Cartridge and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To smoothly perform drive connection.SOLUTION: A cartridge comprises a photoreceptor drum and a movable member which is movable with respect to the photoreceptor drum for controlling a tilt angle of a drive transmission member. The movable member can move between a first position for making the tilt angle of the drive transmission member to the photoreceptor drum small and a second position retreated from the first position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0006]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cartridge and an image forming apparatus.

[0002] The cartridge is detachable from the apparatus main body (image forming apparatus main body) of an image forming apparatus (electrophotographic image forming apparatus).

[0003] An image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming process. For example, it includes an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (LED printer, laser beam printer, etc.), a facsimile apparatus, a word processor, and the like.

Background Art

[0004] In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter, also simply referred to as an "image forming apparatus"), an electrophotographic photosensitive member generally in the form of a drum type as an image carrier, that is, a photosensitive drum (electrophotographic photosensitive drum) is uniformly charged. Next, by selectively exposing the charged photosensitive drum, an electrostatic latent image (electrostatic image) is formed on the photosensitive drum. Next, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is developed into a toner image using toner as a developer. Then, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred to a recording material such as recording paper or a plastic sheet, and further, heat or pressure is applied to the toner image transferred onto the recording material to fix the toner image to the recording material, thereby performing image recording.

[0005] Such an image forming apparatus generally requires toner replenishment and maintenance of various process means. In order to facilitate this toner replenishment and maintenance, a cartridge in which a photosensitive drum, charging means, developing means, cleaning means, etc. are grouped together in a frame and made detachable from the image forming apparatus main body has been put into practical use.

[0006] This cartridge system allows users to perform some of the device's maintenance themselves, without relying on after-sales service personnel. This significantly improves the device's operability, resulting in a highly user-friendly image forming apparatus. Therefore, this cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.

[0007] One example of a cartridge is a process cartridge. A process cartridge integrates an electrophotographic photoreceptor drum and a processing means that acts on this electrophotographic photoreceptor drum into a single cartridge, which is then detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus.

[0008] In the process cartridges described above, a configuration is widely used in which a coupling member is provided at the tip of the photoreceptor drum to transmit the driving force from the main body of the device to the photoreceptor drum. Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration in which the coupling member is capable of moving forward and backward in the longitudinal direction, and the movement of the coupling member is initiated by operating a push rod placed on the process cartridge. Another proposed configuration is in which a tension cord fixed to the coupling member is passed through the inside of the drum and exposed to the outside from the non-driven side, and the movement of the coupling member is achieved by extending and retracting the tension cord. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-40625 (see Figure 22) [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0010] The present invention aims to further develop the conventional technology described above. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] A typical configuration relating to this application is: In a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the main body of an image forming apparatus, which is equipped with a tiltable drive transmission member for transmitting driving force to the cartridge, Photosensitive drum and To control the inclination angle of the drive transmission member, a movable member is provided that is movable relative to the photoreceptor drum, and is movable to (a) a first position for reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member relative to the photoreceptor drum, and (b) a second position retracted from the first position. It has. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] It is possible to develop the conventional configuration further. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a side view of process cartridge B. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view of the main unit and process cartridge of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of the device body and process cartridge with the opening door open. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view of a process cartridge. [Figure 6] This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the drive-side flange unit. [Figure 7] This is a partial perspective view of a cleaning unit with an operating unit. [Figure 8] A longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive-side end of the drum unit. [Figure 9] This is a partial perspective view of a cleaning unit with an operating unit. [Figure 10] This is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus before opening the main body door 13 and installing the process cartridge B into the main body A. [Figure 11]It is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus in a state where the process cartridge B is completely mounted on the apparatus main body A and before the opening / closing door 13 is closed. [Figure 12] It is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus for explaining the process in which a cartridge pressing member abuts on the lever member according to the present embodiment. [Figure 13] It is a perspective view of an outer cylindrical cam member, an inner cylindrical cam member, and a lever member. [Figure 14] It is a longitudinal sectional view of the drive transmission member 81 of the apparatus main body A and the coupling member 64. [Figure 15] It is a longitudinal sectional view of the inclined drive transmission member 81 of the apparatus main body A and the coupling member 64. [Figure 16] It is a partial enlarged view of the chamfered portion of the coupling member. [Figure 17] It is a perspective view for explaining the chamfered portion 64e provided on the end surface of the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64. [Figure 18] It is a longitudinal sectional view of the drum unit of Example 2. [Figure 19] It is a diagram for explaining the assembling method of the drum unit of Example 2. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a partial perspective view for explaining the configuration of a cleaning unit having an operating unit. [Figure 21] It is a perspective view of the process cartridge of Example 2. [Figure 22] It is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus for explaining the process in which a cartridge pressing member abuts on the lever member according to Example 2. [Figure 23] It is a perspective view of the lever member 212, the outer cylindrical cam member 270, and the inner cylindrical cam member 274 according to Example 2. [Figure 24] It is a longitudinal sectional view of the drive transmission member 81 of the apparatus main body A and the coupling member 64 according to Example 2. [Figure 25] It is a perspective view of the main body drive transmission member. [Figure 26] It is an explanatory view showing the connection structure of the coupling member and the drive side flange member. [Figure 27] This is a perspective view of a disassembled cartridge. [Figure 28] This is an explanatory diagram showing the side of the cartridge and the contact members of the device body. [Figure 29] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the grounding of the photoreceptor drum. [Figure 30] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drum unit of Example 3. [Figure 31] These are perspective views before assembly and perspective views after assembly. [Figure 32] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive-side flange unit. [Figure 33] This is a perspective view illustrating the assembly method of the drum unit, and a detailed view illustrating the locking portion of the coupling support member 552 and the drum bearing 573. [Figure 34] This is a side view of the process cartridge. [Figure 35] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main body of the device. [Figure 36] This is a detailed view of the main body of the device. [Figure 37] This is a perspective view of a process cartridge. [Figure 38] This is an exploded view of the coupling unit. [Figure 39] This is an exploded view of the coupling shaft and coupling components. [Figure 40] This is an exploded view of the outer cylindrical cam and the inner cylindrical cam. [Figure 41] This is an exploded view of the outer cylindrical cam and drum bearing. [Figure 42] This is an exploded view of the inner cylindrical cam and drum bearing. [Figure 43] This is a cross-sectional view of the coupling unit. [Figure 44] This is a cross-sectional view of the coupling unit. [Figure 45] This is an explanatory diagram of the coupling unit viewed from the axial direction. [Figure 46] This is an explanatory diagram of the coupling section viewed from the axial direction. [Figure 47]This is a perspective view of a process cartridge. [Figure 48] This is a perspective view of coupling. [Figure 49] This is a perspective view of coupling. [Figure 50] This is a cross-sectional view of the coupling. [Figure 51] This is a cross-sectional view of the coupling. [Figure 52] This is a perspective view of the drive transmission section. [Figure 53] This is a perspective view of the drive transmission section. [Figure 54] This is a perspective view of the drive transmission section. [Figure 55] This is a perspective view of coupling. [Figure 56] This is a perspective view of coupling. [Figure 57] This is a cross-sectional view of the coupling. [Figure 58] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission section. [Figure 59] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission section. [Figure 60] This is a perspective view of the alignment component. [Figure 61] This is a perspective view of the pin receiving member. [Figure 62] This is a perspective view of the drive input unit. [Figure 63] This is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive input unit. [Figure 64] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a drum unit and a magnified view of a portion thereof. [Figure 65] This is an explanatory diagram showing how to assemble the drum unit. [Figure 66] This is a partial perspective view of the operating unit and the drive input unit. [Figure 67] This is a partial perspective view of the operating unit. [Figure 68] Cross-sectional view from the non-driving side of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 69] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device body and cartridge. [Figure 70] This is a magnified view of the centering member and the drive transmission member. [Figure 71] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and the drive input unit. [Figure 72] This is a perspective view of the drive input unit. [Figure 73] This is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drum unit and drum bearing. [Figure 74] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device body and cartridge. [Figure 75] This is a partially enlarged view of the outer peripheral support alignment member and the drive transmission member 81. [Figure 76] This is a perspective view of the cartridge. [Figure 77] This is a perspective view of the developing unit. [Figure 78] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and the process cartridge. [Figure 79] This is a perspective view of the developing unit. [Figure 80] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and the process cartridge. [Figure 81] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and the process cartridge. [Figure 82] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and the process cartridge. [Figure 83] This is a perspective view of the cartridge. [Figure 84] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and the process cartridge. [Figure 85] This is a perspective view of the developing unit. [Figure 86] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and the process cartridge. [Figure 87] This is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and the process cartridge. [Figure 88] (a) A perspective view of the cartridge. (b) A disassembled perspective view of the cartridge. [Figure 89] (a) A side view of the cartridge. (b) A cross-sectional view of the cartridge. [Figure 90] This is an explanatory diagram of the drive transmission member. [Figure 91]This is an explanatory diagram of the cartridge and drive transmission component. [Figure 92] This is an explanatory diagram of the drive transmission member. [Figure 93] (a) Diagram illustrating the drive transmission member. (b) Diagram illustrating the cartridge and drive transmission member. [Figure 94] (a) Diagram illustrating the drive transmission member. (b) Diagram illustrating the cartridge and drive transmission member. [Figure 95] (a) Diagram illustrating the drive transmission member. (b) Diagram illustrating the cartridge and drive transmission member. [Figure 96] (a) Diagram illustrating the drive transmission member. (b) Diagram illustrating the cartridge and drive transmission member. [Figure 97] (a) Diagram illustrating the drive transmission member. (b) Diagram illustrating the cartridge and drive transmission member. [Figure 98] (a) A perspective view of the cartridge. (b) A side view of the cartridge. [Figure 99] (a) A perspective view of the cartridge. (b) A perspective view of the cartridge. [Figure 100] (a) Disassembled perspective view of the cartridge. (b) Disassembled perspective view of the cartridge. [Figure 101] (a) and (b) are diagrams showing the control members. [Figure 102] (a) and (b) are side views of the cartridge. [Figure 103] (a) A cross-sectional view of the cartridge illustrating the arrangement of the control members. (b) A diagram showing the control members. [Figure 104] (a) A side view of the cartridge. (b) A view of the cartridge and drive transmission member from the front. [Figure 105] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 106] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 107] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 108] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 109]This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 110] (a) and (b) are side views of the cartridge. [Figure 111] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 112] (a) Disassembled perspective view of the cartridge. (b) Perspective view of the cartridge. [Figure 113] (a) and (b) are side views of the cartridge. [Figure 114] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 115] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 116] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 117] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 118] (a) and (b) are side views of the cartridge. [Figure 119] This is a perspective view of the cartridge. [Figure 120] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 121] This is a side view of the cartridge. [Figure 122] This is a perspective view of the cartridge. [Figure 123] This is an exploded perspective view of the coupling component. [Figure 124] This is an exploded perspective view of the coupling component. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] <Example 1> The following describes Example 1 in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0015] Unless otherwise specified, the direction of the rotation axis of the electrophotographic photoreceptor drum (photoreceptor, photoreceptor drum) is simply referred to as the longitudinal direction. The rotation axis direction (axial direction) is the direction parallel to the axis (rotation axis) of the photoreceptor drum. The axis of the photoreceptor drum is a hypothetical straight line extending along the rotation center of the photoreceptor drum. The photoreceptor drum rotates around its rotation axis.

[0016] Furthermore, in the longitudinal direction, the side on which the electrophotographic photosensitive drum receives driving force from the main body of the image forming apparatus is designated as the driving side, and the opposite side is designated as the non-driving side.

[0017] The overall structure and image formation process will be explained using Figures 2 and 3.

[0018] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus (electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, image forming apparatus main body) A and the process cartridge (hereinafter referred to as cartridge B).

[0019] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of cartridge B.

[0020] Here, the main body A refers to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus excluding cartridge B. Cartridge B is detachable from the main body A.

[0021] <Overall configuration of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus> The electrophotographic image forming apparatus (image forming apparatus) shown in Figure 2 is a laser beam printer utilizing electrophotographic technology, in which cartridge B is detachably attached to the apparatus body A. When cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus body A, an exposure apparatus 3 (laser scanner unit) is positioned to form a latent image on the electrophotographic photoreceptor drum 62, which serves as the image carrier for cartridge B. A sheet tray 4 containing the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as sheet material PA) to be image-formed is positioned below cartridge B. The electrophotographic photoreceptor drum 62 is a photoreceptor (electrophotographic photoreceptor) used for electrophotographic image formation.

[0022] Furthermore, the main body A of the device has the following components arranged sequentially along the conveying direction D of the sheet material PA: a pickup roller 5a, a pair of feeding rollers 5b, a pair of conveying rollers 5c, a transfer guide 6, a transfer roller 7, a conveying guide 8, a fixing device 9, a pair of discharge rollers 10, a discharge tray 11, and the like. The fixing device 9 is composed of a heating roller 9a and a pressure roller 9b.

[0023] <Image Formation Process> Next, the outline of the image formation process will be described. Based on the print start signal, the electrophotographic photoreceptor drum (hereinafter referred to as the photoreceptor drum 62 or simply drum 62) is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow R at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed).

[0024] A charging roller (charging member) 66 to which a bias voltage is applied contacts the outer surface of the drum 62, and uniformly charges the outer surface of the drum 62. The charging roller 66 is a rotating body (roller) that can rotate while in contact with the drum 62. Note that the charging member is not limited to such a rotatable contact roller configuration; it is also possible to use a charging member (charger) that is fixed at a distance from the drum 62, such as in a colon charger.

[0025] The exposure apparatus 3 outputs laser light L corresponding to the image information. The laser light L passes through the laser aperture 71h provided in the cleaning frame 71 of the cartridge B, scanning and exposing the outer surface of the drum 62. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information is formed on the outer surface of the drum 62.

[0026] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 3, in the developing unit 20 as a developing device, the toner T in the toner chamber 29 is stirred and conveyed by the rotation of the transport member (agitation member) 43 and sent to the toner supply chamber 28.

[0027] The toner T is supported on the surface of the developing roller 32 by the magnetic force of the magnetic roller 34 (fixed magnet). The developing roller 32 is a developer carrier that supports the developer (toner T) on its surface in order to develop the latent image (electrostatic latent image) formed on the drum 62. In this embodiment, a non-contact developing method is used in which the latent image is developed with a small gap between the developing roller 32 and the drum 62. It is also possible to employ a contact developing method in which the latent image is developed with the developing roller 32 in contact with the drum 62.

[0028] The toner T is triboelectrically charged by the developing blade 42, while its layer thickness on the circumferential surface of the developing roller 32, which acts as a developer carrier, is restricted.

[0029] The toner T is supplied to the drum 62 in response to the electrostatic latent image, and the latent image is developed. As a result, the latent image is made visible as a toner image. The drum 62 is an image carrier that carries the latent image and the image formed by the toner (developer) (toner image, developer image) on its surface.

[0030] Furthermore, the drum 62 and the developing roller 32 are rotating bodies (rotating members) that can rotate with the developer (toner) supported on their surfaces.

[0031] As shown in Figure 2, in conjunction with the output timing of the laser beam L, the sheet material PA stored in the lower part of the device body A is fed out from the sheet tray 4 by the pickup roller 5a, the feed roller pair 5b, and the transport roller pair 5c. The sheet material PA is then transported via the transfer guide 6 to the transfer position between the drum 62 and the transfer roller 7. At this transfer position, the toner image is sequentially transferred from the drum 62 to the sheet material PA.

[0032] The sheet material PA onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the drum 62 and transported along the transport guide 8 to the fuser unit 9. The sheet material PA then passes through the nip section between the heating roller 9a and the pressure roller 9b that make up the fuser unit 9. Pressure and heat fixing is performed at this nip section, fixing the toner image to the sheet material PA. The sheet material PA that has undergone the toner image fixing process is transported to the discharge roller pair 10 and discharged into the discharge tray 11.

[0033] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 3, after transfer, the drum 62 has residual toner removed from its outer surface by the cleaning blade 77 and is used again in the image forming process. The toner removed from the drum 62 is stored in the waste toner chamber 71b of the toner cleaning unit 60. The cleaning unit 60 is a unit that has a photoreceptor drum 62.

[0034] In the above, the charging roller 66, developing roller 32, transfer roller 7, and cleaning blade 77 are process means (process members, working members) that act on the drum 62.

[0035] <Overall cartridge configuration> Next, the overall configuration of cartridge B will be explained using Figures 3, 4, and 5. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of cartridge B, and Figures 4 and 5 are perspective views illustrating the configuration of cartridge B. In this embodiment, the screws used to connect the various components will be omitted from the explanation.

[0036] Furthermore, the operating unit, including the lever component, will be explained later, so we will omit the explanation here.

[0037] Cartridge B includes a cleaning unit (photoreceptor holding unit, drum holding unit, image carrier holding unit, first unit) 60 and a developing unit (developer carrier holding unit, second unit) 20.

[0038] In this embodiment, cartridge B is a process cartridge. Generally, a process cartridge is a cartridge that integrates an electrophotographic photoreceptor and at least one process means acting on it, and is detachable from the main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (apparatus body). Examples of process means include charging means, developing means, and cleaning means.

[0039] As shown in Figure 3, the cleaning unit 60 includes a drum 62, a charging roller 66, a cleaning member 77, and a cleaning frame 71 that supports them. On the drive side, the drum 62 is rotatably supported by a drive-side drum flange 63 provided on the drive side, through a hole 73a of the drum bearing 73. In a broader sense, the drum bearing 73, the side member 76, and the cleaning frame 71 can be collectively referred to as the cleaning frame. The drum bearing 73, the side member 76, and the cleaning frame 71 are all parts of the frame that constitutes the cartridge. The drum bearing 73, the side member 76, and the cleaning frame 71 are sometimes referred to as the drum frame because they are the frame that supports the photosensitive drum 62.

[0040] On the non-driven side, as shown in Figure 5, the drum shaft 78, which is press-fitted into the hole 71c provided in the cleaning frame 71, rotatably supports the hole (not shown) of the non-driven drum flange.

[0041] In the cleaning unit 60, the charging roller 66 and the cleaning member 77 are positioned in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the drum 62.

[0042] The cleaning member 77 includes a rubber blade 77a, which is a blade-shaped elastic member made of rubber as an elastic material, and a support member 77b that supports the rubber blade. The rubber blade 77a is in contact with the drum 62 in a counter-direction with respect to the rotational direction of the drum 62. That is, the tip of the rubber blade 77a is in contact with the drum 62 such that it faces upstream in the rotational direction of the drum 62.

[0043] As shown in Figure 3, the waste toner removed from the surface of the drum 62 by the cleaning member 77 is collected in the waste toner chamber 71b formed by the cleaning frame 71 and the cleaning member 77.

[0044] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, a squeegee sheet 65 is provided on the edge of the cleaning frame 71 so as to contact the drum 62, in order to prevent waste toner from leaking from the cleaning frame 71.

[0045] The electrostatic rollers 66 are rotatably attached to the cleaning unit 60 via electrostatic roller bearings (not shown) at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame 71.

[0046] Furthermore, the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame 71 (the longitudinal direction of cartridge B) is approximately parallel to the direction in which the rotation axis of the drum 62 extends (axial direction). Hereafter, unless otherwise specified, when simply referring to the longitudinal direction or the axial direction, it refers to the axial direction of the drum 62 (the direction parallel to the axis of the drum).

[0047] The charging roller 66 is pressed against the drum 62 by a biasing member 68 which presses the charging roller bearing 67 toward the drum 62. The charging roller 66 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the drum 62.

[0048] As shown in Figure 3, the developing unit 20 includes a developing roller 32, a developing container 23 that supports the developing roller 32, and a developing blade 42, etc. The developing roller 32 is rotatably attached to the developing container 23 by bearing members 27 (Figure 5) and bearing member 37 (Figure 4) provided at both ends. The developing container 23, bearing members 27 and 37 are all part of the cartridge frame. Since the developing container 23, bearing members 27 and 37 constitute the frame of the developing unit 20 (the frame that supports the developing roller 32), they are sometimes collectively referred to as the developing frame.

[0049] Furthermore, a magnetic roller 34 is provided inside the developing roller 32. In the developing unit 20, a developing blade 42 is positioned to regulate the toner layer on the developing roller 32. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, spacing members 38 are attached to both ends of the developing roller 32, and the developing roller 32 is held with a small gap between it and the drum 62 by the contact between the spacing members 38 and the drum 62. Also, as shown in Figure 3, a blowout prevention sheet 33 is provided on the edge of the bottom member 22 so as to contact the developing roller 32, in order to prevent toner from leaking from the developing unit 20. Furthermore, a transport member 43 is provided in the toner chamber 29 formed by the developing container 23 and the bottom member 22. The transport member 43 agitates the toner contained in the toner chamber 29 and transports the toner to the toner supply chamber 28.

[0050] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, cartridge B is composed of a cleaning unit (first unit) 60 and a developing unit (second unit) 20 combined.

[0051] When connecting the developing unit and the cleaning unit, first the center of the first developing support boss 26a of the developing container 23 is aligned with the first hanging hole 71i on the drive side of the cleaning frame 71, and the center of the second developing support boss 23b is aligned with the second hanging hole 71j on the non-drive side. Specifically, by moving the developing unit 20 in the direction of arrow G, the first developing support boss 26a and the second developing support boss 23b are fitted into the first hanging hole 71i and the second hanging hole 71j. This connects the developing unit 20 to the cleaning unit 60 in a movable manner. More specifically, the developing unit 20 is connected to the cleaning unit 60 in a rotatable manner. After this, the side member 76 is assembled to the cleaning unit 60 to form cartridge B.

[0052] In this embodiment, the non-driving biasing member 46L (Figure 4) and the non-driving biasing member 46R (Figure 4) are formed from compression springs. The biasing force of these springs biases the developing unit 20 toward the cleaning unit 60, and the developing roller 32 is reliably pressed toward the drum 62. The developing roller 32 is then held at a predetermined distance from the drum 62 by the spacing members 38 attached to both ends of the developing roller 32.

[0053] <Moving mechanism of coupling member> The coupling member 64 and the reciprocating mechanism for moving the coupling member forward and backward will now be described. The coupling member 64 is a member (drive input member, input coupling) that receives a driving force (rotational force) from outside the cartridge (i.e., the main body of the image forming apparatus) to rotate the drum 62 and the developing roller 32.

[0054] Figure 25 shows a perspective view of the drive transmission member (drive output member) 81. As shown here, the drive transmission member 81 is provided with a recess (drive transmission portion 81a) that is approximately triangular in shape. The driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64 engages with this recess (drive transmission portion 81a), and the coupling member 64 is configured to receive the driving force. Next, the drive-side flange unit 69 will be described using Figure 6.

[0055] The coupling member 64 is provided at the end of the photoreceptor drum 62. In other words, the coupling member 64 is movably supported by a flange member 75 fixed to the end of the photoreceptor drum 62.

[0056] The drive-side flange unit 69 in this embodiment consists of a coupling member 64, a drive-side flange member 75, a cover member 58, and a first pressing member 59. The coupling member 64 has a driven transmission part (driving force receiving part) 64a and a drive transmission part 64b. The driven transmission part 64a receives driving force from the drive transmission member (driving output member) 81 (see Figures 14 and 25) of the device body A. The drive transmission part 64b is supported by the drive-side flange member 75 and simultaneously transmits drive to the drive-side flange member 75.

[0057] The drive-side flange member 75 consists of a gear section 75a that transmits drive to a gear member 36 (see Figure 27) provided at the end of the developing roller, and a coupling support section 75b (see Figure 26), etc. After the coupling member 64 is inserted into the inner circumference (coupling support section 75b) of the drive-side flange member 75, a first pressing member 59 is inserted to bias the coupling member 64 toward the drive side. Subsequently, the cover member 58 is fixed to the end 75c of the drive-side flange member 75 by means of welding or other means to form the drive-side flange unit 69.

[0058] Figure 26 shows a perspective view of the drive-side flange member 75 and the coupling member 64. The inner circumferential surface of the drive-side flange member 75 is the coupling support portion 75b. The outer circumferential surface of the coupling member 64 is supported by this inner circumferential surface (coupling support portion 75b), thereby supporting the coupling member 64 with respect to the drive-side flange member 75. Of the outer circumferential surface of the coupling member 64, two surfaces arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis of rotation are flat surfaces. These flat surfaces are the drive transmission portion 64b of the coupling member 64. The inner circumferential surface 75b of the flange member 75 also has two flat surfaces 75b1 corresponding to the drive transmission portion 64b. These flat surfaces of the flange member 75 become the driven transmission portion 75b1 of the flange member 75. In other words, when the drive transmission portion 64b of the coupling member 64 contacts the driven transmission portion 75b1 of the flange member 75, driving force is transmitted from the coupling member 64 to the flange member 75.

[0059] The drive-side flange 75 of the drive-side flange unit 69 is fixed to the end of the photoreceptor drum 62 by means of press-fitting or crimping (see Figure 8). As a result, the driving force (rotational force) received by the coupling member 64 from the drive transmission member 81 (see Figures 14 and 25) is transmitted to the photoreceptor drum 62 via the drive-side flange 75. In other words, since the coupling member 64 is connected to the end of the photoreceptor drum via the drive-side flange member 75, the coupling member 64 is able to transmit drive toward the photoreceptor drum 62.

[0060] Next, Figure 27 shows an exploded perspective view of the cartridge. As shown in Figure 27, driving force (rotational force) is transmitted from the drive-side flange 75 to the developing roller 32 via gear 75a. That is, gear 75a meshes with the developing roller gear 36, transmitting the rotation of the drive-side flange 75 to the developing roller gear 36. The developing roller gear 36 is a gear provided on the developing roller 32, and more specifically, it engages with the shaft portion of the developing roller flange 35 fixed to the end of the developing roller 32. Therefore, the rotation of the developing roller gear 36 is transmitted to the developing roller 32 via the developing roller flange 35. Furthermore, the developing roller gear 36 also transmits drive to the transport member gear 41 via idler gear 39. The transport member gear 41 is a gear provided on the transport member 43 (see Figure 3), and when the transport member gear 41 rotates, the transport member 43 also rotates.

[0061] In other words, the drive-side flange 75 is a drive transmission member (cartridge-side drive transmission member) for transmitting drive from the coupling member 64 to the drum 62, developing roller 32, transport member 43, etc. In this embodiment, the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64 has a substantially triangular cross-section and a convex shape (convex portion). Specifically, a shape is adopted in which a substantially triangular cross-section is twisted counterclockwise with respect to the axis of the photoreceptor drum from the drive side to the non-drive side. However, the driven transmission portion 64a is not limited to this shape, and is acceptable as long as it can engage with the drive transmission member 81 (see Figure 25) and receive driving force. In this embodiment, the drive transmission member 81 of the device body A is provided with a substantially triangular recess (drive transmission portion 81a: see Figure 25) that can engage with the driven transmission portion 64a. Therefore, the driven transmission portion 64a has a convex shape that engages with this recess. This convex shape may be one or more, and the shape is not limited to a triangle. Furthermore, the convex shape resembled a twisted triangle, but it does not necessarily have to be twisted.

[0062] As shown in Figure 14, the coupling member 64 is configured to move forward and backward along its longitudinal direction (axial direction). Figure 14(a) shows the coupling member retracted and disengaged from the drive transmission member 81, while Figure 14(c) shows the coupling member 64 advanced and engaged with the drive transmission member 81. Figure 14(b) shows the state between Figure 14(a) and Figure 14(c) (the process of moving forward and backward).

[0063] Next, we will explain the operating unit (operating mechanism, reciprocating unit, reciprocating mechanism) that enables the longitudinal movement of such a coupling member 64, using Figures 7, 8, and 9.

[0064] Figure 7 is a partial perspective view illustrating the configuration of the operating unit provided in the cleaning unit 60 according to this embodiment.

[0065] Figure 8 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive-side end of the drum unit according to this embodiment.

[0066] Figure 9, like Figure 7, is a partial perspective view illustrating the operating unit according to this embodiment.

[0067] As shown in Figures 7 to 9, the operating unit consists of an outer cylindrical cam member 70, an inner cylindrical cam member 74, a lever member 12, a second pressing member (elastic member, biasing member) 14, and the like. The operating unit is connected to the coupling member 64 and is a control mechanism (control unit) that controls the movement (forward and backward movement) of the coupling member 64.

