JPH0450953A - Image forming cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save resources and to reduce running costs by recovering a recovering block, exchanging the block with a fresh block, combining this block with a recycling block and mounting the combination to a device body. CONSTITUTION:This image forming cartridge is constituted of the recovering block 9 constituted by connecting a developer casing 2 and a waste toner casing 3 and the recycling block 10 disposed in the upper part between the developer casing 2 and the waste toner casing 3. The recovering block 9 and the recycling block 10 are separably combined. The image forming cartridge 1 is taken out of the device body and the recovering block 9 is recovered when a certain image forming means is worn or is deteriorated in performance. This block is exchanged with the fresh block and the recycling block 10 is combined therewith. The cartridge is then mounted to the device body. The image forming means of the recycling block 10 is effectively utilized to its life in this way and the resources are saved. In addition, the running costs are reduced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus that forms images using an electrophotographic method, such as a copying machine, facsimile machine, or printer, which is equipped with an image forming means and can be detachably attached to the main body of the apparatus. The present invention relates to an image forming cartridge.

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus using this type of image forming cartridge is known from, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-279872. In the image forming apparatus disclosed in this publication, in order to easily replace parts such as the image bearing member whose performance is likely to deteriorate, the image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developing means for developing a latent image, and an image forming apparatus. An image forming cartridge is used which integrally combines a cleaning means for removing toner remaining on a carrier and a charger.

On the other hand, in order to uniformly charge the image carrier with a charger, an erase lamp that irradiates the image carrier with light to remove residual charges before charging is installed at the top of the image forming cartridge mounting space in the main body of the device. A slit is formed on the upper surface of the casing of the image forming cartridge so that light from the erase lamp is irradiated onto the image carrier.

Problem to be Solved by the Invention However, in the image forming cartridge/nozzle having the above structure, the charger hardly deteriorates before the developer is consumed and the image forming cartridge is discarded. This results in a waste of resources and a correspondingly high cost.Furthermore, from a social point of view, there is a problem in that processing after being discarded also costs money.

On the other hand, since the erase lamp is not provided in the image forming cartridge, it is located far away from the image carrier. As a result, the erase lamp has a large light output and is almost uniform over the entire axial length of the image carrier. It requires the use of an expensive lamp such as a rod-shaped halogen lamp, which increases the cost, consumes a lot of power, and generates a large amount of heat, which requires heat countermeasures for the laser light source. There is a problem. Therefore,
When this erasing means is provided in a disposable image forming cartridge, there is a problem in that the running cost becomes extremely high.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems and makes it possible to save resources by making full use of the lifespan of each image creation means, and also allows each image creation means to be arranged rationally, thereby reducing running costs. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming cartridge that can perform the following steps.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above problems, the present invention provides an image forming cartridge that includes a plurality of image forming means including an image carrier and that can be detachably attached to the main body of an image forming apparatus.
It is characterized by being divided into a reusable block equipped with an image creation means whose performance does not easily deteriorate, and a recovery block equipped with an image creation means whose performance tends to wear out or whose performance deteriorates, and these blocks are separably combined. It is something to do.

Operation In the above structure of the present invention, when a certain image forming means is worn out or its performance deteriorates, the image forming cartridge is removed from the apparatus main body, the collected block is collected and replaced with a new one, and the reused block is replaced with a new one. By combining them and attaching them to the main body of the device, the image creation means of the reusable blocks can be used effectively until their lifetime, saving resources and reducing running costs. Therefore, expensive image forming means such as erasing means can be rationally arranged in the image forming cartridge, and the problem that has arisen due to the expensive image forming means not being able to be provided in the image forming cartridge can be solved. I can do it.

In addition, after collection, the collection block is reused by replenishing consumables such as toner if it can be used again, depending on the degree of deterioration of the performance of the image creation means, and if it is too deteriorated and cannot be reused, it is left as is. Discard.

Embodiment An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image forming cartridge in a printer will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

First, the basic structure of the image forming cartridge 1 will be explained based on FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the image forming cartridge l is arranged in a collection block 9 formed by connecting a developer casing 2 and a waste toner casing 3, and in an upper part between the developer casing 2 and the waste toner casing 3, as shown in the figure. It is composed of recycled blocks 10 and recovered blocks 9.
and reusable block 10 are separably combined.

