CN221125091U

CN221125091U - Developing box

Info

Publication number: CN221125091U
Application number: CN202323190018.6U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 敖仕平; 徐荣力; 李忠远
Original assignee: Jiangxi Yibo Electronic Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Jiangxi Yibo Electronic Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-11-25
Filing date: 2023-11-24
Publication date: 2024-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 2033-11-24
Also published as: WO2024109940A1; CN118092103A

Abstract

A developing cartridge detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus having a force applying member, the developing cartridge includes: a housing that accommodates a developer, the housing having a first end and a second end opposite the first end in a first direction; a developing roller rotatably supported on the housing and rotatable about a developing roller rotation axis extending in a first direction; a driving force receiving member disposed at a first end of the housing in a first direction, the driving force receiving member configured to transmit a driving force to the developing roller; a first movable portion movable relative to the housing in response to an urging force applied by the urging member, the first movable portion being located at a bottom of the housing when the developing cartridge is mounted in the image forming apparatus; the developing cartridge further includes a first elastic member that is stretch-deformable in response to movement of the first movable portion.

Description

Developing box

Technical Field

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

Background

In a conventional image forming apparatus, a process device (i.e., a developing cartridge) capable of acting on a photosensitive drum and the photosensitive drum are integrated into a cartridge, and the cartridge is detachably mounted to the image forming apparatus, according to the type of the cartridge, maintenance operations of the device can be performed by a user without relying on service personnel, thereby remarkably improving operability, so that the type of the cartridge is widely used in the image forming apparatus. In the printing process, light carrying image information is projected onto a photosensitive drum, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum, the electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing roller carrying a developer of a developing cartridge, and the developed image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred onto a recording material, whereby an image is formed on the recording material.

As shown in fig. 21 to 25, there are shown in the prior art an image forming apparatus 1 and a developing cartridge 11 and a photosensitive cartridge detachably mounted in the image forming apparatus 1, wherein the photosensitive cartridge includes a rotatable photosensitive drum 23, the developing cartridge 11 includes a housing 12 which can accommodate a developer, and a developing roller 13 supported on the housing 12, a driving force receiving member (not shown) which can be coupled with a driving force applying member 3 in the image forming apparatus 1 and receive a rotational driving force output thereof to rotate the developing roller 13; the developing cartridge 11 is further provided with a lever 14 which can receive an external force and can rotate relative to the casing 12, and a compression spring 15 provided between the casing 12 and the lever 14; on the one hand, in order to realize that the developing cartridge 11 triggers the detection switch of the image forming apparatus 1 to realize the detection function after the completion of the mounting, the lever 14 is configured to drive the casing 12 to move away from the photosensitive drum 23 after receiving the external force F2, so that the casing 12 may trigger the detection switch of the image forming apparatus 1, but just because of the movement of the casing 12, the casing 12 also drives the driving force receiving member out of engagement with the driving force applying member 32, the two are not coaxial any more, frequent engagement and contact engagement are not only liable to wear the driving force receiving member, but also liable to cause mounting interference at the time of engagement. On the other hand, when the developing cartridge 11 performs a printing job, the developing roller 13 needs to be kept in contact with the photosensitive drum 23 with a certain pressure to prevent a printing quality problem, in the developing cartridge 500, the lever 14 may also make the developing roller 13 contact with the photosensitive drum 23 with a certain pressure by using the generated elastic force after the compression spring is compressively deformed, but since the spring is a compression spring, during the working of the developing cartridge 11, the lever 14 after rotation not only forces the compression spring 15 to be compressively deformed in the length direction, but also because the direction of the urging force exerted by the lever 14 when the lever 14 is compelled to urge the compression spring 15 is changed along with the rotation time of the lever, the compression spring is distorted, which will make the degree of the distortion of the compression spring 15 at the left and right ends of the developing cartridge 11 difficult to be precisely controlled or uncontrollable, and further the compression spring 15 is liable to be different, and finally the contact pressure of the developing roller 13 and the left and right ends of the photosensitive drum 23 is difficult to be the same, so that the printing quality of the developing cartridge is difficult to be ensured.

Disclosure of utility model

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

A developing cartridge detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus having a force applying member, said developing cartridge comprising: a housing that accommodates a developer, the housing having a first end and a second end opposite the first end in a first direction;

A developing roller rotatably supported on the housing and rotatable about a developing roller rotation axis extending in a first direction;

A driving force receiving member disposed at a first end of the housing in a first direction, the driving force receiving member configured to transmit a driving force to the developing roller;

A first movable portion movable relative to the housing in response to an urging force applied by the urging member, the first movable portion being located at a bottom of the housing when the developing cartridge is mounted in the image forming apparatus;

The developing cartridge further includes a first elastic member that is stretch-deformable in response to movement of the first movable portion.

Further, the first elastic member is disposed at the first end and the second end of the housing, respectively, and when the first movable portion receives the movement of the pushing force of the force application member, the elastic forces of the first elastic member at the first end and the second end of the housing are equal.

Further, the first elastic member is disposed at the first end and the second end of the housing, respectively, and when the first movable portion receives the movement of the pushing force of the force application member, the elastic force of the first elastic member at the first end of the housing is smaller than the elastic force of the first elastic member at the second end of the housing.

Further, the first movable portion is movable relative to the housing about a fulcrum, the first movable portion includes a force receiving portion that can receive an urging force of the urging member, and an elastic member mounting position to which the first elastic member is connected, the fulcrum is located between the force receiving portion and the elastic member mounting position, and the force receiving portion and the elastic member mounting position are provided at both ends in a longitudinal direction of the first movable portion, respectively.

