Patent Application
20180348700
The present invention relates to a cartridge usable with an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process.
In the field of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, there is known a structure in which elements such as a photosensitive drum as a rotatable member related to image formation and a process means acting on the photosensitive drum are integrated as a cartridge and dismountable from the image forming apparatus main assembly.
In such an image forming apparatus, in order to facilitate maintenance, process means such as a photosensitive drum, a charging means, a developing means, a cleaning means, and so on as described above are collected in a frame as a cartridge. Then, it is known to provide an image forming apparatus which can be easily maintained by dismountably mounting the cartridge to the image forming apparatus.
In such a cartridge type apparatus, waste toner produced by a cleaning process at the time of image formation is fed into a waste toner storage portion provided in the main assembly of the apparatus (JP 2014-52475).
The object of the present invention is to further develop the aforementioned prior art.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, said cartridge comprising a photosensitive member; a discharging path configured to permit movement of a developer removed from said photosensitive member, said discharging path including a developer discharge opening and a movable portion through which the developer is movable and which is movable between a retracted position in an upstream side with respect to a developer moving direction through said discharge opening and a advanced position in a downstream side with respect to the developer moving direction; and a sealing portion configured to close said discharging path by contacting said movable portion at a position different from that of said discharge opening.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, said cartridge comprising a photosensitive member; a feeding path configured to permit movement of a developer removed from said photosensitive member, said feeding path including a hollow inner cylinder, and a hollow outer cylinder surrounding an outer periphery of said inner cylinder and reciprocable along said inner cylinder between a retracted position and an advanced position; and a sealing portion for closing a developer flow path formed between said inner cylinder and said outer cylinder.
Parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a), (b) and (c) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a), (b) and (c) of
Parts (a), (b) and (c) of
Parts (a), (b) and (c) of
Parts (a), (b) and (c) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus and the process cartridge of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. An image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium by using an electrophotographic image forming process, for example. This includes, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, an LED printer, a laser beam printer, and so on), an electrophotographic facsimile machine, and the like. The process cartridge includes a photosensitive member and the like, and is dismountable to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as the apparatus main assembly). A photosensitive drum and a coupling member which are usable with a process cartridge are united with each other is called a drum unit.
In the following embodiment, a full-color image forming apparatus in which four process cartridges can be mounted and dismounted is explained. However, the number of process cartridges installed in the image forming apparatus is not limited to this. Similarly, the constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments are not intended to limit the material, position, dimensions, other numerical values, and so on, unless otherwise specified. Unless otherwise specified, “above” means upward in the direction of gravity when the image forming apparatus is installed.
Hereinafter, the operation relating to image formation and the feeding of waste toner in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment will be briefly described.
Referring to
As shown in
In this embodiment, the structure and operation of the first to fourth image forming stations are substantially the same except that the colors of the images to be formed are different. Therefore, hereinafter, Y, M, C, K will be omitted and general explanation will be given when there is no particular distinction required.
That is, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 includes four photosensitive drums 1 (1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K). The photosensitive drum 1 rotates in the direction of the arrow A in the drawing. A charging roller 2 and a scanner unit (exposure device) 3 are disposed around the photosensitive drum 1.
Here, the charging roller 2 is charging means for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The scanner unit 3 is exposure means for forming an electrostatic image (electrostatic latent image) on the photosensitive drum 1 by irradiating a laser based on image information. Also, the developing devices (hereinafter referred to as developing units) 4 (4Y, 4M, 4C, 4K) and cleaning blades 6 (6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K) as cleaning means (cleaning member) are provided around the photosensitive drum 1.
Further, an intermediary transfer belt 5 as an intermediary transfer member for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 to the recording material 12 is disposed so as to face the four photosensitive drums 1.
In this embodiment, the developing unit 4 uses a non-magnetic one-component developer, that is, a toner T as a developer.
Further, in this embodiment, the developing unit 4 performs contact development by bringing the developing roller 17 as a developer carrying member into contact with the photosensitive drum 1. The photosensitive drum 1 is an electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter simply referred to as photosensitive member).
In this embodiment, the cleaning unit 13 has a photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller 2, and a cleaning blade 6 as a cleaning member. It has a waste toner accommodating portion 14a (14aY, 14aM, 14aC, 14aK) as a storing portion for accommodating the untransferred residual toner (waste toner) remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 removed by the cleaning blade 6.
Further, in this embodiment, the developing unit 4 and the cleaning unit 13 are integrated into a cartridge to form a process cartridge 7. The process cartridge 7 is mountable to and dismountable from the image forming apparatus 100 via mounting means (guide, guide mechanism) such as a mounting guide (not shown), a positioning member (not shown) provided in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus.
In this embodiment, the process cartridges 7 for the respective colors have the same shape. Toners T (TY, TM, TC, TK) of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K) are accommodated in the process cartridge 7.
The intermediary transfer belt 5 abuts against all the photosensitive drums 1 and rotates in the direction of the arrow B in the drawing. The intermediary transfer belt 5 is wound around a plurality of support members (drive roller 87, secondary transfer opposed roller 88, driven roller 89).
