JP4775504B2 - Cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

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

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of image forming apparatuses such as laser printers, a configuration has been provided in which development is performed by arranging a photosensitive member and a developing roller facing each other. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a developing roller is urged toward a developing position by an urging unit so that the developing roller is pressed toward the photosensitive drum and stably positioned.
JP 2005-107189 A

In the configuration of Patent Document 1, since a means for biasing the developing roller is provided in addition to the means for supplying power to the developing roller, both the positioning of the developing roller and the power supply to the developing roller can be realized. However, since each means is provided separately, there is a problem that the cartridge configuration becomes complicated.
In the configuration of Patent Document 1, means for urging the developing roller to the photosensitive member and means for supplying electric power to the developing roller are provided separately. Therefore, the means for supplying electric power is the behavior of the developing cartridge. And the developing roller may not be stably positioned at the developing position.

  The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and complicates the cartridge configuration by supplying power to the developing roller from the apparatus main body side and stably positioning the developing roller at the developing position. It aims at realizing without.

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a cartridge mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus, and is disposed opposite to a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. A developing roller; a supply roller disposed in contact with the developing roller so as to be compressed; a frame portion that accommodates the developing roller and the supply roller; and a main body of the image forming apparatus. A voltage is applied from a main body side terminal portion connected to the power supply means, and a cartridge side terminal portion electrically connected to the developing roller is provided, and the cartridge side terminal portion has a biasing means. The frame portion is provided on a wall portion opposite to the side on which the developing roller is provided, and is electrically connected to the shaft portion of the developing roller, The image roller is urged toward the photosensitive drum by the urging unit, and a voltage is applied from the power supply unit through the urging unit, and the cartridge is pressed by the body side terminal portion. The side terminal portion is configured to generate a biasing force that biases the entire frame portion toward the photosensitive drum.
The “cartridge” of the present invention includes both a process cartridge having a configuration in which a photosensitive drum and a developing roller are provided, and a developing cartridge having a configuration in which a photosensitive drum is not provided.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge-side terminal portion, when the cover member for opening and closing an opening formed on one side of the image forming apparatus is closed, the cover It is pressed by the main body side terminal portion provided on the member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cartridge according to the first or second aspect , the cartridge-side terminal portion is electrically connected to an electrical component other than the developing roller.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, the developing roller is configured to perform development while being in contact with the photosensitive drum via toner. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus, the cartridge according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is detachably provided.

  In any of the above claims, the “biasing means” may be constituted by a single part or a plurality of parts. For example, the “biasing means” may be constituted by a single part that generates an urging force, such as a spring member, or the “biasing means” may be constituted by a part that generates the urging force and another part. Good. For example, the “biasing means” may be configured by a spring member and a component biased by the spring member.

<Invention of Claim 1>
According to the first aspect of the present invention, power supply to the developing roller from the apparatus main body side and stable positioning of the developing roller to the developing position can be realized without complicating the cartridge configuration. In addition, since the voltage is applied to the developing roller via the biasing unit, the behavior of the cartridge is not easily disturbed when a voltage is applied from the power supply unit to the developing roller.
According to invention of Claim 1, it becomes a suitable example which can implement | achieve easily the structure which makes an urging means combine an urging function and a terminal function.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily and suitably realize a configuration in which the cartridge side terminal portion is pressed by the main body side terminal portion and the developing roller is urged by the pressing action.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the urging means is provided in the cartridge side terminal portion, and the urging means that is easily damaged during use is disposed on the cartridge side. In this configuration, even if the urging means breaks and does not function, it is reasonable that the function is restored by replacing the cartridge, and it is not necessary to replace the apparatus main body.

<Invention of Claim 2 >
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the main body side terminal portion is gathered into the cover member, the main body side terminal portion does not get in the way when the cartridge is attached and detached, and is easy to attach and detach.

<Invention of Claim 3 >
According to the invention of claim 3 , it is possible to realize both power supply to the developing roller and stabilization of the developing roller, and it is also possible to supply power to electric parts other than the developing roller.

<Invention of Claim 4 >
When the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are brought into contact with each other through the toner (development method), the developing roller presses the photosensitive drum against the photosensitive drum. Because of this, it is necessary to maintain an appropriate pressure. Furthermore, if the developing roller cannot follow the shake to the photosensitive drum or the pressing of the developing roller to the photosensitive drum is uneven on the left and right, as shown in FIG. An area that is not printed may occur.
FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a problem when the halftone image N is printed on the entire surface of the paper, and shows a state in which an unprinted region M is generated at the end of the developing roller. Such a problem occurs when the end portion of the developing roller slightly floats from the photosensitive drum, and particularly tends to occur when the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum increases.
On the other hand, in the configuration of the above-described Patent Document 1, means for urging the developing roller toward the photosensitive drum and means for supplying electric power to the developing roller are provided separately. The behavior of the cartridge is hindered, and the problem as shown in FIG. 29 is likely to occur. In particular, if the contact pressure of the means for supplying power to the developing roller is too high, or if it is caught on the outer wall of the cartridge, a problem occurs immediately.
On the other hand, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the means for supplying power to the developing roller does not hinder the behavior of the cartridge, the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are unlikely to become unstable at the ends. Such printing defects can be effectively prevented.

<Invention of Claim 5 >
According to the invention of claim 5, an image forming apparatus having the same effect as the cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is obtained.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus of the present invention. This laser printer 1 includes a feeder unit 4 for feeding a sheet 3 as a recording medium and an image forming unit 5 for forming an image on the fed sheet 3 in a main body casing 2. Yes.
In the main casing 2, an attachment / detachment opening 6 for attaching / detaching a process cartridge 18 described later is formed on one side wall, and a front cover 7 for opening / closing the attachment / detachment opening 6 is provided. .

  The front cover 7 is rotatably supported by a cover shaft (not shown) inserted through the lower end portion thereof. As a result, when the front cover 7 is closed around the cover shaft, the detachable opening 6 is closed by the front cover 7 as shown in FIG. 1, and when the front cover 7 is opened with the cover shaft as a fulcrum (when tilted). As shown in FIG. 2, the attachment / detachment opening 6 is opened, and the process cartridge 18 can be attached to / detached from the main casing 2 through the attachment / detachment opening 6.

