JP5247924B2 - Process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine and an electrophotographic printer, and a process cartridge which can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

  Here, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording sheet using an electrophotographic image forming system, and includes, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, etc.) A facsimile machine and a word processor are included.

  The process cartridge is a cartridge in which at least one of charging means, developing means and cleaning means and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally formed, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body. is there.

  Conventionally, as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, there is an inline type color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of process cartridges are arranged in a line. There is a contact development method in which development is performed in a state where a developing roller constituting a process cartridge is in contact with a photosensitive drum. In this system, the developing roller and the photosensitive drum during image formation are in a state of being urged against the photosensitive drum in order to maintain a predetermined contact pressure.

  In this method, when the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body and not used for a long time, the elastic layer of the developing roller may be permanently deformed, which causes image unevenness during development. There is a risk.

  In view of this, there has been proposed a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus provided with a mechanism for separating a photosensitive drum and a developing roller when an image forming operation is not performed (Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, as a means for charging the photosensitive drum, a configuration in which the charging roller is in contact with the photosensitive drum is widely used. In the case of such contact charging, since it is necessary to install it in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum, it is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum with a predetermined contact pressure. If the state of not being used for a long time in this state continues, the elastic layer of the charging roller is permanently deformed, and density unevenness of the charging roller cycle occurs in the image.

  Therefore, a method has been proposed in which a member for separating the charging roller and the photosensitive drum is sandwiched when the process cartridge is shipped, and the user removes the sandwiching member during use (Patent Document 2).

  Alternatively, a process cartridge or the like has been proposed in which a process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body to provide a mechanism with which a charging roller that has been separated until then is in contact (Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4).

JP-A-2005-172906 (pages 8-9, FIG. 13) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-188667 (pages 4 to 5, FIG. 1) JP-A-6-273987 (page 4, FIGS. 13 and 14) JP 2000-181328 (pages 6-7, FIG. 8)

  An object of the present invention is to provide a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus in which the above-described invention is improved. That is, according to the present invention, the charging roller can be maintained at a predetermined distance from the image carrier before use, and the charging roller can be released from the separated state without increasing the burden on the user during use.

  In addition, it is possible to prevent erroneous release of the charging roller separation state by the user before use.

In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of a process cartridge according to the present invention is a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus having a separation action portion.
A photosensitive drum;
A charging roller that is urged against and contacts the photosensitive drum to charge the photosensitive drum;
A frame for holding the photosensitive drum and the charging roller;
A separation holding portion that is movably provided on the frame body and that engages with the charging roller ;
With
The spacing and holding portion includes a locking portion that locks the charging roller with the frame body in order to place the charging roller away from the photosensitive drum, and the spacing action portion acts to act the frame body and the engagement portion. and the operated portion for releasing the engagement between the stopper portion, through said frame body, be one having a projecting portion to which the the operated portion is provided at its end, the
A protrusion protruding from the frame is provided around the protrusion .

  According to the present invention, the charging roller can be maintained at a predetermined distance from the photosensitive drum before use, and the charging roller can be released from the separated state without increasing the burden on the user during use.

  Further, it is possible to prevent erroneous release of the charging roller separation state by the user before the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body.

  In addition, when the process cartridge is shipped in the image forming apparatus main body, the charging roller is not released and is released at the time of use. And a good image can be obtained.

It is sectional drawing of the cartridge in embodiment of this invention. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus. It is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the cartridge. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a state before the cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus main body. It is sectional drawing explaining the image development separation operation | movement in embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the image development contact operation in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a drive load diagram for causing a developing separation member of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention to act. FIG. 4 is an inclined sectional view of the process cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a process cartridge showing a charging roller separation holding member in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the process cartridge in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial section perspective view of a main part separation lever mechanism part in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a drive load diagram for operating a separation lever of the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram of the drive load in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional perspective view of the process cartridge in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a section perspective view of a process cartridge in an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Example 1
[First Embodiment]
Embodiments of a process cartridge (hereinafter referred to as “cartridge”) and a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “image forming apparatus”) according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of image forming apparatus)
First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes mounting units 22 (22a to 22d) (see FIG. 4) that are mounting units for four cartridges arranged side by side with respect to the horizontal direction. The cartridges 7 (7a to 7d) mounted on the mounting portion 22 are each provided with one electrophotographic photosensitive drum 1 (1a to 1d).

