CN218974785U - Processing box - Google Patents

Abstract

A process cartridge detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a cartridge frame, a separation member, the cartridge frame being pushable into the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a back-to-front direction, the process cartridge comprising: a first housing; a second housing; a photosensitive drum supported on the second casing; a developing roller supported on the first casing, the developing roller being contactable with and separable from the photosensitive drum; a separation force receiving member; the separation member may be forced to push the separation force receiving member from the extended position to the retracted position during mounting of the process cartridge to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus; the process cartridge further includes a pressed member that is receivable of an external force and movable relative to the second casing, the pressed member being capable of pressing the separation force receiving part in the retracted position so that the separation force receiving part is moved again from the retracted position to the extended position.

Description

Processing box

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of electrophotographic imaging, in particular to a processing box.

Background

As shown in fig. 1-2, the prior art discloses an electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 and a process cartridge (PY, PM, PC, PK) mounted in the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100, the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 comprising: thedoor 30, thetray 28 for accommodating the process cartridge, and theseparation member 71, theseparation member 71 being movable in the horizontal left M direction and the horizontal right N direction, theseparation member 71 being contactable with the separationforce receiving member 44d of the process cartridge and being movable by pushing the separationforce receiving member 44d, theseparation member 71 having arotation center 74, theelastic member 73 being attached to a side of theseparation member 71 remote from therotation center 74 for enabling theseparation member 71 to move between the extended position and the retracted position.

The process cartridge includes afirst casing 4 storing developer and a second casing 5 for collecting waste developer remaining after development, thefirst casing 4 is mounted with a developing roller and the like, the second casing 5 is mounted with a photosensitive drum and the like, the separatingmember 71 is moved from an extended position to a retracted position by pushing the separatingforce receiving member 44d, so that thefirst casing 4 is movable around the second casing 5 between a contact position where the photosensitive drum contacts the developing roller and a separating position where the photosensitive drum separates from the developing roller, specifically, as shown in fig. 2 (a), when thedoor cover 30 is moved from an open position where the mounting opening is not covered to a closed position where the mounting opening is covered in fig. 1, the process cartridge is moved in the direction of H1 by thedoor cover 30, and then the separatingforce receiving member 44d of the process cartridge is pushed against the elastic force of theelastic member 73 to move the separatingmember 71 from the extended position to the retracted position, as shown in fig. 2 (b), the separatingforce receiving member 71 is not pushed by the separatingforce receiving member 44d again to push the separatingmember 71 from thefirst casing 71 to the extended position, as shown in fig. 2 (e) and the separatingforce receiving member 71 is pushed back to the second casing 2 (e) by the elasticforce receiving member 71 is further pushed from theelastic member 73 to the separating member 2.

In the prior art, the separatingforce receiving member 44d provided on thefirst casing 4 rotates around the second casing 5 following thefirst casing 4 during the separation of the photosensitive drum from the developing roller, but since the separatingmember 71 moves in the M and N directions, the position of the contact point between the separatingforce receiving member 44d and the separatingmember 71 changes due to the movement of thefirst casing 4, not only increasing the frictional loss therebetween, but also possibly causing unstable force transmission.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems, the utility model provides a novel processing box, which is mainly realized by the following technical scheme:

a process cartridge detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a cartridge frame, a separation member, said cartridge frame being pushable into said electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a back-to-front direction, said process cartridge comprising:

a first housing;

a second housing;

a photosensitive drum supported on the second casing;

a developing roller supported on the first casing, the developing roller being contactable with and separable from the photosensitive drum;

a separation force receiving member that can receive a force of the separation member to force the developing roller and the photosensitive drum to move from a contact position of contact to a separation position of separation;

the separation member may be forced to push the separation force receiving member from an extended position to a retracted position, the separation force receiving member being closer to the second casing in the retracted position than in the extended position, during mounting of the process cartridge to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus; the process cartridge further includes a pressed member that is receivable of an external force and movable relative to the second casing, the pressed member being capable of pressing the separation force receiving part in the retracted position so that the separation force receiving part is moved again from the retracted position to the extended position.