Further, the casing includes an upper casing and a lower casing as first engaging portions and second engaging portions that connect the upper casing and the lower casing, the first engaging portions being located on a downstream side in the developing cartridge mounting direction and configured to extend from a first end to a second end of the casing, the second engaging portions being located on an upstream side in the developing cartridge mounting direction and configured to extend from the first end to the second end of the casing; and in a direction crossing the first direction, making a line segment connecting the first joint part and the second joint part, wherein the line segment passes through the first elastic piece.

Further, the developing cartridge may further include a stirring frame for stirring the developer, and a stirring frame gear connected to one end of the stirring frame and driving the stirring frame to rotate, the first elastic member and the stirring frame gear having an overlapping portion along a first direction.

Further, the image forming apparatus includes a movable rail, and the first movable portion receives an urging force of the urging member to move relative to the housing and then drives the movable rail to move; the developing cartridge further comprises a second movable part which is arranged with the first movable part body and is connected with the first elastic piece, and the second movable part can respond to the movement of the first movable part to move relative to the shell, so that the first elastic piece can be driven to stretch and deform.

Further, the first movable portion and the second movable portion are both slidably mounted on the housing.

Further, the first elastic member includes a first connecting portion connected to the housing and a second connecting portion connected to the second movable portion, respectively, and a deformable portion connected to the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion and capable of deforming, and projects along a first direction, the deformable portion and the first movable portion having an overlapping portion.

Further, the developing cartridge further includes a stirring frame and a stirring frame gear disposed at one end of the stirring frame and capable of driving the stirring frame to rotate, and when the first movable portion is not acted by the pushing force of the force application member, the first movable portion projects along the first direction, and the projection range of the first elastic member is located outside the projection range of the stirring frame gear.

Further, the first movable portion is rotatable relative to the housing about a rotation center located on the first movable portion.

Further, the developing cartridge further includes a second elastic member connected to the first movable portion, the second elastic member being capable of restoring and moving the first movable portion to a position before receiving the urging force of the urging member.

Further, the second elastic member may be rotatable with respect to the housing in response to movement of the first movable portion.

Further, the first movable portion includes a force receiving portion for receiving an urging force of the urging member, the first movable portion being movable between a first position, in which the first movable portion is in the first position when no external force is applied thereto, the first elastic member having a length P1; when the first movable portion is in the second position, the first elastic member has a length P2, and the force receiving portion is located at the second position farther from the developing roller than at the first position and the third position; when the first movable portion is in the third position, the first elastic member has a length P3, and the force receiving portion is located at the third position closer to the developing roller than at the first position and the second position, wherein P2 > P3 > P1.

According to the developing box, the elastic piece which is constructed as the tension spring is connected to the movable part, after the movable part is forced to push, the tension spring is small in bending deformation amount and even cannot generate bending deformation, and the generated elastic force can be stably used for pushing the developing box, so that the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are contacted with each other under stable and balanced pressure, and the printing quality of the developing box is improved.

Drawings

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

FIG. 2 is another schematic view of the developing cartridge of embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the drive side cover removed from the developer cartridge in accordance with embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

fig. 4 is an exploded view of the drive side of the developing cartridge in embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

fig. 5 is a schematic view of the developing cartridge of embodiment 1 of the present utility model in a first position;

fig. 6 is a schematic view of the developing cartridge of embodiment 1 of the present utility model in a second position;

fig. 7 is a schematic view of the developing cartridge in the third position in embodiment 1 of the present utility model;

fig. 8 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in embodiment 2 of the present utility model;

fig. 9 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in embodiment 3 of the present utility model;

Fig. 10 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge with a drive side cover removed from the developing cartridge in accordance with embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

fig. 12 is a schematic view of a drive assembly of the developing cartridge in embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

fig. 13 is an exploded view of the drive assembly of the developing cartridge in embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

fig. 14 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in which the movable portion is not subjected to an external force in embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

Fig. 15 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in embodiment 4 of the present utility model when the developing roller is in contact with the photosensitive drum at a certain pressure when the movable portion is subjected to an external force;

Fig. 16 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge when the developing roller is separated from the photosensitive drum when the movable portion is subjected to an external force in embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the housing in example 4 of the present utility model;

FIG. 18 is a schematic view showing the upper case and the lower case separated in embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing the positional relationship between a transmission gear and an elastic member in embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

Fig. 20 is an exploded schematic view of a drive gear, an elastic member, a driving force receiving member in embodiment 4 of the present utility model;

FIG. 21 is a schematic view of a prior art developer cartridge with a developer roller separated from a photosensitive drum;

FIG. 22 is a schematic view of a prior art developer cartridge with a developer roller in contact with a photoreceptor drum at a pressure;

FIG. 23 is a schematic view showing an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment 5 of the present utility model at a certain angle;

FIG. 24 is another schematic view of the image forming apparatus according to embodiment 5 of the present utility model;

fig. 25 is a schematic view of an imaging apparatus according to embodiment 5 of the present utility model at a further angle;

Fig. 26 is a schematic view of a process cartridge mounted in an image forming apparatus in embodiment 5 of the present utility model;

FIG. 27 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in embodiment 5 of the present utility model;

FIG. 28 is a schematic view showing a developing cartridge with a drive side cover removed from the developing cartridge according to embodiment 5 of the present utility model;