Hereinafter, in the laser printer 1 and the process cartridge 18 (including a developing cartridge 26 described later), the side on which the front cover 7 is provided is referred to as “front side”, and the opposite side is referred to as “rear side”.
The feeder unit 4 includes a paper feed tray 8 that is detachably attached to the bottom of the main casing 2, a paper feed roller 9 and a separation pad (not shown) provided above the front end of the paper feed tray 8, A pinch roller 12 disposed opposite to the front side of the paper feed roller 9 and a registration roller 13 provided above the rear side of the paper feed roller 9 are provided.

  Inside the paper feed tray 8 is provided a paper pressing plate 14 on which the paper 3 can be placed in a stack. The paper pressing plate 14 is supported at the rear end so as to be swingable, so that the front end is movable in the vertical direction. A spring member 15 is provided at the front end of the paper feed tray 8 to lift the front end of the paper pressing plate 14 upward.

  When the front end portion of the sheet pressing plate 14 is lifted, the uppermost sheet 3 on the sheet pressing plate 14 is pressed by the sheet feeding roller 9 and starts to be conveyed by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 9.

  The sheets 3 fed out by the sheet feeding roller 9 are fed and fed one by one. The fed paper 3 passes between the paper feed roller 9 and the pinch roller 12 and is conveyed to the registration roller 13.

  The registration roller 13 is composed of a pair of rollers facing each other, and after the registration of the paper 3, the transfer position of the image forming unit 5 (a nip position between a photosensitive drum 28 and a transfer roller 30 described later) Then, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 28 is conveyed toward the transfer position of the paper 3.

The image forming unit 5 includes a scanner unit 17, a process cartridge 18, a fixing unit 19, and the like.
The scanner unit 17 is provided in the upper part of the main casing 2 and includes a laser light source (not shown), a polygon mirror 20 that is rotationally driven, an fθ lens 21, a reflecting mirror 22, a lens 23, a reflecting mirror 24, and the like. The laser beam based on the image data emitted from the laser light source is deflected by the polygon mirror 20 after passing through the fθ lens 21 as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. After passing through the lens 23, the optical path is further bent downward by the reflecting mirror 24, so that the surface of a photosensitive drum 28 (to be described later) of the process cartridge 18 is irradiated at high speed.

  The process cartridge 18 is detachably attached to the main body casing 2 below the scanner unit 17. The process cartridge 18 includes a drum cartridge 25 and a developing cartridge 26 that is detachably attached to the drum cartridge 25.

  Each of the drum cartridges 25 extends in the front-rear direction, and is disposed between a pair of side plates 27 (see FIG. 3) that face each other in a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “width direction”). In addition, a developing cartridge 26 is mounted, and a photosensitive drum 28, a scorotron charger 29, a transfer roller 30, and a cleaning brush 31 are provided on the rear side thereof.

  The photosensitive drum 28 extends along the longitudinal direction of the drum body 32 at the axial center of the drum body 32 having a cylindrical shape formed by a positively chargeable photosensitive layer whose outermost layer is made of polycarbonate or the like. And a metal drum shaft 33. The drum shaft 33 is non-rotatably supported by the side plates 27 of the drum cartridge 25, and the drum body 32 is rotatably supported by the drum shaft 33, so that the photosensitive drum 28 is interposed between the side plates 27. The drum shaft 33 is provided to be rotatable.

  The scorotron charger 29 is disposed oppositely and spaced apart from the rear side of the photosensitive drum 28 so as not to contact the photosensitive drum 28. The scorotron charger 29 is a positively charged scorotron charger that generates corona discharge from a charging wire such as tungsten, and can uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 to a positive polarity. It is provided as follows.

  The transfer roller 30 is rotatably supported on both side plates 27 of the drum cartridge 25, contacts the photosensitive drum 28 from the lower side in the vertical direction, and forms a nip with the photosensitive drum 28. Are arranged as follows. The transfer roller 30 is configured by covering a metal roller shaft 34 with a roller 35 made of a conductive rubber material. A transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 30 during transfer.

The cleaning brush 31 is disposed behind the photosensitive drum 28 so that the tip of the brush is in contact with the surface of the drum body 32 of the photosensitive drum 28.
The developing cartridge 26 is detachably attached to the drum cartridge 25, and includes a frame portion 36 having a box shape with an open rear side, a supply roller 37, a developing roller 38, and a frame provided in the frame portion 36. A layer thickness regulating blade 39 is provided.

  A partition plate 40 projecting downward from the upper surface thereof is provided in the frame portion 36 so as to extend in the width direction. An inner space in front of the partition plate 40 serves as a toner storage chamber 41. The internal space behind 40 is a developing chamber 42.

  In the toner storage chamber 41, positively charged nonmagnetic one-component toner is stored as a developer. Examples of the toner include polymerizable monomers such as styrene monomers such as styrene, and acrylic monomers such as acrylic acid, alkyl (C1 to C4) acrylate, and alkyl (C1 to C4) methacrylate. Polymerized toners obtained by copolymerization by a known polymerization method such as suspension polymerization are used. Such a polymerized toner has a spherical shape, has extremely good fluidity, and can achieve high-quality image formation.

Such a toner is blended with a colorant such as carbon black, wax, and the like, and an external additive such as silica is added to improve fluidity. The particle diameter is about 6 to 10 μm.
In addition, an agitator 43 for agitating the toner in the toner storage chamber 41 is provided in the toner storage chamber 41. The agitator 43 is supported at the central portion of the toner storage chamber 41 by an agitator rotation shaft 44 extending in the width direction, and the agitator 43 is rotated with the agitator rotation shaft 44 as a fulcrum, whereby the inside of the toner storage chamber 41. The toner is stirred and discharged from the toner discharge port 45 below the partition plate 40 toward the developing chamber 42.

  The supply roller 37 is disposed below the front side in the developing chamber 42 and is rotatably supported between both side plates facing the width direction of the frame portion 36. The supply roller 37 includes a metal supply roller shaft 46 extending in the width direction, and a sponge roller 47 made of a conductive foam material covering the supply roller shaft 46.

