Developing cartridge

Abstract

The utility model relates to a developing box detachably mounted on imaging equipment, which comprises a developing shell used for accommodating carbon powder; the developing roller is rotatably arranged in the developing shell and is used for bearing carbon powder; the powder feeding roller is rotatably arranged in the developing shell and is provided with a powder feeding roller shaft and a powder feeding layer covering the outer surface of the powder feeding roller shaft, and the powder feeding layer is used for conveying carbon powder to the developing roller; the first through hole is formed in the developing shell and used for being matched with the powder feeding roller shaft; the second through hole is formed in the developing shell, the first through hole and the second through hole are formed in the two side walls, oppositely arranged at intervals, of the shell respectively in the first direction, the second through hole is used for allowing a powder feeding roller to be installed, and the second through hole is larger than the first through hole; the first support is arranged at the tail end of the first direction of the developing shell and at least used for supporting the developing roller, and the powder feeding roller is not supported by the first support; the design can improve the mounting flexibility of the powder feeding roller.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of electrophotographic imaging, and more particularly to a developing cartridge that can be detachably installed in an electrophotographic imaging device. Background Technology

[0002] The developing cartridge includes a developing housing for containing toner and a developing roller rotatably disposed within the developing housing. The developing roller includes a developing roller shaft and a developing layer covering the outer surface of the developing roller shaft. The developing layer is used to carry toner. The developing cartridge also includes a powder feeding roller rotatably disposed within the developing housing. The powder feeding roller includes a powder feeding roller shaft and a powder feeding layer covering the outer surface of the powder feeding roller shaft. The powder feeding layer is used to contact the developing layer and deliver toner to the developing layer.

[0003] In the prior art, the developing housing has a first through hole at the driving end and a second through hole at the non-driving end. The second through hole is larger than the first through hole. The developing cartridge also includes at least a first bracket for supporting the developing roller. The first bracket is provided with a mating hole. When installing the powder feeding roller, the powder feeding roller can only be inserted through the second through hole first, and then the powder feeding roller shaft can be inserted through the first through hole before the first bracket can be installed so that the powder feeding roller shaft passes through the mating hole. This structure makes the installation sequence of the powder feeding roller rigid. Utility Model Content

[0004] This utility model provides a developing cartridge employing the following technical solution to improve the installation flexibility of the powder feeding roller. The specific solution is as follows:

[0005] A developing cartridge, detachably mounted to an imaging device, comprising: a developing housing for containing toner; a developing roller rotatably disposed within the developing housing for carrying toner, the rotation axis of the developing roller extending in a first direction; a toner delivery roller rotatably disposed within the developing housing, having a toner delivery roller shaft and a toner delivery layer covering the outer surface of the toner delivery roller shaft, the toner delivery layer for delivering toner to the developing roller; a driving force receiver for receiving a driving force output from the imaging device, wherein both the developing roller and the toner delivery roller are driven to rotate by the driving force from the driving force receiver; a first through-hole formed on the developing housing for engaging with the toner delivery roller shaft; a second through-hole formed on the developing housing, along the first direction, the first through-hole and the second through-hole being respectively disposed on two spaced-apart opposite sidewalls of the housing, the second through-hole allowing the installation of the toner delivery roller, and the second through-hole being larger than the first through-hole; and a first bracket disposed at the first end of the developing housing in the first direction for at least supporting the developing roller, wherein the toner delivery roller is not supported by the first bracket.

[0006] Furthermore, the first support also has a clearance portion formed thereon for clearing the powder feeding roller shaft, wherein at least a portion of the first through hole overlaps with at least a portion of the clearance portion along the first direction.

[0007] Furthermore, along the first direction, at least a portion of the first through hole is not obstructed by the first bracket.

[0008] Furthermore, the developing cartridge also includes a first end cap disposed at the end of the first direction, and a powder feeding roller gear disposed at the end of the powder feeding roller in the first direction. The driving force receiving member is exposed through the first end cap. The powder feeding roller gear is used to transmit the received driving force to the powder feeding roller and to support the powder feeding roller shaft. The powder feeding roller gear is supported by the first end cap.