On a inner peripheral surface side of the intermediary transfer belt 5, four primary transfer rollers 8 (8Y, 8M, 8C, 8K) as primary transfer means are juxtaposed so as to face each photosensitive drum 1. A secondary transfer roller 9 as a secondary transfer unit is disposed at a position facing the secondary transfer opposing roller 88 on the outer peripheral surface side of the intermediary transfer belt 5.
At the time of image formation, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is first uniformly charged by the charging roller 2. Subsequently, the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 1 is scanned and exposed by the laser light corresponding to the image information emitted from the scanner unit 3. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1 in accordance with the image information. then, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is developed into a toner image by the developing unit 4. In other words, the photosensitive drum 1 is a rotatable member (image bearing member) which carries the image (toner image) formed on the surface thereof with toner. The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred (primary transfer) onto the intermediary transfer belt 5 by the function of the primary transfer roller 8.
The recording material 12 carrying the transferred toner image is fed to a fixing device 10 as fixing means. The fixing device 10 applies heat and pressure to the recording material 12, whereby the toner image is fixed on the recording material 12. The primary untransferred residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 after the primary transferring process is removed by the cleaning blade 6 as the cleaning member and collected.
The removed residual toner (hereinafter referred to as waste toner) is delivered from the process cartridge 7 to the apparatus main assembly 100, and is fed to a waste toner box 86 installed in the apparatus main assembly 100.
A part other than a unit dismountably provided from an image forming apparatus like a cartridge may be called an image forming apparatus main assembly (apparatus main assembly) (in order to distinguish it from an entire image forming apparatus).
Referring to
The process cartridge 7 integrally includes a developing device 4 and a cleaning unit 13. As shown in
As shown in
In the developing chamber 18b, a toner supply roller 20 (as a developer supply member which contacts the developing roller 17 and rotates in the direction of arrow E), a toner supply roller 20 and the developing blade 21 (as a developer regulating member for regulating the toner layer of the developing roller 17) are provided. The toner supply roller 20 is a roller for supplying toner to the developing roller 17. The toner supply roller 20 is a rotatable member which rotates while carrying toner on the surface thereof, and is a toner supply member. The developing blade 21 is integrated with the supporting member 22 by welding, for example. The toner accommodating chamber 18a of the developing frame 18 is provided with a stirring member 23 for stirring the contained toner and for feeding the toner to the toner supply roller 20.
Referring to
As shown in
A charging roller bearing 15 is mounted to the cleaning frame 14 along a line passing through the rotation center of the charging roller 2 and the rotation center of the photosensitive drum 1.
Here, the charging roller bearing 15 is mounted movably in the direction of the arrow C shown in
As shown in
The waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the cleaning blade 6 falls in the direction of gravity in the space formed by the cleaning blade 6 and the cleaning frame 14 and is temporarily stored in the waste toner accommodating portion 14a.
Inside the waste toner accommodating portion 14a, a feeding screw 26 as a feeding member (cartridge side feeding member side) is provided. By this, the waste toner collected in the waste toner storing portion is fed to the one end side in the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge 7 by the feeding screw 26. The longitudinal direction of the process cartridge 7 can be regarded as substantially parallel to the rotation axis direction of the photosensitive drum 1.
The feed of the waste toner in the longitudinal direction will be described referring to
The waste toner fed in the direction of the arrow H by the feeding screw 26 passes through the first coupling 29, the second coupling 30, and the coupling member 32 provided at the longitudinal direction end portion of the process cartridge 7, and is fed to the waste toner receiving opening 80d of the main assembly.
Here, the path of the toner fed in the direction of arrow H by the feeding screw 26 is called a first feeding path 51. The toner path (the path after the first coupling 29) that is provided at one end side in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 7 and intersects (orthogonally) with the first feed path is referred to as the second feed path 61.
The mounting operation of the process cartridge 7 to the image forming apparatus main assembly 100 will be described referring to
The process cartridge 7 is inserted in the direction of the arrow J after opening the front door 91 of the image forming apparatus main assembly 100. After that, it abuts to the rear side plate (not shown) on the rear side of the main unit, by which the insertion is completed. After that, by closing the front door 91 of the main unit 100, the connecting member 32 is connected to the waste toner receiving opening 80d (
The movement of the shutter (opening/closing member) 34 mounted on the connecting member 32 at the time of mounting will be described referring to
As shown in parts (a) and (b) of
The shutter 34 is supported so that the grooves 34a and 34b are engaged with the projection guide portions 32b and 32c in a guided state and is movable so as to be movable in the mounting direction (the direction of the arrow J), and seals the waste toner discharge portion 32d.
Further, the shutter 34 is provided with an elastic seal member 35 for sealing the waste toner discharge portion 32d. The shutter 34 is supported in a state that the elastic seal member 35 is collapsed by a rim of the discharge opening 32d. Therefore, as shown in part (a) of
Further, the shutter 34 is urged toward the rear side in the mounting direction (direction of the arrow J) by the urging member 36 provided in the cleaning frame 14. The discharge opening abutment portion 34d of the shutter 34 is brought into contact with the abutment portion 32e of the waste toner connecting member 32 by the urging member 36. In this manner, on the process cartridge 7, the shutter 34 is positioned and supported by the connecting member 32.
Further, a shutter guide portion 14a that movably supports the shutter 34 in the mounting direction extends in the mounting direction (the direction of the arrow J) at the same position in the cross-sectional direction as the guide portion 32b of the connecting member 32 in the cleaning frame 14.