  The electrophotographic photosensitive drum (hereinafter referred to as “photosensitive drum”) 1 is rotationally driven clockwise in FIG. 1 by a driving member (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 1, the following process means that act on the photosensitive drum are arranged in order according to the rotation direction. That is, a cleaning member 6 (6a to 6d) for removing developer (hereinafter referred to as "toner") remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after transfer, and a charging roller 2 (2a) for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. ~ 2d) are arranged. A developing unit 4 (4a to 4d) for developing the electrostatic latent image using toner is disposed. Further, a laser unit is irradiated with a laser beam based on image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, and an intermediate transfer belt on which toner images of four colors on the photosensitive drum 1 are transferred collectively. 5 is arranged. Here, the photosensitive drum 1, the cleaning member 6, the charging roller 2, and the developing unit 4 are integrated into a cartridge to form a cartridge 7. The cartridge 7 is detachably mounted on the apparatus main body 100a of the image forming apparatus 100 by the user.

  The intermediate transfer belt 5 is stretched around a driving roller 10 and a tension roller 11. Further, primary transfer rollers 12 (12a to 12d) are disposed inside the intermediate transfer belt 5 so as to face the respective photosensitive drums 1 (1a to 1d). Then, a transfer bias is applied to the transfer belt 5 by bias applying means (not shown).

  In the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1, each photosensitive drum 1 rotates in the arrow Q direction, the intermediate transfer belt 5 rotates in the arrow R direction, and a positive bias is applied to the primary transfer roller 12. As a result, primary transfer is sequentially performed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. Then, the four-color toner images are conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 15 in a state where the intermediate transfer belt 5 is overlaid.

  In synchronization with the image forming operation, a sheet S as a recording medium is conveyed by a conveying unit including a feeding device 13 and a registration roller pair 17. The feeding device 13 includes a feeding cassette 24 that stores the sheet S, a feeding roller 8 that feeds the sheet S, and a conveyance roller pair 16 that conveys the fed sheet S. The feeding cassette 24 can be pulled out toward the front of the main body in FIG. The sheets S stored in the feeding cassette 24 are pressed against the feeding roller 8 and are separated one by one by the separation pad 9 (friction piece separation method) and conveyed.

  Then, the sheet S conveyed from the feeding device 13 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 15 by the registration roller pair 17. In the secondary transfer unit 15, a positive bias is applied to the secondary transfer roller 18. As a result, the four color toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 5 are secondarily transferred onto the conveyed sheet S.

  The fixing unit 14 serving as a fixing unit applies heat and pressure to the toner image formed on the sheet S and fixes the toner image. The fixing belt 14a has a cylindrical shape and is guided by a belt guide member (not shown) to which heat generating means such as a heater is bonded. The fixing belt 14a and the pressure roller 14b form a fixing nip with a predetermined pressure contact force.

  Then, the sheet S on which the unfixed toner image conveyed from the image forming unit is formed is heated and pressed at the fixing nip between the fixing belt 14a and the pressure roller 14b. Then, the unfixed toner image on the sheet S is fixed on the sheet S. Thereafter, the sheet S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge tray 20 by the discharge roller pair 19.

  On the other hand, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the toner image transfer is removed by the cleaning member 6. The removed toner is collected in a removed toner chamber in the photoreceptor unit 26 (26a to 26d).

  Further, the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 5 after the secondary transfer onto the sheet S is removed by the transfer belt cleaning device 23. The removed toner passes through a waste toner conveyance path (not shown) and is collected in a waste toner collection container (not shown) disposed on the back surface of the apparatus.

(cartridge)
Next, the cartridge of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a main cross section of the cartridge 7 containing the toner t. The cartridge 7a containing the yellow toner t, the cartridge 7b containing the magenta toner t, the cartridge 7c containing the cyan toner t, and the cartridge 7d containing the black toner t have the same configuration. .

  The cartridge 7 is divided into a photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller (charging unit) 2, a photosensitive unit 26 having a cleaning member (cleaning unit) 6, and a developing unit 4 having a developing roller (developing unit) 25. ing.

  The photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably attached to the cleaning frame 27 of the photosensitive unit 26 via a bearing described later. Then, by transmitting a driving force of a driving motor (not shown) to the photosensitive unit 26, the photosensitive drum 1 is rotationally driven according to an image forming operation. As described above, the charging roller 2 and the cleaning member 6 are disposed on the circumference of the photosensitive drum 1. Further, the residual toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the cleaning member 6 falls into the removed toner chamber 27a. A charging roller bearing 28 is attached to the cleaning frame 27 so as to be movable in the direction of arrow D passing through the center of the charging roller 2 and the center of the photosensitive drum 1. The shaft 2j of the charging roller 2 is rotatably attached to the bearing 28. The bearing 28 is pressed toward the photosensitive drum 1 by the charging roller pressing member 46.

