Developer Box

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a developing box, comprising: a developing box frame having an internal space for accommodating a developer; a developing roller rotatably mounted on the developing box frame for providing a developer to a photosensitive drum; a driving end cover mounted on the driving end of the developing box frame; a driving force receiving member rotatably mounted on the driving end of the developing box frame; wherein the driving force receiving member comprises a driving force receiving portion extending from the driving end cover and receiving a rotational driving force, a separation force receiving member is arranged on the periphery of the driving force receiving portion, and the separation force receiving member is used to receive a separation force for separating the developing roller from the photosensitive drum. The present invention arranges the separation force receiving member of the driving end on the driving force receiving portion, which is conducive to reducing the wear / deformation of the separation force receiving member, and has better reliability under long-term use.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a developing box for an electronic photographic imaging device. Background Art

[0002] In an electronic photographic imaging device such as a laser printer, a copier, a fax machine, etc., there is usually a process box, which can generally be removed from the electronic photographic imaging device. Existing process boxes mainly include an integrated process box that integrates a photosensitive drum box and a developer box, and a split process box in which the photosensitive drum box and the developer box are relatively independently arranged.

[0003] The photosensitive drum box has a rotatable photosensitive drum, and the developer box has a rotatable developer roller. During the imaging operation, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum, and the developer roller keeps squeezing the photosensitive drum to supply developer (toner) to the photosensitive drum to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, and then transfers the developer on the photosensitive component to a medium such as paper to form a visible image.

[0004] However, if the developer roller is in contact with the photosensitive drum surface for a long time during non-imaging operation, many adverse consequences may occur. For example, if the developer roller is in contact with the photosensitive drum during non-imaging operation, the developer roller may cause excess developer to attach to the photosensitive drum surface; if the photosensitive drum and the developer roller are still rotating and rubbing against each other, the photosensitive drum, the developer roller and the developer may degrade prematurely. In particular, if a developer roller with an elastic layer is used, the elastic layer of the developer roller may be permanently deformed if it is in contact with the photosensitive drum for a long time, which may cause uneven latent image development on the photosensitive drum after long-term use.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the prior art proposes a developing box, which can be detachably mounted on a photosensitive drum box to form a split processing box, and then mounted on an electronic photographic imaging device. The two longitudinal ends of the developing box (the two ends along the axial direction of the developing roller) respectively have a driving end cover and a detection end cover, and the driving end cover and the detection end cover are provided with a separation force receiving portion formed integrally therewith, and the separation force receiving portion can cooperate with the separation force transmission component on the photosensitive drum box. During non-imaging operations (such as during photosensitive drum cleaning), the separation force transmission component on the photosensitive drum box transmits the separation force from the electronic photographic imaging device to the separation force receiving portion, so that the developing roller is separated from the photosensitive drum; when the separation force disappears, the elastic pushing component on the photosensitive drum box applies a force toward the photosensitive drum to the developing box, and the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are re-contacted.

[0006] Usually, the surface of the photosensitive drum needs to be frequently cleaned in the intervals between imaging operations, and the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are separated during the cleaning operation; that is, the developing roller and the photosensitive drum need to be frequently switched between the separated state and the contact state. Therefore, the reliability requirements for the separation force receiving part are very high. However, in the above-mentioned developing box, on the one hand, due to the volume and structural limitations of the driving end cover, the force-bearing area of ​​the separation force receiving part arranged on the driving end cover is relatively small, and the contact position of the separation force receiving part and the separation force transmission component remains substantially unchanged, resulting in the separation force receiving part being very prone to wear or deformation after long-term use; on the other hand, the driving end cover is generally fixedly installed on the developing box frame by screws, and the installation process is manually installed. There is a risk of looseness due to human factors when installing the screws, which causes the driving end cover to be easily loosened under frequent force movement, resulting in uneven force, affecting the separation effect. Summary of the invention

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, an embodiment of the present invention provides a developing box, comprising:

[0008] A developing cartridge frame having an inner space for accommodating a developer;

[0009] A developing roller is rotatably mounted on the developing box frame; the developing roller is used to provide developer to the photosensitive drum;

