The present disclosure claims the priority to Chinese patent application No. 202211473404.3, filed on Nov. 21, 2022, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of image-forming technology and, more particularly, relates to a process cartridge, a storage apparatus, and a connection apparatus.
An image-forming apparatus exposes a photosensitive drum (OPC) with a laser beam emitted from a laser unit, forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum through the exposure, develops the latent image and prints developed image on an image-forming medium for example, paper.
However, when there are abnormalities such as damage or dirt on the surface of the OPC, the ability of the OPC to induce charges may be abnormal, which may also lead to abnormal images outputted by the image-forming apparatus and bring a bad experience to users. In addition, when an OPC surface is detected, a detection signal obtained may need to be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus. If a new terminal for receiving the detection signal is added to the image-forming apparatus, the structural design of the image-forming apparatus may be more complex with high cost.
One aspect of the present disclosure provides a process cartridge, detachably installed in an image-forming apparatus main body. The process cartridge includes a cartridge body; a photosensitive drum, rotatably installed at the cartridge body, where the photosensitive drum is configured with an image-forming region capable of generating an electrostatic latent image; a potential detection part, configured to detect an electrical signal on the image-forming region; a storage apparatus, where the storage apparatus includes an electrical contact configured to be electrically connected to an electrical contact portion disposed on the image-forming apparatus main body; and a first electrical connection part, where the first electrical connection part includes a transmission terminal; the transmission terminal is electrically connected to the electrical detection part and configured to be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion; and the transmission terminal is configured to obtain the electrical signal on the image-forming region, capable of generating the electrostatic latent image, on the photosensitive drum of the process cartridge, and configured to transmit an electrical signal, generated according to the electrical signal and configured to determine whether the process cartridge meets expectation, to the electrical contact portion when the transmission terminal is electrically connected to the electrical contact portion.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a storage apparatus, installed on a process cartridge, where the process cartridge is detachably installed in an image-forming apparatus main body. The storage apparatus includes an electrical contact configured to be electrically connected to an electrical contact portion disposed on the image-forming apparatus main body; and a second electrical connection part, where the second electrical connection part includes an electrical connection terminal; the second electrical connection part is configured to be electrically connected to the potential detection part and the electrical contact portion, respectively; and the electrical connection terminal is configured to, when the second electrical connection part is electrically connected to the potential detection part, obtain the electrical signal on the image-forming region, capable of generating the electrostatic latent image, on the photosensitive drum of the process cartridge, and configured to transmit an electrical signal, generated according to the electrical signal and configured to determine whether the process cartridge meets expectation, to the electrical contact portion when the second electrical connection part is electrically connected to the electrical contact portion.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a process cartridge, detachably installed in an image-forming apparatus main body. The process cartridge includes a cartridge body; a photosensitive drum, rotatably installed at the cartridge body, where the photosensitive drum is configured with an image-forming region capable of generating an electrostatic latent image; a potential detection part, configured to detect an electrical signal on the image-forming region; and above-mentioned storage apparatus, where the storage apparatus is electrically connected to the potential detection part.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a connection apparatus, installed on a process cartridge, where the process cartridge is detachably installed in an image-forming apparatus main body. The connection apparatus includes a receiving terminal, where the receiving terminal is configured to obtain an electrical signal on an image-forming region, capable of generating an electrostatic latent image, on a photosensitive drum of the process cartridge; and a transmission terminal electrically connected to the receiving terminal, where the transmission terminal is configured to be electrically connected to an electrical contact portion provided on the image-forming apparatus main body; the electrical contact portion is configured to be connected to an electrical contact on a storage apparatus installed on the process cartridge; and the transmission end is configured to obtain the electrical signal, and transmit an electrical signal, generated according to the electrical signal and configured to determine whether the process cartridge meets expectation, to the electrical contact portion.
The technical solutions provided by the present disclosure may achieve at least following beneficial effects.
In the present disclosure, the electrical contact of the storage apparatus is configured to be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion on the image-forming apparatus main body, and the potential detection part is also electrically connected to the electrical contact portion through the output terminal of the connection part. At this point, there is no need to add new contact on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body, and the electrical signal of the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum detected by the potential detection part may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body, which may effectively reduce formation cost and design difficulty.
Other aspects of the present disclosure can be understood by those skilled in the art in light of the description, the claims, and the drawings of the present disclosure.
To clearly describe technical solutions of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings which need to be used for describing various embodiments are described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings may be obtained in accordance with the drawings without creative efforts.
In order to better understand the technical solutions of the present disclosure, embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that described embodiments are only some of embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all of embodiments. According to embodiments in present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making creative efforts should fall in the protection scope of present disclosure.
The terms used in embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used in embodiments and appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “the” and “said” are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
It should be understood that the term “and/or” used in the present disclosure is only an association relationship describing related objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and/or B may indicate three cases: A alone, both A and B, and B alone. In addition, the character “/” in the present disclosure indicate that related objects are an “or” relationship.
It should be noted that the orientation terms such as “upper”, “lower”, “left” and “right” described in embodiments of the present disclosure are described from the perspective shown in the drawings and should not be understood as a limitation on embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, it should be understood in the present disclosure that when an element is referred to as being connected “on” or “under” another element, it may not only be directly connected “on” or “under” another element, but also may be indirectly connected “on” or “under” another element through an intermediate element.
In addition, the “orthographic projection” used in the present disclosure describes the direction of projection. The orthographic projection on an image-forming region can be understood as the radial direction of a photosensitive drum; or may also be the projection direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum.
An electrical signal is obtained by detecting the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum.
Currently, there are different detection methods to determine whether the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum is normal. For example, a detection point on the image-forming region may be directly contacted, and whether the image-forming region is normal may be determined by obtaining the electrical signal of the detection point on the image-forming region. However, direct contact with the image-forming region may cause wear on the surface of the photosensitive drum, which may affect the service life of the photosensitive drum. If the detection point on the image-forming region is improperly selected, it may easily lead to abnormal determination result on whether the image-forming region is normal.
In order to solve above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a solution to determine whether the image-forming region is normal by detecting the potential difference between different regions of the image-forming region after exposure. In the process of implementing above solution, the circuit configured for detection itself may have certain inherent signal in the process of detecting the potential difference, which may interfere with the electrical signal generated in the process of detecting the potential difference. As a result, it may not distinguish or difficult to distinguish in the electrical signal finally obtained, and also may not determine whether the image-forming region is normal according to the electrical signal generated by detecting the potential difference.