Further, after the process cartridge is mounted, the pressed member may continuously press the separation force receiving member to keep the separation force receiving member at the extended position.

Further, the pressed member is configured as a lever that is supported on the second housing in such a manner as to be pressed by an external force.

Further, the device further comprises a second elastic component, the second elastic component is abutted with the pressed component, and the pressed component after the second elastic component can be reset and moved.

Further, the separating force receiving member is moved in a rotating manner during the process that the separating member is forced to push the separating force receiving member from the extended position to the retracted position.

Further, the separating force receiving member includes a protruding portion that abuts the second housing, and the separating force receiving member is rotatable about the protruding portion as a rotation axis between the extended position and the retracted position.

Further, a first elastic member is further included, the first elastic member being connected between the separation force receiving member and the second casing, the first elastic member being capable of holding the separation force receiving member in the extended position when the separation force receiving member does not receive an external force during mounting of the process cartridge to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

Further, the first elastic component is a tension spring.

Further, the separating force receiving member is mounted on the second housing, and a rail portion is provided on the second housing, in which the separating force receiving member is movable in the front-rear direction.

Further, the second housing includes a driving side protecting cover located at one side of a length direction of the second housing, the driving side protecting cover is used for supporting the photosensitive drum, and the track portion is disposed on the driving side protecting cover.

The process cartridge of the present utility model is provided with the separation force receiving member movable back and forth along the rail portion, the position of the contact point between the separation member and the separation force receiving member is not substantially changed, and the separation member and the separation force receiving member are kept in stable contact, not only is the frictional loss between the separation member and the separation force receiving member reduced, but also the force transmission stability is improved, and at the same time, an elastic member is not required to be provided in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the structure of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is simplified.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art process cartridge during mounting to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a prior art separating force-receiving member being pushed by a separating member;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a process cartridge according to embodiment 1 of the present utility model during mounting to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a separation section in embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a process cartridge according to an embodiment 1 of the present utility model at a certain angle;

FIG. 6 is another schematic view of the process cartridge of embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a separating force receiving member in embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

fig. 8 is a schematic view of a separation force receiving member mounting portion in embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

FIG. 9 is a front schematic view of the separating force receiving member of embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the case where the separating member is forced to push the separating force receiving member in embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the separating member passing over the separating force receiving member in embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing the movement of the separating force receiving member by the separating member in embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a process cartridge according to an embodiment 2 of the present utility model at a certain angle;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a separating force receiving member of embodiment 2 of the present utility model;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing a certain angle of the process cartridge in embodiment 3 of the present utility model;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a separating force receiving member in embodiment 3 of the present utility model;

FIG. 17 is another schematic view of the process cartridge in embodiment 3 of the present utility model;

FIG. 18 is a front schematic view of the separating force receiving member of embodiment 3 of the present utility model;

FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing the case where the separating member is forced to push the separating force receiving member in embodiment 3 of the present utility model;

fig. 20 is a schematic view of the embodiment 3 of the present utility model in which the separation force receiving means is pressed by the pressing member;

fig. 21 is a schematic view of the separating member passing over the separating force receiving member in embodiment 3 of the present utility model.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical solution and the technical effects of the embodiments of the present utility model more clear, the technical solution of the process cartridge of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is apparent that the described embodiment is only one preferred embodiment of the present utility model, but not all embodiments, and that other embodiments, which are obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort, are within the scope of the present utility model based on the embodiments of the present utility model.

[ example 1 ]

In the following description, thecartridge holder 90 supports theprocess cartridge 150 mounted to the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 in a backward-forward direction, the longitudinal direction of theprocess cartridge 150 is a right-left direction, thepower receiving member 127 is located on the right side of theprocess cartridge 150 in the right-left direction, and the up-down direction is perpendicular to both the forward-backward direction and the right-left direction.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus

As shown in fig. 3 to 6, an electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 in the related art includes: adoor cover 80 movable between an open position uncovering the mounting opening and a closed position covering the mounting opening; acartridge 90 including 4housing portions 91,4housing portions 91 which can house theprocess cartridges 150, arranged in the front-rear direction, thecartridge 90 being pushed forward into the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 or pulled out rearward from the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 in an open position of thedoor 80, thecartridge 90 supporting theprocess cartridges 150 to move downward from an initial position to a final position when thecartridge 90 is pushed into the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 and thedoor 80 is moved from the open position to the closed position; a power output member (not shown) configured to receive and transmit a driving force from a motor of the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100; a pressing member (not shown) provided on an upper side of theprocess cartridge 150 when theprocess cartridge 150 is mounted in the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100, the pressing member being configured to be movable with movement of thedoor cover 80, the pressing member being also movable downward from an initial position to a final position when thedoor cover 80 is moved from the open position to the closed position, and an electrical contact movable together with the pressing member being further provided on the pressing member; the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 further includes a separatingmember 83 which is reciprocatingly movable in the front-rear direction under the control of the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100, the separatingmember 83 is provided with aforce transmitting portion 84 for contacting with a separating force receiving member 110 (refer to fig. 6 in particular) of theprocess cartridge 150 and pushing the separatingforce receiving member 110 to move, the separatingmember 83 has arotation center 82, and anelastic member 81 is provided on a side of the separatingmember 83 remote from therotation center 82 of the separatingmember 83 and connected to a lower side of the separatingmember 83 for allowing the separatingmember 83 to move between an extended position and a retracted position, it is worth mentioning that thecartridge frame 90 supporting theprocess cartridge 150 descends to the final position before the pressing member, that is, the pressing member has a certain hysteresis with respect to thecartridge frame 90 when moving downward.

Process cartridge

As shown in fig. 3 to 12, the present utility model provides aprocess cartridge 150 detachably mountable to an electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100, theprocess cartridge 150 comprising: apower receiving member 127 engageable with the power output member to receive the driving force; thefirst casing 130 and thesecond casing 140 are combined with each other, thefirst casing 130 stores developer, thesecond casing 140 is used for collecting residual waste developer after development, thesecond casing 140 comprises a drivingside protecting cover 140a arranged at the right side of thesecond casing 140, a left side conductingside protecting cover 140b and a second casingmain body 140c arranged between the drivingside protecting cover 140a and the conductingside protecting cover 140b, wherein the drivingside protecting cover 140a, the conductingside protecting cover 140b and the second casingmain body 140c are integrally formed, alternatively, the drivingside protecting cover 140a, the conductingside protecting cover 140b and the second casingmain body 140c can be separately arranged, a separating force receiving part mounting part 146 for mounting the separatingforce receiving part 110 is further arranged at the right lower end part of thesecond casing 140, the separating force receiving part mounting part 146 comprises a plate-shaped part 141, the plate-shaped part 141 is generally configured to extend in the front-rear direction, atrack part 143 extending in the front-rear direction is formed on the plate-shaped part 141, and thetrack part 143 is a groove formed on the plate-shaped part 141; further, therail portion 143 is provided on the driving-side cover 140a, which makes it easier to mount and dismount the separatingforce receiving member 110; the separating force receiving member mounting portion 146 further includes a pair of first blockingportions 144 and asecond blocking portion 145, each of the pair of first blockingportions 144 and thesecond blocking portion 145 extending from the plate-like portion 141 from bottom to top, the pair of first blockingportions 144 being provided on the plate-like portion 141 at intervals in the left-right direction, and having an L-shape in outer shape, thesecond blocking portion 145 being located at a rear end portion of the separating force receiving member mounting portion 146; astorage part 125 provided at an upper side of thesecond casing 140, which stores related parameter information of theprocess cartridge 150, such as the number of printed pages; a storagepart mounting frame 120 accommodating thestorage part 125, and a pressing member of the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 being capable of pressing the storagepart mounting frame 120 such that an electrical contact provided on the pressing member can be kept in close contact with thestorage part 125 all the time to improve electrical contact stability of the electrical contact with thestorage part 125 during mounting of theprocess cartridge 150 to the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100; a developingroller 139 supported on thefirst housing 130 and configured to carry a developer; thephotosensitive drum 149 is supported on thesecond casing 140 and forms an electrostatic latent image, and the developingroller 139 is held in close contact with thephotosensitive drum 149 by an elastic force of an elastic portion (not shown) on theprocess cartridge 150 when theprocess cartridge 150 is operated.