FIG. 29 is another schematic view of the developing cartridge with the drive side cover removed from the developing cartridge in accordance with embodiment 5 of the present utility model;

fig. 30 is an exploded view of the right end of the developing cartridge in embodiment 5 of the present utility model;

Fig. 31 is an exploded view of the driving force receiving member, the elastic member and the driving gear in embodiment 5 of the present utility model;

fig. 32 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in embodiment 5 of the present utility model when the first movable portion is not subjected to an external force;

Fig. 33 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge when the first movable portion is detected by the image forming apparatus in embodiment 5 of the present utility model;

Fig. 34 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in example 5 of the present utility model when the developing roller is kept in contact with the photosensitive drum at a certain pressure;

FIG. 35 is a schematic view showing a developing cartridge according to an embodiment 6 of the present utility model at an angle;

fig. 36 is a schematic view of a developing cartridge in embodiment 7 of the present utility model;

FIG. 37 is an exploded view of the right end of the developing cartridge in example 7 of the present utility model;

fig. 38 is a schematic view of embodiment 7 of the present utility model when the first movable portion is in the first position;

fig. 39 is a schematic view of embodiment 7 of the present utility model when the first movable portion is in the second position;

fig. 40 is a schematic view of embodiment 7 of the present utility model when the first movable portion is in the third position.

Detailed Description

Example 1

As shown in fig. 1 to 7, there is shown a developing cartridge 100 in embodiment 1 of the present utility model, the developing cartridge 100 is detachably mounted to an image forming apparatus having a force application member 10, the force application member 10 is arranged on the lower side of the developing cartridge 100 in the up-down direction (third direction) when the developing cartridge 100 is mounted in the image forming apparatus, and the force application member 10 is movable in the front-rear direction (second direction) and urged to push the developing cartridge 100; the photosensitive unit having the photosensitive drum 2 is also detachably mounted in the image forming apparatus, and when the developing cartridge 100 and the photosensitive unit are mounted together in the image forming apparatus, both can perform a printing job in cooperation with the image forming apparatus.

For convenience of description, the longitudinal direction of the developing cartridge 100 is defined as a left-right direction (first direction), and a driving force receiving member 103 (to be described later) is located on the right side of the developing cartridge 100, also referred to as a driving side of the developing cartridge 100, and a side opposite to the driving side is a non-driving side. The developing cartridge 100 includes a casing 101, the casing 101 including a main body portion 106 that can accommodate developer, a driving-side protecting cover 104 detachably provided on the right side of the main body portion 106, and a non-driving-side protecting cover 105 provided on the left side; the developing cartridge 100 further includes a developing roller 102 supported on the casing 101, and a driving force receiving member 103 provided on the right side of the casing 101, the driving force receiving member 103 being rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the left-right direction for receiving a driving force of a driver (not shown) of the image forming apparatus, and being rotatable about the rotation axis extending in the left-right direction as well as for driving the developing roller 102, the driving force receiving member 103 being fixedly mounted in the developing cartridge 100 in the left-right direction; a bearing member 107 as a bearing is detachably mounted on the right side of the main body portion 106, which can be used to support the right side of the developing roller 102 and the gear train of the developing cartridge 100, and it is noted that the main body portion 106, the driving-side protecting cover 104, the non-driving-side protecting cover 105, and the bearing member 107 in this embodiment are all part of the casing 101.

In the case where the developing cartridge 100 is mounted in the image forming apparatus, the developing cartridge 100 is movable among a first position, a second position, and a third position, and for convenience of description, a position where the developing roller of the developing cartridge 100 is just in contact with the photosensitive drum 2 but no pressure is generated therebetween is referred to as a first position; a position where the developing roller 102 of the developing cartridge 100 contacts the photosensitive drum 2 with a certain pressure is referred to as a second position; a position of the developing roller 102 of the developing cartridge 100 at a distance s from the photosensitive drum 2 is referred to as a third position; the direction in which the developing roller 102 approaches the photosensitive drum 2 is a forward direction M, and the direction in which the developing roller 102 is away from the photosensitive drum 2 is a backward direction N, as viewed from right to left.

The developing cartridge 100 further includes a pair of movable portions 110 respectively provided at left and right sides of the casing 101, and a first elastic member 111 provided between the movable portions 110 and the casing 101, the first elastic member 111 being provided at a position farther from the rotation axis of the developing roller 102 than the movable portions 110; the first elastic member 111 is preferably a tension spring, and one ends of the first elastic members 111 on both left and right sides of the developing cartridge 100 are connected to the movable portion 110, and the other ends of the first elastic members 111 on the right side are connected to the first mounting post 101a formed on the bearing member 107, but the other ends of the first elastic members 111 on the left side are connected to the second mounting post 105a of the non-driving side protecting cover 105 to provide a sufficient escape space, preventing the second mounting post 105a from interfering with the image forming apparatus during the mounting of the developing cartridge 100 to the image forming apparatus;

