JPH07325532A - Process cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an integrated process cartridge constituted so that an already used process cartridge is easily reused. CONSTITUTION:The integrated process cartridge consisting of a 1st unit including a photoreceptor 1 and a 2nd unit including a cleaning means 30 is provided with engaging means 11, 42 and 43 for engaging both units on the side plates of both units. The engaging means 11 of the 1st unit is an engaging shaft concentric with the shaft of the photoreceptor 1, and the engaging means 42 and 43 of the 2nd unit are engaging reference holes engaging with the engaging shaft. By engaging the engaging parts of both units and rotating the 2nd unit centering around the shaft of the photoreceptor 1, both units are coupled at a specified position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile and a laser beam printer for forming an image by an electrophotographic recording method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electrophotographic recording method is composed of a plurality of process means such as a charger, an exposure unit, a developing unit, a transfer charger, a cleaning unit and an optical charge eliminator around a photosensitive member. In comparison with the method, the inkjet recording method, the dot impact recording method, etc., the recording process means is complicated. However, a so-called process cartridge type electrophotographic apparatus in which a plurality of electrophotographic process means are integrally incorporated and can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body is easy to maintain and makes the electrophotographic process complicated to the user. It does not make you feel. The disposable process cartridge, which incorporates the main process means such as the photoconductor, charger, developer, toner container, and cleaning unit, is the life of the process cartridge when the toner in the process cartridge is exhausted. Is. When the process cartridge is replaced, the main process means for electrophotography, such as the photoconductor, the charger, and the developing device, are new parts, so that the disposable process cartridge requires substantially no maintenance.
This type of process cartridge is suitable for personal type printers and copying machines in which the number of printed sheets is not so large.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a main part of a conventionally used integral type process cartridge. Reference numeral 100 denotes a process cartridge, which is provided with a series of process means with reference to a positioning reference point provided on a common housing 101. For example, the photoconductor 102 and the developing roller 103 are provided in the reference holes provided on the both side plates of the casing 101,
The photoconductor shaft 104 and the developing roll shaft 105 are fitted and attached. Further, the charger 106 and the cleaning blade 107 are provided with the positioning protrusion 1 provided on the common casing 101.
It is attached along 08 and 109.

[0004]

However, the conventional process cartridge as described above has an advantage that the mutual process means can be easily positioned and assembled, but it is difficult to reuse the used process cartridge. have. In order to reuse the process cartridge, cleaning, inspection of functional parts, and replacement of repair parts are facilitated. Therefore, it is necessary that the process cartridge can be easily divided, disassembled, and reassembled. Since the process cartridge of the above-mentioned conventional structure is integrally attached to the common casing 101, it is difficult to divide and disassemble, and cleaning, inspection of functional parts, and replacement of repair parts are difficult, and therefore suitable for reuse. Didn't.

This is because the disposable process cartridge is not preferable from the standpoint of resource saving and global environmental protection. This is because the used process cartridge only consumes the toner in the cartridge and the process means still has a fully functional life.

A process cartridge of the present invention is to provide a process cartridge having a structure in which a used process cartridge can be easily reused, and an image forming apparatus main body. More specifically, the main purpose is to provide a process cartridge with a structure that makes it easy to collect used process cartridges and divide, disassemble, clean, inspect the functional parts, replace functional parts, and reassemble in the factory. And

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and comprises a first unit having a photoconductor that rotates about a rotary shaft, and a cleaning means for cleaning the photoconductor of the first unit. A second unit having the second unit;
An engaging unit for rotatably engaging the first unit with the first unit rotatably with respect to the rotation axis of the photoconductor, and engaging the first unit and the second unit at a predetermined angle by the engaging unit. The connection between the first unit and the second unit is completed by rotating the engaged second unit together with the rotation axis of the photoconductor of the first unit by a predetermined angle. .

[0008]

With the above structure, the first frame and the second frame
After releasing the fastening means with the frame, the engaging means consisting of the engaging shaft provided in the first frame and the engaging hole provided in the second frame is rotated, and the first frame having the photoconductor, It can be easily combined and divided with the second frame having the cleaning means. Therefore, it is easy to clean the recovery process cartridge, inspect functional parts, and replace repair parts.

Further, since the engaging shaft is coaxial with the photoconductor shaft, the positional relationship between the photoconductor surface and the cleaning blade is stable, and the expensive photoconductor is damaged at the tip of the cleaning blade due to an erroneous operation during joining and dividing. There is nothing to do.