[0068] The outer cylindrical cam member 70 is composed of a lever member engagement portion 70a, etc., which engages the cylindrical cam portion 70b with the lever member 12. The inner cylindrical cam member 74 is composed of the same as the outer cylindrical cam member 70, a cylindrical cam portion 70b and a coupling member 64 longitudinal position regulating surface 74d, etc., which contacts the coupling member 64 to regulate the longitudinal position of the coupling member 64.

[0069] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, in this embodiment, the outer cylindrical cam member 70 and the inner cylindrical cam member 74 are configured to be supported on the outer circumference 73a of the drum bearing member 73. Furthermore, the lever member engaging portion 70a of the outer cylindrical cam member 70 is configured to be exposed to the outside of the drum bearing member 73 (see Figure 9).

[0070] After the developing unit 20 is supported by the cleaning unit 60, the lever member 12 engages with the lever member engagement portion 70a of the outer cylindrical cam member 70 at one end of the lever member 12, at the engagement portion 12b provided at one end of the lever member 12. The lever member 12 is also positioned so that the sliding portion 12c at the other end is located between the sliding ribs 71g provided on the cleaning frame 71. In other words, the protruding engagement portion 70a enters the interior of the hole-shaped engagement portion 12b, and the two engage, connecting the lever member 12 to the outer cylindrical cam member 70.

[0071] After the lever member 12 is positioned, a second pressing member 14 that presses and biases the lever member 12 is positioned between the cleaning frame 71 and the lever member 12. In this embodiment, a torsion coil spring is used as the second pressing member (biasing member) 14, but it is not limited to this, and elastic members (springs) with different structures, such as compression coil springs, can also be suitably used.

[0072] The side member 76 is fixed to the cleaning frame 71, thereby forming a process cartridge having the operating unit according to this embodiment.

[0073] This operating unit is connected to the coupling member 64 at the inner cylindrical cam 74, and the coupling member 64 can be moved forward and backward by operating the lever member 12. The detailed operating principle will be described later, but since the lever member 12 is connected to the outer cylindrical cam member 70, the outer cylindrical cam 70 rotates as the lever member 12 moves in a nearly linear fashion. The outer cylindrical cam 70 is in contact with the inner cylindrical cam 74, and the rotational motion of the outer cylindrical cam 70 causes the inner cylindrical cam 74 to move forward and backward in the longitudinal direction. This inner cylindrical cam 74 is in contact with the coupling member 62, and the movement of the inner cylindrical cam 74 and the movement of the coupling member 62 are linked.

[0074] In other words, the lever member 12 is functionally (indirectly, operationally) connected to the coupling member 64 via the outer cylindrical cam member 70 and the inner cylindrical cam member 74, and the lever member 12 and the coupling member 64 are linked together.

[0075] Next, using Figures 1 and 10 to 14, we will explain the movement of the coupling member 64 in conjunction with the movement of the lever member 12. The lever member 12 is configured to move by contacting and separating from a cartridge pressing member (pressing force applying member) provided on the main body A of the device.

[0076] Figure 1 is a side view of process cartridge B according to this embodiment.

[0077] Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus before opening the main body door 13 and installing the process cartridge B into the main body A.

[0078] Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus after the process cartridge B has been installed into the main body A of the apparatus and before the opening / closing door 13 is closed.

[0079] Figure 12(a) is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus in the process of closing the opening / closing door 13 of the main body A in the direction H in the figure, showing the state in which the cartridge pressing member 1 begins to come into contact with the pressed portion 12a of the lever member 12.

[0080] Figure 12(b) is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus with the opening / closing door 13 of the apparatus body A completely closed.

[0081] Figure 13 is a perspective view of the lever member 12, outer cylindrical cam member 70, and inner cylindrical cam member 74 according to this embodiment. Here, Figure 13(a) is a perspective view of the state before the cartridge pressing member 1 contacts the pressed portion 12a of the lever member 12 (Figures 10, 11, and 12(a)). Figure 13(c) is a perspective view of the state when the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed and a predetermined pressure from the cartridge pressing spring 19 is applied to the contact portion 12a of the lever member 12 (Figure 12(b)). Figure 13(b) is a perspective view of the state between Figure 13(a) and Figure 13(c) (Figures 12(a) to 12(b)).

[0082] Figure 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member 81 and coupling member 64 of the apparatus body A according to this embodiment, as described above. Similar to Figure 13, Figure 14(a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state before the cartridge pressing member contacts the pressed portion 12a of the lever member 12 (Figures 10, 11, and 12(a)). Figure 14(c) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state when the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed and a predetermined pressure from the cartridge pressing spring 19 is applied to the contact portion 12a of the lever member 12 (Figure 12(b)). Figure 14(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state between Figure 14(a) and Figure 14(c) (Figures 12(a) to 12(b)). As shown in Figure 10, the process cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus body A after opening the opening / closing door 13 of the apparatus body A by rotating it around the rotation center 13X. The opening / closing door 13 is located inside the apparatus body A and has a cartridge mounting section (cartridge... This is an opening and closing member for opening and closing the space for mounting the process cartridge. The mounting section is provided with guide rails (guide members) 15h and 15g for guiding the guided portions 76c and 76g of the process cartridge B, and the cartridge B is inserted into the mounting section of the device body A along these guide rails 15h and 15g (only the drive side is shown). As shown in Figure 11, mounting the process cartridge B is completed when the positioning portions 73d and 73f provided on the drum bearing member 73 come into contact with or are inserted near the positioning portions 15a and 15b of the device body.

[0083] Two cartridge pressing members 1 are attached to both axial ends of the opening / closing door 13 (Figure 11). Each of the two cartridge pressing members 1 is configured to be movable within a certain range relative to the opening / closing door 13.

[0084] The two cartridge pressing springs 19 are attached to both longitudinal ends of the front plate 18 provided on the main body A of the device. The cleaning frame 71 has cartridge pressing parts 71e at both longitudinal ends, which serve as biasing force receiving parts for the cartridge pressing springs 19. As will be described later, when the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed, a predetermined pressure F2 is applied from the cartridge pressing springs 19 to the cartridge pressing parts 71e and the lever member pressing part 12a.

[0085] Next, the forward and backward movement of the coupling member 64 will be described. In the state before the cartridge pressing member 1 contacts the lever member 12 (Figures 10, 11, and 12(a)), the lever member 12 is biased in the direction E in Figure 13(a) by the second pressing member 14 (see Figure 9).

[0086] The outer cylindrical cam member 70, which is engaged with the lever member 12 and rotatably supported around the drum shaft, is biased in the direction G in Figure 13(a). The outer cylindrical cam member 70's most non-driven protruding surface 70c and the innermost protruding surface 74c of the inner cylindrical cam member 74 come into contact.

[0087] As shown in Figure 14(a), the coupling member 64 is biased toward the drive side by the first pressing member 59, and the coupling contact portion 64c is pressed against the longitudinal position regulating surface 74d of the inner cylindrical cam member 74. In other words, the longitudinal position of the coupling member 64 is determined according to the longitudinal position (position in the longitudinal direction) of the inner cylindrical cam member 74. Since the first pressing member 59 is used to operate the coupling member 64 toward the drive side, the first pressing member 59 can also be considered as part of the aforementioned operating unit. In this embodiment, a compression coil spring was used as the first pressing member 59, but it is also possible to bias the coupling member 64 using an elastic member of other shapes.

[0088] When cartridge B is not mounted on the device body A, the inner cylindrical cam member 74 is positioned to retract the coupling member 64 into the drum against the elastic force of the first pressing member 59. That is, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, when the main body door 13 is open or before the cartridge pressing member 1 contacts the lever member 12, the coupling member 64 is configured to be in the non-driven position. The position in which the coupling member 64 is retracted to the non-driven side (i.e., the inside of cartridge B) will be called the first position (retracted position, inner position, unengaged position, detached position). As shown in Figure 14(a), when the coupling member 64 is in the first position, the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 are configured not to overlap in the longitudinal direction. In other words, the attachment and detachment of process cartridge B to the device body A can be performed smoothly without interference between the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission member 81 of the device body.

[0089] After cartridge B is installed in the device body A, when the opening / closing door 13 is closed, the cartridge pressing member 1 provided on the opening / closing door 13 comes into contact with the lever member 12. The movement of the lever member 12 begins when it is pressed by the pressing member 1. In conjunction with the movement of the lever member 12, the coupling member 64 moves from the first position (retracted position) to the drive side, and this movement will be described below.

[0090] As shown in Figure 12(a), once the process cartridge B is installed and the opening / closing door 13 is closed in the direction H in the figure, the cartridge pressing member 1 and the lever member 12 begin to come into contact, and the pressing force of the cartridge pressing spring 19 begins to act on the lever member 12. Due to this pressing force, the lever member 12 begins to move in the direction K in the figure against the biasing force (elastic force) of the second pressing member 14. As shown in Figure 13(b), when the lever member 12 moves in the direction K, the outer cylindrical cam member 70 engaged with the lever member 12 begins to rotate in the direction M in the figure.

[0091] An inner cylindrical cam member 74 is adjacent to the outer cylindrical cam member 70. The inner cylindrical cam member 74 is not configured to be rotatable, but is structured to move only in the axial direction. When the outer cylindrical cam member 70 rotates in the M direction, the cylindrical cam portion 70b of the outer cylindrical cam member 70 and the cylindrical cam portion 74b of the inner cylindrical cam member 74 come into contact with each other on their inclined surfaces. As a result, the inner cylindrical cam member 74 begins to move along its longitudinal direction toward the drive side (N direction) due to the pressing force of the first pressing spring member 59. When the inner cylindrical cam member 74 moves in the N direction, the coupling member 64, which is pressed by the first pressing spring member 59, is also allowed to move along its longitudinal direction. This movement of the coupling member 64 causes it to advance toward the drive side (i.e., toward the outside of cartridge B). The driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64 then becomes able to engage longitudinally with the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member of the device body (Figure 14(b)). Furthermore, when the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed (as shown in Figure 12(b)), the phases of the cylindrical cam portions of the outer cylindrical cam member 74 and the inner cylindrical cam member 70 coincide, as shown in Figure 13(c). At this time, the inner cylindrical cam member 74 and the coupling member 64 are configured to be positioned closest to the drive side by the biasing force of the first pressing member 59. In this embodiment, the position where the coupling member 64 extends toward the drive side is called the second relocation (extended position, outer position, engagement position, drive transmission position).

[0092] The coupling member 64, located in the second position (extended position), can be considered to be extending toward the outside of the photoreceptor drum 62 (outside the cartridge).

[0093] On the other hand, the coupling member 64 located in the first position (retracted position) mentioned above can be considered to be retracted toward the inside of the photoreceptor drum 62 (inside the cartridge).

[0094] In this embodiment, the coupling member 64 moves along the axis of the photoreceptor drum 62, substantially parallel to the axis. However, the configuration is not necessarily limited to this, and for example, the coupling member 64 may move in a direction inclined with respect to the axis, moving between a first position (retracted position) and a second position (extended position).

[0095] As shown in Figure 14(c), when the coupling member 64 is in the second position, the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 are configured to ensure the amount of longitudinal engagement necessary for stable drive transmission.

[0096] The position of the lever member 12 when the coupling member 64 is held in the second position (extended position) is also sometimes referred to as the second position (second position of the lever member). The second position of the lever member 12 is the position (operating position) to which it moves when force is applied to the lever member 12 from outside the cartridge B, and is the operating position for acting on the coupling member 64. It is also the engagement holding position and extended holding position for maintaining the extended state of the coupling member 64 and maintaining the engagement state between the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission member 81.

[0097] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the driven transmission portion of the coupling member 64 in this embodiment uses a twisted triangular shape. Therefore, when the lever member 12 is operated to the second position, the phases of the triangular shapes of the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 of the device body and the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64 may not be aligned. In this case, as the coupling member 64 moves to the second position on the drive side, the drive transmission portion 64a hits the end face 81c of the drive transmission member 81 and stops. In other words, because the drive transmission portion 64a cannot engage with the drive transmission portion 81a, the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 interfere with each other, and the coupling member 64 cannot move to the second position. In this state, the first pressing member 59 is partially compressed.

[0098] Even in such a case, when drive is input to the main body A and the drive transmission member 81 rotates, the phase difference between the drive transmission unit 81a and the driven transmission unit 64a falls within a certain range. Then the drive transmission unit 81a and the driven transmission unit 64a become able to engage. At this time, the elastic deformation of the compressed first pressing member 59 is partially released, and the coupling member 64 becomes able to move to the second position. As described above, the first pressing member 59 compresses when the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 interfere, thereby suppressing the effects of the interference on the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64. The first pressing member 59 also acts as a cushioning member (damping member, damper) to suppress the effects of interference. When the process cartridge is pulled out to the outside by opening the main body door 13, the main body pressing member 1 separates from the lever member 12 in the process of opening the opening / closing door 13. After that, the lever member 12 starts to move in the direction E from the state in Figure 13(c) due to the biasing force of the second pressing member 14 (Figure 9). As a result, the outer cylindrical cam member 70 rotates in the G direction, and the shapes 70b and 74b of the outer and inner cylindrical cam portions respectively cause the inner cylindrical cam member 74 and the coupling member 64 to take the first position. That is, when the lever member 12 moves in the E direction, the coupling member 64 moves to the first position (retracted position). The position of the lever member 12 when the coupling member 64 is positioned in the first position is also sometimes called the first position. The first position of the lever member 12 is the position when no external force is applied to the lever member 12 from outside the cartridge (normal position, non-operating position). The first position of the lever member 12 is also a retracted holding position and retracted allowable position that maintains and allows the coupling member 12 to be retracted, and a mounting allowable position and a removal allowable position that allows the cartridge B to be mounted to and removed from the device body A.

[0099] Figures 13(a) and 14(a) show the lever member 12 and coupling member 64 in the first position, respectively. Figures 13(c) and 14(c) show the lever member 12 and coupling member 64 in the second position, respectively. Figures 13(b) and 14(b) show the intermediate positions of the lever member 12 and coupling member 64 as they move from the first position to the second position, respectively.

[0100] When the coupling member 64 moves to the first position (retracted position), the process cartridge B can be removed from the main body A of the device.

[0101] As explained above, the lever member 12 is an operating member (moving member) that is operated and moved by a force from outside the cartridge (i.e., the main body A of the device). The movement of the lever member 12 is transmitted to the coupling member 64 via the two cam members 70 and 74, causing the coupling member 64 to move between a first position (retracted position) and a second position (extended position). In other words, the lever member 12 is operated in order to move the coupling member 64.

[0102] The two cam members (outer cylindrical cam member 70, inner cylindrical cam member 74) provided on the operating unit are a cam mechanism for linking the lever member 12 to the coupling member 64. The lever member 12 is configured to move in an intersecting direction (a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) that intersects the longitudinal direction. The cam mechanism converts this motion in the intersecting direction into motion of the coupling member 64 along the longitudinal direction.

[0103] The first pressing member 59 is a biasing member that biases the coupling member 64 toward a specific position (second position / extended position) by biasing it. The second pressing member 14 is a biasing member that biases the lever member 12 toward a specific position (first position / normal position).

[0104] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the contact surface 82a of the electrostatic roller contact member 82 is configured to face the downstream side (indicated by arrow K in the figure) of the direction in which the lever member 12 moves from the first position (normal position) to the second position (operating position). That is, the contact surface 82a faces in the direction of arrow J1 in Figure 28.

[0105] The charging roller contact member 82 is electrically connected to the charging roller 66 and is an electrical contact that receives a voltage from the device body A by contacting a contact member (body-side electrical contact) for applying a charging bias provided on the device body A.

[0106] In other words, the contact surface (exposed surface, exposed portion) 82a of the charging roller contact member 82 comes into contact with the main body side contact member 101 shown in Figure 28 at a predetermined charging contact pressure. This configuration ensures that the charging bias voltage from the main body A is applied to the charging roller via the charging roller contact member 82. Figure 28 is an explanatory diagram showing the electrical contacts (contact members) between the cartridge B and the main body A of the device.

[0107] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, cartridge B has a developing roller contact member 83 that is electrically connected to the developing roller 32. The developing roller contact member 83 contacts a contact member (electrical contact: see Figure 28) 102 provided on the device body A for applying the developing bias voltage, thereby applying a voltage from the device body A. In other words, when the contact surface (exposed surface, exposed portion) 83a of the developing roller contact member 83 contacts the contact member 102 on the device body side, the developing bias voltage from the device body A is applied to the developing roller 32 via the developing roller contact member 83.

[0108] The contact surface 83a of this developing roller contact member is also configured to face the downstream side (direction K in the figure) in the direction of movement of the lever member 12. That is, the contact surface 83a faces the direction of arrow I1 in Figure 28.

[0109] When the opening / closing door 13 is closed and the cartridge pressing member 1 presses the lever member 12, the pressing force is applied downstream (towards the side indicated by arrow K) in the direction of movement of the lever member 12. As described above, the charging roller contact member 82 (contact surface 82a) and the developing roller contact member 83 (contact surface 83a) also face downstream. Therefore, the pressing force from the cartridge pressing member 1 (force acting in the direction of arrow K) can be used to bias the charging roller contact member 82 (contact surface 82a) and the developing roller contact member 83 (contact surface 83a) toward the corresponding main body contact member on the device body side. This makes it possible to stabilize the contact state between each contact member (82, 83) on the cartridge side and the main body contact member.

[0110] Furthermore, the pressing force received by the lever member 12 can be used to reliably press the positioning portions 73d and 73f of the cartridge B against the positioning portions 15a and 15b (Figure 12) of the main body of the device. That is, normally, when the charging roller contact member 82 and the developing roller contact member 83 come into contact with the corresponding main body contact member on the main body side, they receive contact pressure (contact force) from the main body contact member in a direction perpendicular to the charging contact surface 82a and the developing contact surface 83a, respectively. In Figure 28, the charging contact surface 82a receives a force in the direction of arrow J2, and the developing contact surface 83a receives a force in the direction of arrow I2. However, when the pressing force of the cartridge pressing member 1 applied to the cartridge B via the lever member 12 acts in the direction of arrow K, it acts to cancel out these contact pressures. Therefore, even if the charging contact surface 82a and the developing contact surface 83a receive contact pressure (contact force), it is prevented that the orientation of the cartridge B will become unstable due to that contact pressure.

[0111] The force of the cartridge pressing member 1 more reliably presses the positioning portions 73d and 73f of cartridge B against the positioning portions 15a and 15b of the device body, allowing the cartridge to be mounted and positioned in a stable position on the device body A. As a result of this improved positioning accuracy of the cartridge within the device body, stable engagement between the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission member 81 of the device body becomes possible.

[0112] Furthermore, when electrical contacts (contact members) such as the charging roller contact member 82 and the developing roller contact member 83 are positioned to face the downstream side in the direction of movement of the lever member 12 (the side indicated by arrow K), it is not required that the direction in which the electrical contacts face be parallel to arrow K. If the angle that the direction in which the electrical contacts face makes with respect to arrow K is less than 90 degrees (i.e., if the above angle is 0 degrees or more and less than 90 degrees), the electrical contacts can be considered to be facing the downstream side in the direction of movement of the lever member 12.

[0113] In other words, in Figure 28, the angle between arrow K and arrow J1 is less than 90 degrees, and the angle between arrow K and arrow I1 is less than 90 degrees.

[0114] In this embodiment, the lever member 12 is positioned on the same side of the cartridge as each electrical contact (charging roller contact member 82 and developing roller contact member 83) in the longitudinal direction (axial direction). That is, both the lever member 12 and each electrical contact 82 and 83 are positioned on one end (one side) of the cartridge in the longitudinal direction. The contact pressure received by each electrical contact 82 and 83 and the pressing force applied by the cartridge pressing member 1 to the lever member 12 both act on the same end of the cartridge. Therefore, the pressing force applied to the lever member 12 makes it easier to bias and position the cartridge B by the cartridge pressing member 1 while resisting the contact pressure.

[0115] Furthermore, if the cartridge has multiple electrical contacts, these contacts may be arranged on opposite ends of the cartridge. If the number of electrical contacts is odd, the lever member 12 could be placed on the side with more electrical contacts.

[0116] In this embodiment, one end of the cartridge where the lever member 12 and the electrical contacts 82 and 83 are located is the side where the coupling member 64 is located (the drive side). Even if vibrations are transmitted to the drive side of the cartridge B where the coupling member 64 is provided while the coupling member 64 is receiving rotational force, the drive side of the cartridge B can suppress the effects of such vibrations because the lever member 12 is biased.

[0117] In this embodiment, the pressing force applied to the lever member 12 was used to bias both of the two electrical contacts 82 and 83 on the cartridge B toward the main body-side contact members 102 and 103 on the device body A. However, it is not necessary for all of the multiple electrical contacts to be biased using the pressing force applied to the lever member 12. If at least one of the multiple electrical contacts on the cartridge B faces downstream in the direction of movement of the lever, that electrical contact can be biased toward the main body-side electrical contact on the main body A by the pressing force received by the lever member 12.

[0118] In this embodiment, the device body A is provided with two cartridge pressing members 1. One pressing member 1 presses the lever member 12 on the drive side of the cartridge B, and the other pressing member 1 presses the frame of the cartridge B on the other end (the other side, the non-drive side). In this way, the cartridge B's posture is stabilized by receiving force at two points at both ends, but the structure is not necessarily limited to this, and for example, the cartridge B may be configured to receive force at a single point. That is, it is sufficient that at least the lever member 12 receives force from the pressing members 1.

[0119] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lever member 12 is positioned between the charging contact surface 82a and the developing contact surface 83a in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the drum. That is, as shown in Figure 28, when the lever member 12 is in the first position, if we draw a line segment L1 connecting both ends of the lever member 12 and a line segment L2 connecting the charging contact surface 82a and the developing contact surface 83a in the above plane, these two line segments L1 and L2 intersect.

[0120] By adopting this arrangement, the pressing force that the lever member 12 receives from the pressing member 1 can be evenly distributed to the two electrical contacts 82 and 83. In other words, during the cartridge installation process, the cartridge B is subjected to forces acting on the electrical contacts 82 and 83, as well as the force acting on the lever member 12, but the moment generated in the cartridge B by these forces is stabilized. Even if the lever member 12 is subjected to pressing force, it is unlikely that the posture of the cartridge B will change.

[0121] As a result, the force received by the lever member 12 can be used to reliably press the positioning portions 73d and 73f of the cartridge B against the positioning portions 15a and 15b (Figure 12) of the device body, overcoming the contact pressure received from multiple electrical contacts. In other words, stable engagement between the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission member 81 of the device body becomes possible.

[0122] More specifically, the line segment connecting the contact portion 212a and the engaged portion 212b of the lever member 12 intersects with the line segment L2.

[0123] Furthermore, the lever member 12 has a shape that extends along the direction of movement of the lever member (direction K). Therefore, in the process of the lever member 12 being pressed by the pressing member 1 of the device body A and moving in the direction K, the force of the pressing member 1 is smoothly transmitted to the cartridge B via the lever member 12. As a result, the force of the pressing member 1 can be used to reliably bring the contact members 82 and 83 on the cartridge side into contact with the corresponding contact members on the main body side.

[0124] Furthermore, although a single lever member 12 was used as the operating member, the operating member may also be composed of multiple members connected together.

[0125] It should be noted that multiple contact members (electrical contacts) may be referred to as the first contact member (first electrical contact), the second contact member (second electrical contact), and so on. In this embodiment, the charging roller contact member 82 and the developing roller contact member 83 were connected to the charging roller 67 and the developing roller 30. That is, each electrical contact 82 and 83 was connected to the process member 6730 that acts on the photoreceptor, and was used to apply voltage to these process members 6730 from the main body A of the device. However, electrical contacts (contact members) are not limited to those used to apply voltage to such process members. For example, if a memory chip that stores information about cartridge B is provided on cartridge B, then electrical contacts (contact members) that are electrically connected to the memory are provided on cartridge B. These electrical contacts are used by the main body A of the device to read information from the memory or write new information to the memory by contacting the electrical contacts of the main body A. This embodiment can also be suitably applied to such electrical contacts for information communication.

[0126] As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the cleaning frame 73 is provided with a pressed portion 71e that is pressed by the cartridge pressing member 1 inside the device body. That is, the pressing member 1 presses the lever member 12, moving it from a first position to a second position, and then contacts the pressed portion 71e of the cleaning frame 73. The pressing member 1 then applies a pressing force to the cartridge B via the lever member 12 and the pressed portion 71e. However, it is not always necessary for the pressing member 1 to contact the cleaning frame 73; the pressing member 1 may contact only the contact portion 12a of the lever member, and the device may be configured to apply a pressing force to the cartridge B only via the lever member 12.

[0127] <Variation> Furthermore, the above explanation (Figure 14) assumed that the respective rotation axes L2 and L1 are coaxial before the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 engage (Figure 14(a)), but the configuration is not limited to this. It is also possible that the rotation axis of the drive transmission member 81 is inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the coupling member 64 before the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 engage. However, because the coupling member 64 is configured to move back and forth, it is possible to engage the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 even in such cases. Below, a modified example in which the drive transmission unit 81 of Embodiment 1 is configured to be tiltable (inclinable) will be described.

[0128] Using Figure 15, we will explain how the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission member 81 engage when the rotation axes L3 and L1 of the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 are not coaxial before the coupling member 64 engages.

[0129] Here, Figure 15(a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view with the process cartridge inserted into the main body A of the apparatus and the opening / closing door 13 closed. Figure 15(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view immediately after a driving force is input to the main body A of the apparatus, the drive transmission member 81 begins to rotate, and the phase of the drive transmission part 81a and the phase of the driven transmission part 64a of the coupling member 64 fall within a predetermined range. Figure 15(c) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view after the engagement of the drive transmission part 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the driven transmission part 64a of the coupling member 64 is completed. Figures 15(a), (b), and (c) show the process in which the coupling member 64 engages with the drive transmission member 81 while reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81 as the coupling member 64 moves to the second position (extended position).

[0130] Figure 16 is a detailed view showing an enlarged portion of the area enclosed by circle J in Figure 15(a), and Figure 17 is a perspective view illustrating the chamfered portion 64e provided on the end face of the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64.

[0131] As shown in Figure 15(a), in this modified example, the diameter φD1 of the supported portion 81b of the drive transmission member 81 and the diameter φD2 of the support portion 85a of the drive transmission member support member 85 are configured such that φD1 > φD2.

[0132] Therefore, the drive transmission member 81 can move relative to the support member 85. When the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 engage, the drive transmission member 81 can move so that its axis aligns with the axis of the coupling member 64. In other words, the drive transmission member 81 is configured to precisely match the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 81 with the rotation axis L1 of the coupling member 64.

[0133] More specifically, as shown in Figure 15(c), the drive transmission member 81 is supported by the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64. At this time, a gap is provided between the supported portion 81b of the drive transmission member 81 and the support portion 85a of the drive transmission member support member 85, due to the relationship φD1 > φD2. The drive transmission member 81 is movable within the range of this gap. By appropriately setting the size of this gap, when the drive transmission member 81 engages with the coupling member 64, it is possible to align the center position of the tip side of the drive transmission member 81 (the position of the core at the tip side of the drive transmission member 81) with the center position of the coupling member 64. As a result, the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 81 can be accurately aligned with the rotation axis L1 of the coupling member 64.

[0134] On the other hand, before engaging with the coupling member 64, the drive transmission member 81 is tilted in the direction V in the figure due to its own weight, as shown in Figure 15(a), due to the relationship φD1 > φD2. As mentioned above, when the revolving door 13 of the device body A is completely closed, the coupling member 64 should normally be able to move from the first position to the second position. However, in this modified example, because the drive transmission member 81 is tilted in the direction V in the figure, the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64 cannot immediately engage with the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81.

[0135] In other words, the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81 with respect to the horizontal plane needs to be reduced until the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 can engage with the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64.

[0136] In this modified example, as the coupling member 64 moves to the second position, the coupling member 64 applies force to the drive transmission member 81, thereby moving the drive transmission member 81 to reduce its inclination angle. For this reason, as shown in Figures 16 and 17, the triangular ridge at the drive-side end of the coupling member 64 is provided with a chamfered portion (inclined portion, tapered portion) 64e that is inclined with respect to the axis of the coupling member 64. This chamfered portion 64e is an actuating portion for acting on the drive transmission member 81, and under certain conditions, it can move the drive transmission member 81 by contacting it.

