JPH09190134A - Process cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To Not only to enhance workability but also to prevent an electrophotographic photoreceptor from being damaged by enabling a carrying unit to be loaded and unloaded with respect to an image forming device body. SOLUTION: When a process cartridge B is loaded in the image forming device body, a supporting front leg 2 is housed without projecting from a front side plate 1. At a maintenance time, a lever 5 can be turned when a small screw screwing the cartridge B and the image forming device main body by being inserted in holes 5a and 1b is removed in a state where the cartridge B is loaded on the image forming device main body. Then, the leg 2 is turned clockwise with a shaft 3 as a center by the restoring force of a torsion coil spring and made to abut on a stopper 1a so as to be stopped. In accordance with it, the lever 5 is turned through an auxiliary lever 6. Then, the cartridge B is drawn to this side and the guide thereof is made to slip on the guide rail of the image forming device body so as to be pulled out from the image forming device body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process cartridge of an image forming apparatus adopting an electrophotographic system such as a laser printer or a copying machine, and an image forming apparatus to which the process cartridge can be attached / detached.

Here, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium by using an electrophotographic image forming process. For example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (eg, LED printer, laser beam printer, etc.). , An electrophotographic facsimile machine, an electrophotographic word processor, and the like.

As the process cartridge, a charging means, a developing means or a cleaning means and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Also, at least one of the charging means, the developing means, and the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge which can be attached to and detached from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Furthermore, it means that at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge and can be attached to and detached from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as the image forming apparatus main body).

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a further development of the conventional technique described later, and its object is to perform maintenance of a process cartridge in an image forming apparatus having a detachable transport unit. ,
(EN) A process cartridge having support means outside the apparatus is freely attachable / detachable to / from the image forming apparatus main body regardless of whether or not the transport unit is attached / detached to / from the image forming apparatus main body. By making the transport unit attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus main body regardless of whether or not the process cartridge and the process cartridge can be attached or detached, not only the workability is improved but also the electrophotographic photoreceptor is not damaged. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge which is detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus main body to which a recording medium conveying unit is detachably mounted, and an electrophotographic photoreceptor and the electrophotographic apparatus. It has a process means acting on the photoconductor and a support means for supporting the process cartridge outside the machine. The support means is movably attached to the process cartridge so as to be able to move out of the locus of the detaching movement of the transport unit. Is a process cartridge.

A second aspect of the present invention is an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a process which acts on the electrophotographic photosensitive member in a process cartridge detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus main body to which a recording medium conveying unit is detachably mounted. And means for supporting the process cartridge,
The supporting means moves between a first position where the transport unit can be attached and detached and a second position where the process cartridge can be supported outside the machine, and the process cartridge can be fastened to the image forming apparatus main body at the first position. It is a process cartridge characterized by the fact that it is present.

A third invention of the present invention is the process cartridge according to the first or second invention, wherein the carrying unit has a fixing means capable of carrying a recording medium.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge is a cartridge in which a charging unit, a developing unit or a cleaning unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to the first, second, or third invention.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge is a cartridge in which at least one of a charging means, a developing means and a cleaning means and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge and can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to the first, second, or third invention.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge is the first, second, or third in which at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge so as to be attachable to and detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to the invention.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge and a carrying unit can be respectively attached and detached and which forms an image on a recording medium. An electrophotographic photosensitive member, a process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a support means for supporting the process cartridge outside the machine, which is movably attached to the process cartridge so as to be moved out of the locus of attachment / detachment movement of the transport unit. Mounting means for removably mounting the process cartridge having a. An image forming apparatus comprising: a conveying unit configured to convey the recording medium.

An eighth invention of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the seventh invention, wherein the carrying unit has a fixing means capable of carrying a recording medium.

[0013]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image forming process, an electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge, and this cartridge is used as an image forming apparatus. A process cartridge system detachable from the main body is employed. According to this process cartridge system, the maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by the user himself without relying on a serviceman, so that the operability can be remarkably improved. Therefore, this process cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.

Some of such process cartridges are provided with a supporting means for keeping the electrophotographic photosensitive member away from the table when the process cartridge is placed on the table outside the machine.

Further, as an image forming apparatus, there is one in which the conveying means for the recording medium is unitized and detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A typical embodiment of the present invention is a process cartridge detachable from an image forming apparatus having a recording paper transport unit detachably attached, and is a process cartridge used outside the machine. The supporting legs of (1) can be moved outside the locus of the attachment / detachment movement of the transport unit.

