Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Shunsuke Uratani

Noriyuki Komatsu

Toru Oguma

Ryuta Murakami

Fumito Nonaka

Shigemi Kamoshida

Yu Fukasawa

Tadashi Horikawa

Yuichiro Inaba

Tachio Kawai

Teruhiko Sasaki

Makoto Hayashida

Naoki Hayashi

Takeshi Kubota

Tetsuo Uesugi

Takuya Kawakami

Yuuki Nakamura

Tomonori Mori

Yuichi Fukui

Isao Koishi

Takeshi Arimitsu

Satoru Motohashi

Ryota Shibuya

Ryoji Kusudo

Shohei Katsuya

Shinichi Nishida

Koji Yamaguchi

Hiroomi Matsuzaki

Hiroki Ogino

Naoki Maeda

Joji Goto

Toshiteru Yamasaki

Yuko Harada

Masatoshi Takiguchi

Takahiro Miyoshi

A cartridge includes a drum flange provided at one end portion of a photosensitive drum, with the drum flange including a hollow interior portion elongated along the axis of the photosensitive drum and an interior surface. A coupling member is operatively connected to the drum flange, with the coupling member being configured to transmit the driving force to the drum flange. A coil spring is provided for urging the coupling member, and at least a part of the coil spring is positioned within the hollow interior portion of the drum flange. The interior surface of the drum flange includes an abutting portion configured to restrict movement of the coupling member in the direction away from the photosensitive drum along the axis of the photosensitive drum by abutting the coupling member.

Cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A cartridge including a rotatable image bearing member which bears a developer, a cleaning member for removing a developer remaining on a surface of the image bearing member, the cleaning member having a contact portion in contact with the surface of the image bearing member and a support portion which supports the contact portion, a developer recovering portion which recovers the developer removed by the cleaning member, a first conveyance member which is disposed inside the developer recovering portion and conveys the recovered developer in a rotation axis direction of the image bearing member, a second conveyance member which conveys the developer conveyed by the first conveyance member in a direction crossing the rotation axis direction toward a discharge port provided in the developer recovering portion, and a third conveyance member to convey the developer toward the center of the photosensitive drum in the rotational axis direction. The second conveyance member is disposed at an inner side of the contact portion of the cleaning member with respect to an end part of the contact portion of the cleaning member.

Process unit including first, second and third conveyance members for conveying developer

A cartridge includes a first unit including an image bearing member and a second unit including a developer bearing member. The second unit is swingable with respect to the first unit. The second unit includes a pressed portion to be pressed by a pressing member of the apparatus body. When viewed in an axial direction, (i) the swing axis and the pressed portion are arranged on opposite sides to each other with respect to a virtual straight line, (ii) the pressed portion, the swing axis, and the first axis are arranged in the named order in an interaxial direction, and (iii) a distance from the pressed portion to the swing axis in the interaxial direction is longer than a distance from the swing axis to the first axis in the interaxial direction.

Cartridge including pressed portion to be pressed by a pressing portion of an image forming apparatus

A foreign substance collection apparatus includes: a frame body; a photosensitive drum; a cleaning roller which collects foreign substances from a surface of the photosensitive drum; a collecting roller which further collects the foreign substances having been collected by the cleaning roller from the cleaning roller; and a scraping member which scrapes off the foreign substances from the collecting roller. A foreign substance collecting portion included in the frame body has, in a posture during use: a first inner bottom surface which is positioned below the scraping member in a gravity direction; an outer bottom surface which is positioned further below the first inner bottom surface; and a connecting surface which intersects the first inner bottom surface and the outer bottom surface and which connects the first inner bottom surface and the outer bottom surface with each other.

Foreign substance collection apparatus, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A process cartridge includes a frame and a photosensitive drum supported by the frame, with the photosensitive drum being rotatable about an axis thereof. A coupling is operatively connected to the photosensitive drum such that a driving force can be transferred from the coupling to the photosensitive drum. A developing roller is supported by the frame, with the developing roller being rotatable about an axis thereof. A gear is positioned at a side of the process cartridge, with the gear being rotatable about an axis thereof. The gear has a plurality of teeth, with at least some of the teeth being exposed teeth that are uncovered by the frame and exposed to outside of the process cartridge, and with a tip of at least one of the exposed teeth facing the axis of the photosensitive drum. As measured in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum, the teeth of the gear are shorter than the projection of the coupling.