[0137] The size of the chamfered portion 64e is configured such that, when the drive transmission member 81 is tilted in the V direction (Figure 15(a)), a portion of the chamfered portion 64e is located within the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 in the radial direction, as shown in Figure 16. For further explanation, in Figure 16, the position of the inner ridge of the chamfered portion 64e is indicated by L4, and the position of the edge of the recess, which is the drive transmission portion 81a, is indicated by L5. When the drive transmission member 81 rotates as shown in Figure 16, if a condition occurs where L5 is positioned radially outward from L4, the tilted portion of the chamfered portion 64e will come into contact with the edge of the drive transmission portion 81a (recess). In Figure 16, the edge of the drive transmission portion 81a (L5) is located radially outward from the inner ridge of the chamfered portion 64e (L4) by a distance x.

[0138] The inclined chamfered portion 64e applies force to the drive transmission member 81 in a direction perpendicular to its surface. Therefore, when the chamfered portion 64e contacts the edge of the drive transmission member 81a, it applies a force to the drive transmission member 81 in the upper left direction in the figure. As a result, as shown in Figure 15(b), a moment is applied to the drive transmission member 81 in the direction of arrow W, with its fixed end as the fulcrum. This causes the drive transmission member 81 to oscillate (tilt) in the direction of arrow W.

[0139] When the drive transmission member 81 oscillates in the direction of arrow W, the drive transmission unit 81a and the driven transmission unit 64a become engaged, and the coupling member 64 moves toward the second position on the drive side, completing the engagement between the drive transmission unit 81a and the driven transmission unit 64a. Once the engagement between the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission member 81 is complete, the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 81 precisely coincides with the rotation axis L1 of the coupling member 64.

[0140] As explained above, since the chamfered portion 64e is inclined with respect to the forward and backward direction of the coupling member 64, the tip (free end side) of the drive transmission member 81 can be lifted upward in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the coupling member 64. This reduces the angle difference between the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 (the angle between their respective axes of rotation), allowing the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 to engage. The chamfered portion (inclined portion) 64e is both a biasing portion that biases the drive transmission member 81 and an acting portion that acts on the drive transmission member 81. The chamfered portion (inclined portion) 64e is inclined in order to apply a force to the drive transmission member 81 that acts in a direction that reduces the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81.

[0141] As shown in Figure 16, the chamfered portion 64e is an inclined surface (surface portion) located near the tip of the coupling member 64. The chamfered portion 64e is inclined such that as it approaches the tip of the coupling member 64, its distance from the axis of the coupling member 64 decreases. In other words, the chamfered portion 64e is inclined such that as it approaches the tip of the coupling member 64, its distance from the axis of the photoreceptor drum decreases.

[0142] To explain in detail using the chamfered portion 64e shown in Figure 16 as an example, the chamfered portion 64e slopes downwards as it moves to the left. The left end of the chamfered portion 64e is the tip of the coupling member 64. Also, the axis of the coupling member 64 and the axis of the photoreceptor drum are located below the chamfered portion 64e. In other words, as the chamfered portion 64e moves towards the tip of the coupling member located to the left, it approaches the axis of the coupling member 64 located below it.

[0143] The coupling member 64 is a movable member movably provided on the cartridge B, and by biasing the drive transmission member 81, it reduces the inclination of the drive transmission member 81 relative to the coupling member 64. As a result, the drive transmission member 81 is aligned with the coupling member 64.

[0144] Furthermore, when the coupling member 64 moves to the second position, there may be cases where the phases of the drive transmission unit 81a and the driven transmission unit 64a are significantly different. In that case, the drive transmission unit 81a and the driven transmission unit 64a cannot engage, so the coupling member 64 will come into contact with the drive transmission unit 81 and stop temporarily while moving to the second position. Even in that case, when drive is input to the device body next, the drive transmission unit 81 rotates, changing the phase of the driven transmission unit 64a of the coupling member 64 with respect to the phase of the drive transmission unit 81a. As a result, the phase difference between the drive transmission unit 81a and the driven transmission unit 64a decreases, and the triangular orientation of the drive transmission unit 81a and the triangular orientation of the driven transmission unit 64a of the coupling member 64 approach each other. As a result, the coupling member 64 becomes capable of engaging with the drive transmission member 81 (see Figure 15(b)). At this time, the coupling member 64 presses against the drive transmission member 81 with its chamfered portion 64e, causing the drive transmission member 81, which is inclined in the V direction, to swing in a direction that reduces its inclination angle (the W direction in the figure). In other words, by bringing the chamfered portion 64e into contact with the drive transmission member 81, the center position of the tip of the drive transmission member 81 can be brought closer to the center position of the tip of the coupling member 64. In this state, the coupling member 64 itself moves to the drive side, completing the engagement with the drive transmission member 81 (Figure 15(c)).

[0145] In the above explanation, the inclination direction (V direction) of the drive transmission member 81 was assumed to be the direction of gravity, but this inclination direction can be any direction.

[0146] Furthermore, even if the rotation axes of the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission member 81 are parallel and not coaxial before engagement, the coupling member 64 of this modified example can still engage with the drive transmission member 81. That is, when the chamfered portion 64a contacts the drive transmission member 81, the position of the center of the tip of the drive transmission member 81 is moved closer to the center of the tip of the coupling member 64, as described above. In other words, just as in the case where the drive transmission member 81 is inclined, it is possible to engage the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 even if the axis of the drive transmission member 81 is misaligned in any direction.

[0147] In this embodiment, the position of the coupling member 64 retracted toward the inside of the photoreceptor drum 62 (retracted position) is referred to as the first position, and the position of the coupling member 64 extended toward the outside of the photoreceptor drum (extended position) is referred to as the second position. This is for convenience, and the retracted position may be called the second position and the extended position may be called the first position. Similarly, in this embodiment, the normal position of the lever member 12 is referred to as the first position, and the operating position of the lever member 12 is referred to as the second position. However, the normal position may be called the second position of the lever member 12, and the operating position may be called the first position of the lever member. These are also the same in the embodiments described later.

[0148] <Example 2> Next, we will describe Example 2. Note that explanations of points similar to those in the previous examples may be omitted. In particular, among the elements disclosed in this example, those corresponding to the members described in Example 1 will be given the same names as the members in Example 1, and only the differences from those in Example 1 will be explained.

[0149] In the aforementioned Embodiment 1, the operating member (lever member 12) was positioned on the drive side of cartridge B (the side where the coupling member is located), but in this embodiment, the operating member is positioned on the non-drive side of cartridge B (the side opposite to the drive side in the longitudinal direction). The differences in configuration and operation resulting from this change in the positioning of the operating member will be explained in particular detail.

[0150] First, the drive-side flange unit 269 and drum unit according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 18 and 19.

[0151] Figure 18 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drum unit of Example 2. Figure 19 is a diagram illustrating the assembly method of the drum unit of Example 2.

[0152] As shown in Figures 18 and 19, the drive-side flange unit 269 in this embodiment is composed of a coupling member 264, a drive-side flange member 275, a lid member 258, a first pressing member 259, etc. Furthermore, the drum unit is composed of the drive-side flange unit 269, a connecting member 261, a cushion member (buffer member, damper) 255, a non-drive-side flange member 254, and an inner cylindrical cam member 274. Similar to Embodiment 1, the coupling member 264 is composed of a driven transmission part 264a and a drive transmission part 264b that transmits drive to the drive-side flange member 275, etc. The drive-side flange member 275 also has a gear part 275a that transmits drive to a developing roller gear provided at the end of the developing roller, similar to Embodiment 1. The connecting member 261 is composed of a cushion member support part 261a, a connecting part 261b that connects the coupling member 264 and the inner cylindrical cam member 274, a supported part 261c that is supported by the inner cylindrical cam member, etc. The inner cylindrical cam member 274 consists of a cylindrical cam portion 274a (Figure 23), a connecting member support portion 274b, a supported portion 274c supported by the drum shaft 278, and an outer diameter portion 274d inserted into the inner circumference portion 254b of the non-drive side flange member 254.

[0153] The first pressing member 259, which consists of a compression spring or the like, is provided between the first member contact surface 264d of the coupling member 264 (see Figure 24) and the first member contact surface 275d of the drive-side flange member 275 (see Figure 24).

[0154] In this embodiment as well, the coupling member 264 is provided at the end of the photoreceptor drum 62. That is, the drive-side flange unit 269 having the coupling member 264 is fixed to the drive-side end of the photoreceptor drum 62 by means of press-fitting or crimping, similar to Embodiment 1. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 19, a connecting member 261 supporting the cushion member 255 is inserted into the drum from the non-drive-side end 62b. The non-drive-side flange member 254 is fixed to the non-drive-side drum end 62b by means of crimping, similar to Embodiment 1, with the inner cylindrical cam member 274 fitted into the inner circumference 254b (Figure 18). Thus, the drum unit of Embodiment 2 is constructed. The coupling member 264 is movably connected to the drive-side flange member 275.

[0155] In this embodiment as well, the driven transmission portion 264a of the coupling member 264 adopts a substantially triangular cross-section and a convex shape. Specifically, it adopts a shape in which a substantially triangular cross-section is twisted counterclockwise around the axis of the photoreceptor drum from the driving side to the non-driving side.

[0156] Next, the operating unit that enables the longitudinal movement of the coupling member 264 will be explained using Figures 20 to 23.

[0157] Figure 20 is a partial perspective view illustrating the configuration of a cleaning unit 260 having an operating unit according to this embodiment.

[0158] Figure 21 is a perspective view of the process cartridge in this embodiment.

[0159] Figure 22(a) is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus in the process of closing the opening / closing door 13 of the main body A in the direction H in the figure, showing the state in which the cartridge pressing member 1 has begun to come into contact with the pressed portion 212a of the lever member 212.

[0160] Figure 22(b) is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus with the opening / closing door 13 of the apparatus body A completely closed.

[0161] Figure 23 is a perspective view of the lever member 212, outer cylindrical cam member 270, and inner cylindrical cam member 274 according to this embodiment. Here, Figure 23(a) is a perspective view of the state before the cartridge pressing member 1 contacts the pressed portion 212a of the lever member 212. Figure 23(c) is a perspective view of the state when the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed and a predetermined pressure from the cartridge pressing spring 19 is applied to the contact portion 212a of the lever member 212 (Figure 22(b)). Figure 23(b) is a perspective view of the state between Figure 23(a) and Figure 23(c) (Figures 22(a) to 22(b)).

[0162] As shown in Figure 23, the operating unit consists of an outer cylindrical cam member 270, an inner cylindrical cam member 274, a lever member (operating member) 212, a second pressing member 214 (Figure 21), etc. The outer cylindrical cam member 270 consists of a cylindrical cam portion 270a and a lever member engaging portion 270b that engages with the lever member 212, etc. The lever member 212 consists of a contact portion 212a that the cartridge pressing member 1 (Figure 21) of the device body A abuts, and an engaged portion 212b that engages with the outer cam member 270, etc. As shown in Figure 20, the outer cylindrical cam member 270 with the lever member 212 engaged is attached to the cleaning frame 271 from top to bottom in the figure. Specifically, it is supported by the drum shaft 278 via the supported portion 270c so as to be rotatable relative to the cleaning frame 271, together with the drum unit.

[0163] As shown in Figure 21, the second pressing member 214 and the developing unit 20 are attached to the cleaning unit 260, forming the process cartridge of this embodiment.

[0164] Next, we will explain the movement of the coupling member 264 as the cartridge pressing member 1, provided on the main body A of the device, moves in contact with and separates from the lever member 212, causing the lever member 212 to move and the coupling member 264 to move forward and backward.

[0165] First, the longitudinal positioning configuration of the coupling member 264 in this embodiment will be explained using Figure 19. In this embodiment, the longitudinal position of the coupling member 264 is determined by the outer cylindrical cam member 270, the inner cylindrical cam member 274, and the connecting member 261.

[0166] Specifically, the coupling member 264, pressed to the non-driven side by the first pressing member 259, biases the connecting member 261 in the s direction shown in Figure 23(a), causing its end face 261d to contact the longitudinal restricting surface 274d of the inner cylindrical cam member 274. This determines the longitudinal position of the coupling member. As will be described later, the longitudinal position of the inner cylindrical cam member 274 is determined by the phase of the cylindrical cam portions of the outer cylindrical cam member 270 and the inner cylindrical cam member 274, as shown in Figure 23.

[0167] Next, the movement of the lever member 212 and the longitudinal movement of the coupling member 264 will be explained using Figures 21 to 24.

[0168] Here, Figure 24 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member 81 and coupling member 264 of the device body A according to this embodiment. Similar to Figure 23, Figure 24(a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state before the cartridge pressing member contacts the pressed portion 212a of the lever member 212. Figure 24(c) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state when the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed and a predetermined pressure from the cartridge pressing spring 19 is applied to the contact portion 12a of the lever member 212 (Figure 22(b)). Figure 24(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state between Figure 24(a) and Figure 24(c) (Figures 22(a) to 22(b)).

[0169] As shown in Figure 23(a), before the cartridge pressing member 1 contacts the lever member 212, the lever member 212 is biased in the direction of arrow E in Figures 21 and 23(a) by the second pressing member 214 (see Figure 21). At this time, the cylindrical cam portions of the outer cylindrical cam member 270 and the inner cylindrical cam member 274 are configured to be in the phase shown in Figure 23(a), so the inner cylindrical cam member 274 is in the position furthest to the non-driven side (direction S in the figure). Therefore, the coupling member 264, whose longitudinal position is determined via the connecting member 261 and cushion member 255, is configured to be in the position furthest to the non-driven side. In other words, the operating unit consisting of the connecting member 261, etc., allows the coupling member 264 to retract to the non-driven side due to the biasing force of the first pressing member 259 (see Figure 19). The position in which the coupling member 264 has retracted to the non-driven side is called the first position in this embodiment as well, similar to Embodiment 1. The first pressing member (biasing member, elastic member) 259 that biases the coupling member 264 toward the non-driven side can also be considered as part of the operating unit.

[0170] As shown in Figure 24(a), when the coupling member 264 is in the first position, the driven transmission portion 264a of the coupling member 264 and the driven transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 are configured not to overlap in the longitudinal direction. In other words, the attachment and detachment of the process cartridge B to the device body A can be performed smoothly without interference between the coupling member 264 and the drive transmission member 81 of the device body.

[0171] Next, we will describe the movement in which the cartridge pressing member 1 comes into contact with the lever member 212, the lever member 212 begins to move, and the coupling member 264 moves from the first position to the drive side.

[0172] As shown in Figure 22(a), when the process cartridge B is installed and the opening / closing door 13 is closed in the direction H in the figure, the cartridge pressing member 1 and the lever member 212 begin to come into contact, and the pressing force of the cartridge pressing spring 19 begins to act on the lever member 212. Due to this pressing force, the lever member 212 begins to move in the direction K shown in Figures 22(a) and 23(b), against the second pressing member 214. As shown in Figure 23(b), when the lever member 212 moves in the direction K, the outer cylindrical cam member 270 engaged with the lever member 212 begins to rotate in the direction M2 in the figure. When the outer cylindrical member 270 rotates in the direction M2, the inner cylindrical cam member 274 begins to move in the direction N (drive side) shown in Figure 23(b) due to the cylindrical cam portion of the outer cylindrical cam member 270 and the inner cylindrical cam member 274. As in Embodiment 1, the inner cylindrical cam member 274 does not rotate, but is supported so as to be movable only in the longitudinal direction.

[0173] As the inner cylindrical cam member 274 moves in the longitudinal direction (N direction), the connecting member 261 connected to the inner cylindrical cam member 274 also begins to move against the biasing force of the first pressing portion 259 (Figure 19). Then, as the connecting member 261 moves, the coupling member 264a also begins to move in the N direction, and the driven transmission portion 264a of the coupling member 264 and the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 of the device body become engaged in the longitudinal direction (Figure 24(b)). Note that the connecting member 261 is not directly connected to the coupling member 264, but as mentioned above, the connecting member 261 is connected to the coupling member 264 via the cushion member 255 (see Figure 19). The cushion member 255 is an expandable and contractible elastic member, and when the connecting member 261 moves in the N direction, the cushion member 255 is compressed, and the elastic force generated by this compression is used to move the coupling member 264 in the N direction. In other words, when the elastic force (biasing force) of the cushion member 255 exceeds the elastic force (biasing force) of the first pressing member 259 (see Figure 19), the coupling member 264 moves outward from the cartridge due to the biasing force of the first pressing member 259. This cushion member 255 can also be considered part of the operating unit.

[0174] Furthermore, when the opening / closing door 13 is closed and completely closed (as shown in Figure 22(b)), the outer cylindrical cam member 270 and the inner cylindrical cam member 274 are configured to contact each other at their respective longitudinal end faces. At this time, the inner cylindrical cam member 274 is positioned furthest to the drive side. In other words, the coupling member 264 is also configured to be positioned furthest to the drive side via the connecting member 261. In this embodiment as well, the position where the coupling member 264 protrudes toward the drive side is referred to as the second position.

[0175] As shown in Figure 24(c), when the coupling member 264 is in the second position, the driven transmission portion 264a of the coupling member 264 and the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 are configured to ensure the amount of longitudinal engagement necessary for stable drive transmission.

[0176] In this embodiment, as in Embodiment 1, the positions of the lever member 212 corresponding to the first and second positions of the coupling member 264 will be referred to as the first position and the second position, respectively. That is, Figures 23(a) and 24(a) show the first positions of the lever member 212 and the coupling member 264, respectively, and Figures 23(c) and 24(c) show the second positions of the lever member 212 and the coupling member 264, respectively. Figures 23(b) and 24(b) show the intermediate positions in the process of the lever member 212 and the coupling member 264 moving from the first position to the second position, respectively.

[0177] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the driven transmission portion 264a of the coupling member 264 in this embodiment uses a twisted triangular shape. Therefore, when the phase of the driven transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 (Figure 25) and the driven transmission portion 64 of the coupling member 264 do not match, the driven transmission portion 81a and the driven transmission portion 64a do not fully engage, and the coupling member 264 and the drive transmission member 81 interfere with each other. In this case, the coupling member 264 cannot move sufficiently to the second position (protruding position).

[0178] In other words, even though the lever member 212 is operated by the pressing member 1 of the device body A and moves to the second position (see Figure 23(c)), the coupling member 264 cannot move to the second position (see Figure 24(c)). In this case, the cushion member 255 is greatly compressed, absorbing the misalignment between the lever member 212 and the coupling member 264. That is, the cushion member 255 is a buffer member positioned between the lever member 212 and the coupling member 264, and is used to allow interference between the coupling member 264 and the drive transmission member 81.

[0179] In other words, because the cushion member 255 is placed between the coupling member 264 and the connecting member 261, the coupling member 264 is configured to remain stationary at the end face 81c of the drive transmission member 81 without being braced in the longitudinal direction.

[0180] When drive is input to the device body A in this state, the drive transmission member 81 rotates, and the phase difference between the coupling member 264 and the drive transmission member 81 falls within a predetermined range, as in the first embodiment. Then the coupling member 264 can move to the second position. In other words, when the phase difference between the coupling member 264 and the drive transmission member 81 falls within a predetermined range, the elastic deformation of the cushion member 255 is partially relieved, and the coupling member 264 moves to the second position using the elastic force of the cushion member 255. This engages the coupling member 264 and the drive transmission member 81. In this embodiment, a compression coil spring was used for the cushion member 255, but other elastic materials such as rubber can also be suitably used. Furthermore, the cushion member 255 only needs to be placed somewhere between the lever member 212 and the coupling member 264, and does not necessarily have to be placed between the connecting member 261 and the coupling member 264. For example, a part of the resin constituting the lever member 212 may act as a cushion member by undergoing elastic deformation. In this case as well, it can be considered that there is a cushioning member between the lever member 212 and the coupling member 264.

[0181] In this embodiment, the cushion member 255 is attached to the projection of the coupling member 264 with a gap in between. Therefore, the cushion member 255 is rotatable relative to the coupling member 264. In other words, when the coupling member 264 is subjected to rotational force, it slides and rotates relative to the cushion member 255. When the coupling member 264 rotates, the cushion member 255 does not rotate, and the connecting member 261 to which the cushion member 255 is connected also does not rotate. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the drum shaft 278 and the inner cylindrical cam member 274 are configured to be non-rotatable relative to each other. Specifically, the cross-section of the drum shaft 278 and the recess (support portion 274c) of the inner cylindrical cam member 274 have non-circular cross-sections, and the drum shaft 278 engages (fits) with the support portion 274c, preventing the inner cylindrical cam member 274 from rotating relative to the drum shaft 278. In other words, the inner cylindrical cam 274 does not rotate, and can only move back and forth along the drum shaft 278 in the axial direction (longitudinal direction). Furthermore, the non-drive side flange member 254 is fixed to the photoreceptor drum 62, while being configured to be rotatable relative to the outer diameter portion 274d (Figure 19) of the inner cylindrical cam member 274.

[0182] When drive is transmitted to the coupling member 264, the photoreceptor drum 62 and the non-driven flange member 254 rotate. As a result, the non-driven flange member 254, which is positioned to surround the inner cylindrical cam member 274, rotates while sliding against the inner cylindrical cam member 274. The non-driven flange member 254 is supported by the drum shaft 278 via the inner cylindrical cam member 274.

[0183] Unlike Embodiment 1 described above, in this embodiment, the operating member (lever member 212) and cam mechanism (inner cylindrical cam member 274 and outer cylindrical cam member 270) are provided on the non-driving side. Therefore, a connecting member 261 is provided on the cartridge B to connect these operating member and cam mechanism on the non-driving side to the coupling member 264 on the driving side. This connecting member 261 can also be considered as part of the operating unit for moving the coupling member 264. The connecting member 261 is an extended member that extends in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge B. In this embodiment, the dead space inside the drum 62 is effectively utilized by arranging the connecting member 261 inside the drum 62.

[0184] As mentioned above, there is a first pressing member 259 which acts as a biasing member for biasing the coupling member 264 to the first position (retracted position). When the lever member 212 is in the first position (normal position), the operating unit allows the coupling member 264 to be moved to the retracted position by the force of the first pressing member 259.

[0185] On the other hand, when the lever member 212 moves to the second position (operating position), the cam mechanism (inner cylindrical cam member 274, outer cylindrical cam member 270) and the connecting member 261 move in conjunction. This cam mechanism moves the coupling member 264 to the second position (extended position) against the biasing force of the first pressing member 259. The connecting member 261 is not directly connected to the coupling member 264, but as described above, the connecting member 261 and the coupling member 264 are connected via the cushion member 255. In this embodiment, the drum shaft 278, the inner cylindrical cam member 274, and the non-drive side flange member 254 are made of conductive material. As a result, the drum shaft 278 is electrically connected to the drum 62. The drum shaft 278 is also electrically connected to the drum 62 and is a contact member (electrical contact) used to ground the drum 62. As shown in Figure 29, the drum shaft 278 is configured to be electrically connected to the sheet metal member of the device body A via the contact member 103 provided on the device body A. Figure 29 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the grounding of the photoreceptor drum 62. The contact member 103 is an electrical contact on the device body A side that is electrically connected to the sheet metal member (a plate-shaped metal frame that constitutes the device body A) 104.

[0186] Furthermore, a part of the operating unit is electrically connected to the drum 62 and the drum shaft 278, thereby electrically connecting the drum 62 to the sheet metal member of the device body A via the drum shaft 278 and the operating unit.

[0187] Therefore, by constructing the drum shaft 278, the inner cylindrical cam member 274, and the non-drive side flange member 254 from a conductive material, the drum can be stably connected to (grounded) the earth.

[0188] Furthermore, similar to the modified example of Embodiment 1, the coupling member 264 in this embodiment can engage with a drive transmission member 81 even if the drive transmission member 81 is configured such that its axis of rotation is inclined with respect to the axis of rotation of the coupling member 264 before engagement. In other words, similar to the modified example of Embodiment 1, as the coupling member 264 advances toward the drive transmission member 81, the coupling member 264 can reduce the inclination of the drive transmission member 81 (see Figures 15(a) to (c)). This aligns the drive transmission member 81 with the coupling member 264, allowing them to engage.

[0189] Furthermore, even if the rotation axes of the coupling member 64 and the drive transmission member 81 are parallel and not coaxial before engagement, the coupling member 264 of this embodiment can engage with the drive transmission member 81.

[0190] As explained above, in this embodiment, the lever member 212 (operating member) is positioned on the non-drive side opposite the coupling member 264. Compared to the drive side, the non-drive side of cartridge B does not require the placement of drive transmission members such as gears (or the number of such members is reduced), making it easier to secure space for the lever member 212. In other words, by positioning the lever member 212 on the non-drive side of cartridge B, the design freedom regarding the structure, shape, and position of the lever member 212 can be increased. Furthermore, since part of the operating unit is located on the non-drive side, this part of the operating unit can also be effectively utilized as a path for grounding the drum 62. Even if the lever member 212 is positioned on the non-drive side opposite to the side where the electrical contacts 82 and 83 are located, the pressing force received by the lever member 212 can still press the electrical contacts 82 and 83 against the main body electrical contacts 102 and 103, although not to the same extent as in Embodiment 1.

[0191] In the aforementioned Embodiment 1, the operating member 12 and the coupling member 64 were positioned on the same side of the cartridge in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum (see Figures 1, 4, 5, and 9). In other words, in Embodiment 1, the operating member 12, like the coupling member 64, is positioned near the drive-side end of the cartridge frame. That is, both the operating member 12 and the coupling member 64 are positioned near the drum bearing 73 located on the drive side.

[0192] In contrast, in this embodiment, the operating member 212 and the cartridge member 264 are positioned on opposite sides of the cartridge (Figure 21). That is, the operating member 212 is positioned near the non-driven end of the cleaning frame 71.

[0193] Based on the descriptions in Example 1 and this embodiment, the placement of the operating member on the drive side or the non-drive side can be appropriately selected depending on the required functions, configurations, and conditions of cartridge B and the device body A. In each embodiment described later, the placement of the operating member on the drive side or the non-drive side of the cartridge can also be appropriately selected.

[0194] <Example 3> Next, we will describe Example 3. In Example 3, a drive transmission member 581 is shown in which the axis is inclined with respect to the axis of the photoreceptor drum, similar to the drive transmission member 81 shown in the modified example of Example 1.

[0195] A configuration in which the coupling member (drive input member) engages with the inclined drive transmission member 581 is described below, by determining the position and orientation of the coupling member (drive input member) so as to follow the axis of the inclined drive transmission member 581 (see Figure 35 below).

[0196] First, the drive-side flange unit 569 and drum unit having the Oldham coupling 549, which is a shaft coupling according to this embodiment, will be described using Figures 30, 31, and 32.

[0197] Figure 30 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drum unit.

[0198] Figure 31 is a perspective view illustrating the Oldham coupling 549 used in this embodiment, where Figure 31(a) is a perspective view before assembly and Figure 31(b) is a perspective view after assembly. Figure 32 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive-side flange unit 569.

[0199] As shown in Figures 30, 31, and 32, the drive-side flange unit 569 in this embodiment consists of a drive input member 564, an intermediate body 545, a drive force transmission pin 548, an output member 547, a lid member 558, a first pressing member 559, and the like. The drum unit in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 30, consists of the drive-side flange unit 569, a connecting member 261, a cushion member 255, a non-drive-side flange member 254, and an inner cylindrical cam member 274. The connecting member 261, cushion member 255, non-drive-side flange member 254, and inner cylindrical cam member 274, which are the operating member units that move the drive input member 564 in the longitudinal direction, use the same configuration as in Embodiment 2, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0200] As shown in Figures 30 and 31, the drive input member 564 of this embodiment has a driven transmission portion (driving force receiving portion) 564a, similar to the embodiment described above. The drive input member 564 is part of the coupling member (Oldham coupling 549), and driving force is input to the drive input member 564 via the driven transmission portion 564a.

[0201] The driven transmission section 564a has a triangular shape, similar to the embodiment described above. The drive input member 564 is also provided with a guided rib 564b that engages with the Oldham coupling 549, which will be described later. As shown in Figure 31, the Oldham coupling 549 includes a drive input member (input disk, input member, input section) 564, an intermediate body (intermediate member, intermediate disk, intermediate section) 545, and a drive output member (output member, output disk, output section) 547.

