JP6289427B2 - Cartridge and cartridge manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as an image forming apparatus).

  Here, the image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic method. Examples of the image forming apparatus include a copying machine, a printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer), a facsimile machine, and a word processor.

  The cartridge is a developing cartridge in which developing means used for developing the electrostatic latent image on the electrophotographic photosensitive member is integrally formed into a cartridge, or charging means, developing means, and cleaning means as process means. The present invention relates to a process cartridge in which an electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter referred to as a photosensitive drum) that is an image carrier is integrally formed into a cartridge. The developing cartridge and the process cartridge are detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus uniformly charges a photosensitive drum, which is an image carrier, and forms a latent image by selective exposure to the photosensitive drum. Then, the latent image is developed with a developer (hereinafter referred to as toner), and becomes a toner image. Then, the toner image is transferred to a recording medium.

  By applying heat or pressure to the transferred toner image, the toner image is fixed on a recording medium to record the image. Conventionally, such an image forming apparatus is accompanied by toner replenishment and maintenance of various process means.

  As a means for facilitating the toner replenishment work and maintenance, a cartridge system is adopted in which all or part of the photosensitive drum, charging means, developing means, cleaning means, etc. are put together into a cartridge to be detachable from the image forming apparatus. Has been.

  According to this cartridge system, since the user can perform maintenance of the apparatus by replacing the cartridge, the operability can be remarkably improved. Therefore, this cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.

  Here, the cartridge as described above is composed of a plurality of members. As a method for fixing the plurality of members, conventionally, fixing by screws, fixing by ultrasonic welding, or the like is known. Furthermore, as a simple method, a method is known in which a flexible first engaging portion provided on the first member is fixed in a state assembled to the second member (see Patent Document 1). Specifically, in a state where the second member is assembled while the first engaging portion is bent, it is possible to restrict the first engaging portion from being bent by attaching a restricting portion provided on the third member. To do. Thus, the first member and the second member are assembled.

JP 2010-26500 A

  In a conventional example, in order to maintain the state which assembled | attached the 1st member and the 2nd member, the structure which fixes the 3rd member which has a control part which controls that a 1st flexible engaging part bends is fixed. It was necessary separately.

  However, when the third member is inserted to restrict the bending of the first engaging portion, backlash occurs due to tolerance variation between the first member / second member and the third member serving as the restricting portion. Cheap. In particular, it becomes a problem for positioning between members that require positional accuracy, such as a developing roller and a developing blade as developing means by fixing the frame and the bearing, and a photosensitive drum and a cleaning blade as a cleaning means.

  Therefore, the present invention can provide a cartridge with little backlash even if there is a variation in tolerance by a fixing method using a flexible engaging portion, not by fixing by screws or ultrasonic welding. To do. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a cartridge with a stable positional accuracy between members such as the developing roller and the developing blade and the photosensitive drum and the cleaning blade.

Therefore, the present invention provides
A method of manufacturing a cartridge comprising: a first member having a flexible engaging portion; and a second member having an engaged portion including a hole engaging with the engaging portion,
The engaging portion of the first member and the engaged portion of the second member are attached in a first direction, and a collar provided on the engaging portion is a second crossing the first direction. Engaging with the engaged portion so as to protrude in the direction of
When the molten resin is poured between the first member and the second member and the molten resin is hardened, in the second direction, the third member, the first member, and the second member in this order. And a step of forming a third member for restricting movement of the flexible engaging portion.

The present invention also provides:
A first member having a flexible engagement portion;
A second member having an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion;
A third member for restricting movement of the flexible engagement portion in order to maintain a state where the engagement portion and the engaged portion are engaged,
The width of the third member on the side close to the movement starting point of the flexible engagement portion is longer than the width of the third member on the side farther than the movement starting point,
The third member provides a cartridge having a tapered portion or a convex portion.

Furthermore, the present invention provides
A first member having a flexible engagement portion;
A second member having an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion;
A third member for restricting movement of the flexible engagement portion to maintain the engagement portion and the engaged portion engaged with each other;
The third member has a holding portion that holds the third member at a position where the movement of the flexible engaging portion can be restricted, and at least one of the first member or the second member, A cartridge having a held portion that engages with a holding portion is provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cartridge with less play even if there is a variation in tolerance between the first member and the second member.

  It is also possible to provide a cartridge with stable positional accuracy between members provided in the cartridge.

