The present disclosure relates to a processing cartridge for an imaging device, and in particular to a processing cartridge with a separating force receiving mechanism.
In an imaging device, such as a laser printer, a copier, a fax machine, etc. that uses electrophotographic imaging, there is usually a processing cartridge which can be detached from the imaging device. The processing cartridge known to inventors mainly includes: an integrated processing cartridge that integrates a photosensitive drum unit and a developing unit together, and a separate processing cartridge that only includes a photosensitive drum unit or a developing unit.
In the integrated processing cartridge, the photosensitive drum unit and the developing unit are usually connected to each other by rotatable movement. During the imaging operation, the developing roller is kept pressed toward the photosensitive drum. In a case where the imaging device employs a developing method of placing the developing roller in contact with the photosensitive drum to develop a latent image on the photosensitive drum, the developing roller is kept pressed on an outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum. However, during non-imaging operation, if the developing roller keeps in contact with the photosensitive drum surface for a long time, it will bring many adverse consequences, for example, if the developing roller with an elastic layer is used, the elastic layer of the developing roller is in contact with the outer surface of the photosensitive drum, so that the elastic layer of the developing roller may be permanently deformed, and the latent image on the photosensitive drum may be uneven after being used for a long time; if the developing roller is still in contact with the photosensitive drum when no image is formed, no matter whether the developing roller has an elastic layer or not, the developing roller may make the surface of the photosensitive drum attached with redundant developer; in addition, when the developing roller is not used for developing, the photosensitive drum and the developing roller are still in rotationally frictional contact with one another, which is possible to cause premature degradation of the photosensitive drum, the developing roller and the developer.
In order to avoid the above-mentioned problems, the Chinese patent document with the publication number of CN108398871A discloses a processing cartridge. The processing cartridge is internally provided with a separating force receiving mechanism cooperating with a separation mechanism of an imaging device and an abutment portion arranged on a bearing. The separating force receiving mechanism receives a force from a spacing part of the separation mechanism of the imaging device and cooperates with the abutment portion arranged on the bearing of the processing cartridge. When no image is formed, the spacing part of the separation mechanism applies a separating force to the separating force receiving mechanism of the processing cartridge, a force is applied to the abutment portion on the bearing of the processing cartridge through the separating force receiving mechanism, so as to cause relative movement between the photosensitive drum unit and the developing unit, so that the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are separated. However, since the separating force receiving mechanism is located on the front side of the processing cartridge in an installation direction of the processing cartridge and protrudes from an outside of a housing of the processing cartridge, in a process of installing the processing cartridge into the imaging device, the separating force receiving mechanism collides with parts arranged inside the imaging device, the part is such as a guide member in the imaging device, a spacing part of the separation mechanism, etc., inside such an imaging device, so that the separating force receiving member is caused to be damaged to affect a service life of the processing cartridge.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a processing cartridge that effectively prevents a separating force receiving member from being damaged due to collision with an imaging device during a process of installing the processing cartridge into an imaging device.
In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, the technical solution provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure is: a processing cartridge, which is detachably installed in an imaging device, the imaging device being internally provided with a separation mechanism; the processing cartridge includes: a first unit and a second unit connected with each other in a movable manner, the first unit including a first unit frame and a photosensitive drum, the second unit including a second unit frame and a developing roller; a separating force receiving mechanism, arranged at a first end in a length direction of the processing cartridge; an abutment portion, located in the second unit; a sliding groove, which is located at the first end of the processing cartridge; the separating force receiving mechanism includes: a separating force receiving member, movably installed on the sliding groove, including a force receiving portion, a force transmitting portion and a restricting portion, wherein the restricting portion is configured to restrict the separating force receiving member from being separated from the sliding groove in an installation direction of the processing cartridge; an elastic member having elastic force on the separating force receiving member; under an action of a force of the imaging device, at least a part of the separating force receiving member is able to retract into the processing cartridge relative to the sliding groove.
In the processing cartridge with the above-mentioned structure, during a process of installing the processing cartridge into the imaging device, when the separating force receiving mechanism collides with the imaging device, as the separating force receiving mechanism is provided with the elastic member, the separating force receiving member is able to retract into an inside of the processing cartridge relative to the sliding groove, which has a buffering effect to the collision with the imaging device, and prevents the separating force receiving member from being damaged due to strong collision and thus affecting the service life of the processing cartridge. At the same time, the separating force receiving member can move on the sliding groove and cooperate with the abutment portion to effectively separate the developing roller and the photosensitive drum.
In some embodiments, the second unit further includes a gear protection cover, and the abutment portion is arranged on the gear protection cover.
In some embodiments, the sliding groove has an accommodating portion and a first installation portion, and the separating force receiving member is a sliding block correspondingly.