The shutter engaging portions 34a and 34b of the shutter 34 are partially engaged with and supported by the shutter guide portion 14a of the cleaning frame 14 in a state of abutting against the abutment portion 32e of the connecting member 32. In other words, the shutter 34 is engaged with both the connecting member 32 and the cleaning frame 14.
As shown in part (b) of
By moving the shutter 34 in the direction opposite to the arrow J, the shutter 34 is completely disengaged from the shutter guide portions 32b, 32c of the connecting member 32. By this, the shutter 34 is engaged and supported only by the guide portion 14a of the cleaning frame 14. Therefore, the shutter 34 does not impede the movement of the connecting member 32 in the cross-sectional direction (direction of the arrow N) when the mounting of the shutter 34 to the apparatus main assembly 100 is completed.
The description will be made as to a method of connecting the connecting member 32 and the waste toner receiving opening 80d of the apparatus main assembly 100.
The movement of the waste toner connecting member when the front door 91 (see
An arm 42 which is rotationally moved by a main assembly front door 91 and a link mechanism (not shown) is provided on the rear side in the mounting direction of the image forming apparatus 100. The connecting member 32 of the process cartridge 7 is provided with the arm abutment portions 32f and 32g which abut on the arm of the apparatus main assembly 100 in two places projecting in the cross sectional direction (part (a) of
Further, when the process cartridge 7 is brought into abutment in the mounting direction, the contact portions 42a, 42b of the arm 42 overlap the arm contact portions 32f, 32g of the connecting member 32 by about 4 mm in the mounting direction (direction of arrow J). The arm rotation shaft 42c of the arm 42 is rotatably supported by the support holes 98e, 98f of the rear side plate 98. With the closing operation of the front door of the main assembly 100, the arm 42 is rotated about 42 degrees in the direction of the arrow M around the arm rotating shaft 42c by a link mechanism (not shown).
With the rotational motion of the arm 42, the arm 42 abuts to the arm abutting surfaces 32f, 32g of the connecting member 32. By the rotation operation of the arm 42, the connecting member 32 moves in the direction of the arrow N and reaches the connecting position (the first position, the advancing position) where it is connected to the main assembly toner receiving opening 80d side (the direction of the arrow N).
Here, in this embodiment, the connecting member 32 moves by a distance of about 7.7 mm in the direction of the arrow N by the rotation operation of the arm 42.
The connecting member 32 pushed down by the arm 42 in this manner enters the waste toner receiving opening 80d of the apparatus main assembly 100 by about 4 mm.
By the above-described operation, the connection member 32 is connected to the waste toner receiving opening 80d of the apparatus main assembly 100.
Referring to parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
As shown in parts (a) and (b) of
Here, the waste toner receiving opening 80d is provided with a seal member 47. The seal member 47 is an elastic seal member such as a rubber, sponge, urethane foam or the like. When the connecting member 32 of the process cartridge 7 is pushed down, the connecting member 32 enters the main assembly receiving opening sealing member 47 provided in the discharged toner receiving opening 80d.
Further, the connecting member 32 has the tapered shape 32k, and it is possible to absorb the positional deviation in the axial direction of the connecting member 32 and the waste toner receiving opening 80d.
Further, the connecting member 32 is provided with a rib portion 321 (see parts (a), (b) and (c) of
The main assembly first feeding path 80a is provided with a spring retainer 43 adjacent to the receiving port. The spring coupling 44 having the elastic force inside the main assembly first feeding path 80a is supported by abutting the spring retainer 43 with the spring portion 44a. The spring coupling 44 is mounted so as to rotate integrally with the feeding fin 45 as the body side feeding member. The feeding fin 45 has a rotating shaft 45a, and the rotating shaft 45a is fitted in the fin bearing portion 80e of the main assembly feeding member, thereby is rotatably supported thereby. For this reason, the spring coupling 44 is supported rotatably around the center line 61a.
By the connecting member 32 entering the waste toner receiving opening 80d, the waste toner connecting member moves the spring coupling 44 downward (in the waste toner connecting opening entering direction) against the reaction force of the spring coupling 44 to collapse it.
Further, the spring coupling 44 presses against the second coupling member 30 in the coupling member 32 with an urging force. The second coupling member 30 which abuts is a member that rotates in interrelation with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1.
By the second coupling member 30 rotating about the axis 61a, the spring coupling 44 engages with the second coupling member 30 in the rotational direction and rotates integrally with the feed fin 45.
The second coupling member 30 is a drive output unit (output coupling, cartridge side coupling) for outputting driving force from the cartridge 7 to rotationally drive the spring coupling 44. On the other hand, the spring coupling 44 is a drive input unit (input coupling, image forming apparatus main assembly side coupling) to which driving force is supplied from the cartridge 7.
Drive transmission from the photosensitive drum 1 to the second coupling member 30 will be described. First, the drive transmission path from the photosensitive drum 1 to the waste toner feeding screw 26 will be described referring to
As shown in
As shown in
The feeding screw gear 53 is engaged with the feeding screw 26 so as to be capable of driving transmission. The rotational driving force is transmitted from the input part of the image forming apparatus 100 to the coupling part 1c at one end of the cleaning unit 13. The transmitted rotational driving force is transmitted from the photosensitive drum 1 to the feeding screw 26 via the photosensitive drum gear 1b, the idler gear 52, and the feeding screw gear 53. The waste toner accommodated in the waste toner chamber 14a is fed in the direction of the arrow H by the feeding screw part 26a as the feeding screw 26 rotates in the direction of the arrow G.