Further, in order to prevent the soft surface of the developingroller 139 from being deformed by the long-time contact of the developingroller 139 with thephotosensitive drum 149 or the substance precipitated from the surface of the developingroller 139 from contaminating thephotosensitive drum 149, theprocess cartridge 150 is further provided with a separatingforce receiving member 110, the separatingforce receiving member 110 is mounted in therail portion 143 of the separating force receiving member mounting portion 146 of thesecond casing 140, and the separatingmember 83 can push the separatingforce receiving member 110 to move thefirst casing 130 around thesecond casing 140 between a contact position where the developingroller 139 contacts thephotosensitive drum 149 and a separation position where the developingroller 139 separates from thephotosensitive drum 149, so that the developingroller 139 and thephotosensitive drum 149 can be separated when theprocess cartridge 150 is not operated, and the above-described problem can be avoided.

The separatingforce receiving member 110 of theprocess cartridge 150 of the present embodiment is described in detail next.

The separatingforce receiving member 110 is movably mounted on the driving sideprotective cover 140a, and the separatingforce receiving member 110 includes amain body portion 114, acontact portion 111, aforce receiving portion 112, a limitingportion 116, aprotruding portion 118, and a pushingportion 117; themain body portion 114 is configured to extend in the front-rear direction, thecontact portion 111 protrudes from the surface of themain body portion 114 and extends in the up-down direction in a direction away from the second housing 2, preferably, thecontact portion 111 is provided with a slope, and when theseparation member 83 contacts thecontact portion 111, theseparation member 83 urges the slope of thecontact portion 111 to push the separationforce receiving member 110 to retract inward to move from the extended position to the retracted position, the separationforce receiving member 110 is closer to thesecond housing 140 than in the extended position, alternatively, the slope of thecontact portion 111 may be provided with other structures, such as a cambered surface; theforce receiving portion 112 is provided adjacent to thecontact portion 111 and engaged with each other, theforce receiving portion 112 also protrudes from the surface of themain body portion 114 and protrudes in the up-down direction toward a direction away from thesecond casing 140, specifically, theforce receiving portion 112 extends in the gravitational direction, and theforce receiving portion 112 can contact theforce transmitting portion 84 of theseparation member 83 and can receive the urging force of theseparation member 83 when theprocess cartridge 150 is mounted in the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100; thestopper 116 is configured to protrude from the surface of themain body 114 and extend toward the side closer to thesecond casing 140 in the up-down direction, specifically, thestopper 116 is provided on the upper side of therail 143 in theprocess cartridge 150 and the width of thestopper 116 in the left-right direction is larger than the width of therail 143 in the left-right direction, and the separatingforce receiving member 110 is restricted to move within a space range constituted by the plate-like portion 141 of the separating force receiving member mounting portion 146 and the first blockingportion 144 together in the up-down direction, so that the separatingforce receiving member 110 can be prevented from falling off from the drivingside protecting cover 140 a; the pair of protrudingportions 118 of the separationforce receiving member 110 are configured to protrude from the left and right sides of themain body portion 114 and to abut against the plate-like portion 141; theurging portion 117 is configured as a protrusion protruding outward from thestopper portion 116, theurging portion 117 may abut against theurged portion 135 of thefirst casing 130, and when the separationforce receiving member 110 moves by receiving the urging force of the separation member, theurging portion 117 of the separationforce receiving member 110 may urge theurged portion 135 of thefirst casing 130 to move the developingroller 139 and thephotosensitive drum 149 from the contact position to the separation position.

