A process cartridge

Abstract

The application discloses a processing box, comprising: a shell, comprising a first shell and a second shell connected to the first shell, the shell having a first end and a second end oppositely arranged in a first direction; a photosensitive drum; a developing roller; a coupling arranged at the first end of the shell, the coupling being capable of receiving driving force of an imaging device and driving the photosensitive drum and the developing roller to rotate; a charging roller supported on the second shell, the charging roller being capable of charging the photosensitive drum; a chip having a chip electric contact surface arranged at the second end of the shell; an electrode having an electrode electric contact surface arranged at the second end of the shell, the electrode being electrically connected to the charging roller; a second cleaning member supported on the shell, the second cleaning member being in contact with the charging roller; in the first direction, at least a part of the electrode electric contact surface is closer to the first end of the shell than the chip electric contact surface. In the application, the second cleaning member can timely remove waste developer adhered to the charging roller, which helps to improve the printing effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of electrophotographic imaging technology, and in particular to a processing box. Background Technology

[0002] A processing cartridge is a device that can be installed in an imaging device to complete a printing task. The processing cartridge includes a developing roller, a photosensitive drum, and a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum. During printing, the developing roller carries developer, and the charging roller uniformly charges the photosensitive drum. When the charged photosensitive drum is selectively irradiated by a laser in the imaging device, an electrostatic latent image is formed on its outer surface. The developing roller, through contact with the photosensitive drum, transports the developer carried on it to the photosensitive drum to develop the electrostatic latent image, forming a developer image on the photosensitive drum. Subsequently, this developer image is transferred to the transfer belt of the imaging device through contact between the photosensitive drum and the transfer belt. Finally, the transfer belt transfers the developer image onto a recording medium (such as paper).

[0003] During the actual printing process, the charging roller and the photosensitive drum are in close contact. Residual waste developer on the outer surface of the photosensitive drum that has not been irradiated by the laser may adhere to the charging roller through the contact between the two, affecting the uniformity of charging the photosensitive drum by the charging roller. In addition, it will also cause the waste developer on the charging roller and the waste developer on the photosensitive drum to contaminate each other, thereby affecting the cleanliness of their outer surfaces and affecting the printing effect of the processing box. Utility Model Content

[0004] To solve the above problems, this utility model provides a new processing box, which is mainly achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0005] A processing cartridge, detachably mounted into an imaging device, the processing cartridge comprising:

[0006] The housing includes a first housing and a second housing connected to the first housing, the housing having a first end and a second end disposed opposite to each other in a first direction;

[0007] The photosensitive drum is supported on the second housing and can rotate about the photosensitive drum axis extending along the first direction;

[0008] The developing roller is supported on the first housing and is rotatable about a developing roller axis extending in a first direction.

[0009] A coupling element is located at the first end of the housing. The coupling element can receive the driving force of the imaging device and drive the developing roller to rotate.

[0010] The charging roller, supported on the housing, can charge the photosensitive drum.

[0011] The chip has a chip electrical contact surface, which is located at the second end of the housing.

[0012] An electrode has an electrode electrical contact surface, which is disposed at the second end of the housing.

[0013] The processing box also includes:

[0014] The second cleaning component is supported on the housing and is in contact with the charging roller.

[0015] In the first direction, at least a portion of the electrode electrical contact surface is closer to the first end of the housing than the chip electrical contact surface.

[0016] Optionally, when the processing cartridge is positioned with the photosensitive drum axis located at the lower end of the developing roller axis, the electrode electrical contact surface faces the upper end of the processing cartridge.

[0017] Optionally, the electrode electrical contact surface is closer to the upper end of the treatment box than the second cleaning component.

[0018] Optionally, a second cleaning component is disposed on the second housing, and at least a portion of the second cleaning component is closer to the upper end of the processing box than the axis of the photosensitive drum.

[0019] Optionally, in a second direction intersecting the first direction, the chip electrical contact surface and the electrode electrical contact surface are spaced apart.

[0020] Optionally, the processing box also includes a first cleaning component disposed on the housing, the first cleaning component being in contact with the photosensitive drum, and the first cleaning component being closer to the lower end of the processing box than the second cleaning component.

[0021] Optionally, the first cleaning component and the second cleaning component are constructed as a cleaning scraper, felt, or sponge.

[0022] Optionally, the second housing includes a second receiving cavity, and a first cleaning member is disposed on the second housing and received in the second receiving cavity.