[0202] The intermediate member 545 has a guide groove 545a and a guided rib 545b. Similar to the intermediate member 545, the output member 547 is provided with a guided groove 547a and a hole portion 547b into which a drive transmission pin described later is inserted. As shown in FIG. 31(a), the drive input member 564 is locked to the intermediate member 545 by engaging a guided rib 564b provided on the drive input member with the guide groove 545a of the intermediate member 545. Thereby, the drive input member 564 can move in the x1 direction in FIG. 31(a) with respect to the intermediate member. That is, the input member 564 is engaged with the intermediate member 545 so as to be slidable in the x1 direction with respect to the intermediate member 545.

[0203] The intermediate member 545 is locked to the output member 547 by engaging a guided rib 545b provided on the intermediate member with the guided groove 547a of the output member 547. Thereby, the intermediate member 545 can move in the x2 direction in FIG. 31(a) with respect to the output member 547. That is, the intermediate member 545 is engaged with the output member 547 so as to be slidable in the x2 direction with respect to the output member 547.

[0204] Since the x1 direction and the x2 direction are different directions (i.e., directions orthogonal to each other), the drive input member 564 is configured to be able to move in any direction of the x1 direction and the x2 direction with respect to the output member 547. Further, as shown in FIG. 2(a), in this embodiment, the guided width d5 of the guided rib 564b of the drive input member, the width d6 of the guide groove of the intermediate member, and the guided width d7 of the intermediate member and the width d8 of the slide groove of the output member are configured such that d5 < d6 and d7 < d8. Details will be described later, but thereby, the axis of the drive input member 564 is configured to be inclined with respect to the axis of the photosensitive drum.

[0205] Further, a drive transmission pin 548 for transmitting the driving force received by the drive input member 564 to the drive-side flange member 575 through the transmission surface 575d is inserted into the hole portion 547b of the output member 547. Thereby, the oldham coupling 549 including the drive input member 564 is completed (FIG. 31(b)).

[0206] The input member 564 is a disk to which a driving force is input from the outside. The output member 547 is a disk for outputting a driving force from the oldham coupling 549 toward the photosensitive drum. That is, the output member 547 has a drive transmission pin (drive transmission portion) 548 for outputting a driving force to the drive-side flange member 575. The driving force output from the output member 547 via the drive transmission pin 548 is transmitted to the photosensitive drum through the drive-side drum flange. The intermediate member (intermediate member) 545 is a disk provided between the input member 564 and the output member 547 so as to transmit a driving force from the input member 564 to the output member 547, and is engaged with the input member 564 and the output member 547.

[0207] FIG. 32 is a cross-section of the drive-side drum flange unit 569 and is a view before the lid member 558 is assembled.

[0208] As shown in FIG. 32, the oldham coupling 549 including the drive input member 564 is inserted into the drive-side flange member 575 together with the first pressing member 559, similar to Example 2. The first pressing member 559 is disposed between the contact surface 547c of the output member 547 and the contact surface 575c of the drive-side flange member 575. Thereby, the oldham coupling 549 including the drive input member 564 is configured to be biased to the first position in the longitudinal direction, which is the retracted position. Also, the axis x3 of the output member 547 and the axis x4 of the drive-side flange member 575 are configured to be coaxial. The lid member 558 is fixed to the drive-side flange member 575. The drive-side flange member 564 to which the lid member 558 is fixed is fixed to the photosensitive drum 62. The connecting member 261, the cushion member 255, the non-drive-side flange member 254, and the inner cylindrical cam member 274 described in Example 2 are also attached to the drum unit (FIG. 30).

[0209] As mentioned above, the drive input member 564 is configured to take any position in the x1 and x2 directions in Figure 31(a) relative to the output member 547. Furthermore, since the axes x3 and x4 of the output member 547 and the drive-side flange member are coaxial with the axis L1 of the photoreceptor drum 62, the drive input member 564 in this embodiment can take any position in the x1 and x2 directions relative to the axis of the photoreceptor drum 62.

[0210] Next, the assembly method of the drum unit according to this embodiment will be explained using Figures 33 and 34. Figure 33(a) is a perspective view illustrating the assembly method of the drum unit.

[0211] Figure 33(b) is a detailed view illustrating the locking portion of the coupling support member 552 and the drum bearing 573.

[0212] Figure 34 is a side view of the process cartridge according to this embodiment.

[0213] As shown in Figure 33, the drum unit of this embodiment is rotatably supported on the cleaning frame 571 via a drum bearing 573. A coupling support member 552 and a coupling biasing member 553 are attached to the drum bearing 573 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 33(a), the coupling support member 552 is configured such that its locking portion 552b is locked into a notch 573a provided in the drum bearing 573. In this embodiment, the relationship between the width d3 of the locking portion 552b of the coupling support member 552 and the notch width d4 of the notch 573a of the drum bearing 573 is such that d4 > d3.

[0214] This configuration allows the axis of the coupling support member 552 to be tilted relative to the axis of the photoreceptor drum. In this embodiment, a torsion coil spring is used as the coupling biasing member 553, and the torsion coil spring is held by the boss portions 573c and 573d of the drum bearing 573. One end of the torsion coil spring abuts against the contact portion 552d of the coupling support member 552, and the coupling support member 552 is configured to bias in the X5 direction in Figure 34(b).

[0215] As shown in Figures 30 and 34, the coupling support member 552 is configured to rotatably support the outer circumference 564c of the drive input member with its inner circumference 552a. As a result, the drive input member 564 supported by the coupling support member 552 is biased in the x5 direction in the figures by the biasing force of the coupling biasing member 553. As will be described later, direction x5 is the direction in which the drive input member 564 engages with the drive transmission member 81, which has an axis inclined with respect to the axis of the photoreceptor drum.

[0216] Next, the inclination of the drive transmission member 581 will be explained using Figure 34(a). Similar to the modified example of Embodiment 1 described above, the drive transmission member 581 is also configured to be tiltable in this embodiment. That is, as in the embodiment described above, there is a gap (play) between the bearing portion supporting the drive transmission member 581 and the drive transmission member 581. The drive transmission member 581 can be tilted within the range of this gap.

[0217] However, in this embodiment, the direction in which the drive transmission member 581 is tilted differs from that of the embodiments described above. In the embodiments described above, the drive transmission member tilted directly downward due to gravity when not connected to the cartridge B (see Figure 15, etc.). However, in this embodiment, the drive transmission member 581 is tilted in a direction different from the direction of gravity (directly downward). Specifically, as shown in Figure 34(a), the drive transmission member 581 is tilted so that its tip faces downstream of the mounting direction KH of the cartridge B. This is for the following reasons.

[0218] As shown in Figure 34(a), there are cases where the cartridge is mounted on the device body at a slight angle relative to the device body. In this case, a part of the cartridge B may lightly contact and push the tip of the drive transmission member 581, potentially causing the drive transmission member 581 to tilt downstream in the mounting direction KH. Furthermore, if the posture and force with which the cartridge B is mounted differ, the way in which the cartridge B and the drive transmission member 581 make contact will also differ, potentially changing the direction and distance of the tilt of the drive transmission member 581. Under such conditions, the posture (tilt) of the drive transmission member 581 changes each time the cartridge B is mounted, which may make it difficult to stably engage the drive transmission member 581 with the cartridge B.

[0219] Therefore, in this embodiment, the drive transmission member 581 was tilted in advance towards the downstream side of the mounting direction KH. In other words, regardless of how the cartridge B is mounted, the drive transmission member 581 is always tilted in approximately the same direction and maintains approximately the same posture. This stabilizes the connection between the drive transmission member 581 and the cartridge B each time.

[0220] When cartridge B is installed in the main body of the device, the tip of the drive transmission member 581 is inclined relative to cartridge B in the direction of arrow x5 shown in Figure 34(b).

[0221] The direction of arrow X5 is the direction in which the line obtained by rotating the line (half-line) X6, which extends from the center of the photoreceptor drum towards the center of the developing roller, by 41 degrees counterclockwise extends. In Figure 34(b), the counterclockwise direction is the direction in which the photoreceptor drum rotates when forming the latent image and toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor drum.

[0222] In this embodiment, the drive input member 564 is also moved in the X5 direction relative to the photoreceptor drum, in relation to the drive transmission member 581 which is inclined in the X5 direction. This causes the drive transmission member 581 and the drive input member 564 to engage (connect). This will be explained in detail with reference to Figures 35 and 36.

[0223] Figures 35(a), (b), and (c) show step by step how the drive input member 564 of this embodiment engages with the drive transmission member 581, which has an axis L6 inclined with respect to the axis L1 of the photoreceptor drum.

[0224] Similar to Example 2, Figure 35(a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the process cartridge inserted into the apparatus body A and the opening / closing door 13 closed. Figure 35(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view immediately after driving force is input to the apparatus body A, the drive transmission member 581 begins to rotate, and the phase of the drive transmission portion 581a and the phase of the driven transmission portion 564a of the drive input member 564 fall within a predetermined range. Figure 35(c) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the engagement between the drive transmission portion 581a of the drive transmission member 581 and the driven transmission portion 564a of the drive input member 564 is completed.

[0225] Figure 36 is a detailed view of section y in Figure 35(a).

[0226] The coupling member (Oldham coupling 549) in this embodiment is configured to move forward and backward, similar to the coupling members in Embodiments 1 and 2 described above. The configuration for moving the Oldham coupling 549 (drive input member 564, intermediate body 545, output member 547) along the longitudinal direction is the same as in Embodiment 2. That is, the output member 547 moves along the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum 62, similar to the coupling member 264 shown in Figure 26. This movement of the output member 547 causes the entire coupling member (Oldham coupling 549) to move between an advanced position (see Figure 35(c)) and a retracted position (see Figure 35(a)).

[0227] As described above, in this embodiment, the drive input member 564 is biased in the x5 direction in Figure 34(b) so that it can engage with the drive transmission member 581 having axis L6.

[0228] More specifically, in the state shown in Figure 35(a) with the opening / closing door 13 of the main body of the device closed, the drive input member 564 is biased in the x5 direction such that a part of the chamfered portion 564e is located within the drive transmission portion 581a of the drive transmission member 581 in the radial direction.

[0229] When drive is input to the apparatus main body A and the drive transmission member 581 rotates, when the triangular posture of the drive transmission member 581 approaches the triangular posture of the drive input member 564, the engagement between the drive input member 564 and the drive transmission member 581 starts (FIG. 35(b)). Further, as the drive transmission member 581 rotates, the drive input member 564 moves to the second position in the longitudinal direction, and the engagement between the input member 564 of the Oldham coupling and the drive transmission member 581 is completed (FIG. 35(c)).

[0230] As described above, in this embodiment, the axes of the drive input member (input member, input part) 564 and the coupling support member (coupling bearing) 552 are configured to be inclined with respect to the axis of the photosensitive drum. Therefore, at the stage when the engagement between the drive input member 564 and the drive transmission member 581 is completed, the axes of the drive input member 564 and the coupling support member 552 become coaxial with the axis of the drive transmission member 581.

[0231] Also, the drive of the drive transmission member of the apparatus main body is transmitted to the photosensitive drum via the drive input member 564, the intermediate body (intermediate member, intermediate part) 545, the output member (output part) 547, the drive transmission pin 548, and the drive side flange member 575.

[0232] As described above, in this embodiment, by adopting a configuration in which the drive input member 564 is biased in the x5 direction (FIG. 34), the drive input member 564 can be engaged with the drive transmission member 81 having an axis L6 inclined with respect to the axis L1 of the photosensitive drum.

[0233] The Oldham coupling 549 (drive input member 564, intermediate body 545, output member 547) is an axial misalignment tolerance mechanism (axial misalignment absorption mechanism) for allowing a state where the axis of the drive transmission member 581 and the axis of the photosensitive drum do not coincide (axial misalignment state).

[0234] In other words, the coupling member (Oldham coupling 549) has an input member 564 for receiving driving force from the main body of the device and an output member 547 for outputting driving force to the photoreceptor drum. The axis of the output member 547 substantially coincides with the axis L1 of the photoreceptor drum, while the input member 564 is movable relative to the output member 547 in a direction that intersects (orthogonal to) the axis of the output member 547. That is, the axis (center of rotation) of the input member 564 can be shifted (offset, moved away) from the axis (L1) of the output member 547. As a result, the input member 564 can absorb the misalignment that occurs between the axis of the drive transmission member 581 and the axis of the photoreceptor drum. In other words, since the input member 654 is displaced in a direction that intersects the axis L1, the tip of the drive transmission member 581 and the input member 654 are in close proximity when the cartridge B is mounted on the main body of the device. In this state, the input member 654 moves further along the axis L1 towards the drive transmission member 581 and engages with the drive transmission member 581.

[0235] In this embodiment, the direction in which the center of the input member 654 is displaced relative to the output member 547 and the photoreceptor drum is the direction of arrow X5 shown in Figure 34(b). The X5 direction is the direction in which the tip side of the drive transmission member 581 is inclined, as described above. The X5 direction is the direction in which the line X6 extending from the center of the photoreceptor drum toward the center of the developing roller is rotated counterclockwise (i.e., downstream in the direction of rotation of the photoreceptor drum) by an angle of X5.

[0236] In this embodiment, the angle X5 in the direction in which the tip of the drive transmission member 581 tilts is 41 degrees. Therefore, the angle X7 in the direction that displaces the input member 654 is also 41 degrees. However, the angle in the direction in which the drive transmission member 581 is displaced does not have to be exactly 41 degrees, and may be in the range of 11° to 71° (a range of ±30 degrees relative to the angle of the drive transmission member 581). In other words, the direction in which the input member 654 is displaced relative to the photoreceptor drum is in the range of greater than 11 degrees and less than 71 degrees relative to X6.

[0237] The input member 654 is biased by the coupling biasing member 553 (see Figure 33(a)) to hold it in a state moved in the X5 direction. An elastic member (spring) is used as the coupling biasing member 553. In this embodiment, the coupling biasing member 553 is a torsion coil spring, but it is not limited to this, and other configurations are also possible.

[0238] In this embodiment, it is also possible for the axis of the input member 654 to be inclined with respect to the axis (L1) of the output member 547 and the photoreceptor drum 62. The input member 654 is also inclined along with the inclined drive transmission member 581, stabilizing the engagement state between the drive transmission member 581 and the input member 654. As shown in Figures 35(a), (b), and (c), the axis of the input member 654 is inclined to approach the axis of the drum as it approaches the tip of the Oldham coupling (i.e., the left side). In Figures 35(a), (b), and (c), the axis of the input member 654 is inclined toward the upper left.

[0239] As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the drive transmission member 581 is tilted in the KH direction (X5 direction) (see Figures 34(a) and (b)). The drive transmission members in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 may also be tilted in the same direction as in this embodiment. Furthermore, in the embodiments described later, the drive transmission member may also be tilted in the same direction as in this embodiment.

[0240] <Example 4> Next, we will describe Example 4. Note that explanations of points similar to those in the previous examples may be omitted. In particular, among the elements disclosed in this example, those corresponding to the members described in Example 1 will be given the same names as the members in Example 1, and only the differences from those in Example 1 will be explained.

[0241] In the modified example of Embodiment 1 described above, during the process of moving the coupling member 64 toward the drive transmission member 81, the inclined surface of the tip of the coupling member 64 was brought into contact with the drive transmission member 81. As a result, the coupling member 64 caused the drive transmission member 81 to tilt, and the coupling member 64 engaged with the drive transmission member 81.

[0242] In contrast, in this embodiment, the coupling member and the drive transmission member 81 are engaged by controlling the phase of the coupling member to a specific state according to the inclination of the drive transmission member 81. That is, the coupling member is held in a phase that facilitates engagement with the inclined drive transmission member 81. The differences in configuration and operation that arise from this change in coupling engagement method will be explained in particular detail.

[0243] (Instructions for attaching and detaching the process cartridge) Figure 37 is a perspective view of cartridge B, showing one embodiment of the present invention.

[0244] Figure 37(a) is an overall view of cartridge B. Figure 37(b) is an exploded view of cartridge B to illustrate the mechanism for operating the input member (drive input member, moving member) 764.

[0245] In Figure 37(a), a coupling unit U3 including an input member 764 is provided on the side of the cleaning frame 771. This side is also provided with a drum bearing 773 that rotatably supports the drum unit U1, and a restricting member 790 fixed to the drum bearing 773 that restricts the coupling unit U3 from moving in the longitudinal outward direction LO.

[0246] Figure 37(b) is an exploded perspective view with the restricting member 790 and drum bearing 773 removed. The restricting member 790 is fixed to the drum bearing 773 with screws 791. The end face 790a of the restricting member 790 can come into contact with the end face 770a of the outer cylindrical cam 770, which will be described later in Figure 43, and restricts the movement of the outer cylindrical cam 770 in the longitudinal outward direction LO.

[0247] Next, using Figure 38, the internal configuration of the coupling unit U3, which receives rotational force from the drive transmission member 81 of the device body A, will be explained. Figures 38(a) and (b) are exploded perspective views of the coupling unit U3. The outer longitudinal side is denoted as LO, and the inner longitudinal side as LI.

[0248] The coupling unit U3 consists of a coupling shaft 793, a third pressing member 787, an input member 764, an outer cylindrical cam 770, an inner cylindrical cam 774, a first pressing spring 759, a drive-side flange 775, a torsion spring 789, and a fixing screw 788.

[0249] The coupling shaft 793 is provided on the drive-side flange 775. In this embodiment, the coupling shaft 793 is fixed to the drive-side flange 775 using fixing screws 788. In this embodiment, the coupling shaft 793 is provided coaxially with the rotation axis L1 of the drum 62. More specifically, the fixing screws 788 pass through the hole 775a of the drive-side flange 775 and are inserted into the hole 793a1 of the coupling shaft 793 and fixed with screws. The coupling shaft 793 has a tip portion 793b as a restricting portion in the longitudinal outward direction LO (longitudinal outer end) and a shaft 793a in the longitudinal inward direction LI. The tip portion 793b has an engaging portion 793b1 as a drive transmission portion consisting of a plurality of protrusions and recesses in the longitudinal inward direction LI. The engaging portion 793b1 has an end face 793b2 on the radially inward side (an enlarged view is shown in Figure 43).

[0250] In this embodiment, the input member 764 has a driven transmission portion 764a, which is a roughly triangular twisted prism, at one end, and a roughly triangular prism 764e at the other end. The input member 764 has a through hole 764c and an engaging portion 764f, which is a driving force transmission portion, consisting of a plurality of protrusions and recesses, at the center of the rotation axis L1. (An enlarged view is shown in Figure 39(a).) The engaging portion 764f is radially inward of the driven transmission portion 764a and adjacent to the longitudinally outward direction LO of the through hole 764c. The coupling shaft 793 is inserted into the through hole 764c of the input member 764. The third pressing member 787 is attached around the shaft 793a of the coupling shaft 793 and is positioned between the end face 793b2 of the tip portion 793b of the coupling shaft 793, which is a restricting portion, and the input member 764. The engaging portion 793b1 of the coupling shaft 793, which serves as a driving force receiving portion, and the engaging portion 764f of the input member 764, which serves as a driving force transmission portion, are configured to be able to engage and disengage. This allows the driving force to be transmitted or interrupted between the input member 764 and the coupling shaft 793.

[0251] The coupling member of this embodiment includes an input member 764 and a coupling shaft 793. The input member 764 is a drive input member provided on the coupling member to receive a driving force input from the outside. As will be described in detail later, the input member 764 is a movable member (movable coupling member) that can move along the axis of the coupling member. On the other hand, the coupling shaft 793 is an output member (drive output member+) for outputting a driving force from the coupling member toward the photoreceptor drum. The coupling shaft 793 is also a connecting member connected to the drive-side flange 775 so as to be able to transmit a driving force, and is a fixed member fixed to the drive-side flange 775 and the photoreceptor drum.

[0252] Here, the engaging portion 793b1 functions as a restricting portion, and the engaging portion 764f functions as a restricted portion. Contact between the restricting portion (engaging portion 793b1) and the restricted portion (engaging portion 764f) allows the coupling shaft 793 to restrict the movement of the input member 764. That is, movement of the input member 764 away from the drive-side flange 775 (or drum 62) can be restricted.

[0253] The outer cylindrical cam 770 is provided so as to surround the input member 764. The outer cylindrical cam 770 has an end face 770a on its longitudinally outward side LO. The outer cylindrical cam 770 has an end face 770b on which a cam 770e is provided, and a cylindrical portion 770c with a through hole 770d in the center on its longitudinally inward side LI.

[0254] The inner cylindrical cam 774 has a cylinder 774a, a hole 774j, an outer end face 774b, a hole 774c, a cam 774d, a hole 774e, a shaft 774f, an inner end face 774g, a wall 774h, and a hole 774i. The hole 774j is located at the center of the cylindrical portion 774a. The cam 774d protrudes from the outer end face 774b in the longitudinal outward direction LO. The hole 774c is arranged around the cylindrical portion 774a. The hole 774e is provided at least on the outer end face 774b. The hole 774e may be through. The shaft 774f and the wall 774h are arranged to protrude from the inner end face 774g in the longitudinal inward direction LI. The inner cylindrical cam 774 has a hole 774i in the longitudinal inward direction LI. The shaft 793a of the coupling shaft 793 is housed in the hole 774i.

[0255] The shaft 764d of the input member 764 is housed in the hole 774j. The cylindrical portion 770c of the outer cylindrical cam 770 is housed in the hole 774c. The cam 774d of the inner cylindrical cam 774 and the end face 770b of the outer cylindrical cam 770, which includes the inclined surface 770e, are configured to come into contact with each other.

[0256] The torsion spring 789 has a hole 789a, arms 789b and 789c. The torsion spring 789 is held on the shaft 774f by inserting the hole 789a of the torsion spring 789 onto the shaft 774f. Arm 789c abuts against the radially inner surface of the wall 774h provided on the inner cylindrical cam 774. Arm 789b abuts against the substantially triangular prism 786e provided on the input member 764.

[0257] In this embodiment, there are two cams 774d and two holes 774e, and three shafts 774f and three walls 774h.

[0258] The drive-side flange 775 has a hole 775a in the longitudinal inward direction LI. The drive-side flange 775 has a gear 775b, a hole 775c, and an end face 775d in the longitudinal outward direction LO.

[0259] The first compression spring 759, acting as a biasing member, is housed in the hole 775c of the drive-side flange 775. The first compression spring 759 abuts against the end face 775d of the drive-side flange 775 in the longitudinal inward direction LI, and abuts against the end face 774g of the inner cylindrical cam 774 in the longitudinal outward direction LO.

[0260] Figure 39 is an enlarged perspective view of the coupling shaft 793, the third pressing member 787 as a biasing member, and the input member 764. It is intended to illustrate the tip portion 793b of the coupling shaft 793 as a restricting portion.

[0261] The engaging portion 793b1, which serves as a driving force receiving portion consisting of multiple protrusions and indentations, is provided on the tip portion 793b of the coupling shaft 793, which serves as the restricted portion. Any protrusion on the tip portion 793b has a surface 793b3 on one side in the circumferential direction and a surface 793b4 on the opposite side in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, surface 793b3 is the driving transmission surface (shaft-side driving force receiving portion or flange-side driving force receiving portion).

[0262] A third pressing member 787 is provided around the shaft 793a. In the assembled state, the end face 787a of the third pressing member 787 abuts against the end face 793b2 of the tip portion 793b.

[0263] Next, the input member 764 will be described.

[0264] Any protrusion of the engaging portion 764f has a surface 764j on one side in the circumferential direction and a surface 764k on the opposite side in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, surface 764j is the drive transmission surface (drive force transmission portion). When the coupling shaft 793 and the input member 764 are in a drive transmission state, the surface 793b3 of the coupling shaft 793 as the drive force receiving portion and the surface 764j of the input member 764 as the drive force transmission portion come into contact, and the input member 764 transmits drive force to the coupling shaft 793. The input member 764 has an end surface 764l. In the assembled state, the end surface 764l comes into contact with the end surface 787b of the third pressing member 787 (Figure 43).

[0265] The input member 764 has a through hole 764c centered on the axis L1.

[0266] Figure 40 illustrates the contact area between the outer cylindrical cam 770 and the inner cylindrical cam 774. The cylindrical portion 770c of the outer cylindrical cam 770 is housed and supported in the hole 774c of the inner cylindrical cam 774. The end face 770b of the outer cylindrical cam 770 includes the bevel 770e, end face 770g, and end face 770h. The cam 774d of the inner cylindrical cam 774 includes the bevel 774k and the end face 774l.

[0267] In the state where the input member 764 is retracted toward the longitudinal inward direction LI (non-driven side) (Figure 43(a)), the end face 770g of the outer cylindrical cam 770 is in contact with the end face 774l of the inner cylindrical cam 774.

[0268] In the state where the input member 764 is protruding longitudinally outward LO (towards the drive side) (Figure 5(b)), the end face 770h of the outer cylindrical cam 770 is in contact with the end face 774l of the inner cylindrical cam 774.

[0269] Furthermore, during the process in which the input member 764 moves from the retracted state (Figure 43(a)) to the protruding state (Figure 43(b)), the inclined surface 770e of the outer cylindrical cam 770 and the inclined surface 774k of the inner cylindrical cam 774 come into contact with each other.

[0270] Figure 41 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the drum bearing 773 that houses the outer cylindrical cam 770.

[0271] The outer cylindrical cam 770 comprises a cylindrical portion 770c, an outer cylindrical portion 770i, an engaging portion 770f, and an end face 770b. The drum bearing 773 comprises a fan-shaped hole 773c that accommodates the cylindrical portion 770c, a hole 773d that accommodates the outer cylindrical portion 770i, an end face 773e that abuts against the end face 770b, and a slit 773f that accommodates the engaging portion 770f. The outer cylindrical cam 770 is rotatably mounted on the drum bearing 773.

[0272] Figure 42 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the inner cylindrical cam 774 and the drum bearing 773.

[0273] The inner cylindrical cam 774 comprises a cam 774d, a hole 774e, and an outer end face 774b. The drum bearing 773 comprises a rib 773f, a hole 773g, and an end face 773h. The rib 773f of the drum bearing 773 is housed in the hole 774e of the inner cylindrical cam 774. As a result, the inner cylindrical cam 774 is configured to slide along the rotation axis L1 of the drum 62 while being restricted from relative rotation with respect to the drum bearing 773. The cam 774d of the inner cylindrical cam 774 is housed in the hole 773g of the drum bearing 773. The outer end face 774b of the inner cylindrical cam 774 is configured to contact the end face 773h of the drum bearing 773.

[0274] Figure 43 is a cross-sectional view of the coupling unit U3 and drum bearing 773, cut along the cross-sectional line in Figure 37.

[0275] Figure 43(b) shows the state in which the input member 764 is retracted toward the longitudinal inward direction LI (located in the retracted position).

[0276] The coupling shaft 793 is held in place by the drive-side flange 775 by fixing screws 788.

[0277] The input member 764 is supported on the coupling shaft 793 so as to be rotatable about axis L1 and movable in the direction of axis L1. The engaging portion 793b1 of the coupling shaft 793 and the engaging portion 764f of the input member 764 are not engaged. A third pressing member 787 is provided between the coupling shaft 793 and the input member 764 as a biasing member. The third pressing member 787 acts to move the input member 764 relative to the coupling shaft 793 in the longitudinal inward direction LI. The end face 787a of the third pressing member 787 abuts against the end face 793b2 of the coupling shaft 793. The end face 787b of the third pressing member 787 abuts against the end face 764l of the input member 764. The inner cylindrical cam 774 is positioned between the input member 764 and the drive-side flange 775. A first pressure spring 759 for pressing the inner cylindrical cam is positioned between the inner cylindrical cam 774 and the drive-side flange 775. The first pressure spring 759 acts to move the inner cylindrical cam 774 relative to the drive-side flange 775 in the longitudinal outward direction LO. This first pressure spring 759 is located inside the drive-side flange 775. The outer cylindrical cam 770 restricts the movement of the inner cylindrical cam 774 in the longitudinal outward direction LO. A restricting member 790 restricts the movement of the outer cylindrical cam 770 in the longitudinal outward direction LO. The restricting member 790 is fixed to the drum bearing 773. The drum bearing 773 rotatably supports the drive-side flange 775 and the outer cylindrical cam 770.