Process of separating developing roller and photosensitive drum by separating force receiving member

A process in which the separationforce receiving member 110 of the present embodiment forces the developingroller 139 to separate from thephotosensitive drum 149 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3 to 12. The specific separation process is as follows:

as shown in fig. 3 and 9, with thedoor 80 of the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 closed, thecartridge holder 90 supporting theprocess cartridge 150 is moved downward, the separatingforce receiving member 110 is in the extended position before the separatingforce receiving member 110 contacts the separatingmember 83, with the lowering of thecartridge holder 90, the inclined surface of thecontact portion 111 of the separatingforce receiving member 110 is brought into contact with theforce transmitting portion 84 of the separatingmember 83, and thecartridge holder 90 supporting theprocess cartridge 150 is further moved downward, as shown in fig. 10, since the separatingforce receiving member 110 is subjected to only gravity in the up-down direction and the mass of the separatingforce receiving member 110 is also lighter, theforce transmitting portion 84 of the separatingmember 83 is forced to push the separatingforce receiving member 110 upward and move to a retracted position closer to thesecond housing 140 with respect to the extended position, and then the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 controls the separatingmember 83 to move rearward, as shown in fig. 11, theforce transmitting portion 84 of theseparation member 83 will no longer be in contact with thecontact portion 111 and will completely cross thecontact portion 111, i.e., at this time thecontact portion 111 will no longer be forced upward by theforce transmitting portion 84 of theseparation member 83, the separationforce receiving member 110 that loses the forced force will move again to the extended position under the force of gravity, at this time theforce transmitting portion 84 of theseparation member 83 is located in the space on the rear side of theforce receiving portion 112 of the separationforce receiving member 110 that has returned to the extended position, and still further, as shown in fig. 12, the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 controls theseparation member 83 to move in the forward direction, theforce transmitting portion 84 of theseparation member 83 contacts theforce receiving portion 112 and pushes the separationforce receiving member 110 forward, so that the separationforce receiving member 110 moves forward in thetrack portion 143 of the separation force receiving member mounting portion 146, theurging portion 117 of the separationforce receiving member 110 contacts theurged portion 135 of thefirst casing 130 and urges theurged portion 135 to rotate thefirst casing 130 around thesecond casing 140, so that the developingroller 139 is separated from thephotosensitive drum 149 by a distance s, thereby completing the entire separation process. In the above-described separation process, when theseparation member 83 pushes the separationforce receiving member 110 to move, since the separationforce receiving member 110 is only pushed forward, and the separationforce receiving member 110 is also moved forward by providing therail portion 143 extending in the front-rear direction on theprocess cartridge 150, the contact point position between theseparation member 83 and the separationforce receiving member 110 is not substantially changed, and both are kept in stable contact, not only is the friction loss between theseparation member 83 and the separationforce receiving member 110 reduced, but also the force transmission stability is improved, and at the same time, theelastic member 81 is not required to be provided in the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100, and the structure of the electrophotographicimage forming apparatus 100 is simplified.

[ example 2 ]

As shown in fig. 13-14, embodiment 2 of the present utility model will be described in detail, and the same point of the process cartridge as that of embodiment 1 will not be described in detail, the difference is that the process cartridge 250 of the present embodiment further includes a first elastic member 260 connected between the second housing 240 and the separating force receiving member 210, the first elastic member 260 and the separating force receiving member 210 are disposed in the front-rear direction, specifically, the first elastic member 260 is preferably a tension spring, which can stably connect the second housing 240 and the separating force receiving member 210, the separating force receiving member 210 has a tendency to move in the rear direction under the elastic force of the first elastic member 260, so that the separating force receiving member 210 is not pushed by the separating member 83, the pair of protruding portions 218 of the separating force receiving member 210 are abutted against the blocking portion 245 of the second housing 240, the protruding portions 218 are preferably cylindrical protrusions, of course, alternatively may be configured in a square or irregular structure, etc.; therefore, in the process of mounting the process cartridge 250 to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 with the cartridge frame 90, when the cartridge frame 90 moves downward to a position where the force transmitting portion 84 of one of the separation members 83 contacts the contact portion 211 of the separation force receiving member 210 and forces the separation force receiving member 210 upward, the separation force receiving member 210 may rotate upward from the extended position to the retracted position with the protrusion 218 as a rotation axis, and when the separation member 83 moves rearward under the control of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 and the force transmitting portion 84 no longer contacts the contact portion 211 of the separation force receiving member 210 and is located in the rear space of the contact portion 211, the separation force receiving member 210 may rotate from the retracted position to the extended position with the protrusion 218 as a rotation axis under the own weight and the elastic force of the first elastic member 260. The subsequent separation process is substantially similar to that of embodiment 1 described above, and will not be described again here.