Further, another process cartridge of the present invention has a positioning means for the first frame and the second frame and a locking means. Therefore, the first frame and the second
Not only is the positioning of the frame easy, but it also has a locking function, so when performing a performance test with the first frame alone in the process cartridge assembly process,
This is convenient because the test can be performed by temporarily fixing it with the locking means without fixing the fastening part with the screw.

Furthermore, another process cartridge according to the present invention has a first frame, a second frame and a third frame.
It is composed of frames. Therefore, since the process cartridge can be divided into three, cleaning of the recovery process cartridge, inspection of functional parts, and replacement of repair parts are easy. Further, since the third frame is composed of the toner container and the toner supply means and does not use expensive functional parts, it is possible to dispose only the third frame in the reassembly process. Further, in this process cartridge, since the photoconductor and the developing means are provided so as to face each other with the reference shaft hole provided in the first frame as a reference, the photoconductor and the developing means have high positional accuracy and a uniform image is formed. can do.

[0012]

Embodiments of the process cartridge of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) In FIGS. 1 and 2, a process cartridge according to the present invention is provided with a fixed magnet 2 therein and a photoconductor 1 which rotates around a rotation axis, and a photoconductor 1 opposed to the photoconductor 1. A first unit including an electrode roller 3 having a fixed magnet 4 therein, a cleaning unit 30 for cleaning the photoconductor 1, and a waste toner storage unit 31 for storing the toner removed by the cleaning unit 30. Two
Unit, toner conveying blades 61 and 62, and toner container 6
0, and a third unit having a charger 63 as a charging means for charging the photoconductor 1 in total of three units. In this embodiment, the first unit + the second unit corresponds to the second frame. The first unit, the second unit, and the third unit are all resin-molded casings.

Although not shown, the first unit may have a developing means for forming a toner image on the photosensitive member.

The construction and assembling procedure of the essential parts of the process cartridge of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(1) Configuration of Each Unit and Assembly Procedure Thereof First, the configuration of the first unit and the assembly procedure thereof will be described.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the photosensitive member 1 and the electrode roller 3 are integrally incorporated in the first unit. The photoconductor 1 is a laminated organic photoconductor drum in which a phthalocyanine-based photosensitive material is applied on an aluminum tube having a diameter of 30 mm, and the drive gear 5 provided at the end of the photoconductor 1 from the main body of the device. It receives the driving force and rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. The fixed magnet 2 is a non-rotating magnet fixed coaxially with the photoconductor 1. The electrode roller 3 is a non-magnetic cylindrical conductor disposed with a gap from the photoconductor 1, and the fixed magnet 4 is a non-rotating magnet installed inside the electrode roller 3.

The mutual constitution of the photoconductor 1, the photoconductor shaft 6, and the fixed magnet 4 provided inside the photoconductor and the first structure, as shown in FIGS.
The fixing method to the unit will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, a fan-shaped two-pole fixed magnet 2 is adhered and fixed to the central portion of the photoconductor shaft 6. A D-cut surface 7 is provided on one end of the photoconductor shaft 6, and the magnetic pole position of the magnet 2 inside the photoconductor is determined by this surface. A photoconductor shaft 6 having a fixed magnet adhered to the photoconductor 1 is passed through, and a flange with a drive gear 5 and a flange with a gear 8 for driving a stirring blade of the toner container 60 are attached to both ends of the photoconductor 1. The inner surface of the photoconductor 1 and the biting surface of the flange are fixed with an adhesive. Photoreceptor 1 thus configured
Can rotate about the photoconductor shaft 6 relative to the photoconductor 1 and the photoconductor shaft 6. Further, although the photoconductor shaft 6 is movable in the thrust direction, the movable range is limited by the internal fixed magnet 2 and the shaft does not come off.

