Processing box

Abstract

The utility model discloses a processing box, which comprises a frame, a first frame and a second frame, the first frame and the second frame are connected with each other, and the first frame comprises a developing agent accommodating chamber capable of accommodating a developing agent; the developing roller is rotatably supported on the first frame and can rotate around a rotation axis extending along the first direction; the photosensitive drum is rotatably supported on the second frame; a light guide member substantially located at an intermediate position of the first frame in the first direction, at least a portion of the light guide member being located in the developer accommodating chamber, the light guide member including a light incident portion and a light exit portion located outside the developer accommodating chamber; the first frame includes a light guide member mounting portion disposed outside the developer accommodating chamber, and the light guide member is mounted on the light guide member mounting portion of the first frame.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to an imaging device, and particularly to a processing cartridge detachably mounted in the imaging device. Background Art

[0002] A processing cartridge is disclosed in the prior art. The processing cartridge is detachably mounted in an imaging device. The processing cartridge includes a first frame for accommodating developer, a second frame for accommodating waste developer, a developing roller rotatably supported on the first frame, a powder feeding roller, a stirring frame, and a photosensitive drum rotatably supported on the second frame. The stirring frame is disposed in a developer accommodating chamber of the first frame and is used for stirring the developer in the developer accommodating chamber, so that the developer is conveyed to the developing roller by the powder feeding roller. The developing roller can convey the developer carried thereon to the photosensitive drum to develop an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum. In order to more accurately and real-time detect the remaining amount of developer in the developer accommodating chamber to prompt the user to replace the processing cartridge before the remaining amount of developer is exhausted, a processing cartridge is disclosed in the prior art. The processing cartridge further includes an optical guide member mounted on the frame, at least a part of which is exposed outside the processing cartridge. The optical guide member can receive detection light from the imaging device and can be received by the imaging device after being detected and emitted by the optical guide member. The imaging device determines the remaining amount of developer in the developer accommodating chamber by detecting the time taken for the detection light to travel from emission to reception, so as to achieve the effect of accurate detection. However, the connecting part of the optical guide member is located on the inner side wall of the developer accommodating chamber, which makes it impossible to directly install the optical guide member from outside the frame, but requires installation through the developer accommodating part. Since the space of the developer accommodating chamber is small, the installation efficiency of the optical guide member will be greatly reduced. Summary of the Utility Model

[0003] The utility model provides a processing cartridge, and provides a variety of new driving methods, which are mainly realized in the following ways:

[0004] A processing cartridge can be mounted in an imaging device along a first direction. The processing cartridge includes:

[0005] A frame having a first end and a second end oppositely arranged in the first direction. The frame includes a first frame and a second frame connected to each other. The first frame includes a developer accommodating chamber for accommodating developer; a developing roller rotatably supported on the first frame and rotatable about a rotation axis extending along the first direction;

[0006] A photosensitive drum rotatably supported on the second frame;

[0007] The light guide member is generally located at the middle position of the first frame in the first direction, at least a part of the light guide member is located in the developer accommodating chamber, and the light guide member includes a light incident portion and a light emitting portion located outside the developer accommodating chamber;

[0008] It is characterized in that the first frame includes a light guide member mounting portion, the light guide member mounting portion is arranged outside the developer accommodating chamber, and the light guide member is mounted on the light guide member mounting portion of the first frame.

[0009] Furthermore, the first frame and the second frame are arranged in a third direction intersecting with the first direction, and the light guide member can be mounted on the first frame in the third direction along the direction towards the second frame.

[0010] Furthermore, the light guide member is connected to the first frame by ultrasonic welding.

[0011] Furthermore, the light incident portion and the light emitting portion are made of a light transmissive material, the light guide member further includes a main body portion at least a part of which is arranged between the light incident portion and the light emitting portion in the first direction, the processing cartridge further includes a covering portion, the covering portion can cover at least a part of the main body portion, and the light transmittance of the covering portion is lower than that of the light incident portion and the light emitting portion.

[0012] Furthermore, the light incident portion, the light emitting portion and the main body portion are integrally formed.

[0013] Furthermore, the covering portion is made of an opaque material.

[0014] Furthermore, the covering portion is detachably mounted on the first frame.

[0015] Furthermore, the covering portion is made of a plastic material.

[0016] Furthermore, the covering portion is configured as a film.