By providing the firstelastic member 260 between thesecond housing 240 and the separatingforce receiving member 210 in this embodiment, when the separatingforce receiving member 210 is not pushed by the separatingmember 83, not only the separatingforce receiving member 210 can be kept in the extended position, but also the separatingforce receiving member 210 can be positioned at a specified position on thesecond housing 240 in the front-rear direction, so that the shake of the separatingforce receiving member 210 is reduced, and the separatingmember 83 can push the separatingforce receiving member 210 more accurately.

[ example 3 ]

As shown in fig. 3 to 4 and fig. 15 to 21, embodiment 3 of the present utility model will be described in detail below, which is different from the process cartridge of the above-described embodiments 1 and 2 in that the process cartridge 350 of the present embodiment further includes a pressed member 370 and a second elastic means 371 provided around the pressed member 370, the pressed member 370 being provided on the right side of the process cartridge 250, configured as a lever supported on the second casing 340 in such a manner as to be pressable by the pressed member, the pressed member 370 being pressable by the pressing member of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 in the up-down direction of the process cartridge 250, with the second elastic means 371 being provided for resetting the pressed member 370 when not pressed by the pressing member so that the pressed member 370 is held in a position allowing the pressing member to press, the upper side end of the pressed member 370 being provided protruding from the outer surface of the second casing 340 before the pressing member is pressed by the pressed member, the lower side end of the pressed member 370 being spaced apart from the separating force receiving means 310, the pressed member 370 being provided in such a manner that the lower side of the pressed member is held in abutment against the outer side of the pressing member 319 being provided so that the pressed member is held in a position extending from the pressed member receiving means 310 in such a manner that the pressed member receiving the outer side is held in abutment against the outer side of the pressed member.

Next, a specific fitting process of the pressing member, the pressed member 370, the separating member 83, the separating force receiving member 310 will be specifically described, the process cartridge 350 is first mounted into the accommodating portion 91 of the cartridge holder 90, the cartridge holder 90 supports the process cartridge 350 to be pushed into the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 in the backward and forward direction, as shown in fig. 3, 18, at which time the separating force receiving member 310 is at a spaced position spaced from the separating member 83 by a certain distance to allow the process cartridge 350 to be moved forward in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 and smoothly mounted into the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100, and the separating force receiving member 310 is also spaced from the pressed member 370 by a certain distance in the up-down direction, then the door cover 80 is closed, at which time the cartridge holder 90 supporting the process cartridge 350 is moved downward by the interlocking action of the closing of the door cover 80, as shown in fig. 19, when the contact portion 311 of the separating force receiving member 310 is brought into contact with the separating member 83 from the interval and the cartridge holder 90 supporting the process cartridge 350 is moved further downward, the separating member 83 urges the separating force receiving member 310 upward and the separating force receiving member 310 is moved upward, at which time the separating force receiving member 310 is moved from the extended position to the retracted position, and then the pressing member provided in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 is also moved downward and presses the pressed member 370, as shown in fig. 20, the pressed member 370 is moved downward and presses the separating force receiving member 310 in the retracted position downward, the pressed separating force receiving member 310 urges the separating member 83 in contact with the separating force receiving member 310 downward and rotates the separating member 83 from the extended position to the retracted position against the elastic force of the elastic element 81, and the separating force receiving member 310 is also moved from the retracted position to the extended position again; further, as shown in fig. 21, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 controls the separating member 83 to move backward, the force transmitting portion 84 of the separating member 83 is completely passed over the contact portion 311, the separating member 83 at this time is no longer urged by the contact portion 311, the separating member 83 is again moved from the retracted position to the extended position by the elastic force of the elastic member 81, and the force transmitting portion 84 of the separating member 83 is located in the space on the rear side of the force receiving portion 312 of the separating force receiving member 310; still further, as shown in fig. 15 and 21, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 controls the separating member 83 to move forward, the force transmitting portion 84 of the separating member 83 contacts with the force receiving portion 312 and pushes the separating force receiving member 310 forward, so that the separating force receiving member 310 moves forward, and at the same time, the urging portion 317 of the separating force receiving member 310 contacts with and urges the urged portion of the first casing 330, so that the first casing 330 rotates around the second casing 340, thereby separating the developing roller from the photosensitive drum, and the separation process is completed.