Schematic which shows an example of the fixation structure of the component which concerns on this invention 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows an example of the process cartridge which concerns on this invention The perspective view which shows an example of the process cartridge which concerns on this invention Schematic sectional view showing a detachable state of the process cartridge according to the present invention FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a process cartridge attaching / detaching operation according to the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a developing device according to the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows an example of the attachment structure of the components which concern on this invention Sectional drawing which shows an example of the shaping | molding of the embedding member which concerns on this invention Sectional drawing which shows an example of the fixed structure of the components which concern on this invention Sectional drawing which shows an example of the fixed structure of the components which concern on this invention Sectional drawing which shows an example of the 3rd member which concerns on this invention

Example 1
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  In the following embodiments, a full-color laser printer in which four process cartridges including a developing device are detachable is illustrated as an image forming apparatus.

  However, the present invention is not limited to a printer, and can also be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine and a facsimile machine, or other image forming apparatuses such as a multifunction machine combining these functions.

  Further, the number of process cartridges to be mounted on the image forming apparatus is not limited to this. It is appropriately set as necessary.

  For example, in the case of an image forming apparatus that forms a monochrome image, the number of process cartridges attached to the image forming apparatus is one.

  In this embodiment, a process cartridge including a developing device will be described. However, other configurations may be used in carrying out the present invention. For example, a configuration in which the cartridge (or developing device) can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, or a configuration in which the cartridge is incorporated into the image forming apparatus and cannot be attached or detached may be employed.

<< Schematic Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus >>
First, a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment is shown in FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is a four-color full-color laser printer using an electrophotographic process, and forms a color image on a recording medium S. The image forming apparatus 1 is a process cartridge type, and a process cartridge (hereinafter referred to as a cartridge) is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 2 to form a color image on the recording medium S.

  Here, regarding the image forming apparatus 1, the side on which the apparatus opening / closing door 3 is provided is defined as a front surface (front surface), and the surface opposite to the front surface is defined as a back surface (rear surface). Further, when the image forming apparatus 1 is viewed from the front, the right side is referred to as a driving side, and the left side is referred to as a non-driving side.

  In the apparatus main body 2, four cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) of the first cartridge PY, the second cartridge PM, the third cartridge PC, and the fourth cartridge PK are arranged in the horizontal direction. .

  Each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) has the same electrophotographic process mechanism, and each has a different toner color. A rotational driving force is transmitted to the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) from a drive output unit (not shown) of the apparatus main body 2.

  A bias voltage (charging bias, developing bias, etc.) is supplied from the apparatus main body 2 to each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3, each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) of the present embodiment includes a charging unit as a process unit that acts on the photosensitive drum 4 that is an image carrier. It has the cleaning unit 8 provided with the cleaning means.

  Each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) has a developing device 9 including a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 4 that is an image carrier. .

  The cleaning unit 8 and the developing device 9 are coupled to each other. Further, a charging roller 5 is used as a charging unit, a cleaning blade 7 is used as a cleaning unit, and a developing roller 6 that is a developer carrying member is used as a developing unit. A more specific configuration of the cartridge will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first cartridge PY contains yellow (Y) toner in the developing frame 29, and a yellow toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 as an image carrier. Form.

  The second cartridge PM contains magenta (M) toner in the developing frame 29, and forms a magenta toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 as an image carrier.

  The third cartridge PC accommodates cyan (C) toner in the developing frame 29 and forms a cyan toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 as an image carrier.

  The fourth cartridge PK contains black (K) toner in the developing frame 29, and forms a black toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 as an image carrier.

  Above the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK), a laser scanner unit LB as an exposure unit is provided. The laser scanner unit LB outputs a laser beam Z corresponding to the image information. The laser beam Z passes through the exposure window 10 of the cartridge P and scans and exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 4.

  Below the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK), an intermediate transfer belt unit 11 as a transfer member is provided. The intermediate transfer belt unit 11 includes a driving roller 13, a turn roller 14, and a tension roller 15, and a flexible transfer belt 12 is stretched over the intermediate transfer belt unit 11.

  The lower surface of the photosensitive drum 4 of each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) is in contact with the upper surface of the transfer belt 12. The contact portion is a primary transfer portion. A primary transfer roller 16 is provided inside the transfer belt 12 so as to face the photosensitive drum 4.

  A secondary transfer roller 17 is brought into contact with the turn roller 14 via the transfer belt 12. A contact portion between the transfer belt 12 and the secondary transfer roller 17 is a secondary transfer portion.

  A feeding unit 18 is provided below the intermediate transfer belt unit 11. The feeding unit 18 includes a paper feed tray 19 in which recording media S are stacked and accommodated, and a paper feed roller 20.