[0017] The light guide member of the processing cartridge of the present utility model can be directly mounted on the first frame in the third direction along the direction towards the second frame. Compared with the prior art, this greatly simplifies the assembly difficulty of the light guide member and improves the assembly efficiency of the light guide member. Description of the Drawings

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram during the process of mounting the processing cartridge of Embodiment 1 of the present utility model to an imaging device;

[0019] Figure 2It is a schematic diagram of a processing cartridge at a certain angle in Embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of another angle of the processing cartridge in Embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

[0021] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram after the light guide member is detached from the processing cartridge in Embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

[0022] Figure 5 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the processing cartridge in Embodiment 1 of the present utility model. Detailed implementation manners

[0023] As Figures 1-5 shown, a processing cartridge 100 in the present utility model is shown. The processing cartridge 100 can be installed in the imaging device 1 along the first direction (i.e., the length direction of the processing cartridge), and the second direction and the third direction both intersect with the first direction. The processing cartridge 100 includes a frame. The frame includes a first frame 101 that can accommodate the developer and a second frame 102 that can accommodate the waste developer. In the first direction, the frame has a first end and a second end that are separated from each other. In the second direction, the frame has a third end and a fourth end that are separated from each other. The processing cartridge 100 further includes a first coupling member 107, a developing roller 103, a powder supply roller 112, and a stirring frame 105 that are rotatably supported on the first frame 101. Among them, in the first direction, the first coupling member 107 is disposed at the first end of the frame and is configured to be coupled with a first driving member of the imaging device to receive the driving force output by the first driving member and rotate, so that the first coupling member 107 can drive the developing roller 103, the powder supply roller 112, and the stirring frame 105 to rotate. The processing cartridge 100 further includes a second coupling member 108 and a photosensitive drum 104 that are rotatably supported on the second frame 102. Among them, in the first direction, the second coupling member 108 is also disposed at the first end of the frame and is configured to be coupled with a second driving member of the imaging device to receive the driving force output by the second driving member and rotate, so that the second coupling member 108 can drive the photosensitive drum 104 to rotate. In the second direction, the developing roller 103 and the powder supply roller 112 are arranged at the third end of the frame. When the processing cartridge 100 is installed in the imaging device 1, in the second direction, the developing roller 103 is arranged closer to the third end of the frame than the stirring frame 105. Among them, the first frame 101 includes a main body accommodating portion 101a and a cover plate 101b, and the two are connected to each other by means such as ultrasonic welding. The stirring frame 105 is disposed in the developer accommodating chamber 101c of the first frame 101 and is configured to supply the developer from the developer accommodating chamber 101a to the powder supply roller 112. The powder supply roller 112 can supply the developer to the developing roller 103, and the developing roller 103 can transport the developer carried thereon to the photosensitive drum 104 to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 104.

[0024] The processing cartridge 100 further includes an optical guide member 106 for detecting the remaining amount of developer in the developer accommodating chamber 101c. In the first direction, the optical guide member 106 is generally located at the middle position of the frame. In the third direction, the optical guide member 106 is located at the fifth end of the frame. The rotation axis of the developing roller 103 is closer to the fifth end of the frame than the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 104. Specifically, when observed along the third direction, the optical guide member 106 is generally square. The optical guide member 106 includes a light incident portion 106a, a light exit portion 106b, and a main body portion 106c located between the light incident portion 106a and the light exit portion 106b in the first direction. In the first direction, the light incident portion 106a is closer to the first end of the frame than the light exit portion 106b. In other words, in the installation direction of the processing cartridge 100, the light incident portion 106a is located on the downstream side of the light exit portion 106b. When detecting the remaining amount of developer, the light emitting element of the imaging device 1 emits detection light to the light incident portion 106a. The detection light enters the developer accommodating chamber 101c through the light incident portion 106a, and then can be emitted through the light exit portion 106b and received by the light receiving portion of the imaging device. When the remaining amount of developer in the developer accommodating chamber 101c is relatively large, the time for which the detection light is blocked in the developer accommodating chamber 101c is longer than when the remaining amount of developer in the developer accommodating chamber 101c is relatively small. Based on this, the imaging device can determine the remaining amount of developer in the developer accommodating chamber 101c by detecting the time elapsed from the emission to the reception of the detection light. Therefore, when the remaining amount of developer drops to a certain amount and reaches the set threshold, the imaging device will prompt the user to replace the processing cartridge.

