Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yasuyuki Egami

Shinichi Nishida

Takeo Kawanami

Yuichi Fukui

Sohta Sugimoto

Shinjiro Toba

Tetsushi Uneme

Naoki Hayashi

Masanari Morioka

Yu Fukasawa

Shunsuke Hijikata

Toshiki Fujino

Fumiya Sawashima

Seiya Ishikawa

Yohei Anzai

Hiroyuki Munetsugu

Takashi Kimura

Go Torii

Kenji Hasegawa

Masahiro Suetsugu

A cartridge includes a casing, a photosensitive drum rotatably supported by the casing, a charging roller rotatably supported by the casing, and a developing roller rotatably supported by the casing. A shield member is supported by the casing and including a shield portion capable of covering a photosensitive member, the shield member being movable between a first position in which the shield portion covers the photosensitive member and a second position in which the photosensitive member is more exposed to outside of the cartridge by the shield portion than when the shield member is in the first position. An engaging portion is engageable with the shield member to hold the shield member in the second position when the shield member is in the second position, and a force receiving portion is provided for receiving an external force to disengage the engagement between the engaging portion and the shield member.

Cartridge and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a main assembly and a plurality of process cartridges detachably mountable to the main assembly. The process cartridges each includes a photosensitive member, a first frame rotatably supporting the photosensitive member, a developing member for depositing toner onto the photosensitive member, and a second frame rotatably supporting the developing member and movable relative to the first frame between a developing position for the developing member to deposit the toner onto the photosensitive member and a retracted position in which the developing member is more remote from the photosensitive member than in the developing position. The apparatus further includes a connecting member connecting at least two of the second frames of the process cartridges and removable from at least one of the process cartridges and from the main assembly.

Image forming apparatus, process cartridges, and connecting member

A cartridge includes a photosensitive member, a charging member capable of charging the photosensitive member, and a developing member for depositing toner onto the photosensitive member. A unit includes the developing member and is movable between a developing position in which the toner is capable of being deposited onto the photosensitive member from the developing member and a spaced position in which at least a part of the developing member is spaced from the photosensitive member. The cartridge further includes a contact force receiving portion for receiving a contact force for moving the unit to the developing position when the unit is in the spaced position. The cartridge also includes a spacing force receiving portion for receiving a spacing force for moving the unit to the spaced position when the unit is in the developing position.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus and cartridge

A toner cartridge includes a toner accommodating unit including first and second accommodating portions and includes a light transmitting portion having an incident surface and an emergent surface. The toner accommodating unit includes first and second end portions with respect to a first direction and includes third and fourth end portions with respect to a second direction crossing the first direction. The first accommodating portion is provided with a discharge opening, and the second accommodating portion is provided with a receiving opening. The discharge opening and the receiving opening are positioned closer to the third end portion than to the fourth end portion in the second direction. The incident surface and the emergent surface are provided in positions closer to the fourth end portion than to the third end portion in the second direction and are exposed to an outside of the cartridge.

Toner cartridge

A control memberfor controlling transmission and blocking of a rotational force by a clutch is rotatably supported by a supporting member which supports a developing frame. a locking portion provided on the control memberrotates between a position retracted from a locked portion of the clutch and a position for engaging with the locked portion.

Cartridge having a member for transmitting a driving force for rotating a developing roller

A cartridge includes a photosensitive member, a developing member for depositing toner onto the photosensitive member, and a coupling member capable of receiving a driving force for rotating the developing member. The cartridge also includes a movable portion movable between a driving force transmitting position for permitting transmission of the driving force from the coupling member to the developing member and a driving force interrupting position for interrupting the transmission of the driving force from the coupling member to the developing member. A holding portion is provided for holding the movable portion in the driving force interrupting position when the movable portion is in the driving force interrupting position. The movable portion is capable of taking the driving force transmitting position and the driving force interrupting position in a state where the developing member is in a position where the toner is capable of being deposited on the photosensitive member.

[Problem to be solved] To further develop a prior art cartridge. [Solution] A cartridge includes a holding movable between a first position for stably holding a second unit in a spaced position by a first unit and a second position, and a contact force receiving portion capable of receiving a contact force for moving the holding portion from the first position toward the second position to move the second unit to a developing position, when the second unit is in the spaced position. When a predetermined tangential line is a tangential line of a surface of a photosensitive member at an intersection, which is more remote from a rotational center of a charging member, of intersections between a line connecting a rotational center of the charging member and a rotational center of the photosensitive member and the surface of the photosensitive member, as viewed along a direction of a rotational axis of the developing member, and the cartridge is divided by the predetermined tangential line into sections, a predetermined section is a section in which the rotational center of the charging member does not exist, and as viewed along the rotational axis of the developing member when the second unit is in the spaced position, the contact force receiving portion is in the predetermined section.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus and catridge

In a developing unit, one of a frame body and an end portion member, which sandwich a bearing member rotatably supporting a developing roller in an axis direction of the developing roller, includes a hole portion depressed in the axis direction on a surface facing the bearing member, and the other of the frame body and the end portion member includes a protruding portion inserted into the hole portion. The protruding portion includes a first region that is press-fitted into an inner wall surface of the hole portion, and a second region that faces the inner wall surface with a gap therebetween, and at least the gap is filled with an adhesive via a communication hole that extends in a direction intersecting the rotation axis direction such that the gap leads to an outside of the frame body.

Developing unit

Cartridge with a mechanism for transmitting a force to a developing roller of the cartridge

A cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus includes a drum unit including a photosensitive drum; a developing unit including a developing roller, a driving force receiving portion, and a development gear; a driving train for transmitting the driving force to the development gear. The developing roller is movable between a contact position and spacing position relative to the drum. The driving train includes a first driving portion connected with the driving force receiving portion and a second driving portion for transmitting the driving force toward the gear. When the developing unit is in the contact position, the first and second driving portions are connected with each other to transmit the driving force from the first driving portion to the second driving portion, and when the developing unit is in the spacing position, the first and the driving portion are not connected.

Process cartridge

A developing device includes a developing frame including a developing chamber, an accommodating chamber accommodating toner, and a partition wall provided with an opening connecting the developing chamber and the accommodating chamber. The developing device further includes an agitating member agitating the developer in the accommodating chamber, a shaft member including an attachment portion to which the agitating member is attached, and a conveying sheet conveying the toner. The conveying sheet includes a fixed portion fixed to the inner wall of the developing frame forming the accommodating chamber, and a displacement portion that is movable toward the opening by coming into contact with the agitating member. The rotation center of the shaft member is provided within an imaginary circle centered at the boundary point between the fixed portion and the displacement portion and passing through the distal end of the displacement portion.

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Tokyo, Japan

Yasuyuki Egami