In this way, drive transmission from the photosensitive drum 1 to the waste toner screw 26 is performed. The rotational driving force of the waste toner screw 26 is transmitted to the first coupling member 29 disposed at the one longitudinal end of the waste toner screw 26.
Next, drive transmission from the waste toner feeding screw 26 to the first coupling member 29 will be described referring to parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
As shown in parts (a) and (b) of
When the waste toner screw 26 rotates in the direction of the arrow G, the drive transmission blade 26g moves in the direction of the arrow S. The drive transmission blade 26g moving in the direction of the arrow S and one (29b1) of the plurality of drive pins 29b on the first coupling member 29 are engaged with each other and pushed in the direction of the arrow S. by this force, the first coupling member 29 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow T about the center line 61a.
Here, the drive pin 29b is a cylindrical projection shape disposed at regular angular intervals around the axis of the coupling 29. In this embodiment, six drive pins 29b having a diameter of 1.8 mm are installed every 60 degrees.
The description will be made as to a phase state in which two drive pins 29b (29b1, 29b2) are present in a range in which it can come in contact with the drive transmission blades 26g with respect to the axis of the feed screw 26 (part (a) of
The drive transmission blade 26g rotationally moves the drive pin 29b1 in the T direction on the downstream side with respect to the rotational direction T of the drive pin 29b. When the drive pin 29b1 departs from the drive transmission range of the drive transmission blade 26g, the drive transmission pin 29b2 on the upstream side in the rotational direction from the drive transmission pin 29b1 is brought into contact with the drive transmission blade 26g (part (a) of
By further moving the drive transmission blade 26g in the direction of the arrow S, the drive transmission pin 29b2 of the first coupling member 29 is moved in the direction of the arrow S (part (b) of
In this manner, the first coupling member 29 rotates in the direction of the arrow T. By this, the drive pin 29b on the upstream side in the rotational direction again moves to the position where it can engage with the drive transmission blade 26g (part (a) of
By repeating the above operation, the first coupling member 29 continues to rotate and move by the rotation of the feeding screw 26.
Here, a line extending in the vertical direction with respect to the axial direction of the feeding screw 26 from the center of the first coupling member 29 is a line X. When two drive pins 29b are present at the same angle Y on both sides about the line X, the drive pin 29b1 and the drive pin 29b2 are positioned farthest from each other in the axial direction of the feed screw 26. The axial distance between the drive pins 29b1 and 29b2 at this time is Z (see part (a) of
The pitch of the screws of the drive transmission blades 26g is larger than the distance Z between the drive pins 29b as viewed in the axial direction of the waste toner screw 26.
Therefore, the drive pin 29b can be continuously pressed by the engagement between the drive transmission blade 26g and the drive pin 29b.
The first coupling member 29 can be rotated more continuously (smoothly) as the pitch (distance Z) of the driving pin 29b in the axial direction of the feeding screw 26 and the pitch of the feeding screw 26 are closer. In this manner, the rotational driving of the photosensitive drum 1 is converted into the rotation around the axis of the photosensitive drum 1 (the center line 61a of the second feeding path 61) via the waste toner screw 26, and is transmitted to the first coupling member 29.
In this embodiment, the feeding screw 26 is driven by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1. However, even if the feeding screw 26 is driven in interrelation with the rotation of the developing roller 17, for example, the same effect can be obtained.
Drive transmission from the first coupling member 29 to the second coupling member 30 will be described referring to
As shown in
The coupling member 32 is movable in the direction of the arrow N in
As shown in
The driving claw 29c of the first coupling member 29 is fitted into the inner diameter portion of the cylindrical portion 28a of the coupling receptor 28 and the first coupling member 29 is rotatably supported by the coupling receptor 28. Here, the driving claw 29c has a shape in which a part of the cylindrical shape is cut away. In addition, the second coupling member 30 is provided with two driving claws 30f which receive rotation drive from the driving claw 29c of the first coupling member 29. The second coupling member 30 includes a groove portion 30b and a spring hooking groove portion 30c in the opposing direction of the driving claw 30f.
The driving claw 30f also has a shape in which a part of the cylindrical shape is cut away. The outer diameter dimension of the driving claw 30f is substantially the same as the driving claw 29c. As shown in parts (a) and (b) of
Here, the drive pawls 29c and 30f can be expressed as projections in which a part of the cylinder is cut away, and also can be expressed as a bent plate shape including a drive transmission surface. In this embodiment, one side is inclined and the other side is parallel to the rotation axis to form a trapezoidal shape. These shapes are not limited to the shape of this embodiment as long as they are shapes which can permit the phase shift while being able to transmit the driving force.
On the other hand, the coupling spring 31 as the biasing member is a torsion coil spring including a bent shape 31a at the tip and a ring shape 31b in the opposing direction, as shown in
Further, in a state of being engaged with the second coupling 30, the circular shape 31b of the coupling spring 31 is engaged (fitted) with the groove 29f of the first coupling member 29.