It should be noted that the first elastic members 111 on the left and right sides of the developing cartridge 100 have the same elastic force, which facilitates the installation of the first elastic members 111 into the developing cartridge 100 without distinction during the assembly process, without occurrence of an installation error causing a problem of print quality, thereby also improving the assembly efficiency of the developing cartridge 100; specifically, as the first elastic member 111 installed in the developing cartridge 100 having the same elastic force, the first arrangement is such that the stiffness coefficient k of the first elastic member 111 on the left and right sides is the same, that is, k1=k2, and preferably, the material used for the first elastic member 111 on the left and right sides, the length, diameter, and wire diameter at the time of no deformation are the same, and of course, it is not necessary that they are the same, as long as the stiffness coefficient k of the two is the same by adjusting the parameters of the specific stiffness coefficient k described above, this is not limited, but the preferred embodiment is adopted in the present example, and after the first elastic member 111 is mounted in the developing cartridge 100 and the first elastic member 111 is deformed by force, the deformation amount x of the first elastic member 111 is also equal, that is, the elongation or shortening length of the first elastic member 111 on the left and right sides is also the same, that is, the total length of the first elastic member 111 after the elongation or shortening by force is equal, at this time, it is ensured that the elastic forces of the first elastic member 111 on the left and right sides are kept uniform, that is, after the arrangement in the above-described manner, the stiffness coefficient k1 of the first elastic member 111 on the left side and the product of the deformation amount x1 and the stiffness coefficient k1 of the first elastic member 111 on the right side, The product of the deformation x1 is the same. The second arrangement structure is that the stiffness coefficient k and the deformation amount of the first elastic member 111 on the left and right sides are different, wherein one of the stiffness coefficient k1 of the first elastic member 111 on the left side is larger than the stiffness coefficient k2 of the first elastic member on the right side, and the parameters related to the stiffness coefficient k can be specifically adjusted, which will not be described herein, as long as the stiffness coefficient k1 of the first elastic member 111 on the left side is larger than the stiffness coefficient k2 of the first elastic member on the right side, but when the first elastic member 111 is installed in the developing box 100 and the first elastic member 111 is deformed under force, the deformation amount x1 of the first elastic member 111 on the left side is smaller than the deformation amount x2 of the first elastic member 111 on the right side, that is, the total length L1 after the deformation of the left first elastic member 111 is smaller than the total length L2 after the deformation of the right first elastic member 111, specifically, the length of the first elastic member 111 can be changed by changing the distance d between the first mounting post and the second mounting post for mounting the first elastic member 111, and after the arrangement in the above manner, the product of the stiffness coefficient k1 of the left first elastic member 111 and the deformation x1 and the product of the stiffness coefficient k2 and the deformation x2 of the right first elastic member 111 are the same, that is, f1=f2; the stiffness coefficient k1 of the left first elastic member 111 is smaller than the stiffness coefficient k2 of the right first elastic member 111, and the above-mentioned parameters related to the stiffness coefficient k can be specifically adjusted, which will not be described herein, as long as the stiffness coefficient k1 of the left first elastic member 111 is smaller than the stiffness coefficient k2 of the right first elastic member 111, but when the first elastic member 111 is installed in the developing cartridge 100 and the first elastic member 111 is deformed under force, the deformation x1 of the left first elastic member 111 is larger than the deformation x2 of the right first elastic member 111, i.e. the total length of the deformed left first elastic member 111 is larger than the total length of the deformed right first elastic member 111, after being arranged in the above-described manner, the product of the stiffness coefficient k1 of the left-side first elastic member 111 and the deformation amount x1 and the product of the stiffness coefficient k2 of the right-side first elastic member 111 and the deformation amount x2 are the same, that is, f1=f2. Based on the difference of stiffness coefficients k of the first elastic members 111 on the left and right sides, the arrangement position and direction of the first elastic members 111 can be changed to change the elastic force of the first elastic members 111, that is, the length directions of the first elastic members 111 on the left and right sides are crossed and are not parallel, so that even if the deformation amounts of the first elastic members 111 are the same, the component force of the elastic force generated by the first elastic members 111 will be different, but eventually, the F1 will still be equal to the F2, and the same technical effect of the elastic force can be achieved.

A movable portion mounting post 101b is further provided on the bearing member 107 of the casing 101, on which movable portion mounting post 101b the movable portion 110 is rotatably mounted, the movable portion 110 being capable of receiving the urging force of the urging member 10 of the image forming apparatus and being rotatable about the movable portion mounting post 101b as a rotation axis with respect to the casing 101 between a first position and a second position, at least a portion of the movable portion 110 being further away from the rotation axis of the developing roller 102 with respect to the second position when the developing cartridge 100 is mounted in the image forming apparatus; before the movable part 110 is subjected to the external force, as shown in fig. 5, the movable part 110 is kept at the first position under the action of the elastic force generated by the first elastic member 111, after the movable part 110 is subjected to the external force, the movable part 111 can rotate from the first position to the second position in the anticlockwise direction against the elastic force of the first elastic member 111, so that the developing cartridge 100 moves from the first position shown in fig. 5 to the second position shown in fig. 6 in the forward direction M, at this time, the developing roller 102 keeps in contact with the photosensitive drum 2 with a certain pressure, and the developing cartridge 100 can perform printing operation, and it is worth mentioning that the first elastic member 111 connected to the movable part 110 can rotate by a certain angle along with the rotation of the movable part 110 in the process of the movable part 111 from the first position to the second position, so that the extending direction of the first elastic member 111 keeps unchanged, namely keeps extending approximately straight line all the time, the elastic force transmission becomes stable, and therefore, the contact pressure between the developing roller 102 and the photosensitive drum 2 is more stable, and the printing quality of the developing cartridge 100 is improved; more specifically, the movable portion 110 includes a pair of first and second force receiving portions 110a and 110b disposed opposite each other in the front-rear direction, at least a portion of the first force receiving portion 110a facing the rear side of the developing cartridge 100, at least a portion of the second force receiving portion 110b facing the front side of the developing cartridge 100, and when the developing cartridge 100 is mounted in the image forming apparatus, as shown in fig. 6, the first force applying portion 10a of the force applying member 10 and the first force receiving portion 110a of the movable portion 110 oppose each other, the first force applying portion 10a may urge the first force receiving portion 110a so that the movable portion 110 moves from the first position to the second position with respect to the casing 101, and thereby may urge the developing cartridge 100 to move in the forward direction M, the developing roller 102 being held in contact with the photosensitive drum 2 with a certain pressure; as shown in fig. 7, the second force application portion 10b of the force application member 10 and the second force receiving portion 110b of the movable portion 110 are opposite to each other, the second force application portion 10b can urge the second force receiving portion 110a, and the movable portion 110 drives the developing cartridge 100 to move from the first position to the third position along the retreating direction N, and the developing roller 102 is spaced apart from the photosensitive drum 2 by a certain distance s.