[0023] Optionally, the processing box also includes a force receiving protrusion disposed at the second end of the housing in a first direction, the force receiving protrusion being able to receive the pushing force of the imaging device and move accordingly.

[0024] Optionally, at least a portion of the second cleaning component is closer to the upper end of the processing cartridge than the axis of the developing roller.

[0025] The processing box provided by this utility model can promptly remove waste developer adhering to the charging roller by setting a second cleaning component on the housing that contacts the charging roller. This reduces the impact of waste developer on the charging roller's uniform charging of the photosensitive drum, and also reduces mutual contamination between waste developer on the charging roller and waste developer on the photosensitive drum, thus helping to improve the printing effect of the processing box. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 This is a first-view schematic diagram of the processing box in Embodiment 1 of this utility model;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a second-view schematic diagram of the processing box of Embodiment 1 of this utility model;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a third-view schematic diagram of the processing box in Embodiment 1 of this utility model;

[0029] Figure 4 This is an exploded view of the gear system of the processing box in Embodiment 1 of this utility model;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the gear system of the processing box in Embodiment 1 of this utility model;

[0031] Figure 6 This is a fourth-view schematic diagram of the processing box in Embodiment 1 of this utility model;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the processing box in Embodiment 2 of this utility model;

[0033] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the cleaning scraper contacting the photosensitive drum in Embodiment 2 of this utility model;

[0034] Figure 9 This is a cross-sectional view of the processing box in Embodiment 2 of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0035] Example 1

[0036] To facilitate the description of the processing box 100 in this utility model, the various directions of the processing box 100 will be defined below. The extension direction of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 105 (photosensitive drum rotation axis) is the first direction. In the first direction, the housing 101 has a first end and a second end opposite to each other. The first coupling member 111 is arranged at the first end of the housing 101, and the chip electrical contact surface 102a is arranged at the second end of the housing 101.

[0037] like Figure 1-6As shown, this utility model discloses a processing box 100, which is detachably installed into an imaging device having a power supply component, an electrical contact, a first driving force application component, a second driving force application component, and a braking force application component. In this utility model, the imaging device is an electrophotographic imaging device (i.e., a printer).

[0038] Processing cartridge 100 includes a housing 101 having a first housing 101a and a second housing 101b connected to each other. The first housing 101a has a first receiving cavity (not shown in the figures) for receiving developer. The second housing 101b includes a first cover 101b1 disposed at a first end of the housing 101 and a second cover 101b2 disposed at a second end of the housing 101, and a main body portion 101b3 located at least partially between the first cover 101b1 and the second cover 101b2. The first cover 101b1 and the main body portion 101b3 are also present. The components are integrally molded, which means that only one set of molds is needed in the production of the first cover 101b1 and the main body 101b3, thus reducing the production cost of the processing box 100. Furthermore, the components do not need to be assembled separately during the assembly of the processing box 100, which also helps to improve the assembly efficiency of the processing box 100. Moreover, the integral molding of the first cover 101b1, the second cover 101b2 and the main body 101b3 further reduces the production cost of the processing box 100 and improves the assembly efficiency of the processing box 100.

[0039] The processing cartridge 100 also includes a developing roller and a powder feeding roller (not shown in the figure) supported on the first housing 101a, a photosensitive drum 105 supported on the second housing 101b, and a charging roller (not shown in the figure). When the processing cartridge 100 performs a printing operation, the developing roller carries developer, and the charging roller can uniformly charge the photosensitive drum 105. After the charged photosensitive drum 105 is selectively irradiated by the laser in the imaging device, an electrostatic latent image can be formed on the outer surface of the photosensitive drum 105. The developing roller can transport the developer carried on the developing roller to the photosensitive drum 105 through contact with the photosensitive drum 105 to develop the electrostatic latent image thereon and form a developer image on the photosensitive drum 105. Subsequently, the developer image can be transferred to the transfer belt of the imaging device through contact between the photosensitive drum 105 and the transfer belt. Finally, the transfer belt can transfer the developer image to a recording medium (such as paper).