[0010] A driving end cover mounted on the driving end of the developing box frame;

[0011] a driving force receiving member rotatably mounted on a driving end portion of the developing cartridge frame;

[0012] Among them, the driving force receiving component includes a driving force receiving part that extends out of the driving end cover and receives the rotational driving force, and a separation force receiving component is arranged on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving part, and the separation force receiving component is used to receive the separation force that separates the developing roller from the photosensitive drum.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present invention, a separation force receiving member is arranged at the periphery of a driving force receiving portion. Since the driving force receiving portion receives a rotational driving force from an electronic photographic imaging device during an imaging operation, the position at which the separation force receiving member arranged thereon receives the separation force (the contact position with the separation force transmitting member on the photosensitive drum cartridge) can be different each time, thereby reducing the wear or damage of the separation force receiving member. In addition, the separation force receiving member is arranged at the periphery of the driving force receiving portion, and the driving force receiving portion can effectively support the separation force receiving member, thereby preventing the separation force receiving member from being deformed, and having better reliability and stable separation effect under long-term use.

[0014] Furthermore, the separation force receiving component is arranged on the periphery of the driving force receiving portion. When the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are separated, the driving end cover does not need to bear the separation force, and the problem that the driving end cover in the prior art is easy to loosen due to frequent force, thereby affecting the separation effect, will not occur.

[0015] The separation force receiving member may be arranged along part or the entire periphery of the driving force receiving portion. When the separation force receiving member is arranged only on part of the periphery of the driving force receiving portion, a position sensor for detecting the separation force receiving member may be arranged in the electronic photographic imaging device or the photosensitive drum cartridge to detect and control the separation force receiving member to stop within a position range capable of receiving the separation force.

[0016] Preferably, the separation force receiving member is arranged along the entire periphery of the driving force receiving portion. In this way, during the non-imaging operation, the separation force receiving member stops at any position and can receive the separation force.

[0017] Preferably, the separation force receiving member as a whole has a circumferential surface coaxially arranged with the driving force receiving portion. In this way, the separation force receiving member can have substantially the same separation effect when stopped at any position. The circumferential surface of the separation force receiving member can be a smooth surface or a non-smooth surface with a consistent concave-convex structure.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present invention, the separation force receiving member may be formed integrally with or fixedly connected to the driving force receiving portion.

[0019] Specifically, a detachable or non-detachable snap connection is formed between the driving force receiving portion and the separation force receiving member.

[0020] More specifically, one or more bayonet holes are disposed on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion, and one or more protrusions are correspondingly disposed on the inner periphery of the separation force receiving member, and the protrusions are engaged with the bayonet holes to realize the snap connection.

[0021] In some other embodiments of the present invention, the separation force receiving member is rotatably sleeved on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion. In this way, the separation force receiving member can generate a certain degree of rotation when receiving the separation force, which is more conducive to reducing the friction force on the separation force receiving member.

[0022] Specifically, a slide groove is provided on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion, and a flange is correspondingly provided on the inner periphery of the separation force receiving member, and the flange is rotatably provided in the slide groove. The flange can be provided along the entire inner periphery of the separation force receiving member, or can be formed only on a part of the inner periphery of the separation force receiving member.

[0023] More specifically, the driving force receiving part includes a main body and a terminal end part, and the separation force receiving member is sleeved on the stage of the axial outer end of the main body; the terminal end part is arranged on the axial outer side of the flange and is fixedly connected to the axial outer end of the main body to form the slide groove.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present invention, the separation force receiving member may extend beyond the driving force receiving portion in the axial direction of the driving force receiving member, thereby being able to properly protect the driving force receiving portion.