At this time, the coupling spring 31 is stretched from the free length. In other words, the coupling spring 31 is brought into a state of giving an urging force in a contracting direction. In this manner, the first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30 are urged in a direction to attract each other. The supporting portion 29d of the first coupling member 29 abuts against the supporting portion 28b of the coupling receiving portion 28 by this urging force.
In the second coupling member 30, the supporting portion 28c provided at the tip portion of the cylindrical shape 28a of the coupling receiving portion 28 and the projecting portion 30d provided on the driving claw 30f contact to each other. Then, in the state of receiving the urging force of the coupling spring 31, it is positioned and supported in the rotational direction T of the center line 61a.
In a state of being biased by the coupling spring 31, the first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30 are rotatably provided via the driving claws 29c, 30f by the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 28a of the coupling receptor 28 It is supported. The first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30 engage with the engaging portion 29e and the engaging portion 30g, respectively in the direction of the arrow T of the center line 61a and can rotate integrally.
With the above structure, drive transmission from the first coupling member 29 to the second coupling member 30 is accomplished.
In the second coupling member 30, the supporting portion 28c provided at the tip portion of the cylindrical shape 28a of the coupling receiving portion 28 and the projecting portion 30d provided on the driving claw 30f come into contact. Then, in the state of receiving the urging force of the coupling spring 31, it is positioned and supported in the rotational direction T of the center line 61a.
In a state of being urged by the coupling spring 31, the first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30 are rotatably supported by the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 28a of the coupling receptor 28 by the way of via the driving claws 29c, 30f The first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30 engage with the engaging portion 29e and the engaging portion 30g, respectively in the direction of the arrow T of the center line 61a and can rotate integrally.
With the above-described structure, drive transmission is effected from the first coupling member 29 to the second coupling member 30.
With the above-described structure, therefore, drive transmission of the waste toner feeding portion from the process cartridge 7 to the apparatus main assembly 100 is accomplished.
Next, a method of assembling the waste toner discharging portion will be described.
As shown in
The welded portion 28e of the coupling receptor 28 is welded or adhered to the bearing member 27R (
The coupling member 32 is coaxially fitted into the coupling receptor 28 in the direction of the arrow I.
As shown in
When the connecting member 32 is fitted in the direction of the arrow I, the rotation stopping rib 28d of the coupling receptor 28 is engaged with the groove 32i of the connecting member 32. In this manner, the position of the coupling receptor 28 and the connecting member 32 in the rotational direction relative to the axis 61a is regulated.
Referring to parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
On the second coupling member 30, two compression pawls 30e are provided in the cylinder opposing direction.
Further, as shown in parts (a) and (b) of
When the connecting member 32 is fitted into the coupling receptor 28, the supporting portion 32a bends and compresses the compression claw 30e of the second coupling member 30 supported by the coupling receptor 28 in the radial direction.
Further, by pushing the connecting member 32, the support portion 32a completely overrides the compression claw 30e of the second coupling member 30. The coupling member 32 is supported by the support portion 32a by the compression claw 30e of the second coupling member 30 in the vertical direction (part (b) of
At this time, it is necessary for the compression claw 30e to reliably override the support portion 32a in the direction opposite to the arrow I.
For this purpose, when the waste toner connecting portion 32 is mounted to the coupling receptor 28 in the direction of the arrow I, it is necessary for the compression claw 30e to override the support portion 32a before the upper surface portion (end portion) 32p of the waste toner connecting portion 32 and the coupling receptor 28 come into contact with each other. For this reason, the waste toner connecting portion 32 is mounted with the clearance Q to the coupling receptor 28. A seal 501 is mounted in the gap Q to prevent leakage of the waste toner. The seal 501 will be described hereinafter.
An expansion/contraction mechanism for expanding and contracting the toner feeding path (discharge path), and expansion/contraction operation will be described referring to parts (a) and (b) of
Parts (a) and (b) of
As described above, the first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30 are urged by the coupling spring 31 in the direction of the arrow I (see parts (a) and (b) of
Therefore, the connecting member 32 can move in the arrow N direction relative to the process cartridge 7 together with the second coupling member 30 (part (a) of
The driving claw 29c of the first coupling member 29 and the driving claw 30f of the second coupling member 30 are supported so as to be able to engage with each other at the inner diameter portion of the cylindrical portion 28 of the coupling receptor 28 in the direction of the rotational arrow T. Therefore, also in the state (part (b) of
When the cartridge is mounted in the main assembly and is performing the printing operation, the connecting member 32 is in a state in which the second coupling member 30 moves in the direction of the arrow N relative to the first coupling member 29 (in the state of the drive transmission position, part (b) of
On the other hand, when the process cartridge 7 is in the free state (state that the connecting member 32 is in the retracted position: part (a) of
In addition, the first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30 of the waste toner discharging portion of the process cartridge 7 rotate either in the main assembly connection state (drive connection position) or the main assembly retracted state (retracted position). Therefore, by engaging the first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30, it is possible to inspect the engagement between the first coupling member 29 and the second coupling member 30 by, for example, rotating the photosensitive drum 1 even in an independent state (retracted position) of the process cartridge 7.