The photoconductor 1 in which the photoconductor shaft 6 is integrally incorporated is placed inside the first unit, and the D-cut surface 7 of the photoconductor shaft 6 is D-cut provided integrally on the side face of the first unit. It is fitted into the reference shaft hole 9 of the shape. At this time, the photoconductor shaft 6
Since the length of is longer than the distance between the side plates of the first unit,
The photoconductor 1 is inserted into the reference shaft hole 9 from diagonally above, but the elasticity of the plastic side plate does not deform or damage the reference shaft hole 9. Next, in FIG. 4, when the photoconductor shaft 6 is pulled toward the front side, the photoconductor shaft 6 projects forward to a range where movement is restricted by the fixed magnet 2 inside, and the photoconductor shaft 6 is placed in the first unit. Fits. In this state, the opposite end of the photoconductor shaft 6 is fitted into a reference shaft hole 10 (not shown) provided on the surface facing the reference shaft hole 9. The fixed magnet 2 of the photoconductor 1 attached in this manner has its magnetic pole direction determined by the D-cut surface, and is fixed to the first unit. The thrust direction of the photoconductor shaft 6 is fixed at a designed position by a method such as an E ring or a grip ring so that the fixed magnet 2 does not move. The electrode roller 3 has the same structure as that of the photoconductor 1 and is attached to the first unit, so the description thereof will be omitted.

The respective constituent elements of the first unit constructed as described above are fitted with the rotary shafts of the photoconductor 1 and the electrode roller 3 into the respective reference shaft holes 9 and 10 provided in the side plate of the first unit. Therefore, mutual positional accuracy is good. Similarly, since the fixed magnets 2 and 4 provided inside the photoconductor 1 and the electrode roller 3 also have the D-cut surfaces provided with the central axis as a reference fitted in the reference shaft holes of the first unit, mutual positional accuracy is improved. It is good.

The scraper mounting base 14 to which the scraper 13 made of phosphor bronze is adhered is fixed with screws 15 and 16 to complete the assembly of the first unit.

Next, the structure of the second unit and its assembling procedure will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning unit 30 of the second unit is a rubber blade, and is adhered to an L-shaped metal plate 32 with an adhesive. Sheet metal 32
Is positioned by a positioning member (not shown) provided in the second unit, and is fixed by screws 33 and 34. Elastic members 35 and 36 for pressing the charger 63 from above are attached to both sides of the cleaning blade 30. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning blade 30 is provided in the second unit.
A waste toner storage portion 31 for storing the toner 37 scraped off by is provided. Further, the both side plates of the second unit are provided with engaging means 42, 43 for engaging with the engaging fixed shafts 11, 12 of the first unit, which will be described later.

Next, the structure of the third unit and its assembling procedure will be described. The third unit is the toner container 60
Positioning recesses 64, 65 for positioning the charger 63, a toner container 60 for storing the toner, and toner stirring blades 61, 6 for feeding the toner to the developing unit.
2. It has a gear (not shown) for transmitting power to the toner stirring blade.

In the toner container 60, a toner carrying blade 61,
After attaching 62 and the transmission gear, the upper part of the toner container 60 is covered with a lid member 67 having a partition plate 66, and the toner container 60 and the lid member 67 are closed by means such as adhesion or welding. An opening is formed at the tip of the third unit by a partition plate 66 provided on the lid member 67 and a partition plate 68 provided on the toner container 60. The opening is a hot melt type not shown. It is sealed with a seal film. After sealing the opening with a seal film, toner is filled through a toner filling hole (not shown), and the toner filling hole is closed with a lid, thus completing the third unit.

The toner used was a one-component high-resistance magnetic toner containing 80 parts by weight of magnetic powder and 3 parts by weight of a negative charge control agent with respect to 100 parts by weight of polystyrene resin. is there.

(2) Method of attaching each unit to each other First, the method of attaching the first unit and the third unit will be described.

First, a fastening hole provided on the first unit, 1
7, 18, 19, 20 and corresponding fastening portions (screw holes) on the third unit are aligned, and the first unit and the third unit are fixed by screws as fastening means.

Next, a method of attaching the charger 63 to the (first unit + third unit) will be described with reference to FIG.

A housing, which is a housing for accommodating the charger 63, is a resin molded product, and has projections 69 and 70 at the end of the side surface orthogonal to the grid electrode mounting surface. The protrusion 70 is
It is composed of two protrusions, a protrusion 70a that is a fitting portion and a protrusion 70b that is a locking portion. The protrusion 70a is a protrusion for positioning,
70b is a protrusion for locking the charger 63 and the first unit + third unit for temporary fixing. Notches 64 and 65, which are fitted parts to be fitted to the protrusions 69 and 70a, are provided at the ends of both side plates of the third unit.
In FIG. 5, a portion of the cutout portion 65 which is not cutout,
That is, the remaining portion (hereinafter referred to as "remaining portion") 6
The width of 5a is equal to the width of the protrusions 70a and 70b. Therefore, when the charger 63 is attached to the first unit + the third unit, the protrusion 69 fits into the cutout portion 64 and the protrusion 7
0a and 70b are the not-cut faces 6 of the notches 65.
5a is sandwiched and fitted and locked. Of course, in the locked state, the positions of the surfaces of the charger 63 and the photoconductor 1 are not accurately positioned, that is, they are temporarily fixed, but if the charger 63 is pressed in the direction of the arrow, The positioning member enables accurate positioning.