  A fixing unit 21 and a discharge unit 22 are provided at the upper left in the apparatus main body 2 in FIG. The upper surface of the apparatus body 2 is a discharge tray 23.

  The recording medium S is fixed with a toner image by fixing means provided in the fixing unit 21 and is discharged to the discharge tray 23.

<Image forming operation>
The operation for forming a full-color image is as follows.

  The photosensitive drum 4 of each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed (counterclockwise in FIG. 2, direction of arrow D in FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer belt 12 is also rotationally driven at a speed corresponding to the speed of the photosensitive drum 4 in the forward direction (arrow C direction) with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 4.

  Then, the laser scanner unit LB is driven. In synchronization with the drive of the laser scanner unit LB, the charging roller 5 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 to a predetermined polarity and potential in each cartridge. The laser scanner unit LB scans and exposes the surface of each photosensitive drum 4 with a laser beam Z according to the image signal of each color.

  As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal of the corresponding color is formed on the surface of each photosensitive drum 4. The formed electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing roller 6 that is a developer carrying member that is rotated at a predetermined speed (clockwise in FIG. 2 and in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 3).

  By the electrophotographic image forming process operation as described above, a yellow toner image corresponding to the yellow component of the full color image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 of the first cartridge PY. Then, the toner image is primarily transferred onto the transfer belt 12.

  Similarly, a magenta toner image corresponding to the magenta component of the full-color image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 of the second cartridge PM. The toner image is primary-transferred superimposed on the yellow toner image already transferred onto the transfer belt 12.

  Similarly, a cyan toner image corresponding to the cyan component of the full-color image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 of the third cartridge PC. Then, the toner image is primary-transferred superimposed on the yellow and magenta toner images already transferred onto the transfer belt 12.

  Similarly, a black toner image corresponding to the black component of the full color image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 of the fourth cartridge PK. The toner image is primary-transferred superimposed on the yellow, magenta, and cyan toner images already transferred onto the transfer belt 12.

  In this manner, a full-color unfixed toner image of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is formed on the transfer belt 12.

  On the other hand, the recording medium S is separated and fed one by one at a predetermined control timing. The recording medium S is introduced into a secondary transfer portion which is a contact portion between the secondary transfer roller 17 and the transfer belt 12 at a predetermined control timing.

  As a result, the four color superimposed toner images on the transfer belt 12 are sequentially and collectively transferred onto the surface of the recording medium S while the recording medium S is conveyed to the secondary transfer portion.

<Configuration of cartridge>
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the cartridge according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the cartridge according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) includes a cleaning unit 8, a developing device 9, a driving-side cover member 24, and a non-driving-side cover member 25.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning unit 8 includes a photosensitive drum 4, a charging roller 5, and a cleaning container 26 having a cleaning blade 7.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the photosensitive drum 4 is rotatably supported by a driving side cover member 24 and a non-driving side cover member 25, and a motor (not shown) of the apparatus main body 2 is connected from the drum driving coupling 4a. A driving force is obtained to drive rotation (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the charging roller 5 is rotatably supported at both ends by a charging roller bearing 27 of the cleaning container 26, rotates in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 4, and supplies a charging bias. In response, the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is charged. At this time, in order to uniformly charge the surface, both ends of the charging roller 5 are pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 by the charging roller pressing spring 28.

  The cleaning blade 7 is fixed to the cleaning container 26 and is provided with an elastic rubber portion at the tip thereof in contact with the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 4 (direction of arrow D in FIG. 3) in the counter direction. At the time of image formation, the transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 4 is scraped to clean the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. At this time, the tip of the cleaning blade 7 is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 with a predetermined pressure in order to completely scrape off the transfer residual toner.

  Further, the transfer residual toner scraped off from the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 by the cleaning blade 7 is stored in the waste toner storage portion 26a of the cleaning container 26 as waste toner. Therefore, a waste toner collection sheet member 44 for preventing leakage of waste toner from the gap between the photosensitive drum 4 and the cleaning blade 7 is fixed to the cleaning container 26 in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 4. Further, cleaning blade end seal members (not shown) are provided at both longitudinal ends of the cleaning blade 7.

<Cartridge attachment / detachment configuration>
Next, the attaching / detaching operation of the cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) to the apparatus main body 2 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state where the cartridge tray 43 is pulled out from the apparatus main body 2 and the cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) is detachable.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the operation of attaching / detaching the cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) to the cartridge tray 43.