A photosensitive drum 4 is provided at the connecting end of the waste toner casing 3 and is pivotally supported on the side wall of the waste toner casing 3 by a shaft 6. A cleaning blade 7 is brought into pressure contact with the back of the photosensitive drum 4, and residual toner scraped off from the top of the photosensitive drum 4 is stored in the waste toner casing 3. To accommodate this, a paddle 8 is provided near the bottom of the waste toner casing 3 behind the photosensitive drum 4.
The toner scraped off from the photosensitive drum 4 is scraped into the waste toner casing 3. The photosensitive drum 4 has a photoconductive layer made of zinc oxide, selenium, organic photoconductive material, etc. formed on the surface of a metal base such as aluminum, and forms an electrostatic latent image by imagewise exposure.

A developing roller 11 for developing an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 4 with toner is provided at the connecting end of the developing device casing 2 and is pivotally supported by a shaft 12 on a side wall. A fur brush 13 is provided on the back of the developing roller 11 and is pivotally supported by a shaft 14 on the side wall of the developing device casing 2 . Inside the developer casing 2 is a developer supply paddle 15 that agitates the developer in the developer casing 2 while supplying it to the fur brush 13.
is provided and is pivoted to the side wall by a shaft 16. A stirring blade 17 is attached to the shaft 16 to prevent the toner from forming blocks.

A wire 82 for scraping off the developer is provided on the back of the fur brush 13. This wire 82 is stretched between the opening edges of a partition plate 95 in the developer casing 2.
It is pressed against the back surface of the fur brush 13. As a result, when the residual developer that has been supplied to the developing roller II on the fur brush 13 returns to the back side of the fur brush 13, this residual developer is scraped off from the surface of the fur brush 13 by the wire 82. Returned to unused developer. Therefore, the residual developer remaining after being supplied to the developing roller 11 does not leave the surface of the developing roller 11 and is repeatedly supplied to the developing roller 11 as it is, or -
Even if the developer is scraped off from the surface of the developing roller 11, it is avoided that the developer is not mixed with unused developer and is captured by the fur brush 13 and supplied to the developing roller 1. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the stress of the residual developer that is not supplied to the developing roller 11 on the fur brush 13 from affecting the developing characteristics.

The developer casing 2 and the waste toner casing 3 are connected to the shaft 2.
Positioning rollers 23 and 24 provided on the shafts 6 and 12 of both the photosensitive drum 4 and the developing roller 11 are connected to each other so as to be swingable by the shafts 6 and 1 of the photosensitive drum 4 and the developing roller 11 by the urging force of the springs 22 that act between them.
They are brought into pressure contact with each other, and a predetermined gap is maintained between the photosensitive drum 4 and the developing roller 11 while absorbing manufacturing and assembly errors of each part.

A lid 30 is attached to an upwardly opened developer input port 83 of the developer casing 2, and is fixed to the developer casing 2 by an appropriate method such as adhesion, welding, or screwing.

However, due to recent miniaturization and weight reduction, the thickness of each member forming the image forming cartridge 1 tends to become thinner and the rigidity tends to decrease. Therefore, when handling the image forming cartridge 1 alone, the developing device casing 2 forming the gripping portion H is
When the gripping force is applied to the handle, deformation such as twisting or denting may occur even temporarily. At this time, the volume of the developer casing 2 becomes momentarily small, and the developer may be blown out along with the internal air from the weak portion of the seal.

Therefore, in this embodiment, an opening 84 is formed in the lid 30, and the opening 84 is closed with a semipermeable membrane 85. The semipermeable membrane B5 is one that allows air to pass through but does not allow the developer to pass through. As a result, even if the developer casing 2 is deformed as described above during handling of the image forming cartridge 1 and the volume is reduced and internal air is blown out, the semi-permeable membrane 85 with less resistance prevents the air from blowing out. Even if the developer tries to get on the blown air, the semi-permeable membrane 8
5 to prevent it from spewing out to the outside. Such a structure can be applied to the waste toner casing 3 as well, if necessary.

Further, a seal plate 25 is provided at the bottom of the connecting end opening of the developer casing 2 and extends to the circumferential surface of the developing roller II and is in pressure contact therewith. A seal plate 26 is provided that extends to the drum 4 and presses against it. As a result, the developer handling space of the image forming cartridge 1 formed by the developer casing 2 and the waste toner casing 3 becomes almost sealed, thereby preventing the developer from scattering to the outside. I can do it.