Next, a method of attaching the first unit + third unit equipped with the semi-fixed charger 63 and the second unit will be described.

Engagement holes 38 formed in both side plates of the second unit,
39, an engaging shaft 1 (not shown) provided on both side plates of the first unit
When the first unit and the second unit are engaged and the second unit is rotated about the engaging shafts 11 and 12 in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
Units, fastening portions 40, 41, 7 provided in the third unit
1, 72 abut. At this time, the elastic members 35, 36 provided on both sides of the cleaning blade 30 of the second unit.
Presses the semi-fixed charger 63 from above. Therefore, the charger 63 is pressed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.
The positions of the surfaces of the photosensitive member 1 and the photosensitive member 1 are accurately positioned.
The direction in which the elastic members 35, 36 press the charger 63 is determined by the rotational movement of the second unit, so it is constant and accurate positioning is possible. The process cartridge is assembled by fixing the fastening portion with screws as fastening means.

Next, the engagement shafts 11 and 12 and the engagement hole 42,
43 will be described in detail. In the following description, only the side plate 21 side of the first unit will be described.
The opposite surface has the same structure.

Engaging shaft 1 provided on the side plate 21 of the first unit
1 is integrally molded with the first unit,
It is provided so as to protrude from the side plate 21 around the reference shaft hole 9 that supports the. The end of the engaging shaft 11 is provided with a restricting portion 23 that restricts the engaging hole 38 in the rotational axis direction of the photoconductor 1, and has a substantially cylindrical structure having an outer diameter larger than that of the engaging shaft 11. ing. Both the engagement shaft 11 and the restriction portion 23 are substantially cylindrical and coaxial with the photoconductor shaft 6. The thickness of the engagement shaft 11 is substantially equal to the thickness of the guide groove 44 and the engagement hole 38 of the second unit.
The upper and lower sides of the engaging shaft 11 are cut away and parallel planes 24 and 25 are provided, whereby the cross section of the engaging shaft 11 has short sides and long sides.

The right view of FIG. 4 shows the engaging portions 42 provided on both sides of the second unit. The engaging portion 42 is formed of an engaging hole 38 having a size capable of engaging with the engaging shaft 11 and a guide groove 44 connected to the end of the engaging hole 38. Further, the engaging shaft 11 can be inserted into the guide groove 44 only in the direction along the planes 24 and 25 provided on the engaging shaft 11. That is, the width dimension of the guide groove 44 is longer than the short side dimension of the cross section of the engagement shaft 11 and shorter than the long side dimension thereof. That is, the guide groove 44
Is insertable only in the long side direction of the engaging shaft 11,
The engaging holes are connected.

Guide groove 44 of the engaging portion 42 of the second unit
Along the planes 24 and 25 of the engagement shaft 11 of the first unit, and the second unit is pushed into the first unit until the engagement hole 38 comes into contact with the engagement shaft 11. The insertion direction at this time is
The flat portions 24 and 25 of the engaging shaft 11 and the guide groove 4 of the engaging portion 42.
Since it is determined by the shape of No. 4, the engaging hole 38 is always inserted at an arbitrary same angle so that it can be engaged with the engaging shaft. Therefore, problems such as an incorrect insertion angle of the cleaning blade 30 and the tip of the cleaning blade being turned over do not occur.

When the second unit is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 while maintaining the engaged state of the engaging shaft 11 and the engaging hole 38, the restricting portion 23 provided on the outer periphery of the engaging shaft 11 and the side plate 21. Thus, the side plate around the engagement hole 38 of the second unit is loosely fitted, and the side plate of the second unit is fixed in the photoconductor axial direction. Even during the rotating operation, the cleaning blade 3
Since the tip of 0 moves along the surface of the photoconductor 1, the photoconductor 1 is not damaged.

Then, the second unit is tightened until the fastening portions 40, 41, 71 and 72 provided on the third unit come into contact with each other.
When the unit is rotated and the fastening portion is fixed with a screw as fastening means, the units are integrated and the process cartridge is completed. The fastening portions 40, 41, 71, 72 provided in the second unit and the third unit are merely points for fixing, and the positional error thereof hardly affects the mounting angle of the cleaning blade 30.