  A cartridge tray 43 in which a cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) can be mounted is provided in the apparatus main body 2.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the cartridge tray 43 is configured to be linearly movable (push / pull out) in the G1 and G2 directions which are substantially horizontal with respect to the apparatus main body 2. The cartridge tray 43 can take a mounting position in the apparatus main body 2 and a drawing position pulled out from the mounting position.

  First, the mounting operation of the cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) to the apparatus main body 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, by opening the device opening / closing door 3 and moving the cartridge tray 43 in the direction of the arrow G1, the cartridge tray 43 moves to the drawer position. In this state, as shown in FIG. 6, the cartridge P is mounted on the cartridge tray 43 from the direction of the arrow H1 and held. The cartridge tray 43 holding the cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) is moved in the direction of the arrow G2 in FIG. 5, and the cartridge tray 43 is moved to the mounting position in the apparatus main body 2. Then, by closing the device opening / closing door 3, the mounting operation of the cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) to the device main body 2 is completed (FIG. 2).

  On the other hand, the removal of the cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) from the apparatus main body 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the cartridge tray 43 is moved to the drawer position in the same manner as the mounting operation of the cartridge P to the apparatus main body 2 described above. In this state, the cartridge P is removed in the direction of the arrow H2 in FIG. 6, and the removal operation of the cartridge P from the apparatus main body 2 is completed.

  With the above operation, the cartridge P can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 2.

<Developer configuration>
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the developing device according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the developing device (developing cartridge) 9 has a horizontally long shape extending in the longitudinal direction in the rotational axis direction of a developing roller (developer carrying member) 6 as developing means (hereinafter referred to as developing roller 6). The rotation axis direction is the longitudinal direction). In addition to the developing roller 6, the developing frame 29, the developing blade 31, a toner supply roller (developer supply member) 33, a development end seal member 34R / 34L, a flexible sheet member 35, and a supply roller shaft seal 37R / 37L Consists of.

  The developing roller 6 (developer carrying member) is disposed so as to include the entire area of the opening 29d in the longitudinal direction in order to carry the toner discharged from the toner storage unit 29 (FIG. 3). The toner supply roller 33 is disposed so as to enter the developing roller 6 in the radial direction (FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 7, both ends of the core material of the developing roller 6 and the toner supply roller 33 are a driving side bearing (bearing member) 38 and a non-driving side bearing (bearing member) 39 attached to both side surfaces of the developing frame 29, respectively. Is rotatably supported by.

  Further, a developing roller gear 40 and a toner supply roller gear 41 are disposed at the driving side end portions of the core material 6 a of the developing roller 6 and the core material 33 a of the toner supply roller 33, respectively, and mesh with the development drive input gear 42. The development drive input gear 42 includes a development drive coupling 42a, and a drive output coupling (not shown) on the apparatus body 2 side is engaged to transmit a drive force of a drive motor (not shown) of the apparatus body 2. The developing roller 6 and the toner supply roller 33 are rotationally driven at a predetermined speed.

  The developing blade 31 is a thin metal plate having a thickness of about 0.1 mm, and the free end of the developing blade 31 in the short direction is in a counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the developing roller 6 (the direction of arrow E in FIG. 3). It is in contact. As shown in FIG. 3, the developing blade lower seal member 36 is disposed so as to fill a gap in the entire longitudinal direction between the developing frame 29 and the developing blade unit 30 to prevent toner leakage.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the developing end seal members 34R and 34L are arranged at both ends of the opening 29d of the developing frame 29, and are from the gaps between the developing blade 31 and the developing roller 6 and the developing frame 29. Toner leakage is prevented.

  The flexible sheet member 35 is made of a plastic film such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, etc., and has a thickness of about 50 μm. The flexible sheet member 35 is disposed so as to come into contact with the developing roller 6 along the longitudinal direction of the opening 29d of the developing frame 29 facing the developing blade 31, and the developing frame 29, the developing roller 6, and the like. This prevents toner leakage from the gap.

  The toner supply roller shaft seals 37R and 37L are attached to a portion of the toner supply roller 33 that is exposed to the outside of the developing frame 29 in the toner supply roller core member 33a, and a through hole 29e provided in the developing frame 29. And the toner supply roller core member 33a is prevented from leaking toner.

  The developing device 9 has a pressure spring (not shown) in a direction (in the direction of arrow W in FIG. 3) in which the developing roller 6 contacts the photosensitive drum 4 around the swing center (axis b) shown in FIGS. Is always energized by. The developing roller 6 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 4 when the image is formed, and the developing roller 6 resists the urging force of the pressure spring described above by the separating means (not shown) with respect to the photosensitive drum 4 when the image is not formed. To separate. Then, the contact or separation operation of the developing device is repeated according to image formation or non-image formation.