In order to solve above problems, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
Above-mentioned process cartridge 100 may be disposed with the potential detection part 130 capable of detecting the electrical signal in the image-forming region. When an electrostatic latent image is formed on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 and passes the potential detection part 130, according to the potential difference between different regions on the image-forming region, the circuit itself where the potential detection part 130 is located may also have an inherent signal while the potential detection part 130 obtains the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference. The inherent signal may not change significantly as the length of the potential detection part 130 increases or decreases. When the maximum distance L1 along the first direction between the detection starting portion 131 and the detection ending portion 132 of the potential detection part 130 that can perform potential detection is larger, that is, when the maximum distance between the orthographic projections of the detection starting position and the detection ending position on the image-forming region is larger, the amplitude of the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 corresponding to the potential difference may be also larger, such that the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be more obvious than the inherent signal of the circuit where the potential detection part 130 is located. In addition, when the ratio L1/L2 between L1 and the length L2 of the image-forming region along the first direction is greater than ⅓, the interference of the inherent signal in the electrical signal may be reduced. Therefore, the electrical signal on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 may be conveniently obtained to determine whether the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is normal, and furthermore, whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
Practically, in some embodiments, the electrical signals transmitted by the potential detection part 130 may include at least two different electrical signals, that is, at least include the inherent signal of the circuit itself where the potential detection part 130 is located, and the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 according to the potential difference between different regions on the image-forming region. The inherent signal may be the property of the circuit itself where the potential detection part 130 is located and may not be related to the potential difference between different regions on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120. The inherent signal may not be configured to determine the condition of the photosensitive drum 120, and also cause interference to the electrical signal obtained according to the potential difference. Therefore, when the inherent signal is difficult to be changed, by configuring the potential detection part 130 and the image-forming region, the amplitude of the electrical signal obtained according to the potential difference may be changed, which may avoid the interference of the inherent signal and may be convenient to determine whether the photosensitive drum 120 and the process cartridge 100 are normal and meet expectation.
It can be understood that the region on the potential detection part 130 that may obtain the electrical signal according to the potential difference on the image-forming region may be the detectable region. The detectable region may be the orthographic projection of the potential detection part 130 on the image-forming region. Along the first direction, the detectable region may include the detection starting position and the detection ending position. The detection starting position may correspond to the detection starting portion 131 on the potential detection part 130, and the detection ending position may correspond to the detection ending portion 132 on the potential detection part 130.
In embodiments of the present invention, for example, the image-forming apparatuses may include inkjet printers, laser printers, light emitting diode (LED) printers, copiers, scanners or multi-function fax machines, and multi-function peripherals (MFP) having above functions in a single device and the like. The image-forming apparatus may form the image on a recording medium (e.g., paper) according to pattern information and a developer (e.g., toner) stored in the process cartridge 100.
Optionally, the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may include an image-forming control unit 301 and an optical scanning unit. The process of forming the electrostatic latent image on the image-forming region is described in the following. A charging roller may rotate and contact the photosensitive drum 120 to charge the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120, and the image-forming control unit 301 may control the optical scanning unit to emit a beam and scan the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 according to pattern information, such that the electrostatic latent image may be formed on the image-forming region of the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 after being charged by the charging roller.
It can be understood that L1/L2>⅓ is satisfied, above-mentioned value of L1/L2 may have the effect of reducing the interference of the inherent signal in the electrical signals and being convenient to obtain the electrical signals on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120. For example, the values of L1/L2 may be ½, ⅔, ¾, ⅘, 1 or the like. Obviously, the value of L1/L2 may not be limited to above-mentioned values.
In an optional embodiment, the electrical signals may include a first electrical signal, the potential detection part 130 may be configured to generate the first electrical signal corresponding to preset test pattern information, and the first electrical signal may be configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation. When the electrostatic latent image corresponding to the preset test pattern information is formed on the photosensitive drum 120 after exposure, the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part 130 may be the first electrical signal. At this point, according to the first electrical signal, whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal and whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
For example, if the image-forming control unit 301 sends same pattern information in two jobs and the electrostatic latent images formed on the photosensitive drum 120 are same, the electrical signals sensed by the potential detection part 130 twice should also be same or similar. Therefore, when there is no abnormality in the photosensitive drum 120, the electrical signal corresponding to the preset test pattern information obtained by the potential detection part 130 or processed electrical signal corresponding to above-mentioned preset test pattern information may be configured as reference information. When the electrostatic latent image on the image-forming region corresponds to the preset test pattern information, the first electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be compared with the reference information; and according to comparison result, whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal and whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined. It can be understood that even if the electrostatic latent images formed twice on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 are same, certain difference may be in the electrical signals obtained by the potential detection part 130. Therefore, by comparing the electrical signal obtained by extracting the potential detection part 130 with a characteristic value in the reference information, or according to similarity between the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 and the reference information, whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal and whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
Optionally, the first electrical signal may include above-mentioned inherent signal or may be an electrical signal generated after filtering out the inherent signal.
In an optional embodiment, the electrical signals may include the first electrical signal, the potential detection part 130 may be configured to generate the first electrical signal corresponding to the preset test pattern information, the first electrical signal may be configured to generate a second electrical signal different from the first electrical signal, and the second electrical signal may be configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation. The first electrical signal may be processed to obtain the second electrical signal that meets requirement, which may be convenient for comparison to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation.
In other embodiments, according to different determination manners, the first electrical signal may also be directly configured for comparison to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation.
In an optional embodiment, the potential detection part 130 may be spaced apart from the image-forming region, and the electrical signal may be a voltage signal. When the potential detection part 130 is spaced apart from the image-forming region, the surfaces of the potential detection part 130 and the photosensitive drum 120 may actually form a capacitor-like structure. When the electrostatic latent image is on the image-forming region, a potential difference may be between different regions on the image-forming region. Therefore, when the potential detection part 130 changes from being opposite to one region on the image-forming region to being opposite to another region on the image-forming region with a different potential, the potential detection part 130 may generate the electrical signal accordingly. Above electrical signal may be related to the electrostatic latent image on the image-forming region. If the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is abnormal, the electrostatic latent image may be abnormal, thereby affecting the property of the electrical signal. Therefore, whether the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is normal may be determined according to the electrical signal.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
It can be understood that the region, which may form the capacitor structure and capacitor-like structure on the process cartridge 100 with the image-forming region on the photosensitive drum 120, may be the region where the potential detection part 130 is disposed; and when the potential detection part 130 electrically detects the photosensitive drum 120, the photosensitive drum 120 should have been exposed by the optical scanning unit, that is, the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 may already have the electrostatic latent image. Therefore, in other embodiments, if other regions of the process cartridge 100 meet above condition, the potential detection part 130 may also be disposed at other positions or regions other than the scraping blade 111.
In an optional embodiment, the length of the orthographic projection of the insulating portion on the image-forming region along the first direction is L3, where L3 L1. Through above configuration, it is ensured that after the potential detection part 130 that meets proportional requirement is installed on the insulating portion, the scenario that a portion of the potential detection part 130 has no corresponding installation position may not occur. Therefore, the installation of the potential detection part 130 may be more stable, and electrical signal may be obtained more accurately.
In an optional embodiment, the potential detection part 130 may be in contact with the surface of the image-forming region, and the electrical signal may be a current signal. The potential detection part 130 may also be in direct contact with the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 and obtained current signal may be configured to determine whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal.