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 is a first stereoscopic view of an embodiment of a developing cartridge of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 is a second perspective view of an embodiment of a developing cartridge of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 is a structural exploded view of a first embodiment of a developing cartridge driving end of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 is another structural exploded view of the first embodiment of the developing cartridge driving end of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 is a structural exploded view of a second embodiment of a developing cartridge driving end of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 is another structural exploded view of the second embodiment of the developing cartridge driving end of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 is a structural exploded view of a first embodiment of a developing cartridge detection end of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8 It is a structural exploded view of the second embodiment of the developing box detection end of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Figure 1 and 2 The overall structure of the developing box 1 in the embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 1 and 2As shown, the developing box 1 includes a developing box frame 2 and a developing roller 3 rotatably mounted on the developing box frame 2, and the developing box frame 2 has an internal space for accommodating the developer, and the internal space is provided with a stirring / conveying member for stirring and / or conveying the developer. A powder feeding roller in contact with the developing roller 3 is also provided in the developing box frame 2, and the powder feeding roller is used to make the developer adhere to the surface of the developing roller 3. The circumferential surface of the developing roller 3 is partially exposed from the developing box frame 2, so that when the developing box 1 is installed on the photosensitive drum box (not shown), it can contact with the photosensitive drum on the photosensitive drum box and provide the developer to the photosensitive drum when the electronic photographic imaging device performs the imaging operation.

[0035] Structure of the driving end of the developing cartridge

[0036] One of the two longitudinal ends (i.e., the axial direction of the developing roller 3) of the developing box frame 2 is a driving end 21, and the driving end 21 is equipped with a driving end cover 41, a driving force receiving member 42, a gear transmission mechanism 43 and a driving end separation force receiving member 44; when the developing box 1 is installed to the electronic photographic imaging device, the driving force receiving member 42 can receive the rotational driving force from the electronic photographic imaging device and drive the developing roller 3 to rotate through the gear transmission mechanism 43.

[0037] Specifically, Figure 3 As shown, the gear transmission mechanism 43 may include a driving gear 431, a developing roller gear 432, a powder feeding roller gear 433 and a stirring / conveying member gear 434. The driving gear 431 is coaxially arranged with the driving force receiving member 42 and formed as a whole. The developing roller gear 432, the powder feeding roller gear 433 and the stirring member gear 434 are all engaged with the driving gear 431. The driving force receiving member 42 receives the rotational driving force from the electronic photographic imaging device and drives the developing roller 3, the powder feeding roller and the stirring / conveying member to rotate through the gear transmission mechanism 43.

[0038] Please continue reading Figure 3 and 4 In one embodiment of the present invention, the driving force receiving member 42 includes a driving force receiving portion 421, which extends from the hole 411 of the driving end cover 41 in the longitudinal direction of the developing box 1, and can receive the rotational driving force from the electronic photographic imaging device. A driving end separation force receiving member 44 is arranged on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion 421, that is, the driving end separation force receiving member 44 is located outside the driving end cover 41, and is used to receive the separation force that separates the developing roller 3 from the photosensitive drum from the driving end 21 side of the developing box 1. Preferably, the driving end separation force receiving member 44 is arranged along the entire outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion 421, and has a circumferential surface coaxially arranged with the driving force receiving portion 421.

[0039] The driving force receiving portion 421 and the driving end separation force receiving member 44 may form a fixed connection, such as a detachable or non-detachable snap connection. Figure 3 and 4 In the illustrated embodiment, one or more (for example, two) bayonet holes 422 are provided on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion 421, and one or more protrusions 441 are correspondingly provided on the inner periphery of the driving end separation force receiving member 44, and the protrusions 441 engage with the bayonet holes 422 to realize the snap connection.

[0040] In another embodiment of the present invention, the driving end separation force receiving member 44 is rotatably sleeved on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion 421 . Figure 5 The structure of another embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein a slide groove 4210 is provided on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion 421, and a flange 442 is correspondingly provided on the entire inner periphery of the driving end separation force receiving member 44, and the flange 442 is rotatably arranged in the slide groove 4210.

[0041] Specifically, in another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 As shown, the driving force receiving portion 421 includes a main body portion 4211 and a terminal portion 4212, and the driving end separation force receiving member 44 is sleeved on the stage 4213 of the axial outer end of the main body portion 4211; the terminal portion 4212 is arranged on the axial outer side of the flange 442, and is fixedly connected to the axial outer end of the main body portion 4211 to form a slide groove 4210.