  The developing roller 38 is formed in a longitudinal shape having the axial direction of the developing roller shaft 48 as a longitudinal direction, and is disposed below the rear side in the developing chamber 42 and between both side plates facing the width direction of the frame portion 36. Is supported rotatably. The developing roller 38 is disposed so that a part of the surface of the developing roller 38 protrudes rearward from the frame portion 36 and is exposed, and the developing roller 26 is attached to the drum cartridge 25 in the front-rear direction. Opposite contact. The developing roller 38 includes a metallic developing roller shaft 48 and a rubber roller 49 made of a conductive rubber material that covers the developing roller shaft 48. The rubber roller 49 is made of conductive urethane rubber or silicone rubber containing carbon fine particles, and the surface thereof is covered with a resin material such as fluorine-containing urethane rubber or polyimide. The rubber roller 49 is disposed in contact with the sponge roller 47 of the supply roller 37 so as to be compressed with each other. A lower film 130 is provided on the frame portion 36 below the developing roller 38, and is configured to slide with the developing roller 38 so that toner does not spill.

  The layer thickness regulating blade 39 is made of a metal leaf spring material, and includes a pressing rubber member 50 having a semicircular cross section made of insulating silicone rubber at the tip. The layer thickness regulating blade 39 is supported by the frame portion 36 above the developing roller 38, and the lower end thereof faces the rubber roller 49 of the developing roller 38 from the front side, and the pressing rubber member 50 has the layer thickness. The rubber blade 49 is pressed against the elastic force of the regulating blade 39.

  The toner discharged from the toner discharge port 45 to the developing chamber 42 by the rotation of the agitator 43 is supplied onto the rubber roller 49 of the developing roller 38 by the rotation of the supply roller 37. At this time, the sponge roller 47 of the supply roller 37 is supplied. And the rubber roller 49 of the developing roller 38 are positively frictionally charged. The toner supplied onto the rubber roller 49 enters between the pressing rubber member 50 of the layer thickness regulating blade 39 and the rubber roller 49 with the rotation of the developing roller 38 to become a thin layer having a constant thickness. 49 is carried.

  On the other hand, the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is uniformly positively charged by a scorotron charger 29 and then exposed by high-speed scanning of a laser beam from the scanner unit 17 to form an electrostatic latent image based on image data. The

  Next, the rotation of the developing roller 38 causes the positively charged toner carried on the rubber roller 49 of the developing roller 38 to be formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 when it contacts the photosensitive drum 28. The electrostatic latent image, that is, the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 that is uniformly positively charged, is supplied to the exposed portion where the potential is lowered by the laser beam and is selectively supported. As a result, a toner image is formed by reversal development.

  Thereafter, the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 30 are rotationally driven so as to sandwich and convey the sheet 3 therebetween, and the sheet 3 is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 30. As a result, the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is transferred onto the paper 3.

  Note that the paper dust adhered to the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 by contact with the paper 3 after the transfer is such that the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 faces the brush of the cleaning brush 31 as the photosensitive drum 28 rotates. Is removed by that brush.

  The fixing unit 19 includes a fixing frame (not shown) provided on the rear side of the process cartridge 18, and a heating roller 52 and a pressing roller 53 that are rotatably supported by the fixing frame and are opposed to each other in the vertical direction. .

  The heating roller 52 includes a metal base tube 64 as a cylindrical member, and a halogen lamp 66 is provided along the axial direction thereof. The halogen lamp 66 heats the surface of the heating roller 52 to the fixing temperature.

  The pressing roller 53 includes a metal pressing roller shaft 80 and a rubber roller 81 made of a rubber material that covers the periphery of the pressing roller shaft 80. In the pressing roller 53, the rubber roller 81 is elastically pressed against the metal base pipe 64 of the heating roller 52, and is driven by the rotation of the heating roller 52.

  In the fixing unit 19, as shown in FIG. 1, the toner transferred onto the paper 3 is thermally fixed while the paper 3 passes between the heating roller 52 and the pressing roller 53. The sheet 3 on which the toner is fixed is transported by the transport roller 86 and moves to the paper discharge path 82. The sheet 3 conveyed to the sheet discharge path 82 is discharged onto a sheet discharge tray 84 formed on the upper surface of the main casing 2 by a sheet discharge roller 83 provided at the upper end of the sheet 3.

2. Feature Configuration Next, the feature configuration will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing the process cartridge 18, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view thereof. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state where the developing cartridge 26 is removed from the drum cartridge 25, and FIG. 6 is a side sectional view thereof. 7 is a front view of the process cartridge 18 as seen from the front, and FIG. 8 is a side view schematically showing the developing cartridge 26 as seen from the side opposite to FIG.

  The developing cartridge 26 corresponds to the cartridge of the present invention, and is configured to be mounted on the apparatus main body 1a of the laser printer 1. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the developing cartridge 26 is opposed to the photosensitive drum 28. The roller 38 and the frame portion 36 that accommodates the developing roller 38 are provided, and the process cartridge 18 is configured together with the drum cartridge 25 by being attached to the drum cartridge 25. The rollers 71 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the developing roller shaft 48 of the developing roller 38 fit into the guide grooves 72 provided in the drum cartridge 25, so that the developing cartridge 26 moves back and forth with respect to the drum cartridge 25. Installed as possible. The developing cartridge 26 is detachable from the drum cartridge 25 as shown in FIGS. Note that the “apparatus main body” of the present invention refers to a portion to which the “cartridge” is to be mounted in the entire image forming apparatus. It corresponds.

  As described above, the developing cartridge 26 has the developing roller 38. The developing roller 38 is configured so that the frame portion 36 is pressed toward the photosensitive drum 28 by the elastic force of the spring member 111. A voltage is applied via a spring member 111 from a power supply circuit 101 (a power supply circuit corresponds to power supply means) provided in the apparatus main body 1a of the laser printer 1 and biased toward the photosensitive drum 28. Is applied. The power supply circuit 101 is a known high-voltage power supply circuit that generates a predetermined high voltage based on a commercial power supply. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of the power supply circuit 101 is conceptually indicated by a broken line, but the arrangement and shape of the power supply circuit 101 are not limited to this.