It can be understood that both the current signal and the voltage signal may correspond to the potential difference on the image-forming region. Therefore, both the current signal and the voltage signal may be configured to determine whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal. In addition, if there are other types of electrical signals that may change correspondingly to the potential difference on the image-forming region, these electrical signals may also be configured to determine whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal.
In an optional embodiment, the process cartridge 100 may further include a conversion circuit configured to convert the current signal detected by the potential detection part 130 into the voltage signal. After the potential detection part 130 contacts the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 to obtain the current signal, the current signal may also be processed and converted into the voltage signal, which may also be configured to determine whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
As shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
Above-mentioned process cartridge 100 may be disposed with the potential detection part setting region 113 which may be configured to install the potential detection part 130. The potential detection part 130 may detect the signal on the image-forming region after being installed on the process cartridge 100. When the electrostatic latent image is formed on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 and passes the potential detection part 130, according to the potential difference between different regions on the image-forming region, the potential detection part 130 may obtain the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference, and the circuit itself where the potential detection part 130 is located may also have the inherent signal. The inherent signal may not change significantly as the length of the potential detection part 130 increases or decreases. When the maximum distance L1 along the first direction between the detection starting portion 131 and the detection ending portion 132 of the potential detection part 130 that can perform potential detection is larger, that is, when the maximum distance between the orthographic projections of the detection starting position and the detection ending position on the image-forming region is larger, the amplitude of the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 corresponding to the potential difference may be also larger, such that the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be more obvious than the inherent signal of the circuit where the potential detection part 130 is located. In addition, when the ratio L1/L2 between L1 and the length L2 of the image-forming region along the first direction is greater than ⅓, the interference of the inherent signal in the electrical signal may be reduced. Therefore, the electrical signal on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 may be conveniently obtained to determine whether the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is normal, and furthermore, whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
It can be understood that L1/L2>⅓ is satisfied, above-mentioned value of L1/L2 may have the effect of reducing the interference of the inherent signal in the electrical signals and being convenient to obtain the electrical signals on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120. For example, the values of L1/L2 may be ½, ⅔, ¾, ⅘, 1 or the like. Obviously, the value of L1/L2 may not be limited to above-mentioned values. That is, depending on the application of the process cartridge 100, the size of the potential detection part 130 may be set accordingly, such that after the potential detection part 130 is installed in the potential detection part setting region 113 of the process cartridge 100, L1/L2>⅓.
In an optional embodiment, the electrical signal may include the first electrical signal. When the potential detection part 130 is installed in the potential detection part setting region 113, the potential detection part 130 may be configured to generate the first electrical signal corresponding to the preset test pattern information, and the first electrical signal may be configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation. After the potential detection part 130 is installed in the potential detection part setting region 113, and when the electrostatic latent image corresponding to the preset test pattern information is formed on the photosensitive drum 120 after exposure, the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part 130 may be the first electrical signal. At this point, according to the first electrical signal, whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal and whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
In other embodiments, according to different determination manners, the first electrical signal may also be directly configured for comparison to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation.
In an optional embodiment, the potential detection part setting region 113 may be spaced apart from the image-forming region, such that the potential detection part 130 may be spaced apart from the image-forming region after being installed in the potential detection part setting region 113, and the electrical signal may be the voltage signal. By configuring the potential detection part setting region 113 to be spaced apart from the image-forming region, after the potential detection part 130 is installed in the potential detection part setting region 113, the surfaces of the potential detection part 130 and the photosensitive drum 120 may actually form a capacitor-like structure when the potential detection part 130 is spaced apart from the image-forming region. When the electrostatic latent image is on the image-forming region, the potential difference may be between different regions on the image-forming region. Therefore, when the image-forming region opposite to the potential detection part 130 changes from being opposite to one region on the image-forming region to another region on the image-forming region with the different potential, the potential detection part 130 may generate the electrical signal accordingly. Above-mentioned electrical signal may be related to the electrostatic latent image on the image-forming region. If an abnormality occurs on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120, the distribution of the electrostatic latent image may be abnormal, thereby affecting the property of the electrical signal. Therefore, whether the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is normal may be determined according to the electrical signal.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, when the potential detection part 130 is installed in the potential detection part setting region 113, the potential detection part 130 may be in contact with the surface of the image-forming region, and the electrical signal may be a current signal. The potential detection part 130 may also be in direct contact with the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 and obtained current signal may be configured to determine whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal.
The present disclosure provides an image-forming apparatus, including the process cartridge 100 as described above.
In above-mentioned image-forming apparatus, the process cartridge 100 is disposed with the potential detection part 130 capable of detecting electrical signals in the image-forming region. Therefore, when the electrostatic latent image is formed on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 and passes the potential detection part 130, according to the potential difference between different regions on the image-forming region, the potential detection part 130 may obtain the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference. In addition, the circuit itself where the potential detection part 130 is located may also have the inherent signal. The inherent signal may not change significantly as the length of the potential detection part 130 increases or decreases. Furthermore, when the maximum distance L1 along the first direction between the detection starting portion 131 and the detection ending portion 132 on the potential detection part 130 that can perform potential detection becomes larger, that is, when the maximum distance between the orthographic projections of the detection starting position and the detection ending position on the image-forming region is larger, the amplitude of the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 corresponding to the potential difference may be also larger. Therefore, the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be more obvious than the inherent signal of the circuit where the potential detection part 130 is located. In addition, when the ratio (L1/L2) between L1 and the length L2 of the image-forming region along the first direction is greater than ⅓, the interference of the inherent signal in the electrical signal may be reduced. Therefore, the electrical signal on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 may be conveniently obtained to determine whether the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is normal, and furthermore, whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
It can be understood that according to the preset electrostatic latent image, the electrical signals obtained by the potential detection part 130 at different times may be same or similar. Therefore, the image-forming control unit 301 may pre-store electrical signal information corresponding to the preset electrostatic latent image. When the image-forming control unit 301 controls the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 to form the preset electrostatic latent image, the image-forming control unit 301 may compare the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 with the pre-stored electrical signal information, which is configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation.