(3) Operation of the process cartridge When the main body is powered on, the toner conveying blades 61, 62
Rotates and the magnetic toner 76 in the toner container 60 is sent to the second unit. The magnetic toner 76 is drawn by the magnetic force of the fixed magnet 2 in the photoconductor 1 and the fixed magnet 4 in the electrode roller 3 to form a toner filling area shown by the diagonal lines in FIG. 2, and the cartridge is ready for printing. The electrophotographic process described below proceeds in the process cartridge by the power, electric signal, and optical signal supplied by the main body. This will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, the photosensitive member 1, the electrode roller 3, and the toner conveying blades 61 and 62 receive the driving force from the main body and rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow. A high voltage is applied to the charger 63 almost at the same time when the driving force is received from the main body. Photoconductor 1 is 3
When it passes under the charger 63 at a speed of 2.5 mm / s, the surface of the photoconductor 1 is charged to -500V. A laser light signal is emitted from the direction of 47 on the surface of the photoconductor 1 to form an electrostatic latent image. When the photoconductor 1 rotates and reaches the toner filling area 26 shown by the shaded area in FIG. 1, the photoconductor 1 is caused by the electrostatic force due to the surface charge of the photoconductor 1 and the magnetic force of the fixed magnet 2 inside the photoconductor 1. A thin toner layer is formed on the entire surface of the.

Next, the photosensitive member 1 is passed in front of the electrode roller 3. When the photoconductor 1 charged with −500V and having an electrostatic latent image written thereon passes therethrough, the electrode roller 3 is superposed with a DC voltage of −300V by an AC high-voltage power source (not shown) to 800V.
An AC voltage (frequency 3 kHz) of 0-p (peak-to-peak 1.6 kV) is applied. Then, the toner attached to the charged portion of the photoconductor 1 is collected by the electrode roller 3, and the negative-positive inverted toner image remains only on the image portion on the photoconductor 1. The toner image on the photoconductor 1 is transferred to a sheet (not shown) by the transfer charger 47 provided on the apparatus main body side, the transfer residual toner is removed by the cleaning blade 30, and the process proceeds to the image forming step of the next cycle. The toner 37 removed by the cleaning blade 30 first collects on the back surface of the blade, but is sequentially pushed and stored in the waste toner container 31. The toner attached to the electrode roller 3 rotating in the direction of the arrow is scraped off by the scraper 13, returned to the toner filling area 26, and used for development.

The toner in the toner container 60 is consumed by the continuation of the printing process. The amount of toner in the toner container 60 is detected by a toner remaining amount sensor (not shown), and when the toner is used up, it is replaced with a new process cartridge and the used process cartridge is collected.

(4) Recycling Process of Process Cartridge Next, the recycling process of the recovery process cartridge will be described.
In the regenerating process, the assembling process is performed in the reverse procedure.

First, the screws of the fastening portions 40, 41, 71, 72 fixing the second unit and the second unit are removed, the second unit is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow in FIG. The flat portions 24 and 25 of the engaging fixed shaft 11 are aligned with the gaps of the guide groove 44 provided in, and the second unit is pulled out to divide the process cartridge into two. At this time, the cleaning means does not damage the surface of the photoconductor by the same action as during assembly.

Another advantage of the process cartridge having this structure is that toner spillage during division is small. The cleaning portion of the used process cartridge is filled with the cleaned and removed toner near the upper surface 37 of the cleaning blade 30 in FIG. In a normal dividing method, this toner spills out from the opening of the cleaning means at the time of dividing. In the configuration of the present invention, the toner can be prevented from spilling because the cleaning means can be rotated in the direction of the arrow at the time of division and can be removed with the opening facing upward.

The toner is removed from the second unit thus removed and suction cleaning is performed. If the cleaning blade needs to be repaired, the cleaning blade support plate 32 is removed with screws 33 and 34 and replaced with a new one.

Next, the charger 6 mounted on the third unit
3 is removed and the charger 63 is cleaned. Since the charger 63 is not fixed with a screw or the like, it can be easily removed.