  Specifically, the developing cartridge 26 has a cartridge side terminal portion 110 to which a voltage is applied from a main body side terminal portion 105 connected to the power supply circuit 101 of the apparatus main body 1a. The cartridge side terminal portion 110 is provided on the wall portion 36 a opposite to the side where the developing roller 38 is provided in the frame portion 36, and has a conductive property corresponding to a contact portion in contact with the main body side terminal portion 105. The contact member 113 and a conductive spring member 111 as an urging member that urges the contact member 113 and the frame portion 36 in a direction to separate them are provided. In addition, a spring guide member 118 is provided inside the spring member 111 so that the spring member 111 does not tilt too much.

  As described above, the laser printer 1 has a detachable opening 6 (the detachable opening 6 corresponds to the opening) formed on one side and a front cover 7 (front cover) for opening and closing the detachable opening 6. 7 corresponds to a cover member), and the main body side terminal portion 105 is provided on the front cover 7. The cartridge side terminal portion 110 is configured to be pressed against the main body side terminal portion 105 when the front cover 7 is closed as shown in FIG.

  The cartridge-side terminal portion 110 is configured such that the spring member 111 contracts from the natural state when used in the apparatus body 1a as shown in FIG. The contact member 113 is urged toward the main body side terminal portion 105, and the frame portion 36 is urged toward the rear side of the apparatus main body 1 a toward the photosensitive drum 28.

  That is, when the front cover 7 is closed, the front cover 7 is set at a predetermined position, and the space between the main body side terminal portion 105 and the frame portion 36 is narrowed. Therefore, the spring member 111 contracts from the natural state, and the contact member 113 is biased toward the main body side terminal portion 105 side. Further, in the mounted state, the contact member 113 is positioned in a state of being pressed from the main body side terminal portion 105, and the cartridge side terminal portion 110 is caused by the elastic return force of the spring member 111 that is deformed by this pressing, A biasing force that biases the developing cartridge 26 rearward is generated.

  The cartridge-side terminal portion 110 is configured to generate a biasing force that biases the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 when the process cartridge is mounted on the laser printer 1 (that is, the state shown in FIG. 1). Therefore, the developing roller 38 is positioned with high accuracy during use to achieve good development. The “use state” of the present invention means a state when image formation is performed.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the cartridge side terminal portion 110 configured as described above has a developing roller shaft 48 of the developing roller 38 (the developing roller shaft 48 corresponds to the shaft portion of the developing roller). Electrically connected. Specifically, in the cartridge side terminal portion 110, in addition to the conductive contact member 113 and the conductive spring member 111, a conductive base member 115 that receives pressure from the spring member 111 is provided. An elongated conductive member 116 is connected to the portion 115. The conductive member 116 is made of a wire or a thinly cut sheet metal, and is connected to a conductive bearing member 117 that supports the developing roller shaft 48. The bearing member 117 rotatably supports the developing roller shaft 48, and electrical connection with the developing roller shaft 48 is maintained. With such a configuration, power from the main body side terminal portion 105 is supplied to the developing roller shaft 48 via the contact member 113, the spring member 111, the base portion 115, the conductive member 116, and the bearing member 117, and the developing roller shaft A bias voltage is applied to 48.

  Further, in the configuration according to the present embodiment, the cartridge side terminal portion 110 is also electrically connected to electrical components other than the developing roller 110. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the bearing member 117 rotatably supports the supply roller shaft 46 of the supply roller 38, and the electrical connection between the bearing member 117 and the supply roller shaft 46 is performed. Is maintained. Accordingly, both power supply to the developing roller 38 and stable positioning of the developing roller 38 at the developing position can be realized, and a voltage having the same potential can be applied to an electrical component other than the developing roller 38 (here, the supply roller 38). It is like that. The “electric part” other than the developing roller 38 may be a part that requires power supply, and may be an electric part other than the supply roller 38, such as the layer thickness regulating blade 39, the lower film 130, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the present embodiment, the cartridge side terminal portions 110 are provided at both ends of the developing cartridge 26. As shown in FIGS. A voltage is applied to a member (in this embodiment, the supply roller 38) that is controlled to have the same potential as the above.
In the present embodiment, a voltage is applied to the developing roller 38 and other members (supply roller 38) only by one cartridge side terminal portion 110, and the other cartridge side terminal portion 110 is not used for voltage application. However, the voltage may be applied from the other cartridge-side terminal portion 110 to another component (for example, a component that applies a voltage at a level different from that of the developing roller 38).
In the present embodiment, the specific configuration of power supply to the lower film 130 is not shown, but when a voltage having the same potential as that of the developing roller 38 is applied, the side of one cartridge connected to the developing roller 38 This can be realized by electrically connecting the terminal portion 110 and the lower film 130. When a voltage having a potential different from that of the developing roller 38 is applied to the lower film 130, the lower film 130 is electrically connected to the other cartridge side terminal portion 110, and the other cartridge side terminal portion is configured. This can be realized by applying a predetermined voltage to 110 from the apparatus main body 1a side.

As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, in this embodiment, a pair of left and right cartridge side terminal portions 110 are provided, and a spring member 111 as an urging member is provided for each (that is, a pair of urging members are provided on the left and right sides). Therefore, the developing cartridge 26 can be positioned more stably.
In this embodiment, a pair of left and right spring members 111 are provided on each of the cartridge side terminal portions 110 and 110, and power is supplied only by one cartridge side terminal portion 110. You may make it use for.

  The developing roller 38, the supply roller 37, and the agitator rotating shaft 44 rotate in conjunction with a driving gear 120 that rotates by receiving the driving of a main motor (not shown). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, a first gear 138 fixed to the developing roller shaft 48 of the developing roller 38 and a second gear 137 fixed to the supply roller shaft 46 of the supply roller 37 are provided. ing. The drive gear 120 is integrally provided with a coupling portion 121 so that a driving force is transmitted from a driving force input coupling portion (not shown) on the apparatus main body 1a side. The first gear 138 and the second gear 137 receive a driving force by gear transmission from the driving gear 120, and the developing roller 38 and the supply roller 37 are rotated accordingly. A third gear 144 is fixed to the agitator rotating shaft 44, and the third gear 144 receives driving force from the driving gear 120 via the intermediate gear 122 and rotates to rotate the agitator rotating shaft 44. It has become.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a voltage is applied from the power supply circuit 101 (power supply means) provided in the apparatus main body of the laser printer 1 via the conductive spring member 111 as an urging member. It has become. Therefore, in the laser printer 1, the urging means can be used both as the urging function for urging the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 and the terminal function for supplying power to the developing roller 38. It has become.