[0009] Furthermore, the powder feeding roller gear includes an integrally formed bushing and a gear body, the bushing being used to mate with the powder feeding roller shaft; in the radial direction, the powder feeding roller gear also has a mounting portion formed between the bushing and the gear body, and the first end cap has a support portion extending thereon, the support portion being used to mate with the mounting portion to support the powder feeding roller gear.

[0010] Furthermore, the powder feeding roller gear includes an integrally formed bushing and a gear body. The bushing is used to cooperate with the powder feeding roller shaft. The powder feeding roller gear also includes a mounting portion disposed on the radially outer side of the bushing. The first end cap has a support portion extending therefrom, which cooperates with the mounting portion to support the powder feeding roller gear.

[0011] Furthermore, along the first direction, the side for receiving the driving force output by the imaging device is the left side; the powder feeding roller gear has a hole / groove formed by the inner wall of the bushing for supporting the powder feeding roller shaft, and along the first direction, the powder feeding roller shaft extends to the left end of the hole / groove, or extends beyond the left end of the hole / groove.

[0012] Furthermore, the developing cartridge also includes a drive gear, a developing roller gear, and an idler gear. The drive gear is used to transmit the driving force received by the driving force receiver to other components in the developing cartridge. The developing roller gear is located at the end of the developing roller in the first direction. The drive gear drives the developing roller gear to rotate via at least one idler gear. The drive gear directly drives the powder feeding roller gear to rotate. The powder feeding roller gear does not mesh with the developing roller gear or the idler gear.

[0013] Furthermore, the first support has a limiting portion formed thereon, which limits the radial movement of the powder feeding roller when the powder feeding roller is driven to rotate by the driving force receiving member.

[0014] Furthermore, the limiting part is configured to be arc-shaped to match the outer surface of the powder feeding roller shaft. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the developing cartridge involved in this utility model.

[0016] Figure 2This utility model relates to a hidden component of a developing cartridge, along... Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the drive end after being cut along the AA direction.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a perspective view of the powder feeding roller gear involved in this utility model.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a side view of the developing cartridge of this utility model after the first end cap is hidden, viewed along the first direction.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the drive end after the hidden part of the developing cartridge is shown in this utility model.

[0020] Figure 6 This is a perspective view of the first bracket involved in this utility model.

[0021] Figure 7 It is along Figure 1 A sectional view cut along the BB direction.

[0022] Figure 8 and Figure 9 This is a perspective view of the second housing in the developing cartridge that relates to this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, further illustrates the structure and other aspects of the developing cartridge involved in this utility model.

[0024] like Figure 1 , Figure 5 and Figure 7 As shown, the developing cartridge 1 is detachably installed in an electrophotographic imaging device (hereinafter referred to as "imaging device"). The developing cartridge 1 includes a developing housing 10 and a developing roller 11 rotatably disposed in the developing housing 10. The developing housing 10 includes a first housing 10a and a second housing 10b that are joined together, forming a toner receiving cavity 10c between them for containing toner. The developing roller 11 includes a developing roller shaft 11a and a developing layer 11b covering the outer surface of the developing roller shaft 11a. The developing layer 11b is used to carry toner and supply toner to a photosensitive drum disposed outside the developing cartridge 1, so as to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum.

[0025] like Figure 2 and Figure 7As shown, the developing cartridge 1 also includes a toner feeding roller 15 and a stirring member 16 rotatably disposed in the developing housing 10. The toner feeding roller 15 includes a toner feeding roller shaft 15a and a toner feeding layer 15b covering the outer surface of the toner feeding roller shaft 15a. The toner feeding layer 15b is used to contact the developing layer 11b and to deliver toner to the developing layer 11b. The stirring member 16 is used to stir the toner in the toner receiving cavity 10c to prevent it from clumping.