Compared with the above-described embodiment, the present embodiment adds one pressedmember 370, and the pressedmember 370 can continuously press the separationforce receiving part 310 during the operation of theprocess cartridge 350, so that the separationforce receiving part 310 is kept in close contact with theseparation part 83, and the contact stability and the force transmission stability of the separationforce receiving part 310 and theseparation part 83 are further improved. Alternatively, the contact stability between the separatingforce receiving member 310 and the separatingmember 83 may be improved by adding a weight to the separatingforce receiving member 310 or adding the mass of the separatingforce receiving member 310, which is only required to ensure that the total mass of the weight and the separatingforce receiving member 310 or the mass of the separatingforce receiving member 310 after adding is smaller than the elastic force of theelastic element 81 so that the separatingmember 83 can push the separatingforce receiving member 310 upward.

Of course, the structure of the process cartridge may employ not only the structure as employed in the present embodiment, i.e., the pressed member may be added on the basis of the structure of the process cartridge of embodiment 1, but also the pressed member may be added on the basis of the structure of the process cartridge of embodiment 2, and the technical effect of further improving the contact stability and the force transmission stability of the separation force receiving member and the separation member may be achieved.

Advantageous effects

The process cartridge of the present utility model is provided with the separation force receiving member movable back and forth along the rail portion, the position of the contact point between the separation member and the separation force receiving member is not substantially changed, and the separation member and the separation force receiving member are kept in stable contact, not only is the frictional loss between the separation member and the separation force receiving member reduced, but also the force transmission stability is improved, and at the same time, an elastic member is not required to be provided in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the structure of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is simplified.

The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present utility model, and are not limiting; although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present utility model.

Claims (10)

1. A process cartridge detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a cartridge frame, a separation member, said cartridge frame being pushable into said electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a back-to-front direction, said process cartridge comprising:

a first housing;

a second housing;

a photosensitive drum supported on the second casing;

a developing roller supported on the first casing, the developing roller being contactable with and separable from the photosensitive drum;

a separation force receiving member that can receive a force of the separation member to force the developing roller and the photosensitive drum to move from a contact position of contact to a separation position of separation;

wherein the separation member is adapted to urge the separation force receiving member to move from an extended position to a retracted position during mounting of the process cartridge to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the separation force receiving member being closer to the second housing in the retracted position than in the extended position; the process cartridge further includes a pressed member that is receivable of an external force and movable relative to the second casing, the pressed member being capable of pressing the separation force receiving part in the retracted position so that the separation force receiving part is moved again from the retracted position to the extended position.

2. A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said pressed member continuously presses said separating force receiving member to hold said separating force receiving member in said extended position after completion of installation of said process cartridge.

3. A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said pressed member is configured as a lever that is supported on said second housing in such a manner as to be pressed by an external force.

4. A process cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a second elastic member that abuts against said pressed member, said second elastic member being capable of restoring said pressed member after movement.

5. A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said separating force receiving member is moved in a rotating manner in the process of said separating force receiving member being forced to push said separating force receiving member from the extended position to the retracted position.

6. A process cartridge according to claim 5, wherein said separating force receiving member includes a projection abutting against said second housing, said separating force receiving member being rotatable about said projection as a rotation axis between said extended position and said retracted position.

7. A process cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a first elastic member connected between said separating force receiving member and said second casing, said first elastic member being capable of holding said separating force receiving member in said extended position when said separating force receiving member does not receive an external force during mounting of said process cartridge to said electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

8. The process cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the first elastic member is a tension spring.

9. A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said separating force receiving member is mounted on said second housing, and a rail portion is provided on said second housing, said separating force receiving member being movable in the front-rear direction in said rail portion.

10. A process cartridge according to claim 9, wherein said second casing includes a driving side protecting cover provided at one side in a longitudinal direction of said second casing, said driving side protecting cover being for supporting said photosensitive drum, said rail portion being provided on said driving side protecting cover.

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