  Further, the developing cartridge 26 is provided with a cartridge side terminal portion 110 to which a voltage is applied from a main body side terminal portion 105 connected to the power supply circuit 101 of the apparatus main body 1a. The conductive spring member 111 is an urging member. The spring member 111 and the contact member 113 constitute an urging means. According to this configuration, it is possible to easily realize a configuration in which the biasing unit has both the biasing function and the terminal function.

  Further, the cartridge side terminal portion 110 of the developing cartridge 26 is configured to generate a biasing force that biases the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 when pressed from the main body side terminal portion 105. In this configuration, the cartridge-side terminal portion 110 has a function of supplying power from the apparatus main body side to the developing roller 38 and a function of stably transmitting the urging force to the developing roller 38 and positioning the developing roller 38 at the developing position. It will also serve as. Therefore, both functions can be suitably realized without complicating the cartridge configuration.

  Further, the cartridge side terminal portion 110 is configured to generate a biasing force that biases the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 in a use state where the developing cartridge 26 is attached to the laser printer 1. Therefore, the developing roller 38 is positioned with high accuracy during use, and good development is realized.

  The cartridge side terminal portion 110 is provided on the wall portion 36a opposite to the side where the developing roller 38 is provided in the frame portion 36, and is electrically connected to the developing roller shaft 48 (shaft portion) of the developing roller 38. The urging force for urging the frame portion 36 toward the photosensitive drum 28 is generated by pressing from the main body side terminal portion 105. According to this configuration, the configuration in which the cartridge side terminal portion 110 is pressed by the main body side terminal portion 105 and the developing roller 38 is urged by the pressing action can be realized easily and suitably.

  In addition, the laser printer 1 has a detachable opening 6 formed on one side, a front cover 7 that opens and closes the detachable opening 6, and a main body side terminal 105 is provided on the front cover 7. ing. The cartridge side terminal portion 110 is configured to be pressed by the main body side terminal portion 105 when the front cover 7 is closed. According to this configuration, since the main body side terminal portion 105 is provided on the front cover 7, when the front cover 7 is opened, the main body side terminal portion 105 moves to the retracted position retracted from the attaching / detaching path of the developing cartridge 26. . Accordingly, when the developing cartridge 26 is attached / detached, the main body side terminal portion 105 does not get in the way, and the developing cartridge 26 can be easily attached / detached (that is, the process cartridge 18 is attached / detached).

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
9 is a side sectional view conceptually illustrating the laser printer 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the front cover 7 is opened in the laser printer 1 of FIG. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the cartridge side terminal portion and the main body side terminal portion, and the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the cartridge-side terminal portion 210 provided on the developing cartridge 26 is pressed by the main-body-side terminal portion 205 of the apparatus main body 1a and the urging force (that is, the entire frame portion 36 of the developing cartridge 26 is moved to the photosensitive drum 28 side. Force to push out). If this configuration is adopted, the main body side terminal portion 205 of the apparatus main body 1a has the urging means, so that it is not necessary to provide the urging means in the cartridge side terminal portion 210. Therefore, there is an advantage that the configuration on the process cartridge side can be simplified. This will be specifically described below.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the developing cartridge 26 used in the laser printer 1 of the second embodiment is configured as a cartridge including a developing roller 38 as in the first embodiment. In the developing cartridge 26, the developing roller 38 is configured to be urged toward the photosensitive drum 28 by the elastic force of the conductive spring member 207, and is provided in the apparatus main body 1a of the laser printer 1. A voltage is applied via a spring member 207 from a power supply circuit 101 (power supply means) similar to the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the spring member 207 and the contact member 206 constitute an urging means.

  The developing cartridge 26 has a cartridge side terminal portion 210 to which a voltage is applied from a main body side terminal portion 205 connected to the power supply circuit 101 of the apparatus main body 1a. The cartridge-side terminal portion 210 is provided on the wall portion 36a opposite to the side on which the developing roller 38 is provided in the frame portion 36, and is configured by a conductive metal member that contacts the body-side terminal portion 105. Has been. The cartridge side terminal portion 210 is connected to a conductive member (see reference numeral 116 in FIG. 5) similar to that of the first embodiment, and a bearing member (reference numeral 117 in FIG. 5) that supports the developing roller shaft 48 of the developing roller 38. Is electrically connected. Thereby, the electric power from the main body side terminal portion 205 is supplied to the developing roller shaft 48 via the cartridge side terminal portion 210, the conductive member (reference numeral 116 in FIG. 5), and the bearing member (reference numeral 117 in FIG. 5). A bias voltage is applied to the developing roller shaft 48.

As in the first embodiment, the laser printer 1 has a detachable opening 6 (the detachable opening 6 corresponds to the opening) formed on one side, and a front cover 7 (cover) that opens and closes the detachable opening 6. Member). The main body side terminal portion 205 is provided on the front cover 7 and includes an elastically deformable conductive spring member 207 and a conductive contact member 206 biased by the spring member 207. . When the contact member 206 is pushed to the front cover 7 side, the spring member 207 contracts, and the contact member 206 is urged by the elastic return force of the spring member 207. A spring guide member 208 is provided inside the spring member 207 so that the spring member 207 does not tilt too much.

  When the front cover 7 is closed as shown in FIG. 9, the main body side terminal portion 205 is pressed by the cartridge side terminal portion 210 and the spring member 207 is contracted, and the contact member 206 is biased according to the elastic restoring force, so that the cartridge side The terminal part 210 is pressed by the contact member 206.

  That is, when the front cover 7 is closed, the front cover 7 is set at a predetermined position, and the space between the front cover 7 and the contact member 206 is narrowed. Accordingly, the spring member 207 contracts from the natural state, and the contact member 206 is urged toward the cartridge side terminal portion 210 side. The cartridge side terminal portion 210 receives the biasing force and generates a biasing force that biases the entire frame portion 36 of the developing cartridge 26 backward.