  The developing unit 4 includes a developing roller 25 and a developing frame 31 that are in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 and rotate in the arrow B direction. The developing roller 25 is rotatably supported by the developing frame 31 via bearing members 32 (32R and 32L) attached to both sides of the developing frame 31 in the longitudinal direction. A toner supply roller 34 that rotates in the direction of arrow C in contact with the developing roller 25 and a developing blade 35 for regulating the toner layer on the developing roller 25 are disposed on the circumference of the developing roller 25. Further, the toner accommodating portion 31 a of the developing frame 31 is provided with a toner conveying member 36 for agitating the accommodated toner and conveying the toner to the toner supply roller 34.

  The developing unit 4 is rotatably coupled to the photosensitive unit 26 around a shaft 37 (37R, 37L) fitted in the holes 32Rb, 32Lb provided in the bearing members 32R, 32L. The developing unit 4 is biased by a pressure spring 38. Therefore, when the image of the cartridge 7 is formed, the developing unit 4 rotates about the shaft 37 in the direction of arrow A, and the developing roller 25 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1.

(Installation structure of the cartridge to the image forming apparatus main body)
Next, a mounting configuration for detachably mounting the cartridge 7 of this embodiment into the apparatus main body will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state before the cartridge is attached to the apparatus main body 100a. In this embodiment, the cartridge 7 is attached to the main body 100a by inserting the cartridge 7 in the direction of arrow F, which is a direction parallel to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 1, that is, from the front side to the back side in FIG. It has become. Thus, the cartridge 7 can be attached to and detached from the main body 100a.

  In FIG. 4, a front cover 21 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front side of the main body 100a. When the front cover 21 is opened, the mounting portions 22 (22a to 22d) of the four cartridges 7 (7a to 7d) arranged side by side with respect to the horizontal direction are exposed. On the upper side and the lower side of each mounting portion 22, a mounting upper guide 80 (80 a to 80 d) that is a first main body side guide extending from the near side to the back side of the main body 100 a and a second main body side guide. Lower guides 81 (81a to 81d) are respectively provided. Then, a guided portion (first cartridge side guided portion) 29 provided on the photosensitive unit 26 of the cartridge 7 is engaged with the mounting upper guide 80 of the main body 100a and is pushed in the direction of arrow F in the figure. Similarly, a guided portion (second cartridge side guided portion) 30 provided in the photoconductor unit 26 is engaged with the lower mounting guide 81 of the main body 100a and pushed in the direction of arrow F in the figure.

  The first guided portion 29 is disposed above the front end side of the cartridge 7. The second guided portion 30 is disposed on the bottom surface of the cartridge 7 from the front end side to the rear end side of the cartridge 7.

  The guided 29 and the guided 30 are arranged on the same side with respect to the photosensitive drum 1 in the direction orthogonal to the axis of the photosensitive drum 1. Thereby, the cartridge 7 can be stably advanced into the main body 100a.

(Development separation structure of process cartridge)
Next, a mechanism for separating the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing roller 25 in the process cartridge 7 embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 5, a developing separation member 82 is disposed at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge 7 in the image forming apparatus 100 (not shown). The developing separation member 82 moves in the arrow N direction by driving the main body (not shown). In the developing unit 4 of the process cartridge 7, the force receiving portion 31 b of the developing frame 31 receives a force from a developing separation member 82 that moves in the arrow N direction. Then, the developing roller 25 is moved to a separation position away from the photosensitive drum 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the developing separation member 82 moves in the direction of the arrow S and moves away from the force receiving portion 31b, the developing unit 4 is brought into the pre-development bearing by the biasing force of the pressure spring 38 and the tension spring (not shown). Rotate in the direction of arrow T around the holes 32Rb and 32Lb of 32R and the developing rear bearing 32L. Then, the developing unit 4 moves to the contact position, and the developing roller 25 and the photosensitive drum 1 come into contact with each other. With this development separation configuration, the development separation member 82 presses and holds the force receiving portion 31b except during image formation, thereby holding the development unit 4 at the separation position in FIG. Thereby, the effect of suppressing the influence on the image quality due to the deformation of the developing roller 25 is obtained.

