JP7574712B2 - Cartridge System - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a cartridge system that includes a developing cartridge and a drum cartridge to which the developing cartridge can be detached.

Conventionally, a cartridge system is known that includes a developing cartridge and a drum cartridge to which the developing cartridge can be detached (see Patent Document 1). The developing cartridge includes a housing that can contain toner, and a developing roller that can rotate around a developing shaft that extends in a first direction. The drum cartridge includes a photosensitive drum that can rotate around a drum shaft that extends in the first direction, a drum frame to which the developing cartridge can be detached, and a lock lever that locks the developing cartridge to the drum frame when the developing cartridge is attached to the drum frame.

The housing has a protruding portion at one end in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the drum frame has a recessed portion at one end in the second direction. The protruding portion of the housing is received in the recessed portion of the drum frame, so that the developing cartridge can be attached to the drum cartridge. Also, the developing cartridge cannot be attached to a drum cartridge that does not have a recessed portion. In other words, the protruding portion of the housing and the recessed portion of the drum frame provide a compatible and incompatible structure between the developing cartridge and the drum cartridge.

JP 2006-72284 A

There is a demand for a compact drum cartridge that can be used to miniaturize image forming devices while still providing a lock lever that locks the developer cartridge to the drum frame and a structure that allows compatibility and non-compatibility between the developer cartridge and the drum cartridge.

The present disclosure therefore aims to achieve a compact drum cartridge in order to reduce the size of the image forming device, while providing a lock lever that locks the developer cartridge to the drum frame and a structure that allows compatibility and non-compatibility between the developer cartridge and the drum cartridge.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the cartridge system of the present disclosure includes a first developing cartridge, a first drum cartridge, a second developing cartridge, and a second drum cartridge.
The first developing cartridge includes a first housing capable of accommodating toner, and a first developing roller capable of rotating about a first developing shaft extending in a first direction.
The first drum cartridge includes a first photosensitive drum rotatable around a first drum axis extending in the first direction, a first drum frame to which the first developing cartridge can be attached and detached, and a first lock lever rotatable about a first lock axis extending in the first direction, which locks the first developing cartridge to the first drum frame when the first developing cartridge is attached to the first drum frame.
The second developing cartridge includes a second housing capable of accommodating toner, and a second developing roller capable of rotating about a second developing shaft extending in the first direction.
The second drum cartridge includes a second photosensitive drum rotatable around a second drum axis extending in the first direction, a second drum frame to which the second developing cartridge can be attached and detached, and a second lock lever rotatable about a second lock axis extending in the first direction, which locks the second developing cartridge to the second drum frame when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame.
When the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the second casing is positioned away from the second lock lever in the first direction.
When the first developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the first housing comes into contact with the second lock lever, and the first developing cartridge is not attached to the second drum frame.

This configuration provides a lock lever that locks the developer cartridge to the drum frame, and a structure that allows compatibility and non-compatibility between the developer cartridge and the drum cartridge, while also making it possible to miniaturize the drum cartridge in order to reduce the size of the image forming device.

The second lock lever may have a protrusion extending in the first direction, and when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the second housing may be positioned away from the protrusion in the first direction, and when the first developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the first housing may come into contact with the protrusion.

The second drum frame may also have a first side wall and a second side wall located away from the first side wall in the first direction, the second lock lever may be located on the first side wall, and the protrusion may extend from the first side wall toward the second side wall.

The second housing may also have a recess that receives the protrusion when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame.

The second lock lever may also have a shaft extending in the first direction, and the protrusion may extend from the shaft in the first direction.

The shaft may also be supported by the first side wall.

The first lock lever may be rotatable between a first lock position that locks the first developing cartridge to the first drum frame and a first release position that releases the lock of the first developing cartridge from the first drum frame, and the second lock lever may be rotatable between a second lock position that locks the second developing cartridge to the second drum frame and a second release position that releases the lock of the second developing cartridge from the second drum frame.

In addition, when the first housing is in contact with the second lock lever, the second lock lever may be located in the second release position.