[0040] The processing box 100 also includes an electrode 103 disposed on the housing 101. The electrode 103 has an electrode electrical contact surface 103a that can make electrical contact with the power supply component of the imaging device. In the first direction, the electrode electrical contact surface 103a is disposed at the second end of the housing 101. Specifically, the electrode 103 is disposed on the second cover 101b2. The electrode electrical contact surface 103a is configured to supply power to the charging roller. That is, the electrode 103 can receive power from the imaging device and supply the received power to the charging roller to ensure that the charging roller can charge the photosensitive drum 105. Furthermore, the processing box 100 also includes a chip 102. The chip 102 has a chip electrical contact surface 102a that makes electrical contact with the electrical contacts of the imaging device. The chip electrical contact surface 102a and the electrode electrical contact surface 103a are spaced apart by a certain distance in the second direction to avoid mutual electrical interference. In the first direction, the chip electrical contact surface 102a is disposed further away from the first end of the housing 101 than the electrode electrical contact surface 103a.

[0041] Specific reference Figure 4-5The processing cartridge 100 further includes a first coupling member 111 (first coupling protrusion 111). In a first direction, the first coupling member 111 is disposed at a first end of the housing 101, and at least a portion thereof can be covered by a first cover 101b1 to facilitate stable positioning of the first coupling member 111 and prevent it from detaching from the processing cartridge 100. The first coupling member 111 can be coupled with a first driving force applying component of the imaging device to receive the first driving force output therefrom and rotate. Further, the processing cartridge 100 also includes a developing roller gear 113 disposed at one end of the developing roller for driving the developing roller to rotate, and a powder feeding roller gear 114 disposed at one end of the powder feeding roller for driving the powder feeding roller to rotate. In the processing cartridge 100, the developing roller... Both gear 113 and powder feeding roller gear 114 engage with the teeth of the first coupling member 111. Therefore, the first coupling member 111 can drive the developing roller gear 113 and the powder feeding roller gear 114 to rotate, thereby enabling the developing roller gear 113 to drive the developing roller to rotate and the powder feeding roller gear 114 to drive the powder feeding roller to rotate. Furthermore, the processing cartridge 100 also includes a transmission gear 115 that engages with the first coupling member 111, and a photosensitive drum gear 116 located at one end of the photosensitive drum 105 that engages with the transmission gear 115. The rotation axis of the transmission gear 115 is closer to the swing axis of the first housing 101a than the rotation axis of the developing roller gear 113. The photosensitive drum gear 116 is configured to engage with the photosensitive drum gear 115. The drum 105 has a power transmission relationship, meaning the driving force of the photosensitive drum gear 116 can be transmitted to the photosensitive drum 105. Preferably, the photosensitive drum gear 116 is fixedly connected to one end of the photosensitive drum 105. In this way, the driving force output by the first coupling member 111 can be transmitted to the photosensitive drum gear 116 through the transmission gear 115, thereby enabling the photosensitive drum gear 116 to drive the photosensitive drum 105 to rotate. That is, after receiving the driving force, the first coupling member 111 can drive the developing roller, the powder feeding roller, and the photosensitive drum 105 to rotate. Thus, the processing cartridge 100 only needs one coupling member to drive the rotating components within the processing cartridge 100 to rotate, which greatly simplifies the structure of the processing cartridge 100. As can be seen from the above description, The number of transmission gears 115 is one. However, in this utility model, the number of transmission gears 115 in the processing box 100 can also be an odd number such as 3, 5, 7, or 9. This ensures that the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 105 is opposite to the rotation direction of the developing roller, avoiding the problem that the developer on the developing roller is difficult to deliver to the photosensitive drum 105 when the two rotate in the same direction, thus causing printing quality problems. However, in this utility model, the transmission gear 115 in the processing box 100 is preferably one. On the one hand, this helps to reduce the number of transmission gears 115 and reduce production costs. On the other hand, because the space of the processing box 100 is small, it is difficult to arrange too many transmission gears 115. Therefore, the transmission gear 115 is preferably one.Furthermore, considering the space size of the processing box 100, the transmission gear 115 is arranged on the second housing 101b. Of course, in some embodiments, it can also be arranged on the first housing 101a, but the processing box 100 of this utility model adopts the preferred embodiment.