Next, a route of delivery of waste toner from the process cartridge 7 to the apparatus main assembly 100 will be described.
The waste toner collected from the photosensitive member 1 as the image bearing member by the cleaning blade 6 is accommodated in a waste toner accommodating portion 14a as a storing portion (see
The carried waste toner is fed to the waste toner receiving opening 80d of the apparatus main assembly through a second feeding path 61. The first coupling member 29, the coupling spring 31, the second coupling member 30, and the connecting member 32 are provided in the second feed path 61.
The connecting member 32 is connected to the main assembly waste toner receiving opening 80d of the image forming apparatus 100.
The waste toner discharged from the process cartridge 7 is fed from the waste toner receiving opening 80d to the second feeding path 80b via the spring coupling 44 and the feeding fin 45 as the main assembly side feeding member. After that, it is discharged into the waste toner box 86 (see
Next, details of the waste toner delivery structure will be described.
As described above, the waste toner is fed toward the one end in the axial direction of the photosensitive member 1 (direction of arrow H in
The feeding screw portion 26a of the feeding screw 26 is a portion for feeding the toner toward the opening portion 61b (part (b) of
The carried waste toner collides at the position between the feeding screw portion 26a and the reverse screw portion 26e and is fed from the hole portion 29a of the first coupling member 29 to the opening portion 61b (arrow U direction).
As shown in parts (a) and (b) of
As shown in parts (a) and (b) of
Here, the coupling spring 31 is wound in such a direction as to feed the waste toner in the direction of the arrow N in parts (a) and (b) of
The waste toner that has passed through the coupling spring 31 and the hole portion 30a of the second coupling member 30 is discharged from the waste toner discharge portion 32d of the coupling member 32 supported in the direction of the arrow N to the second coupling member 30. The above is the movement until the discharge of the waste toner in the process cartridge 7.
As shown in parts (a) and (b) of
As shown in
The waste toner which has entered the feeding path 80b is discharged to the waste toner box 86 by the main assembly feeding screw 85 as a feeding member in the feeding path 80b.
Next, the location and assembly of the waste toner feeding structure of the process cartridge 7 will be described in detail.
Referring to parts (a) and (b) of
As shown in part (a) of
That is, the rotation center 1a of the photosensitive drum 1 and the rotation center of the first feeding member 26 are positioned on opposite sides with respect to the center line 61a.
The center line 61a is substantially the same straight line as the rotation axis of the second coupling member 30. In other words, the rotation center 1a of the photosensitive drum 1 and the rotation center of the waste toner feeding screw 26 are on opposite sides with respect to the rotation axis (axis 61a) of the second coupling member 30.
By satisfying the above-described positional relationship, the photosensitive drum 1, the waste toner feeding screw 26, and the second feeding path (discharge path) 61 can be disposed in a small space. Therefore, it is possible to reduce or eliminate the projection amount from the outline L (
As shown in part (b) of
By this, the waste toner can be smoothly fed from the first feeding path 51 to the second feeding path 61 by the feeding force of the feeding screw 26. As shown in part (a) of
As shown in
As described above, the waste toner connecting portion 32 is disposed with the gap Q relative to the coupling receptor 28. In the gap Q, a seal 501 including elasticity is mounting. The seal 501 is a member (sealing portion, sealing member) for suppressing leakage of toner to the outside of the cartridge by sealing the discharge passage of the toner. Examples of the material of the seal 501 include foamed polypropylene and foamed urethane foam.
The seal 501 has elasticity. As described above, when the waste toner connecting portion 32 is assembled, the waste toner connecting portion 32 is compressed in the direction of the arrow I by mounting it in the direction of the arrow I. At this time, the seal 501 provided in the gap Q is compressed to the upper surface portion 32p of the connecting member 32, so that it is possible to close the gap Q without the influence to the easiness of assembly. The upper surface portion 32p is an end portion provided on the upstream side of the connecting member 32 in the moving direction (the direction of the arrow N) of the toner discharged from the discharge opening 32d. In this embodiment, the toner moving direction N is substantially the same as the moving direction of the connecting member 32 when moving to this the advancing position (connecting position: part (b) of
Next, referring to parts (a), (b) and (c) of
Parts (a), (b) and (c) of
As shown in parts (a), (b) and (c) of
As shown in parts (a), (b) and (c) of
As shown in part (a) of
In this manner, due to the force for press-fitting the detailed portion 501d into the seal mounting groove 28j and the holding force due to the elasticity of the seal 501 in the seal mounting groove 28h, the seal 501 does not disengage in the arrow N direction from the coupling receptor 28.
Further, in this embodiment, the mounting of the seal receiver to the coupling receptor 28 is carried out using the elasticity of the seal. In other words, the seal 501 is pressed into the recess (seal mounting groove 28h) provided in the coupling receptor 28 while being compressed, and the seal member 501 is fixed into the recess (depression). The seal 501 is press-fitted into the recess (seal mounting groove 28h) of the coupling receptor 28. However, the structure for fixing the seal (sealing part) is not limited to this kind. For example, the seal 501 may be adhered (mounted) to the installation surface side of the coupling receptor 28 using an adhesive, an adhesive, or the like. Alternatively, such adhesion and press fitting may be used simultaneously.