  At the time of image formation, the toner supply roller 33 and the developing roller 6 are rotated and rubbed by driving, whereby the toner in the developing frame 29 is carried on the developing roller 6. The developing blade 31 regulates the thickness of the toner layer formed on the peripheral surface of the developing roller 6 and applies a charge due to frictional charging to the toner with the developing roller 6 by contact pressure.

  The charged toner on the developing roller 6 adheres to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 4 at the contact portion between the developing roller 6 and the photosensitive drum 4, and the latent image is developed.

<< Structure of fixing development frame and non-driving side bearing (bearing member) >>
A configuration for fixing the non-driving side bearing 39 to the developing device frame 29 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 8, 9, and 10. Here, the developing device frame 29 corresponds to one of the first member and the second member, and the non-driving side bearing corresponds to the other. Of course, the present invention can be applied to members other than the developing frame and the non-driving side bearing.

  First, FIG. 1A is a view of the developing device 9 as seen from the longitudinal direction side. FIG. 1B shows a cross section xx passing through the fixing frame F of the developing device frame 29 and the non-driving side bearing 39 in the developing device 9 shown in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the fixing portion F1 of the developing device frame 29 and the non-driving side bearing 39 in the sectional view shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 1D is a diagram showing a trajectory in which the flexible portion 29g bends and moves, and a movement base point 29b that is a base point of the movement.

  As shown in FIG. 1D, the developing device frame 29 has a flexible engaging portion 29a and is engaged with an engaged portion 39a of the non-driving side bearing 39. In FIG. 1D, the corner portion 29i1 of the engaging portion 29a and the corner portion 39d1 of the engaged portion 39a are in contact with each other and engaged. In order to maintain this engaged state, the 3rd member 45 which regulates the movement of the flexible engaging part 29a is provided.

  The flexible engaging portion 29a is movable by being bent, and the base point of this movement is a movement base point 29b. As can be seen from FIG. 1 (d), the width (V1) of the end of the third member near the moving base point 29b is longer than the width (V2) of the end farther from the moving base point 29b.

  Here, since the third member may be any member that can maintain the engaged state, the third member may have a portion having a tapered shape (tapered portion) where the width of the third member gradually decreases. The convex part 45a may be provided in the middle instead of the end part of the third member, and the width (V1) of the convex part may be longer than the width (V2) of the other third member. In this case, the convex portion serves as a holding portion for holding the third member at a position for restricting the movement of the flexible engaging portion 29a (FIG. 12).

  FIG. 8 is a view showing a process of attaching the non-driving side bearing 39 to the developing device frame 29.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of a configuration in which the non-driving side bearing 39 is fixed after being attached to the developing device frame 29.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the developing device frame 29 has a flexible engaging portion 29a. The engaging portion 29a protrudes outward in the longitudinal direction from the surface 29f of the developing device frame 29 facing the non-driving side bearing 39. As shown in FIG. 8A, the engaging portion 29a has a flexible portion 29g having a rectangular cross section of t of about 1.2 mm and about 3.6 mm in a direction orthogonal to the t direction and the longitudinal direction. The flexible portion 29g has a downstream side surface 29c (hereinafter referred to as an opposite surface) in a direction in which the engaging portion 29a bends when engaged with an engaged portion 39a described later. The flexible portion 29g has an engagement tip portion 29h having an engagement surface 29i on the tip end side in the longitudinal direction. Here, the engagement surface 29i also includes a corner portion 29i1 that becomes a boundary with the flexible portion 29g.