As shown in
Above-mentioned potential detection part 130 may be installed on the process cartridge 100. When the potential detection part 130 is installed on the process cartridge 100, the potential detection part 130 may detect the electrical signal on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120. When an electrostatic latent image is formed on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 and passes the potential detection part 130, according to the potential difference between different regions on the image-forming region, the potential detection part 130 may obtain the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference; and the circuit itself where the potential detection part 130 is located may also have the inherent signal. The inherent signal may not change significantly as the length of the potential detection part 130 increases or decreases. Furthermore, when the maximum distance L1 along the first direction between the detection starting portion 131 and the detection ending portion 132 on the potential detection part 130 that can perform potential detection becomes larger, that is, when the maximum distance between the detection starting position and the detection ending position on the image-forming region is larger, the amplitude of the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be also larger. Therefore, the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be more obvious than the inherent signal of the circuit where the potential detection part 130 is located. In addition, when the ratio (L1/L2) between L1 and the length L2 of the image-forming region along the first direction is greater than ⅓, the interference of the inherent signal in the electrical signal may be reduced. Therefore, the electrical signal on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 may be conveniently obtained to determine whether the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is normal, and furthermore, whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
Optionally, the potential detection part 130 may be spaced apart from the image-forming region. When the potential detection part 130 is spaced apart from the image-forming region, the surfaces of the potential detection part 130 and the photosensitive drum 120 may actually form a capacitor-like structure. When the electrostatic latent image is on the image-forming region, the potential difference may be between different regions on the image-forming region. Therefore, when the image-forming region opposite to the potential detection part 130 changes from being opposite to one region on the image-forming region to another region on the image-forming region with the different potential, the potential detection part 130 may generate the electrical signal accordingly. Above-mentioned electrical signal may be related to the electrostatic latent image on the image-forming region. If an abnormality occurs on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120, the distribution of the electrostatic latent image may be abnormal, thereby affecting the property of the electrical signal. Therefore, whether the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is normal may be determined according to the electrical signal.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
It can be understood that the region, which may form the capacitor structure and capacitor-like structure on the process cartridge 100 with the image-forming region on the photosensitive drum 120, may be the region where the potential detection part 130 is disposed; and when the potential detection part 130 electrically detects the photosensitive drum 120, the photosensitive drum 120 should have been exposed by the optical scanning unit, that is, the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 may already have the electrostatic latent image. Therefore, in other embodiments, if other regions of the process cartridge 100 meet above condition, the potential detection part 130 may also be disposed at other positions or regions other than the scraping blade 111.
As shown in
In above image-forming apparatus, when the potential detection part 130 is installed on the process cartridge 100, the potential detection part 130 may detect the electrical signal on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum. When the electrostatic latent image is formed on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 and passes the potential detection part 130, according to the potential difference between different regions on the image-forming region, the potential detection part 130 may obtain the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference. In addition, the circuit itself where the potential detection part 130 is located may also have the inherent signal. The inherent signal may not change significantly as the length of the potential detection part 130 increases or decreases. Furthermore, when the maximum distance L1 along the first direction between the detection starting portion 131 and the detection ending portion 132 on the potential detection part 130 that can perform potential detection becomes larger, that is, when the maximum distance between the detection starting position and the detection ending position on the image-forming region is larger, the amplitude of the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be also larger. Therefore, the electrical signal corresponding to the potential difference obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be more obvious than the inherent signal of the circuit where the potential detection part 130 is located. In addition, when the ratio (L1/L2) between L1 and the length L2 of the image-forming region along the first direction is greater than ⅓, the interference of the inherent signal in the electrical signal may be reduced. Therefore, the electrical signal on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 may be conveniently obtained to determine whether the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 is normal, and furthermore, whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
The electrical signal may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body 300.
When the process cartridge 100 has a pre-installed or installed potential detection part 130, and after the potential detection part 130 obtains the electrical signal, the electrical signal may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body 300. The image-forming apparatus main body 300 may determine whether the photosensitive drum 120 is normal and whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation according to the electrical signal.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
For example, the first output terminal 211 may be configured to be electrically connected to the image-forming control unit 301 of the image-forming apparatus main body 300 to transmit the electrical signal to the image-forming control unit 301; and the image-forming control unit 301 may determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation according to the electrical signal.
Furthermore, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, the first output terminal 211 may be also configured to be electrically connected to the signal processing module 220. When the first output terminal 211 is electrically connected to the signal processing module 220, the signal processing module 220 may be configured to process the signal inputted to the signal processing module 220 to obtain a processed signal. The processed signal may be configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation. The signal processing module 220 may not be disposed on a storage apparatus 140. At this point, when the signal processing module 220 is electrically connected to the first output terminal 211, the signal processing module 220 may process the electrical signal to obtain an electrical signal which may be more convenient for processing or recognition by the image-forming apparatus main body 300 and may also protect circuits in the image-forming apparatus. That is, the process cartridge itself may not include the signal processing module 220. In order to protect the circuits in the image-forming apparatus, the signal processing module 220 may be additionally installed.
Furthermore, as shown in
It can be understood that the signal processing module 220 may process the electrical signals and protect the circuits by using at least one of the voltages dividing module 221, the voltage stabilizing module 222, and the rectifying module 223. Obviously, when the signal processing module 220 uses the voltage dividing module 221, the voltage stabilizing module 222, and the rectifying module 223 simultaneously, desirable protection effect may be achieved. In addition, the signal processing module 220 may also use other modules that may protect the circuits.
For example, as shown in
For example, as shown in
For example, as shown in
When the process cartridge 100 has a pre-installed or installed potential detection part 130, and after the potential detection part 130 obtains the electrical signal, the electrical signal may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body 300. However, if a terminal for receiving above-mentioned electrical signal is newly added to the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300 of the image-forming apparatus, the complexity and cost of the image-forming apparatus mechanism design may be increased.
In order to solve above problems, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
In above-mentioned process cartridge 100, the electrical contact 141 of the storage apparatus 140 may be configured to be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 on the image-forming apparatus main body 300. The electrical contact 141 may also be configured to electrically connect the potential detection part 130 to the electrical contact portion 3011 through the transmission terminal 204 of the first electrical connection part. At this point, there is no need to add new contact on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300, and the electrical signal from the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 detected by the potential detection part 130 may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body 300, which may effectively reduce formation cost and design difficulty.
Practically, in some embodiments, if new contact is added to the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300, the circuit or structure on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may need to be modified accordingly. However, original circuit and structure on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may be relatively complex, so that modifications may greatly increase the cost and difficulty of design and formation. By reusing the electrical contact portion 3011 on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300, the design may be effectively simplified, and the cost may be reduced. Meanwhile, due to the simplification of the circuits, the stability of the system on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may also be improved.
Optionally, in the process cartridge 100, above-mentioned first electrical connection part may be following second connection part 230, and the transmission terminal 204 may be the following second output terminal. That is, the process cartridge 100 may include the storage apparatus 140 and the second connection part 230. The storage apparatus 140 may include a substrate 142 and an electrical contact 141 electrically connected to the substrate 142. The electrical contact 141 may be configured to be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 disposed on the image-forming apparatus main body 300. The second connection part 230 may be electrically connected to the potential detection part 130. The second connection part 230 may include a second output terminal for being electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011.
