudinal end edges S ₁ of the cleaning blade 11a shown in FIG. 27 and paste. Here, the cleaning blade 11 is placed under the seat 11c1
than the distance L ₀ to a, when the width L ₁ of the seal 11e is longer, the lower end T ₁ of the seal 11e, dip sheet sticking seat surface
A gap is created in 11c1, causing toner leakage. In order to prevent this, in this embodiment, the seal is set to L ₀ > L _{1 due} to tolerance.
Gives collapse amount X to 11e, must be affixed by pressing a sealing lower end T ₁ by the shaded portion T ₂ of the dip sheet sticking seat surface 11c1, the waste toner collecting sheet stuck because of the shielding member 11c3 in this embodiment It can be prevented from sliding under the seat sideways. For this reason, the minimum value on the tolerance of the crush amount X of the seal 11e can be set to zero.

(Frame) Next, the frame constituting the housing of the process cartridge B will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the frame of the process cartridge B is a toner frame 1
2. It is composed of three frames, a developing frame 13 and a cleaning frame 14. Then, the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 are welded and integrated, and then the toner developing frame C in which the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 are integrated is referred to as a cleaning frame 14 as described later. The connection forms an integral frame as the process cartridge B. The frames 12, 13, and 14 in this embodiment are integrally formed by injection molding a polystyrene resin.

When the frame members 12, 13, and 14 are made of a material having a similar charge series to the toner component, even if the toner rubs against the inner wall of the frame member during image formation, there is no possibility that abnormal charge is caused by frictional charging. There is no reduction in image quality.

In this respect, in this embodiment, the following Table 1
As shown in the literature titled "Surface Polymers and Static Electricity" edited by The Surface Science Society of Japan, Surface Thin Film Molecular Design Series 5, by Yuji Murata, polystyrene as the material of the frame and styrene / acryl as the components of the toner Since they are of the same styrene type and have similar charging sequences, there is no possibility that abnormal charge will be generated even if the toner rubs against the inner wall of the frame. Here, the styrene-based material refers to a base material containing 60% or more of styrene of the material.

[0097]

[Table 1]

As shown in FIG. 7, the toner frame 12 is provided with a toner reservoir 10a and a toner feeding member 10b. The outer surface of the toner frame 12 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, a plurality of horizontal ribs 12d are provided in the longitudinal direction, and constitute a handle. Further, the lateral ribs 12d provided below the outer surface of the toner frame body 12 are sequentially different in length in the lateral direction, and are configured to have an overall R shape. Therefore, when the process cartridge B is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus A, the toner frame 12 is hardly slipped even if it is held by hand, and the lower portion has a shape that is easy to hold by hand. Is improved.

As shown in FIG. 7, the developing frame 13 has
A developing sleeve 10d and a developing blade 10e are provided.
As shown in FIG. 12, the developing blade 10e is attached by screwing the vicinity of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade attaching member 10j to the frame 13. In this embodiment, the blade attaching member 10j is attached prior to screwing. 10 j is positioned on the developing frame 13. Therefore, the blade mounting surface 13f of the developing frame 13
A positioning boss 13g is provided vertically, and a hole drilled in the blade mounting member 10j is fitted into the boss 13g for positioning.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 12, positioning bosses 13i are provided perpendicularly to the joint surface 13h with the toner frame 12 (provided on both longitudinal sides of the developing frame 13 as shown in FIG. 12). The boss 13i is fitted into the fitting hole 12c on the toner frame 12 side to perform joint positioning between the developing frame 13 and the toner frame 12.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 28, the blade mounting surface 13f of the developing frame 13 and the joining surface 13h are configured to be parallel. Therefore, this developing frame
When injection molding 13, 13g positioning boss for blade
And the positioning boss 13i for the toner frame are parallel to each other, so that the mold 33 only needs to be divided in the left and right direction after injection molding, and the mold 33 can be easily formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning frame 14 is provided with a photosensitive drum 7, a charging roller 8, a cleaning blade 11a as a cleaning means 11, a squeeze sheet 11b, and a waste toner reservoir 11c. When the cleaning blade 11a is mounted on the cleaning frame 14, similarly to the case where the developing blade 10e is mounted, the blade mounting member 11d is mounted by screwing the vicinity of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade to the frame 14. ,
Prior to screwing, the blade mounting member 11d is positioned on the frame 14. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 29, a positioning boss 14d is provided vertically on the blade mounting surface 14c of the frame body 14, and a hole (not shown) formed in the blade mounting member 11d is fitted into the boss 14d for positioning.

At this time, the blade mounting surface 14c is
The vertical direction is perpendicular to the direction in which the molding die 34 to be injection-molded is indicated by the arrow. By doing so, the projecting direction of the positioning boss 14d formed on the blade mounting surface 14c and the direction of removing the molding die 34 match, so that the configuration of the molding die 34 is facilitated.

A drum shutter 35 shown in FIG. 3 is rotatably mounted on the cleaning frame 14. The drum shutter 35 is for opening and closing an opening provided for the photosensitive drum 7 to face the transfer roller 4.
As will be described later, the process cartridge B is automatically opened when the process cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus A, and automatically closed when the process cartridge B is removed from the image forming apparatus A.

(Welding of Toner Frame and Developing Frame) Here, the connection between the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 will be described. The two frames 12, 13 are joined by ultrasonic welding. That is, after the cover film 28 is attached to the opening 12e of the toner frame 12 and the opening 12e is closed, as shown in FIG. 30, the toner frame 12 is set in the concave portion 75a of the receiving jig 75, The cover film pulling knob 12f formed integrally with the frame body 12 and capable of being cut off is bent downward. A jig for holding the developing frame 13 on the toner frame 12 and pressing the upper portion of the developing frame 13
Hold down with 76. When ultrasonic waves are applied to the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 in this state, the ribs 13s (see FIG. 7) provided in the longitudinal direction of the welding surface of the developing frame 13 melt, and The two frames 12 and 13 are welded together.

When the ultrasonic waves are applied, both frames 12, 13
Are easily deformed in the short direction (the direction of arrow J in FIG. 30). However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the developing frame 13 is provided with reinforcing ribs 13t in the longitudinal direction, and has a strength because the blade supporting member 10j made of a sheet metal or the like is attached. Yes, it is difficult to deform. And further a toner frame
12 has no ribs or the like, and thus is weak in strength and generally easily deformed.
As shown in FIG. 12, a flange 12g is provided on both sides of the toner frame 12 in the widthwise direction. The distance L12 between the flanges 12g is the developing frame.
13 is substantially equal to the length L13 of the joining surface 13h in the short direction, and the joining surface 13h of the developing frame 13 fits between the flanges 12g.

Therefore, when the two frames 12, 13 are ultrasonically welded, the joint surface 13h of the developing frame 13 is fixed to the flange 12 of the toner frame 12.
g, and the positioning boss 13i of the developing frame 13 is fitted into the fitting hole 12c of the toner frame 12, so that the toner frame 12 is hardly deformed, and the two frames 12, 13 Does not shift.

In welding the frame members 12 and 13,
In this embodiment, since all the frames 12, 13, and 14 are made of the same material, that is, polystyrene resin, the welding bond strength is extremely high. The developing frame 13 and the cleaning frame
The cleaning frame 14 does not necessarily need to be made of the same material as the toner frame 12 and the developing frame 13 from the viewpoint of increasing the welding bonding strength because the welding frame 14 is not welded.

In this embodiment, the positioning boss 13i is provided only on one side in the short direction of the developing frame 13 as described above. However, as shown in FIG. May be provided on both sides in the short direction. By doing so, the toner frame 12 and the developing frame at the time of welding are formed.
The deformation of the frame 13 can be prevented more reliably, and the displacement of the two frame bodies 12, 13 can be surely eliminated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 32, when a plurality of positioning bosses (not shown) of the developing frame and fitting holes 12c of the toner frame 12 into which the developing bosses are fitted are provided in a line in the longitudinal direction of the frame, Can be more reliably prevented from being deformed and displaced.
In this case, as described above, the toner frame 12
It is not necessary to provide the flange 12g on both sides in the short direction.

(Structure for facilitating assembly of process cartridge) When assembling the process cartridge B, the toner feeding member 10b is attached to the toner frame 12, the cover film 28 is attached, and the toner is stored in the toner reservoir 10a. After the antenna frame 27 is attached, the developing frame 13 is welded. Then, the developing sleeve 10d and the like are incorporated into the developing frame 13. At this time, the toner developing frame C, in which the developing frame 13 and the toner frame 12 are integrated, is fixed to the assembly tray to perform the work of assembling the components (see FIG. 34). As shown in FIG. 33A, a fitting hole 12a is provided at a predetermined position of the toner frame 12, and the frame bottom 12b is formed in a planar shape. For this reason, by fitting the member 36a provided on the assembly tray 36 into the fitting hole 12a, the toner frame 12 is easily fixed, and components such as the developing sleeve 10d and the developing blade 10e can be easily incorporated. In addition, assembling operability is improved.

The cleaning frame 14 also incorporates components such as the cleaning blade 11a into the frame 14, but in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 33B, the bottom of the cleaning frame 14 is Make it flat and fit the bottom with a fitting hole
14e is provided. Therefore, when fitting parts such as the blade 11a to the frame body 14, when the fitting projection 37a provided on the assembly tray 37 is fitted into the fitting hole 14e, the cleaning frame body 14 can be easily fixed, Parts such as the cleaning blade 11a can be easily incorporated, and assembling operability is improved.