Further, the movable supporting leg of the process cartridge is fixed to the image forming apparatus main body at the first position where the transport unit can be attached and detached.

There is a mode in which the above-mentioned carrying unit has a fixing means capable of carrying the recording paper together with the recording paper carrying member. Such a transport unit is referred to as a constant transport unit in the description of the embodiments.

A typical embodiment of the present invention is an image forming apparatus in which the above-mentioned process cartridge is attachable / detachable and a transport unit is detachably attached. In this case, the transport unit transports recording paper. There is also an embodiment having a fixing means which can also be.

(Detailed Description of Embodiments) An image forming apparatus to which a process cartridge can be attached will be specifically described below as an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment A) The embodiment A will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are explanatory views of the configuration of the process cartridge, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the configuration of the image forming apparatus in which the process cartridge is mounted, and FIGS.
FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of a supporting leg of the process cartridge.
Here, the overall configuration of the process cartridge and the image forming apparatus will be described in the order of description, and then the operation of the supporting legs of the process cartridge will be described.

{Overall Structure} This image forming apparatus A is an electrophotographic copying machine, and as shown in FIG. 3, a photosensitive drum 1 which is an image carrier by irradiating an optical image based on image information from an optical system 8.
4 forms a toner image. Then, in synchronization with the formation of the toner image, the recording medium 9 such as recording paper is fed to the paper feed cassette 10a.
To pickup roller 10b1, transport roller pair 10b
2 and a pair of registration rollers 10c
The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 14 in the image forming portion, which has been conveyed by the process cartridge B as a process cartridge B, is used as a transfer unit.
The recording medium 9 is transferred onto the recording medium 9 by applying a voltage to the recording medium 1, and the recording medium 9 is conveyed to the fixing unit 12 by the conveying belt 10d. The fixing means 12 is composed of a driving roller 12a and a fixing roller 12b containing a heater, and applies heat and pressure to the recording medium 9 passing therethrough to fix the transferred toner image.
Then, the recording medium 9 is conveyed by the discharge roller pair 10e and discharged to the paper discharge unit 13. The pair of registration rollers 10c to the pair of discharge rollers 10e are unitized as a constant carrying unit C including a fixing unit and a conveying unit, and can be pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 30 to the front side.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge B forming the image forming section has a pre-exposure means 15 as a process means for acting on the photosensitive drum 14 around the photosensitive drum 14 having a photosensitive layer on its outer periphery. Primary charging means 1
6, a blank exposure unit 17, a pre-transfer charging unit 18, and a cleaning unit 19 are arranged. When the process cartridge B is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 30, the process cartridge B separate from the process cartridge B is attached.
The developing roller 20b of the developing means 20 which is attached and detached to and from the photosensitive drum 14 is arranged between the blank exposing means 17 and the pre-transfer charging means 18 with a minute gap therebetween. In the process cartridge B, the photosensitive drum 14 rotates during image formation, and after the residual potential on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is removed by the pre-exposure means 15, the process cartridge B is uniformly charged by applying a voltage to the primary charger 16, and After the light image L from the system 8 is exposed on the photosensitive drum 14 to form a latent image, the latent image is developed by the developing means 20. In this development, the toner in the toner reservoir 20a is sent out by a toner feeding member (not shown), the developing roller 20b containing a fixed magnet (not shown) is rotated, and the toner layer to which a triboelectric charge is applied by the developing blade 20c is developed on the developing roller. The toner image is formed on the surface of 20b and is transferred to the photosensitive drum 14 in accordance with the latent image to form a toner image and visualize it. Then, the potential of the toner image and the photosensitive drum 14 is corrected and controlled by the charging of the pre-transfer charger 18, and a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image is applied to the transfer separation charger 11 to transfer the toner image to the recording medium 9. Is the photosensitive drum 14 by the cleaning means 19.
The upper residual toner is removed.

The process cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 30 by fitting the guides 29a and 29b of the process cartridge B into the mounting means having parallel guide rails 30a and 30b orthogonal to the plane of FIG. It can be attached to and detached from the device body 30 from the front side in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG.

{Structure and Operation of Support Means for Process Cartridge} The structure of the support means used when the process cartridge B is removed from the image forming apparatus main body 30 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the process cartridge B has four support legs 2A, 2B, 2C,
It is supported on a table (not shown) outside the machine by 2D.

In FIG. 1, the rear support foot 2D is in a protruding state, but when not in use, it can be housed in the process cartridge B so that it can be taken in and out as needed. .