Process cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A cartridge includes a drum flange provided at one end portion of a photosensitive drum. A coupling member is operatively connected to the drum flange, with the coupling member being configured to transmit the driving force to the drum flange. The drum flange has an opening at one end and is closed at another end, and the opening leads to a hollow interior portion. An end portion of a coil spring contacts an interior surface of the closed end of the drum flange, and the drum flange includes a housing and a cover member attached to the housing, with the closed end of the drum flange being a part of the cover member.

A process cartridge includes a photosensitive drum supported by the frame. A coupling is operatively connected to the photosensitive drum such that a driving force can be transferred from the coupling to the photosensitive drum, and a developing roller is supported by the frame. A first gear is operatively connected to the photosensitive drum and the developing roller such that the driving force can be transmitted from the coupling to the developing roller. A second gear is positioned at a side of the process cartridge, with the second gear having a plurality of teeth, with at least some of the teeth being exposed teeth that are uncovered by the frame and exposed to outside of the process cartridge, and with a tip of at least one of the exposed teeth facing an axis of the photosensitive drum.

A process cartridge includes a frame, a photosensitive drum supported by the frame, and a developing roller supported by the frame. A coupling is operatively connected to the photosensitive drum, with the coupling being rotatable about an axis thereof, and with the coupling being positioned (i) at a first end of the photosensitive drum, (ii) coaxial with the photosensitive drum, and (iii) at a side of the process cartridge. A helical gear is positioned at the side of the process cartridge, the helical gear being rotatable about an axis thereof, the helical gear having a plurality of teeth, with at least some of the teeth being exposed teeth that are uncovered by the frame and exposed to outside of the process cartridge. As measured in an axial direction of the photosensitive drum, at least a part of the exposed teeth of the helical gear is positioned farther from the second end of the photosensitive drum than a tip of a projection of the coupling is positioned from the second end of the photosensitive drum.

A cartridge and a drum unit include a drum flange provided at one end portion of a photosensitive drum and a coupling member operatively connected to the drum flange, with the coupling member being configured to transmit a driving force to the drum flange. A coil spring urges the coupling member. At least a part of the coil spring surrounds at least a part of a shaft portion of the coupling member. An extent of the coil spring that surrounds the shaft portion and an extent of the shaft portion that is surrounded by the coil spring are positioned within a hollow interior portion of the drum flange.

A process cartridge includes a frame having a slit and a recess formed therein at a side of the process cartridge. A photosensitive drum is supported by the frame, with the photosensitive drum being rotatable about an axis thereof, the photosensitive drum including a first end and a second end opposite to the first end. A developing roller is also supported by the frame, the developing roller being rotatable about an axis thereof. A coupling is operatively connected to the photosensitive drum, with the coupling being rotatable about an axis thereof. A helical gear is positioned at the side of the process cartridge, with the helical gear being rotatable about an axis thereof. The helical gear has a plurality of teeth, with at least some of the teeth being exposed teeth that are uncovered by the frame and exposed to outside of the process cartridge.

A process cartridge includes a photosensitive drum and a gear portion having gear teeth configured to receive a driving force from outside of the process cartridge. The gear portion includes an exposed portion exposed to outside of the process cartridge. A shortest distance from an axis of the photosensitive drum to a tooth tip of the exposed portion of the gear portion measured along a direction perpendicular to the axis of the photosensitive drum is no less than 90% and no more than 110% of a radius of the photosensitive drum.

A cartridge includes a rotatable member and a cylindrical member operatively connected to the rotatable member. The cartridge also includes a coupling member operatively connected to the cylindrical member and coaxially rotatable with the cylindrical member. The coupling member includes at least one projection for receiving a rotational force provided at one end portion of the coupling member, and a shaft portion elongated along an axis of the coupling member. The coupling member is movable with respect to the cylindrical member in a direction of the axis of the cylindrical member. The cartridge further includes a coil spring pressing the coupling member in the direction of the axis of the cylindrical member. One end portion of the coil spring encompasses a part of the shaft portion of the coupling member, with the one end portion of the coil spring and the part of the shaft portion being accommodated in a hole in the cylindrical member.

Growing community of inventors

Mishima, Japan

Shunsuke Uratani