  Further, the non-driving side bearing 39 has an engaged portion 39a that engages with the engaging portion 29a. The engaged portion 39a is formed in a hole 39c into which the engaging portion 29a provided in the rotation axis direction of the developing roller 6 of the non-driving side bearing 39 is inserted. The engaged portion 39a has an engaged surface 39d that contacts and engages with the engaging surface 29i of the engaging portion 29a. Here, the engaged surface 39d also includes a corner portion 39d1 on the flexible portion 29g side. The hole 39c has a retaining surface 39b for retaining the filling member 45, which will be described later. The retaining surface 39b is constituted by a concave portion provided in a direction orthogonal to the arrow Q direction on the downstream side in the arrow Q direction shown in FIG. 8A of the opposing surface 39e facing the opposite surface 29c of the engaging portion 29a. Has been. Here, the distance V between the opposing surface 39e and the opposite surface 29c of the engaging portion is a distance V1 for the concave portion as shown in FIG. 8C, and a distance V2 upstream from the concave portion in the direction of arrow Q. Then, V1> V2. The molten resin is poured into this space as shown in FIG. 9, and the molten resin 45b is injected to a position where V1> V2 as shown in FIG. 8C, and then the molten resin is cooled and hardened to fill the filling member. 45 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the engaging portion 29a and the engaged portion 39a are attached to the developing frame 29 by attaching the non-driving side bearing 39 in the arrow Q direction. At this time, the flange 39f on the developing frame 29 side of the hole 39c abuts on the inclined surface 29j of the engagement tip 29h of the engagement portion 29a, whereby the flexible portion 29g of the engagement portion 29a is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. Then, the developing frame body side end surface 39g of the non-driving side bearing 39 is attached to a position where it contacts the surface 29f of the developing frame body 29 in the arrow Q direction. At this time, the engagement surface 29i of the engagement portion 29a and the first engagement surface 39d of the engagement portion 39a are engaged as shown in FIG. Here, the flexible portion 29g may be not bent as shown in FIG. 8A, or may be engaged while being bent in the arrow U direction.

  Next, after the engaging portion 29a and the engaged portion 39a are engaged, the non-driving side bearing 39 does not come out in the direction of the arrow Q1 shown in FIG. explain.

  As shown in FIG. 8C, after the engaging portion 29a and the engaged portion 39a are engaged, the engaging portion 29a is restricted from bending in the direction of the arrow U, thereby restricting the engaging portion 29a and the engaged portion. The engaged state of the engaging portion 39a can be maintained. Therefore, the engaging portion 29a is regulated so as not to bend in the direction of the arrow U while contacting the two surfaces of the opposite surface 29c and the opposing surface 39e opposite thereto, and the developing frame 29 and the non-driving side bearing 39 are fixed. A filling member 45 is provided as a third member. The facing surface 39e may be formed on the developing frame 29 or any other part in addition to the non-driving side bearing 39. Thereby, the bending of the engaging portion 29a can be restricted, and the developing frame 29 having the engaging portion 29a and the non-driving side bearing 39 having the engaged portion 39a can be fixed.

  At this time, the filling member 45 is formed by an injection unit (not shown) having an injection gate 46 as shown in FIG. After the engaging portion 29a and the engaged portion 39a of each of the developing frame 29 and the non-driving side bearing 39 are engaged, the end surface on the developing frame side in the hole 39c of the non-driving side bearing 39 as shown in FIG. The filling gate 45 (FIG. 8C) is formed by bringing the injection gate 46 into contact with the surface 39i opposite to 39g and injecting the molten resin 45b melted at a high temperature. Here, the molten resin 45b flows in the direction of the arrow T along the opposite surface 29c and the opposite surface 39e from the injection gate 46, and comes into contact with the retaining surface 39b as shown in FIG. 8C from the retaining surface. Also flows downstream in the direction of arrow T. In this way, by filling the molten resin, the filling member 45 having the convex shape (convex portion) filling member retaining portion 45a corresponding to the concave portion is formed. Therefore, even if the distance between the opposite surface 29c and the opposing surface 39e varies due to tolerances, the filling member 45 is spaced from the opposing surface 29c of the developing frame 29 and the opposing surface 39e of the non-driving side bearing 39. The engaging portion 29a is not bent in the direction of the arrow U as shown in FIG. 8B. Thereby, the developing device frame 29 having the engaging portion 29a and the engaged portion 39a and the non-driving side bearing 39 are fixed in the direction of the arrow Q1. A cartridge is manufactured through this process. In manufacturing the cartridge, components such as a memory may be mounted after the manufacturing process of the present embodiment, or may be mounted before the manufacturing process of the present embodiment.

  Further, the retaining surface 39b of the non-driving side bearing 39 and the filling member retaining portion 45a contact each other in the arrow Q1 direction shown in FIG. 8C, so that the filling member 45 does not come out in the arrow Q1 direction.

  As another example of the filling member, the engaging portion of the developing frame, the engaged portion of the non-driving side bearing, and the filling member are made of the same resin. As a result, the surfaces of the engaging portion and the engaged portion, which are the same resin, are melted by the heat of the molten resin when the molten resin forming the filling member is injection-molded, and then bonded by solidifying. Of course, depending on the application, the resin for the filling member may be the same resin as the developing frame and different from the non-driving side bearing, or the resin different from the developing frame and the same resin as the non-driving bearing may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the engaging portion 29a of the developing frame 29 and the engaged portion 39a of the non-driving side bearing 39 are made of, for example, polystyrene, and the filling member 45 is made of a different resin, for example, conductive polyacetal. ing. In this manner, even when different materials are incompatible with each other, the filling member 45 can be fixed by providing the retaining portion 39b as a retaining member for the filling member 45. Furthermore, if the filling member has a conductive material, it can be used as an electrical contact by forming it in contact with the contact path.