[0042] Typically, in the processing cartridge 100, to prevent the developing roller from contacting the photosensitive drum 105 with a certain pressure for an extended period when no printing task is being performed, thus avoiding deformation of the developing roller and affecting print quality, the processing cartridge 100 is provided with a force-receiving protrusion 104 located at the lower end of the housing 101. When no printing task is being performed, the force-receiving protrusion 104 can receive the pushing force of the imaging device's pushing protrusion and move. After moving, the force-receiving protrusion 104 can drive the first housing 101a to move, allowing the developing roller supported on the first housing 101a to move away from the photosensitive drum 105. In other words, the developing roller can move from a contact position to a separation position with the photosensitive drum 105 in response to the movement of the force-receiving protrusion 104. Therefore, through this method... In this configuration, the developing roller can separate from the photosensitive drum 105 at a specific time, thereby reducing the probability of deformation of the developing roller to a certain extent. Based on the above structure, in order to avoid interference caused by the developing roller gear 113 connected to one end of the developing roller and the photosensitive drum gear 116 connected to one end of the photosensitive drum 101 during the frequent contact or separation of the developing roller with the photosensitive drum 105, the developing roller gear 113 and the photosensitive drum gear 116 are arranged at intervals with a distance d1. More specifically, in the first direction, compared with the photosensitive drum gear 116, the developing roller gear 113 is arranged at the second end further away from the housing 101, which will help the processing box 100 to better arrange the gears in space.

[0043] Furthermore, the processing box 100 also includes a second coupling member 112. In a first direction, the second coupling member 112 is located at the first end of the housing 101 and is mounted on the first cover 101b1. Preferably, the second coupling member 112 can be elastically fastened to the first cover 101b1 or mounted on the first cover 101b1 via an interference fit to prevent it from detaching from the first cover 101b1. The second coupling member 112 includes a driving force receiving portion 112a, which can receive a second driving force applied by the imaging device. The second driving force of the actuating component forces the second coupling member 112 to rotate, meaning the second coupling member 112 is rotatable relative to the first cover 101b1. To prevent abnormal noise from the braking force applying component of the imaging device due to reciprocating extension and retraction, the second coupling member 112 also includes a braking force receiving portion 112b. The braking force receiving portion 112b can axially engage with the braking force applying component of the imaging device, thus not only receiving braking force but also restricting the reciprocating extension and retraction of the braking force applying component, avoiding the aforementioned problems; see details below. Figure 6 Furthermore, the rotation axis of the second coupling member 112 coincides with the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum gear 116. That is, the rotation axis of the second coupling member 112 and the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum gear 116 are arranged coaxially. However, it is worth mentioning that in the processing box 100 of this utility model, the second coupling member 112 has no power transmission relationship with the photosensitive drum gear 116 or the photosensitive drum 105. In other words, the second driving force received by the second coupling member 112 cannot be transmitted to the photosensitive drum 105; the driving force received by the photosensitive drum 105 still comes from the first coupling member 111. Therefore, in this situation... In this case, the second coupling member 112 is spaced apart from the photosensitive drum gear 116 and the photosensitive drum 105. Preferably, as one of the preferred embodiments of the processing box 100, the second coupling member 112 is spaced apart from the photosensitive drum gear 116 in the first direction, and the two have a first spacing distance d2 in the first direction. However, the arrangement structure of the two is not limited to this. The second coupling member 112 can also be constructed to overlap with the photosensitive drum gear 116 in the first direction, but the two do not maintain contact. This is not a limitation. It is just that the present invention adopts a preferred embodiment to simplify the structure of the second coupling member 112.

[0044] This invention provides a processing box in which the transmission gear is arranged closer to the swing shaft of the first housing. Therefore, during the contact and separation process between the developing roller and the photosensitive drum, the teeth of the first coupling member have a small amount of movement relative to the transmission gear, so the two will basically not disengage. Compared with the prior art, this can improve the service life of the gear to a certain extent.

[0045] Example 2

[0046] The following will introduce Embodiment 2 of this utility model, such as... Figure 7-9 As shown, a processing box 400 in Embodiment 2 of this utility model is illustrated. The processing box 400 is the same as the processing box in Embodiment 1 above, and will not be described again in this Embodiment 4. The difference is that the processing box 400 also includes a second receiving cavity 401b4 disposed in the second housing 401b for containing waste developer, as well as a first cleaning member 408 and a second cleaning member 411. This structure will be described in detail below.