[0026] To make the following description clearer, the direction of the rotation axis L of the developing roller 11 is defined as the first direction / left-right direction, and the direction intersecting the first direction / left-right direction is defined as the second direction / front-back direction. The developing cartridge 1 is installed and removed along a direction parallel to the second direction. The developing cartridge 1 is installed forward and removed backward, and the developing roller 11 is exposed forward. Preferably, the second direction is orthogonal to the first direction. At the same time, the direction intersecting the first direction / left-right direction and the second direction / front-back direction is defined as the third direction / up-down direction. The developing cartridge 1 also includes a chip and a chip holder 2 disposed at the end of the first direction. The chip is provided with an electrical contact for establishing a communication connection with the imaging device and stores relevant information of the developing cartridge 1. The chip holder 2 is at least used to support the electrical contact. The orientation of the electrical contact is parallel to the third direction. The electrical contact can be disposed upward or downward. In this embodiment, the electrical contact is disposed upward as an example for explanation.

[0027] like Figure 1 As shown, the developing cartridge 1 also includes a driving force receiver 12 for receiving driving force from the imaging device. The driving force receiver 12 is used to directly or indirectly drive the developing roller 11 to rotate. In the left-right direction, the end of the developing cartridge 1 used to receive driving force is defined as the driving end / left side, and the side opposite to the driving end is defined as the non-driving end / right side. In the first direction, the developing cartridge 1 also includes a first end cap 13 disposed at the driving end, and the driving force receiver 12 is exposed through the first end cap 13.

[0028] like Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 8 and Figure 9As shown, the developing cartridge 1 also includes a driving force transmission assembly for transmitting driving force. This assembly includes at least a meshing driving gear 121 and a powder feed roller gear 151. The driving gear 121 transmits the driving force received by the driving force receiver 12 to other components in the developing cartridge 1. The powder feed roller gear 151 is located at the first direction end of the powder feed roller 15 and receives the driving force transmitted by the driving gear 121 to drive the powder feed roller 15 to rotate. The powder feed roller gear 151 is also used for... The developing housing 10 has a second through hole 103 formed at the non-drive end and a first through hole 101 and a mounting hole 102 formed at the drive end. Along a first direction, the first through hole 101 and the second through hole 103 are respectively disposed on two spaced-apart opposite sidewalls of the developing housing 10, and the second through hole 103 is larger than the first through hole 101. The second through hole 103 allows the installation of the powder feeding roller 15, and the first through hole 101 cooperates with the powder feeding roller shaft 15a, thereby supporting the portion of the powder feeding roller 15 located at the drive end. The first through hole 101 communicates with the toner receiving cavity 10c; along the first direction, the mounting hole 102 is located to the left of the first through hole 101, and the mounting hole 102 is used to install a sealing element (e.g., a sponge) to prevent toner flowing out of the first through hole 101 from contaminating the developing cartridge 1. Simultaneously, the toner feeding roller shaft 15a can also be supported by the sealing element; along the first direction, the developing cartridge 1 also includes a first support 14 disposed at the end of the developing housing 10. The first support 14 is at least used to support the developing roller 11. Along the first direction, the first support... The bracket 14 is located to the left of the mounting hole 102. Since the powder feeding roller shaft 15a involved in this utility model is not supported by the first bracket 14, compared with the prior art, the powder feeding roller shaft 15a can be supported by the first through hole 101 and the first bracket 14 at the same time. In this application, in order to keep the powder feeding roller shaft 15a rotating stably, the first end cover 13 supports the powder feeding roller gear 151, thereby supporting the powder feeding roller shaft 15a. Under the premise of ensuring the rotational stability of the powder feeding roller gear 151, the wear caused to the first end cover 13 can also be reduced.