The first developing cartridge may include a first separation lever that separates the first developing roller from the first photosensitive drum, the first housing may include a first housing main body and a first separation cover that covers at least a part of the first separation lever, and the second developing cartridge may include a second separation lever that separates the second developing roller from the second photosensitive drum, and the second housing may include a second housing main body and a second separation cover that covers at least a part of the second separation lever. When the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the second separation cover may be positioned away from the second lock lever in the first direction, and the first separation cover may come into contact with the second lock lever when the first developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame.

The first housing body may have a first outer surface at one end in the first direction, the second housing body may have a second outer surface at one end in the first direction, the first spacing cover may be located on the first outer surface, and the second spacing cover may be located on the second outer surface.

The second lock lever may have a protrusion extending in the first direction, and when the second developer cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the second spacing cover may be positioned away from the protrusion in the first direction, and when the first developer cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the first spacing cover may come into contact with the protrusion. The second spacing cover may have a recess that receives the protrusion when the second developer cartridge is attached to the second drum frame.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to realize a compact drum cartridge in order to miniaturize the image forming device while providing a lock lever that locks the developer cartridge to the drum frame and a structure that allows compatibility and non-compatibility between the developer cartridge and the drum cartridge.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a first developing cartridge and a first drum cartridge. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of one end portion of the first developing cartridge in a first direction. FIG. This is a side view with the side wall on one end side of the drum frame in the first direction removed when the first developing cartridge is attached to the first drum cartridge, and FIG. 3A shows the state in which the first lock lever is in the locked position, and FIG. 3B shows the state in which the first lock lever is in the released position. This is a side view showing the state in which the first developing cartridge is attached to the first drum cartridge, where (a) shows the state in which the first developing cartridge is located in a contact position, and (b) shows the state in which the first developing cartridge is located in a separated state. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which the first developing cartridge is attached to the first drum cartridge. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a second developing cartridge and a second drum cartridge. 5 is a perspective view showing a structure of one end portion of the second developing cartridge in the first direction; FIG. FIG. 13 is a partial enlarged view showing a state in which the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum cartridge. 13 is a perspective view showing a state in which the first housing is in contact with the second lock lever when the first developing cartridge is attached to the second drum cartridge; FIG.

Next, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 , the cartridge system 10 includes a first developing cartridge 20 , a first drum cartridge 30 , a second developing cartridge 40 , and a second drum cartridge 50 .

The first developing cartridge 20 is detachably attached to a first drum frame 32 of the first drum cartridge 30, which will be described later. The first developing cartridge 20 includes a first housing 21, a first developing roller 22, and a first separating lever 23. The first developing roller 22 is rotatable about a first developing axis X1 extending in a first direction. The first developing roller 22 is located at one end of the first housing 21 in a second direction that intersects with the first direction. Preferably, the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

The first housing 21 is capable of containing toner. The first housing 21 includes a first housing body 24 and a first separation cover 25. The first housing body 24 has a first outer surface F1 at one end of the first housing body 24 in the first direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first spacing cover 25 is located on the first outer surface F1 of the first housing body 24. The first spacing cover 25 has a first plate portion PL1 and a first cover portion C1. The first plate portion PL1 extends straight in a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction. Preferably, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction. The first cover portion C1 covers at least a portion of the first spacing lever 23.

The first developing roller 22 is a roller that supplies toner to a first photosensitive drum 31, which will be described later.
The first spacing lever 23 is a lever that separates the first developing roller 22 from the first photosensitive drum 31. The first spacing lever 23 is held on the first outer surface F1 of the first housing main body 24 by a first spacing cover 25.

1, the first drum cartridge 30 includes a first photosensitive drum 31, a first drum frame 32, and a first lock lever 33. The first photosensitive drum 31 is rotatable about a first drum axis X2 extending in the first direction. The first photosensitive drum 31 is located at one end of the first drum frame 32 in the second direction.
The first drum frame 32 has a first side wall W1 and a second side wall W2 located away from the first side wall W1 in the first direction.