Practically, in some embodiments, after receiving the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130, the second connection part 230 may transmit the electrical signal to the image-forming apparatus main body 300 when the second output terminal is electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300. At this point, the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation according to the electrical signal. Therefore, the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may directly receive the electrical signal transmitted by the potential detection part 130 using the electrical contact portion 3011 electrically connected to the electrical contact 141 on the storage apparatus 140; and there is no need to disposed separate electrical contact portion 3011 for receiving the electrical signal from the potential detection part 130, which may save formation cost.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, the second output terminal may be also configured to be electrically connected to the signal processing module 220. When the second output terminal is electrically connected to the signal processing module 220, the signal processing module 220 may be configured to process the signal inputted to the signal processing module 220 to obtain a processed signal. The processed signal may be configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation. The signal processing module 220 may not be disposed on the storage apparatus 140. At this point, after the signal processing module 220 is electrically connected to the second output terminal, the signal processing module 220 may process the electrical signal to obtain an electrical signal which may be more convenient for processing or recognition by the image-forming apparatus main body 300 and may also protect the circuits in the image-forming apparatus. That is, the process cartridge itself may not include the signal processing module 220. In order to protect the circuits in the image-forming apparatus, the signal processing module 220 may be additionally installed.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
For example, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, the process cartridge 100 may further include a storage apparatus installation portion; and the second output terminal may protrude from an outer surface of the storage apparatus installation portion. When the storage apparatus 140 is installed on the storage apparatus installation portion of the process cartridge 100, since the second output terminal protrudes from the outer surface of the storage apparatus installation portion, the storage apparatus 140 may be in contact with the second output terminal to be abutted against with each other, which may ensure stable connection between the second output terminal and the storage apparatus 140 and improve the stability of electrical signal transmission.
Optionally, the second output terminal may be made of a conductive elastic material or a conductive material. An elastic member may be between the second output terminal and the storage apparatus installation portion. When the storage apparatus 140 is installed on the storage apparatus installation portion, the storage apparatus 140 may exert force on the second output terminal or the elastic member made of the conductive elastic material. The elastic force provided by the second output terminal or the elastic member which is made of the conductive elastic material may make the second output terminal and the storage apparatus 140 to be tightly abutted with each other, such that the connection between the second output terminal and the storage apparatus 140 may be tighter, and the electrical conduction effect may be more stable.
Optionally, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
Furthermore, the end surface of the process cartridge 100 may be provided with an installation hole. The conductive elastic member 201 may pass through the installation hole and protrude from the end face of the process cartridge, and the storage apparatus installation portion may be at the end face of the process cartridge 100. The diameter of the installation hole may gradually increase along a direction closer to the outer surface of the storage apparatus installation portion. At least a part of the conductive elastic member 201 may have a tapered structure which matches the installation hole to facilitate positioning of the conductive elastic member 201.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
It can be understood that the electrical connection terminal 205 may not be disposed on the storage apparatus 140, but the second output terminal may be electrically connected to the electrical contact 141 through an external wire, a cable, or the like.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
It can be understood that, depending on different requirements or design considerations, the electrical connection terminal 205 and the electrical contact 141 may also be disposed on same surface of the substrate 142.
In addition, the second output terminal may also be directly or indirectly electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 without passing the storage apparatus 140.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, when the storage apparatus 140 is in the second state, the electrical contact 141 may be configured to be at a high resistance state. At this point, the electrical contact 141 and the image-forming control unit 301 cannot transmit communication data, which may be convenient for the image-forming control unit 301 to identify and determine the electrical signal.
It can be understood that when the electrical contact 141 is electrically connected to the second output terminal, if the electrical contact 141 is configured to be at the high resistance state, the microcontroller unit (MCU) circuit part of the storage apparatus 140 may be actually configured to be at the high resistance state, such that communication data cannot be transferred between the MCU and the image-forming control unit 301. The electrical contact 141 itself may be used as a conductor or pin and may still transmit the electrical signal from the second output terminal to the electrical contact portion 3011 on the image-forming apparatus main body 300.
As shown in
Furthermore, the storage apparatus 140 may further include a second electrical connection portion 240. The second electrical connection portion 240 may include an electrical connection terminal 205. The second electrical connection portion 240 may be configured to be electrically connected to the potential detection part 130 and the electrical contact portion 3011, respectively. The electrical connection terminal 205 may be configured to, when the second electrical connection portion 240 is electrically connected to the potential detection part 130, obtain the electrical signal from the image-forming region on the photosensitive drum 120 of the process cartridge 100 that can generate the electrostatic latent image. In addition, the electrical connection terminal 205 may be configured to, when the second electrical connection portion 240 is electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011, transmit the electrical signal, generated according to the electrical signal for determining whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation, to the electrical contact portion 3011. The potential detection part 130 may be disposed on the process cartridge 100 and configured to detect the electrical signal on the image-forming region.
The electrical contact 141 of above-mentioned storage apparatus 140 may be configured to be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 on the image-forming apparatus main body 300, such that the potential detection part 130 may be also electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 through the electrical connection terminal 205 of the second electrical connection portion 240 on the storage apparatus 140. At this point, there is no need to add new contact on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300. That is, the electrical signal detected by the electro-detection part 130 in the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body 300, which may effectively reduce formation cost and design difficulty. Moreover, the second electrical connection portion 240 may be also integrated on the storage apparatus 140, which may have high integration degree and more suitable arrangement.
It can be understood that the quantity of the electrical contacts 141 on the storage apparatus 140 to be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 of the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may be set according to requirements. For example, the quantity of the electrical contact 141 may be one; and at this point, the electrical connection terminal 205 may be electrically connected to the electrical contact 141. Or the quantity of the electrical contacts 141 may be two, where one electrical contact 141 may be a terminal used by the storage apparatus 140 itself for data communication with the image-forming apparatus main body 300, and another electrical contact may be electrically connected to the electrical connection terminal 205. Next, two electrical contacts 141 may be electrically connected through conductive parts such as wires, conductive tape, conductive elastic sheets and/or the like and may be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 simultaneously.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, the electrical connection terminal 205 may also be configured to be electrically connected to the signal processing module 220. When the second output terminal 205 is electrically connected to the signal processing module 220, the signal processing module 220 may be configured to process the signal inputted to the signal processing module 220 to obtain a processed signal. The processed signal may be configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation. The signal processing module 220 may not be disposed on the storage apparatus 140. At this point, after the signal processing module 220 is electrically connected to the second output terminal, the signal processing module 220 may process the electrical signal to obtain an electrical signal which may be more convenient for processing or recognition by the image-forming apparatus main body 300 and may also protect the circuits in the image-forming apparatus. That is, the process cartridge itself may not include the signal processing module 220. In order to protect the circuits in the image-forming apparatus, the signal processing module 220 may be additionally installed.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
It can be understood that when the electrical contact 141 is electrically connected to the electrical connection terminal 205, if the electrical contact 141 is configured to be at the high resistance state, the MCU circuit part of the storage apparatus 140 may be actually configured to be at the high resistance state, such that communication data cannot be transferred between the MCU and the image-forming control unit 301. The electrical contact 141 itself may be used as a conductor or pin and may still transmit the electrical signal from the electrical connection 205 to the electrical contact portion 3011 on the image-forming apparatus main body 300.
As shown in
Furthermore, the process cartridge 100 may further include the storage apparatus 140 as mentioned above, and the storage apparatus 140 may be electrically connected to the potential detection part 130.