[0278] Figure 43(b) shows the input member 764 in a retracted position toward the longitudinal inward direction LI. In this state, the biasing force of the first pressing spring 759 causes the inner cylindrical cam 774 to receive a force toward the longitudinal outward direction LO. As a result, the cam 774l of the inner cylindrical cam 774 comes into contact with the end face 770g of the outer cylindrical cam 770. As a result, the outer cylindrical cam 770 receives a force toward the longitudinal outward direction LO from the inner cylindrical cam 774. The end face 770a of the outer cylindrical cam 770 is restricted from moving toward the longitudinal outward direction LO by the end face 790a of the regulating member 790. The third pressing member 787 biases the input member 764 toward the longitudinal inward direction LI so that the end face 764n of the input member 764 (in the longitudinal inward direction LI) and the end face 774m of the inner cylindrical cam 774 come into contact. At this time, the connection between the engaging portion 793b1 of the coupling shaft 793, which acts as a driving force receiving portion, and the engaging portion 764f of the input member 764, which acts as a driving force transmission portion, is released (disengaged). Therefore, at this time, the rotational driving force of the input member 764 cannot be transmitted to the coupling shaft 793. In other words, the input member 764 is in a non-transmission position at this time. That is, the input member 764 and the coupling shaft 793 function as a clutch.

[0279] Figure 43(a) shows the state in which the input member 764 is protruding in the longitudinal outward direction LO (located in a protruding or extended position).

[0280] The lever member 712 rotates the outer cylindrical cam 770 to a predetermined phase (see Figures 45(a) and (b)). As a result, the end face 774l of the inner cylindrical cam 774 moves from a state where it is in contact with the end face 770h of the outer cylindrical cam 770 to a state where it is in contact with the end face 770n (see also Figure 14). Consequently, the inner cylindrical cam 774 moves in the longitudinal outward direction LO due to the biasing force of the linear cam first pressing spring 759. The end face 774m of the inner cylindrical cam 774 pushes the end face 764n of the input member 764 (in the longitudinal inward direction LI). Since the biasing force of the first pressing spring 759, which acts as a biasing member, is set to be greater than the biasing force of the third pressing member 787, which acts as a biasing member, the input member 764 moves in the longitudinal outward direction LO. At this time, the engaging portion 793b1 of the coupling shaft 793, which acts as a driving force receiving portion, is engaged (connected) with the engaging portion 764f of the input member 764, which acts as a driving force transmission portion. As a result, the rotational driving force of the input member 764 can be transmitted to the coupling shaft 793. The input member 764 and the coupling shaft 793 constitute the coupling member of this embodiment.

[0281] The tip portion 793b of the coupling shaft 793 restricts the input member 764 from moving in the longitudinal outward direction LO.

[0282] Next, the phase control mechanism for the input member 764 will be explained in Figure 44. The phase control mechanism is a mechanism that sets the input member 764 to a phase that facilitates engagement with the drive transmission member 81 of the main body of the device.

[0283] Figures 44(a) and 44(b) are cross-sectional views of the coupling unit U3. The torsion spring 789 is supported by the insertion of the shaft 774f of the inner cylindrical cam 774 into the hole 789a of the torsion spring 789. One of the two arms of the torsion spring 789 (arm 789c) is in contact with the wall 774h of the inner cylindrical cam 774.

[0284] Figure 44(a) shows the state in which the input member 764 has stopped at a certain phase after image formation is complete. The arm 789b of the torsion spring 789 is in contact with the roughly triangular prism 764e of the input member 764. More specifically, the arm 789b is in contact with the vicinity of the vertex 764h of the prism 764e. Here, the torsion spring 789 is set so that a biasing force acts in the direction that arms 789b and 789c spread apart. Therefore, the biasing force of the torsion spring 789 that the input member 764 receives via arm 789b acts in the direction that rotates the input member 764 clockwise in Figure 44(a).

[0285] In reality, the input member 764 does not rotate when it is connected (engaged) with the drive transmission member 81. However, when the user opens the opening / closing door 13 of the device body A (Figure 12(a)), the input member 764 retracts toward the longitudinal inward direction LI. In other words, the input member 764 moves from the extended position (drive transmission position, protruding position: Figure 43(a)) to the retracted position (non-drive transmission position: Figure 43(b)), thereby disengaging from the drive transmission member 81. Furthermore, at this time, the input member 764 also disengages from the coupling shaft 793. That is, the engaging portion 793b1 of the coupling shaft 793, which acts as a driving force receiving portion, and the engaging portion 764f of the input member 764, which acts as a driving force transmission portion, become disengaged. As a result, the input member 764 can rotate freely relative to the coupling shaft 793.

[0286] Therefore, the biasing force of the torsion spring 789 causes the input member 764 to rotate, changing from the phase shown in Figure 44(a) to the phase shown in Figure 44(b). The phase of the input member 764 shown in Figure 44(b) is the phase in which the arm 789b contacts the arc portion 764p of the input member 764. In this state, the rotational moment received by the input member 764 from the torsion spring 789 balances out, and the rotation of the input member 764 stops. In other words, the input member 764 is held in the predetermined phase shown in Figure 44(b) by the torsion spring 789. The torsion spring 789 is a phase-setting member for determining the input member 764 to a predetermined phase.

[0287] The prism 764e of the input member 764 is approximately triangular in shape, which is essentially a 120-degree rotationally symmetrical shape. Therefore, as the input member 764 rotates 360 degrees, its rotation is stopped every 120 degrees by the torsion spring. In other words, if the phase of the input member 764 shown in Figure 44(b) is 0 degrees, then even when the input member 764 is at 120 degrees and 240 degrees, the rotational moments acting on the input member 764 are balanced, and the rotation of the input member 764 is stopped. To put it another way, the input member 764 is held (its rotation is stopped) by the torsion spring 789 at one of three different phases (0 degrees, 120 degrees, and 240 degrees in this embodiment).

[0288] Furthermore, the phase control means is not limited to the above configuration and may be configured in other ways. For example, although three torsion springs 789 are provided in this embodiment, the number is not necessarily limited to this number, and even with one or two torsion springs 789, the phase of the input member 764 can be set to one of the three phases described above. Also, although the prism of the input member 764 was rotationally symmetrical at 120 degrees, strict symmetry is not required. In other words, the input member 764 is held in one of the three phases, but it is not necessarily required that these phases be strictly 0 degrees, 120 degrees, and 240 degrees.

[0289] Further explanation will be given using Figures 45, 38, and 44. Figure 45 is a view of the drive transmission unit as seen from the axial direction LO. In this embodiment, the phases in which the three vertices 764h (Figures 38 and 44) ​​of the roughly triangular prism 764e of the input member 764a are arranged are approximately the same as the phases in which the three vertices 764u of the roughly triangular driven transmission unit 764a are arranged. In this case, the direction in which each vertex 764u faces is approximately the same as the direction in which each vertex 764h faces.

[0290] By controlling the phase of the coupling member (input member) as described above, the drive transmission member 81 of the device body A and the coupling member (input member 764) of cartridge B are smoothly connected, as explained below.

[0291] Similar to the drive transmission member 581 in the aforementioned Embodiment 3, in this embodiment as well, the drive transmission member 81 is held in a state tilted downstream in the cartridge mounting direction (see Figure 34). Specifically, with the opening / closing door 13 in the open position (Figure 12(a)), the drive transmission member 81 is tilted in the direction of arrow AZ shown in Figure 45(a). The direction of arrow AZ is the direction shown when the line drawn from the center of the drum 62 to the developing roller 32 is used as the 0° reference line, and this line is tilted 41 degrees downstream in the rotation direction of the drum 62. The rotation direction of the drum 62 is the direction in which the drum 62 rotates during image formation (toner image formation), and specifically, it is the direction in which the surface of the drum 62 comes into contact with or approaches the charging roller 66 (see Figure 3) and then the developing roller 32 in that order (direction of arrow AX).

[0292] Because the drive transmission member 81 is tilted, when the cartridge B is inserted into the device body A, the center of the driven transmission portion 764a of the input member 764 and the center of the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 are misaligned. However, due to the phase control described above, one of the three vertices 764u of the triangular shape that constitutes the driven transmission portion 764a of the input member 764 is located approximately in the AZ direction in which the drive transmission member 81 is tilted (Figure 45(a)). In other words, the part of the driven transmission portion 764a that protrudes most radially from the center of the drum 62 (vertex 764u) is located in the AZ direction in which the drive transmission member 81 is tilted. By holding the input member 764 in this phase, it is easier to engage the input member 764 and the drive transmission member 81 even if they are misaligned.

[0293] In other words, when the drive transmission member 81 is rotated from the state shown in Figure 45(a), the roughly triangular phase of the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 aligns with the roughly triangular phase of the driven transmission portion 764a of the input member 764 (see Figure 45(b)). As a result, the driven transmission portion 764a of the input member 764 fits into the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81, and engagement is achieved.

[0294] The reason why phase control makes it easier for the input member 764 to engage with the inclined drive transmission member 81 will be explained below using Figures 46(a)-(f). Figures 46(a), 46(b), 46(d), 46(e), and 46(f) are cross-sectional views of the drive transmission section as seen from the axial direction LO. Figure 46(c) is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission section as seen from a direction perpendicular to the axis.

[0295] As described above, in this embodiment, the device body has a drive transmission member 81, and the cartridge has a power input member 764, and these are couplings that connect each other. As shown in Figure 46, these couplings (81, 764) have substantially triangular recesses 81a (see Figures 25, 46(a), etc.) and protrusions 764a (see Figures 38(a), 46(a)) as their respective engaging parts. The tips (corners, vertices) of these triangular shapes (81a, 764a) are the parts that transmit driving force, so they are rounded and flattened into an arc shape in order to maintain the necessary strength. When the two triangular shapes are engaged in a coaxial and phase-aligned state as shown in Figure 46(a), the gap between the two triangular shapes is defined as follows: The gap between the tips of these triangular shapes (81a, 764a) (distance between tip 81r and tip 764y) is denoted as LB, and the gap between their sides (distance between side 81s and side 764x) is denoted as LA. Then, the following relationship exists.

[0296] LA>LB(Formula A) In other words, in these triangular shapes (81a, 764a), the gap LA between each side is longer than the gap LB between each tip (the gap LA is larger than the gap LB). In this case, as shown in Figures 46(d), (e), and (f), it is preferable to orient the vertex 764y of the triangular shape (protrusion 764a) on the cartridge side in the direction in which the drive transmission member 81 is tilted (the lower left AZ direction in the figure). This corresponds to orienting the side 764x of the protrusion 764a in the opposite direction to the AZ direction in which the drive transmission member 81 is tilted. This allows the protrusion 764a of the input member 764 to smoothly engage with the recess 81a of the tilted drive transmission member 81.

[0297] As shown in Figure 46(d), when the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a are not engaged, their phases are not aligned. When the drive transmission member 81 rotates clockwise in the figure from this state, the phases of the triangular shapes 81a and 764a become aligned, as shown in Figure 46(d). However, because the drive transmission member 81 is tilted in the AZ direction, the recess 81a moves in this tilting direction, creating a region where the gap between the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a narrows. However, in this embodiment, the edges of the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a are located in the region where the gap narrows (i.e., on the opposite side from the direction in which the drive transmission member 81 is tilted). The gap between these edges of the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a is originally a relatively long distance LA, as shown in (Equation A) and Figure 46(a). Therefore, even if this gap is shortened due to the tilting of the drive transmission member 81, the arrangement necessary to achieve engagement between the drive transmission member and the input member can be maintained. Therefore, when the phases of the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a are aligned, the force of the first compression spring 759 (see Figures 38(a) and (b)) allows the protrusion 764a to enter the interior of the recess 81a. Furthermore, the drive transmission member 81 continues to rotate, and as shown in Figure 46(d), the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a engage, and the protrusion 764a begins to receive driving force from the recess 81a.

[0298] In summary, even if the gap between the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 764 becomes smaller due to the tilting of the drive transmission member 81, the phase of the input member 764 is set so that a certain gap is maintained between the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 764. In this embodiment, this corresponds to orienting the triangular side (convex portion 764a) of the input member 764 in the opposite direction to the direction AZ in which the drive transmission member 81 tilts (i.e., the upper right in Figure 46(d)). In other words, this corresponds to orienting one of the three vertices 764y of the triangular shape (convex portion 764a) of the input member 764 in the direction AZ (lower left) of the tilting of the drive transmission member 81. The three vertices (three arc portions 764y) of the convex portion 764a correspond to the drive force receiving portions that receive the driving force from the drive transmission member 81.

[0299] The reason why the gap LA between edges was set to be larger than the gap LB between vertices, as shown in (Equation A) and Figure 46(a), is explained below.

[0300] The gaps LA and LB between the two triangular shapes (the convex portion 81a and the concave portion 764a) are set considering the dimensional tolerances of the concave portion 81a and the concave portion 764a, respectively. However, the gap LA between the sides is set to be larger, not only considering the dimensional tolerances but also considering how to make it easier to engage the input member 764 with the rotating drive transmission member 81.

[0301] When the drive transmission member 81 rotates and the difference in phase between the triangular shape (recess 81a) of the drive transmission member 81 and the triangular shape (protrusion 764a) of the input member 764 is smaller than a certain angle, the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 764 become engageable. As shown in Figure 46(b), the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a are engageable when the protrusion 764a is between the phases shown by the solid line and the dashed line relative to the recess 81a. The larger the gap LA between the sides of the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a, the larger this engagement phase difference becomes, making it easier for the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a to engage.

[0302] When the drive transmission member 81 rotates, if the engagement between the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a is insufficient, a force may act in a direction that moves the coupling member 764 away from the drive transmission member 81. In other words, as shown in Figure 46(c), the input member 764 may come into contact with the chamfer 81p of the recess 81a, and the input member 764 may receive a force from the drive transmission member 81 in a direction that hinders engagement. The gap LA is set to be large to prevent such a force from occurring. When the gap LA is large, the above force does not act when the drive transmission member 81 rotates, and the state in which the recess 81a and the protrusion 764a can engage lasts longer, thus promoting engagement.

[0303] Furthermore, the couplings engage most easily when the inclination direction AZ of the drive transmission member 81 and the orientation of the triangular tip (arc portion 764y) of the input member 764 perfectly coincide. However, if the orientation of the triangular tip (arc portion 764y) of the triangular shape (convex portion 764a) relative to the inclination direction of the drive transmission member 81 is within ±30°, the effect of promoting engagement between the couplings can be obtained.

[0304] As described above, the inclination direction of the drive transmission member 91 (arrow AZ direction) is the direction in which the line drawn from the center of the drum 62 to the center of the developing roller 32 is tilted 41 degrees downstream in the rotational direction of the drum 62. Considering this, the apex of the convex portion (projection) 764 should be oriented in a range of 11 to 71 degrees rotated downstream in the rotational direction of the drum 62 with respect to the line extended from the center of the drum 62 to the center of the developing roller 32.

[0305] Furthermore, in the above description, the engagement portions (recessed portion 81a and convex portion 764a) of the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 764 were similar to each other and essentially formed equilateral triangles. In other words, the recessed portion 81a and the convex portion 764a were each 120 degrees rotationally symmetric.

[0306] However, even if the engaging parts do not have such shapes, the basic concept remains the same, and the same effect as in this embodiment can be obtained by controlling the phase of the input member 764. For example, the shape of the protrusion 764a may be a triangular shape with a part missing, or it may not be triangular, or it may not be 120 degrees rotationally symmetrical.

[0307] However, assuming that the shape of the recess 81a is a roughly equilateral triangle as described in this embodiment (Figure 25), it is desirable that the protrusion 764a contacts the recess 81a at three points to receive the driving force. More preferably, these three points are evenly spaced. In other words, even if the shape of the protrusion 764a differs from that of this embodiment, it is desirable that the protrusion 764a has driving force receiving portions at positions corresponding to the three vertices (arc portions 764y) of this embodiment. That is, it is preferable that the distance between adjacent driving force receiving portions is approximately 120 degrees with respect to the axis of the protrusion 764a (driving force receiving portion).

[0308] <Example 5> Embodiment 5 will be described below. The coupling member 664 shown in this embodiment has an input member (drive receiving member, drive input member, input section) 610 that receives driving force from outside the cartridge, a biasing member (biasing section) 620 that restricts the posture of the input member 610, and a reciprocating member 630 that can move back and forth in the rotation axis direction of the photoreceptor drum.

[0309] The input members 610 and biasing members 620 are supported by the support members (support parts) 640 and are arranged in groups of three along the circumferential direction (rotational direction) of the photoreceptor drum.

[0310] Furthermore, in this embodiment as well, the configuration for moving the coupling member 664 forward and backward using the operating member (lever member 12), and these operations, are the same as in Embodiment 1 (see Figures 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13). A detailed explanation of these will be omitted.

[0311] First, we will explain in detail the components of the coupling member 664 in this embodiment using Figure 49.

[0312] The cylindrical shape 611 of the input member 610 engages with the concave shape 641 of the support member 640a and is supported so as to be rotatable (swingable). The tilt angle of the input member 610 can be changed around the cylindrical shape 611 as an axis. In addition, the cylindrical shape 612 of the input member 610 engages with and is supported by one end 621 of the biasing member 620. The other end 622 of the biasing member 620 engages with and is supported by the cylindrical shape 642 of the support member 640a.

[0313] Support members 640a and 640b are connected to each other, and by enclosing and supporting the input member 610 and the biasing member 620 between support members 640a and 640b, they restrict the positioning of the input member 610 and the biasing member 620.

[0314] The biasing member 620 is a tension spring, and the force of this tension spring restricts the input member 610 to rotate in the direction of rotation around the cylindrical shape 611 as an axis.

[0315] The reciprocating member 630 consists of a reciprocating member 630a having a contact point 631 that can come into contact with the input member 610 when reciprocating, and a reciprocating member 630b that receives reciprocating drive from the lever member 12. These two are joined together by welding or the like and are connected to each other. As the reciprocating member 630 moves back and forth, the entire coupling member 664 is also driven to move back and forth.

[0316] The input member 610 has a tip (drive receiving portion) 613 for engaging with the drive transmission member 81 of the main body A of the device. The input member 610 receives rotational drive via the tip 613 and transmits the rotational drive to the support member 640a that supports it.

[0317] The surfaces 640c of support member 640a and 640d of support member 640b are joined together by welding or the like, and are connected to each other, so that support member 640a and support member 640b rotate together as a single unit, support member 640.

[0318] The support member 640b has a first rotation receiving portion 643, which engages with the second rotation receiving portion 632 of the reciprocating member 630b to transmit rotational drive. In other words, the reciprocating member 630 and the support member 640 are configured to slide relative to each other in the drum axial direction L1, while at the same time being able to rotate integrally.

[0319] Furthermore, the reciprocating member 630b has a third rotation receiving portion 633, and in this embodiment, a fourth rotation receiving portion (not shown) corresponding to the third rotation receiving portion 633 is provided on the drive-side flange 75, allowing it to engage with this portion and transmit rotational drive.

[0320] This results in a component configuration that allows rotational drive to be transmitted to the rotating body.

[0321] Next, the movement of the coupling member 664 in conjunction with the lever member 12 will be explained using Figure 50.

[0322] Figure 50 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member 81 and coupling member 664 of the device body A according to this embodiment, and, similar to Figure 14, it shows in stages the movement of the coupling member 664 as it moves forward and backward in conjunction with the movement of the lever member 12 (Figures (a) to (f)).

[0323] Figure 50(a) shows the retracted position where the coupling member 664 is moved to its furthest position inside the cartridge in conjunction with the movement of the lever member 12.

[0324] Figure 50(d) shows the extended position where the coupling member 664 is moved as far outside the cartridge as the lever member 12 moves.

[0325] Figures 50(b) and 50(c) show the state during movement from the retracted position to the advanced position, and the state during movement from the advanced position to the retracted position.

[0326] Figures 50(e) and 50(f) show the state during movement from the extended position to the retracted position. The order of state changes during one round trip of the coupling member 664 is (a)→(b)→(c)→(d)→(e)→(f)→(a) or (a)→(b)→(c)→(d)→(c)→(b)→(a) in Figure 50.

[0327] The behavior of the coupling member 664 during the above-mentioned state change will be described below.

[0328] First, let me briefly explain the behavior.

[0329] The reciprocating member 630 can slide along the drum axis L1 by rotating the cylindrical cam 74 when the lever 12 (see Figure 12) is operated. As the reciprocating member 630 slides, the position of the support member 640 in the L1 direction on the drum axis and the amount of opening (radial movement) of the tip 613 of the input member 610 change.

[0330] Next, I will explain the details of the behavior.

[0331] [1] First, the change in state from (a) to (b) in Figure 50 will be explained. The longitudinal restricting portion 74d of the cylindrical cam member 74 moves in the direction H shown in the figure, and the reciprocating members 630a and 630b, which are affected by the spring force of the first pressing member 59, advance, causing the contact point 631 during reciprocation to come into contact with the input member 610, and the input member 610 is pressed in the direction H shown in the figure. Until just before the stopper shape 698 provided on the drum bearing member 73 comes into contact with the support member 640a, the input member 610 is biased in the closing direction by the tension spring force of the biasing member 620 and therefore does not open. Then, the cylindrical shape 611 presses the concave shape 641 of the support member 640a that supports it in the direction H shown in the figure, and the entire coupling member 664 advances in the direction H shown in the figure. In other words, until just before the stopper shape 698 provided on the drum bearing member 73 comes into contact with the support member 640a, the tip 613 of the input member 610 remains closed, and the support member 640, the input member 610, and the reciprocating member 630 move together in the direction H shown in the figure. As a result, the tip 613 of the input member 610 penetrates to a second extended position where it can engage with the triangular recess (drive transmission part) 81a (see Figure 25) of the drive transmission member 81.

[0332] [2] Next, the change in state from (b) to (c) in Figure 50 will be explained. The cylindrical cam member 74 moves in the direction H shown in the figure, and the reciprocating members 630a and 630b, which are affected by the spring force of the first pressing member 59, advance. As a result, the contact point 631 during reciprocation comes into contact with the input member 610 and presses it in the direction H shown in the figure. At this time, the stopper shape 698 provided on the drum bearing member 73 comes into contact with the support member 640a, and the support member 640a does not advance any further in the direction H shown in the figure. As a result, the input member 610 rotates because the force attempting to rotate it in the direction R shown in the figure about the axis of the cylindrical shape 611 is greater than the force of the tension spring of the biasing member 620, and the inclination angle changes in the direction R shown in the figure. In other words, at the second advanced position, the tip 613 of the input member 610 begins to open radially outward. The radial direction is the radial direction (radius direction of rotation) of the coupling member 664. In other words, the tip of the input member 610 begins to move away from the axis of the coupling member 664.

[0333] [3] Next, the change in state from (c) to (d) in Figure 50 will be explained. From the state in Figure 50(c), the retractable members 630a and 630b advance further, and the input member 610 changes its inclination angle in the direction R shown in the figure, as in [2] above, and reaches the advanced position that is furthest outside the cartridge. In the state in Figure 50(d), the tip 613 of the input member 610 opens radially outward, so that the tip 613 of the input member 610 engages with the triangular recess (drive transmission part) 81a (see Figure 25) of the drive transmission member 81. As a result, a drive transmission state is created, and rotational drive is transmitted to the input member 610 by the rotation of the drive transmission member 81 by the motor (not shown).

[0334] [4] Next, we will explain the state change from (d)→(e)→(f)→(a) in Figure 50. When moving from the extended position to the retracted position, the entire coupling member 664 retracts before the inclination angle of the input member 610 changes in the direction L shown. First, in the state change from Figure 50(d)→(e), the cylindrical cam member 74 moves in the direction G shown, the spring of the first pressing member 59 is compressed, and the advancing and retracting members 630a and 630b retract. At that time, the spring force of the biasing member 620 is applied as a press in the direction L shown to the contact point 631 during advancing and retracting, and if the frictional force between the input member 610 and the advancing and retracting member 630 at the contact point 631 during advancing and retracting is large, the entire coupling member 664 follows and retracts in the direction G shown. As a result, the engagement between the tip 613 of the input member 610 and the triangular recess (drive transmission part) 81a (see Figure 25) of the drive transmission member 81 is released. Next, the change in state from Figure 50(e)→(f)→(a) will be explained. As described above, the retractable member 630 retracts, and the entire coupling member 664 attempts to retract, but the support member 640b and the stopper shape 699 provided on the drum bearing member 73 come into contact, and the support member 640b does not retract any further in the direction G shown. Subsequently, as the retractable member 630 retracts, the contact state between the input member 610 and the retractable member 630 changes, and the input member 610 rotates around the cylindrical shape 611 as an axis due to the force of the tension spring of the biasing member 620, and the inclination angle changes in the direction L shown. As a result, the tip 613 of the input member 610 closes radially inward. In other words, the tip 613 of the drive transmission member 610 approaches the axis of the coupling member 664.

[0335] [5] The state change from Figure 50(d)→(c)→(b)→(a) will be explained. When moving from the extended position to the retracted position, the forward / retractable member 630 retracts first, and the inclination angle of the input member 610 changes in the direction L shown in the figure, before the support member 640 retracts. First, in the state change from Figure 50(d)→(c), the cylindrical cam member 74 moves in the direction G shown in the figure, the spring of the first pressing member 59 is compressed, and the forward / retractable members 630a and 630b retract. Then, the input member 610 rotates around its cylindrical shape 611 axis due to the force of the tension spring of the biasing member 620, and the inclination angle changes in the direction L shown in the figure. As a result, the engagement between the tip 613 of the input member 610 and the triangular recess (drive transmission part) 81a (see Figure 25) of the drive transmission member 81 is released. Next, in the state change from Figure 50(c) to (b), as described above, the retraction member 630 retracts, causing the inclination angle of the input member 610 to change in the direction L shown. Then, in the state change from Figure 50(b) to (a), as the retraction member 630 retracts, the retraction member 630b and the support member 640b come into contact at the contact point 697, and thereafter, as the retraction member 630 retracts, the support member 640b also retracts in accordance. As a result, the entire coupling member 664 retracts in the direction G shown, reaching the first retracted position.

[0336] We have described a configuration in which the entire coupling member 664 can move back and forth along the axial direction. However, as shown in Figures 51(a) and (b), even in a configuration in which the coupling member 664 as a whole does not move back and forth along the axial direction, it is still possible to engage the recess (drive transmission part) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 with the input member 610.

[0337] Examples of this are shown in Figures 51(a) and (b). As disclosed in these figures, the amount of change in the tilt angle of the input member 610 (P in Figure 51(a)) should be set to be large. This will increase the amount of protrusion (X in Figure 51(b)) of the input member 610 that it protrudes to the outside of the cartridge when the tip of the input member 610 moves radially outward. This will allow the engagement width between the recess (drive transmission part) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 in the axial direction and the input member 610 to be increased. This will allow the input member 610 to engage with the drive transmission member 81 by tilting alone, without the entire coupling member 664 having to slide along the axial direction.

[0338] In Figures 51(a) and (b), the coupling member 664 moves forward and backward by the movement (tilting) of only a part of it (i.e., only the input member 610). In other words, the coupling member 664 can take on an advanced position for engaging with the drive transmission member 81 (Figure 51(b)) and a retracted position for disengaging from the drive transmission member 81 (Figure 51(a)) solely by the tilting motion of the input member 610.

[0339] However, in addition to the tilting of the input member 610, it is more effective to adopt a configuration in which the entire coupling member 664 can move back and forth, as shown in the state change from (a) to (b) in Figure 50. In other words, a larger engagement width can be secured between the recess (drive transmission part) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 610. Therefore, a configuration in which the coupling member 664 can move back and forth is more desirable.

[0340] Next, using Figure 52, the conditions for engagement between the drive transmission portion (recess) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the tip portion (drive receiving portion) 613 of the input member 610 will be explained. As shown in Figure 52, when the tip portions 613 of each of the three input members 610 are closest to the rotation axis of the coupling member 664 by the biasing member 620, a circle 688 is drawn centered on the rotation axis, passing through the point furthest from the rotation axis among these three tip portions 613. Circle 688 is the circumscribed circle of the tip portion 613. Next, a circle 686 is drawn centered on the rotation axis, passing through the point closest to the rotation axis of the coupling member 664 within the recess (drive transmission portion) 81a of the drive transmission member 81. This circle 686 is the inscribed circle of the drive transmission portion 81a. Both circles 688 and 686 are figures perpendicular to the rotation axis.