The first lock lever 33 locks the first developer cartridge 20 to the first drum frame 32 when the first developer cartridge 20 is attached to the first drum frame 32. The first lock lever 33 is rotatable about a first lock axis X3 extending in a first direction between a first lock position shown in FIG. 3(a) and a first release position shown in FIG. 3(b). The first lock position is a position where the first developer cartridge 20 is locked to the first drum frame 32. The first release position is a position where the first developer cartridge 20 is released from the lock of the first drum frame 32. The first lock lever 33 has a shaft 33A extending in the first direction. The shaft 33A is rotatably supported on the first side wall W1 of the first drum frame 32.

As shown in Figures 3(a) and (b), the first drum frame 32 has a bottom wall W3. The first lock lever 33 can push up a part of the first developing cartridge 20 in a direction away from the bottom wall W3 of the first drum frame 32.

The first lock lever 33 has an operating portion L1 that is operated by the user, a pressing portion L2 that can push up the first developing cartridge 20, and a locking claw L3 that locks the first developing cartridge 20. The first housing 21 has a first protruding portion T1 and a second protruding portion T2. The second protruding portion T2 is located in the first cover portion C1.

When the first lock lever 33 is in the locked position, the lock claw L3 engages with the first protrusion T1. In the process of rotating the first lock lever 33 from the first locked position to the first released position, the pressing portion L2 comes into contact with the second protrusion T2. When the first lock lever 33 is in the first released position, the lock claw L3 disengages from the first protrusion T1, and the pressing portion L2 presses the second protrusion T2 to push up the first developing cartridge 20. This makes it possible to remove the first developing cartridge 20 from the first drum cartridge 30.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first developing cartridge 20 is rotatable about a rotation axis X7 with respect to the first drum cartridge 30 between a contact position shown in FIG. 4(a) and a separated position shown in FIG. 4(b). At the contact position, the first developing roller 22 is in contact with the first photosensitive drum 31. At the separated position, the first developing roller 22 is separated from the first photosensitive drum 31. The first developing cartridge 20 rotates from the contact position to the separated position when the first separating lever 23 is pushed by an actuator of the image forming apparatus main body (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 5, the first developing cartridge 20 can be attached to the first drum frame 32. When the first developing cartridge 20 is attached to the first drum frame 32, the first housing 21 is positioned away from the first lock lever 33 in the first direction. More specifically, the first separating cover 25 is positioned away from the shaft 33A (see FIG. 1) of the first lock lever 33 in the first direction.

Next, the second developing cartridge 40 and the second drum cartridge 50 will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. The second drum cartridge 50 has the same configuration as the first drum cartridge 30, except that the second lock lever 53 has a protrusion 53P. The second developing cartridge 40 has the same configuration as the first developing cartridge 20, except that the second housing 41 has a recess 49 that receives the protrusion 53P.

As shown in FIG. 6, the second developing cartridge 40 is detachably attached to the second drum frame 52 of the second drum cartridge 50. The second developing cartridge 40 includes a second housing 41, a second developing roller 42, and a second separating lever 43. The second developing roller 42 is rotatable about a second developing axis X4 extending in the first direction. The second developing roller 42 is located at one end of the second housing 41 in the second direction.

The second housing 41 is capable of containing toner. The second housing 41 includes a second housing main body 44 and a second spacing cover 45. The second spacing cover 45 has a recess 49. The second housing main body 44 has a second outer surface F2 at one end of the second housing main body 44 in the first direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the second spacing cover 45 is located on the second outer surface F2 of the second housing body 44. The second spacing cover 45 has a second plate portion PL2 and a second cover portion C2.

The second plate part PL2 has a first part 46, a second part 47, and a third part 48. The first part 46 extends in the third direction. The second part 47 extends from one end of the first part 46 in the third direction so as to approach the second housing body 44. The third part 48 extends from the other end of the second part 47 in the first direction so as to move away from the first part 46 in the third direction. The third part 48 is closer to the other end of the second housing body 44 in the first direction 46 than the first part 46. Therefore, the third part 48 and the second part 47 form a recess 49. The second cover part C2 covers at least a part of the second separation lever 43 in the first direction.