Further, a first stopper 101c and a second stopper 101d configured as protrusions are further provided on the bearing member 107 of the casing 101 with a gap therebetween, and the movable portion 110 is movable within the gap, specifically, the first stopper 101c is closer to the rotation axis of the developing roller 102 than the second stopper 101d in the front-rear direction, the first stopper 101c is operable to restrict the movement stroke of the movable portion 110 in the direction approaching the developing roller 102 to avoid disengagement from the first urging portion 10a of the urging member 10 of the image forming apparatus after rotating by an excessive angle, and the second stopper 101d is operable to be blocked by the second stopper 101d to enable the movement of the developing cartridge 100 in the retreating direction N when the second urging portion 10b urges the movable portion 110, that is, the first stopper 101c and the second stopper 101d are operable to restrict the rotation range of the movable portion 110.

Example 2

As shown in fig. 8, a developing cartridge 200 in embodiment 2 of the present utility model will be described, and the developing cartridge 200 is the same as that in embodiment 1 described above, and will not be described again here, except that the first elastic members 211 provided on the left and right sides of the developing cartridge 200 are different in magnitude of elastic force, and are respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the developing cartridge 200 by using elastic members having different elastic coefficients.

As can be seen from embodiment 1, the driving force receiving member 203 provided in the developing cartridge 200 receives the rotational driving force from the image forming apparatus during the operation of the developing cartridge 200, and when viewed from right to left, the driving force receiving member 203 can rotate in the clockwise direction, that is, during the rotation of the driving force receiving member 203, the developing cartridge 200 has a rotational torque in the clockwise direction, that is, the developing roller has a tendency to move toward the photosensitive drum 2, and the developing roller can be kept in contact with the photosensitive drum 2 with a certain pressure, but since the driving force receiving member 203 is provided on the right side of the developing cartridge 200, the right side of the developing cartridge 200 has a larger rotational torque with respect to the left side, which will cause the pressure applied to the photosensitive drum 2 by the right side of the developing roller to be unequal, affecting the printing quality of the developing cartridge 200, and therefore, in order to ensure the force balance of the right and left sides of the developing cartridge 200, preferably, the elastic force of the first elastic member 211 on the left side (i.e., the non-driving side) of the developing cartridge 200 is greater than the elastic force of the first elastic member 211 on the right side (i.e., the driving side) of the developing cartridge 200, and the elastic force of the first elastic member 211 is substantially equal to the elastic force of the drum 200, and the drum is arranged in such a way that the drum is not deformed by the drum 1 and the drum is left side of the same.

It should be noted that, in another alternative, the extension length of the first elastic member 211 may be changed by changing the interval between the first mounting post and the second mounting post for mounting the first elastic member 211, so as to change the magnitude of the elastic force generated by the first elastic member 211, that is, in this alternative, the first elastic members 211 disposed at the left and right sides of the developing cartridge 200 may be the same elastic member, but the extension lengths thereof are different after being disposed in the developing cartridge 200. Furthermore, alternatively, the arrangement position and direction of the first elastic member 211 may be changed to change the elastic force of the first elastic member 211, that is, the first elastic members 211 arranged on the left and right sides of the developing cartridge 200 may be identical elastic members, and the longitudinal directions of the first elastic members 211 on the left and right sides of the developing cartridge 200 intersect, which are not parallel, so that the component forces of the elastic forces generated by the first elastic members 211 are different, and the technical effects of the different elastic forces can be achieved.

Example 3

As shown in fig. 9, a developing cartridge 300 according to embodiment 3 of the present utility model will be described next, and the same parts of the developing cartridge 300 as those of the developing cartridge according to the above-described embodiment 1 or 2 will not be described again, except that the first elastic member 311 is provided only on one of the left and right sides of the developing cartridge 300, preferably the first elastic member 311 is provided on the left side of the developing cartridge 300, i.e., the non-driving side of the developing cartridge 300, which can achieve the same technical effect as in embodiment 2, i.e., the pressure applied to the photosensitive drum 2 by the left and right sides of the developing roller is substantially the same, improving the printing quality of the developing cartridge 300, and reducing the production cost because the first elastic member 311 originally provided on the right side of the developing cartridge 300 is eliminated. A movable portion 310 is still provided on the right side of the developing cartridge 300 and the urging member 10 of the image forming apparatus may urge the movable portion 310 on the right side of the developing cartridge 300 so that the developing cartridge 300 moves from the first position to the third position with the developing roller spaced apart from the photosensitive drum 2 by a distance s.