[0029] Furthermore, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, the powder feeding roller gear 151 includes a bushing 153 and a gear body 152. The powder feeding roller shaft 15a is supported by the bushing 153. With the gear body 152 and bushing 153 integrally formed, it is not necessary to separately install the bushing 153 on the end cover 13, which helps reduce the assembly steps of the developing cartridge 1 and also improves the rotational stability of the powder feeding roller 15. In the radial direction, the powder feeding roller gear 151 also has a mounting portion 154 formed between the bushing 153 and the gear body 152. The mounting portion 154 is located radially outside the bushing 153. The first end cover 13 has a first end cover body 130 and a support portion 131 extending from the first end cover body 130. The support portion 131 cooperates with the mounting portion 154 to support the powder feeding roller gear 151, thereby supporting the powder feeding roller shaft 15a and causing the powder feeding roller gear to rotate smoothly. Both the wheel 151 and the powder feeding roller 15 can rotate stably. In this application, the part of the powder feeding roller gear 151 used to support the powder feeding roller shaft 15a (i.e., the hole / groove 153a formed in the inner wall of the bushing 153) and the part of the powder feeding roller gear 151 supported by the support part 131 of the first end cover 13 (i.e., the mounting part 154) do not interfere with each other, so that along the first direction, the powder feeding roller shaft 15a can extend to the left end of the hole / groove 153a, or extend beyond the left end of the hole / groove 153a, thereby enabling the powder feeding roller gear 151 to be fully used to support the powder feeding roller 15, so as to further improve the rotational stability of the powder feeding roller 15. Preferably, the powder feeding roller shaft 15a extends beyond the left end of the hole / groove 153a. Compared with the powder feeding roller shaft 15a extending to the left end of the hole / groove 153a, the powder feeding roller 15 can rotate more stably.

[0030] In some embodiments, even if the mounting hole 102 is not filled with sponge, the mounting hole 102 can still receive toner leaking from the first through hole 101, thereby avoiding contamination of the developing cartridge 1.

[0031] In some embodiments, the first through hole 101 may be set to be larger than the second through hole 103, in which case the powder feeding roller 15 can be installed from the first through hole 101.

[0032] like Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 6As shown, the first bracket 14 has a first bracket body 140 and a clearance portion 141 formed on the first bracket body 140. The clearance portion 141 is used to avoid the powder feeding roller shaft 15a so that the powder feeding roller shaft 15a is not supported by the first bracket 14. When observing the developing cartridge 1 along the first direction, at least a portion of the first through hole 101 is not blocked by the first bracket 14, that is, at least a portion of the first through hole 101 is opposite to the clearance portion 141. Along the first direction, at least a portion of the first through hole 101, at least a portion of the mounting hole 102, and at least a portion of the clearance portion 141 overlap. Since the clearance portion 141 can avoid the powder feeding roller shaft 15a, and along the first direction, at least a portion of the first through hole 101 and at least a portion of the clearance portion 141 overlap, when installing the powder feeding roller 15, even if the first bracket 14 has been installed to the developing housing 10, the first bracket 14 will not interfere with the installation of the powder feeding roller shaft 15a due to the presence of the clearance portion 141.

[0033] Therefore, in this application, the powder feeding roller 15 can be installed either before or after the installation of the first bracket 14. Compared to the prior art, where the installation of the powder feeding roller 15 needs to be arranged before the installation of the first bracket 14, specifically by first inserting the powder feeding roller 15 through the second through hole 103 and then passing the powder feeding roller shaft 15a through the first through hole 101 before the first bracket 14 can be installed, this application allows for the installation of the powder feeding roller 15 either before or after the installation of the first bracket 14, thereby improving the flexibility of the installation of the powder feeding roller 15 and eliminating the need to emphasize the installation sequence.

[0034] like Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the first bracket 14 is also provided with a limiting part 142 formed on the avoidance part 141. When the drive gear 121 moves in the R direction, the drive gear 121 drives the powder feeding roller gear 151 to move in the opposite direction to the R direction. Therefore, the powder feeding roller gear 151 has the tendency to drive the powder feeding roller shaft 15a to move radially along the powder feeding roller gear 151. The limiting part 142 is used to limit the movement of the powder feeding roller shaft 15a driven by the powder feeding roller gear 151, which can reduce the movement amplitude of the powder feeding roller 15. Preferably, the limiting part 142 is set to an arc shape, which can match the outer surface of the powder feeding roller shaft 15a. When the powder feeding roller shaft 15a is driven by the powder feeding roller gear 151, it can prevent the powder feeding roller shaft 15a from damaging the first bracket 14.