  Also in this embodiment, the cartridge-side terminal portion 210 urges the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 in the use state where the process cartridge 18 is attached to the laser printer 1 (that is, the state shown in FIG. 9). Since the urging force is generated, the developing roller 38 is positioned with high accuracy during use to achieve good development.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 11 is a side sectional view conceptually illustrating the laser printer 1 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a side view conceptually showing the process cartridge 18 used in the laser printer 1 of the third embodiment. FIG. 13 shows a state in which the developing cartridge 26 is removed from the drum cartridge 25 in the process cartridge 18. FIG. FIG. 14 is a front view of the process cartridge 18 of FIG. 12 as viewed from the front side. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram conceptually illustrating a state in which the process cartridge 18 of FIG. 12 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1a. FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the developing cartridge 26 is detached from FIG. In this embodiment, the configuration of the cartridge side terminal portion and the main body side terminal portion and the configuration of the drum cartridge 25 are different from those of the first embodiment, and other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the other same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the developing cartridge 26 used in the laser printer 1 of the third embodiment is configured as a cartridge including a developing roller 38 as in the first embodiment, and together with the drum cartridge 25 as shown in FIG. The process cartridge 18 is configured and detachable from the drum cartridge 25 as shown in FIG.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the cartridge side terminal portion is not provided in the wall portion 36a on the front side of the frame portion 36, and the side wall portion 36b of the frame portion 36 is provided as shown in FIGS. A cartridge side terminal portion 310 is provided. Specifically, in the width direction parallel to the axial direction of the developing roller 38 (that is, the width direction when the direction parallel to the rotation axis of the developing roller 38 is the width direction), both side walls 36b, A convex portion protruding outward from 36 b is provided, and this convex portion serves as a cartridge-side terminal portion 310. The cartridge side terminal portion 310 is made of a conductive resin, a metal material, or the like, and is connected to the conductive member 116 as shown in FIGS. The connection configuration of the conductive member 116 and the bearing member 117 and the support configuration of the developing roller shaft 48 by the bearing member 117 are the same as those in the first embodiment. Are electrically connected. According to this configuration, since the cartridge side terminal portion 310 is provided in the vicinity of both side walls of the frame portion 36, wiring for applying a voltage to the developing roller 38 can be simplified.
More specifically, since the conductive member 116 is disposed on the same plane (side wall portion 36b of the frame portion 36), for example, as in the case of the first and second embodiments, the front side of the side wall portion 36b is arranged. In order to wrap around the wall portion 36a, it is not necessary to bend the sheet metal and then bend it.
Further, since the means for urging the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 is arranged at the end, the restoring force when the developing roller 38 is lifted from the photosensitive drum 28 is further increased, and the development is performed. The behavior of the roller 38 can be further stabilized.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the developing cartridge 26 according to this embodiment has a configuration in which the developing roller 38 is urged toward the photosensitive drum 28 by the urging force from the main body side terminal portion 305. In addition, a voltage is applied via a main body side terminal unit 305 from the same power supply circuit 101 (power supply means) as that of the first embodiment provided in the apparatus main body 1 a of the laser printer 1. Here, the main body side terminal portion 305 has an urging means. The main body side terminal portion 305 is provided on an inner wall portion facing the side portion of the developing cartridge 26 in the apparatus main body 1a, and a conductive swinging member 306 is formed on the wall portion of the apparatus main body 1a around the rotation shaft 309. It is supported so that it can swing. A conductive spring member 307 is connected to the swing member 306 and is configured to bias a predetermined position of the swing member 306 toward the photosensitive drum 28. In the present embodiment, the spring member 307 and the swing member 306 constitute an urging means. In the mounted state as shown in FIG. 15, the cartridge side terminal portion 310 presses the end side of the swinging member 306 (the side opposite to the side on which the rotation shaft 309 is provided) forward, and the spring member 307 is shown in FIG. It is designed to shrink from its natural state. Therefore, in the mounted state, the end side of the swinging member 306 is urged to the rear side (photosensitive drum 28 side) by the elastic restoring force of the spring member 307, thereby causing the cartridge side terminal portion 310 to move backward (photosensitive drum). 28 side). Accordingly, the entire frame portion 36 of the developing cartridge 26 is urged toward the photosensitive drum 28, and the developing roller 38 is stably positioned.

  As shown in FIG. 16, in the laser printer 1 of the present embodiment, only the developing cartridge 26 can be detached from the state where the process cartridge 18 is attached (the state shown in FIG. 15). That is, the developing cartridge 26 can be attached to and detached from the drum cartridge 25 while the drum cartridge 25 is attached to the apparatus main body 1a. Further, the drum cartridge 25 and the developing cartridge 26 can be integrally attached and detached.

  When the process cartridge 18 or the developing cartridge 26 is removed, the spring member 307 is in a natural state as shown in FIG. When the developer cartridge 26 is to be mounted from this state, the cartridge side terminal portion 310 is guided by the upper end portion 306a of the swinging member 306 and moved to the rear side of the swinging member 306, and is engaged as shown in FIG. Engages with part 306b. In this engaged state, the spring member 307 is contracted from the natural state as described above, and a biasing force is generated in the main body side terminal portion 305. On the other hand, when the developing cartridge 26 is removed from the state of FIG. 15, the cartridge-side terminal portion 310 is guided to the tapered surface 306c on the upper side of the engaging portion 306b by lifting the front end portion of the developing cartridge 26 upward. It will come off like FIG. The same applies when the process cartridge 18 is removed (that is, when the drum cartridge 25 and the developing cartridge 26 are integrally removed), and the front end of the process cartridge 18 is lifted upward so that the cartridge side terminal portion is lifted. 310 is guided by the tapered surface 306c on the upper side of the engaging portion 306b to be detached.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the main body side terminal portion 305 is arranged at a hidden position when viewed from the front surface side, and thus is not easily damaged. That is, in the configuration as shown in FIG. 10, when the front cover 7 is opened, the main body side terminal portion 205 is exposed and protrudes, so that there is a problem that it is easily touched and easily damaged during maintenance or the like. In the configuration of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the main body side terminal portion 305 is disposed at a deep position in the apparatus main body 1a, so that damage and deterioration can be effectively prevented.