Example 4

Next, embodiment 4 of the present utility model will be described with reference to fig. 10 to 20, and embodiment 4 discloses a developing cartridge 400. The developing cartridge 400 is the same as the developing cartridges in the above-described embodiments 1 to 3, and details of the differences will be described below.

The developing cartridge 400 includes a housing 401, the housing 401 including a main body portion 403 which can accommodate developer, and a non-driving side protecting cover 404 and a driving side protecting cover 405 provided on left and right sides of the main body portion 403, respectively, the main body portion 403 including an upper housing 403a and a lower housing 403b, the upper housing 403a being located on an upper side of the lower housing 403b, both being welded together by, for example, ultrasonic welding technology, specifically, the main body portion 403 having a first engaging portion 403c and a second engaging portion 403d which connect the upper housing 403a and the lower housing 403b, the first engaging portion 403c being located on a downstream side in a mounting direction of the developing cartridge 400 and configured to cross left and right ends of the main body portion 403, the second engaging portion 403d is located on the upstream side in the mounting direction of the developing cartridge 400 and is configured to span both right and left ends of the main body portion 403, i.e., the first engaging portion 403c is arranged on the front side of the second engaging portion 403d in the front-rear direction, in other words, the first engaging portion 403c and the second engaging portion 403d extend from the left end of the main body portion 403 to the right end of the main body portion 403; the developing cartridge 400 further includes a developing roller 402 rotatably supported on the housing 401, a stirring frame (not shown), and a driving assembly disposed at a right end of the developing cartridge 400, at least a portion of the driving assembly and the bearing member 429 being covered by the driving side protecting cover 405, the driving assembly including a driving force receiving member 421 and a driving gear 421b provided separately and an elastic member 428 provided between the driving force receiving member 421 and the driving gear 421b, wherein the driving force receiving member 421 is supported on the bearing member 429 and can receive a driving force rotation of the image forming apparatus, and the driving force receiving member 421 has an extended position and a retracted position in a left-right direction, the driving force receiving member 421 in the extended position is further apart from the left end of the developing cartridge 400 in the left-right direction than at least a portion of the driving force receiving member 421 in the retracted position, the driving force receiving member 421 is held in the extended position by the elastic force generated by the elastic member 428 when the driving force receiving member 421 is not subjected to the external force in the left-right direction, the driving force receiving member 421 is movable from the extended position to the retracted position against the elastic force of the elastic member 428 when the driving force receiving member 421 is subjected to the external force in the left-right direction, and the elastic force generated by the elastic member 428 can restore the driving force receiving member 421 to move from the retracted position to the extended position after the external force is removed; the driving gear 421b is disposed coaxially with the driving force receiving member 421 and rotatable in response to rotation of the driving force receiving member 421; further, the driving force receiving member 421 and the driving gear 421b are in clearance fit, the driving force receiving member 421 can swing in a direction (radial direction) intersecting with the left-right direction relative to the driving gear 421b, so that the probability of installation interference with the power output piece of the imaging device caused by manufacturing errors or installation errors is greatly reduced, and the coupling success rate of the driving force receiving member and the power output piece is improved; further, the elastic member 428 is configured as a tapered spring, i.e., a conical coil spring, which abuts between the first positioning portion 421a configured as a protrusion on the driving force receiving member 421 and the second positioning portion 421b1 configured as a recess in the inner cavity of the driving gear 421b, one end of the conical coil spring having a smaller diameter is positioned on the first positioning portion 421a of the driving force receiving member 421, one end of the conical coil spring having a larger diameter is positioned on the second positioning portion 421b1 of the driving gear 421b, so that both right and left ends of the conical coil spring are positioned, and when an external force acts on the driving force receiving member 421, the driving force receiving member 421 can oscillate in a radial direction crossing the right and left direction against the elastic force of the conical coil spring, at this time, the conical coil spring is distorted, and after the external force is removed from the driving force receiving member 421, the elastic force accumulated by the conical coil spring is released to be used for resetting the driving force receiving member 421 after the radial movement occurs, so that the rotation axis of the driving force receiving member 421 moves from a direction inclined to the left-right direction to a direction parallel to the left-right direction, that is, the driving force receiving member 421 and the driving gear 421b will be coaxial again, alternatively, the driving force receiving member 421 may be provided with a first positioning portion 421a configured as a groove, a second positioning portion 421b1 configured as a protrusion, the resilient member 428 may likewise be positioned, which is not limiting; the developing cartridge 400 further includes a developing roller gear 422 connected to the right end of the developing roller 402, and a stirring frame gear 425 connected to the right end of the stirring frame, the developing roller gear 422 being directly engaged with the driving gear 421b so as to be able to receive a rotational driving force to drive the developing roller 402 to rotate, the stirring frame gear 425 being disposed between the main body portion 403 of the housing 401 and the bearing member 429 in the left-right direction, the stirring frame gear 425 receiving a driving force from the driving gear 421b through a transmission gear 423 provided between the stirring frame gear 425 and the driving gear 421b, thereby driving the stirring frame to rotate, that is, the driving force receiving member 421 may simultaneously drive the developing roller 402 and the agitator frame to rotate; the developing cartridge 400 further includes a chip 406, the chip 406 including an electrical contact surface (not shown) that is in electrical contact with the image forming apparatus and a storage portion storing information related to the developing cartridge 400, the image forming apparatus being capable of reading the information in the storage portion of the chip 406 by the electrical contact surface of the chip 406, thereby establishing a communication connection with the developing cartridge 400.