  Here, FIG. 7 shows a main body driving load diagram in which the developing roller 25 is in contact with and separated and the developing member 82 is driven. In a state where the developing roller 25 and the photosensitive drum 1 are separated from each other, the developing separation member 82 needs a driving load P1 for holding the state where the force receiving portion 31b is pressed. With the start of the image forming operation, the developing roller 25 comes into contact, so that the developing separation member 82 moves in the arrow S direction, and the driving load for pressing the force receiving portion 31b decreases. When the developing separation member 82 and the force receiving portion 31b are separated from each other, the driving load necessary for the developing separation member 82 is P2.

  Next, the separation structure of the charging roller 2 will be described.

(Charging roller separation holding member)
First, the separation holding member 70 that separates the charging roller 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an inclined sectional view of one end of the cartridge.

  In the present embodiment, for convenience, one end portion of the charging roller 2 on the downstream side in the body mounting direction will be described, but a similar configuration may be used at both end portions of the charging roller 2.

As shown in FIG. 8, the separation holding member 70 has a shaft holding portion 70b at one end of the connecting portion 70a, and a locking portion 70c and a protruding portion 70d at the other end.
The cleaning frame body 27 is provided with a hook portion 50 that is a holding portion that comes into contact with the locking portion 70 c, and a through portion 27 f at the base portion of the hook portion 50.

The shaft holding part 70b holds the cored bar 2a of the charging roller 2.
The locking portion 70 c is formed in the same convex shape at both ends of the separation holding member 70 and can be engaged with the hook portion 50.
The protruding portion 70d protrudes from the through portion 27f of the cleaning frame body 27 to the outside of the frame body, and has a to-be-operated portion 70e that can come into contact with a separating action means (details will be described later) of the main body.

  The separation holding member 70 is moved between a first position where the charging roller 2 is held away from the photosensitive drum 1 and a second position where the charging roller 2 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1. Is possible.

  The hook part 50 holds the separation holding member 70 in the first position. The separation action means of the main body releases the holding of the separation holding member 70 from the hook portion 50 and moves the separation holding member 70 to the second position. That is, the hook portion 50 and the locking portion 27c are engaged at the first position, and are not engaged at the second position.

(Charging roller separation and holding configuration)
Next, a configuration for holding the charging roller 2 apart will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the process cartridge in a state where the charging roller 2 is separated from the photosensitive drum 1, and FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of the separation holding member 70 and the hook portion 50.

As shown in FIG. 9, the hook part 50 has a holding surface 50a and a hanging part 50b.
The holding surface 50 a is a surface that holds the separation holding member 70. The hook portion 50b is formed in a convex shape on the hook portion 50, and holds the separation holding member 70 by hooking the locking portion 70c.

  The hook portions 50 are arranged at two locations at intervals V in the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge 7. The separation holding member 70 is movable between the two hook portions 50 having the distance V. The separation holding member 70 is pulled in the separation direction D (FIG. 1), and the charging roller 2 is separated from the photosensitive drum 1. In this state, the engaging portion 70c is hooked and engaged with the hook portion 50 (first position), whereby the charging roller 2 is held in a separated state separated from the photosensitive drum 1.

(Charging roller separation release configuration)
Next, the separation release structure of the charging roller 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 8 to 10. FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the rear end portion of the spacing member 70.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the image forming apparatus, a separation lever 72 serving as a separation action means is disposed at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge 7.

  The separation lever 72 has a separation action portion 72a at the tip, and is movable in the direction of arrow J by driving the main body (not shown). With the movement of the separation lever 72, the separation action portion 72a comes into contact with the operated portion 70e of the separation holding member 70 provided through the through portion 27f of the cleaning frame 27 (FIG. 10a). When the abutting separation portion 72a further moves in the direction of arrow J, the acting portion 70e of the separation holding member 70 is pressed. As a result, the locking portion 70 c of the separation holding member 70 moves in the arrow K direction along the hook portion 50 b provided on the hook portion 50. And if the latching | locking part 70c gets over the hook part 50b, engagement of the hook part 50 and the latching | locking part 70c will be cancelled | released (FIG. 10b). In a state where the engagement is released, the separation holding member 70 and the charging roller 2 are moved in the contact direction by a biasing force of a pressure spring (not shown). The charging roller 2 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 with a predetermined pressure. At this time, the separation holding member 70 is in the second position (FIG. 8).