Note that the sealing performance can be further improved by providing the seal plates 25 and 26 in the developer casing 2 and the waste toner casing 3 in multiple stages as necessary, and pressing them against the surfaces of the developing roller 11 and the photosensitive drum 4 in multiple stages in their rotational directions. improves.

The reuse block 10 has an LED array for removing residual electric charge on the photosensitive drum 4 in a mounting casing 45 that is positioned and fixed by fitting into the upper part of the connecting end of the waste toner casing 3 with the developer casing 2. The photosensitive drum 4 is equipped with an eraser 46 and a charger 52 that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. The mounting casing 45 extends to the connecting end of the developer casing 2 with the waste toner casing 3 and covers the upper part thereof, and an exposure slit 51 is provided on the side of the charger 52 on the developer casing 2 side. It is formed. Also, eraser 4
6 is disposed so as to be close to and face the photosensitive drum 4, so that the light output is thick (like that of a halogen lamp).
An LED array is used because the residual charge can be reliably removed even if the LED array is not used. This LED array is compact, inexpensive, and has low power consumption and heat generation.
It is suitable for being disposed within the imaging cartridge 1.

Since the image forming cartridge 1 is constructed by combining the collection printer 9 and the reuse block 10, when the developer in the developer casing 2 is consumed and the developer is replenished, only the collection block 9 is used. A new imaging cartridge 1 is obtained by collecting and combining the reusable block 10 with a new collected block 9, and the eraser 46 and charger 52 in the reusable block 10 are continuously used until their lifetime. be able to. Furthermore, if the eraser 46 and the like are cleaned when the collection block 9 is collected, there is no fear that the function will deteriorate due to dirt even if it is placed inside the image forming cartridge 1, and the collection block 9 can be used effectively until its life.

This image forming cartridge 1 is used by being attached to a printer 31 as shown in FIG. In this printer 31, an upper frame 33 can be opened and closed vertically about a hinge shaft 34 with respect to a lower frame 32, and the image forming cartridge 1 is mounted on the upper frame 33 as shown by the arrow. This mounting is performed detachably from the rear of the upper frame 33 that opens upward along guides (not shown) provided inside both side walls of the upper frame 330. Thereafter, by closing the upper frame 33 with respect to the lower frame 32, the image forming cartridge 1 forms a paper passing bus 37 for printing between it and the transfer charger 36 provided on the lower frame 32 side. On the other hand, when the upper frame 33 is opened upward as shown in FIG. 2, the paper passing path 37 is opened, and problems such as jams can be easily dealt with.

A laser scanning unit 38 is provided above the portion of the upper frame 33 where the image forming cartridge 1 is mounted. This laser scanning unit 38 deflects a laser beam 39 from a laser emitting source modulated according to an image signal given by a personal computer or an image reader etc. using an appropriate scanning means such as a polygon mirror, and scans the photosensitive drum. 4, image exposure is performed on the photosensitive drum 4 through the exposure slit 51 of the mounting casing 45.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, an elastic blade 41 is pressed against the developing roller 11. As shown in FIGS. As the elastic blade 41, a rubber blade made of urethane rubber, silicone rubber, or the like, or a metal blade made of phosphor bronze, spring copper, or the like is useful. The upper end of the elastic blade 41 is attached by adhesive or the like to a metal support member 42 that is stretched between the side walls of the developer casing 2, and the lower end is pressed against the surface of the developing roller 11.

Incidentally, the developing roller 11 has a developer carrying area X on the central side in the longitudinal direction formed with a satin surface by sandblasting or the like, which is advantageous for carrying the developer. Both ends of the developing roller 11 on both sides of the developer carrying area be. For this reason, the developer non-carrying area Y is kept as a smooth surface to avoid carrying the developer.