The developing cartridge 400 also includes a pair of first movable portions 410 detachably provided on both left and right sides of the casing 401, respectively, and a first elastic member 411 connected between the first movable portions 410 and the casing 401, the first movable portions 410 preferably being a lever, further the lever being a lever, the first elastic member 411 preferably being a tension spring, the first elastic member 411 being disposed between the developing roller 402 and the first movable portions 410 as viewed in the left-right direction; specifically, the first movable portion 410 on the left is mounted on the non-driving side protecting cover 404 of the housing 401, the first movable portion 410 on the right is mounted on the bearing member 429 of the housing 401, and of course, alternatively, the first movable portion 410 on the left may be mounted on the main body portion 403, and the first movable portion 410 on the right may be mounted on either the main body portion 403 or the driving side protecting cover 405, which is not limitative; it should be noted that the structure and operation process of the first movable portion 410 located at the left and right sides of the developing cartridge 400 are substantially the same, and the first movable portion 410 located at the right side will be described as an example; specifically, the first movable portion 410 includes a force receiving portion located at one side end (in this embodiment, the lower end) of the first movable portion 410 and protruding outside the housing 401, the force receiving portion being capable of receiving an external force, and includes a pair of first force receiving portions 410a and second force receiving portions 410b disposed oppositely in the front-rear direction, at least a portion of the first force receiving portions 410a facing the rear side of the developing cartridge 400, and at least a portion of the second force receiving portions 410b facing the front side of the developing cartridge 400; the first movable part 410 further includes a protruding elastic member mounting position 401a provided on the other side end (upper end in the present embodiment) of the first movable part 410, and one end of the first elastic member 411 is connected to the elastic member mounting position 401a, that is, the force receiving part and the elastic member mounting position 401a are provided at both ends of the first movable part 410 in the longitudinal direction, respectively; a fulcrum 401b is further provided between the elastic member mounting position 401a and the force receiving portion, the fulcrum 401b being located between the force receiving portion and the elastic member mounting position 401a in the length direction of the first movable portion 410, the first movable portion 410 being movable between a first position and a second position with respect to the housing 401 about the fulcrum 401b, the first movable portion 410 being held in the first position as shown in fig. 14 when not subjected to an external force by the elastic force generated by the first elastic member 411; a pair of first and second stopper portions 426 and 427 protruding outward and disposed at intervals in the front-rear direction are provided on the housing 401, a space is formed between the first and second stopper portions 426 and 427 for accommodating the first movable portion 410, the first movable portion 410 is rotatable within a range defined by the space, specifically, the first stopper portion 426 is operable to restrict a movement stroke of the first movable portion 410 in a direction approaching the developing roller 402 so as to avoid disengagement thereof from the first urging portion 10a of the urging member 10 of the image forming apparatus after rotating by an excessive angle, the second stopper portion 427 is operable to restrict the first movable portion 410 to be held in the first position when no external force is applied thereto, and can drive the developing cartridge 400 to move away from the developing roller 402 when the first movable part 410 is forced to push by an external force through the contact with the first movable part 410; when the developing cartridge 400 is mounted in the image forming apparatus, as shown in fig. 15, the first force applying portion 10a of the force applying member 10 and the first force receiving portion 410a of the first movable portion 410 are opposite to each other, the first force applying portion 10a may urge the first force receiving portion 410a so that the first movable portion 410 may move from the first position to the second position with respect to the housing 401 against the elastic force of the first elastic member 411 due to the stretching, the first movable portion 410 may drive the developing cartridge 400 to move in the advancing direction under the restriction of the first restricting portion 426 of the first movable portion 410, the developing roller 402 and the photosensitive drum 2 are kept in contact with each other with a certain pressure F, in this state, the developing cartridge 400 may participate in performing a print job; as shown in fig. 16, the second force applying portion 10b of the force applying member 10 and the second force receiving portion 410b of the first movable portion 410 are opposite to each other, the second force applying portion 10b can forcedly push the second force receiving portion 410b, the first movable portion 410 drives the developing cartridge 400 to move from the first position to the third position in the retreating direction by contacting the second stopper 427 of the casing 401, and the developing roller 402 is spaced from the photosensitive drum 2 by a certain distance s, in which state the developing cartridge 400 no longer participates in performing the printing work. During the rotation of the first movable part 410 from the first position to the second position, the extending direction of the first elastic member 411 is maintained substantially unchanged, i.e., remains substantially straight extending all the time, the elastic force transmission becomes stable, and even if the first movable part 410 rotates by a large angle, the first elastic member 411 may rotate by a certain angle following the rotation of the first movable part 410 to keep the extending direction of the first elastic member 411 substantially unchanged, and thus, the contact pressure between the developing roller 402 and the photosensitive drum 2 is more stable, which contributes to improving the printing quality of the developing cartridge 400.