First unit, third unit 17, 1
Remove the screws from the fastening parts of 8, 19, 20 to remove the first unit,
Divide the third unit. The photoconductor 1 of the first unit is
A fastening member such as an E-ring that regulates the thrust direction of the photoconductor shaft 6 is removed, the photoconductor shaft 6 is set in a free state, and the photoconductor shaft 6 is removed from the reference shaft holes 9 and 10 and taken out. Screw 1
After removing 5 and 16 and removing the scraper, the electrode roller 3 is removed in the same manner as the photoconductor 1. The toner in the first unit is suction-cleaned. If there is something wrong with the photoconductor, electrode roller, scraper, etc., replace it with a new one.

Finally, the inside of the third unit is suction-cleaned. Unlike the first unit and the second unit, the third unit does not use expensive functional parts. Therefore, in some cases, it is possible to replace it with a new one in order to save the trouble of cleaning and inspection.

(Embodiment 2) In the above embodiment, the second unit is brought into contact with the engaging means of the first unit and the second unit as the center of rotation, and is then fastened by the fastening means. The method of connecting the first unit and the second unit has been described, but if these means are constituted by the engaging means of the first unit and the second unit, the positioning means, and the locking means, the first unit is formed. The work of connecting and fastening the and second unit can be made easier and more accurate. Another embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 6, 80 is a second unit, 81
Is the first unit combined with the third unit. As shown above, after engaging the first unit and the second unit by the engaging means, the second unit 80 is rotated in the direction of the arrow with the engaging shaft 11 as the center of rotation of the rotor shaft. Is. Reference numeral 40 is a through hole, and 71 is a fastening portion. Reference numeral 82 provided in the second unit 80 and reference numeral 83 provided in the third unit 81 are locking means also serving as positioning means. Reference numeral 82 is a reference hole that also serves as an engaging portion. 83 is a conical boss with a cylindrical bottom and a flat head. In addition,
The boss 83 serves as both a protrusion and an engaging piece. In FIG. 7, the surface 86 on the end side of the reference hole 82 is the boss 8
The surface 87 on the end side of 3 is contacted. Face 88 facing face 86
And the surface 89 facing the surface 87 are not in contact with each other. The surfaces 86 and 87 are cylindrical surfaces, and the radius of curvature of the cylindrical surface of 86 surface and the radius of curvature of 87 surface are substantially equal. Therefore,
By locking the reference hole 82 to the boss 83, the mounting positions of the first unit and the second unit are positioned.
Faces 86 and 87 are perpendicular to respective abutment faces 84 and 85. Therefore, the surfaces 84 and 85 are in surface contact with each other when the surfaces 86 and 87 are locked.

In FIG. 7, the center of rotation of the surface 84 is the engagement shaft 22.
Is. When the surface 84 is rotated about the engagement shaft 22 and brought closer to the surface 85, the lower part of the surface 86 of the reference hole 82 comes into contact with the conical portion of the boss 83. When it is pushed further in, the reference hole 82 is pushed along the conical slope of the boss 83 and stops when the surfaces 84 and 85 come into contact with each other. When the reference hole 82 is pushed into the boss 83, it acts on the portion where the surface 86 and the surface 87 come into contact with each other in the hatched portion of FIG.
When the contact surface 85 and the contact surface 85 are brought into contact with each other, the stress is released and the contact state is established. After the locking means is locked, the fastening portions 40 and 71 are fastened with screws as fastening means. As a result, the second unit and the third unit
Connection with the unit is complete.

As described above, by providing the reference hole and the boss which also serve as the positioning means and the locking means, the assembling work becomes easy and accurate. Further, various tests of the process cartridge can be performed in the pre-process of completion of assembly without the need to screw the fastening portion, which is convenient.

In using this process cartridge, after pulling out a seal film (not shown) that seals the tip of the third unit, guides 73, 74 (not shown) provided on both side walls of the third unit. The process cartridge is inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus along the line, and the engaging shafts 9 and 10 projecting from both sides of the first unit are pushed to the positioning portion of the main body, whereby the positioning with the main body is performed. The cartridge is mounted in the main body in a posture in which the X axis in FIG. 2 is substantially horizontal.

(Embodiment 3) The mounting position of the charger 63,
Except for the mounting method, the configuration is exactly the same as in Example 1,
Only the charger 63 was provided in the second unit. In the second unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the first embodiment, the elastic members 35 and 3 are used.
A positioning protrusion and a fastening hole were provided at the inner surface end of the place where 6 was provided, and the positional relationship between the charger 63 and the photoconductor 1 was made similar to that in the first embodiment. The charger 63 was attached to the positioning protrusion, and the fastening hole was fixed with a screw.