In the above description, as shown in FIG. 3, the right front support leg 2B is provided outside the locus in the attachment / detachment direction of the constant carrying unit C to / from the image forming apparatus main body 30. The right-side and rear-side support foot 2C in FIG. 3 is provided behind the front-side support foot 2B in FIG. The rear support foot 2D on the left side in FIG. 1 is located at a position overlapping the front support foot 2A in the front-rear direction, and when the constant carrying unit C is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 30, the rear support foot 2D is If not housed in the process cartridge B, the process cartridge B cannot be attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body 30.

The process cartridge B can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body 30 even when the front support foot 2A is in the projecting state, but the process cartridge B can be mounted in the image forming apparatus body 30 when the front support foot 2A is in the projecting state. When it is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 30, the constant carrying unit C cannot be attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body 30. The support foot 2A on the front side of the process cartridge B cannot be fixed to the image forming apparatus main body 30 as described later unless it is housed in the process cartridge B.

The shaft 26 to which the rear support foot 2D is fixed is located at the same center in the front-rear direction as the shaft 3 supporting the front support foot 2A, and is fixed to the rear side plate 27 of the process cartridge B and the process cartridge B. A shaft 2 that is rotatably supported by a bracket 28 and has a rear support foot 2D fixed thereto.
As shown in FIG. 1, the rear support foot 2D has a position of about 90 degrees as shown in FIG.
The process cartridge B can be rotated to the inside of the process cartridge B to be housed, and the rear support foot 2D is held by the notch (not shown) at each position.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a support foot 2A (hereinafter referred to as support front foot 2) is rotatably connected to the front side plate 1 about a shaft 3, and the torsion coil spring 4 has a coil portion. Is inserted into the shaft 3, one spring end is locked to the spring hook 2a of the supporting front foot 2, and the other spring end is locked to the spring hook 1c provided on the front side plate 1, so that the supporting front foot 2 is a torsion coil. It is biased clockwise by the lane 4. The lever 5 is connected to the auxiliary lever 6 by a pivot 7 with the front side plate 1 interposed therebetween. That is, the lever 5 and the auxiliary lever 6 are fixed to the pivot 7 that is rotatably supported by the front plate 1. As a result, as the lever 5 rotates, the pivot 7 and the auxiliary lever 6 also rotate.

The supporting front foot 2 has a protruding portion 2c rearward of the shaft 3 and has a dogleg shape. This protruding portion 2c is the auxiliary lever 6
Is in a position where the front end of is engaged. Stopper 1 on front side plate 1
a and a hole 1b are provided. The stopper 1a is located at a position where the rotation of the supporting front foot 2 is blocked at a position where the supporting front leg 2 is rotated slightly to the clockwise as compared with the hanging position in FIG. The hole 1b is located at a position that coincides with the hole 5a provided in the lever 5 when the lever 5 is rotated around the pivot shaft 7. The position of the lever 5 relative to the position where the holes 1b and 5a coincide is that the support front foot 2 has the process cartridge B. It is designed to match the state of being stored inside.

In FIG. 4, a hole 5a provided at the tip of the lever 5 is a hole through which a small screw for fastening the process cartridge B to the image forming apparatus main body 30 passes, and the process cartridge B is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 30. A small screw, which is mounted and not shown, is fastened to the frame body of the image forming apparatus main body 30 through the hole 5a and the hole 1b of the front side plate 1. FIG.
As shown in FIG.
When it is in 0, the supporting front foot 2 is stored without protruding from the front side plate 1, and during maintenance, the process cartridge B and the image forming apparatus main body 30 are attached to the image forming apparatus main body 30 and the holes 5a and 1b are provided. The lever 5 becomes rotatable when the small screw for inserting and fastening is removed, and the supporting front foot 2 rotates clockwise around the shaft 3 by the restoring force of the torsion coil spring 4 and hits the stopper 1a to stop. . Along with that, the lever 5 also rotates through the auxiliary lever 6. Therefore, the process cartridge B is pulled toward the front side in FIG. 3, and its guides 29a and 29b are slid on the guide rails 30a and 30b of the image forming apparatus main body 30 to move the process cartridge B to the image forming apparatus main body as shown in FIG. Pull out from 30. After pulling out, the knob 31 is turned to take out the support leg 2D from the process cartridge B, and the process cartridge B is placed on the table with the support legs 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D as shown in FIG.