[0341] In this case, the circle 688 formed by the tip portion 613 must be smaller than the circle 686 formed by the drive transmission portion 81a. In other words, in this case, the input member 610 enters the interior of the drive transmission portion 81a regardless of the phase combination between the recess (drive transmission portion) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 610 of the coupling member 664. Subsequently, the inclination angle of the input member 610 changes, enabling secure engagement between the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 610.

[0342] However, Figure 52 illustrates a case where the rotational axes of the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 664 coincide. In reality, the drive transmission member 81 shown in Figures 50(a) and (b) is inclined with respect to the axis of the coupling member 664, similar to the drive transmission member shown in the modified example of Embodiment 1. Even in such a case, the input member 610 can engage with the drive transmission member 81 if the following conditions are met.

[0343] To make the explanation easier to understand, Figure 53 shows the drive transmission member 81 tilted more than in its actual configuration. In Figure 53, a circle 687 is drawn centered on the rotation axis of the coupling member 664, passing through the point in the recess (drive transmission part) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 that is closest to the rotation axis of the coupling member 664. This circle 687 is a figure perpendicular to the rotation axis. Because the drive transmission member 81 is tilted, circle 687 is smaller than the circle 686 (Figure 52) mentioned above.

[0344] In this case, the circle 687 formed by the recess (drive transmission portion) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 is large enough to be larger than the circle 688 formed by the tip portion 613 of the input member 610. In other words, in this case, the input member 610 of the coupling member 664 can engage with the drive transmission portion 81a regardless of the phase combination between the recess (drive transmission portion) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 610 of the coupling member 664. That is, after the coupling member 664 advances, the inclination angle of the input member 610 changes, causing the input member 610 to engage with the drive transmission member 81. Also, as the inclination angle of the input member 610 changes, the drive transmission member 81 reduces its inclination angle, becoming substantially coaxial with the coupling member 664. The drive transmission member 81 is aligned with the coupling member 664.

[0345] Furthermore, depending on the phase combination between the recess (drive transmission portion) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 610 of the coupling member 664, the change in the inclination angle of the input member 610 may stop midway before the engagement between the drive transmission portion 81a and the input member 610 is completed. In other words, as shown in Figure 54, the input member 610 stops at the point where the inclination angle of the input member 610 changes until the minimum inner diameter portion (circle 686) of the drive transmission portion 81a comes into contact with the input member 610.

[0346] At this time, even if the lever member 12 is operated to the position where it holds the coupling member 664 in the extended position, the first pressing member 59 acts as a damper, and the retractable member 630 does not extend any further. The first pressing member 59 maintains a compressive reaction force in the direction in which the retractable member 630 extends. As a result, the drive transmission member 81 rotates due to the drive of the device body, and when the phase of the recess (drive transmission part) 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 610 of the coupling member 664 aligns, the retractable member 630 extends, and the inclination angle of the input member 610 also changes. In other words, the inclination angle of the input member 610 changes until the tip of the input member 610 is positioned to correspond to the circle 685 with the maximum inner diameter of the recess (drive transmission part) 81a of the drive transmission member 81. As a result, the drive transmission member 81 is biased against the input member 610, and the drive transmission member 81 rotates (oscillates) to reduce its inclination angle. The drive transmission member 81 is aligned with the input member 610, enabling secure engagement between the drive transmission member 81 and the input member 610.

[0347] In this embodiment, the input member (drive input member) 610 moves in a different direction from the input member (coupling member 64) shown in the modified example of Embodiment 1, and also moves in the radial direction. Even with this configuration, the input member 610 moves toward the inner surface of the recess of the drive transmission member 81 and biases the drive transmission member 81, thereby reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81. As a result, the input member 610 can engage with the inclined drive transmission member 81, similar to the coupling member 64 shown in the modified example of Embodiment 1.

[0348] In this embodiment, three input members 610 and three biasing members 620 using tension springs of the same shape are arranged along the circumference, but the configuration is not limited to this. Furthermore, the shape of the reciprocating member 630 is not limited to that of this embodiment. Similarly, as in Embodiment 2, it is also possible to employ in this embodiment a mechanism for reciprocating the coupling member located on the non-driven side of the cartridge.

[0349] <Example 6> Next, we will describe Example 6. Note that explanations of points similar to those in the previous examples may be omitted. In particular, among the elements disclosed in this example, those corresponding to the members described in Example 1 will be given the same names as the members in Example 1, and only the differences from those in Example 1 will be explained.

[0350] In the aforementioned Embodiment 1, the driven transmission portion 64a of the coupling member 64 had a substantially triangular cross-section and a convex shape (convex portion) (see Figure 17). However, in this embodiment, the driven transmission portion is composed of multiple members (see Figure 55).

[0351] This section will provide a detailed explanation of the differences in structure and function that result from these changes.

[0352] First, the coupling member 864 according to this embodiment will be described using Figures 55, 56, and 57. Figure 55 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the coupling member 864 of Embodiment 6. Figure 56 is a partial perspective view illustrating the configuration of the operating unit in Embodiment 6. Figure 57 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive-side end of the drum unit according to Embodiment 6. Figure 58 is a side view showing the operation of the coupling in Example 6. Figure 59 is a cross-sectional view of the engagement portion showing the operation of the coupling in Embodiment 6.

[0353] Similar to Example 1, the drum bearing member 873 is supported by the cleaning unit 860. As shown in Figures 55 and 56, the coupling member 864 is composed of a plurality of protrusions 801, a protrusion support member (support member) 802, a protrusion pressing member 803, a cover member 858, and the like. As will be described in detail later, the protrusions 801 are input members (drive input members) to which driving force is input from outside the coupling member 864 (i.e., from the drive transmission member of the main body of the device).

[0354] As shown in Figures 56 and 57, in this embodiment, the outer cylindrical cam member 870 and the inner cylindrical cam member 874 are configured to be supported on the outer circumference 873b of the drum bearing member 873, similar to the configuration in Embodiment 1.

[0355] Furthermore, the inner cylindrical surface 802c of the support member 802 is configured to be supported by the hole 873a of the drum bearing member 873. As shown in Figures 56 and 57, a plurality of protrusions 801 are installed on the inner circumference of the support member 802. The support member 802 is a holding member (support member) for holding and supporting the plurality of protrusions 801.

[0356] Each of the multiple protrusions 801 is equipped with a drive receiving portion 801a for receiving drive transmission force, a longitudinal position regulating surface 801b, and a pressurizing cylindrical shaft 801c, respectively, from the drive unit side.

[0357] Each of the pressurized cylindrical shafts 801c of the multiple protrusions 801 is fitted with a protrusion pressing member 803. The side of the protrusion pressing member 803 opposite to the protrusion 801 is supported by multiple cylindrical shafts 858a installed on the lid member 858.

[0358] The lid member 858 is fixed to the end portion 875c of the drive-side flange member 875 by means of welding or other means.

[0359] The projection 801 is supported by the drive receiving portion 801a, which is engaged with the engagement hole 802a so as to be movable in the axial direction.

[0360] When the projection 801 is pressed in the direction of arrow N by the pressing force of the projection pressing portion 803, its longitudinal position restricting surface 801b abuts against the longitudinal restricting surface 802d of the support member 802, and its movement in the direction of arrow N is restricted.

[0361] Furthermore, the outer cylindrical surface 802b of the support member 802 is supported by the inner circumferential surface 875b of the drive flange 875 so as to be movable in the direction of arrow N.

[0362] The multiple protrusions 801, receiving the pressing force from the multiple protrusion pressing members 803, press the support member 802 in the direction of arrow N. The support member 802, receiving the pressing force in the direction of arrow N, has its longitudinal restricting surface 802e abut against the longitudinal restricting surface 874d of the inner cylindrical cam member 874. The inner cylindrical cam member 874, receiving the pressing force in the direction of arrow N, abuts against the outer cylindrical cam member 870, pressing the outer cylindrical cam member 870 in the direction of arrow N.

[0363] The outer cylindrical cam member 870 abuts against the drum bearing member 873 fixed to the cleaning unit 860 in the axial direction N, thereby restricting its longitudinal position.

[0364] The coupling member 864 in this embodiment can move back and forth between an extended position and a retracted position, similar to the coupling member 64 in Embodiment 1. Specifically, the support member 802 of the coupling member 864 moves back and forth in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, causing the coupling member 864 to move between the extended position and the retracted position (see Figure 13 of Embodiment 1).

[0365] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 57, the support member 802 is biased toward the drive side (arrow N side) by the projection pressing member 803, and the longitudinal restricting surface 802e is pressed against the longitudinal restricting surface 874d of the inner cylindrical cam member 874.

[0366] When cartridge B is not mounted on the device body A, the inner cylindrical cam member 874 is positioned to retract the support member 802 into the drum against the elastic force of the projection pressing member 803. This is the state in which the support member 802 of the coupling member 864 is in the first position (retracted position).

[0367] After cartridge B is installed in the device body A, when the opening / closing door 13 is closed, the cartridge pressing member 1 provided on the opening / closing door 13 comes into contact with the lever member 12 (see Figures 12(a) and (b)). In conjunction with the movement of the lever member 12, the support member 802 of the coupling member 864 moves from the first position (retracted position) to the second position (extended position) on the drive side.

[0368] In other words, the longitudinal position of the support member 802 is determined according to the longitudinal position (position in the longitudinal direction) of the inner cylindrical cam member 874. Since the projection pressing member 803 acts to drive the support member 802, the projection pressing member 803 can also be considered as part of the aforementioned operating unit. In this embodiment, a compression coil spring was used as the projection pressing member 803, but it is also possible to bias the support member 802 using an elastic member of another shape.

[0369] The drive transmission member 881 in this embodiment is inclined, similar to the drive transmission member 81 shown in the modified example of Embodiment 1. When the drive transmission member 881 is inclined, the drive transmission member 881 and the coupling member 864 are not arranged coaxially. Next, we will explain how the coupling member 864 and the drive transmission member 881 engage when the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 881 and the rotation axis L1 of the coupling member 864 are not coaxial before they engage.

[0370] Figure 58 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member 881 and coupling member 864 of the device body A according to this embodiment.

[0371] Here, Figure 58(a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the process cartridge inserted into the main body A of the apparatus.

[0372] Figure 58(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the process cartridge inserted into the main body A of the apparatus and the open / closed door 13 (not shown) closed.

[0373] Figure 58(c) shows the state in which a driving force is input to the main body A of the device, the drive transmission member 881 begins to rotate, and a part of the projection 801 of the coupling member 864 begins to engage with a part of the drive input coupling 881.

[0374] Figure 58(d) shows the state immediately after the phase of the drive transmission unit 881a and the phase of the projection 801 of the coupling member 864 have fallen within a predetermined range.

[0375] Figure 58(e) is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the drive transmission portion 881a of the drive transmission member 881 and the projection 801 of the coupling member 864 are fully engaged.

[0376] Figures 58(c), (d), and (e) show the process by which the multiple protrusions 801 of the coupling member 864 sequentially engage with the drive transmission member 881, thereby reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 881 and completing the engagement.

[0377] Furthermore, Figures 59(a) to (e) are cross-sectional views perpendicular to the axes of the drive transmission member 881 and the coupling member 864, corresponding to the timings shown in Figures 58(a) to (e).

[0378] Similar to Embodiment 1, the drive transmission member 881 is supported by the drive transmission member support member 85. At this time, a gap is provided between the supported portion 881b of the drive transmission member 881 and the support portion 85a of the drive transmission member support member 85, such that φD1 > φD2. The drive transmission member 881 is movable within the range of this gap. By appropriately setting the size of this gap, when the drive transmission member 881 and the coupling member 864 engage, it is possible to align the center position of the tip side of the drive transmission member 881 (the position of the core at the tip side of the drive transmission member 881) with the center position of the coupling member 864. As a result, the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 881 can be accurately aligned with the rotation axis L1 of the coupling member 864.

[0379] The drive transmission member 881 is tilted in the direction V in the figure due to its own weight, as shown in Figure 58(a), due to the relationship φD1 > φD2.

[0380] When the revolving door 13 of the device body A is completely closed, the support member 802 of the coupling member 864 moves from the first position to the second position via the lever member 12, the outer cylindrical cam member 870, and the inner cylindrical cam member 874. At this time, the multiple projections 801, whose longitudinal position is restricted by the support member 802, also protrude in the direction of arrow N as the support member 802 moves.

[0381] In this modified example, with respect to the drive transmission member 881 inclined in the direction V in the figure, some of the multiple projection members 801 abut against the drive transmission section 881a due to the pressing force of the projection pressing member 803, and some abut against the end face 881c (Figures 57(b), 58(b)).

[0382] For convenience, the multiple (six) protrusions 801 are defined here as 801A to 801F (see Figure 59(b)). Each of these protrusions 801 can move forward and backward independently.

[0383] When the drive transmission member 881 is located in the positions shown in Figures 58(b) and 59(b), of the projections 801, projections 801B, 801C, and 801E abut against the drive transmission member 881a, while projections 801A, 801D, and 801F abut against the end face 881c.

[0384] Subsequently, as shown in Figures 58(c) and 59(c), when the drive transmission member 881 rotates in the direction of arrow R, a portion of projection 801D and projection 801F abut against the drive transmission member 881a due to the pressure applied by projection pressing member 803. From this state, when the drive transmission member 881 rotates further, a portion of the surface of the drive transmission member 881a (surface 881d) engages with projection 801F in the rotational direction. At this time, surface 881d of the drive transmission member 881 receives a reaction force in the direction of arrow HA, causing the drive transmission member 881 to attempt to move in the direction of arrow HA. Simultaneously, other surfaces 881g and 881i of the drive transmission member 881 abut against portions of projections 801C and 801D, restricting movement out of the alignment direction. As a result, the drive transmission member 881 continues to rotate while moving in the alignment direction, which is the direction of arrow HB.

[0385] Furthermore, as the drive transmission member 881 moves in the direction of arrow HB and rotates in the direction of arrow R, all of the protrusions 801 abut against the drive transmission member 881a, as shown in Figures 58(d) and 59(d).

[0386] Furthermore, as the drive transmission member 881 rotates, the surfaces 881d, 881e, and 881f, which are the drive transmission parts, come into contact with the protrusions 801A, 801D, and 801F, respectively.

[0387] At this time, with the protrusions 801A, 801D, and 801F positioned appropriately, the drive transmission member 881 engages while being aligned in the direction of arrow HB.

[0388] In other words, when the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 881 and the rotation axis L1 of the coupling member 864 are arranged coaxially, the multiple protrusions 801 are positioned to simultaneously abut the surfaces 881d, 881e, and 881f of the drive transmission member 881. This allows for a centering action to be achieved.

[0389] In this way, the projection 881 is aligned by the projection 801 and becomes capable of transmitting power.

[0390] Each of the multiple protrusions 801 is biased by a corresponding spring (protrusion pressing member 803), so that each protrusion 801 can move independently of the others. In response to the rotation of the drive transmission member 881, each protrusion 801 moves forward and backward, and sequentially engages with the drive transmission member 881. That is, the number of protrusions 801 that engage with the drive transmission member 881 increases sequentially. As a result, the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 881 gradually decreases, and finally the engagement (connection, coupling) of the drive transmission member 881 and the coupling member 864 is completed. In this state, the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 881 with respect to the photoreceptor drum can be set to a value close to 0 degrees. In other words, the drive transmission member 881 can be aligned with respect to the photoreceptor drum.

[0391] Furthermore, when removing cartridge B from the device body A, the lever 12 described above is activated, causing the support member 802 to move in the direction of arrow S shown in Figure 58(a). As a result, the projection 801 retracts to the position shown in Figures 58(a) and 59(a), and its engagement with the drive transmission member 881 is released.

[0392] In the above explanation, the inclination direction (V direction) of the drive transmission member 881 was assumed to be the direction of gravity, but this inclination direction can be any direction. For example, the drive transmission member 881 may be inclined in the direction shown in Example 3, etc.

[0393] Furthermore, although this embodiment shows a case where there are six projections (input members) 801, it is possible to engage with the drive transmission member 881 while achieving a centering effect if there are at least three projections 801.

[0394] Furthermore, as mentioned above, in order for the projection 801 to exhibit an alignment effect with respect to the drive transmission member 881, the following relationship should be satisfied. That is, when the drive transmission member 881 and the coupling member 864 are arranged coaxially, it is desirable that at least three of the multiple projections 801 are positioned so that they can engage with the drive transmission member 881 simultaneously.

[0395] If multiple protrusions 801 are arranged on the rotational trajectories of surfaces 881d, 881e, and 881f of the drive transmission member 881, the drive transmission member 881 may engage with the other protrusions first, making it difficult to achieve the alignment effect. In this embodiment, the multiple (six) protrusions 801 of the coupling member 864 are arranged to form a roughly triangular shape (see Figure 59(e)). This is because the recess 81a of the drive transmission member 881 (see Figure 59(a)) is roughly triangular, and the six protrusions 801 are arranged accordingly. By arranging the multiple protrusions 801 to correspond to the shape of the recess of the drive transmission member 881, the number of protrusions 801 that engage with the recess 81a increases sequentially as the drive transmission member 881 rotates (see Figures 59(a)-(e)). As a result, the amount of inclination of the drive transmission member 881 is reduced, as shown in Figures 58(a)-(e), and the connection between the drive transmission member 881 and the coupling member 864 can be achieved.

[0396] <Example 7> Next, we will describe Example 7. Note that explanations of points similar to those in the previous examples may be omitted. In particular, among the elements disclosed in this example, those corresponding to the members described in Examples 1 and 2 will be given the same names as the members in Examples 1 and 2, and only the differences from those in Example 1 will be explained.

[0397] In this embodiment, we will describe a case in which the drive transmission unit 81 is configured to be tiltable (inclined), as in a modified example of Embodiment 1. In Embodiment 1, by providing the chamfered portion 64e to be inclined with respect to the forward and backward direction of the coupling member 64, the angle difference between the drive transmission unit 81 and the coupling member 64 is reduced, making engagement between the drive transmission unit 81 and the coupling member 64 possible. In this embodiment, as will be described in detail later, engagement between the drive input unit 300, which is equipped with an alignment member 301, and the drive transmission unit 81 becomes possible. The drive input unit 300 corresponds to the coupling member in this embodiment.

[0398] Naturally, using this embodiment, engagement is possible even when the respective rotation axes are coaxial before the drive transmission member 81 and the drive input unit 300 engage.

[0399] In this embodiment, the operating member (lever member 12) as in Embodiment 1 is positioned on the drive side of cartridge B, and the operating member (lever member 212) as in Embodiment 2 is positioned on the non-drive side of cartridge B. As will be described later, the lever member 12 moves the pin receiving member 303 forward and backward, and the lever member 212 moves the centering member 301 forward and backward. The pin receiving member 303 and the centering member 301 can move forward and backward independently of each other.

[0400] In this embodiment, the drive input unit 300, which is composed of a centering member 301, a pin (projection, drive input member, input section) 302, and a pin receiving member (support section, output section) 303, will be described with reference to Figures 60, 61, 62, and 63.

[0401] Figure 60 is a perspective view of the alignment member 301 according to this embodiment.

[0402] Figure 61 is a perspective view of the pin receiving member 303 according to this embodiment.

[0403] Figure 62 is a perspective view of the drive input unit 300 according to this embodiment.

[0404] Figure 63 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive input unit 300 according to this embodiment.

[0405] As shown in Figure 60, the centering member 301 is provided with a slope 301a, a cylindrical portion 301b, a notch 301c, a longitudinal restricting surface 301d, a connecting member receiving portion 301e, and an end face 301f. In this case, there are three notches 301c provided at equal intervals along the cylindrical portion 301b.

[0406] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 61, the pin receiving member 303 is provided with a pin receiving portion 303a, a drive transmission portion 303b, a cylindrical receiving portion 303c, a hole portion 303d, a groove portion 303e, a spring seating surface 303f, and a longitudinal restricting surface 303h. In this case, three pin receiving portions 303a are provided at equal intervals along the cylindrical receiving portion 303c.

[0407] As shown in Figures 62 and 63, the drive input unit 300 in this embodiment consists of an alignment member 301, a pin 302, and a pin receiving member 303. The cylindrical portion 301b of the alignment member 301 is inserted into and engaged with the cylindrical receiving portion 303c of the pin receiving member 303. The pin 302 is engaged with the pin receiving portion 303a of the pin receiving member 303. At this time, the pin 302 is inserted to a position where it contacts the longitudinal restricting surface 303h, and can be firmly fixed by applying adhesive or the like to the groove portion 303e from the side of the spring seat surface 303f. Other means of firmly fixing include press-fitting or screws. Here, the pin 302 is provided with a flange portion 302a, and the pin 302 engages with the notch portion 301c of the alignment member 301 at the flange portion 302a. When the alignment member 301 is biased in direction V by the drive input unit connecting member 304 described later, the longitudinal restricting surface 301d of the alignment member 301 and the flange portion 302a of the pin 302 come into contact, restricting the longitudinal length of the alignment member 301. In addition, as shown in Figure 62, one pin is provided in each of the three notches of the alignment member 301.

[0408] Furthermore, the drive transmission unit 303b is provided on the pin receiving member 303 as described above. Similar to how the drive transmission unit 64b of the coupling member 64 in Embodiment 1 was supported by the drive-side flange member 75 and transmitted drive to the drive-side flange member 75, the drive transmission unit 303b transmits drive to the drive-side flange member 75. The configuration in which the drive transmission unit 303b is supported by the drive-side flange member 75, and the configuration in which the drive-side flange member 75 is supported by the photoreceptor drum 62, are the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0409] Next, the drive-side flange unit 269 and drum unit according to this embodiment, and the operating unit that enables the longitudinal movement of the centering member 301, will be described with reference to Figures 21, 23, 64, and 65.

[0410] Figure 64 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drum unit of Example 7, and a partially enlarged view thereof. Figure 65 is a diagram illustrating the assembly method of the drum unit of Example 7.

[0411] As shown in Figures 64 and 65, the drive-side flange unit 269 according to this embodiment consists of a drive input unit 300 comprising an alignment member 301, a pin 302, and a pin receiving member 303, and a drive-side flange member 275, a cover member 258, a first pressing member 259, etc. The drive input unit 300 is provided in place of the coupling member 64 in Embodiment 1 and the coupling member 264 in Embodiment 2. Furthermore, the drum unit consists of the drive-side flange unit 269, a drive input unit connecting member 304, a cushion member 255, a non-drive-side flange member 254, and an inner cylindrical cam member 274. The configuration of the drive-side flange member 275 is the same as in Embodiment 1, and the configurations of the inner cylindrical cam member 274, non-drive-side flange member 254, and cover member 258 are the same as in Embodiment 2.

[0412] The drive input unit connecting member 304 consists of a centering member support portion 304a, a cushion member support portion 304b, a connecting portion 304c that connects the drive input unit 300 and the inner cylindrical cam member 274, and a supported portion 304d that is supported by the inner cylindrical cam member 274.

[0413] The first pressing member 259, which consists of a compression spring or the like, is provided between the spring seat surface 303f of the pin receiving member 303 and the cover member 258.

[0414] The drive-side flange unit 269 is fixed to the drive-side end of the photoreceptor drum 62 by means of press-fitting or crimping, similar to Embodiment 1. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 65, the drive input unit connecting member 304, which has a cushion member 255 supported by a cushion member support portion 304b, is inserted into the drum from the non-drive-side end 62b. At this time, the cushion member 255 supported by the drive input unit connecting member 304 comes into contact with the spring seat surface 303f of the pin receiving member 303, and the alignment member support portion 304a engages with the connecting member receiving portion 301e of the alignment member 301. Here, the alignment member support portion 304a of the drive input unit connecting member 304 and the connecting member receiving portion 301e of the alignment member 301 are firmly fixed by press-fitting, screws, adhesive, or the like. Then, the non-drive side flange member 254 is fixed to the non-drive side drum end 62b by means of crimping or the like, in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, with the inner cylindrical cam member 274 fitted into its inner circumference 254b. At this time, the drive input unit connecting member 304 is rotatably supported at its supported portion 304d by the connecting member support portion 274b of the inner cylindrical cam member 274. Thus, the drum unit of Embodiment 7 is constructed.

[0415] Also, similar to Embodiment 2, the non-driving side operating unit of the cartridge is composed of an outer cylindrical cam member 270, an inner cylindrical cam member 274, a lever member (operating member) 212, a second pressing member 214, etc. (Figures 21 and 23). This non-driving side operating unit of the cartridge will be referred to as the non-driving side operating unit. The configuration and operation of this non-driving side operating unit are the same as those of the operating unit in Embodiment 2. The difference from Embodiment 2 is that, as mentioned above, the cushion member 255 supported by the connecting member 261 is in contact with the pin receiving member 303 instead of the coupling member 264. The centering member support portion 304a of the drive input unit connecting member 304 is firmly fixed to the centering member 301.

[0416] In Embodiment 2, the longitudinal position of the coupling member 264 was determined by the outer cylindrical cam member 270, the inner cylindrical cam member 274, and the connecting member 261. Similarly, in this embodiment, the longitudinal position of the centering member 301 is determined by the outer cylindrical cam member 270, the inner cylindrical cam member 274, and the drive input unit connecting member 304. At this time, as shown in Figure 64, the centering member 301 is configured to be located as far to the non-drive side as possible before the cartridge pressing member contacts the lever member 212 of the non-drive side operating unit. The position in which the centering member 301 is retracted to the non-drive side will be called the centering member retracted position (centering member retracted position, non-operating position). Furthermore, as will be described in detail later, when the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed, the cartridge pressing member 1 contacts the lever member 212 of the non-drive side operating unit. As a result, the inner cylindrical cam member 74, the drive input unit 300, and the centering member 301 are configured to be positioned furthest towards the drive side by the biasing force of the cushion member 255. In this embodiment, the position in which the centering member 301 extends toward the drive side is referred to as the centering member extension position (the extension position or operating position of the centering member).

[0417] Furthermore, the operating unit that enables the longitudinal movement of the pin receiving member 303 will be explained with reference to Figures 64, 66, and 67.

[0418] Figure 66 is a partial perspective view illustrating the configuration of the operating unit and drive input unit 300 provided in the cleaning unit 60 according to this embodiment.

[0419] Figure 67 is a partial perspective view illustrating the operating unit according to this embodiment.

[0420] As shown in Figures 64, 66, and 67, an operating unit similar to that in Embodiment 1 is connected to the pin receiving member 303 and is provided as a control mechanism (control unit) that controls the movement (forward and backward movement) of the pin receiving member 303. Here, this operating unit is provided on the drive side of the cartridge, similar to Embodiment 1. This operating unit on the drive side of the cartridge will be called the drive-side operating unit. Also, similar to Embodiment 1, the drive-side operating unit consists of an outer cylindrical cam member 70, an inner cylindrical cam member 74, a lever member 12, a second pressing member (elastic member, biasing member) 14, etc.

[0421] In Embodiment 1, the inner cylindrical cam member 74 contacts the cylindrical cam portion 70b and the drive input unit 300, thereby restricting the longitudinal position of the coupling member 64 by the coupling member longitudinal position restricting surface 74d. In this embodiment, instead, the inner cylindrical cam member 74 restricts the longitudinal position of the drive input unit 300 by the coupling member longitudinal position restricting surface 74d.

[0422] The drive-side operating unit is connected to the drive input unit 300 at the inner cylindrical cam 74, and the pin receiving member 303 can be moved forward and backward by operating the lever member 12. As the pin receiving member 303 moves, the pin 302, which is firmly fixed to the pin receiving member 303, also moves. This operation is the same as the operation of the operating unit to the coupling member 64 in Embodiment 1.