As a result, the developer carrying area X of the developing roller 11 has a satin-like unevenness formed on its surface, and the convex portion rises from the surface of the fabric, so that the diameter thereof is slightly increased compared to the developer non-carrying area Y. In addition, since the developer carrying area X of the developing roller 11 carries the developer supplied from the sponge roller 13, although the developer is thinned to a predetermined layer thickness by pressure contact with the elastic blade 41, the developing roller The diameter of the developer carrying area X portion of No. 11 is further increased. Therefore, the diameter of the developer carrying area X of the developing roller 11 is somewhat different from that of the developer non-carrying area Y, and there is a gap between the developer carrying area X and the developer non-carrying area Y of the developing roller 11. Step Z (
(Fig. 5) will occur.

Therefore, if the elastic blade 41 is uniformly and continuously pressed over the entire length of the developing roller 11, it will not carry the developer, and moreover, the developer non-carrying area Y will have a small diameter.
Floating occurs between the two and causes the developer to leak forward.

In order to solve this problem, in this embodiment, a cut 86 is formed from the tip of the elastic blade 410 facing the boundary K between the developer carrying area X and the developer non-carrying area Y of the developing roller 11. are doing. As a result, the elastic blade 41 is divided by the notch 86 into the center side in the longitudinal direction facing the developer carrying area X and the developer non-carrying area Y of the developing roller 11, and the sections 41a and 41b on both sides thereof. Since the respective portions 41a and 41b independently press against the developer carrying area X and the developer non-carrying area Y of the developing roller 11 without being influenced by each other, there is a step Z between the respective areas X and Y. Part 4 of the elastic blade 41
1b can be brought into close contact with a portion of the developer non-carrying area Y, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the elastic blade 41
It is possible to eliminate the inconvenience in which the developer floats from the developing roller 11 in the developer non-carrying area Y and the developer leaks from the developer non-carrying area Y to the photosensitive drum 4 side.

Further, the portion 41b of the elastic blade 41 is attached to the support member 42.
It is held down by presser metals 57 attached to both ends of the holder, which further prevents it from lifting up. Developing roller 1
A sealing material 88 is interposed between 1 and the side wall 87.

Furthermore, in a long continuous portion of the elastic blade 41 in the longitudinal direction, pressure contact with the developing roller 11 tends to be stronger in the central portion of the continuous range than in other portions.
The layer thickness of the developer formed on the developing roller 11 tends to be non-uniform in the axial direction of the developing roller 11, which causes uneven development characteristics. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to solve this problem,
A groove 81 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 is formed on the back surface of the elastic blade 41. This groove 81 is located approximately at the center in the width direction of the elastic blade 41, and is formed in a range excluding both ends of the portion 41a between the long cuts 86 of the elastic blade 41.

This allows the long portion 41a of the elastic blade 41 to
The bending rigidity at the central portion in the longitudinal direction is weakened by the concave groove 81, the pressing force against the developing roller 11 is reduced, and the pressing force against the developing roller 11 of the entire long portion 41a of the elastic blade 41 is reduced. become even.

Furthermore, stress is concentrated in the concave groove 81 portion of the elastic blade 41, and by equalizing the stress in other portions, the pressing force against the developing roller 11 can be made uniform.

Therefore, a thin layer of developer can be formed with a uniform layer thickness over the entire developer carrying area X of the developing roller 11, and uniform development characteristics can be expected over the entire developer carrying area X of the developing roller 11.

In addition, the elastic blade 41 is made of polyethylene terephthalate (
If it is formed by punching from a sheet such as PET, the cost will be lower than when a molded product such as urethane foam is used. In this case PET
Since it is made of a strong material, it does not damage the developing roller 11 or cause chattering, and it is preferable to press the developing roller 11 at the so-called abdomen in order to avoid contact with the tip edge.

Furthermore, since the elastic blade 41 is made of an insulating material, the frictional charging between the developer and the elastic blade 41 can be increased, and the overall charging state can be sufficiently stabilized. In this sense, forming a coating layer of an insulating material on the surface of the developing roller 110 can further improve the charging characteristics. Furthermore, since the insulating coating layer can form a matte surface during resin molding without sandblasting, the cost of the developing roller 11 is reduced accordingly, and the developer can be transported to areas where the electric field is not diffused. At the same time, the gap between the developing roller 11 and the photosensitive drum 4 can be shortened in a pseudo manner beyond the discharge limit.
Resolution in development is improved.