When the process cartridge B is mounted on the main body 30 of the image forming apparatus, the knob 31 is turned to accommodate the support foot 2D in the process cartridge B, and the guide rails 29a and 29b of the process cartridge B are set in the state shown in FIG. After fitting the guide rails 30a and 30b of the image forming apparatus main body 30 and pushing in from the front side to the rear side, the lever 5 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Then, the screw is rotated clockwise from the position, and a small screw is passed through the hole 5a and the hole 1b of the front side plate 1 and fastened to the image forming apparatus main body 30. When the lever 5 is rotated, the auxiliary lever 6 is also rotated, and the auxiliary lever 6 pushes the protruding portion 2c of the supporting front foot 2 to twist the supporting front foot 2 around the shaft 3 and resist the spring force of the coil spring 4. The supporting front foot 2 is housed in the process cartridge B by being rotated counterclockwise and pushed up. Supporting front foot 2
After storing, the screw is inserted into the hole 5a of the lever 5 and the hole of the front side plate 1b, and the machine screw is screwed into the frame body of the image forming apparatus main body 30.
The process cartridge B is fixed. In the state where the process cartridge B is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 30, since the support legs 2A and 2D are retracted, the constant carrying unit C is irrespective of the presence or absence of the process cartridge B with respect to the paper surface of FIG. Can be attached and detached at right angles.

As described above, when the small screws for attaching the process cartridge B to the image forming apparatus main body 30 are removed, the supporting front feet 2 come out, so that when the process cartridge B is pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 30. It is possible to keep the supporting forefoot 2 always out.

[Embodiment B] Another embodiment B will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8. In this embodiment B, the supporting feet except the supporting front foot 22 are the same as those in the embodiment A, and the description of the embodiment A is cited.

The supporting front foot 22 is the process cartridge B.
The left side plate 21 on the downstream side with respect to the transport direction of the recording medium 9 of FIG.
7 and 8, the coil portion of the supporting front foot 22 is inserted into the shaft 23, and one spring end of the supporting front foot 22 is attached to the spring hook 21b provided on the left side plate 21.
And the other spring end is urged clockwise around the shaft 23 by a torsion coil spring 24 which is locked by a spring hook 22a provided on the supporting front foot 22. A protrusion 25 is provided on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 30 side.

As shown in FIG. 8, the supporting front foot 22 is in a state in which the process cartridge B is placed on a horizontal table, and the guides 29a, 29b of the process cartridge B are guided by guide rails 30a, 30b of the image forming apparatus main body 30. When it is not inserted into the rear side, the trapezoid has a substantially symmetrical trapezoidal shape with respect to a perpendicular passing through the shaft 23, and the stopper 21a for preventing the rotation of the supporting front foot 22 by the above-mentioned torsion coil spring 24 is provided in the supporting front foot 22. Is in contact with. In FIG. 8, the side surface of the stopper 21a facing the support front side 22 downward is a contact surface with the protrusion 25 shown in FIG.
The mounting surface 22b is the mounting surface 22b when the process cartridge B is mounted in the image forming apparatus main body 30. Stopper 2
1a and the supporting front foot 22 when mounted, the upper side in FIG. 8 is a circular arc centered on the shaft 23 and is a flank 22.
c, the stopper 2 when the supporting front foot 22 rotates.
It prevents interference with 1a. In FIG. 8, the trapezoidal bottom side of the support front foot 22 is a tabletop support surface 22d when the process cartridge B is placed on the tabletop outside the machine.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the protrusion 25 has a wedge surface 25a so that the back side (rear side) becomes higher. As shown in FIG.
It is the contact surface of 2b.

Also in this example, the mounting means of the process cartridge B to the main body 30 of the image forming apparatus is the same as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows the process cartridge B in the image forming apparatus main body 30. Supporting front foot 22
The supporting surface 22b is attached to the wedge surface 25a of the protrusion 25 so that the supporting surface 22b is held in the process cartridge B in the same manner. When the process cartridge B starts to be pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 30 along the mounting means for mounting the process cartridge B to the image forming apparatus main body 30, the wedge surface inlet 25a1 is supported at the front side 2
The supporting surface 22b is rubbed at the time of mounting 2, and the supporting front foot 22 is gradually rotated clockwise around the shaft 23 by the restoring force of the torsion coil spring 24, hits the stopper 21a on the side plate 21, and stops. Leading to. When the process cartridge B is returned into the main body 30 of the image forming apparatus, the supporting forefoot 22 is pushed by the protrusion 25 in the main body 30 of the image forming apparatus as the process cartridge B returns and rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 23. When the process cartridge B is accommodated in the process cartridge B, the supporting front foot 22 of the process cartridge B is held by the protrusion 25 on the image forming apparatus main body 30 side as described above. Support forefoot 2 interlocking by simply inserting and removing from
Since 2 comes in and goes out, it is not necessary to store the supporting forefoot with hands and the operability is good.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The process cartridge, which is required to be attached / detached for maintenance, is independently attachable / detachable regardless of the state in which the recording medium transport unit is inserted into or removed from the image forming apparatus main body. ,
It is possible to prevent accidentally damaging the electrophotographic photosensitive member or the transport unit during work.