In some embodiments, the sliding block includes a base plate, a first rib plate, a second rib plate, a third rib plate, and fourth rib plate; in the installation direction of the processing cartridge, a clamping groove cooperating with the sliding groove is formed between the first rib plate and the third rib plate, and between the second rib plate and the fourth rib plate; the force transmitting portion is arranged on the base plate; the force receiving portion is arranged on the first rib plate, and the restricting portion is arranged on the third rib plate.
In the above-mentioned processing cartridge, the sliding block and the sliding groove on the processing cartridge cooperate with each other, so that the sliding block can not only slide on the sliding groove, but also retract into the processing cartridge when it collides with the imaging device, so as to buffer the collision with the separation mechanism, thereby avoiding the problem that the separating force receiving member is damaged due to strong collision and thus affects the service life of the processing cartridge.
In some embodiments, in the installation direction of the processing cartridge, a length of the clamping groove is greater than a depth of the sliding groove, so that the sliding block is movable in installation direction of the processing cartridge.
With the processing cartridge with the above-mentioned structure, the sliding block may move in the installation direction of the processing cartridge, which is simple in structure and low in production cost.
In some embodiments, in the length direction of the processing cartridge, a length of the third rib plate is greater than a length of the first installation portion.
According to the above-mentioned processing cartridge, in the length direction of the processing cartridge, the length of the third rib plate is greater than the length of the first installation portion, which can prevent the sliding block from being separated from the sliding groove in the installation direction of the processing cartridge, the structure is simple and the production cost is low.
In some embodiments, the gear protection cover is provided with a second installation portion for installing the elastic member.
In some embodiments, in the installation direction of the processing cartridge, the second installation portion is a gear protection cover surface arranged at a front side of the gear protection cover.
With the processing cartridge with the above-mentioned structure, the elastic member can be stably installed on the processing cartridge, which is simple in structure and low in production cost.
In some embodiments, the elastic member is a compression spring or an elastic sponge.
The above-mentioned processing cartridge uses the compression spring or the elastic sponge as the elastic member, which has good elastic buffering effect, and is simple in structure and low in production cost, and the cooperating effect with the sliding block is good.
In some embodiments, the second installation portion is an installation protrusion arranged on the gear protection cover.
With the processing cartridge with the above-mentioned structure, the elastic member may be stably installed on the processing cartridge, which is simple in structure and low in production cost.
In some embodiments, the elastic member is a torsion spring.
The above-mentioned processing cartridge uses the torsion spring as the elastic member, which has good elastic buffering effect, and is simple in structure and low in production cost, and the cooperating effect with the sliding block is good.
In some embodiments, the sliding block and the elastic member are integrally formed, and the elastic member is an elastic arm of the sliding block.
In the above-mentioned processing cartridge, the sliding block and the elastic member are connected together and form a whole structure, and the structure is simple and the production cost is low.
In some embodiments, the separating force receiving member is movable between a contact position and a spacing position; the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are in contact with each other at the contact position; and at the spacing position, the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are separated from each other.
With the processing cartridge having the above-mentioned structure, the separating force receiving member is movable between the contact position and the spacing position under the action of the separation mechanism of the imaging device, and the separating force receiving member transmits the separating force to the abutment portion, so that the first unit and the second unit move relatively, and the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are effectively separated, thereby protecting the developing roller and increasing the service life of the processing cartridge.
The specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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In some embodiments, the separating force receiving member is a sliding block 71, and the sliding block 71 is installed on a sliding groove 311 of the first end cover extension portion 31 and cooperates with the sliding groove 311 on the first end cover extension portion 31. In some embodiments, the sliding block 71 basically includes abase plate 711 and a first rib plate 712 which are integrally formed, a second rib plate 713, a third rib plate 714 and a fourth rib plate 715. The base plate 711 is substantially perpendicular to the first rib plate 712, the second rib plate 713, the third rib plate 714 and the fourth rib plate 715 respectively; the base plate 711 is substantially “L-shaped” and the base plate 711 has a force transmitting end 7111. In the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, the first rib plate 712 and the second rib plate 713 are located at the front side relative to the third rib plate 714 and the fourth rib plate 715; in the length direction of the processing cartridge 100, the first rib plate 712 has a length b, and the length b of the first rib plate 712 is smaller than a length a of the first installation portion, so as to allow the first rib plate 712 to pass through the first installation portion 3112; in the length direction of the processing cartridge 100, the third rib plate 714 has a length c, and the length c is greater than the length a of the first installation portion, so as to restrict the sliding block 71 from being separated from the sliding groove 311 along the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100. In some embodiments, in the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, the first rib plate 712, the second rib plate 713, the third rib plate 714, and the fourth rib plate 715 all have front and rear side surfaces, the front side surfaces are in front of the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, and the opposite sides are the rear side surfaces, and a clamping groove 716 cooperating with the sliding