In the process cartridge having this structure, the charging means 63 is rotated and assembled and divided around the photoconductor shaft 6, so that the surface of the photoconductor 1 and the charger 8 are accurately positioned, and the assembly and division are performed. During operation, the surface of the photoconductor 1 is not accidentally damaged by the edge portion of the charger 63.

The form of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment. For example, in this embodiment, the photoconductor 1
The engagement means rotatably provided coaxially with the rotation center of
Although the engaging fixed shaft 11 is coaxial with the photoconductor shaft 6 provided in the above, the photoconductor shaft 6 can be directly used as the engaging means. Further, the engagement fixed shaft 11 may not be integrally formed as long as it is integrally provided with the engagement fixed shaft 11. Further, the shape of the engaging means may be as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (d). (A) is a cylinder, (b) is a cylinder provided with a retaining cylinder at the tip of the cylinder, (c) is a cylinder having D cut surfaces at the top and bottom of the cylinder, and (d) is a retaining cylinder at its tip. Is provided. When the engaging means shaft is provided with a flat surface portion as shown in (c) and (d), the engaging angle by the flat surface portion can be made constant when engaging with the engaging means provided in the second unit. The contact angle between the body 1 and the cleaning means 3 is constant, and stable mounting is possible. Further, as shown in (b) and (d), by providing a cylinder having a diameter larger than that of the engagement shaft at the tip of the engagement shaft, the cylinder serves as a guide surface when the engagement is inserted, and the cylinder surface is B. Since the side plate of the housing is held, stable engagement is possible.

As the charging means, a roller charging method, a rotating brush charging method, a fixed brush charging method, etc. can be applied.

The cleaning means is not limited to blade cleaning, and fur brush cleaning, roller cleaning, web cleaning or the like can be applied.

Further, the developing means is not limited to a special developing method having a magnet inside the photoconductor, and two-component magnetic brush development using non-magnetic toner or magnetic toner, thin layer development, cascade development, and fur development. Brush development etc. can be applied.

Further, the process cartridge structure of this embodiment is a vertical structure in which the cleaning means and the developing means are arranged above and below the photoconductor centering on the exposure part, but the developing part and the cleaning means as shown in FIG. It can also be applied to a configuration in which the parts are arranged horizontally.

The process cartridge described above, the mounting portion for mounting the process cartridge, and the transfer means for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive member of the process cartridge to the transferred material are used to form an image. It can be operated as a device.

[0063]

As described above, since the process cartridge of the present invention has a structure that can be easily divided into at least two parts, cleaning, inspection of functional parts, and part replacement are easy, and workability is good. In addition, since the two housings are combined and divided around the photosensitive member axis, they can be assembled accurately. Further, the expensive photoconductor is not accidentally damaged during the engagement and division of the first frame and the second frame. Furthermore, when the cleaning unit and the waste toner storage unit are integrally provided, the waste toner does not spill when divided.

Further, another process cartridge of the present invention has a positioning means for the first frame and the second frame and a locking means. Therefore, the first frame and the second
Not only is the positioning of the frame easy, but it also has a locking function, so when performing a performance test with the first frame alone in the process cartridge assembly process,
This is convenient because the test can be performed by temporarily fixing it with the locking means without fixing the fastening part with the screw.

Furthermore, another process cartridge according to the present invention is provided with a first frame, a second frame and a third frame.
It is composed of frames. Therefore, since the process cartridge can be divided into three, cleaning of the recovery process cartridge, inspection of functional parts, and replacement of repair parts are easy. Further, since the third frame is composed of the toner container and the toner supply means and does not use expensive functional parts, it is possible to dispose only the third frame in the reassembly process. Further, in this process cartridge, since the photoconductor and the developing means are provided so as to face each other with the reference shaft hole provided in the first frame as a reference, the photoconductor and the developing means have high positional accuracy and a uniform image is formed. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in which a process cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention is divided.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a cross-sectional structure of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a photosensitive drum in first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing engaging means in the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a method of mounting the charger in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a method of fastening the first frame and the second frame of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the function of the locking means of the first frame and the second frame of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the shape of an engaging shaft of an engaging means other than the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the structure of a conventional process cartridge.