Next, referring to parts (a), (b) and (c) of
part (a) of
As described above, when the process cartridge 7 is mounted on the apparatus main assembly 100, the waste toner connecting portion 32 is placed in a position where it can come into contact with the arm 42 (part (b) of
Further, by closing the front door 91 (
At this time, the seal 501 is held by the coupling receptor 28 in a state of being press-fitted and engaged with the coupling receptor 28. When the front door 91 of the apparatus main assembly 100 is opened again, the waste toner discharging portion 32 is moved in the direction of the arrow I by the urging force (pulling force) of the tension spring 31 mounted therein (see part (b) of
The upper surface 32p of the waste toner connecting portion 32 is compressed in the direction of the arrow I by the urging force (pulling force) of the tension spring 31.
In this manner, the waste toner connecting part 32 moves to the position shown in part (a) of
Here, as shown in
When toner is present in the waste toner feed path (second feed path 61) during the movement shown in parts (a), (b) and (c) of
The structure of the cartridge of this embodiment described above can be summarized as follows.
A discharge path (second feeding path 61) for discharging the toner has a movable portion (a connecting member 32). In such a structure, a space (gap Q) is formed around the movable part, so that there is a possibility that this space forms a path for communicating the inside and the outside of the discharge path in addition to the discharge opening 32d. In order to prevent toner from flowing out from such a path (space), the sealing portion (seal 501) is brought into contact with the movable portion (connecting member 32). By this, the discharge path is more reliably sealed.
More specifically, the cartridge 7 has a second feeding path 61 (
That is, the toner is moved in the internal space of the coupling receptor 28, the coupling 29, and the connecting member 32, and finally discharged to the outside of the cartridge through the discharge opening 32d provided at the end of the second feed path 61 (
As the connecting member 32 moves, the second feeding path 61 expands and contracts. In other words, the connecting member 32 is a movable part movable relative to the coupling receptor 28 and the like, and moves between the retracted position (part (a) of
The connecting member 32 retracts to the upstream side in the moving direction of the discharged toner (direction of arrow N), so that the connecting member 32 reaches the retracted position (part (a) of
As shown in part (b) of
Further, the connecting member 32 slides linearly along the coupling receptor 28 (part (a) of
As described above, the internal space of the coupling receptor 28 forms at least a part of the discharge passage. In other words, the cartridge receiver 28 can be regarded as a part of the discharge path. The coupling receptor 28 is fixed to the frame of the cartridge and can be regarded as part of the frame of the cartridge. The coupling member 32 is a movable portion of the discharge passage, whereas the coupling receptor 28 is a fixed portion (immovable portion) of the discharge passage. In other words, the coupling receptor 28 is fixed relative to the cartridge 7 and does not move.
The second coupling member 30 advances and retracts in interrelation with advancement and withdrawal of the coupling member 32. When advancing, the second coupling member 30 becomes connectable with the spring coupling 44 provided in the image forming apparatus main assembly. In other words, the second coupling member 30 is in a state that the driving force can be transmitted to the spring coupling 44 and the feeding fin 45 (a state that it is positioned at the drive transmission position (advanced position)). In other words, since the movable mechanism is replaced with a new one at the timing when the cartridge 7 is exchanged, the possibility that the same movable mechanism is used for an excessively long period is low, and the operational stability of the movable member can be easily maintained.
Further, to the toner feeding member (the spring coupling 44 and the feeding fin 45,
If the second coupling member 30 and the spring coupling 44 are disposed in the toner feeding path, the toner may be interposed between the meshing portions of the second coupling member 30 and the spring coupling 44. However, in this embodiment, the second coupling member 30 and the spring coupling 44 are disposed along the same axis. therefore, they rotate integrally when they are coupled, and for this reason, these couplings are less susceptible to toner. Unlike this embodiment, in the case of a structure in which the driving force is transmitted to the feeding fin 45 by engagement of two gears instead of coupling (coupling) of the two coupling members, a possibility of influence such as wearing of teeth arises. In other words, the two gears rotate to transmit driving force while different teeth engage one after another. Therefore, if toner is interposed between the gear teeth, friction occurs between the toner and the teeth as the engagement of these gear teeth changes, and there is a possibility that the toner causes abrasion of the teeth. On the other hand, if the coupling structure of this embodiment is employed, the second coupling member 30 and the spring coupling 44 integrally rotate around substantially the same axis. Therefore, the engagement of the two couplings does not change easily. for this reason a, even if toner is interposed between the two couplings, both couplings are less susceptible to wear and the like.
According to the structure of this embodiment, when the cartridge 7 is not mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, the driving force is not transmitted to the spring coupling 44 and the feeding fin 45, and these do not rotate. Even if the power (motor) of the image forming apparatus main unit is applied when the cartridge 7 is not mounted, the spring coupling 44 and the feeding fin 45 do not rotate. Therefore, problems such as these scattering the toner inside the toner receiving opening 80 can be suppressed.