groove 311 is formed respectively between the rear side surface (not shown) of the first rib plate and the front side surface 7141 of the third rib plate, and between the rear side surface (not shown) of the second rib plate and the front side surface 7151 of the fourth rib plate; in the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, the clamping groove 716 has a length, which is a distance between the rear side surface (not shown) of the second rib plate and the front side surface 7151 of the fourth rib plate, and correspondingly the sliding groove 311 in the installation direction of the processing cartridge 100 has a depth. The length of the clamping groove 716 is greater than the depth of the sliding groove 311, so as to allow the sliding block 71 to move in the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100. In some embodiments, the sliding block 71 has a force receiving portion 7121, a force transmitting portion 71111 and a restricting portion. The force receiving portion 7121 is arranged on the first rib plate 712 and is used for receiving the separating force from a separation mechanism of the imaging device; the force transmitting portion 71111 is located on the force transmitting end 7111 of the base plate 711 and faces the abutment portion 241 arranged on the gear protection cover 24, the force transmitting portion 71111 is used for transmitting the separating force to the second unit 2, so that the second unit 2 is rotatably movable relative to the first unit 1; and the restricting portion is arranged on the front side surface 7141 of the third rib plate for restricting the sliding block 71 to be separated from the sliding groove 311 along the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100. With reference to
The elastic member may be a compression spring or an elastic sponge. In some embodiments, the elastic member is an elastic sponge 72 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the elastic sponge 72 has a first end surface (not shown) and a second end surface 722 in the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, and the first end surface (not shown) abuts against the second installation portion 242 arranged on the gear protection cover 24, and the second end surface 722 abuts against the sliding block 71; in the length direction of the processing cartridge 100, the elastic sponge 72 is located between the powder bin wall (not shown) and the first end cover 3, so that the elastic sponge 72 is stably installed on the second installation portion 242 without falling off; in the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, the sliding block 71 is located at the front side of the processing cartridge 100. The elastic sponge 72 has an elastic force on the sliding block 71, so that the sliding block protrudes from the sliding groove 311 to an outside of the processing cartridge 100 along the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, and may receive the separating force from the separation mechanism of the imaging device; in the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, when the sliding block 71 is subjected to an external force, the sliding block 71 is able to overcome the elastic force of the elastic sponge 72 to move towards a direction close to the second installation portion 242, and the sliding block 71 retracts into the processing cartridge 100 relative to the sliding groove 311.
During the process of installing the processing cartridge into the imaging device, the separating force receiving mechanism will collide with elements provided in the imaging device, such as a guide member arranged in the imaging device, a spacing part of the separation mechanism, etc. During the process of installing the processing cartridge into the imaging device, the force borne by the separating force receiving mechanism when colliding with the imaging device may be a force in a direction opposite to the installation direction of the processing cartridge, or a component force in a direction opposite to the installation direction of the processing cartridge; next, a movement process of the separating force receiving mechanism of the processing cartridge will be introduced in detail in a case where the separating force receiving member collides with the spacing part of the separation mechanism in the process of installing the processing cartridge in the imaging device.
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Next, the process of separating the photosensitive drum and the developing roller when the processing cartridge does not form an image will be described in detail.
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In some embodiments, when the sliding block 71 collides with the spacing part F of the separation mechanism, the force receiving side 717 of the sliding block 71 retracts into the inside of the processing box 100 relative to the sliding groove 311, and when the sliding block 71 is not pressed against the spacing part F (i.e. when the sliding block 71 does not receive the compression force of the spacing part F) in the installation direction X of the processing cartridge 100, the sliding block 71 springs back to the initial position under the action of the elastic restoring force of the elastic sponge 72. After the installation of the processing cartridge 100 is completed, when no image is formed, under the action of the separating force of the spacing part F, the sliding block 71 cooperates with the abutment portion 241 by the force transmitting portion 71111 to enable the second unit 2 to perform rotational movement relative to the first unit 1 and separate the developing roller 22 and the photosensitive drum 12. Therefore, when the processing cartridge with the separating force receiving mechanism is installed into the imaging device, the collision of the sliding block 71 and the spacing part F of the separating mechanism is effectively buffered, and the interference is reduced, and the sliding block 71 is prevented from being damaged due to strong collision, so that the processing cartridge 100 in the embodiment is longer in service life.
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The above-mentioned embodiments are only some embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. According to the shape, construction and principle of the present disclosure, there are many changes. For example, the elastic member may not be arranged on the gear cover, but on the bearing of the processing cartridge; the abutment portion is not arranged on the gear cover, but is arranged on the bearing, and the like. Therefore, any changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure should fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201921530126.4 | Sep 2019 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2019/123060 | 12/4/2019 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2021/047072 | 3/18/2021 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20220299934 A1 | Sep 2022 | US |