[0042] In other embodiments of the present invention, the driving end separation force receiving member 44 can be formed as one body with the driving force receiving portion 421. In addition, the driving end separation force receiving member 44 can appropriately extend from the driving force receiving portion 421 in the axial direction of the driving force receiving member 42, so as to protect the driving force receiving portion 421 to a certain extent, for example, to prevent the driving force receiving portion 421 from being damaged during transportation.

[0043] In other embodiments of the present invention, the driving end separation force receiving member may be disposed only on a portion of the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion. In this case, a position sensor for detecting the driving end separation force receiving member may be disposed in the electrophotographic imaging device or the photosensitive drum cartridge to detect and control the driving end separation force receiving member to stop within a position range capable of receiving the separation force.

[0044] Structure of the developing box detection end

[0045] Please refer again Figure 1 and 2The other of the two longitudinal ends (i.e., the axial direction of the developing roller 3) of the developing cartridge frame 2 is a detection end 22, and the detection end 22 is provided with a detection end cover 51, a detection member 53, and a detection end separation force receiving member 52, and the detection end cover 51 at least partially covers the detection member 53 in the longitudinal direction of the developing cartridge 1. And, the detection member 53 is provided from the upper part of the developing cartridge 1 (refer to Figure 1 The developing box 1 is exposed at the detection end cover 51 (as shown in the orientation). When the developing box 1 is installed in the electronic photographic imaging device, the detection member 53 can be detected by the electronic photographic imaging device to identify relevant information of the developing box 1 (such as the newness and / or printable amount of the developing box).

[0046] like Figure 7 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the detection end 22 of the developing cartridge frame 2 is provided with a support column 222, the rotating shaft 531 of the detection member 53 is rotatably mounted on the support column 222, and the detection end separation force receiving member 52 is arranged on the rotating shaft 531 of the detection member 53 and is formed as a whole or fixedly connected with the detection member 53. Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the detection end separation force receiving member 52 extends from the detection end cover 51 toward the developing roller 3, so that it can receive the separation force that separates the developing roller 2 from the photosensitive drum from the detection end 22 side of the developing box 1.

[0047] In the embodiment of the present invention, on the one hand, the support column 222 can effectively support the detection end separation force receiving member 52; on the other hand, compared with the separation force receiving portion provided on the detection end cover in the prior art, the size and force receiving area of ​​the detection end separation force receiving member 52 can be made larger, thereby reducing deformation and wear when subjected to force, and having better reliability under long-term use. Furthermore, the detection end separation force receiving member 52 is supported by the support column 222, and when the developing roller 3 and the photosensitive drum are separated, the detection end cover 51 does not need to bear the separation force, and there will be no problem that the detection end cover 51 is easy to loosen due to frequent force.

[0048] When the developing box 1 is installed in the electronic photographic imaging device, the detecting member 53 is first detected by the electronic photographic imaging device. During the detection process, the detecting member 53 can rotate between the first position (initial position) and the second position (raised position) one or more times; after the detection is completed, the detecting member 53 remains in the first position. When the detecting member 53 is located at the first position, the detecting end separation force receiving member 52 is just located at a position where it can receive the separation force from the side of the detecting end 22, and the separation force separates the developing roller 3 from the photosensitive drum. Since the detecting member 53 is rotatable, the detecting end separation force receiving member 52 arranged thereon can also generate a certain degree of rotation when receiving the separation force, which is conducive to reducing the friction force received by the detecting end separation force receiving member 52 during the separation process.

[0049] like Figure 8 As shown, in another embodiment of the present invention, the separation force receiving member 52 at the detection end is directly arranged on the support column 222, and is formed as an integral body or fixedly connected with the support column 222; accordingly, a groove 532 is provided on the rotating shaft 531 of the detection member 53, and the size of the groove 532 in the circumferential direction of the detection rotating shaft 531 is larger than the separation force receiving member 52, so that the detection member 53 has a certain rotatable angle, and can rotate between the first position and the second position during the detection process.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present invention, the detection end 22 of the developing box frame 2 is provided with a conductive support 221, and the conductive support 221 includes a developing roller shaft support portion 223. When the developing box 1 is installed in the electrophotographic imaging device, the conductive support 221 is electrically connected to the electrophotographic imaging device to provide a developing bias voltage to the developing roller 3. The support column 222 can be as follows: Figure 7 Or as shown in 8, it is arranged on the conductive bracket 221, for example, it is formed as a whole or fixedly connected with the conductive bracket 221; the side wall area occupied by the conductive bracket 221 can also be reduced, and the support column 222 is arranged in the side wall area of ​​the detection end 22 not occupied by the conductive bracket 221.