The cartridge has a shutter 34 (part (a) of
However, even in this state, gaps (gaps, spaces) where the toner can leak out of the discharge opening 32d may occur around the movable portion (the connecting member 32) of the discharge path. In other words, there is a small space between the frame of the cartridge (the coupling receptor 28) and the connecting member 32. Particularly, the space (gap Q) around (near) the upper surface portion 32p of the discharge opening 32d leads to the outside of the cartridge (
In the moving direction of the toner (direction of arrow N), the gap Q is located upstream of the discharge opening 32d. Therefore, toner does not leak through the clearance Q during a normal handling of the cartridge. However, if the cartridge is shaken after it is removed from the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, the toner inside the discharge path may move through the path indicated by the arrow R through the gap between the connecting member 32 and the cartridge receiver 28. In this case, the toner may eventually leak out through the gap Q (
Alternatively, after the cartridge 7 is dismounted from the image forming apparatus main assembly, the cartridge may take attitude in which the discharge path (second feed path 61) is disposed below. In such a case, the toner remaining in the first feeding path 51 and the waste toner accommodating chamber 14a (
Alternatively, in a state in which the cartridge is mounted inside the main assembly of the addition forming device, the connecting member 32 moves from the advance position (drive transmission position) to the retracted position in the direction of the arrow I (part (a) of
Therefore, in this embodiment, the seal 501 is provided on the upstream side of the discharge opening 32d in the toner movement direction N. More specifically, the seal 501 is disposed upstream of the upper surface 32p of the connecting member 32.
As a result, when the connecting member 32 is in the retracted position, the seal 501 contacts the upper surface portion 32p of the connecting member 32. When the cartridge is dismounted from the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, the gap Q is sealed with the seal 501 to more assuredly suppress the leakage of the toner. In other words, it is suppressed by the seal 501 that the path through which the toner flows out from the discharge path is produced in a portion other than the discharge opening 32d. The seal 501 is a sealing portion which contacts the connecting member 32 at a position different from the discharge opening 32d and seals the discharge path at a position different from the discharge opening 32d. In other words, the seal 501 is a sealing portion which seals the discharge passage at a position different from that of the shutter 34.
The seal 501 may have any shape as long as it seals the gap Q formed around (near) the upper surface portion 32p of the connecting portion 32. In this embodiment, the connecting portion 32 has a tubular shape (pipe shape, pipe shape), and the cross portion of the pipe (pipe, pipe) is a circle. Therefore, the seal 501 has a ring shape corresponding to the shape of the connecting member 32 (that is, a shape forming an opening in the inside), and the seal 501 has a circular opening (part (a) of
The seal 501 is provided so as to cover the outer circumference of the frame (the cylindrical portion 28a of the cartridge receiver 28) of the cartridge constituting the second feeding path 61. In other words, the cylindrical portion 28a passes through the opening of the seal 501 (part (a) of
If the cross-sectional shape of the connecting member 32 and the cartridge receiver 28 is not a circle but a square, the seal 501 may be formed into a ring shape including a rectangular opening correspondingly. This also applies to cases where the shapes of the connecting member 32 and the cartridge receiver 28 are other than square. The shape of the opening of the seal 501 may be changed according to the shape of the discharge path (the shape of the coupling portion 32 and the cartridge receiver 28). In other words, although the seal 501 is described as a ring shape forming a circular opening in this embodiment, the seal 501 can have various shapes depending on the structure of the cartridge.
The seal 501 has elasticity. When the connecting member 32 is positioned at the retracted position, the seal 501 is compressed between the coupling member 32 and the coupling receptor 28. As a result, the seal 501 is in close contact with the coupling member 32 and the coupling receptor 28, thereby reliably closing the gap where toner may leak. On the other hand, when the connecting member 32 moves to the advanced position, the seal 501 separates from the upper surface portion 32p of the connecting member 32, and the above compression is at least partly eliminated.
The seal 501 is not limited to the structure fixed to the coupling receptor 28. For example, as shown in part (a) of
When the connecting member 32 is in the retracted position, such a seal 1501 is pressed against the coupling receptor 28 by the connecting member 32 to close the gap Q.
Alternatively, as shown in part (a) of
As shown in part (a) of
Even with such a structure, if the connecting member 32 is in contact with the seal 2501 when it is in the retracted position, the same sealing effect as in this embodiment can be obtained by sealing the gap.
That is, even if the seal 2501 is movable between the coupling receptor 28 and the coupling member 32, the seal 2501 is pushed by the coupling member 32 in the process of the movement of the coupling member 32 toward the retracted position to be pressed against the receiver 28. As a result, when the connecting member 32 moves to the retracted position, the seal 2501 is sandwiched between the coupling member 32 and the coupling receptor 28, so that the seal 2501 can close the gap.
The seal 1501 and the seal 2501 shown in parts (a), (b) and (c) of
Further, as shown in part (b) of
In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 1, the developing roller 17, the charging roller 16, and the like are provided in one cartridge, but the present invention is not limited to such a structure. For example, it is possible to employ a structure in which the cartridge 7 has the seal 501, the discharge path (the second feed path 61), the connecting member 32, and the like, but does not have the developing roller 17. As an example of such a structure, there is a cleaning unit 13 and a developing unit which are not connected to each other, and the cleaning unit 13 constitutes a cartridge as a single unit.
In this embodiment, in order to remove toner from the photosensitive drum 1, a plate-like (blade-like) cleaning blade 6 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 on the photosensitive drum 1. However, in place of the cleaning blade 6, a brush-like cleaning member or the like may be used.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-107458 filed on May 31, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-107458 | May 2017 | JP | national |