[0423] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 64, when the cartridge is not mounted on the main body A, the inner cylindrical cam member 74 is positioned to retract the pin receiving member 303 into the drum against the elastic force of the first pressing member 259. That is, when the main body door 13 is open, or before the cartridge pressing member 1 contacts the lever member 12, the pin receiving member 303 is configured to be in the non-driving position. The position in which the pin receiving member 303 is retracted to the non-driving side will be called the pin receiving member retraction position. As shown in Figure 64, when the pin receiving member 303 is in the pin receiving member retraction position, the pin 302 and the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81 of the main body A are configured not to overlap in the longitudinal direction. In other words, when the alignment member 301 is also in the alignment member retraction position, the attachment and detachment of the process cartridge B to the main body A can be performed smoothly without interference between the pin 302 and the drive transmission member 81 of the main body. As will be described in more detail later, when the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed, the cartridge pressing member 1 comes into contact with the lever member 12 of the drive-side operating unit. Then, the inner cylindrical cam member 74, the pin receiving member 303, and the pin 302 are configured to be in the position closest to the drive side due to the biasing force of the first pressing member 259. In this embodiment, the position in which the pin receiving member 303 extends toward the drive side is called the pin receiving member extension position. The pin receiving member 303 moves between the retracted position and the extension position along the axis of the photoreceptor drum 62.

[0424] Furthermore, Figure 68 will be used to explain the positional relationship between the lever member 12 of the drive-side operating unit and the lever member 212 of the non-drive-side operating unit.

[0425] Figure 68 is a cross-sectional view from the non-driving side of an image forming apparatus, showing the state in which the cartridge pressing member 1 approaches the lever member 12 and lever member 212 during the process of closing the opening / closing door 13 of the apparatus body A in the direction H in the figure. In the figure, the lever member 12 located on the driving side is shown by a dashed line.

[0426] Two cartridge pressing members 1 are positioned so as to be able to contact lever member 12 and lever member 212. In other words, one cartridge pressing member 1 is configured to press the drive side of the cartridge, and the other cartridge pressing member 1 is configured to press the driven side of the cartridge.

[0427] The two cartridge pressing members 1, positioned on the drive side and non-drive side respectively, are arranged so as to overlap each other when viewed along the axis of the photoreceptor drum. As shown in Figure 68, the pressed portion 212a of the lever member 212 is positioned to contact the cartridge pressing member 1 before the pressed portion 12a of the lever member 12 during the process of closing the opening / closing door 13 in direction H in the figure. Therefore, during the process of closing the opening / closing door 13, the non-drive side operating unit operates before the drive side operating unit. Consequently, as will be described later, the movement of the alignment member 301 by the non-drive side operating unit occurs before the movement of the pin receiving member 303 by the drive side operating unit.

[0428] Next, using Figures 69, 70, and 71, we will explain how the drive input unit 300 and the drive transmission member 81 engage with each other when the rotation axes L3 and L1 of the drive transmission member 81 and the drive input unit 300 are not coaxial before they engage with each other.

[0429] Here, Figure 69(a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device body A and the cartridge with the cartridge inserted into the device body A and the opening / closing door 13 fully open. Figure 69(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the lever member 212 of the non-drive side operating unit begins to be pressed by the cartridge pressing member 1 during the process of closing the opening / closing door 13 after the cartridge has been inserted into the device body A. Figure 69(c) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the opening / closing door 13 is further closed and the lever member 212 is pressed by the cartridge pressing member 1, and the centering member 301 reaches the centering member extension position. Figure 69(d) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the engagement between the drive transmission part 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the pin 302 of the drive input unit 300 is completed. Figure 69(d) shows the state after the opening / closing door 13 is fully closed, the lever member 12 of the drive side operating unit is pressed by the cartridge pressing member 1, and the drive transmission member 81 is rotated by the input of a driving force to the device body A. This engages the drive transmission unit 81a with the pin 302.

[0430] Figures 69(a), (b), (c), and (d) show the process by which the drive input unit 300 engages with the drive transmission member 81 while reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81 as the centering member 301 moves to the centering member advance position.

[0431] Figure 70 is a magnified view of the portion just before the alignment member 301 and the drive transmission member 81 come into contact, where the inclined surface 301a of the alignment member 301 contacts the end face 81c of the drive transmission member 81.

[0432] Figure 71 is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member 81 and drive input unit 300 in the engaged state, cut along cross-section Z in Figure 69(d), which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge.

[0433] Before engaging with the pin 302, the drive transmission member 81 is tilted by its own weight in the direction V in the figure, as shown in Figure 69(a), similar to the case of Embodiment 1. At this time, the centering member 301 and the pin 302 are in the retracted position and neither is in contact with the drive transmission member 81. Next, as the opening and closing door 13 closes, the cartridge pressing member 1 and the pressed portion 212a of the lever member 212 come into contact. As a result, the outer cylindrical cam member 270 rides up onto the inner cylindrical cam member 274, causing the inner cylindrical cam member 274, the drive input unit connecting member 304, and the centering member 301 to begin moving towards the drive side of the cartridge.

[0434] At this time, as shown in Figure 70, the inclined surface 301a of the centering member 301 comes into contact with the ridge line 81d of the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81. Subsequently, the centering member 301 moves toward the drive side while pushing away the drive transmission member 81. Here, by providing a sufficiently large pressing force for the cushion member 255, the centering member 301 can move toward the drive side against the torque acting in the direction that causes the drive transmission member 81 to tilt due to its own weight. Then, as shown in Figure 69(b), the centering member 301 moves toward the drive side while rotating the drive transmission member 81 in the direction W in the figure, that is, while reducing the tilt angle of the drive transmission member 81. After the inclined surface 301a passes the ridge line 81d of the drive transmission member 81, the cylindrical portion 301b of the centering member 301 then comes into contact with the ridge line of the drive transmission portion 81a. Here, the cylindrical portion 301b and the drive transmission portion 81a engage, causing the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 81 and the rotation axis L1 of the drive input unit 300 to coincide. Subsequently, as shown in Figure 69(c), the alignment member 301 moves toward the drive side until its end face 301f contacts the drive transmission member 81, i.e., until it reaches the alignment member advanced position.

[0435] Next, when the opening / closing door 13 is closed further, the cartridge pressing member 1 and the pressed portion 12a of the lever member 12 of the drive-side operating unit come into contact. At that time, as shown in Figure 69(d), the outer cylindrical cam 70 and the inner cylindrical cam 74 operate in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, and the biasing force of the first pressing member 259 causes the pin 302 and the pin receiving member 303 to move together from the pin receiving member retraction position to the drive side.

[0436] At this time, as shown in Figure 71, if the phase of the drive transmission unit 81a and the phase of the pin 302 of the drive input unit 300 match, the pin 302 engages with the drive transmission unit 81a at this point. However, in other phases, the pin 302 and the pin receiving member 303 only move toward the drive side until the pin 302 contacts the end face 81c of the drive transmission member 81. However, even in that case, when drive is input to the device body next, the drive transmission member 81 rotates, reducing the phase difference between the phase of the drive transmission unit 81a and the pin 302 of the drive input unit 300. When their phases match, the pin 302 engages with the drive transmission unit 81a due to the biasing force of the first pressing member 59.

[0437] This allows the pin 302 to receive driving force from the drive transmission unit 81a. The pin 302 is an input member (drive input member) to which driving force is input. When driven, the driving force from the drive transmission unit 81 causes the pin 302 and the pin receiving member 303 to rotate, and at this time the centering member 301 rotates by receiving driving force from the flange portion 302a of the pin 302 to the notch portion 301c. At this time, the drive input unit connecting member 304 also rotates together with the centering member 301, sliding against the connecting member support portion 274b of the inner cylindrical cam member 274.

[0438] As described above, the inclined surface 301a and cylindrical portion 301b of the centering member 301 are engaged with the drive transmission unit 81a. This allows the rotation axes of the drive transmission member 81 and the drive input unit (coupling member) 300 to be aligned with high precision, even if their rotation axes are misaligned.

[0439] In this embodiment, the three pins (input member, input section) 302 and the pin receiving member (output member, output section, support section) 303 correspond to the coupling member. The driving force input to the pins 302 is transmitted to the pin receiving member 303 and output from the pin receiving member 303 toward the photoreceptor drum 62. The coupling member in this embodiment is also movably supported by the flange member 75 and is positioned at the end of the photoreceptor drum.

[0440] In a broader sense, the coupling member may include not only the three pins 202 and the pin receiving member 303, but also the alignment member 301. In other words, although the coupling member was referred to as the drive input unit 300 excluding the alignment member 301, in a broader sense, the entire drive input unit 300 may also be referred to as the coupling member.

[0441] In the modified example of Embodiment 1, the coupling member 64 itself reduces the inclination of the drive transmission member 81, thereby causing the coupling member 64 to engage with the drive transmission member 81.

[0442] In contrast, in this embodiment, the movable member (aligning member) 301, positioned near the input member (pin 302) of the coupling member, moves from a retracted position (non-operating position) to an extended position (operating position) toward the drive transmission member 81. This corresponds to the process shown in Figures 69(a), (b), and (c). As the aligning member 301 moves in this manner, it biases the drive transmission member 81, thereby reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81. This makes the drive input member (302) and the drive transmission member 81 able to engage. This is the state shown in Figure 69(c).

[0443] In other words, the alignment member 301 moves from the retracted position to the extended position, reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81, and then the coupling member (pin 302 and pin receiving member 303) moves from the retracted position to the extended position (see Figure 69(d)). This causes the coupling member to engage with the drive transmission member 81. The alignment member 301 and the coupling member (pin 302 and pin receiving member 303) are configured to move forward and backward at different timings.

[0444] In modified examples of Example 1 and Example 2, when the chamfered portion 64e of the coupling member 64 is used to align the rotation axis of the drive transmission member 81a with the rotation axis of the drum, the width of engagement between the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member is reduced by the amount of the chamfered portion 64e. However, according to the method of this embodiment, the component that directly receives the driving force of the drive transmission member 81 is the pin 302, and the alignment member 301 is responsible for aligning the rotation axis of the drive transmission member 81 with the rotation axis of the drum. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a chamfer or the like on the pin 302 itself. As a result, a sufficient engagement width can be provided, and more reliable drive transmission can be achieved.

[0445] <Modification of Example 7> The following describes a modified example in which the configuration of this embodiment is partially changed. In the above description (see Figure 69), the inclined surface 301a and cylindrical portion 301b of the centering member 301 were engaged with the ridge line 81d of the drive transmission unit 81. This made it possible to rotate (oscillate) the drive transmission member 81 and align the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 81 with the rotation axis L1 of the drive input unit 300. However, in order to rotate the drive transmission member 81 and align its rotation axis with that of the drive input unit 300, it is not necessary to use the ridge line 81d of the recess 81a of the drive transmission unit 81, and the outer circumference 81e of the drive transmission unit (Figure 25) may be used instead. The following describes a modified example in which an outer circumference support centering member 305 is provided instead of the centering member 301 of Embodiment 7, and the outer circumference support centering member 305 is engaged with the outer circumference 81e of the drive transmission unit to align the rotation axis L3 of the drive transmission member 81 with the rotation axis L1 of the drive input unit 300.

[0446] First, the outer peripheral support centering member 305 and the drum unit formed therefrom will be explained using Figures 72 and 73.

[0447] Figure 72 is a perspective view of the drive input unit 300 according to this modified example.

[0448] Figure 73 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drum unit and drum bearing 73 according to this modified example.

[0449] As shown in Figures 72 and 73, the outer peripheral support centering member 305 is provided with a slope 305a, a cylindrical portion 305b, a base portion 304c, and a hole portion 305d. The hole portion 305d is located at the center of the disc-shaped base portion 304c. Three cylinders 305b are provided on the base portion 304c at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, radially outside the hole portion 305d. The ends of the cylindrical portions 304b are provided with slopes 305a. The slopes 305a are such that they approach the base portion 304c as they move radially inward from the base portion 304c.

[0450] Next, we will describe the differences between this embodiment and Embodiment 7 described above, as well as the components other than the outer peripheral support centering member 305, and the drum unit composed of the outer peripheral support centering member 305. The drive input unit 300 is provided with the outer peripheral support centering member 305 instead of the centering member 301.

[0451] As mentioned above, the part of the drive input unit 300 excluding the alignment member 305 corresponds to the coupling member in this embodiment, but in a broader sense, the entire drive input member 300 is sometimes referred to as the coupling member.

[0452] The drive input unit connecting member 304 is provided with a base support portion 304e, as shown in Figure 73. The hole 305d of the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 is inserted into this base support portion 304 and firmly fixed with screws or adhesive. When assembling the drum unit, the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 is inserted into the drum while still attached to the drive input unit connecting member 304.

[0453] Furthermore, the pin receiving member 303 is provided with an outer cylindrical receiving portion 303i. This is positioned to correspond to the cylindrical portion 305b of the outer peripheral bearing centering member 305, and can be engaged by aligning the phase when the drive input unit connecting member 304 is inserted. The lid member 258 is also provided with a cylindrical receiving portion 258a at a position corresponding to the cylindrical portion 305b of the outer peripheral bearing centering member 305. Therefore, the cylindrical portion 305b of the outer peripheral bearing centering member 305 is configured to protrude from inside the drum through the cylindrical receiving portion 258a of the lid member 258 and the outer cylindrical receiving portion 303i of the pin receiving member 303 to the outside of the drum. In addition, the drum bearing 73 supports the drive-side flange 275, not the pin receiving member 303.

[0454] In addition, the first pressing member 259, the outer cylindrical cam 70, and the inner cylindrical cam 74 have larger inner diameters to avoid the outer peripheral bearing centering member 305, but the basic configuration is the same as described above. The configuration of the pin 302, cushion member 255, and non-drive side flange 254 is also the same as described above. Furthermore, the outer peripheral bearing centering member 305, like the centering member 301 described above, is movable in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge together with the drive input unit connecting member 304 in accordance with the operation of the non-drive side operating unit. At this time, the position in which the outer peripheral bearing centering member 305 extends furthest toward the drive side will also be called the centering member extension position in this modified example.

[0455] Next, using Figures 74 and 75, we will explain how the drive input unit 300 and the drive transmission member 81 engage with each other when the rotation axes L3 and L1 of the drive transmission member 81 and the drive input unit 300 are not coaxial before they engage with each other.

[0456] Here, Figure 74(a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device body A and the cartridge with the cartridge inserted into the device body A and the opening / closing door 13 fully open. Figure 74(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the lever member 212 of the non-drive side operating unit begins to be pressed by the cartridge pressing member 1 during the process of closing the opening / closing door 13 after the cartridge has been inserted into the device body A. Figure 74(c) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the opening / closing door 13 is further closed and the lever member 212 is pressed by the cartridge pressing member 1, and the outer peripheral support centering member 305 reaches the centering member advance position. Figure 74(d) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the engagement between the drive transmission part 81a of the drive transmission member 81 and the pin 302 of the drive input unit 300 is completed. Figure 74(d) shows the state after the opening / closing door 13 is completely closed, the lever member 12 of the drive side operating unit is pressed by the cartridge pressing member 1, and a driving force is further input to the device body A, causing the drive transmission member 81 to rotate.

[0457] Figures 74(a), (b), (c), and (d) show the process by which the drive input unit 300 engages with the drive transmission member 81 while reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81 as the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 moves to the alignment member advance position.

[0458] Figure 75 is a magnified view of the portion just before the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 and the drive transmission member 81 come into contact, where the inclined surface 305a of the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 abuts against the end face 81c of the drive transmission member 81.

[0459] Before engaging with the pin 302, the drive transmission member 81 is tilted by its own weight in the direction V in the figure, as shown in Figure 74(a), similar to the case of Embodiment 1. At this time, the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 and the pin 302 are in the retracted position and neither is in contact with the drive transmission member 81. Next, as the opening and closing door 13 closes, the cartridge pressing member 1 and the pressed portion 212a of the lever member 212 come into contact. As a result, the outer circular member 270 rides up onto the inner cylindrical cam member 274, causing the inner cylindrical cam member 274, the drive input unit connecting member 304, and the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 to begin cylindrical cam movement toward the drive side of the cartridge.

[0460] At this time, as shown in Figure 75, the inclined surface 305a of the outer peripheral support centering member 305 comes into contact with the outer peripheral ridge line 81f of the drive transmission portion 81a of the drive transmission member 81. Subsequently, the centering member 301 moves toward the drive side, pushing aside the drive transmission member 81. Here, by providing a sufficiently large pressing force for the cushion member 255, the centering member 301 can move toward the drive side against the torque acting in the direction that causes the drive transmission member 81 to tilt due to its own weight. Then, as shown in Figure 69(b), the drive transmission member 81 moves toward the drive side, rotating in the direction of W in the figure, that is, reducing the tilt angle of the drive transmission member 81. After the inclined surface 305a passes the outer peripheral ridge line 81f of the drive transmission member 81, the cylindrical portion 305b of the centering member 301 then comes into contact with the outer peripheral ridge line 81f of the drive transmission portion 81. Here, the three cylindrical portions 305b (Figure 72) and the drive transmission portion 81a engage, causing the rotation axis of the drive transmission member 81 to coincide with the rotation axis of the drive input unit 300. Subsequently, as shown in Figure 74(c), the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 moves toward the drive side until its end face contacts the drive transmission member 81, i.e., until it reaches the alignment member advance position.

[0461] The operation after the outer peripheral support alignment member 305 moves to the alignment member extension position is the same as described above. When the opening / closing door 13 is further closed, the pin 302 and the pin release member 303 move together from the pin receiving member exit position to the drive side due to the action of the drive-side operating unit. Furthermore, when drive is input to the main unit A, the drive transmission unit 81 and the pin 302 engage.

[0462] During operation, the driving force from the drive transmission unit 81 causes the pin 302 and the pin receiving member 303 to rotate. At this time, the outer peripheral bearing centering member 305 rotates by receiving the driving force from the outer cylindrical receiving portion 303i to the cylindrical portion 305b of the pin receiving member 303. At this time, the drive input unit connecting member 304 also rotates together with the outer peripheral bearing centering member 305, sliding against the connecting member support portion 274b of the inner cylindrical cam member 274.

[0463] As described above, the inclined surface 301a and cylindrical portion 301b of the centering member 301 are engaged with the drive transmission unit 81a. This allows the rotation axes of the drive transmission member 81 and the drive input unit 300 to be aligned with high precision, even if their rotation axes are misaligned.

[0464] In this modified configuration, a shape is provided on the outer rim 81f, separate from the drive transmission section 81a that transmits the driving force of the drive transmission member 81, so that the rotation axis of the drive transmission member 81 is aligned with the rotation axis of the drum. As a result, the pin 302, which receives the driving force directly from the drive transmission member 81, has fewer constraints on its shape, making it possible to increase the diameter of the pin 302 or to provide a shape that matches the drive transmission section 81a. Therefore, according to this modified configuration, depending on the shape of the pin 302, it may be possible to achieve even more reliable drive transmission and to increase the strength of the pin 302.

[0465] Furthermore, although the outer peripheral support centering member 305 is centered using three cylindrical sections, it can also be a circular tube shape, for example; the shape is not limited as long as centering is possible. In this case as well, the same effect can be obtained.

[0466] <Example 8> Next, Embodiment 8 will be described. The drive transmission member in this embodiment is configured to be tiltable (inclinable) in the same way as the drive transmission unit 81 shown in the modified example of Embodiment 1.

[0467] Note that explanations of points similar to those in the previously described embodiments may be omitted. In particular, among the cartridge-side elements disclosed in this embodiment, those corresponding to the members described in Embodiment 2 will be given the same names as in Embodiment 2, and only the differences from those in Embodiment 2 will be explained. Figures 76 and 77 are perspective views of the process cartridge of Embodiment 8. In this embodiment as well, a coupling member (drive input member) 264 for receiving driving force from the main body of the device is provided on the cartridge. In this embodiment as in Embodiment 2, a lever 212 (see Figure 21) for moving the coupling member 264 forward and backward is provided on the non-driven side of the cartridge. Therefore, the coupling member 64 can move forward and backward in the same way as the coupling member 264 described in Embodiment 2 (see Figures 24(a) to (c)).

[0468] As shown in Figure 76, a control member 402 is provided on the drive-side bearing member 401. The drive-side bearing member 401 is part of the cartridge frame and is a member for rotatably supporting the photoreceptor drum on the drive side of the cartridge. The bearing member 401 is also a part that constitutes the side surface of the cartridge frame. In other words, the drive-side bearing member 401 is a part that constitutes the end of the frame in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum.

[0469] In the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum, the control member 402 is positioned on the same side (drive side) as the coupling member 64 and the cartridge. The control member 402 is positioned near the end of the cartridge frame (bearing member 401) in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum.

[0470] As shown in Figure 77, the control member 402 is provided with a restricting portion 402a, a contact portion 402b, and an initial contact portion 402c. The control member 402 is mounted on the drive-side bearing member 401 so as to be rotatable around the axis MX, and is stationary with the initial contact portion 402c and the control member contact portion 401a in contact. The position of the control member 402 at this time is called the non-operating position (retracted position). As shown in Figure 76, the control member 402 is located outside (arrow LO) the tip of the coupling member 64 in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum.

[0471] Figure 78 is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and process cartridge when the process cartridge is mounted to the main body of the apparatus. As shown in Figure 78(a), the control member 402 is located downstream in the direction of gravity from the line M1 connecting the rotation axis of the drum 62 and the developing roller 32. Furthermore, the control member 402 is subjected to a moment in the direction of arrow MA due to its own weight with axis MX as the center of rotation, and the initial contact portion 402c is in contact with the control member contact portion 401a of the drive-side bearing member 401.

[0472] Next, as shown in Figure 78(b), when the process cartridge is inserted, the contact portion (cartridge-side guide portion) 402b of the control member 402 comes into contact with the main body guide portion 403 provided on the main body A of the device. As the process cartridge is further inserted, the contact portion 402b moves along the main body guide portion 403, and accordingly, the control member 402 rotates around axis MX in the direction of arrow MB. As the process cartridge is further inserted, as shown in Figure 78(c), the restricting portion 402a comes into contact with the side surface 81f of the drive transmission member 81. The restricting portion (biasing portion, acting portion) 402a then presses and biases the side surface 81f of the drive transmission member in the direction of arrow MC.

[0473] As a result, the drive transmission member 81 generates a moment in the direction of arrow W shown in Figure 15, similar to Embodiment 1, which reduces the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81. At this time, the distance L2 between the drum rotation axis and the restricting part 402a is shorter than the distance L1 between the drum rotation axis and the restricting part 402a in Figure 78(a). The position of the control member 402 at this time is called the operating position (contact position).

[0474] When the control member 402 is in its operating position, the restricting portion 402a of the control member 402 is located near the circumferential surface (outer surface) of the photoreceptor drum 62 in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the photoreceptor drum 62. In other words, when viewing the cartridge along the axis of the photoreceptor drum 62, the restricting portion 402a of the control member 402 is located near the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 62.

[0475] The regulating portion 402a is a part whose distance from the axis of the photoreceptor drum is variable, and it constitutes the surface of the regulating member 402. When the control member 402 is in the operating position, when viewed along the axis of the photoreceptor drum 62, the regulating portion 402a faces the side where the photoreceptor drum is located.

[0476] Figure 79 is a perspective view of the configuration in this embodiment 8 in which an initialization spring 404 is provided on the control member 402 and the drive-side bearing member 401. By providing the initialization spring 404, the initial contact portion 402c of the control member 402 can be made to contact the control member contact portion 401a of the drive-side bearing member 401 more reliably. As a result, the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81 can be reduced more stably.

[0477] By reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81, the angle difference between the axis of the drive transmission member 81 and the axis of the coupling member 64 is reduced. In other words, the center of the output coupling portion 81a (see Figure 25) provided at the tip of the drive transmission member 81 moves closer to the center of the coupling member 264, so that the output coupling portion 81a becomes capable of engaging with the coupling member 264.

[0478] As mentioned above, the coupling member 264 is capable of moving forward and backward, similar to the coupling member 264 shown in Embodiment 2. Therefore, similar to the coupling member 264 shown in Figures 24(a) to (c), in this embodiment as well, the coupling member 264 can engage with the drive transmission member 81 by approaching it (see Figure 24(c)).

[0479] The control member 402 is an alignment assist member (assistant member, alignment member, movable member) that assists in the alignment of the drive transmission member 81 with respect to the coupling member 264 by changing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81. The regulating part 402a is an acting part (contact part) that contacts the drive transmission member 81 and acts on the drive transmission member 81. The regulating part 402a is also a biasing part that applies force by biasing the drive transmission member 81, thereby reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81.

[0480] Furthermore, the movement trajectory of the control member 402 will be explained using Figure 78(d). The control member 402 is movable between two positions. The position of the control member 402 shown by the solid line in Figure 78(d) is the position that acts on the drive transmission member 81 (see the acting position described above: Figure 78(c)). In a plane perpendicular to the axis of the photoreceptor drum, the regulating portion 402a of the control member 402 is located near the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 62. On the other hand, the position of the control member 402 shown by the dashed line in Figure 78(d) is a position retracted from the acting position (see the non-acting position, retracted position described above: Figure 78(a)). When the control member 402 is in the non-acting position, the control member 402 is further away from the center (axis) of the photoreceptor drum 462 than in the acting position.

[0481] The operating position (Figure 78(c)) and non-operating position (Figure 78(a)) of the control member 402 are sometimes referred to as the first position and the second position of the control member, respectively. The operating position of the control member 402 is the position in which the inclination of the drive transmission member 81 is reduced by acting on it, more specifically by biasing the drive transmission member 81. The non-operating position is the position retracted from the operating position.

[0482] Regardless of the position of the control member 402, the control member 402 is located axially outward (towards the direction of arrow LO in Figure 76) from the tip of the coupling member 264 which is in the retracted position.

[0483] In the embodiment described here, a tension spring 404 (see Figure 79) is shown as an initialization spring (elastic member) for holding the control member 402 in its initial position (non-operating position, retracted position). However, any configuration that can initialize the control member is acceptable. For example, a compression spring, a torsion coil spring, etc., can be used as the spring (elastic member) other than the tension spring. In other words, the control member 402 can be biased in the direction of arrow MA by an elastic member (biasing member) to position the control member 402 in a predetermined initial position (non-operating position, retracted position: Figure 78(a)) when the cartridge is installed.

[0484] Another possible method involves attaching a weight to the tip of the control element, so that its weight holds it in its initial position when the cartridge is inserted. The method is not limited to this.

[0485] Furthermore, the control member 402 is positioned so as not to cover or contact the surface of the photoreceptor drum 62, so as not to interfere with the image formation process that takes place on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 62. At least when the control member 402 is in the operating position (Figure 78(c)), it is positioned so as not to cover or contact the surface of the photoreceptor drum 62.

[0486] <Modification 1 of Example 8> Next, a modified example of this embodiment (Modification 1 related to Embodiment 8) in which the above-described configuration has been partially changed will be explained. Modification 1 will also be explained assuming that the drive transmission unit 81 is configured to be tiltable (inclinable), similar to the above.

[0487] Figure 80 is a cross-sectional view of the process cartridge of this modified example.

[0488] As shown in Figure 80, the control member 412 is slidably mounted between the cleaning frame 71 and the drum bearing 73 in the directions of arrows MD and ME.

[0489] The control member 412 is located downstream in the direction of gravity from the line M1 connecting the rotation axis of the drum 62 and the developing roller 32.

[0490] The control member 412 is provided with a restricting portion (acting portion, biasing portion) 412a, a contact portion 412b, and an initial contact portion 412c. The control member 412 is biased in the direction of arrow ME by its own weight, and is stationary with the initial contact portion 412c in contact with the contact portion 73g of the drum bearing 73. This is the state in which the control member 412 is in the non-acting position (retracted position).

[0491] Figure 81 is a cross-sectional view of the drive transmission member and process cartridge when the process cartridge is mounted to the main body of the apparatus. As shown in Figure 81(a), the control member 412 has its initial contact portion 412c in contact with the contact portion 73g of the drum bearing 73 due to its own weight.

[0492] As the control member 412 inserts a process cartridge located downstream in the direction of gravity from the line M1 connecting the rotation axis of the drum 62 and the developing roller 32, the contact portion 412b comes into contact with the main body guide portion 413, as shown in Figure 81(b).