[0051] In the embodiment of the present invention, the detection end separation force receiving member 52 can extend toward the developing roller 3 on one hand, and extend along the longitudinal direction of the developing box 1 on the other hand, so as to form a substantially flat shape, and the size and force receiving area can be made larger than those in the prior art. In the longitudinal direction of the developing box 1, at least a portion of the detection end separation force receiving member 52 extends out of the developing roller shaft supporting portion 223 of the conductive bracket 221.

[0052] The developing box 1 of the embodiment of the present invention can be first assembled with the photosensitive drum box to form a split processing box, and then the processing box can be installed in the electronic photographic forming device. Among them, the longitudinal ends of the photosensitive drum box (corresponding to the longitudinal ends of the developing box) can respectively have separation force transmission components corresponding to the detection end separation force receiving component 52 and the driving end separation force receiving component 44, and the separation force transmission component is, for example, rotatably arranged on the longitudinal ends of the photosensitive drum box, and transmits the separation force from the electronic photographic imaging device to the detection end separation force receiving component 52 and the driving end separation force receiving component 44 to change the position of the developing box 1 in the photosensitive drum box, so that the developing roller 3 is separated from the photosensitive drum. The photosensitive drum box has an elastic pushing component on its side relative to the photosensitive drum, and the elastic pushing component can move the developing box 1 in the photosensitive drum box to the position where the developing roller 3 contacts the photosensitive drum after the separation force of the electronic photographic imaging device is cancelled.

[0053] Although the present invention has been described above through embodiments, it should be understood that the above embodiments are only used to exemplarily describe the feasible implementation methods of the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. Any equivalent substitutions or changes made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the present invention should also be covered by the scope of protection defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A developing box, comprising: A developing cartridge frame having an inner space for accommodating a developer; A developing roller rotatably mounted on the developing box frame; The developing roller is used to provide developer to the photosensitive drum; A driving end cover mounted on the driving end of the developing box frame; a driving force receiving member rotatably mounted on a driving end portion of the developing cartridge frame; Among them, the driving force receiving component includes a driving force receiving part that extends out of the driving end cover and receives the rotational driving force, and a separation force receiving component is arranged on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving part, and the separation force receiving component is used to receive the separation force that separates the developing roller from the photosensitive drum.

2. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The separation force receiving member is provided along the entire outer circumference of the driving force receiving portion.

3. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The separation force receiving member as a whole has a circumferential surface disposed coaxially with the driving force receiving portion.

4. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The separation force receiving member is formed integrally with or fixedly connected to the driving force receiving portion.

5. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: A detachable or non-detachable snap connection is formed between the driving force receiving portion and the separation force receiving member.

6. The developing cartridge according to claim 5, wherein: One or more bayonet holes are arranged on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion, and one or more protrusions are correspondingly arranged on the inner periphery of the separation force receiving member, and the protrusions are engaged with the bayonet holes to realize the snap connection.

7. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The separation force receiving member is rotatably sleeved on an outer circumference of the driving force receiving portion.

8. The developing cartridge according to claim 7, wherein: A slide groove is arranged on the outer periphery of the driving force receiving portion, and a flange is correspondingly arranged on the inner periphery of the separation force receiving member, and the flange is rotatably arranged in the slide groove.

9. The developing cartridge according to claim 8, wherein: The driving force receiving part includes a main body and a terminal part, and the separation force receiving member is sleeved on the stage of the axial outer end of the main body; the terminal part is arranged on the axial outer side of the flange and is fixedly connected to the axial outer end of the main body to form the slide groove.

10. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The separation force receiving member protrudes from the driving force receiving portion in an axial direction of the driving force receiving member.

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