The case where the assembly is performed by an automatic machine will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. First, in assembling the toner developing frame C, as shown in FIG. 34, an assembling tray which moves in the direction of an arrow via a conveyor roller 36b.
36, the fitting hole 12a of the toner frame 12 is
The developing blade 10e is fitted with the projection member 36a, and the developing blade 10e is screwed with. Further, the developing sleeve 10d is incorporated, and is fixed by using, and the toner developing frame C is taken out by using and the process proceeds to the next step. Also, after taking out the toner developing frame C, the assembly tray 36 is
Returning to the lower auxiliary line, the above process is repeated again.

As described above, the assembly tray 36 is mounted on the toner frame 12.
The step of clamping or unclamping the toner frame 12 can be eliminated by providing the fitting portion with the toner frame 12, and the assembly of the toner frame 12 can be easily performed.

Next, when assembling the cleaning frame 14, as shown in FIG. 35, the fitting holes 14e of the cleaning frame 14 are assembled with the assembly tray 37 which moves in the direction of the arrow via the conveyor roller 37b. Fitting protrusion 37a of tray 37
Then, the squeeze sheet 11b is attached with the, the cleaning blade 11a is assembled with the, and screwed with the.
Further, the photosensitive drum 7 is incorporated and fixed with.
Then, the assembled cleaning frame body 14 is taken out to proceed to the next step. After the cleaning frame 14 is taken out, the assembly tray 37 is returned by the lower auxiliary line, and the above steps are repeated.

Accordingly, as in the case of the toner developing frame C, the step of clamping or unclamping the cleaning frame 14 can be eliminated by providing the fitting portion with the assembly tray 37 in the same manner as the toner developing frame C. In addition, the cleaning frame 14 can be easily assembled. As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning frame 14 is provided with a locking recess 14o for the assembling machine to pinch and lock the frame 14 when moving between stations during automatic assembly. is there.

The assembling of the toner frame 12 and the cleaning frame 14 is not limited to the assembling by the automatic machine, but may be performed by using the assembling trays 36 and 37 even in the case of an assembling manual operation using a simple tool. By using it, the work efficiency can be similarly improved.

As described above, the toner frame 12 and the developing frame
13, a toner developing frame C and a cleaning frame
After assembling the components into the frame 14, the toner developing frame C and the cleaning frame 14 are combined. At this time, each frame may be placed on a table. At this time, before the toner developing frame C and the cleaning frame 14 are combined, the photosensitive drum 7 incorporated in the cleaning frame 14 and the developing sleeve 10d incorporated in the developing frame 13 are exposed. For this reason, there is a possibility that the component comes into contact with the base or the like and is damaged. In particular, the photosensitive drum 7 is the most important component for forming an image. If the surface of the drum is slightly damaged, the image is disturbed and a high-quality image cannot be obtained. Therefore, when a frame body incorporating the photosensitive drum 7 and the like is mounted on a table in an assembling operation or the like,
Great care must be taken so that the table and the photosensitive drum 7 or the table and the developing sleeve 10d do not come into contact with each other.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 36, the protrusions 14f are provided at both ends on the open side of the cleaning frame 14 in which the photosensitive drum 7 is incorporated. And the two protrusions 14
The photosensitive drum 7 is disposed so as to be inside the cleaning frame 14 than on the line connecting the tips of f. Because of this figure
As shown in FIGS. 36 and 37, when the cleaning frame 14 is placed on a table, the protrusion 14f comes into contact with the table, and the photosensitive drum 7 does not come into contact with the table. There is no danger of scratching.

Similarly, as shown in FIG.
projecting portions at both ends on the open side of the toner developing frame C in which d is to be incorporated.
13j is provided. The developing sleeve 10d is arranged inside the developing frame 13 above the line connecting the tips of the two projecting portions 13j. Therefore, when the developing frame 13 integrated with the toner frame 12 is placed on a table, the projecting portion 13j comes into contact with the table, and the developing sleeve 10d does not come into contact with the table.

As described above, the developing frame 13 and the cleaning frame
Since the developing sleeve 10d and the photosensitive drum 7 do not come into contact with the table when the 14 is mounted on the table, the photosensitive drum 7 and the like are not inadvertently damaged, and the assembling workability is improved. .

After the components are assembled into the developing frame 13 and the cleaning frame 14 which are integral with the toner frame 12 as described above, the developing frame 13 and the cleaning frame 14 are connected to form a process cartridge. Assemble B. The two frame members 13 and 14 are joined by a joining member 38 shown in FIG. 39. Next, the joining configuration will be described.

In FIG. 39, the connecting member 38 is provided with a screw hole 38b for penetrating the screw 39 with respect to the base 38a.
A vertical portion 38c and a spring mounting portion on both sides of the screw hole 38b.
38d is provided. The vertical portion 38c protrudes downward from the base 38a, and restricts the later-described connecting protrusion of the developing frame 13 from coming off. The spring mounting portion 38d is provided in parallel with the vertical portion 38c, and a compression spring 38e is provided at the tip thereof.
It is mounted so as to project further downward than 38c.

On both sides of the developing frame 13 in the longitudinal direction, the arm portions 13 are provided.
The arm 13k is provided with a connecting projection 13m so as to protrude laterally, and a spring receiving recess 13n is provided on the top surface of the arm 13k.

On the other hand, the cleaning frame 14 is provided with a coupling recess 14g into which the coupling protrusion 13m is fitted, and a fastening portion 14h is provided on the upper portion thereof. The fastening portion 14h has a fitting hole 14i into which the vertical portion 38b of the coupling member 38 fits, a female screw portion 14j to fasten the screw 39, and a through hole 14 through which the spring 38e passes.
k is provided.

The above-mentioned toner developing frame C and cleaning frame
In order to combine with FIG. 14, a perspective explanatory view of FIG.
As shown in the cross-sectional explanatory view of FIG.
Is fitted into the innermost portion of the coupling recess 14g of the cleaning frame 14, and then the coupling member 38 is fastened to the fastening portion 14h. That is, the vertical portion 38b of the coupling member 38 is fitted into the hole 14i,
After the spring 38e is passed through the through hole 14k and received in a compressed state in the spring receiving recess 13n of the developing frame 13, the screw 39 is fastened to the female screw portion 14j via the screw hole 38b.

As a result, the toner developing frame C and the cleaning frame 14 are rotatably connected around the connecting protrusion 13m, and the assembly of the process cartridge B is completed.
Then, in a state where the two frame members 13 and 14 are combined, the ring member 10f is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 and
And the position of the developing sleeve 10d are determined. Further compression spring 38
The elasticity of e causes the developing sleeve 10d to be pressed toward the photosensitive drum 7 (in this embodiment, the spring force of the compression spring 38e is set to about 2 kg so that a pressing force of about 1 kg is applied to the developing sleeve 10d. ing).

When the toner developing frame C and the cleaning frame 14 are combined, a helical gear 7c provided at a side end of the photosensitive drum 7 is provided with a gear provided at a side end of the developing sleeve 10d.
Interlock with 10g.

In the engagement configuration of the toner developing frame C and the cleaning frame 14 according to the present embodiment, the toner developing frame C can be attached and detached from the direction of the coupling concave portion 14g. Turned to Therefore, both frames 13, 14
Is positioned in the longitudinal direction (thrust direction), and a thrust stopper becomes unnecessary.

Further, since the connecting member 38 is inserted and fastened from above, the toner developing frame C can be pressurized at the same time when the connecting member 38 is attached. In this regard, conventionally, after the toner developing frame and the cleaning frame are combined, it is necessary to hook and attach the tension springs to the two frames so that the two frames are pressed against each other. And the work of attaching the spring was troublesome. According to the configuration of the present embodiment, it is possible to solve the conventional problems such as the inconvenience in mounting the tension spring and the mounting space.

When the screw 39 fastening the connecting member 38 is loosened during disassembly, the pressurization by the compression spring 38e is gradually released, and since there is no thrust stopper, the disassembly can be done very easily.

{Cartridge Mounting Configuration} Next, a configuration for mounting the process cartridge B having the above configuration to the apparatus main assembly A will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the apparatus main body 15 has first guide portions 17a and 18a and a second guide portion, respectively.
Left guide member 17 and right guide member having 17b, 18b, etc.
As mentioned above, 18 is attached. Correspondingly, as shown on the right side of the cartridge B shown in FIG. 4 and the left side shown in FIG. The shaft 14 and the bearing 14a guided along 17a and 17b project from a substantially symmetrical position. And this bearing part 14
A projecting rib 40 guided along the second guide portions 17b and 18b is provided above the shaft 21 and the shaft 21 at symmetric positions.

On the upper surface on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame 14, a pressing surface 41 against which the pressing member 19 attached to the apparatus main body 15 is pressed is provided, and a receiving portion for the abutting member 20 is provided. A positioning groove 42 is provided for abutting and positioning.

Further, on the right side in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame 14, as shown in FIG.
A projection 43 is formed, and a link 35a for opening and closing the drum shutter 35 is provided. The link section 35
“a” rotates in conjunction with the attachment / detachment operation of the process cartridge B, and the drum shutter 35 connected thereto opens and closes. still,
The opening and closing configuration of the drum shutter 35 will be described later.

Here, the case where the process cartridge B is attached to and detached from the apparatus main assembly A will be described with reference to FIGS. 42 to 45. Although the process cartridge B is similarly guided on both sides in the longitudinal direction by left and right guide members 17 and 18, only the guide of the right guide member 18 will be described here to simplify the description.