  Moreover, although the filling member is injection molded, this is not restrictive. For example, the engaging portion 29a is not bent by press-fitting an elastic member such as rubber slightly larger than the space into the space between the opposite surface 29c shown in FIG. Can be configured.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the non-driving side bearing 39 is attached to the developing device frame 29 by engaging the engaging portions 29a and the engaged portions 39a, respectively, so that they are removed from the engaging portions. It is possible to fix without looseness by configuring a difficult filling member.

  In the present invention, the engaging portion 29a has the developing frame 29 and the engaged portion 39a has the non-driving side bearing 39, but the engaging portion has the non-driving side bearing 39 and the engaged portion has the developing portion. The structure which the frame 29 has may be sufficient. In the present invention, the fixing structure of the developing frame 29 and the non-driving side bearing 39 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the case where the cleaning container 26 and the driving-side cover member 24 and the non-driving-side cover member 25 are fixed, such as when fixing at least one of the parts formed of a flexible resin and fixing without looseness, the same applies. Get the effect. As a result, the relative positions of the process means that require positional accuracy, such as the developing roller 6 and the developing blade 30, the photosensitive drum 4 and the cleaning blade 7, can be accurately positioned by a simple method.

(Example 2)
<Structure to prevent the embedded member from being fixed to fix the developing frame and the non-driving bearing>
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described as a second embodiment with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, the retaining portion 45a of the filling member 45 formed between the opposite surface 29c and the facing surface 39e is brought into contact with the retaining surface 39b of the non-driving side bearing 39 so that the filling member 45 is not detached. It was. The present embodiment shows a structure for preventing the filling member from coming off in another form. Therefore, the description of the parts that are the same as those in the first embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a detailed view showing a fixing portion between the developing frame 47 and the non-driving side bearing 48. First, the engagement portion 47a provided on the developing device frame 47 and the non-drive side bearing 48 provided with the same configuration as the engagement of the engagement portion 29a and the engagement portion 39a shown in FIG. The engaging portion 48d is engaged. Thereafter, the molten resin 45b is injected from the injection gate 46 shown in FIG. 9 to inject the molten resin 49b melted at a high temperature as shown in FIG. A filling member 49 is formed. Here, the molten resin 49b is formed in the direction of the arrow T from the injection gate 46 along the opposite surface 47c of the engaging portion and the opposing surface 48e. The retaining surface 47b is formed as a concave portion provided on the opposite surface 47c of the engaging portion 47a on the upstream side in the direction of the arrow Q1 shown in FIG. 10B in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the arrow Q1. Here, the distance V between the opposing surface 48e and the opposite surface 47c of the engaging portion is a distance V3 at the concave portion as shown in FIG. 10B, and a distance V4 downstream from the concave portion in the direction of the arrow Q1. Then, V3> V4. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, the molten resin 49b is injected to a position where V3> V4, and the filling member 49 is formed.

  Even if the distance between the opposite surface 47c of the engaging portion and the opposing surface 48e varies with tolerances, the filling member 49 has the opposite surface 47c of the engaging portion of the developing frame 47 and the non-driving side bearing 48. Formed and fixed in contact with each of the opposing surfaces 48e of the.

  Further, since the retaining surface 47b of the developing frame 47 and the filling member retaining portion 49a contact each other in the arrow Q1 direction shown in FIG. 10B, the filling member 45 does not come out in the arrow Q1 direction.

  Furthermore, as another example, FIG. 11 shows a detailed view of a fixing portion of the developing device frame 50 and the non-driving side bearing 51. Similarly to the engagement between the developing frame 47 and the non-driving side bearing 48 described above, the engaging portion 50 a provided on the developing frame 50 and the engaged portion 51 d provided on the non-driving side bearing 51 are engaged. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11A, the filling member 52 is formed by injecting a molten resin 52b melted at a high temperature. Here, the molten resin 52b is formed in the arrow T direction from the injection gate 46 along the opposite surface 50c of the engaging portion and the opposing surface 51e. Here, the facing surface 51e of the non-driving side bearing 51 is such that V5> V6 at the root distance V5 and the tip distance V6 of the engaging portion 50a at a distance V between the opposite surface 50c of the engaging portion. A taper shape corresponding to the taper shape on the non-driving side bearing side by injecting the molten resin 52b to a position where V5> V6 as shown in FIG. 11 (b). A filling member 52 having a (tapered portion) is formed. Therefore, even if the distance between the opposite surface 50c of the engaging portion and the facing surface 51e varies due to tolerance, the filling member 52 has the opposite surface 50c of the developing device frame 50 and the facing surface of the non-driving side bearing 51. It is formed in a state where it is in contact with each of 51e without any gap, and is fixed in a state where the engagement is maintained.