[Simple explanation of symbols]

 A 1st unit B 2nd unit C 3rd unit 1 Photoreceptor 3 Developing device 11, 12 Engaging means provided in the 1st unit 30 Cleaning means 31 Waste toner accommodating section 42, 43 Engaging means provided in the 2nd unit 40, 41, 71, 72 Fastening part 63 Charging means 82, 83 Locking means

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A first unit having a photoconductor that rotates about a rotation axis, a second unit having cleaning means for cleaning the photoconductor of the first unit, and the second unit as the first unit. Engaging means for rotatably engaging with the rotation axis of the photoconductor as a reference, and the second unit engaged and engaged with the first unit and the second unit at a predetermined angle by the engaging means. A process cartridge characterized in that the connection between the first unit and the second unit is completed by rotating the unit by a predetermined angle based on the rotation axis of the photoconductor of the first unit. 2. A first unit having a photoconductor that rotates about a rotation axis, a second unit having a cleaning unit for cleaning the photoconductor of the first unit, a toner container for containing toner, and the toner. A third unit having a supply unit that supplies the first unit; and an engagement unit that rotatably engages the second unit with the first unit based on the rotation axis of the photoconductor. Three units are connected to the first unit, the second unit is engaged with the engaging unit at a predetermined angle, and the engaged second unit is based on the rotation axis of the photoconductor of the first unit. A process cartridge characterized in that the connection between the second unit and the third unit is completed by rotating the second unit by a predetermined angle. 3. A reference hole of the second unit, wherein a reference hole, an engaging portion, and a through hole through which the fastening means penetrates are provided at an end of the second unit rotated by the engaging means. A projection that is inserted in the second unit to regulate the position where the second unit is disposed, an engagement piece that engages with an engagement portion of the second unit and temporarily fixes the second unit, and the second unit is engaged. Fastening for fixing the second unit and the first unit by being fastened by fastening means which is rotated by the means and is brought into contact with the surface of the first unit when the surface of the second unit abuts the surface of the first unit. The process cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a portion. 4. A reference hole, an engaging portion, and a through hole through which the fastening means penetrates are provided at an end portion of the second unit rotated by the engaging means, and the reference hole of the second unit is inserted. A protrusion provided on the first unit that restricts the arrangement position of the second unit; an engagement piece that engages with an engagement portion of the second unit and temporarily fixes the third unit; and the second unit. Is rotated by the engaging means, and when the contact surface of the second unit contacts the surface of the first unit, the third unit and the first unit are connected to each other by engaging with the fastening means penetrating the through hole of the third unit. The process cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a fastening portion that fixes the unit. 5. The process cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the reference hole also serves as a locking portion, and the protrusion also serves as an engaging piece. 6. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first unit has a developing means for forming a toner image on the photoconductor. 7. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second unit has a waste toner unit for containing the toner removed by the cleaning unit of the second unit. 8. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second unit has a charging unit that charges the photoconductor of the first unit. 9. A temporary fixing portion for temporarily fixing the charging means,
When the second unit is rotated by a predetermined angle based on the rotation axis of the photoconductor of the first unit to complete the connection, the second unit presses the charging unit, and the charging unit is connected to the photoconductor of the first unit. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is configured to be fixed while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship. 10. The fitting unit, wherein the charging unit has fitting portions provided at both ends thereof and locking portions provided at at least one end, and the first unit is fitted with the fitting portion. Department,
The locking unit locks the locked unit, and the second unit rotates the second unit by a predetermined angle with respect to the rotation axis of the photoconductor of the first unit to complete the connection. 8. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the charging means is fixed to the first unit while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship with the photoconductor of the first unit by pressing. 11. An engaging shaft projecting outward on both side surfaces of the first unit and on the same shaft as a rotary shaft of a photosensitive member of the first unit, and an engaging shaft on both side surfaces of the second unit. The process cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the provided engagement shaft is constituted by an engagement hole that is engaged with and is rotatable about the engagement shaft of the first unit. . 12. The process cartridge according to claim 11, wherein the engagement hole is configured to be engageable with the engagement shaft at a predetermined angle. 13. A cross section of the engaging shaft has a short side and a long side, and a restricting portion for restricting an engaging hole in the rotation axis direction of the photoconductor of the first unit is provided at an end of the engaging shaft, 13. The process cartridge according to claim 12, wherein a guide groove that can be inserted only in the long side direction of the engagement shaft is connected to the engagement hole. 14. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the third unit has a charging unit that charges the photosensitive member of the first unit. 15. The process cartridge according to claim 1, a mounting portion for mounting the process cartridge, and a toner image formed on a photoconductor of the process cartridge as an object to be transferred. An image forming apparatus provided with a transfer unit for transferring.