As another example, an insulating elastic roller may be used instead of the elastic blade 41, in which case the developing roller 11
You can set the relative speed in any way you like. This allows the charging characteristics to be adjusted in various ways,
Depending on whether the elastic roller is rotated in a subordinate direction to the developing roller 11 or in the opposite direction, the surface layer of the developer on the developing roller 11 is actively subjected to development;
It becomes possible to select whether to make it difficult to be subjected to development. Such selection is based on the developer, developer supply mechanism, and photosensitive drum 4.
This is useful when dealing with various types of image forming conditions, such as types, etc., or when responding to special requests.

In addition, a speed change mechanism is provided in the drive system of the developing roller 11 to increase the rotational speed of the developing roller 11 when forming an image with poor reproducibility such as a line drawing or a dot image. Increasing the supply amount improves reproducibility even for line drawings and dot drawings.

In this embodiment, the configuration of the charger 52 is devised in response to the fact that the photosensitive drum 4 is designed to have an extremely small diameter. The photosensitive drum 4, which has an extremely small diameter, faces the charging charger 52 on a curved surface with a sharp degree of curvature, and it is difficult to perform stable charging due to the influence of higher speeds. Therefore, the charger 52 connects the mesh of the grid section 53 to the photosensitive drum 4.
It is arranged so that it gradually becomes finer from the upstream side to the downstream side in the direction of rotation (Figs. 1 and 3). As a result, the charging charger 52 is initially a corotron type charger without a grid or exhibiting charging characteristics similar to that to ensure charging performance for the rotating photosensitive drum 4, and then a scorotron type charger with a grid. This ensures controllability of charging by exhibiting charging characteristics as described above.

This makes it possible to achieve stable charging by ensuring both charging performance and charging controllability.

Although the charger 52 is formed into one for miniaturization, two chargers, a corotron type charger and a scorotron type charger, may be installed. Further, the size of the mesh may change continuously or discontinuously. The charger 52 has a grid portion 53 for miniaturization.
and a discharge stabilizing frame 54 are integrally formed from a metal plate. The corona wire 55 is installed between resin blocks 56 attached to both side walls of the developer casing 2.
This resin block 56 holds the end of the discharge stabilizing frame 54.

Note that the corona wire 55 has a thin wire diameter of about 80 μm, so there is a problem with elongation and cutting, which makes it troublesome to handle during installation, and maintenance such as cleaning when it becomes dirty due to use is also troublesome. Therefore, it is conceivable that a metal plate is buried in a resin base (not shown) by insert molding or the like, and a part of the buried metal plate is exposed to be used in place of the corona wire. In this case, costs can be reduced and the strength of the corona electrode portion is improved, making assembly and cleaning easier. Alternatively, a predetermined metal material may be printed in a line shape on the surface of the resin base to serve as a substitute for the corona wire. In this case as well, the same effects as the above improvements can be expected.

Further, the discharge stabilizing frame 54 can also be formed by applying metal plating to the inner surface of the resin housing. In this case the resin housing is as described above! It can be integrally formed with a part of an existing member such as 30, and the structure can be simplified.

The transfer charger 36 is arranged so as to face the photosensitive drum 4 of the image forming cartridge 1 with a certain gap when the upper frame 33 is closed on the lower frame 32.

A timing roller pair 61 is provided in front of the transfer section of the paper passing bus 37, as shown in FIG. The timing roller pair 61 temporarily stops receiving the transfer paper 91 picked up and fed from the paper feed cassette 92 by the pickup roller 93 in a stopped state, and thereafter feeds the transfer paper 91 at a predetermined timing, and then feeds the transfer paper 91 to the photosensitive drum. The leading edge is aligned with the toner image formed on 4 and used for transfer.

A pair of fixing rollers 62 is provided behind the transfer section, and heat fixes the transfer sheet fed after the transfer.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 4 after the transfer is cleaned by a cleaning blade 7 to remove residual toner. Just like the elastic blade 41, the cleaning blade 7 can also have a groove formed on its back to equalize the pressing force. In this case, the resonant frequency of the blade can be easily selected. Furthermore, the cost can be reduced by punching out a PET sheet.