In the process cartridge 100, the electrical contact 141 of above-mentioned storage apparatus 140 may be configured to be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 on the image-forming apparatus main body 300, such that the potential detection part 130 may be also electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 through the electrical connection terminal 205 of the second electrical connection portion 240 on the storage apparatus 140. At this point, there is no need to add new contact on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300. That is, the electrical signal detected by the electro-detection part 130 in the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body 300, which may effectively reduce formation cost and design difficulty. Moreover, the second electrical connection portion 240 may be also integrated on the storage apparatus 140, which may have high integration degree and more suitable arrangement.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
Obviously, the second electrical connection portion 240 may also be directly electrically connected to the potential detection part 130.
In an optional embodiment, the cartridge body 110 may further include the storage apparatus installation portion. The third electrical connection part 250 may at least partially protrude from the outer surface of the storage apparatus installation portion. When the storage apparatus 140 is installed on the storage apparatus installation portion of the process cartridge 100, since the third electrical connection part 250 protrudes from the outer surface of the storage apparatus installation portion, the storage apparatus 140 may be in contact with the third electrical connection part 250 to be abutted against with each other, which may ensure stable connection between the third electrical connection part 250 and the storage apparatus 140 and improve the stability of electrical signal transmission.
Optionally, the third electrical connection part 250 may include the transmission terminal 204 for being electrically connected to the electrical connection terminal 205. The transmission terminal 204 may at least partially protrude from the outer surface of the storage apparatus installation portion. The transmission terminal 204 may be made of a conductive elastic material; and the transmission terminal 204 may be made of a conductive material, and an elastic member may be between the transmission terminal 204 and the storage apparatus installation portion. When the storage apparatus 140 is installed on the storage apparatus installation portion, the storage apparatus 140 may exert force on the transmission terminal 204 or the elastic member of the conductive elastic material. The elastic force provided by the conductive elastic material of the transmission terminal 204 or the elastic member may make the transmission terminal 204 and the storage apparatus 140 to be tightly abutted with each other, such that the connection between the transmission terminal 204 and the storage apparatus 140 may be tighter and the electrical conduction effect may be more stable.
Optionally, as shown in
The present disclosure provides an image-forming apparatus, including the process cartridge 100 as described above.
As shown in
Above-mentioned connection apparatus 260 may transmit the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part 130 to the electrical contact portion 3011. In addition, the electrical contact portion 3011 may be also electrically connected to the electrical contact 141 on the storage apparatus 140 on the process cartridge 100, such that the electrical contact portion 3011 disposed on the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may perform data communication with the electrical contact 141 of the storage apparatus 140 and may also receive the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part 130. Therefore, by disposing above-mentioned connection apparatus 260, there is no need to provide new terminal on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300, which may effectively reduce the design and formation difficulty on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
It can be understood that the electrical connection terminal 205 and the transmission terminal 204 may also be a same part of the connection apparatus 260, that is, the transmission terminal 204 may be directly disposed on the storage apparatus 140.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
The present disclosure provides an assembly including the potential detection part 130 and above-mentioned connection apparatus 260. The potential detection part 130 may be electrically connected to the receiving terminal 206. The potential detection part 130 may be configured to detect the electrical signal on the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum 120 in the process cartridge 100, where the electrostatic latent image may be generated at the image-forming region.
Above-mentioned assembly may transmit the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part 130 to the electrical contact portion 3011, and the electrical contact portion 3011 may be also electrically connected to the electrical contact 141 on the storage apparatus 140 on the process cartridge 100. In such way, the electrical contact portion 3011 disposed on the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may perform data communication with the electrical contact 141 of the storage apparatus 140 and may also receive the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part 130. Therefore, by disposing above-mentioned connection apparatus 260, there is no need to provide new terminal on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300, which may effectively reduce the design and formation difficulty on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300.
As shown in
Above-mentioned process cartridge 100 may transmit the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part 130 to the electrical contact portion 3011, and the electrical contact portion 3011 may be also electrically connected to the electrical contact 141 on the storage apparatus 140 of the process cartridge 100. In such way, the electrical contact portion 3011 disposed on the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may perform data communication with the electrical contact 141 of the storage apparatus 140 and may also receive the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part 130. Therefore, by disposing above-mentioned connection apparatus 260, there is no need to provide new terminal on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300, which may effectively reduce the design and formation difficulty on the side of the image-forming apparatus main body 300.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
It can be understood that when the electrical contact 141 is electrically connected to the transmission terminal 204, if the electrical contact 141 is configured to be at the high resistance state, the MCU circuit part of the storage apparatus 140 may be actually configured to be at the high resistance state, such that communication data cannot be transferred between the MCU and the image-forming control unit 301. The electrical contact 141 itself may be used as a conductor or pin and may still transmit the electrical signal from the transmission terminal 204 to the electrical contact portion 3011 on the image-forming apparatus main body 300.
In an optional embodiment, the cartridge body 110 may further include the storage apparatus installation portion. The storage apparatus installation portion may be configured to install the storage apparatus 140, and the transmission terminal 204 may at least partially protrude from the outer surface of the storage apparatus installation portion. When the storage apparatus 140 is installed on the storage apparatus installation portion of the process cartridge 100, since the transmission terminal 204 protrudes from the outer surface of the storage apparatus installation portion, the storage apparatus 140 may be in contact with the transmission terminal 204 to be abutted against with each other, which may ensure stable connection between the transmission terminal 204 and the storage apparatus 140 and improve the stability of electrical signal transmission.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
It can be understood that the electrical connection terminal 205 may not be disposed on the storage apparatus 140, but the transmission terminal 204 and the electrical contact 141 may be electrically connected through an external wire, a cable, or the like.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
It can be understood that, depending on different requirements or design considerations, the electrical connection terminal 205 and the electrical contact 141 may also be disposed on a same surface of the substrate 142.
In an optional embodiment, the process cartridge 100 may include a connection part installation region. The connection part installation region may be configured to install the third connection part. When the third connection part is installed in the connection part installation region, the third connection part may be electrically connected to the potential detection part 130. The third connection part may include a third output terminal. The third output terminal may be configured to be electrically connected to the image-forming apparatus main body 300, such that the electrical signal may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body 300 according to the detection result of the potential detection part 130 for determining whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation. By installing the third connection part in the connection part installation region on the process cartridge 100 and electrically connecting the third connection part with the potential detection part 130, the process cartridge 100 may transmit the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 through the third connection part. The third output terminal of the third connection part may transmit the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 to the image-forming apparatus main body 300 after the process cartridge 100 is installed on the image-forming apparatus main body 300, such that the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may be configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation according to the electrical signal.
Practically, in some embodiments, when the third connection part is installed in the connection part installation region, the third connection part may at least meet following installation requirements. The third connection part may be electrically connected to the potential detection part 130; and the position of the third output terminal on the process cartridge 100 may need to correspond to one electrical contact on the image-forming apparatus main body 300, such that when the process cartridge 100 is installed on the image-forming apparatus main body 300, the third output terminal may be in contact with the electrical contact portion to form electrical connection.