First, as shown in FIG. 42, after the opening / closing cover 16 of the apparatus main body 15 is opened, the shaft 21 of the process cartridge B is placed on the first guide portion 18a, and the projecting rib 40 is attached to the second guide portion 18b. Put on. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 43, the shaft 21 and the protruding rib 40 are slid along the guide portions 18a and 18b and pushed into the apparatus main body 15. Then
The pressurizing surface 41 of the process cartridge B is pressurized by the pressurizing member 19 of the apparatus main body 15, and the process cartridge B is pushed in while the projecting rib 40 is pressed onto the second guide portion 18b.

As shown in FIG. 44, when the projecting rib 40 passes over the step 18b1 of the second guide portion 18b, the process cartridge B is slightly rotated counterclockwise by the pressing force of the pressing member 19, 21 is supported on the first guide portion 18a. When the process cartridge B is further pushed in, the process cartridge B further rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 45, and the abutment member 20 of the apparatus main body 15 engages with the positioning groove 42 of the cartridge B. . Thereafter, when the operator releases his hand, the shaft 21 of the process cartridge B falls into the bearing portion 18c as shown in FIG. At this time, the abutment member 20 and the positioning groove 42 are engaged, and the process cartridge B
Is mounted on the apparatus main body 15 while being pressed by the pressing member 19. At this time, the helical gear 7c provided at the side end of the photosensitive drum 7 meshes with the driving gear (see FIG. 6) 45 of the apparatus main body 15, and the driving force is transmitted. Further, when the process cartridge B is mounted, the pressure applied by the pressing member 19 to the process cartridge B is reduced as the cartridge B falls downward. Therefore, the operator wearing the cartridge B can get a click feeling and easily recognize that the cartridge B is positioned at the mounting position.

The abutting member provided on the apparatus body side
20 and a positioning groove provided in the process cartridge B
42 is provided so that the contact surfaces 20a and 42a are substantially horizontal. For this reason, since the abutting member 20 may be assembled to the apparatus main body 15 so that the contact surface 20a is substantially horizontal, the design of the member 20 and the assembling to the apparatus main body 15 become easy, and a dimensional error hardly occurs. . Therefore, the process cartridge B can be easily mounted on the apparatus main body 15 accurately.

A roller 19b is attached to the pressing member 19, and when the pressing surface 41 of the process cartridge B moves while being pressed by the pressing member 19, it is slid by pressing through the roller 19b. Dynamic resistance is reduced. In this embodiment, the pressing surface 41 of the process cartridge B, which is pressed by the roller 19b, is formed in a planar shape. Can be reduced.

As is apparent from the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 and the external view of the cartridge of FIG. 4, the upper portion of the process cartridge B is substantially linear, and this upper surface is substantially parallel to the mounting direction of the cartridge. It is configured as follows. Therefore, the space for mounting the cartridge in the apparatus main body 15 can be minimized, and the space for storing, for example, toner and waste toner in the process cartridge B can be efficiently obtained.

Next, when removing the process cartridge B, as shown in FIG.
Is slightly rotated in the counterclockwise direction (the direction of arrow a) so that the protruding rib 40 can ride on the step 18b1 of the second guide portion 18b, and can be removed by pulling it out. When the process cartridge B is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the auxiliary rib 43 (see FIG. 4) abuts the shutter cam portion 18d if the process cartridge B is rotated more than necessary.
Further, in the left guide member 17, the protruding rib 40 abuts against the rotation restricting guide portion (see FIG. 5) to restrict the rotation in the counterclockwise direction. When the cartridge is mounted, the auxiliary rib 43 on the right side of the cartridge enters between the second guide portion 18b and the shutter cam portion 18d, and the projecting rib 40 on the left side of the cartridge forms the second guide portion 17b and the rotation restricting guide portion 17.
In order to enter the gap d, the trajectory when attaching and detaching the process cartridge B is further regulated, and the attaching and detaching of the process cartridge B is performed more smoothly.

{Drum Shutter Opening / Closing Configuration} The drum shutter 35 opens and closes when the process cartridge B is attached and detached. Next, the opening and closing operation will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the drum shutter 35 has arms 35b provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction so as to be rotatable about a shaft 35c.
Are provided integrally with the arm portion 35b. Therefore, when the link portion 35a is rotated, the arm portion 35b is rotated, and the drum shutter 35 is opened and closed. A link boss 35d protrudes from the arm portion 35b. The drum shutter 35 opens and closes when the link portion 35a and the link boss 35d engage with the shutter cam portion 18d. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 42 to 46 in a state where the above-described process cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus A.

A shutter cam formed on the right guide member 18
As shown in FIGS. 42 to 46, 18d has a first cam portion 18d1 with which the link portion 35a is engaged and a second cam portion 18d2 with which the link boss 35d is engaged. The inclination angle of the first cam portion 18d1 is substantially the same as that of the second guide portion 18b for guiding the projecting rib 40 of the process cartridge B, and the second cam portion 18d2
Has a larger inclination angle than the first cam portion 18d1.

Then, as shown in FIG. 42, the process cartridge B is inserted and pushed in. As shown in FIG. 43, the link portion 35a is connected to the first cam portion 18d of the shutter cam portion 18d.
Engagement with d1 causes the link portion 35a to rotate about the shaft 35c. As a result, the arm 35b rotates to rotate the drum shutter.
35 opens, but at this time, it is not in a completely opened state, but in a so-called half-open state. When the cartridge B is further pushed in, the link boss 35d engages with the second cam portion 18d2 as shown in FIG. If you push it further, Fig. 45
As shown in FIG. 7, the rotation of the arm portion 35b is caused by the engagement between the link portion 35a and the first cam portion 18d1 and the link boss 35d and the second cam portion.
When the process cartridge B is completed as shown in FIG. 46 after being taken over by the engagement with 18d2, the drum shutter 35 opens greatly so that the recording medium 2 guided and conveyed to the lower portion of the cartridge does not strike. .

When the cartridge B is pulled out of the state shown in FIG. 46 in order to remove the process cartridge B from the image forming apparatus A, the reverse of the above is performed by the urging of the torsion coil spring 35e locked on the arm 35. The link boss 35d and the link portion 35a are engaged with the shutter cam portion 18d in this order, and the drum shutter 35 is closed.

The above-described drum shutter 35 protects the photosensitive drum 7, but in this embodiment, a laser shutter is provided in the image forming apparatus A in addition to the drum shutter 35. This laser shutter is the optical system 1 described above.
The laser beam path blocking means is configured so that the laser beam emitted from the optical unit 1a (apparatus main body side) does not leak from the optical unit 1a (apparatus main body side) when the apparatus is not used.

{Laser Optical Path Blocking Configuration} Next, the configuration of the laser optical path blocking means will be described. As shown in FIG. 48, the optical unit 1a is provided with an opening 1a1 for irradiating a laser beam to the photosensitive drum 7, and the laser shutter 46 is formed by bending a sheet metal so as to close the opening 1a1. are doing. That is, the laser shutter 46 bends the sheet metal to form a shutter portion 46a, and the shutter portion 46a
A link portion 46b is integrally formed on the left side of the. The laser shutter 46 is rotatably attached to the apparatus main body 15 by a shaft 46c.

Further, an arm member 47 rotatable about a shaft 47a is mounted near the left guide member 17 for guiding the mounting and dismounting of the process cartridge B. This arm member 47
The rotation end can contact the link portion 46b of the laser shutter 46, and the process cartridge B is
The cartridge B is disposed at a position where the end of the cartridge B comes into contact with the cartridge B when the cartridge B is mounted.

In the above configuration, when the process cartridge B is guided and inserted by the left and right guide members 17 and 18, the opening / closing member of the cartridge causes the arm member 47 to move the arrow member a in FIG.
Push in the direction. As a result, the pivotal tip of the arm member 47 pushes out the link portion 46b of the laser shutter 46, and the shutter portion 46a rotates in the direction of arrow b. As a result, the opening 1a1 of the optical unit 1a is opened, and the laser beam can be irradiated on the photosensitive drum 7.

The link section 46 of the laser shutter 46
A tension spring 47b is attached to b, and the bias of the spring always urges the laser shutter 46 in a direction to close the opening 1a1. For this reason, when the process cartridge B is removed from the image forming apparatus A, the pressing by the arm member 47 is stopped, so that the laser shutter 46 is
The opening 1a1 is automatically closed by the elastic force of 47b.

Thus, a laser beam is not emitted from the optical unit 1a to the photosensitive drum or the like except during image recording. A link portion 46b and an arm member 47 for opening and closing the laser shutter 46 are disposed near the left guide member 17, and are opposite to the right guide member 18 where a link portion 35a for opening and closing the drum shutter 35 is located. Being on the side, the space for disposing them can be effectively secured.
Therefore, the space can be effectively used, and the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced. In this embodiment, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 49, the position where the protrusion 14m and the arm member 47 come into contact with each other is set at a position Y1 = about 5 to 6 mm from the longitudinal end of the cartridge.

{Offset of Handle} As shown in FIG. 49, when the process cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus A, an opening member provided on the left shoulder portion in the longitudinal direction (thrust direction) of the process cartridge B is provided. When the projection 14m presses the arm member 47 provided on the apparatus main body side to open and close the laser shutter 46, the metal shaft 21 for the drum ground protruding from the right side in the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge B substantially simultaneously. (Diameter X1 is about 10mm, protrusion amount X
2 is about 5 mm) and contacts a grounding contact member 51 which is a springy electrical contact provided on the apparatus main body side. Further, a link portion 35a provided on the right side in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge B contacts the shutter cam portion 18d of the apparatus main body to open the drum shutter 35.

