Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Shigeo Miyabe

Takahito Ueno

Masanari Morioka

Masato Hisano

Shinjiro Toba

Atsushi Takasaka

Hiroomi Matsuzaki

Kanji Yokomori

Yoshiya Nomura

Masaaki Sato

Akira Suzuki

Kazuo Chadani

Kouji Miura

Tadayuki Tsuda

Jun Miyamoto

Atsushi Numagami

Tetsuya Numata

Shinichi Sasaki

Takeshi Arimitsu

Hironobu Isobe

Hiroo Kobayashi

Kazuo Shishido

Koji Miura

Shinya Noda

Minoru Sato

Atsushi Kubota

Akira Higeta

Daisuke Aoki

Kazushi Watanabe

Toshiyuki Karakama

Susumu Nittani

Isao Ikemoto

Tachio Kawai

Osamu Anan

Isao Koishi

Yoshikazu Sasago

Akiyoshi Fujita

Koji Yamaguchi

Naoki Hayashi

Kazuhiko Kanno

Daisuke Abe

Yoshiyuki Batori

Nobuharu Hoshi

Yuuki Nakamura

Tetsushi Uneme

Hiroaki Sakai

Yoshifumi Takeyama

Kazunori Suzuki

Haruhisa Oshida

Eiichiro Kimizuka

Toshiteru Yamasaki

Shogo Satomura

Masatomi Yoshida

Hideki Kotsuka

Masayuki Fukuda

Kenshiro Abe

Kouichi Hiratsuka

Masanari Norioka

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

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus comprises a main assembly that includes moving force applying portion, a main assembly engaging portion having a driving shaft and a rotational force applying portion provided on the driving shaft, and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum. A cartridge is dismountable from the main assembly without dismounting the electrophotographic photosensitive drum from the main assembly. The cartridge includes a developing roller for developing a latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, a rotatable member for transmitting a rotational force to the developing roller, and a coupling member including a rotational force receiving portion engageable with the rotational force applying portion to receive a rotational force from the main assembly engaging portion, and a rotational force transmitting portion for transmitting the rotational force to the rotatable member. The cartridge also includes a frame including a moving force receiving portion that receives a moving force from the moving force applying portion, the frame supporting the developing roller and the rotatable member.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus, developing apparatus, and coupling member

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 cartridge for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a developing roller, a rotatable member for transmitting a rotational force to the developing roller, a coupling member, and a frame. The coupling member is capable of moving between a first coupling member position in which the coupling axis is substantially coaxial with the rotational axis of the rotatable member and a second coupling member position in which the coupling axis is not coaxial with the rotational axis of the rotatable member. When the frame is in a first frame position, the coupling member is in the first coupling member position and a rotational force receiving portion of the coupling member engages with a rotational force applying portion of the apparatus, and, when the frame is in the second frame position, the coupling member is in the second coupling member position and the rotational force receiving portion engages with the rotational force applying portion.

A cartridge includes a frame and a developing roller for developing a latent image on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. The cartridge also includes a coupling member having a rotational force receiving portion to receive a rotational force to be transmitted to the developing roller. First and second force receiving portions are provided on the frame. The coupling member is movable relative to the roller axis between a first position in which the coupling axis is substantially parallel to the roller axis and a second position different from the first position.

Cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus which uses cartridge

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 cartridge includes a developing roller and a coupling member for receiving a rotational force for rotating the developing roller. The cartridge also includes a frame having a bearing configured to rotatably support the cylinder and a regulating wall capable of regulating movement of the coupling member by contacting the coupling member. A spring presses the coupling member to contact the regulating wall, and the bearing encompasses the regulating wall as seen along a rotational axis of the cylinder.

Cartridge, mounting method for coupling member, and disassemblying method for coupling member

An image forming apparatus cartridge includes a coupling member having an axis about which the coupling member is rotatable. The coupling member includes a first end portion operatively connected to a developer roller and a developer supplying roller and a second end portion for receiving a rotational force. The coupling member is movable between a first position in which the axis of the coupling member is substantially parallel to and offset from the axis of the developer roller, a second position in which the axis of the coupling member is inclined with respect to the position of the axis when the coupling member is in the first position, and a third position in which the axis of the coupling member is inclined with respect to the position of the axis when the coupling member is in the first position in a direction opposite to the direction the coupling member is inclined when in the second 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 cartridge for use with a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the main assembly including a driving shaft having a rotational force applying portion, wherein the cartridge is dismountable from the main assembly in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axial direction of the driving shaft, the cartridge including i) a developing roller for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the developing roller being rotatable about an axis thereof; and ii) a coupling member engageable with the rotational force applying portion to receive a rotational force for rotating the developing roller, the coupling member being capable of taking a rotational force transmitting angular position for transmitting the rotational force for rotating the developing roller to the developing roller and a disengaging angular position in which the coupling member is inclined away from the rotational force transmitting angular position, wherein when the cartridge is dismounted from the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the developing roller, the coupling member moves from the rotational force transmitting angular position to the disengaging angular position.

A cartridge includes a coupling member for receiving a rotational force for rotating a developing roller. The cartridge also includes a cylinder including an accommodating portion accommodating at least a part of the coupling member, the cylinder being configured to transmit the rotational force from the coupling member to the developing roller. The cartridge further includes a frame including a bearing configured to rotatably support the cylinder and a regulating wall capable of regulating movement of the coupling member by contacting the coupling member. The bearing encompasses the regulating wall as seen along a rotational axis of the cylinder.

Cartridge, mounting method for coupling member, and disassembling method for coupling member

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.

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Numazu, Japan

Shigeo Miyabe