As shown in FIG. 8, the second plate portion PL2 of the second spacing cover 45 is formed in a stepped shape when viewed from the second direction. The second outer surface F2 of the second housing body 44 has a recess F22 whose shape follows the stepped shape of the second spacing cover 45.

The second developing roller 42 is a roller that supplies toner to a second photosensitive drum 51, which will be described later.
The second separating lever 43 is a lever that separates the second developing roller 42 from the second photosensitive drum 51. The second separating lever 43 is held on the second outer surface F2 of the second housing main body 44 by a second separating cover 45. The function of the second separating lever 43 is the same as that of the first separating lever 23, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

6, the second drum cartridge 50 includes a second photosensitive drum 51, a second drum frame 52, and a second lock lever 53. The second photosensitive drum 51 is rotatable about a second drum axis X5 extending in the first direction.
The second drum frame 52 has a first side wall W1 and a second side wall W2 positioned away from the first side wall W1 in the first direction.

The second lock lever 53 locks the second developer cartridge 40 to the second drum frame 52 when the second developer cartridge 40 is attached to the second drum frame 52. The second lock lever 53 is rotatable between a second lock position and a second release position about a second lock axis X6 extending in the first direction. The second lock position is a position where the second developer cartridge 40 is locked to the second drum frame 52. The second release position is a position where the second developer cartridge 40 is released from the lock of the second drum frame 52. The second lock lever 53 has a shaft 53A extending in the first direction and a protrusion 53P extending from the shaft 53A in the first direction. The shaft 53A is rotatably supported by the first side wall W1. The protrusion 53P extends from the first side wall W1 toward the second side wall W2. The action of the second lock lever 53 to lock and unlock the second developing cartridge 40 is the same as when the first lock lever 33 locks and unlocks the first developing cartridge 20, so a description of this will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the second developer cartridge 40 is attached to the second drum frame 52, the protrusion 53P of the second lock lever 53 is received in the recess 49 of the second spacing cover 45. At this time, the second housing 41 is positioned away from the protrusion 53P of the second lock lever 53 in the first direction. More specifically, the second spacing cover 45 is positioned away from the protrusion 53P of the second lock lever 53 in the first direction.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the first developing cartridge 20 is attached to the second drum frame 52, the first housing 21 comes into contact with the second lock lever 53, and the first developing cartridge 20 cannot be attached to the second drum frame 52. Specifically, the first housing 21 has a first separating cover 25 that comes into contact with the protrusion 53P of the second lock lever 53.

When the first housing 21 is in contact with the second lock lever 53, the second lock lever 53 is in the second release position, and the first developing cartridge 20 cannot be locked to the second drum frame 52 by the second lock lever 53.

As described above, the following effects can be obtained in this embodiment.
The second developing cartridge 40 has a recess 49 that receives the protrusion 53P of the second lock lever 53 of the second drum cartridge 50. Therefore, the second developing cartridge 40 can be mounted to the second drum cartridge 50. On the other hand, even if an attempt is made to mount the first developing cartridge 20 to the second drum cartridge 50, the first housing 21 comes into contact with the second lock lever 53. Therefore, the first developing cartridge 20 cannot be mounted to the second drum cartridge 50. This makes it possible to realize a miniaturized drum cartridge for miniaturizing an image forming apparatus while providing a lock lever that locks the developing cartridge to the drum frame and a compatible and non-compatible structure between the developing cartridge and the drum cartridge.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be used in various forms as exemplified below.
In the above embodiment, the second spacing cover 45 is configured to have a recess 49 that accepts the protrusion 53P, but the second housing 41 may not include the second spacing cover 45, and a recess that accepts the protrusion 53P may be formed in the first outer surface F1 of the second housing main body 44 itself.