(Separating lever mechanism of image forming apparatus)
Here, the configuration of the separation lever mechanism 71 which is the above-described separation action means of the main body will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5, 10, and 11. FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view of the separation lever mechanism 71 disposed on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 100 on the downstream side in the cartridge mounting direction.

  As shown in FIG. 11, a separation lever mechanism 71 that is a separation release unit including a separation lever 72, a shaft 73, and a drive cam 74 is provided on the back side of the image forming apparatus main body 100. The drive cam 74 is rotatably supported by a cam shaft 105 a provided on the back side plate 105. The drive cam 74 can be rotated in the direction of arrow H in the figure by the same main body drive (not shown) as the developing separation member 82 (see FIG. 5) that contacts and separates the developing roller 25 described above.

  The separation lever 72 has a separation action part 72a, a drive action part 72b, and a rotation shaft part 72c. As shown in FIG. 10, the separation action portion 72 a can come into contact with the acting portion 70 e of the separation holding member 70. The drive cam 74 rotates in the direction of the arrow H by the main body drive, and comes into contact with the drive action portion 72 b of the separation lever 72. The separation lever 72 is rotated in the direction of arrow J about the shaft 73 by a drive cam 74 that abuts the drive action portion 72b. When the cartridge is mounted, the separation lever 72 is disposed at the initial position Q1 that holds the charging roller 2 in a separated state and does not interfere with the separation holding member 70 in the first position. When the image is formed, the main body is driven to rotate in the arrow J direction to the release position Q2. By the rotation of the separation lever 72 from Q1 to Q2, the separation action portion 72a presses the operated portion 70e of the separation holding member 70, and the engagement between the hook portion 50 and the locking portion 70c is released. The disengagement holding member 70 released from the engagement moves to the second position. At this time, the charging roller 2 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1.

  Here, FIG. 12 shows a contact and separation state of the charging roller 2 and a main body driving load diagram. In a state where the charging roller 2 and the photosensitive drum 1 are separated from each other, the separation lever 72 is in the initial position and is not in contact with the separation holding member 70. At this time, the driving load is P3. When the separation lever 72 rotates in the direction of the arrow J by driving the main body and starts to act on the actuated portion 72e of the separation holding member 70, the engagement between the locking portion 70c and the hook portion 27e is released, and thus the necessary driving force Will increase. And when the projection part 72c gets over the hook part 50a of the hook part 50, the drive load of P4 is needed.

  A driving sequence for the developing separation member 82 that contacts and separates the developing roller 25 and the separation lever 72 that releases the separation of the charging roller 2 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the developing separation member 82 and the separation lever 72 are driven by the same main body drive. As shown in FIG. 13, the process cartridge 7 mounted in the image forming apparatus main body is in a state of being separated from the photosensitive drum 1 with both the developing roller 25 and the charging roller 2. In use, the developing separation member 82 is first driven to bring the developing roller 25 into a contact state from the separation state. After that, the charging roller 2 is brought into contact with the separation lever 72 by driving. Thus, by releasing the separation of the charging roller 2 after the developing roller 25 is in contact, the load P1 for maintaining the separation of the developing roller 25 and the load P4 for releasing the separation of the charging roller 2 And can be dispersed. That is, the main body driving load can be reduced.

(Projection prevention part configuration)
Next, the structure of the protrusion prevention part (protrusion part) 75 which is a characteristic structure of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 is a partial perspective view of the process cartridge.

  As described above, when the charging roller 2 is separated from the photosensitive drum 1, that is, when the separation holding member 70 is in the first position, the protrusion 70 d protrudes outside the cleaning frame 27. The cleaning frame body 27 is provided with a protrusion preventing portion 75 in the form of a rib around the protruding portion 70d of the spacing member 70 as shown in FIGS. The protrusion preventing portion 75 is provided up to a height that does not allow the operated portion 70e at the tip of the protruding portion 70d to protrude. In this way, by providing the protrusion preventing portion 75 to a height that does not cause the operated portion 70e to protrude, it is possible to prevent the user from pushing the operated portion 70e by mistake. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the engagement between the locking portion 70c of the separation holding member 70 and the hook portion 50 of the cleaning frame 27, and to prevent the charging roller 2 from coming into contact with the photosensitive drum 1. It becomes possible.

  Here, the protrusion height L of the protrusion preventing portion 75 for preventing erroneous release by the user is determined when at least the locking portion 70c of the separation holding member 70 gets over the hook portion 50b provided on the hook portion 50. It is necessary to make it larger than the protrusion amount M of the action part 70e from the frame.