[0025] Next, the installation method and structure of the light guide member 106 installed on the frame will be described in detail. Specifically, the light guide member 106 is installed on the cover plate 101b of the first frame 101 in a sealed manner. More specifically, the first frame 101 includes an exposure port 101d and a light guide member installation portion 101e. The exposure port 101d communicates the inside and outside of the developer accommodation chamber 101c. The light guide member installation portion 101e is arranged around the exposure port 101d and is located outside the developer accommodation chamber 101c. The light guide member installation portion 101e is specifically provided on the outer side wall of the first frame 101 so that when the light guide member 106 is installed, the light guide member 106 can be connected and installed on the light guide member installation portion 101e of the first frame 101 in the third direction towards the second frame 102. Compared with the prior art, this greatly simplifies the assembly difficulty of the light guide member 106 and improves the assembly efficiency of the light guide member 106. The light guide member 106 further includes a connection portion 106d, and the connection portion 106d can be fixedly connected to the light guide member installation portion 101e of the light guide member installation portion 101e. Preferably, the light guide member 106 can be connected to the light guide member installation portion 101e by ultrasonic welding. This connection method can stably and reliably connect the light guide member 106 to the first frame 101 and prevent the light guide member 106 from becoming loose. Of course, as an alternative, the light guide member 106 can also be installed by means such as glue adhesion and screw fixation, which is not limited.

[0026] Furthermore, as previously described, the light incident portion 106a and the light exit portion 106b of the light guide member 106 can be penetrated by the detection light of the imaging device. Therefore, the light incident portion 106a and the light exit portion 106b are preferably made of a plastic material with light-transmitting properties to meet their light-transmitting characteristics. However, to prevent the detection light from being incident from the light incident portion 106a and accidentally exiting from the main body portion 106c due to reflection and then being received by the light receiving portion, resulting in inaccurate detection results, the main body portion 106c should be made of a light-impermeable material. That is to say, the light incident portion 106a and the light exit portion 106b are preferably made of a light-transmitting material, while the main body portion 106c is made of a light-impermeable material. Both can be molded from a plastic material. Therefore, during production, the light guide member 106 can adopt an integral molding manufacturing process to reduce the number of molds, lower the production cost, and simplify the structure of the light guide member 106.

[0027] Embodiment 2

[0028] Next, Embodiment 2 of the present utility model will be introduced. The similarities between the processing cartridge in Embodiment 2 and the processing cartridge in Embodiment 1 will not be elaborated here. The difference lies in that the main body part of the light guide member can also be made of a light-transmissive material. As long as a covering part that can cover the main body part and has a light transmittance lower than that of the light incident part and the light emitting part is installed on the frame of the processing cartridge, at this time, the detection light of the imaging device will not accidentally emit and affect the detection accuracy of the developer remaining amount. This structure of using the covering part to cover the main body part can simplify the manufacturing difficulty of the light guide member, so that the light guide member does not need to be molded with two materials anymore; preferably, the covering part is made of an opaque plastic material and is detachably installed on the first frame of the frame. Optionally, the covering part can be an opaque film, which also achieves the above technical effect. Therefore, the structure of the covering part is not limited.

Claims

1. A processing cartridge that can be installed in an imaging device along a first direction, the processing cartridge comprising: A frame having a first end and a second end oppositely arranged in the first direction, the frame including a first frame and a second frame connected to each other, the first frame including a developer accommodating chamber that can accommodate a developer; A developing roller rotatably supported on the first frame and rotatable about a rotation axis extending along the first direction; A photosensitive drum rotatably supported on the second frame; A light guide member generally located at an intermediate position of the first frame in the first direction, at least a part of the light guide member being located in the developer accommodating chamber, the light guide member including a light incident portion and a light exit portion located outside the developer accommodating chamber; Characterized in that the first frame includes a light guide member mounting portion provided outside the developer accommodating chamber, and the light guide member is mounted on the light guide member mounting portion of the first frame.

2. The processing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein The first frame has an outer side wall exposed outside the processing cartridge, and the light guide member mounting portion is provided on the outer side wall of the first frame.

3. The processing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, The first frame and the second frame are arranged in a third direction intersecting the first direction, and the light guide member can be mounted on the first frame in the third direction along a direction approaching the second frame.

4. The processing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein The light guide member is connected to the first frame by ultrasonic welding.

5. The processing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein The light incident portion and the light exit portion are made of a light-transmitting material, the light guide member further includes a main body portion at least a part of which is provided between the light incident portion and the light exit portion in the first direction, the processing cartridge further includes a covering portion that can cover at least a part of the main body portion, and the light transmittance of the covering portion is lower than that of the light incident portion and the light exit portion.

6. The processing cartridge according to claim 5, wherein The light incident portion, the light exit portion and the main body portion are integrally formed.

7. The processing cartridge according to claim 5, wherein, The covering portion is made of an opaque material.

8. The processing cartridge according to claim 5, characterized in that, The covering portion is detachably mounted on the first frame.

9. The processing cartridge according to claim 5, wherein, The covering portion is made of a plastic material.

10. The processing cartridge according to claim 5, wherein, The covering portion is configured as a film.

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