As shown in FIG. 6, the waste toner casing 3 is provided with an unused detection mechanism 71 that is linked to the drive system. This unused detection mechanism 71 is a gear 73 provided on one shaft of the drive system, for example, a paddle 80 rotating shaft 72 for scraping in waste toner.
The detection gear 74 is engaged. The detection gear 74 has teeth 75 only on a part of the outer periphery, and the other part of the outer periphery is a cam surface 77 having a recess 76 in a part. The waste toner casing 3 also includes a detection bin 78 facing the cam surface 77.
is held movably forward and backward, and this detection pin 78 is brought into contact with the cam surface 77 by a spring 79. When the image forming cartridge 1 is not in use, that is, when the drive system has never been operated and no developer is consumed, this abutment position is set a predetermined amount downstream from the recess 76 of the cam surface 77 in the driving direction. It is a remote location.

When the image forming cartridge 1 is installed in the printer 31 and is driven and used even once, the gear 7 that is interlocked with the drive is activated.
3 rotates the detection gear 74. The concave portion 76 of the cam surface 77 faces the detection bin 78 by an amount of rotation that is extremely small compared to the amount of drive for use. At this opposing position, the detection bottle 78 is fitted into the recess 76 by the force of the spring 79.

The detection bin 78 protrudes outside the waste toner casing 3 when the image forming cartridge 1 is not in use, and when the image forming cartridge 1 is mounted on the upper frame 33, the switch 94 provided on the upper frame 33 is activated. It is pushed by the detection bin 78 and automatically detects that the image forming cartridge 1 is unused. This detection signal is sent to the control system of the printer 31 to start counting the number of prints using the image forming cartridge 1 and to issue a restriction or warning against use of more than a predetermined number of prints based on this count. Conversely, if the image forming cartridge 1 to be installed has already been used, the detection bin 78 is retracted toward the waste toner casing 3, so even if the image forming cartridge 1 is installed in the upper frame 33, Switch 94 cannot be pressed. Therefore, no action is taken as would be the case when the unused waste toner casing 3 is attached.

However, the usage status can also be detected at the necessary time. For example, by detecting the point in time when a predetermined number of sheets, such as 500 sheets, have been used and using this as a use start signal, it is possible to support test use of up to 500 sheets. Furthermore, it can be said that the point in time when the image forming cartridge 1 has been used for printing the maximum number of sheets for use is detected and a warning is given for further use.

In the above embodiment, the image forming cartridge 1 is stored in the collection block 9.
Although the reusable block 10 is divided into one reusable block 10, it may be divided into three or more blocks.

Further, in the above embodiment, the eraser 46 is provided integrally with the mounting casing 45 of the reusable block, but the eraser 46 is attached removably to the collection block 9 independently and electrically connected to the upper frame 33. You may also connect them. In that case, when taking out the image forming cartridge 1 for replacing the collection block 9 or the like, it is sufficient to pull out the image forming cartridge 1 from the upper frame 33 and then extract the eraser 46 from the collection block 9. Furthermore, at that time, it is preferable to provide a cleaning means such as felt on the side surface of the collection block 9 so that the light projection surface can be cleaned by pulling out the eraser 46.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, when a certain image forming means is worn out or its performance deteriorates, the image forming cartridge is removed from the apparatus main body, the recovery block is recovered and replaced with a new one, and the reusable block is replaced with a new one. By combining these and installing them in the main body of the device, the image creation means of the reusable block can be used effectively until its lifespan, saving resources and reducing running costs. Therefore, expensive image forming means such as erasing means can be rationally arranged inside the image forming cartridge, which solves the problem that could not be provided inside the image forming cartridge due to the high cost. It has great effects, such as being able to

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image forming cartridge and a transfer charger section in a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a printer in which an image forming cartridge is installed, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the developing roller section, FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of a portion of the developing roller section, and FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the image forming cartridge unused detection mechanism. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the waste toner casing shown in FIG. 1・ 2−・−m=−−−−−−・−−m=・3−1−−−
−・−・ 4−・−・−・−・−−−1− 7−−−−−−−−−−−−1・ 9−−−−・−・・−−−m=−−−・10------
−−・−1−−−−・46−−−−−−・−・−−−1−−−・52−−−
------・・

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming cartridge that includes a plurality of image forming means including an image carrier and is removably attachable to the main body of an image forming apparatus, a reusable block is provided with an image forming means whose performance does not easily deteriorate; An image forming cartridge characterized in that it is divided into a collection block provided with an image forming means that is easily consumed or whose performance deteriorates, and that these blocks are separably combined.