It can be understood that adding the third connection part to the process cartridge 100 may increase assembly process. According to cost or feasibility considerations, after other parts of the process cartridge 100 are assembled, the connection part installation region may be reserved on the process cartridge 100, and then the third connection part may be installed in the connection part installation region.
For example, the process cartridge 100 may be disposed with an exposed region, that is, the connection part installation region, and the size of the region may match the size of the potential detection part 130; and the connection part installation region may be disposed in the process cartridge 100 and configured to install the potential detection part 130 or provide a prompt that the potential detection part 130 can be installed.
Furthermore, the process cartridge 100 may be disposed with a recess or a protrusion at the connection part installation region; or the process cartridge 100 may be disposed with a concave or convex edge surrounding the connection part installation region; or the process cartridge 100 may be disposed with a label portion in the connection part installation region, where the label portion may be text, a symbol, a pattern or the like to indicate specific installation location.
In addition, the process cartridge 100 may be a detachable structure. Certain parts of the process cartridge 100 may be removed to facilitate the installation of the third connection part.
In an optional embodiment, the storage apparatus 140 and the connection part installation region may be installed on the process cartridge 100. The connection part installation region may be configured to install a fourth connection part; and the fourth connection part may include a fourth output terminal. The storage apparatus 140 may include the substrate 142 and the electrical contact 141 electrically connected to the substrate 142. The electrical contact 141 may be configured to be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011 disposed on the image-forming apparatus main body 300. When the fourth connection part is installed in the connection part installation region, the fourth connection part may be electrically connected to the potential detection part 130, and the fourth output terminal may be electrically connected to the electrical contact 141. By installing the fourth connection part in the connection part installation region on the process cartridge 100 and electrically connecting the fourth connection part with the potential detection part 130, the process cartridge 100 may transmit the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 through the fourth connection part. The fourth output terminal of the fourth connection part may be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011. After the process cartridge 100 is installed in the image-forming apparatus main body 300, the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part 130 may be transmitted to the image-forming apparatus main body 300 through electrical connection with the electrical contact portion 3011, such that the image-forming apparatus main body 300 may be configured to determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation according to the electrical signal.
Practically, in some embodiments, when the fourth connection part is installed in the connection part installation region, the fourth connection part may need to meet at least following installation requirements. The fourth connection part may be electrically connected to the potential detection part 130; and the fourth output terminal may be electrically connected to the electrical contact portion 3011.
It can be understood that adding the fourth connection part to the process cartridge 100 may increase assembly process, cost or feasibility considerations. According to cost or feasibility considerations, after other parts of the process cartridge 100 are assembled, the connection part installation region may be reserved on the process cartridge 100, and then the fourth connection part may be installed in the connection part installation region.
In addition, the process cartridge 100 may be a detachable structure, and certain parts of the process cartridge 100 may be removed to facilitate the installation of the fourth connection part.
Whether the process cartridge meets expectation may be determined according to the electrical signal.
The present disclosure provides a detection method, applied to the image-forming apparatus, which may include following exemplary steps: sending an image-forming instruction containing a preset test pattern; according to the image-forming instruction, obtaining the second electrical signal generated according to the first electrical signal which is generated on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 in the process cartridge 100; determining whether the second electrical signal corresponds to the preset test pattern; and according to the determination result, determining whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation.
According to above-mentioned detection method, according to the image-forming instruction sent, the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 may form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the preset test pattern. At this point, the first electrical signal may be obtained according to the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120, and the first electrical signal may be transmitted or processed to generate the second electrical signal. Therefore, according to whether the information of the second electrical signal corresponds to the preset test pattern, whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation may be determined.
Optionally, above-mentioned detection method may be applied to above-mentioned image-forming apparatus. During the test, the image-forming apparatus may include the potential detection part 130 which is a part of the process cartridge 100; or the potential detection part 130 may be installed on the process cartridge 100; or the potential detection part 130 may be disposed separately from the process cartridge 100 and detect the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120 to generate the first electrical signal.
In an optional embodiment, determining whether the second electrical signal corresponds to the preset test pattern may include following exemplary steps.
The second electrical signal may include a plurality of voltage values; the quantity information of voltage values exceeding the first preset threshold among the plurality of voltage values may be determined; the quantity information may be compared with the second preset threshold to generate a comparison result; and when the comparison result is inconsistent, the determination result may be that the second electrical signal does not correspond to the preset test pattern.
After obtaining the second electrical signal, the plurality of voltage values in the second electrical signal may be compared with the first preset threshold; the quantity of voltage values exceeding the first preset threshold may be calculated to obtain quantity information; the quantity information may be compared with the second preset threshold; and when the comparison result is inconsistent, the second electrical signal may not correspond to the preset test pattern.
It can be understood that when the quantity information is consistent with the comparison result of the second preset threshold, it may determine that the process cartridge 100 meets expectation; or further determination may be performed.
It can be understood that the second preset threshold may be a point value or a range value. When the second preset threshold is a range value, the comparison result is consistent if the quantity information is above range value.
Optionally, after the image-forming region of the photosensitive drum is exposed, if exposure intensities for different regions of the image-forming region are different, different regions with potential differences may be formed on the image-forming region.
It can be understood that the voltage value may be continuously obtained according to the test pattern, for example, as the photosensitive drum 120 rotates after exposure. When the potential detection part 130 changes from being opposite to one region on the image-forming region to being opposite to another region on the image-forming region with different potential, that is, when the potential detection part 130 passes the junction of two regions with different potentials in the image-forming region, obtained voltage value may increase or decrease.
It can be understood that, according to different comparison manners, the second preset threshold may adopt different forms of values. For example, when comparing the quantity information with the second preset threshold, the quantity of the plurality of voltage values of the second electrical signal exceeding the first preset threshold may be directly configured to be compared with the second preset threshold. Or the plurality of voltage values exceeding the first preset threshold obtained when the potential detection part 130 passes the junction of two regions with different potentials on the image-forming region may be considered as a data set; and the quantity of data sets included in the second electrical signal obtained may be calculated according to the test pattern, and then the quantity of data sets may be compared with the second preset threshold. Practically, in some embodiments, the quantity of data sets may have a corresponding relationship with the quantity of electrostatic latent image regions on the image-forming region.
In an optional embodiment, as shown in
In order to more accurately determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation, the image-forming apparatus may be disposed with a detection circuit for detecting the signal detected by the potential detection part 130. Since the detection circuit itself has certain inherent signal, the first electrical signal obtained by detecting the voltage may include the first voltage, second voltage, third voltage and inherent signal which are mentioned above. For example, the inherent signal may be superimposed on the first voltage, the second voltage, and the third voltage, respectively. In addition, in order to ensure detection accuracy, the detection circuit may detect the electrical signal detected by the potential detection part multiple times. Therefore, the first electrical signal may include a plurality of first voltages, a plurality of second voltages, and a plurality of third voltages.