The elements described in the above embodiments and variations may be combined in any manner.

10 Cartridge system 20 First developing cartridge 21 First housing 22 First developing roller 30 First drum cartridge 31 First photosensitive drum 32 First drum frame 33 First lock lever 40 Second developing cartridge 41 Second housing 42 Second developing roller 50 Second drum cartridge 51 Second photosensitive drum 52 Second drum frame 53 Second lock lever X1 First developing shaft X2 First drum shaft X3 First lock shaft X4 Second developing shaft X5 Second drum shaft X6 Second lock shaft

Claims (11)

A first developer cartridge,
a first housing capable of containing toner;
a first developing cartridge including a first developing roller rotatable around a first developing shaft extending in a first direction;
A first drum cartridge,
a first photosensitive drum rotatable about a first drum axis extending in the first direction;
a first drum frame to which the first developing cartridge is detachably attached;
a first drum cartridge including a first lock lever rotatable about a first lock shaft extending in the first direction, the first lock lever locking the first developer cartridge to the first drum frame when the first developer cartridge is attached to the first drum frame;
A second developer cartridge,
a second housing capable of containing toner;
a second developing cartridge including a second developing roller rotatable around a second developing shaft extending in the first direction;
A second drum cartridge,
a second photosensitive drum rotatable about a second drum axis extending in the first direction;
a second drum frame to which the second developing cartridge is detachably attached;
a second lock lever rotatable about a second lock shaft extending in the first direction, the second lock lever locking the second developer cartridge to the second drum frame when the second developer cartridge is attached to the second drum frame,
when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the second housing is positioned away from the second lock lever in the first direction;
A cartridge system characterized in that when the first developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the first housing contacts the second lock lever, and the first developing cartridge is not attached to the second drum frame. The second lock lever has a protrusion extending in the first direction,
when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the second housing is positioned away from the protrusion in the first direction;
2. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein the first housing comes into contact with the protrusion when the first developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame. The second drum frame is
A first side wall;
a second side wall positioned away from the first side wall in the first direction,
The second lock lever is located on the first side wall,
The cartridge system of claim 2 , wherein the projection extends from the first side wall toward the second side wall. The cartridge system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the second housing has a recess that receives the protrusion when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame. The second lock lever has a shaft extending in the first direction,
The cartridge system of claim 3 , wherein the projection extends from the shaft in the first direction. The cartridge system according to claim 5, characterized in that the shaft is supported by the first side wall. the first lock lever is rotatable between a first lock position at which the first developing cartridge is locked to the first drum frame and a first release position at which the first developing cartridge is released from the first drum frame;
A cartridge system as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the second lock lever is rotatable between a second lock position that locks the second developer cartridge to the second drum frame and a second release position that releases the lock of the second developer cartridge to the second drum frame. The cartridge system according to claim 7, characterized in that, when the first housing is in contact with the second lock lever, the second lock lever is in the second release position. the first developing cartridge includes a first separation lever configured to separate the first developing roller from the first photosensitive drum,
the first housing has a first housing main body and a first spacing cover that covers at least a portion of the first spacing lever,
the second developing cartridge includes a second separating lever configured to separate the second developing roller from the second photosensitive drum,
the second housing has a second housing main body and a second spacing cover that covers at least a portion of the second spacing lever,
when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the second separating cover is positioned away from the second lock lever in the first direction;
9. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein the first spacing cover comes into contact with the second lock lever when the first developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame. the first housing body has a first outer surface at one end in the first direction;
the second housing body has a second outer surface at one end in the first direction;
the first spaced cover is located on the first outer surface;
10. The cartridge system of claim 9, wherein the second spaced cover is located on the second exterior surface. The second lock lever has a protrusion extending in the first direction,
when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the second separating cover is located away from the protrusion in the first direction;
When the first developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame, the first separation cover comes into contact with the protrusion,
11. The cartridge system according to claim 9, wherein the second separation cover has a recess that receives the protrusion when the second developing cartridge is attached to the second drum frame.

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