  Further, the filling member 52 comes into contact with the opposing surface 51e of the non-driving side bearing 51 that is tapered (tapered portion) with respect to the opposite surface 50c of the engaging portion, whereby the arrow Q1 shown in FIG. The filling member 52 does not come off in the direction.

  As shown in FIG. 12, a configuration in which the retaining portion (holding portion) 45a is in the middle of the third member may be employed. The holding portion forms a convex portion corresponding to the concave portion (held portion) by flowing the molten resin into the concave portion (held portion) of the first member or the second member. Thereby, holding parts, such as a convex part having one claw-like claw part as shown in FIG. 12 and a convex part having two claw parts, can be formed. In the case of using a molten resin, it is possible to manufacture the holding part and the held part more closely.

  As described above, in addition to the first embodiment, the non-driving side bearing can be attached to the developing frame by engaging the engaging portion and the engaged portion in the configuration described in the second embodiment. It is possible to fix without looseness by configuring a filling member that is difficult to be removed from the engaging portion.

1 Electrophotographic image forming apparatus (image forming apparatus)
2 Device body 3 Device opening / closing door 4 Electrophotographic photosensitive member (image carrier)
4a Drum drive coupling 5 Charging roller 6 Developing roller (developer carrier)
6a Developing roller core 7 Cleaning blade 8 Cleaning unit 9 Developing device 10 Exposure window 11 Intermediate transfer belt unit 12 Transfer belt 13 Drive roller 14 Turn roller 15 Tension roller 16 Primary transfer roller 17 Secondary transfer roller 18 Feeding unit 19 Feeding Paper tray 20 Paper feed roller 21 Fixing unit 22 Discharge unit 23 Paper discharge tray 24 Driving side cover member 25 Non-driving side cover member 26 Cleaning container 26a Waste toner container 27 Charging roller bearing 28 Charging roller pressure spring 29 Developing frame 29a Flexible part (flexible engaging part)
30 Developing blade unit (developer regulating member)
31 Development Blade 33 Toner Supply Roller 33a Toner Supply Roller Core Material 34, 34L, 34R Development End Seal Member 35 Flexible Sheet Member 36 Development Blade Lower Seal Member 37L, 37R Supply Roller Shaft Seal 38 Drive Side Bearing 39 Non Drive Side Bearing (example of second member)
40 Development roller gear 41 Supply roller gear 42 Development drive input gear 42a Development drive coupling 43 Cartridge tray 44 Waste toner collection sheet member 45 Filling member (example of third member)
46 Injection gate 47 Development frame (example of first member)
48 Non-drive side bearing P Cartridge S Recording medium LB Laser scanner Z Laser beam

Claims (6)

A method of manufacturing a cartridge comprising: a first member having a flexible engaging portion; and a second member having an engaged portion including a hole engaging with the engaging portion ,
Wherein the engagement portion of the first member is inserted into the engaged portion of the first said direction second member, provided in said engaging portion, a second direction intersecting the first direction a step of engaging a hook portion projecting to the engaged portion,
Pouring molten resin between the first member and the second member, and forming the third member by solidifying the molten resin,
In the step of forming the third member, in the second direction, the third member is arranged in the order of the third member, the engaging portion, and the second member, and the third member that restricts the movement of the engaging portion is arranged. method of manufacturing a cartridge, and forming.   Forming the third member such that the width of the third member closer to the moving base point of the engaging portion is larger than the width of the third member farther from the moving base point. The method of manufacturing a cartridge according to claim 1, wherein   2. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein in the step of forming the third member, the third member having a holding portion that holds the third member at a position where movement of the engaging portion can be restricted is formed. Manufacturing method.   In the step of forming the third member, the third member having a convex portion corresponding to the concave portion when the molten resin flows into the concave portion of the first member or the second member and then hardens. The cartridge manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge is formed.   5. The method of manufacturing a cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the third member is a resin, and the third member is formed by injection molding. 6.   6. The method of manufacturing a cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the molten resin melts a surface of the first member or the second member and is joined to the third member. 7.

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