Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Masato Hisano

Masanari Morioka

Takahito Ueno

Shigeo Miyabe

Teruhiko Sasaki

Naoya Asanuma

Ryosuke Nakazawa

Ryota Ogura

Kazushi Nishikata

Fumiki Inui

Kazuhide Kudo

Yohei Suzuki

Yoshinori Hashimoto

Shunsuke Okazaki

A cartridge includes a photosensitive drum having a rotational axis about which the photosensitive drum is rotatable. The cartridge also includes a developing roller having a rotational axis about which the developing roller is rotatable. A developing frame rotatably supports the developing roller. A drum flange is connected to an end of the photosensitive drum, with the drum flange including an inner surface facing the rotational axis of the photosensitive drum and a hollow portion inside of the drum flange. A casing including a bearing member rotatably supports the photosensitive drum.

Process cartridge, electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and electrophotographic photosensitive drum unit

A process cartridge for use with a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the main assembly including a driving shaft, to be driven by a motor, having a rotational force applying portion, wherein the process cartridge is dismountable from the main assembly in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axial direction of the driving shaft, the process cartridge includes i) an electrophotographic photosensitive drum having a photosensitive layer at a peripheral surface thereof, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum being rotatable about an axis thereof; ii) process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum; iii) a coupling member engageable with the rotational force applying portion to receive a rotational force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the coupling member being capable of taking a rotational force transmitting angular position for transmitting the rotational force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a disengaging angular position in which the coupling member is inclined away from the axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum from the rotational force transmitting angular position, wherein when the process cartridge is dismounted from the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the coupling member moves from the rotational force transmitting angular position to the disengaging angular position.

A process cartridge comprises an electrophotographic photosensitive drum having a photosensitive layer at a peripheral surface thereof, and process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. The process cartridge also includes a coupling member capable of taking a rotational force transmitting angular position for transmitting the rotational force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a disengaging angular position in which the coupling member is inclined away from the axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum from the rotational force transmitting angular position.

A device for transmitting a rotational force to an electrophotographic photosensitive drum includes a flange connectable to the photosensitive drum and having a rotational axis, a hollow portion, and a force receiving surface, a pin configured to transmit the rotational force to the flange, and a coupling member the coupling member including a shaft shaped portion extended along a rotational axis of the coupling member and including a through-hole portion. When the pin and at least a part of the shaft shaped portion of the coupling member are accommodated in the hollow portion of the flange and the pin contacts the force receiving surface, the pin is capable of transmitting the rotational force received from the coupling member to the flange.

Rotational force transmitting part

A heater of the invention includes a substrate; a first conductive element and a second conductive element which are provided on the substrate along a longitudinal direction of the substrate; a heat generating element which is provided between the first conductive element and the second conductive element and generates heat with power supplied via the first conductive element and the second conductive element; and an electrode to which a conductive member for suppling power is connected, in which a heat generation amount of a region corresponding to a position at which an electrode of the heat generating element is provided is set to be greater than a heat generation amount of other regions.

Image heating device and heater used for image heating device

An image forming apparatus cartridge includes a rotatable member rotatably supported in a casing to permit rotation about an axis of the rotatable member, a developer roller rotatably supported in the casing to permit rotation about an axis L, and a coupling member having an axis Labout which the coupling member is rotatable and a free end portion for receiving a rotational force. The free end portion of the coupling includes at least two projections that are positioned at least partially outside of the casing, with each of the at least two projections being open to the axis L. The coupling member is operatively connected to the rotatable member and the developer roller in order to transmit the rotational force to the rotatable member and the developer roller.

A device for transmitting a rotational force to an electrophotographic photosensitive drum includes a pin supported by a flange, with the pin being configured to transmit the rotational force to the flange. The device also includes a coupling member having a rotational axis, the coupling member including (i) a first end portion operatively connected to the flange, (ii) a second end portion including at least one projection, and (iii) a connecting portion connecting the first end portion and the second end portion, with the first end portion including a through-hole portion. The pin penetrates the through-hole portion and is capable of receiving the rotational force from the coupling member, and the coupling member is movable with respect to the pin between a first position in which the rotational axis of the coupling member is coaxial with an axis of the flange, and a second position in which the rotational axis of the coupling member is inclined with respect to the axis of the flange.