Therefore, when the cartridge B is mounted, the left side of the cartridge B in the longitudinal direction is a laser shutter.
In order to open 46, a load is applied against the bias of spring 47b.
On the other hand, on the right side in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge B, a load that causes the metal shaft 21 to come into contact with the ground contact member 51 to deform the contact member 51 having a spring property and a bias of the torsion coil spring 35 e to open the drum shutter 53. Subject to loads that resist. Among the loads, the load for opening the drum shutter 53 is the largest. As a result, when inserting the cartridge B is subjected to a load offset to the right from than the cartridge longitudinal center C _2.

[0155] Therefore, in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 49, the link of the drum shutter 35 than the longitudinal center C ₂ of the longitudinal center C ₁ of the transverse rib 12d serving as grip the process cartridge B is provided on the cartridge B The lateral rib 12d is provided so as to be offset in the direction in which the end provided with the portion 35a and the metal shaft 21 as the conductive member.
That is, the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal length L11 of the center C ₂ of the (approximately 300 mm) which reverse biases the center C ₁ longitudinal approximately 10mm lateral rib 12d (the transverse rib 12d of the process cartridge B in this embodiment Center C ₁ is process cartridge B
Is shifted by about 10 mm from the center of the recording medium transport when the is mounted. Or center C ₁ is biased about 10mm than the longitudinal center of the photosensitive drum 7 included in the process cartridge B).

In this way, the operator can use the cartridge B
The when attached to the image forming apparatus A, as shown in FIG. 50, with the right side from the longitudinal center C ₂ of the cartridge B, that is the end portion side of the link portion 35a of the drum shutter 35 is provided a cartridge B is inserted into the apparatus body. As a result, a slightly larger force is applied to the end of the cartridge B where the link portion 35a is provided in the longitudinal direction than to the other end. This bias of the force cancels the opening / closing load of the drum shutter 35, so that the cartridge B can be smoothly inserted into the image forming apparatus A without rattling as a whole.

Since the horizontal rib 12d is provided in parallel with the photosensitive drum 7 provided in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge B, when inserting with the horizontal rib 12d, the longitudinal direction of the cartridge is aligned with the insertion direction. It is easy to maintain a right angle, and it is easier to reduce backlash on both sides in the longitudinal direction when the cartridge is mounted.

The handle portion is provided with a horizontal rib as shown in FIG.
It may be composed of 12d, may be composed of a concave portion 73 provided in the frame as shown in FIG. 51, or may be composed of a convex portion 74 provided in the frame as shown in FIG. good. That is, the configuration is not limited as long as the configuration is easy for the operator to hold.

Further, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which the handle is provided to be offset to the side where the link portion 35a and the metal shaft 21 of the drum shutter 35 are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the elastic force of the spring 47b of the laser shutter 46 is strong and the load against the bias of the coil spring 35e is larger than the load against the bias of the spring 47b and the load for deforming the contact member 51, the protrusion 14m The handle is biased to the side where is provided. As described above, when the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the handle portion is brought into contact with the main body side member provided on the image forming apparatus main body, so that the handle portion is biased to the side where the mounting resistance received by the frame body is large. Is provided.

{Description of Electrical Contacts} Next, electrical connection to each member when the process cartridge B is mounted will be described.

The process cartridge B is connected to the image forming apparatus A
When the image forming apparatus is mounted on the image forming apparatus, the respective contact portions provided on the process cartridge B come into contact with the contact members provided on the apparatus main body 15 side, and the process cartridge B and the image forming apparatus main body are electrically connected. That is, as shown in the cartridge lower perspective view of FIG. 53, the contact portion 27a, which is the end of the antenna wire 27 for detecting the remaining amount of toner, is exposed from the lower portion of the developing frame 13 and is developed on the developing sleeve 10d. The developing bias contact portion 48 for applying a bias is exposed. A charging bias contact portion 49 for applying a charging bias to the charging roller 8 is exposed from a lower portion of the cleaning frame 14. That is, the contact portion 27a of the antenna wire and the developing bias contact portion 48 are provided on one side of the photosensitive drum 7, and the charging bias contact portion 49 is provided on the other side. The charging bias contact portion 49 is formed by the contact member 26 described above (see FIG. 10).
And it is integrated.

Accordingly, as shown in the internal plan view of FIG. 54, the transfer roller 4 is mounted on the apparatus main body 15 so that the contact portions 27a, 48 and 49 come into contact when the process cartridge B is mounted. A contact member 50a for the antenna wire and a contact pin 50b for the developing bias contacting with the developing bias contact portion 48 are provided on one side in the conveying direction of the recording medium 2 with the contact portion 27a of the antenna wire 27 therebetween. Is provided with a charging bias contact pin 50c with which the charging bias contact 49 contacts. The contact pins 50b and 50c are, as shown in FIG.
A conductive compression spring is attached to the holder cover 50d so as not to fall off and protrude. The wiring pattern of the electric board 50e to which the holder cover 50d is attached and the contact pins 50b and 50c.
It is urged upward by 50f and is electrically connected. A curved portion is formed between the straight portions so that the charging bias contact member 49 of the contact members 48 and 49 pressed against the contact pins 50b and 50c has a curvature on the rotating hinge 16a side of the opening / closing cover 16. It has a tied bow shape. This is because when the opening / closing cover 16 to which the process cartridge B is mounted is closed in the direction of arrow c around the hinge 16a, the charging bias contact member 49 which is closest to the hinge 16a and has the smallest turning radius associated with the rotation of the opening / closing cover 16 is provided. This makes it possible to smoothly and satisfactorily make contact with the contact hinge 50c.

One shaft 21 for supporting the rotation of the photosensitive drum 7 is made of metal, and the photosensitive drum 7 is grounded via the shaft 21. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 49, the bearing portion 18 of the right guide member 18 where the shaft 21 is located when the process cartridge B is mounted.
A ground contact member 51 in the form of a leaf spring, which is grounded via a chassis or the like of the apparatus main body 15, is provided at c. The shaft 21 contacts the ground contact member 51 when the cartridge is mounted.

Here, the arrangement of the electric contacts is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG.
The contacts 48 and 49 are disposed on the same side of the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 7 and on the side opposite to the side where the helical gear 7c is provided. On the opposite side (the side where the helical gear 7c is provided), a metal shaft 21 as a drum ground contact is arranged. Then, in a direction (recording medium conveyance direction) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 7, one side of the photosensitive drum 7 (the developing unit 10
Side), a contact member 48 for developing bias is arranged.
On the other side (on the side of the cleaning means 11), a charging bias contact member 49 is arranged. The metal shaft 21 serving as a drum ground contact protrudes outward from the frame 14 and is located at the center of rotation of the photosensitive drum 7.

The developing bias contact member 48 and the charging bias contact member 49 are provided substantially in a line with respect to the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 7, and a gear flange 7d composed of a spur gear and a photosensitive drum 7 are provided. And are arranged at a position straddling. In addition, both contact members 48 and 49 are arranged on the inner side in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 7 with respect to the outer end of the gear flange 7d provided at the end of the photosensitive drum 7.

As a result, the size of the process cartridge B in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 7 can be reduced, and the size of the process cartridge can be reduced.

Further, the charging bias contact member 49 is bowed outward as described above. That is, when the process cartridge is mounted on the apparatus main body, the front end portion has a straight portion, and the straight portion is curved like a bow. As a result, even if the contact angle between the charging bias contact member 49 and the charging bias contact pin 50c on the apparatus body side varies when the process cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus A, the variation is absorbed. As a result, the contact member 49 for charging bias and the contact pin 50c for charging bias can be reliably brought into contact with each other.

Here, the charging bias contact member 49 is used when the process cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus A.
Although located at the tip in the mounting direction, the contact member 49 and the contact pin 50c are not damaged during mounting.

Further, an antenna line for allowing the apparatus main body to determine the remaining amount of toner in the toner reservoir 10a of the developing means 10
The contact portion 27a of the photoconductor 7 is on the same side as the developing bias contact member 48 with respect to the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor drum 7, and the development bias On the same side as the developing contact member 48, the developing bias contact member 48 is provided farther from the photosensitive drum 7 than the developing bias contact member 48 is.

By arranging the respective contacts as described above, the charging bias contact member 49 and the metal shaft 21 as the drum ground contact are separated from each other, so that there is a possibility that a floating capacitance is formed between the two contacts. As a result, the charging voltage becomes stable and no uneven charging occurs. In other words, if the drum ground contact is placed near other contacts, a floating capacitance will be generated between the wiring, contacts, etc. placed around the drum ground contact and the other contacts, and the development, charging, toner remaining amount detection It is easy to change the AC voltage applied to In particular, in the case of roller charging in which charging is performed by bringing the photosensitive drum 7 into contact with the photosensitive drum 7, constant voltage control is performed, so that fluctuations in AC voltage due to stray capacitance greatly disturb the image. In this regard, by arranging the respective contacts as in the present embodiment, no stray capacitance is generated, an AC voltage can be normally applied, and uneven charging or the like is eliminated.

Further, since the developing bias contact member 48 and the charging bias contact member 49 are provided on opposite sides of the photosensitive drum 7, the distance between the two contacts can be maintained and both can be electrically connected. There is no interference.

{Toner Remaining Detection and Cartridge Mounting Presence / Absence Detection Circuit} Next, detection of the toner remaining amount and detection of the mounting of the process cartridge B in this apparatus will be described. In this apparatus, as described above, the remaining amount of toner in the cartridge is detected by a change in the capacitance between the antenna wire 27 provided in the process cartridge B and the developing sleeve 10d. For this purpose, the circuit shown in FIG. 56 is provided. ing.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 56, the developing sleeve 10d and the antenna line 27 constitute a capacitor equivalently.
HV is a high-voltage power supply that applies a rectangular wave AC voltage (V _PP = about 1600 V) to the developing sleeve 10d. The high voltage from the high-voltage power supply HV actually has a rising and falling slope of a rectangular wave, and the developing sleeve 10d and the antenna line
Differential waveform ANT by capacitance between 27 and resistances R ₁ and R ₂
Is detected as The diode D ₁ is a clamp diode negative output.