During actual detection process, the image-forming apparatus may also process detected first electrical signal to obtain the second electrical signal. For example, the signal processing module 220 may be configured to perform a voltage dividing processing, a voltage stabilizing processing, and/or a rectifying processing on the first electrical signal to obtain the second electrical signal. For example, the first electrical signal may be rectified through the signal processing module 220 to remove the third voltage contained in the first electrical signal.
For example, as shown in
Subsequently, the potential detection part 130 may pass the junction (e.g., boundary) of the second latent electrostatic image region and the first latent electrostatic image region. At this point, the potential detection part may detect a plurality of second voltages which may be greater than the first voltages. In addition, as the potential detection part 130 changes from being opposite to the second latent electrostatic image region to being opposite to the first latent electrostatic image region, the second voltage may first increase and then decrease. Meanwhile, the inherent signal of the detection circuit may be superimposed on the second voltage, forming the first wave peak as shown in
Subsequently, the potential detection part 130 may pass the junction (e.g., boundary) of the first latent electrostatic image region and the second latent electrostatic image region. At this point, the potential detection part may detect the third voltage which may be less than the first voltage. In addition, as the potential detection part 130 changes from being opposite to the first electrostatic latent image region to being opposite to the second electrostatic latent image region, the third voltage may first decrease and then increase. However, by configuring the signal processing module 220 to process the first electrical signal, the third voltage may be removed. Meanwhile, the inherent signal of the detection circuit may be superimposed to form a curve similar to the first voltage as shown in
Subsequently, the potential detection part 130 may also sequentially pass the second latent electrostatic image region, the first latent electrostatic image region, the second latent electrostatic image region, the first latent electrostatic image region, the second latent electrostatic image region, and the first latent electrostatic image region, the second electrostatic latent image region; and a curve similar to the first wave peak and its corresponding two sides may be formed as shown in
Referring to
Obviously, the quantity of black regions in the test pattern may also be set to other numbers, and other colors except black color may also be used; and two adjacent regions in the test pattern may also use a same color with different concentrations, as long as a potential difference is between the different regions when the electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum according to the test pattern.
In an optional embodiment, determining whether the second electrical signal corresponds to the preset test pattern may include that when the comparison result between the quantity information and the second preset threshold is consistent, it further determines that, compared to the preset timing starting point, whether the generation time of the voltage value in the second electrical signal exceeding the first preset threshold meets requirements, and when the generation time of the voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold meets requirements, it determines that the second electrical signal may correspond to the preset test pattern; and/or when the comparison result between the quantity information and the second preset threshold is consistent, it further determines that compared to the preset position starting point, whether the generation position information of the voltage value in the second electrical signal exceeding the first preset threshold meets requirements, and when the generation position information of the voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold meets requirements, it determines that the second electrical signal may correspond to the preset test pattern.
The preset timing starting point may be the time point when the image-forming instruction containing the preset test pattern is sent or may be such time point plus a certain time; and may be the time point when the optical scanning unit emits the light beam, a certain time point after the light beam is emitted, or a certain time point before the light beam is emitted.
Optionally, after taking a certain time point as the preset timing starting point, when the voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold in the second electrical signal is obtained, the time difference between such voltage value and the preset timing starting point may be determined to be the generation time of such voltage value. For example, as shown in
The preset position starting point may be the preset timing starting point. Subsequently, according to the unit time interval, the voltage values may be collected multiple times to form a voltage value sequence. The voltage values collected in sequence may have corresponding sequence numbers. For example, the sequence number of the voltage value collected passing one unit time interval after the preset position starting point is 1. Therefore, when the voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold is obtained, the sequence number of such voltage value may be obtained simultaneously. Such sequence number may be the generation position information of such voltage value in the voltage value sequence and may represent the position of this voltage value in above voltage value sequence.
Optionally, as shown in
When the comparison result between the quantity information and the second preset threshold is consistent, further determination may be performed. According to the property that the voltage value has generation time, the generation time of the voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold may be compared with the preset test pattern. If above-mentioned generation time of the voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold meets requirements, it determines that the second electrical signal may correspond to the preset test pattern. At this point, determination accuracy may be improved to reduce error.
In addition, according to the generation position information among the plurality of generated voltage values, the generation position information of the voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold may be compared with the preset test pattern. If the generation position information of the voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold meets requirements, it determines that the second electrical signal may correspond to the preset test pattern, which may also improve determination accuracy and reduce error.
It can be understood that when further determination is performed, the determination basis may be at least one of the generation time and the generation position information of the voltage value. Obviously, if determination is performed according to the generation time and the generation position information of the voltage value simultaneously, determination accuracy may be higher.
In an optional embodiment, before determining the quantity information of the voltage values exceeding the first preset threshold among the plurality of voltage values, the detection method may include determining that, compared to the preset position starting point, the generation position information of the first voltage value in the second electrical signal exceeding the first preset threshold meets requirements.
That is, before starting to determine whether the quantity information of the voltage values exceeding the first preset threshold among the plurality of voltage values meets expectation, whether the generation position information of the first voltage value exceeding the first preset threshold meets requirements may be first determined. If the requirements are not met, it directly determines that the second electrical signal may not correspond to the preset test pattern, thereby improving determination efficiency.
The present disclosure provides an image-forming apparatus, including the image-forming control unit 301. The image-forming control unit 301 may be configured to perform exemplary steps of above-mentioned detection method.
Above-mentioned image-forming apparatus may send the image-forming instruction through the image-forming control unit 301, such that the electrostatic latent image corresponding to the preset test pattern may be formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120. At this point, the first electrical signal may be obtained according to the image-forming region on the surface of the photosensitive drum 120, and the first electrical signal may be transmitted or processed to generate the second electrical signal. Therefore, the image-forming control unit 301 may determine whether the process cartridge 100 meets expectation according to whether the information of the second electrical signal corresponds to the preset test pattern.
Compared with the existing technology, the technical solutions provided by the present disclosure may achieve at least the following beneficial effects.
In the present disclosure, the maximum distance along the first direction between the orthographic projections of the detection starting portion and the detection ending portion on the image-forming region of the potential detection part is L1, and the length of the image-forming region along the first direction is L2. By setting L1/L2>⅓, when the potential detection part is on the process cartridge and detects the electrical signal on the image-forming region, the electrical signal obtained by the potential detection part through the image-forming region may have a larger amplitude than the inherent signal of the circuit of the potential detection part itself, which may further reduce the interference caused by the inherent signal of the circuit of the potential detection part itself. Therefore, the electrical signal on the surface of the photosensitive drum may be easily detected and obtained to determine whether the surface of the photosensitive drum is normal.
Above are only optional embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, the present disclosure may have various modifications and changes. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements and the like made in the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202211473404.3 | Nov 2022 | CN | national |