[0493] As the process cartridge is further inserted, the control member 412 moves in the direction of arrow MD due to a reaction force from the main body guide portion 413, as shown in Figure 81(c). Consequently, the restricting portion 412a comes into contact with the side surface 81g of the coupling portion of the drive transmission member 81. As the process cartridge is further inserted, the restricting portion 412a presses against the side surface 81g of the coupling portion in the direction of arrow MD. As a result, the drive transmission member 81 generates a moment in the direction of arrow W shown in Figure 15, similar to Embodiment 1, which reduces the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81. This is the state in which the control member 412 is in the working position. At this time, the distance L4 between the drum rotation axis and the restricting portion 412a is shorter than the distance L3 between the drum rotation axis and the restricting portion 412a in Figure 81(a). At this time, in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the photoreceptor drum, the restricting portion 412a of the control member is located near the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum. Figure 82 is a cross-sectional view of a configuration in which an initialization spring 414 is provided between the control member 412 and the cleaning frame 71. By providing the initialization spring 414, the initialization spring 414 biases the control member 412 in the ME direction. This allows the initial contact portion 412c of the control member 412 to more reliably contact the contact portion 73g of the drum bearing 73.

[0494] In Embodiment 7, the alignment member 301 was positioned at the end of the photoreceptor drum 62. That is, the alignment member 301 was positioned near the pin (drive input member) 301 of the coupling member (see Figure 62). In contrast, the control member 412 in this embodiment is not positioned near the coupling member 264, but is positioned on the cartridge frame. Even though the control member (alignment assist member, movable member, alignment member) 412 is positioned away from the coupling member 264 in this way, it can move toward the drive transmission member 81 and bias the drive transmission member 81, thereby reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81. This allows the control member 412 to engage and connect the drive transmission member 81 with the coupling member 264.

[0495] <Modification 2 of Example 8> Next, we will describe another modified example (Modified Example 2) in which the configuration of this embodiment (Embodiment 8) has been partially changed. In this modified example as well, the drive transmission unit 81 is configured to be tiltable (inclined).

[0496] Figure 83 is a perspective view of the process cartridge of this modified example. Figure 84 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Figure 83 when the process cartridge is installed in the apparatus body. Figure 87 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of Figure 83.

[0497] As shown in Figure 87, the control member 422 is located downstream in the direction of gravity from the line M1 connecting the rotation axes of the drum 62 and the developing roller 32.

[0498] As shown in Figure 84(a), the cleaning frame 71 is provided with an initial restricting portion 711, a post-insertion restricting portion 771m, and a frame-side biasing force receiving portion 71n. A control member 422 is also supported on the cleaning frame 71 so as to be rotatable around axis MY as the center of rotation. The control member 422 is provided with a restricting portion (acting portion, biasing portion) 422a, a contact portion 422b, an initial contact portion 422c, a post-insertion contact portion 422d, and a control member-side biasing force receiving portion 422e. Furthermore, a tension spring 424 is provided as a biasing member on the control member-side biasing force receiving portion 422e and the frame-side biasing force receiving portion 71n.

[0499] Before being inserted into the main body of the device, the control member 422 is subjected to a force from the tension spring 424 in the direction of arrow MF. As a result, a moment acts on the control member 422 in the direction of MG, causing the control member 422 to rotate around axis MY, and it comes to rest with the initial contact portion 422c and the initial restricting portion 71l of the cleaning frame 71 in contact. This is the state in which the control member 422 is in a non-operating position (retracted position).

[0500] Next, as the process cartridge is inserted, the contact portion (cartridge-side guide portion) 422b of the control member 422 comes into contact with the main frame (main body-side guide portion) 423, as shown in Figure 84(b). The control member 422 rotates in the direction of arrow MH around the rotation axis MY due to the reaction force received by the contact portion 422b from the main body guide portion 423. As the process cartridge is further inserted, as shown in Figure 84(c), the control member 422 rotates in the direction of MH due to the force received from the tension spring 424 in the direction of arrow MF, contacting the side surface 81f of the drive transmission member 81 and pressing the drive transmission member 81 in the direction of arrow MI. As a result, the drive transmission member 81 generates a moment in the direction of arrow W shown in Figure 15, similar to Embodiment 1, which reduces the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81. At this time, the control member 422 (control unit) is in the operating position.

[0501] At this time, as shown in Figure 87, the distance L6 between the drum rotation axis and the restricting portion 422a in Figure 87(c) is shorter than the distance L5 between the drum rotation axis and the restricting portion 422a in Figure 87(a). As shown in Figure 87(c), in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the photoreceptor drum, the restricting portion 422a is located near the circumferential surface of the drum. When the control member 422 is in the operating position (see Figures 84(c) and 87(c)), at least a part of the control member (i.e., the contact portion 422b) is located axially outward (LO direction) from the tip of the coupling member 264.

[0502] The control members 402 (see Figure 77) and 412 (see Figure 80(a)) described in the aforementioned Example 8 and Modification 1 of Example 8 moved along a direction perpendicular to the axis of the photoreceptor drum and were not displaced in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum. That is, the control member 402 rotated around a shaft portion MX (see Figure 77) parallel to the axis of the photoreceptor drum, and the control member 412 slid linearly in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the photoreceptor drum (see Figure 80(a)).

[0503] In contrast, in this modified example 2, when the control member 442 moves from the non-operating position (Figure 84(a)) to the operating position (Figure 84(c)), the restricting portion (operating portion, biasing portion) 422a of the control member 442 is displaced in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum. In other words, as the control unit 442 moves to the operating position, the restricting portion 422a is displaced outward in the axial direction, that is, to the left in Figure 84(c).

[0504] <Modification 3 of Example 8> Furthermore, another modified example (Modification 3) of this embodiment will be described. In this modification as well, the drive transmission unit 81 is configured to be tiltable (inclined), similar to the configuration described above.

[0505] As shown in Figure 85, the control member 432 is provided with a compression spring 435 as a pressurizing part.

[0506] Figure 86 is a cross-sectional view when the process cartridge is being installed into the main body of the apparatus. As shown in Figure 86(a), the drum bearing 73 is provided with a contact portion 73g. When the process cartridge is inserted into the main body of the apparatus, as shown in Figure 86(b), the compression spring 435 contacts the main body guide portion 433, and the compression spring 435 biases the control member 432 in the direction of arrow MJ. As a result, the contact portion 432b of the control member 432 contacts the side surface 81f of the drive transmission member 81, pressing the drive transmission member 81 in the direction of arrow MJ. As a result, the drive transmission member 81 generates a moment in the direction of arrow W shown in Figure 15, similar to Embodiment 1, and the drive transmission member 81 contacts the regulating portion 73g provided on the drum bearing 73, thereby reducing the inclination angle of the drive transmission member 81.

[0507] Once the process cartridge is installed in the main body of the device and the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 engage, the rotation axes of the drive transmission member 81 and the coupling member 64 align. At this time, the drive transmission member 81 moves in the direction of arrow MK, as shown in Figure 86(c).

[0508] In Examples 3 to 8, the mechanism of Example 1 or the mechanism disclosed in Example 2 was used as the mechanism for moving the coupling forward and backward. However, the method of moving the coupling forward and backward is not limited to this method, and other methods may be used.

[0509] <Example 9> Next, Example 9 will be described. Note that explanations of points similar to those in the previous examples may be omitted. In particular, for elements disclosed in this example that correspond to those described in Example 8, the same names as in Example 8 will be used, and only the differences from those in Example 8 will be explained.

[0510] In the following embodiment, the drive transmission unit 1081 is configured to be tiltable (inclinable) (Figure 92), similar to Embodiment 8, and a structure in which a control member (alignment assist member, movable member, biasing member, alignment member) 1001 (Figure 88) is provided on the cartridge will be described.

[0511] In each of the above embodiments, including Embodiment 8, the developing roller gear 36 meshed with a gear portion 75a provided on the drive-side flange member 75, thereby transmitting driving force to the developing roller 32 (see Figure 27). In other words, the driving force input from the main body of the device to the coupling member (drive input member) of the cartridge was branched inside the cartridge and transmitted not only to the photoreceptor drum but also to the developing roller 32. However, the cartridge and the main body of the image forming apparatus do not necessarily have to have such a structure. That is, a structure in which the developing roller 32 receives driving force directly from the main body of the image forming apparatus, separately from the photoreceptor drum 62, is also conceivable.

[0512] As an example, this embodiment shows a structure in which the developing roller gear 36 is exposed to the outside of the cartridge, directly engaging with the drive transmission member 1081 of the device body A, and receiving driving force directly from the drive transmission member 1081.

[0513] Furthermore, in the aforementioned embodiments, including Embodiment 8, the coupling member 64 was configured to move forward and backward in the longitudinal direction relative to the drum 62 (see Figures 6 and 8), but this is not necessarily required. The coupling member may be fixed to the end of the photoreceptor drum. Therefore, this embodiment introduces a coupling member fixed to the photoreceptor drum.

[0514] Furthermore, in Example 8, the drive transmission member 81 was tilted by its own weight in the direction of arrow V shown in Figure 15, but this is not necessarily required. As explained in Example 3 and others, the drive transmission member may also be tilted by forces other than gravity, and it is also possible that the drive transmission member may be tilted in a direction different from the direction of gravity. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 92, the drive transmission member 1081 was tilted in the direction of arrow VV by an elastic force F22. This reduces the resistance when attaching and detaching the process cartridge B to the main body A of the apparatus (details will be described later).

[0515] (Configuration of coupling member and control member) First, the configurations of the coupling member 1064 and the control member 1001 will be explained using Figures 88 to 91 and Figure 98.

[0516] Figure 88(a) is a perspective view of cartridge B according to this embodiment. Figure 88(b) is an exploded perspective view of cartridge B according to this embodiment. Figure 89(a) is a side view of cartridge B according to this embodiment. Figure 89(b) is a cross-sectional view of the drive side end of cartridge B in Figure 89(a) taken along line XX-XX.

[0517] As shown in Figures 88(a) and 88(b), a control member 1001, which controls the orientation of the drive transmission member 1081 (Figure 92), is located near the end of the cartridge frame. The control member 1001 is a movable member that can move relative to the photoreceptor drum 62.

[0518] The control member 1001 is provided with a hole 1001c. The hole 1001c is supported by a support boss 1071a provided on the cleaning frame 1071. The drum bearing 1073 is also integrally fixed to the cleaning frame 1071. The drum bearing 1073 and the cleaning frame 1071 constitute part of the cartridge frame. In particular, the drum bearing 1071 and the cleaning frame 1071 are part of the frame that constitutes the cleaning unit 60 (see Figure 4). The control member 1001 is rotatably mounted to the drum bearing 1073 around the axis AA of the support boss 1071a.

[0519] Furthermore, a biasing spring 1002, which is a torsion coil spring, is attached to the support boss 1071a, with one end 1002a of the biasing spring 1002 in contact with the pressed portion 1001d of the control member 1001. The other end 1002b of the biasing spring 1002 is in contact with the contact portion 1073c of the drum bearing 1073. Therefore, the control member 1001 is biased in the direction of arrow BB by the biasing force FF1 of the biasing spring 1002.

[0520] On the other hand, the drum bearing 1073 is provided with a control member contact portion (stop portion) 1073a that defines the rotation range of the control member 1001. Since the control member 1001 is biased in the direction of arrow BB by the biasing spring 1002, the contacted portion 1001b of the control member 1001 is in a position where it is in contact with the control member contact portion 1073a. In other words, the movement of the control member 1001 is stopped when the control member contact portion 1073a comes into contact with the control member 1001.

[0521] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 89(a), when viewed from the direction of arrow HH parallel to the axis of the drum 62 (see Figure 88(a)), the restricting portion (biasing portion, acting portion) 1001a of the control member 1001 is positioned near the surface 62a of the drum 62, at a distance DA. This position of the control member 1001 is called the operating position of the control member.

[0522] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 89(b), the restricting portion 1001a of the control member 1001 is positioned longitudinally outward from the driven transmission portion 1064a of the coupling member 1064, at a distance DB.

[0523] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 98(a) and 98(b), when an external force is applied to the restricting portion 1001a of the control member 1001, the control member 1001 can rotate in the BB2 direction around axis AA. At that time, the control member 1001 rotates in the BB2 direction against the biasing force of the biasing spring 1002. In that state, the contact portion 1001b of the control member 1001 does not come into contact with the control member contact portion 1073a. The control member 1001 can rotate by a predetermined angle in the direction of arrow BB2.

[0524] As mentioned above, in Embodiment 8, the coupling member 64 was attached to the drum 62 via the drive-side flange member 75 so as to be able to move back and forth in the longitudinal direction (see Figures 6 and 8). On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 89(b), the coupling member 1064 is integrally fixed to the drum 62. Therefore, the coupling member 1064 does not have a mechanism to move back and forth in the longitudinal direction relative to the drum 62. Also, in Embodiment 1, the coupling member 64 transmitted drive to the developing roller gear 36 via the gear portion 75a of the drive-side flange member 75 (see Figure 27). On the other hand, in this embodiment, the coupling member 1064 does not have a gear portion and does not transmit drive to the developing roller gear 36. Furthermore, the tooth surface 36a of the developing roller gear 36 is located longitudinally outward relative to the coupling member 1064, and as shown in Figure 88, the tooth surface 36a is exposed on the outer surface of the cartridge B.

[0525] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 90, the drive transmission member 1081 of the device body A has a drive transmission section (output coupling section) 1081a and a gear section (output gear section) 1081b. Figure 91 shows the state in which the coupling member 1064 according to this embodiment is engaged with the drive transmission member 1081. During image formation, as shown in Figure 91, the drive transmission member 1081 is arranged coaxially with the drum 62. The drive transmission section 1081a meshes with the driven transmission section 1064a of the coupling member 1064, and at the same time, the gear section 1081b meshes with the tooth surface (drive input section) 36a of the developing roller gear 36. As a result, the drive transmission member 1081 can simultaneously transmit driving force to the coupling member 1064 and the developing roller gear 36.

[0526] The developing roller gear 36, like the coupling member 1064, is a drive input member (gear member) to which driving force is input from outside the cartridge B (i.e., from the drive transmission member 1081 of the device body). In particular, the developing roller gear 36 is sometimes referred to as a drive input gear member.

[0527] (Configuration of the drive transmission member) Next, the configuration of the drive transmission member 1081 of the device body A will be explained using Figures 89 and 92.

[0528] Similar to Example 8, cartridge B is inserted into the mounting section of the apparatus body A along guide rails 15h and 15g (see Figures 10 and 11). At this time, as shown in Figure 89(a), the direction CC in which cartridge B is finally mounted to the apparatus body A is approximately perpendicular to the cutting line XX that connects the center PP of the drum 62 and the center QQ of the developing roller 32.

[0529] On the other hand, Figure 92 is a cross-sectional view showing the support configuration of the drive transmission member 1081 according to this embodiment. Figure 92 shows a state in which the cartridge B is not installed in the device body A and the opening / closing door 13 is open. As shown in Figure 92, the supported portion 1081f of the cylindrical drive transmission member 1081 is supported by the support portion 1085a of the spherical drive transmission member support member 1085. Therefore, the drive transmission member 1081 can be tilted at the center RR of the support portion 1085a, and at the same time, the drive transmission member 1081 can move along the cylindrical axis EE of the supported portion 1081f.

[0530] Furthermore, the drive transmission member 1081 is fitted with a reciprocating member 1003 that can move in the direction of arrow KK and arrow TT (Figure 96(a)) in accordance with the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing door 13 by means of means not shown. The reciprocating member 1003 is provided with an inclined spring 1006, which is a compression spring, and biases the drive transmission member 1081 with a biasing force FF2 at the pressed portion 1081c. Due to the biasing force FF2 from this inclined spring 1006, the contact portion 1081d of the drive transmission member 1081 comes into contact with a projection 1004 provided on the main body A of the device, and at the same time, the contact portion 1081e comes into contact with a projection 1005. As a result, the drive transmission member 1081 is in an inclined position in the direction of arrow VV.

[0531] At this time, the inclination direction of the drive transmission member 1081, as viewed from the direction of arrow HH which is parallel to the axis of the drum 62, is a direction having a component in the direction of arrow GG which is parallel to the cutting line XX in Figure 89(a). It is preferable that the projections 1004 and 1005 are provided at positions where the inclination direction of the drive transmission member 1081 is within a range of ±45° with respect to arrow GG (see Figures 93(b) and 94(b)).

[0532] (The process of attaching and detaching the cartridge from the device body) Next, the process of mounting cartridge B onto the device body A and the operation of the control member 1001 will be explained using Figures 93 to 96. Note that the control member 1001 is shown in shaded areas in Figures 93 to 96.

[0533] Figures 93(a) and 93(b) show the state just before the control unit 1001a of the control member 1001 contacts the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081, during the process of opening the opening / closing door 13 and mounting the cartridge B onto the main body A of the device.

[0534] Figures 94(a) and 94(b) show the state after inserting cartridge B into the mounting section of the device body A, compared to the state shown in Figures 93(a) and 93(b).

[0535] Figures 95(a) and 95(b) show the state in which the opening / closing door 13 is closed, compared to the state in Figures 94(a) and 94(b).

[0536] Figures 96(a) and 96(b) show the state after applying power from the state shown in Figures 95(a) and 95(b).

[0537] Before the control unit 1001a of the control member 1001 contacts the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081, as shown in Figure 93(a), the drive transmission member 1081 is inclined in the direction of arrow VV, similar to the state when cartridge B is not mounted on the device body A. Also, as shown in Figure 93(b), the control member 1001 is biased in the direction of arrow BB by the biasing force FF1 of the biasing spring 1002, and the contact portion 1001b of the control member 1001 is in contact with the control member contact portion (stop portion) 1073a of the drum bearing 1073. In other words, the control member 1001 is in its operating position, and its movement is stopped by the control member contact portion 1073a.

[0538] When cartridge B is inserted further, the control unit 1001a of the control member 1001 comes into contact with the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081, as shown in Figures 94(a) and 94(b). As shown in Figure 94(a), the drive transmission member 1081 receives a biasing force FF3 from the control unit 1001a. Throughout the process from Figures 93(a) and 94(a) and 94(b), the moment MM2 (not shown) around RR in the direction of arrow VV due to the biasing force FF2 and the moment MM3 (not shown) around RR in the direction of arrow WW due to the biasing force FF3 are MM2 > MM3. Therefore, the drive transmission member 1081 maintains an inclined state in the direction of arrow VV. As a result, the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081 is spaced apart from the tooth surface 36a of the developing roller gear 36 with a gap LL. Therefore, throughout the process of cartridge B being mounted on the mounting section of the device body A, the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081 does not come into contact with the tooth surface 36a of the developing roller gear 36.

[0539] On the one hand, as shown in FIG. 94(b), the control unit 1001a receives the reaction force FF4 of the FF3 from the gear unit 1081b. In the process from FIGS. 93(a)(b) to FIGS. 94(a)(b), the moment MM1 around AA in the direction of arrow BB by the biasing force FF1 and the moment MM4 around AA in the direction of arrow NN by the reaction force FF4 are such that MM1 < MM4. Therefore, the control member 1001 rotates in the direction of arrow NN against the biasing force FF1 of the biasing spring 1002, and the contact portion 1001b moves away from the control member contact portion 1073a. At this time, the control member 1001 is located at the non-operating position (retracted position). As shown in FIG. 94(a), the regulating portion 1001a of the control member 1001 is retracted so as to move away from the axis of the photosensitive drum, allowing the drive transmission member 1081 to tilt.

[0540] When the opening / closing door 13 is closed here, as shown in FIG. 95(a), the advancing / retreating member 1003 moves in the direction of arrow KK in conjunction with the operation of the opening / closing door 13. As a result, the amount of compression of the tilting spring 1006 decreases, and the biasing force FF2 decreases. As a result, the relationship between the moment MM2 around RR in the direction of arrow VV by the biasing force FF2 and the moment MM3 around RR in the direction of arrow WW by the biasing force FF3 of the control member 1001 is such that MM2 < MM3. As a result, the drive transmission member 1081 rotates in the direction of arrow WW, and the contact portion 1081e and the protrusion 1005 move apart. Then, the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081 and the tooth surface 36a of the developing roller 36 mesh in the region SS. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 95(b), the relationship between the moment MM1 around AA in the direction of arrow BB by the biasing force FF1 of the biasing spring 1002 and the moment MM4 around AA in the direction of arrow NN by the reaction force FF4 of the biasing force FF3 is such that MM1 > MM4. Therefore, the control member 1001 rotates in the direction of arrow BB from the state of FIG. 94(b) and moves until the contact portion 1001b contacts the control member contact portion 107३a of the drum bearing 1073.

[0541] The control member 1001 shown in FIGS. 95(a) and (b) is located at the operating position, and by applying a force F33 from the regulating portion 1001a of the control member 1001 to the drive transmission member 1081, the tilt angle of the drive transmission member 1081 with respect to the photosensitive drum is reduced.

[0542] When drive is applied to the drive transmission member 1081, as shown in Figure 96(a), the drive transmission member 1081 moves in the direction of arrow KK, and the drive transmission part 1081a and the driven transmission part 1064a of the coupling member 1064 engage. In this state, the restricting part 1001a of the control member 1001 does not come into contact with the gear part 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081, and there is a gap UU. Details of the operation from Figures 95(a)(b) to Figures 96(a)(b) will be described later.

[0543] Next, the process of removing cartridge B from the main body A will be described. This process is the reverse of the process of installing cartridge B into the main body A. After image formation is complete, the drive transmission member 1081 is in the state shown in Figures 96(a) and 96(b). When the opening / closing door 13 is opened, the reciprocating member 1003 moves in the direction of arrow TT in conjunction with the operation of the opening / closing door 13, resulting in the state shown in Figures 94(a) and 94(b). The compression amount of the inclined spring 1006 increases, and the biasing force FF2 increases. As a result, the drive transmission member 1081 moves to the left side of the figure, and the engagement between the output coupling part 1081a (see Figure 90) of the drive transmission member 1081 and the coupling member 1064 is released. At this time, as mentioned above, the moment MM2 in the direction of arrow VV due to the biasing force FF2 and the moment MM3 in the direction of arrow WW due to the biasing force FF3 are MM2 > MM3. Therefore, the drive transmission member 1081 is inclined in the direction of arrow VV. Consequently, the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081 is spaced apart from the tooth surface 36a of the developing roller gear 36 with a gap LL.

[0544] In this state, when cartridge B is removed from the main unit A, it can be completely removed from the main unit A while maintaining the state shown in Figures 93(a) and 93(b), with the drive transmission member 1081 and the developing roller gear 36 not in contact. In other words, before removing cartridge B, the gear portion of the drive transmission member 1081 and the developing roller gear 36 are disengaged, so cartridge B can be removed with little force.

[0545] (Engagement of coupling member and drive transmission member by main unit drive) Next, we will explain in detail the operation from the state in which the drive transmission member 1081 and the coupling member 1064 are not engaged, as shown in Figures 95(a) and 95(b), to the state in which the drive transmission member 1081 and the coupling member 1064 are engaged, as shown in Figures 96(a) and 96(b).

[0546] First, let's describe the configuration in which the drive transmission member 1081 moves in the longitudinal direction. In region SS of Figure 95(a), the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081 is meshed with the tooth surface 36a of the developing roller gear 36. In this state, the drive transmission member 1081 is rotated in the direction of arrow CW (opposite direction of arrow N) shown in Figure 90 by a motor (not shown) provided on the main body A of the device. The gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081 and the tooth surface 36a of the developing roller gear 36 are helical gears. When the drive transmission member 1081 rotates, the drive transmission member 1081 receives a reaction force from the developing roller gear 36 due to the meshing force caused by the rotational load of the developing roller 32. As mentioned above, since the gear portion 1081b and the tooth surface 36a are helical gears, this reaction force has a component in the direction of arrow KK (a component along the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum). As a result, the drive transmission member 1081 moves from the position shown in Figure 95(a) in the direction of arrow KK.

[0547] Next, the support configuration of the drive transmission member 1081 will be explained using Figures 97(a) and 97(b). Figure 97(a) is a cross-sectional view of the coupling member 1064 passing through the axis of rotation. Figure 97(b) schematically shows the YY-YY cross-section in Figure 97(a).

[0548] In Figure 97(a), the drive transmission member 1081 moves in the direction of arrow KK. The supported portion 1081f of the drive transmission member 1081 is supported by the substantially spherical support portion 1085a of the drive transmission member support member 1085. Therefore, the rotation axis EE of the drive transmission member 1081 can be tilted in the direction of arrow VV with the fixed end 1081g of the drive transmission member 1081 as the center of rotation. As a result, the end portion 1081a1 (free end, tip) of the drive transmission member 1081 on the drive transmission portion 1081a side receives a force in the direction of arrow FD (Figure 97(b)), which is the direction of the meshing force between the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081 and the tooth surface 36a of the developing roller gear 36. Then, the drive transmission member 1081 moves in the direction of arrow FE. At that time, the tip portion 1081b1 (Figures 97(a) and 90) of the gear portion 1081b of the drive transmission member 1081 comes into contact with the regulating portion 1073j (Figures 97(a) and 88). As a result, the inclination of the drive transmission member 1081 is maintained within a predetermined range.

[0549] Next, the process by which the drive transmission member 1081 engages with the coupling member 1064 will be explained using Figures 93 to 97. In the state shown in Figure 95(a), as the drive transmission member 1081 rotates further around the rotation axis EE, the drive transmission member 1081 moves further in the direction of arrow KK while maintaining its inclination. Because the inclination of the drive transmission member 1081 is maintained within a certain range, the driven transmission portion 1064a of the coupling member 1064 can enter the hole in the drive transmission portion 1081a of the drive transmission member 1081, as shown in Figure 96(a).

[0550] The drive transmission portion 1081a of the drive transmission member 1081 is a recessed portion with a roughly triangular concave shape, as shown in Figure 88(a). On the other hand, the driven transmission portion 1064a of the coupling member 1064 is a convex portion with a roughly triangular convex shape, as shown in Figure 90. Therefore, when the phase of the drive transmission portion 1081a of the drive transmission member 1081 does not match the phase of the driven transmission portion 1064a of the coupling member 1064, the driven transmission portion 1064a cannot enter the interior of the drive transmission portion 1081a. As a result, the end portion 1081a1 (free end, tip) of the drive transmission portion 1081a of the drive transmission member 1081 comes into contact with the end portion 1064a1 (free end, tip) of the driven transmission portion 1064a. In this state, the drive transmission member 1081 rotates further around the rotation axis EE. Then, when the phase of the drive transmission portion 1081a of the drive transmission member 1081 matches the phase of the driven transmission portion 1064a of the coupling member 1064, the driven transmission portion 1064a of the coupling member 1064 enters the interior of the drive transmission portion 1081a of the drive transmission member 1081.

[0551] As a r...

Claims

1. In a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the main body of an image forming apparatus, Photosensitive drum and A coupling member provided at the end of the photoreceptor drum, comprising: (i) a support portion; (ii) a plurality of input portions configured to receive rotational force for rotating the photoreceptor drum and movably supported by the support portion; (iii) a biasing portion for biasing the input portions; and (iv) a reciprocating member configured to move the input portions relative to the support portion by moving in the axial direction of the coupling member, It has, The cartridge is such that the tips of each input section exposed to the outside of the cartridge can move away from the axis of the coupling member as the reciprocating member moves.

2. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the circumscribed circle that circumscribes the tips of the plurality of input units changes as the plurality of input units move.

3. The cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an operating member configured to move the plurality of input sections such that the tips of each input section are moved away from the axis of the coupling member.

4. The cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the input unit moves relative to the support unit as the reciprocating member moves in the axial direction when the operating member is operated.

5. The cartridge according to claim 3 or 4, wherein, as the operating member is operated, the reciprocating member and the support portion both move in the axial direction, and then the reciprocating member moves further in the axial direction relative to the support portion, thereby causing the input portion to move relative to the support portion.

6. The cartridge according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein, when viewed along the axis of the photoreceptor drum, the operating member extends away from the photoreceptor drum, and one end of the operating member protrudes from the frame of the cartridge.

7. The cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the input portion moves relative to the support portion as the reciprocating member moves in the axial direction relative to the support portion.

8. The cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the input section is tiltably supported by the support section.

9. The cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the coupling member is movable between a retracted position, where it is retracted toward the inside of the photoreceptor drum, and an extended position, where it is extended toward the outside of the photoreceptor drum.

10. The cartridge according to claim 9, configured such that as the coupling member moves from the retracted position to the extended position, the tips of each input portion move away from the axis of the coupling member.

11. The cartridge according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the support portion is configured to move along the axis of the photoreceptor drum, thereby causing the coupling member to move between the retracted position and the extended position.

12. A device body equipped with a drive transmission member for transmitting driving force to the cartridge, A cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 11, An image forming apparatus having

Images