The differentiated waveform ANT is divided by resistors R ₁ and R ₂ , the peak is detected by a first peak hold circuit including an operational amplifier OA 1, a diode D ₂ and a capacitor C ₁ , and converted into a DC signal. The resistor R ₃ is for the discharging capacitor C _1.

The capacitance between the developing sleeve 10d and the antenna wire 27 depends on the amount of toner existing between the developing sleeve 10d and the antenna wire 27. That is, when toner exists between the two conductors, the dielectric constant between the conductors increases, so that the capacitance between the two conductors increases. Therefore, as the toner decreases, the dielectric constant between the conductors decreases, and the capacitance also decreases. Therefore, the voltage detected by the first peak hold circuit also decreases as the toner amount decreases.

[0176] On the other hand, the output from the high-voltage power source HV is supplied to the developing sleeve 10d, the reference capacitor C ₂ and a resistor R _4, R ₅ (volume resistance), it is also supplied to the differentiating circuit formed by R ₆ . A diode D ₃ is a clamp diode negative output.

[0177] The differential waveform to be detected through the volume resistor R ₅ operational amplifier OA2, a diode D _4, the second peak hold circuit comprising a capacitor C ₃ and the discharge resistor R _7, is converted into a DC signal. The output from the second peak hold circuit for adjusting the volume resistor R ₅ to a desired reference value (in this embodiment is set to approximately 2.7V).

[0178] The output of the first peak hold circuit (a value corresponding to the potential → toner remaining amount of the capacitor C _1), the output of the second peak hold circuit (potential → reference value of the capacitor C ₃₎ is by a comparator CO1 The signals are compared and output as a signal indicating the remaining amount of toner. Therefore the developing sleeve
When the toner is present sufficient between 10d and the antenna line 27, the potential of the capacitor C ₁ is higher than the potential of the capacitor C _3, the output of the comparator CO1 becomes a high level.
The potential of the capacitor C ₁ in accordance with toner between the developing sleeve 10d and the antenna line 27 is reduced is lowered.
Then becomes lower than the potential of the capacitor C _3, the output of the comparator CO1 becomes low level. Therefore, the remaining amount of toner can be detected by the output of the comparator CO1.

In this embodiment, the process cartridge B
Is also detected whether or not is mounted on the image forming apparatus A. That is, in the circuit of FIG. 56, becomes less (about 1V in this example) potential reference potential E of the capacitor C _1, the output of the comparator CO2 becomes the low level, the process cartridge B is not mounted to the image forming apparatus A Determine.

For example, when the power is turned on, a controller for controlling the apparatus outputs a rectangular wave alternating current from the high voltage power supply HV to the developing sleeve 10d. However, process cartridge B
Is not in the apparatus main body, no signal is input to the operational amplifier OA1 because the photosensitive drum 7, the developing sleeve 10d, and the antenna line 27 in the circuit of FIG. 56 are not present. Therefore, the potential of the capacitor C ₁ at this time becomes zero level. Therefore, the reference potential E plus voltage having some margin with respect to the zero level, and by the toner in the cartridge is set to a potential lower than the potential of the capacitor C ₁ in the case of empty, the process cartridge B Presence or absence can be detected.

FIG. 57 shows the voltage relationship between the detection level of the presence or absence of the remaining toner and the detection level of the presence or absence of the cartridge. In FIG. 57, (potential of the capacitor C ₃₎ the detection reference voltage of the presence or absence of the toner remaining amount may previously set the warning level to inform toner shortage required for recording.
In this embodiment, the reference voltage is adjusted by the capacitance (approximately 7.5 pF) corresponding to the presence of about 20 g of toner between the developing sleeve 10 d and the antenna wire 27, and the volume resistance R _5.
Is adjusted and set at the factory. Further, the reference voltage for detecting whether or not the cartridge is mounted may be such that the power supply voltage is divided by a resistor.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 56, the comparator CO2 is used to detect the presence or absence of the cartridge. However, instead of the comparator, the inverters IN1 and IN2 having appropriate slice levels as shown in the circuit of FIG. 58 are used. You may. Also in this case, the detection voltage level from the antenna line 27 is changed to the resistances R ₁ and R ₁ so that the outputs of IN 1 and IN 2 do not become low level when there is no toner in the cartridge.
₂ , R ₄ , R ₅ , and R ₆ need to be adjusted.

The detection of the presence or absence of the mounting of the cartridge is carried out as shown in FIG.
As shown in ( _{1), if} the output of the capacitor C1 is sent to the control unit via the buffer amplifier BA to perform analog-digital conversion, more reliable detection becomes possible.

{Control Unit} Next, a schematic control configuration of the above-described image forming apparatus A will be described with reference to a functional block diagram shown in FIG.

In FIG. 60, reference numeral 60 denotes a control unit for controlling the entire image forming apparatus, such as a CPU such as a microprocessor, a ROM storing a control program of the CPU and various data, and a work area of the CPU. RAM used for temporary storage of various data, etc.
Etc. are provided.

The control section 60 receives a signal from a sensor group 61 having, for example, a paper jam sensor (jam sensor). Further, it receives a signal from a toner remaining amount detecting mechanism 61a for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the process cartridge B based on a change in capacitance between the antenna wire 27 and the developing sleeve 10d. Further, it receives an image signal from a host 62 such as a computer or a word processor.

The control unit 60 performs, for example, exposure 63, charging 64 (charging roller 8 and the like),
Development 65 (development sleeve 10d, etc.), transfer 66 (transfer roller 4
) And the fixing process 67 (eg, the fixing roller 5b) and the recording medium conveyance 68 (eg, the registration rollers 3d1, 3d2 and the discharge rollers 3f1, 3f2). Further, the control unit 60 controls the drive of the main drive motor 71 via a counter 70 that counts the number of drive pulses given to the driver 69.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 60 receives the toner-out signal by the toner remaining amount detection, and notifies the replacement of the process cartridge B 72 (for example, blinking a lamp or sounding a buzzer). I have.

{Image Forming Operation} Next, the operation when the process cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus A to form an image will be described.

When the recording medium 2 is set on the feed tray 3a shown in FIG. 1 and detected by a detection sensor (not shown),
Alternatively, when the cassette 3h containing the recording medium 2 is set and the recording start key is pressed, the pickup roller 3b or 3i is pressed.
Is driven, and the separation roller pairs 3c1 and 3c2 and the registration roller pairs 3d1 and 3d2 rotate to convey the recording medium 2 to the image forming unit. And the registration roller pair 3d1, 3
The photosensitive drum 7 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 in synchronization with the transfer timing of d2, and applies a charging bias to the charging roller 8 to uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 7. Then, the optical system 1 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 with a laser beam corresponding to the image signal via the exposure unit 9 to form a latent image on the surface according to the light irradiation.

At the same time as the formation of the latent image, the developing means 10 of the process cartridge B is driven, and the toner feeding member 10b is driven to send out the toner in the toner reservoir 10a in the direction of the developing sleeve 10d. Form a layer. The photosensitive drum 7 is attached to the developing sleeve 10d.
The latent image on the photosensitive drum 7 is developed with toner by applying a voltage having the same polarity and substantially the same potential as the charging polarity. The photosensitive drum 7
The toner image on the photosensitive drum 7 is transferred to the recording medium 2 by transporting the recording medium 2 between the transfer roller 4 and applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner to the transfer roller 4.

The photosensitive drum 7 onto which the toner image has been transferred further rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
The toner remaining on the photoreceptor drum is scraped off in step a, and collected in the waste toner reservoir 10c.

On the other hand, the recording medium 2 on which the toner image has been formed as described above is conveyed to the fixing means 5, where the fixing means 5 applies heat and pressure to fix the toner on the recording medium 4, and then discharges. The discharge unit 6 is driven by the rollers 3e, 3f1, and 3f2.
Discharge to The desired image is recorded on the recording medium 2 in this manner. In this embodiment, a so-called heat fixing is used as the fixing means. However, it is also possible to apply a so-called pressure fixing device or the like.

{Recycling of Process Cartridge} Next, recycling of the process cartridge according to this embodiment will be described. Conventionally, process cartridges have been discarded as they are when the stored toner has been used.
Therefore, reusable parts, such as rollers, have also been discarded. However, due to the recent increase in global environmental protection, various electric and electronic devices have been recycle (recycled and reused) instead of products as in the past, with the aim of saving resources and energy and reducing garbage. It is beginning to take place.

Therefore, even in the process cartridge according to this embodiment, components such as the charging member, the developing member, and the cleaning member have a long product life and can be used even after the toner in the cartridge is used. It is considered that the cartridge after use of the toner is collected, the parts and the like are taken out and recycled.

Here, the procedure for recycling the process cartridge will be described. The general procedure for recycling process cartridges is (1) collection, (2) sorting,
(3) disassembly, (4) sorting, (5) cleaning, (6) inspection, and (7) reassembly. This is specifically described as follows.

(1) Collection The used process cartridges are collected at a collection center in cooperation with a user and a service person.

(2) Sorting Used process cartridges collected at collection centers in various places are transported to a cartridge recycling factory. The collected used process cartridges are sorted for each model.

(3) Disassembly Disassemble the sorted process cartridges and take out parts.