[0047] The processing cartridge 400 includes a first cleaning member 408 supported on a second housing 401b and a second receiving cavity 401b4 disposed on the second housing 401b. Specifically, the first cleaning member 408 is preferably a cleaning scraper, felt, or sponge. One end (made of metal) is supported on the second housing 401b, and the other end (made of rubber) contacts the outer surface of the photosensitive drum 405 to scrape off the waste developer residue on the outer surface of the photosensitive drum 405 after transfer, thereby cleaning the photosensitive drum 405 and improving print quality. Finally, the scraped developer is collected in the second receiving cavity 401b4 of the second housing 401b. Therefore, by providing the first cleaning member 408 and the second receiving cavity 401b4, this embodiment can clean the photosensitive drum 405 and collect waste developer, which helps to improve the print quality of the processing cartridge 400.

[0048] Furthermore, in the actual printing process, there may be a situation where there is enough waste developer on the photosensitive drum 405 and some waste developer already on the first cleaning component 408, making it impossible for the cleaning component to completely scrape off all the residual waste developer on the photosensitive drum 405. In this case, the rotating photosensitive drum 405 will adhere some of the residual waste developer to the charging roller 409 through close contact. Therefore, when this situation occurs, on the one hand, it will affect the charging uniformity of the charging roller 409 charging the photosensitive drum 405; on the other hand, it will also cause the waste developer on the charging roller 409 and the waste developer on the photosensitive drum 405 to contaminate each other, thereby affecting the cleanliness of their outer surfaces and the printing effect of the processing cartridge 400. To address this potential problem, in a preferred embodiment of this example 4, the processing cartridge 400 further includes a second cleaning member 411 disposed on the second housing 401b. The second cleaning member 411 is preferably felt or sponge, which can contact the outer surface of the charging roller 409 to facilitate cleaning of the outer surface of the charging roller 409. In this way, both the photosensitive drum 405 and the charging roller 409 can be cleaned by the cleaning member, and the cleanliness of their outer surfaces is improved, thereby improving the printing quality of the processing cartridge 400. Alternatively, the second cleaning member 411 can also be configured as a cleaning blade. In this case, the waste developer scraped off by the cleaning blade can also enter the second receiving cavity 401b4 to complete the collection of waste developer.

Claims

1. A processing box, detachably installed in an imaging device, the processing box comprising: The housing includes a first housing and a second housing connected to the first housing, the housing having a first end and a second end disposed opposite to each other in a first direction; A photosensitive drum is supported on the second housing and is rotatable about a photosensitive drum axis extending along the first direction; A developing roller, supported on the first housing, is rotatable about a developing roller axis extending along the first direction; A coupling element is disposed at the first end of the housing, the coupling element being capable of receiving the driving force of the imaging device and driving the developing roller to rotate; A charging roller, supported on the housing, can charge the photosensitive drum. A chip having a chip electrical contact surface, the chip electrical contact surface being disposed at the second end of the housing; An electrode having an electrode electrical contact surface is disposed at the second end of the housing; The processing box is characterized in that it further includes: A second cleaning component is supported on the housing and is in contact with the charging roller. In the first direction, at least a portion of the electrode electrical contact surface is closer to the first end of the housing than the chip electrical contact surface.

2. The processing box according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the processing cartridge is positioned with the photosensitive drum axis located at the lower end of the developing roller axis, the electrode electrical contact surface faces the upper end of the processing cartridge.

3. The processing box according to claim 2, characterized in that, The electrode electrical contact surface is closer to the upper end of the treatment box than the second cleaning component.

4. The processing box according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second cleaning component is disposed on the second housing, and at least a portion of the second cleaning component is closer to the upper end of the processing box than the axis of the photosensitive drum.

5. The processing box according to claim 1, characterized in that, In a second direction intersecting the first direction, the chip electrical contact surface and the electrode electrical contact surface are spaced apart.

6. The processing box according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processing box also includes a first cleaning component disposed on the housing, the first cleaning component being in contact with the photosensitive drum, and the first cleaning component being closer to the lower end of the processing box than the second cleaning component.

7. The processing box according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first cleaning component and the second cleaning component are constructed as cleaning scrapers, felt, or sponges.

8. The processing box according to claim 6, characterized in that, The second housing includes a second receiving cavity, and the first cleaning member is disposed on the second housing and received in the second receiving cavity.

9. The processing box according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processing box further includes a force-receiving protrusion disposed at the second end of the housing in a first direction, the force-receiving protrusion being movable by receiving the pushing force of the imaging device.

10. The processing box according to claim 1, characterized in that, At least a portion of the second cleaning component is closer to the upper end of the processing cartridge than the axis of the developing roller.

Images