[0035] like Figure 4As shown, the driving force transmission assembly also includes an idler wheel 17 and a developing roller gear 18. The developing roller gear 18 is disposed at the first direction end of the developing roller 11. The driving gear 121 drives the developing roller gear 18 to rotate via at least one idler wheel 17. To ensure that the rotation direction of the developing roller gear 18 remains unchanged, the number of idler wheels 17 is preferably even. In this application, the driving gear 121 directly drives the powder feeding roller gear 151 to rotate. The powder feeding roller gear 151 only meshes with the driving gear 121 and does not mesh with the developing roller gear 18 or the idler wheel 17, which can also reduce the possible rotational wobbling of the powder feeding roller gear 151.

[0036] As stated above, the beneficial effects obtained by this application are as follows:

[0037] 1. Compared to the prior art, where the installation of the powder feeding roller 15 needs to be performed before the installation of the first bracket 14, in this application, since the avoidance part 141 can avoid the powder feeding roller shaft 15a, and along the first direction, at least a portion of the first through hole 101 overlaps with at least a portion of the avoidance part 141, and at least a portion of the first through hole 101 is not blocked by the first bracket 14, when installing the powder feeding roller 15, even if the first bracket 14 has been installed to the developing housing 10, the first bracket 14 will not interfere with the installation of the powder feeding roller shaft 15a due to the presence of the avoidance part 141. Therefore, the powder feeding roller 15 can be installed either before or after the installation of the first bracket 14, thereby improving the installation flexibility of the powder feeding roller 15 and eliminating the need to emphasize the installation sequence.

[0038] 2. Compared with the prior art, where the powder feeding roller shaft 15a can be supported by the first through hole 101 and the first bracket 14 at the same time, the powder feeding roller shaft 15a involved in this utility model is not supported by the first bracket 14. In order to keep the powder feeding roller 15 rotating stably, the powder feeding roller gear 151 is supported by the first end cover 13, thereby improving the rotational stability of the powder feeding roller 15.

[0039] 3. The gear body 152 and the bushing 153 are integrally formed, eliminating the need to install the bushing 153 separately. This helps reduce the assembly steps of the developing cartridge 1 and also improves the rotational stability of the powder feeding roller 15.

[0040] 4. In the radial direction, a mounting portion 154 is formed between the bushing 152 and the gear body 153. The mounting portion 154 is located on the radially outer side of the bushing 152. The support portion 131 formed on the first end cover 13 is used to cooperate with the mounting portion 154 to support the powder feeding roller gear 151. That is, the part of the powder feeding roller gear 151 that supports the powder feeding roller shaft 15a (i.e., the hole / groove 153a formed in the inner wall of the bushing 153) and the part of the powder feeding roller gear 151 supported by the support portion 131 of the first end cover 13 (i.e., the mounting portion 154) do not interfere with each other, so that in the first direction, the powder feeding roller shaft 15a can extend to the left end of the hole / groove 152a, or extend beyond the left end of the hole / groove 152a, so that the powder feeding roller gear 151 can fully support the powder feeding roller 15, thereby improving the rotational stability of the powder feeding roller 15.

[0041] 5. The first bracket 14 also has a limiting part 142 formed on the avoidance part 141. When the drive gear 121 moves in the R direction, the drive gear 121 drives the powder feeding roller gear 151 to move in the opposite direction to the R direction. Therefore, the powder feeding roller gear 151 has a tendency to drive the powder feeding roller shaft 15a to move. The limiting part 142 is used to limit the powder feeding roller gear 151 from driving the powder feeding roller shaft 15a to move, which can reduce the movement amplitude of the powder feeding roller 15.

[0042] 6. The limiting part 142 is configured to be an arc shape that can match the outer surface of the powder feeding roller shaft 15a. When the powder feeding roller shaft 15a is driven by the powder feeding roller gear 151, it can prevent the powder feeding roller shaft 15a from damaging the first support 14.

[0043] 7. The powder feeding roller gear 151 meshes only with the drive gear 121, which can reduce the possible rotational wobbling of the powder feeding roller gear 151.