(4) Sorting The picked-up parts are inspected to sort reusable parts and parts which have reached the end of their life or are damaged and are not suitable for reuse.

(5) Cleaning Only parts that have passed the selection are cleaned and reused as new cartridge parts.

(6) Inspection It is inspected whether the parts that have passed the selection and have been cleaned are fully restored in function and can be reused.

(7) Reassembly Assemble a new process cartridge using parts that have passed the inspection.

At the time of recycling, the charging roller 8 and the developing sleeve 10d are reassembled and used.
3 and 14 crash and reuse as material. At this time, if the frames 12, 13, and 14 are made of different materials, if they crash together, the mechanical properties will deteriorate when reused as a material. Therefore, it is necessary to crash each frame separately.However, since the toner frame and the developing frame are welded, they cannot be separated unless the joint between the two frames is cut. It will take.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, as described above, the toner frames 12, the developing frame 13, and the cleaning frame 14 are all made of the same material (polystyrene resin), so that the frames 12, 13, 14 are formed. Even if it is made into a crash reppet together and reused as a material, the mechanical properties are not reduced and the recycling efficiency is improved.

Further, since the polystyrene resin, which is the material of the frame, is of the same material as the toner component used in this embodiment (both are styrene), the frame of the used cartridge is not completely cleaned, and the inner wall thereof is not completely cleaned. Even if the frame body crashes in a state where the toner is adhered to the toner, the mechanical characteristics are not deteriorated as in the case where different kinds of materials are mixed.

Since the cleaning frame 14 is separable from the toner developing frame C, it is not always necessary to form the cleaning frame 14 from the same material from the viewpoint of crashing separately for each frame of the same material. However, from the viewpoint of forming the same material as the toner component as described above, the toner developing frame C is preferably formed of the same material.

However, the cleaning frame 14 needs some mechanical strength to support the photosensitive drum 7 and the like. However, when the cleaning frame 14 is made of a polystyrene resin of the same material as the toner developing frame C as in the present embodiment, polyphenylene oxide (PP
O) and polyphenylene ether (PPE), the mechanical strength is lower.

Therefore, as shown in the partially broken view of FIG. 61, the cleaning frame 14 of this embodiment straddles the cleaning frame side wall 14p that supports the rotating shaft of the photosensitive drum 7, and The upper wall portion 14n is provided so as to cover the upper side of the upper wall 7 (FIGS. 4, 7 and 48 to 52) so as to reinforce the side walls 14p.

A partition 14q is provided inside the waste toner reservoir 11c so as to be divided into a plurality of chambers, and a reinforcing rib 14r is provided on the inner side wall of each chamber. The partition 14g regulates the toner stored in the waste toner reservoir 11c from inadvertently moving in the longitudinal direction of the waste toner reservoir 11c.
It also has a function of preventing toner from leaking from c.

By reinforcing the cleaning frame 14 as described above, sufficient mechanical strength can be obtained even if the frame 14 is made of the same material as the toner developing frame C, such as polystyrene resin.

[Other Embodiments] Next, other embodiments of the components of the process cartridge and the image forming apparatus described above will be described.

(Charging Means) In the first embodiment described above, one end of the roller shaft 8a is connected to the abutting portion 24 of the bearing member 24 in order to restrict the movement of the charging roller 8 in the roller axis direction.
62, but as shown in FIG. 62, the other bearing member 23 is also provided with the abutting portion 23a, and the roller shaft 8
Alternatively, both ends of a may be abutted against the abutting portions 23a and 24a, respectively, for positioning. In this case, there is no need to provide the contact member 26, and the number of components can be reduced. In this case, the voltage is applied to the roller shaft 8a by supplying power from the spring 25 via the abutting portion 23a as described above.

In another embodiment for positioning the roller shaft 8a against the roller shaft 8a, as shown in FIGS. 63 and 64, one end of the roller shaft 8a of the charging roller 8 is fixed by a bearing member 52 having a cylindrical hole 52a. You may comprise so that it may support.
In this configuration, when the roller shaft 8a receives a biasing force in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 63, the roller shaft end comes into contact with the bottom (abutting portion) 52b of the cylindrical hole 52a and is positioned. Therefore, even with such a configuration, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

As the material of the bearing member 52, it is preferable to use a material such as polyacetal which is excellent in slidability against metal like the bearing member 24 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 65, a notch 52c may be provided on the side of the bearing member 52, and the charging roller shaft 8a may be forcibly fitted by elastically deforming the notch 52c. By doing so, the assemblability of the charging roller 8 is improved. Further, if the notch 52c is configured to face downward when the process cartridge B is mounted, even if minute shavings come out in the cylindrical hole 52a, the shavings fall down from the notch 52c and fall into the hole 52a. It will not remain. Therefore, the roller shaft 8a can be stably rotated in the hole 52a.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which one end of the charging roller shaft 8a is supported by the bearing member 24 or the bearing member 52. The processing member, for example, the bearing members 24 and 52 may support the developing sleeve 10d or a rotating shaft of another processing means such as an application roller for forming a toner layer on the peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 10d. .

In the above-described first embodiment, an example is shown in which the regulating member 14b is provided so that the contact member 26 is not plastically deformed when the charging roller shaft 8a moves. However, another embodiment is shown in FIG. As described above, the cleaning frame 14 may be provided with the rib 53 serving as a regulating member, and the contact member 26 may be fixed to the rib 53 by thermal caulking or the like. In this way, even if a force P shown by an arrow in FIG. 66 is applied to the charging roller 8, the contact member 26 comes into contact with the rib 53 and further deformation is suppressed. Therefore, even if the force P is applied by accidentally dropping the cartridge B during the physical distribution process or during use by the user, the contact member 26 can be prevented from being damaged.

As shown in FIG. 67, a cushioning material 54 such as rubber is attached to the side surface of the rib 53 with a double-sided tape or an adhesive, so that the cushioning material 54 is interposed between the rib 53 and the contact member 26. You may do it. In this way, even if a force P in the direction of the arrow is applied to the charging roller 8, the contact member 26 can be prevented from plastic deformation of the contact member 26 by the cushioning material 54. Further, if the tip of the contact member 26 and the axial end face of the rotating roller shaft 8a are not in parallel contact with each other, the tip of the contact member 26 vibrates in one contact with the axial end face of the roller shaft 8a, Easier to make noise. However, if the cushioning member 54 is provided as described above, the vibration can be suppressed and the generation of abnormal noise can be prevented.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the photosensitive drum 7 and the charging roller 8 are mounted on the same frame.
The configuration may be such that the photosensitive drum 7 and the charging roller 8 are respectively mounted on separate frames (frames).

Further, another method of attaching the charging roller will be described with reference to FIGS.

The embodiments described below are examples in which a regulating portion for regulating the movement of the roller in the axial direction is integrally provided on both bearings for supporting the shaft of the roller.

First, an example will be described with reference to FIGS. 72, 73 (a) to 73 (c) and FIG.

FIG. 72 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a drum and a charging roller are attached to a container, FIG. 73 (a) is a perspective view of a bearing, and FIG. 73 (b) is a view showing a state in which the bearing slides up and down. FIG. 73C is a side view of the drum and the charging roller.
FIG. 74 is a plan view of the charging roller supported by the bearing.

First, a drum gear 80 is integrally formed with a photosensitive drum 79 by bonding or caulking, and both ends of the drum are supported by a container 88 by drum positioning pins 81 and 82. The charging roller 8 is
3 is pressed by springs 86 and 87 via bearings 84 and 85. The charging roller 83 has its shaft 83c supported by bearings 84 and 85.

As shown in FIGS. 73 (a), (b) and (c), the bearings 84 and 85 are attached to the sliding portions 83a and 83b provided on the container 83 with respect to the container 88.
The grooves 84a and 85a provided in the groove 85 are fitted and slid in the vertical direction (the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 73B). Further, as described above, the springs 86 and 87 are disposed between the container 88 and the bearings 84 and 85, and the charging roller 83 is pressed against the drum 79 with a constant force.

Here, the position of the charging roller 83 in the thrust direction (axial direction) is regulated as shown in the respective drawings.
5 is performed by walls 84b and 85b provided integrally with the charging roller 83 and when the charging roller 83 slides,
Reference numeral 85 moves as a unit, and both ends of the charging roller 83 do not come into contact with the container 88. Therefore, the shaft end of the roller shaft does not come into contact with the container 88 and the container 88 does not wear.

The route of electrical conduction for applying a voltage to the drum ground and the charging roller 83 is as follows. First, the drum ground is provided with a contact 89 that comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the drum 79, extends to the outside of the container 88, and directly or indirectly grounds. Next, a voltage is applied to the charging roller 83 by forming one of the bearings of the charging roller 83 with a conductive material (the bearing 85 in this embodiment), and applying a pressing force to the charging roller 83 to the drum 79. At the end of the bearing 85
The side not in contact with the contact plate 90 contacts a contact plate 90, which extends to the outside of the container 88 and is connected to a power supply (not shown).

In this configuration, the drum gear 80 is driven by a gear (not shown), and the charging roller 83 pressing against the drum 79 is moved to the drum 7 by friction with the drum 79.
9 to rotate. At this time, a power supply (not shown)
The surface of the drum 79 is uniformly charged by applying a bias voltage to the charging roller 83.

Here, the position of the charging roller 83 in the thrust direction is regulated by walls 84b and 85b provided integrally with the bearings 84 and 85 as shown in FIGS. 72 and 73 (a) to (c). When the roller slides, the charging roller 83 and the two bearings 84 and 85 slide integrally, and both shaft ends of the charging roller 83 do not contact the container 88. Also, even if it receives vibration during distribution or use of the device, the charging roller moves more than the initial play even after receiving vibration because it does not use a spring that biases in the thrust direction. Never.