  In the above-described configuration, the charging roller 2 can be maintained at a predetermined distance from the photosensitive drum 1 before use, and the charging roller 2 can be released from the separated state without increasing the burden on the user during use. In addition, it is possible to prevent the user from erroneously releasing the separated state of the charging roller 2 before use.

(Example 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the process cartridge and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 is a schematic perspective view of the protrusion preventing portion according to the present embodiment, FIG. 16A is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge main body according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 16B is a view of the separation lever portion when the cartridge main body is mounted. It is a schematic perspective view. About the part which overlaps with said 1st embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the cleaning frame 270 is provided with a protrusion preventing portion 76 having an open portion 76a on the back side in the mounting direction.

  As described above, when the cartridge is mounted, the separation lever 72 holds the charging roller 2 in a separated state, and is disposed at an initial position where it is retracted so as not to interfere with the separation holding member 70 in the first position. Here, by providing the opening preventing portion 76a in the protrusion preventing portion 76, it is possible to mount the separation lever 72 without interfering with the protrusion preventing portion 76 even if the retracting amount of the separation lever 72 at the initial position when the cartridge is mounted is small. That is, the amount of movement of the separation lever 72 can be reduced, the degree of freedom in designing the drive cam 78 can be improved, and the image forming apparatus 100 can be downsized.

1 (1a to 1d) Photosensitive drum 2 (2a to 2d) Charging roller 2e Rubber member 2j Shaft 3 Scanner unit 4 (4a to 4d) Development unit 5 Intermediate transfer belt 6 (6a to 6d) Cleaning member 7 (7a to 7d) 7d) Cartridge 8 Feeding roller 9 Separation pad 10 Driving roller 11 Tension roller 12 (12a to 12d) Primary transfer roller 13 Feeding device 14 Fixing unit 14a Fixing belt 14b Pressure roller 15 Secondary transfer unit 16 Conveying roller 17 Registration roller 18 Secondary transfer roller 19 Discharge roller 20 Discharge tray 21 Front cover 22 (22a to 22d) Mounting portion 23 Transfer belt cleaning device 24 Feed cassette 25 (25a to 25d) Developing roller 26 (26a to 26d) Photosensitive unit 27, 270 Cleaning frame 27a With toner chamber 27c U-shaped hole 27f through portions 28 charging roller bearing 29 guided portion (first cartridge side guided portion)
30 Guided part (second cartridge side guided part)
31 Developing frame 31a Toner accommodating portion 31b Force receiving portion 32 (32R, 32L) Bearing member 32Rb, 32Lb Hole 34 (34a-34d) Toner supply roller 35 Developing blade 36 Toner conveying member 37 (37R, 37L) Shaft 38 Pressure Spring 46 Charging roller pressure member 50 Hook part 50a Holding surface 50b Hang part 70 Separation holding member 70a Connection part 70b Shaft holding part 70c Locking part 70d Projection part 70e Acting part 71 Separating lever mechanism 72 Separating lever 72a Separating action part 72b Drive action part 72c Shaft hole 73 Shafts 74, 78 Drive cams 75, 76 Protrusion prevention part 76a Opening part 80 (80a-80d) Mounting upper guide 81 (81a-81d) Mounting lower guide 82 Developing separation member 100 Image forming apparatus 100a apparatus Main body 105 Back plate S Sheet t Toner

Claims (7)

In a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus provided with a separating action unit,
A photosensitive drum;
A charging roller that is urged against and contacts the photosensitive drum to charge the photosensitive drum;
A frame for holding the photosensitive drum and the charging roller;
A separation holding portion that is movably provided on the frame body and that engages with the charging roller ;
With
The spacing and holding portion includes a locking portion that locks the charging roller with the frame body in order to place the charging roller away from the photosensitive drum, and the spacing action portion acts to act the frame body and the engagement portion. and the operated portion for releasing the engagement between the stopper portion, through said frame body, be one having a projecting portion to which the the operated portion is provided at its end, the
A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion protruding from the frame is provided around the protrusion . The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion has a shape that is open to a downstream side in a mounting direction of the process cartridge to the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion is provided so as to surround the protruding portion. The process cartridge, the process cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the detachable in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum to the main body of the image forming apparatus. The space holding portion, the process cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that is provided so as to act only on one end of the charging roller. In an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
(A) a separating action part;
(B) the process cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein an action of the separating action part on the actuated part is performed by a driving force from the image forming apparatus.

Images