[0044] 8. A sponge is installed in the mounting hole 102 to prevent toner in the developing housing 10 from flowing out of the first through hole 101 and contaminating the developing cartridge 1. Even if the sponge in the mounting hole 102 is not full, the mounting hole 102 can still receive toner that leaks from the first through hole 101.

Claims

1. A developing cartridge, detachably mounted to an imaging device, characterized in that, The developing cartridge includes: The developer housing is used to hold the toner. The developing roller is rotatably disposed in the developing housing and is used to carry toner. The direction of the rotation axis of the developing roller is the first direction. A powder feeding roller is rotatably disposed in a developing housing and has a powder feeding roller shaft and a powder feeding layer covering the outer surface of the powder feeding roller shaft, the powder feeding layer being used to feed toner to the developing roller. A driving force receiver is used to receive the driving force output by the imaging device, wherein the developing roller and the powder feeding roller are both driven to rotate by the driving force from the driving force receiver. The first through hole is formed on the developing housing and is used to mate with the powder feeding roller shaft; A second through hole is formed on the developing housing. Along the first direction, the first through hole and the second through hole are respectively provided on two spaced-apart sidewalls of the housing. The second through hole is used to allow the installation of the powder feeding roller, and the second through hole is larger than the first through hole. The first support is located at the first end of the developing housing in the first direction and is used to support the developing roller at least. The powder feeding roller is not supported by the first support.

2. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first support also has a clearance portion formed thereon for clearing the powder feeding roller shaft, wherein at least a portion of the first through hole overlaps with at least a portion of the clearance portion along a first direction.

3. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that, Along the first direction, at least a portion of the first through hole is not obstructed by the first bracket.

4. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that, The developing cartridge further includes a first end cap disposed at the end in the first direction, and a powder feeding roller gear disposed at the end in the first direction of the powder feeding roller. The driving force receiving member is exposed through the first end cap. The powder feeding roller gear is used to transmit the received driving force to the powder feeding roller and to support the powder feeding roller shaft. The powder feeding roller gear is supported by the first end cap.

5. The developing cartridge according to claim 4, characterized in that, The powder feeding roller gear includes an integrally formed bushing and a gear body, the bushing being used to mate with the powder feeding roller shaft; in the radial direction, the powder feeding roller gear also has a mounting portion formed between the bushing and the gear body, and the first end cap has a support portion extending thereon, the support portion being used to mate with the mounting portion to support the powder feeding roller gear.

6. The developing cartridge according to claim 4, characterized in that, The powder feeding roller gear includes an integrally formed bushing and a gear body. The bushing is used to mate with the powder feeding roller shaft. The powder feeding roller gear also includes a mounting portion disposed on the radially outer side of the bushing. The first end cap has a support portion extending therefrom, which mates with the mounting portion to support the powder feeding roller gear.

7. The developing cartridge according to claim 6, characterized in that, Along the first direction, the side for receiving the driving force output by the imaging device is the left side; the powder feeding roller gear has a hole / groove formed by the inner wall of the bushing for supporting the powder feeding roller shaft, along the first direction, the powder feeding roller shaft extends to the left end of the hole / groove, or extends beyond the left end of the hole / groove.

8. The developing cartridge according to claim 4, characterized in that, The developing chamber also includes a drive gear, a developing roller gear, and an idler gear. The drive gear is used to transmit the driving force received by the driving force receiver to other components in the developing chamber. The developing roller gear is located at the end of the developing roller in the first direction, and the driving gear drives the developing roller gear to rotate via at least one idler gear; The drive gear directly drives the powder feeding roller gear to rotate, and the powder feeding roller gear does not mesh with the developing roller gear or the idler gear.

9. The developing cartridge according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The first support has a limiting portion formed thereon, which limits the radial movement of the powder feeding roller when the powder feeding roller is driven to rotate by the driving force receiving member.

10. The developing cartridge according to claim 9, characterized in that, The limiting part is configured as an arc shape to match the outer surface of the powder feeding roller shaft.

Images