A process cartridge, a combination of a process cartridge and a drive shaft of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and a method of mounting and using a process cartridge in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus include a feature wherein a coupling member of the process cartridge can take different angular positions relative to the drive shaft's fixed axis of rotation. In one position, an axis of the coupling member is inclined relative to the drive shaft's fixed axis of rotation. In a second position, the axis of the coupling member is substantially coaxial with the drive shaft's fixed axis of rotation.

A process cartridge, combination of a process cartridge and a drive shaft of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and a method of mounting and using a process cartridge in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus include a feature that a coupling member of the process cartridge can take different angular positions relative to the fixed axis of rotation of the drive shaft. In one position, the axis of the coupling member is inclined relative to the drive shaft's fixed axis of rotation. In another position, the axis of the coupling member is substantially coaxial with the drive shaft's fixed axis of rotation.

An image forming apparatus includes a process cartridge. The process cartridge includes a coupling member having a first end portion, a second end portion, and a connecting portion connecting the first end portion and the second end portion. The second end portion of the coupling member includes at least one pair of projections, with each of the projections includinga facing portion that faces the axis L, each facing portion being open to the axis L. A maximum dimension in a direction perpendicular to the axis Lof at least a part of the connecting portion is smaller than a diameter of an imaginary circle that is tangent to the facing portions of the projections.

A sheet conveying apparatus includes a rotation member unit, a supporting shaft, and a moving shaft to detach the rotation member unit supported by the supporting shaft and the moving shaft. The rotation member unit includes a conveyance rotation member to convey a sheet, and a holding member including an engaging portion to engage with an engaged portion provided to a sheet conveying apparatus main body in a direction perpendicular to the supporting shaft axial direction. The supporting shaft supports one end side of the rotation member unit in the axial direction and the moving shaft supports another end side of the rotation member unit in the axial direction and moves in the axial direction. When the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion when the rotation member unit is not supported by the supporting shaft and the moving shaft, the rotation member unit is held by the engaged portion.

Sheet conveying apparatus, method for detaching rotation member unit from the sheet conveying apparatus, and image forming apparatus provided with the sheet conveying apparatus

A heater of the invention includes a substrate; a first conductive element and a second conductive element which are provided on the substrate along a longitudinal direction of the substrate; a heat generating element which is provided between the first conductive element and the second conductive element and generates heat with power supplied via the first conductive element and the second conductive element; and an electrode to which a conductive member for supplying power is connected, in which a heat generation amount of a region corresponding to a position at which an electrode of the heat generating element is provided is set to be greater than a heat generation amount of other regions.

A rotating force transmitting part for an electrophotographic photosensitive drum for a main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a driving shaft, to be driven by a motor, having the rotating force applying portion, and wherein the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is dismountable from the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a direction substantial perpendicular with an axial direction of the driving shaft, the rotating force transmitting part includes a coupling member engageable with the rotational force applying portion to receive a rotational force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum in the state in which electrophotographic photosensitive drum is mounted to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein the coupling member being capable of taking a rotational force transmitting angular position for transmitting the rotational force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a disengaging angular position in which the coupling member is inclined away from the axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum from the rotational force transmitting angular position, wherein when the process cartridge is dismounted from the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the coupling member moves from the rotational force transmitting angular position to the disengaging angular position.

An electrophotographic photosensitive drum unit usable in a process cartridge includes a cylinder having a photosensitive layer at an outer periphery thereof and an axis L. A drum flange is provided at one end of the cylinder, with the drum flange including a recess formed on an inside thereof and a gear portion provided along an outer surface of the drum flange. A detachable member is detachably attached to the drum flange and overlaps parts of the recess as seen along a direction of the axis L, with the detachable member being provided within the drum flange in the direction of the axis L

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Susono, Japan

Masato Hisano