Further, when the supporting means of the process cartridge is moved to the first position where the transport unit can be attached and detached and the supporting means is fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus, the supporting means moves to the first position. The position of the process cartridge can be determined without forgetting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a process cartridge according to an embodiment A of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the process cartridge shown in FIG. 1 in a sheet passing direction.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus equipped with the process cartridge shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the operation of the process cartridge shown in FIG.

5 is a front view showing the operation of the process cartridge shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the process cartridge according to the embodiment B.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the operation of the process cartridge shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the operation of the process cartridge shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Front side plate 1a ... Stopper 1b ... Hole 1c ... Spring hook 2 ... Support front foot 2a ... Spring hook 2c ... Projection 2A,
2B, 2C, 2D ... Supporting foot 3 ... Shaft 4 ... Torsion coil spring 5 ... Lever 5a ... Hole 6 ... Auxiliary lever 7 ... Axis 8 ... Optical system 9 ... Recording medium 10 ... Conveying means 10a ... Paper feeding cassette 10b1 ... Pickup roller 10b2 ... conveying roller pair 10c ...
Registration roller pair 10d ... Conveying belt 10e ... Ejection roller pair 11 ... Transfer separation charger 12 ... Fixing means 12a ... Drive roller 12b ... Fixing roller 13 ... Paper ejection section 14 ... Photosensitive drum 15 ... Pre-exposure means 16 ... Primary charging means 17 ... Blank exposing means 18 ... Pre-transfer charging means 19 ... Cleaning means 20 ... Developing means 20a ... Toner reservoir 20b ... Developing roller 20c ... Developing blade 21 ... Left side plate 21a ... Stopper 21b ... Springing 22 ... Supporting front foot 22a ... Springing 22b ... Support surface at the time of mounting 22c ... Relief surface 22d ... Support surface 23 on table 23 ... Shaft 24 ... Torsion coil spring 25 ... Projection 25a ... Wedge surface 25a1 ... Wedge surface inlet 26 ... Shaft 27 ... Rear side plate 28 ... Brackets 29a, 29b ... Guide 30 ... Image forming apparatus main body 30a, 30b ... Guide rail 31 ... A image forming apparatus B process cartridge C Tei搬 unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A process cartridge attachable to and detachable from a main body of an image forming apparatus to which a recording medium conveying unit is detachably attached, the electrophotographic photosensitive member, a process unit acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a process cartridge. Supporting means for supporting outside the machine, the supporting means being movably attached to the process cartridge so as to be able to move out of the locus of the attachment / detachment movement of the transport unit. 2. A process cartridge attachable to and detachable from an image forming apparatus main body to which a recording medium carrying unit is detachably attached, the electrophotographic photosensitive member, a process unit acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a process cartridge. Supporting means for supporting is provided, and the supporting means moves between a first position where the transport unit can be attached and detached and a second position where the process cartridge can be supported outside the machine, and the process cartridge is held at the first position. A process cartridge which can be fastened to an image forming apparatus main body. 3. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit has a fixing unit capable of transporting a recording medium. 4. The process cartridge, wherein the charging means, the developing means or the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge, and the cartridge is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. Two
Or the process cartridge according to 3. 5. The process cartridge, wherein at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge so as to be attachable to and detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to 2 or 3. 6. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge so as to be attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. 7. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, wherein a process cartridge and a carrying unit are detachably mountable, respectively. An electrophotographic photosensitive member, a process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a support means for supporting the process cartridge outside the machine, which is movably attached to the process cartridge so as to be moved out of the locus of attachment / detachment movement of the transport unit. Mounting means for removably mounting the process cartridge having a. An image forming apparatus comprising: a conveying unit configured to convey the recording medium. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transport unit has a fixing unit capable of transporting a recording medium.