<Embodiment 4>
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 17 is a side sectional view conceptually illustrating the laser printer 1 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a side view conceptually showing the process cartridge 18 used in the laser printer 1 of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 19 shows a state in which the developing cartridge 26 is removed from the drum cartridge 25 in the process cartridge 18. FIG. FIG. 20 is a front view of the process cartridge 18 of FIG. 18 as viewed from the front side. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram conceptually illustrating a state where the process cartridge 18 of FIG. 18 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1a. FIG. 22 is a perspective view conceptually illustrating the inner wall portion of the apparatus main body 1a in the laser printer 1 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating a cartridge side terminal portion 410 used in the developing cartridge 26 of Embodiment 4, and FIG. 24 is a view of the cartridge side terminal portion 410 as viewed from above. FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state in which the cartridge-side terminal portion 410 is mounted. FIG. 26 and FIG. 27 are diagrams showing modifications of the cartridge side terminal portion 410.

  In this embodiment, the configuration of the cartridge side terminal portion 410 and the main body side terminal portion 405 and the configuration of the drum cartridge 25 are different from those of the first embodiment, and other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the other same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the developing cartridge 26 used in the laser printer 1 of the third embodiment is configured as a cartridge including a developing roller 38 as in the first embodiment, and together with the drum cartridge 25 as shown in FIG. The process cartridge 18 is configured and detachable from the drum cartridge 25 as shown in FIG.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, the cartridge side terminal portion is not provided on the front wall portion 36a of the frame portion 36, and the side wall portion 36b of the frame portion 36 is not provided as shown in FIGS. A cartridge side terminal portion 410 is provided. Specifically, in the width direction parallel to the axial direction of the developing roller 38 (that is, the width direction when the direction parallel to the rotation axis of the developing roller 38 is the width direction), both side walls 36b, A convex portion protruding outward from 36 b is provided, and this convex portion serves as a cartridge side terminal portion 410.

  The cartridge side terminal portion 410 can be expanded and contracted in the width direction (see arrow F). When the developing cartridge 26 is attached to the apparatus main body 1a, as shown in FIG. 410 are engaged with engagement holes 451 formed in the inner wall 450 of the apparatus main body 1a. As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, a body side terminal portion 405 made of a conductive member connected to the power supply circuit 101 (power supply means) of the apparatus body 1a is provided at the bottom of the engagement hole 451. When the cartridge side terminal portion 410 is engaged with the engagement hole 451, the contact member 413 of the cartridge side terminal portion 410 is brought into contact with and electrically connected to the main body side terminal portion 405. The contact member 413 corresponds to a contact portion.

As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, the cartridge side terminal portion 410 includes a conductive contact member 413 and a coil spring 411 made of a metal material as an urging member. The protrusion 412 formed on the side wall portion 36b of the frame portion 36b is inserted. In the present embodiment, the biasing means is constituted by the coil spring 411 and the contact member 413. The protrusion 412 plays a role of preventing the coil spring 411 from being inclined too much. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the coil spring 411 is electrically connected to the conductive member 116. The connection configuration of the conductive member 116 and the bearing member 117 and the support configuration of the developing roller shaft 48 by the bearing member 117 are the same as those in the first embodiment. The cartridge side terminal portion 410 and the developing roller shaft 48 are Are electrically connected. According to this configuration, since the cartridge side terminal portion 410 is provided in the vicinity of both side walls of the frame portion 36, wiring for applying a voltage to the developing roller 38 can be simplified.
More specifically, since the conductive member 116 is disposed on the same plane (side wall portion 36b of the frame portion 36), for example, as in the case of the first and second embodiments, the front side of the side wall portion 36b is arranged. In order to wrap around the wall portion 36a, it is not necessary to bend the sheet metal and then bend it.
Further, since the means for urging the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 is arranged at the end, the restoring force when the developing roller 38 is lifted from the photosensitive drum 28 is further increased, and the development is performed. The behavior of the roller 38 can be further stabilized.

  Also in the present embodiment, the developing roller 38 is urged toward the photosensitive drum 28 by the cartridge side terminal portion 410 and the cartridge side terminal portion 410 is moved from the power supply circuit 101 (power supply means) provided in the apparatus main body 1a. A voltage is applied to the via. The cartridge side terminal portion 410 has an urging means, and an urging force for urging the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 is generated in response to the pressing from the main body side terminal portion 405.

  FIG. 25 is a view of the vicinity of the cartridge side terminal portion 410 on one side as viewed from above in a state where the developing cartridge 26 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1a. In a state where the developing cartridge 26 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1a, the contact members 413 in both the cartridge side terminal portions 410 and 410 are guided and engaged so as to move relative to the protrusions 412 as shown in FIG. Engages with the mating hole 451. At the time of this engagement, the coil spring 411 is deformed in accordance with the displacement of the contact member 413. Therefore, an elastic restoring force is generated in the coil spring 411, and the developing cartridge 26 is attached to the rear side (photosensitive drum 28 side). An energizing force is generated. In the first to third embodiments, the restoring force due to the compression of the spring member (coil spring) is used. However, in this embodiment, the restoring force due to the lateral displacement is used. That is, when the developing cartridge 26 is attached to the apparatus main body 1a, the contact member 413 is pushed into the engagement hole 451 by the coil spring 411. Then, the contact member 413 moves to the photosensitive drum 28 side, and the coil spring 411 tilts from the lateral direction to the photosensitive drum 28 side. As a result, a restoring force in the lateral direction is generated in the coil spring 411, and the developing cartridge 26 is urged toward the photosensitive drum 28 as described above.