Now, another example of the bearing will be described.

As shown in FIG. 75, the shape of the bearing of this embodiment is not one in which walls 84c and 85c for restricting the movement of the charging roller in the thrust direction are provided on the entire surface as in the above-described embodiment. It may be provided in a portion to hold a part of the roller shaft end. According to this embodiment, the regulation walls 84c and 85
Since the contact area between c and the end of the roller shaft can be reduced, the rotation of the roller can be performed more smoothly.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A contact portion when the end of the charging roller 5 comes into contact with 5 may be provided in the ribs 84d and 85d inside the surface of the end of the charging roller.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the frictional resistance in the case of rotating by contact, and the non-contact portion does not protrude from the contact portion if the amount of shaving does not eliminate the rib. Therefore, even if the charging roller fluctuates, the fluctuation does not cause the charging roller to catch on the bearing.

In the above description, the charging roller is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a transfer roller or the like can be applied and the same effect can be obtained.

According to the above-described embodiment, the positional accuracy of the roller in the axial direction can be ensured, and the axial regulating portion can be replaced to improve the recyclability of the product, thereby reducing the total cost. Can be realized.

(Developing means) In the first embodiment described above, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, three ribs 13b, 13c, 13
d, the tip of the second rib 13c is shaped like an edge and bites into the developing blade 10e.
The shape of the tip is not necessarily an edge, but may be an acute tip as shown in FIG. 68, for example, and the tip may be strongly pressed against the developing blade 10e.

In the above-described first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, when an impact is applied to the exposed portion of the antenna wire 27, the antenna wire 27 is prevented from floating from the concave portion 13e of the developing frame 13. The wire 27 has a bent portion 27b. However, as the shape of the bent portion 27b, FIG.
It is not necessary to limit to those shown in FIG.
It is also effective to form a semi-circle as shown in (a) and a trapezoid as shown in FIG. 69 (b).

As a structure for preventing the floating of the antenna wire 27, in addition to providing the bent portion 27b on the antenna wire 27, as shown in FIG.
13p is formed to form an antenna restricting portion, and the cut 13p
The antenna line 27 may be configured to pass therethrough. In this way, even if an external force is applied to the antenna wire 27 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. There is no gap.

In addition to the configuration in which the cut 13p is provided, as shown in FIG. 71, a round hole 13q having a size through which the antenna wire 27 passes is formed in the developing frame 13 to form an antenna restricting portion.
The antenna line 27 may be configured to pass through the round hole 13q. Even in this case, even when an external force in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 71 is applied to the antenna wire 27 as in the case of the cut 13p, the antenna wire 27 does not rise from the developing frame 13.

In the first embodiment, the developing sleeve is used.
Although the positioning of the rotating shaft in the direction of 10d has not been described, the positioning may also be performed by abutting one end of the rotating shaft against a bearing member similarly to the charging roller 8 shown in FIG. The configuration of the member may be cylindrical as shown in FIGS. 63 to 65.

Further, in the case where non-magnetic toner is used, for example, in addition to the developing sleeve 10d, a toner layer is formed on the surface of the developing sleeve 10d by using a coating roller. It is preferable to position the rotary shaft by abutting the rotary shaft with the same configuration of the bearing member as described above.

(Cleaning Unit) In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the blowing sheet 10i and the toner leakage prevention seal 10h overlap in the developing unit as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. The structure shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 may be constituted by the relationship between the cleaning blade 11a, the squeeze sheet 11b and the toner leakage prevention seal 11e for the photosensitive drum 7 in the cleaning means. That is,
A squeeze sheet 11b and a toner leakage prevention seal 11e are provided outside the longitudinal ends of the cleaning blade 11a.
Should be configured to overlap.

(Others) In the process cartridge B according to the present invention, not only a case where a single color image is formed as described above, but a plurality of developing means 10 are provided, and a plurality of color images (for example,
The present invention can be suitably applied to a cartridge for forming a color image, a three-color image, or a full-color image.

As the developing method, various developing methods such as a known two-component magnetic brush developing method, a cascade developing method, a touch-down developing method, and a cloud developing method can be used.

As for the structure of the charging means, the so-called contact charging method is used in the first embodiment described above. However, as another structure, a metal shield such as aluminum is provided around three sides of a conventionally used tungsten wire. Of course, a configuration may be used in which positive or negative ions generated by applying a high voltage to the tungsten wire are moved to the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 and the surface of the drum 7 is uniformly charged. is there.

The charging means may be of a blade type (charging blade), a pad type, a block type, a rod type, a wire type, or the like, in addition to the roller type.

As a method for cleaning the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 7, the cleaning means may be constituted by using a blade, a fur brush, a magnetic brush or the like.

The above-mentioned process cartridge 9 is provided with, for example, an electrophotographic photosensitive member or the like as an image carrier and at least one of processing means. Therefore, as a mode of the process cartridge, in addition to the above-described embodiment, for example, the image carrier and the charging unit are integrally formed into a cartridge and can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. A cartridge in which the image carrier and the developing means are integrated into a cartridge, and which is detachable from the apparatus main body. A device in which the image carrier and the cleaning means are integrally formed into a cartridge and can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. Further, there is a type in which an image carrier and two or more of the above-mentioned process means are combined into a cartridge to be detachable from the apparatus main body.

That is, the above-mentioned process cartridge is a cartridge in which a charging unit, a developing unit or a cleaning unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge, and this cartridge is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. . In addition, at least one of the charging unit, the developing unit, and the cleaning unit and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge so that the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body. Further, it means that at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge so as to be detachable from the apparatus main body.

In the above-described embodiment, a laser beam printer is described as an example of an image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another apparatus such as an LED printer, an electrophotographic copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a word processor may be used. Naturally, it can be used for an image forming apparatus.

[0252]

As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to the effect that the charging roller is positioned in the thrust direction with respect to the photosensitive drum, the charging roller and the frame do not slide. Therefore, there is no need to use a material that is resistant to sliding, and an effect can be obtained in which an inexpensive material is selected to reduce costs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall sectional explanatory view of an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge is mounted.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view of a process cartridge.

FIG. 4 is an external view of a process cartridge.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a left guide member.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a right guide member.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view in which a process cartridge is divided into respective frames.

FIG. 8A is a longitudinal sectional view of a photosensitive drum,
(B) is a sectional view in the rotation radial direction.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a conductive member that contacts a metal shaft.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a bearing member of the charging roller.

FIG. 11 (a) is an explanatory perspective view of attaching a charging roller,
(B) is an explanatory view of a bearing member.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an overlapping state of a blowing seal and a toner leaking seal.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a positional relationship among a developing blade, a toner leakage prevention seal, and a blowing sheet.

14A is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 11, and FIG.
FIG.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram when the blowout sheet is bent.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which an edge-like rib bites into a developing blade.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory cross-sectional view when the adhesive of the antenna wire is raised.

18A is an explanatory view showing a state in which an adhesive is raised by dropping an antenna line, FIG. 18B is an explanatory view showing a state in which the adhesive is raised, and FIG. 18C is a view showing a state in which a seal member is attached. FIG.

FIG. 19A is a cross-sectional explanatory view when the antenna wire is not bent, and FIG. 19B is a cross-sectional explanatory view when the antenna wire is bent.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the cover film is pulled out obliquely.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the relationship with a toner leakage prevention seal when the cover film is pulled out obliquely.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a shredder prevention sheet is attached with an interval from an edge of a toner leakage prevention seal.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing the size of each part of a photosensitive drum, a developing sleeve, and a charging roller.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing the size of a charging roller.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of a toner leakage prevention seal and a partition provided at both ends of a cleaning blade.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of a toner leakage prevention seal and a partition provided at both ends of a cleaning blade.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of sticking toner leakage prevention seals provided at both ends of a cleaning blade.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the developing frame is die-cut.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the cleaning frame is die-cut.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram of a process of ultrasonically welding a toner frame and a developing frame.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory view of an embodiment in which positioning bosses for positioning the toner frame and the developing frame and fitting holes are provided on both sides in the lateral direction of the frame.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory view of an embodiment in which a plurality of positioning bosses and fitting holes are provided in the longitudinal direction of the frame body for positioning the toner frame body and the developing frame body.

33A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where a toner developing frame is mounted on an assembly tray, and FIG. 33B is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where a cleaning frame is mounted on an assembly tray.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram of a step of assembling the toner developing frame by an automatic machine.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram of a step of assembling a cleaning frame by an automatic machine.

FIG. 36 is a configuration explanatory view in which the photosensitive drum does not contact the table when the cleaning frame is placed on the table.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration in which the photosensitive drum does not contact the table when the cleaning frame is placed on the table.

FIG. 38 is a configuration explanatory view in which the developing sleeve is prevented from contacting the table when the toner developing frame is placed on the table.

FIG. 39 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a state in which the toner developing frame and the cleaning frame are connected by a connecting member.

FIG. 40 (a) is a perspective explanatory view showing a state where a coupling member is attached, and FIG. 40 (b) is a sectional explanatory view showing a state where a coupling member is attached.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a left side surface of the process cartridge.

FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 43 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 44 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 46 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 47 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where the process cartridge is removed from the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 48 is a configuration explanatory view for opening and closing a laser shutter.

FIG. 49 is an explanatory diagram in which a handle portion is configured by a horizontal rib.

FIG. 50 is an explanatory diagram of a state where the handle of the cartridge is held by hand.

FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram in which a handle portion is formed by a concave portion.

FIG. 52 is an explanatory diagram in which a handle portion is configured by a convex portion.

FIG. 53 is an explanatory diagram of the arrangement of each contact provided on the process cartridge.

FIG. 54 is an explanatory view of the arrangement of contacts provided on the apparatus main body.

FIG. 55 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a contact and a contact pin.

FIG. 56 is a circuit diagram of a remaining toner amount detection circuit.

FIG. 57 is a graph showing a relationship between a toner amount and a toner remaining amount detection voltage.

FIG. 58 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment in which the presence / absence of cartridge installation is detected by an inverter.

FIG. 59 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment in which the presence / absence of cartridge installation is detected by a digital signal.

FIG. 60 is a functional block diagram of a control configuration.

FIG. 61 is an explanatory diagram showing the inside of the cleaning frame.

FIG. 62 is an explanatory view of another embodiment in which both ends of a charging roller abut against abutment portions of a bearing member.

FIG. 63 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the charging roller bearing member.

FIG. 64 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the charging roller bearing member.

FIG. 65 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the charging roller bearing member.

FIG. 66 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the configuration for preventing deformation of the contact member.

FIG. 67 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the configuration for preventing deformation of the contact member.

FIG. 68 is an explanatory view of an embodiment in which the tip of the second rib in the developing frame is formed to have an acute angle.

FIG. 69 (a) is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a bent portion of an antenna wire is formed in a semicircular shape, and FIG.

FIG. 70 is an explanatory view of an embodiment in which a notch is provided in the developing frame body and an antenna wire is passed through the notch to prevent the antenna wire from floating.

FIG. 71 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment in which a round hole is provided in the developing frame body and an antenna wire is passed through the round hole to prevent the antenna wire from floating.

FIG. 72 is a side sectional view showing a state where a drum and a charging roller are attached to a container.

FIG. 73 (a) is a perspective view of a bearing. (B) is a perspective view showing a state where the bearing slides. (C) is a side view of the drum and the charging roller.

FIG. 74 is a plan view of a charging roller supported by a bearing.

FIG. 75 is a perspective view of a bearing to which another embodiment is applied.

FIG. 76 is a perspective view of a bearing to which another embodiment is applied.

FIG. 77 is a perspective view of a bearing to which another embodiment is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A Image forming apparatus B Process cartridge C Toner developing frame 1 Optical system 1a Optical unit 1a1 Opening 1b Polygon mirror 1c Scanner motor 1d Imaging lens 1e Reflection mirror 1f Laser diode 2 Recording medium 3 Conveying means 3a Feed tray 3a1 Inner member 3a2 Outer member 3b Pickup roller 3c1, 3c2 Separation roller 3d1, 3d2 Registration roller 3e Intermediate discharge roller 3f1, 3f2 Discharge roller 3g Guide member 3h Cassette 3i Pickup roller 3j Feed roller 3k Sensor 4 Transfer means 5 Fixing means 5a Driving roller 5b Fixing Reference Signs List 5c Heater 6 Ejector 7 Photoconductor drum 7a Drum base 7b Organic photosensitive layer 7c Helical gear 7c1 Flange 7c2 Boss 7d Gear flange 7d1 Boss 7e Filler 7f Adhesive 8 Charging means 8a Roller shaft 9 Optical part 9a Notch 10 Developing means 10a Toner reservoir 10b Toner feed member 10c Magnet 10d Developing sleeve 10e Developing blade 10f Ring member 10g Gear 10h Toner leakage prevention seal 10i Blow-out sheet 10j Blade mounting member 10k Gap 11 Cleaning means 11a Cleaning blade 11b Squeeze sheet 11c Waste toner reservoir 11c1 Squeeze sheet attachment seat surface 11c2 Upper edge 11c3 Screen member 11d Blade mounting member 11e Toner leakage prevention seal 12 Toner frame 12a Fitting hole 12b Bottom portion 12c Fitting hole 12d Side rib 12e Opening 12f Cover film pulling knob 12g Flange 13 Developing frame 13a Opening 13b First rib 13c Second rib 13d Third rib 13e Recess 13f Blade mounting surface 13g Positioning boss 13h Joint surface 13i Positioning boss 13j Projection 13k Arm 13m Coupling protrusion 13n Spring receiving recess 13o Lower edge 13p cut 13q round hole 13r Upper surface 13s Ribs 13t Reinforcement rib 14 Cleaning frame 14a Bearing 14b Restriction member 14c Blade mounting surface 14d Positioning boss 14e Fitting hole 14f Projection 14g Coupling recess 14h Fastening portion 14i Fitting hole 14j Female thread 14k Through hole 14m Projection 14n Upper wall portion 14o Locking concave portion 14p Side wall 14q Partition wall 14r Reinforcement rib 14s1, 14s2 Frame 14t Depressed portion 14t1 Convex portion 15 Device body 15a Operation portion 16 Opening cover 16a Hinge 17 Left guide member 17a First guide portion 17b Second guide portion 17b1 Step 17c Bearing 17d Rotation regulating guide 18 Right guide 18a First guide 18b Second guide 18b1 Step 18c Bearing 18d Shutter cam 19 Pressurizing member 19a Torsion coil spring 19b Roller 20 Abutment member 20a Contact surface 21 Metal shaft 21a Shaft 21b Flange 21c Screw 22 Conductive member 22a Hole 22b Contact 22c Claw 23 Bearing member 24 Bearing member 24a This part 25 Spring 26 Contact member 27 Antenna wire 27a Contact part 27b Bent part 28 Cover film 29 Toner leakage prevention seal 29a Shredder prevention sheet 30 Adhesive 31 Gap 32 Gap 33 Developing frame body forming mold 34 Cleaning frame body forming mold 35 Drum Shutter 35a Link section 35b Arm section 35c Shaft 35d Link boss 35e Torsion coil spring 36 Assembly tray 36a Member 36b Conveyor roller 37 Assembly tray 37a Fitting protrusion 37b Conveyor roller 38 Coupling member 38a Base 38b Screw hole 38c Vertical section 38d Spring mounting section 38e Compression spring 39 Screw 40 Projecting rib 41 Pressing surface 42 Positioning groove 42a Contact surface 43 Auxiliary rib 44 Link member 45 Drive gear 46 Laser shutter 46a Shutter part 46b Link part 46c Axis 47 Arm member 47a Axis 47b Spring 48 Developing bias contact Member 49 Contact member for charging bias 50a Contact member for antenna wire 50 Developing bias contact pin 50c Charging bias contact pin 50d Holder cover 50e Electrical substrate 50f Conductive compression spring 51 Grounding contact member 52 Bearing member 52a Cylindrical hole 52b Hole bottom 52c Notch 53 Rib 54 Buffer material 60 Control unit 61 Sensor group 61a Remaining toner detection sensor 62 Host 63 Exposure 64 Charge 65 Development 66 Transfer 67 Fixing 68 Transport 69 Driver 70 Counter 71 Drive motor 72 Replacement notification 73 Recess 74 Convex 75 Receiving jig 75a Recess 76 Holding jig 77 Fitting part 78 Intrusion Mouth 79 Photoreceptor drum 80 Drum gear 81/82 Drum positioning pin 83 Charging roller 83a / 83b Slide part 83c Shaft 84/85 Bearing 84a / 85a Groove 84b / 85b Wall (restriction wall) 84c / 85c Wall (restriction wall) 84d / 85d Rib 86/87 Spring 88 Container 89 Contact 90 Contact plate

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Karamaka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hideji Kawaguchi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-4-213474 (JP, A) JP-A-3-15864 (JP, A) JP-A-4-140759 (JP, A) JP-A-58-25715 (JP, U) 1988-126118 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/02

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A process cartridge detachable from a main body of an image forming apparatus, comprising: a photoconductor drum, a frame, a charging roller for charging the photoconductor drum, and slidable in a direction for urging the photoconductor drum. A first bearing member provided on the frame and receiving a shaft portion at one end of the charging roller; and a shaft portion at the one end in a thrust direction when the charging roller is attached to the first bearing member. A spring member that presses the photosensitive drum, and is slidably provided in the frame so as to receive the shaft portion at the other end of the charging roller, and the thrust of the shaft portion at the other end. A second bearing member integrally provided with an abutting portion that abuts a directional end portion, wherein the shaft portion at one end is pressed in the thrust direction by the spring member, and In front of the axis By thrust direction end portion comes into contact with the abutment portion, the process cartridge, wherein said charging roller is positioned in the thrust direction. 2. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the spring member also serves as an electrical contact for applying a voltage from the apparatus main body to the charging roller. 3. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said second bearing member is made of a resin material. 4. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus for detachably attaching a process cartridge and forming an image on a recording medium, comprising: a photosensitive drum, a frame, a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum; A first bearing member provided on the frame to receive a shaft portion at one end of the charging roller so as to be slidable in a direction of urging the photosensitive drum, and the charging roller is attached to the first bearing member. A spring member for pressing the shaft portion of the one end in the thrust direction, and a shaft portion of the other end of the charging roller provided on the frame so as to be slidable in a direction for urging the photosensitive drum. A second bearing member integrally provided with an abutting portion that abuts a thrust direction end portion of the shaft portion at the other end, wherein the shaft portion at the one end is the spring member. With the above A process cartridge in which the charging roller is positioned in the thrust direction when the thrust direction end of the shaft at the other end abuts on the abutment portion when pressed in the thrust direction. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus, comprising: a mounting unit for conveying a recording medium; and a conveying unit for conveying a recording medium.