  In the example of FIGS. 17 to 25, the cartridge side terminal portion 410 having the contact member 413 whose outer surface is hemispherical is illustrated. However, the developing roller 38 is moved to the photosensitive drum 28 in response to the pressure from the main body side terminal portion 405. The shape is not limited to this as long as the structure is biased to the side. For example, it may have a conical contact member as shown in FIG. 26, or may have a wedge-like contact member as shown in FIG. In this case, also in the modified example, it is desirable that a slope for facilitating attachment / detachment to / from the engagement hole 451 is provided in the attachment / detachment direction of the contact member 413. By providing such an inclined surface on the contact member 413, the developing cartridge 26 can be removed straight from the front direction of the image forming apparatus, and the developing cartridge 26 is rotated as in the third embodiment. There is an advantage that no operation is required.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

(1) In the third embodiment, the convex portions formed on the side wall portions of the frame portion 36 are exemplified as “the convex portions projecting outward from the both side wall portions of the frame portion”. The convex part formed so that it may penetrate may be sufficient. For example, the developing roller shaft 46 of the developing roller 38 may be protruded laterally from the frame portion 36 and the drum cartridge 25 and biased by the main body side terminal portion similar to that of the third embodiment. In this case, it is preferable to form a long hole in the drum cartridge 25 so that the developing roller shaft 46 can move in a direction in which it is urged by the main body side terminal portion.
The configuration in which the developing roller shaft 46 is urged by the main body side terminal portion as described above may be a configuration in which the developing roller shaft 46 is directly pressed by the main body side terminal portion, and a bearing that supports the developing roller shaft 46. May be provided, and this may be urged by the terminal portion on the main body side.

(2) In the above embodiment, the developing cartridge not provided with the photosensitive drum is illustrated as an example of the “cartridge” according to the present invention, but the object of the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. It may be a process cartridge in which the photosensitive drum is unitized. In that case, the process cartridge of the above embodiment constitutes the “cartridge” of the present invention.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are brought into contact with each other via toner and the development is performed (contact developing method) is exemplified. However, the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are not in contact with each other. It may be configured as follows.
(4) In the above embodiment, the conductive spring member is provided as the biasing member. However, a biasing member that is not conductive may be used. FIG. 28 shows a modification of FIG. 5 in which the spring member 111 is made of a non-conductive member (for example, a non-conductive resin member) and the contact member 113 and the base portion 115 are flexible. Only the conductive lead wire 119 having the above is different from the first embodiment, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. As described above, the main body side terminal portion does not necessarily need to be entirely constituted by the conductive member as long as at least the action point for urging the cartridge side terminal portion is constituted by the conductive member.

1 is a side sectional view schematically illustrating a laser printer according to a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the invention. The figure which shows the state which opened the front cover in the laser printer of FIG. Side view schematically showing a process cartridge used in the laser printer of FIG. Side sectional view of the process cartridge of FIG. Side view of the developer cartridge removed from the drum cartridge as seen from the side Side sectional view of the state of FIG. The front view which looked at the process cartridge of FIG. 3 from the front side Side view of developing cartridge as viewed from the side opposite to FIG. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view schematically illustrating a laser printer according to a second embodiment. The figure which shows the state which opened the front cover in the laser printer of FIG. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view conceptually illustrating a laser printer according to a third embodiment. FIG. 5 is a side view conceptually showing a process cartridge used in the laser printer of Embodiment 3. The side view which shows the state which removed the developing cartridge from the drum cartridge in the process cartridge of FIG. The front view which looked at the process cartridge of FIG. 12 from the front side FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram conceptually illustrating a state where the process cartridge of FIG. 12 is mounted on the apparatus main body. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which removed the developing cartridge from FIG. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view conceptually illustrating a laser printer according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 9 is a side view conceptually showing a process cartridge used in the laser printer of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a state where the developing cartridge is removed from the drum cartridge in the process cartridge of FIG. 18. The front view which looked at the process cartridge of FIG. 18 from the front side 18 is an explanatory diagram conceptually illustrating a state where the process cartridge of FIG. 18 is mounted on the apparatus main body. The perspective view which illustrates notionally the inner wall part of the apparatus main body in the laser printer of Embodiment 4. FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a cartridge side terminal portion used in the developing cartridge according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a top view of the cartridge side terminal portion of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the state of the mounting state of the cartridge side terminal part The figure which shows the modification 1 which deform | transformed the terminal of FIG. The figure which shows the modification 2 which deform | transformed the terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of FIG. 5, and is a figure which shows the example which comprised the spring member 111 with the nonelectroconductive member. Explanatory drawing explaining conventional problems

1. Laser printer (image forming device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a ... Main body 6 ... Detachable opening (opening)
7. Front cover (cover member)
26. Developing cartridge (cartridge)
28 ... Photosensitive drum 36 ... Frame portion 36a ... Wall portion 36b ... Side wall portion of frame portion 37 ... Supply roller (electrical components other than developing roller)
38 ... developing roller 48 ... developing roller shaft (developing roller shaft)
101 ... Power supply circuit (power supply means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 105 ... Main body side terminal part 110 ... Cartridge side terminal part 111 ... Spring member (biasing means, urging member)
113 ... Contact member (biasing means, contact portion)
130 ... Lower film (electrical parts other than developing roller)
205 ... Main body side terminal portion 206 ... Contact member (biasing means)
207 ... Spring member (biasing means)
210... Cartridge side terminal portion 305... Main body side terminal portion 306... Oscillating member (biasing means)
307 ... Spring member (biasing means)
310 ... Cartridge side terminal part (convex part)
405... Main body side terminal portion 410... Cartridge side terminal portion (convex portion)
411 ... Spring member (biasing means, biasing member)
413 ... Contact member (biasing means, contact portion)

Claims (5)

A cartridge mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus,
A developing roller disposed opposite to a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed;
A supply roller disposed in contact with the developing roller so as to be compressed with each other;
A frame portion for accommodating the developing roller and the supply roller ;
A voltage is applied from a main body side terminal portion connected to a power supply means provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a cartridge side terminal portion electrically connected to the developing roller;
With
The cartridge side terminal portion has an urging means, and is provided on a wall portion of the frame portion opposite to the side on which the developing roller is provided, and is electrically connected to the shaft portion of the developing roller. Has been
The developing roller is urged toward the photosensitive drum by the urging unit, and a voltage is applied from the power supply unit via the urging unit,
A cartridge configured to generate an urging force for urging the entire frame portion toward the photosensitive drum in the cartridge side terminal portion by pressing from the main body side terminal portion.   The cartridge side terminal portion is pressed by the main body side terminal portion provided on the cover member when a cover member for opening and closing an opening formed on one side portion of the image forming apparatus is closed. The cartridge according to claim 1.   The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge side terminal portion is electrically connected to an electrical component other than the developing roller.   4. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the developing roller is configured to perform development while being in contact with the photosensitive drum via toner. An image forming apparatus, wherein the cartridge according to claim 1 is detachably provided.

Images