As can be seen from the above description, the first elastic member 411 in the present utility model is preferably a tension spring, one end of which is connected to the housing 401 and the other end of which is connected to the first movable portion 410, the first elastic member 411 has a first length L1 when the first movable portion 410 is not subjected to an external force and is in the first position, and the first elastic member 411 has a second length L2 when the first movable portion 410 is subjected to an external force and is in the second position, wherein L2 is greater than L1, that is, the first elastic member 411 is stretchable in response to movement of the first movable portion 410 when the first movable portion 410 is moved from the first position to the second position; when the developing cartridge 400 is placed in a state in which the first movable portion 410 and the electrical contact surface of the chip 406 are disposed at the lower side of the casing 401, the first engaging portion 403c is located at the lower side of the second engaging portion 403d in the up-down direction, preferably, the first engaging portion 403c has an overlapping portion with the first elastic member 411 in the up-down direction, a line segment connecting the first engaging portion 403c and the second engaging portion 403d is made in a direction intersecting the left-right direction, the line segment may pass through the first elastic member 411, after the first elastic member 411 is disposed at the above-described position, when the upper casing 403a and the lower casing 403b are disposed too far down, a problem of welding occurs to cause poor sealing of the main body portion 403, a large amount of developer accommodated by the main body portion 403 is accumulated at the first engaging portion 403c at the lower side, and a possibility of leakage through the first engaging portion 403c is liable to occur; when the first engaging portion 403c is provided excessively, this results in a larger arrangement of the lower housing 403b configured as a thin plate-like member with a corresponding increase in surface area, and thus, the mechanical strength of the lower housing 403b is difficult to be ensured, which is liable to cause bending deformation of the lower housing 403b, and therefore, the first engaging portion 403c arranged in the above-described manner has a better performance of preventing leakage of developer and a better mechanical strength.

The bearing member 429 of the casing 401 is provided with the escape portion 424, the escape portion 424 is configured to have a certain range of space defined by both the bearing member 429 and the space located on the right side of the bearing member 429, and is configured to accommodate the first elastic member 411 to avoid mounting interference of the first elastic member 411 with the driving assembly (e.g., the driving gear 421b, the transmitting gear 423) of the developing cartridge 400, specifically, as described above, the agitator rack gear 425 is disposed between the main body portion 403 of the casing 401 and the bearing member 429 in the left-right direction, that is, the agitator rack gear 425 is not disposed in the right side space of the bearing member 429, and therefore, the right end of the bearing member 429 corresponding to the agitator rack gear 425 in the left-right direction is left free, and the empty space is configured to accommodate the first elastic member 411, in other words, the first elastic member 411 and the agitator rack gear 425 have overlapping portions projected in the left-right direction; further, in the left-right direction, one end of the first elastic member 411 connected to the first movable portion 410 is disposed at the right end of the driving gear 421b, in other words, one end of the first elastic member 411 connected to the first movable portion 410 is disposed further outside the developing cartridge 400 than the driving gear 421b, and the one end of the first elastic member 411 connected to the first movable portion 410 is kept apart from the transmitting gear 423 by a distance M as viewed in the left-right direction, so that mutual interference can be avoided; further, the projection range of the first elastic member 411 is located outside the projection ranges of the driving gear 421b and the transmitting gear 423 in the left-right direction, that is, one end of the first elastic member 411 connected to the first movable portion 410 is spaced apart from the transmitting gear 423 in a direction intersecting the left-right direction, which can further avoid the first elastic member 411 and the transmitting gear 423 from interfering with each other.

Example 5

Next, embodiment 5 of the present utility model will be described with reference to fig. 21 to 40, embodiment 5 discloses a developing cartridge 500, and the developing cartridge 500 is the same as the developing cartridges in the above-described embodiments 1 to 4, and details of the differences will be described below.

First, as shown in fig. 21 to 25, there is shown an image forming apparatus 1 in the related art, the image forming apparatus 1 including a side plate 2 and a driving force applying member 3 supported by the side plate 2 and elastically stretchable with respect to the side plate 2, the driving force applying member 3 being engaged with a motor (not shown) in the image forming apparatus 1 to be able to output a rotational driving force.

The image forming apparatus 1 further includes a fixed rail 5 and a movable rail 6 provided at a downstream end of the fixed rail 5 in a mounting direction of the developing cartridge 500, the movable rail 6 being mounted and finally supported on the movable rail 6 under the guide of the fixed rail 5 and the movable rail 6 in sequence during mounting of the developing cartridge 500 to the image forming apparatus 1, the movable rail 6 being configured to be rotatable about a rotation point center 6b thereof at an angle with respect to the fixed rail 5, a spring (not shown) being further connected at the downstream end of the movable rail 6, the other end of the spring being connected to a main body of the image forming apparatus 1, in particular, the spring being an extension spring, the movable rail 6 being located at a first position when the movable rail 6 is subjected to a force from outside the image forming apparatus 1 toward a dismounting direction of the developing cartridge 500, the movable rail 6 being movable relative to the fixed rail 5 from the first position to a second position against the elastic force of the spring, that is, the movable rail 6 being movable relative to the fixed rail 5 between the first position and the second position.

The imaging apparatus 1 further includes a detecting device (not shown) and a trigger switch (not shown) for detecting the detecting device, the movable rail 6 is provided with a touch portion 6a, and when the movable rail 6 is rotated from the first position to the second position against the spring by an external pushing force, the touch portion 6a rotating together with the movable rail 6 can touch the trigger switch, so that the detecting device is conducted to perform detection; when the external force applied to the movable guide rail 6 is removed, the movable guide rail 6 is forced to reset and rotate from the second position to the first position by the elastic force of the spring, at this time, the touch part 6a no longer touches the trigger switch, the trigger switch is turned off and turned on, and the detection signal generated by the detection device is turned off and no longer detected. Therefore, as is known from the above-described configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, in order to achieve a normal printing operation, the movable rail 6 needs to be moved relative to the fixed rail 5 to touch the trigger switch, and a detailed description will be given below of how the developing cartridge 500 pushes the movable rail 6 and the related structure for achieving the related detection function.

As shown in fig. 23 to 34, there is shown a developing cartridge 500 in embodiment 5 of the present utility model, the developing cartridge 500 being detachably mountable in the above-described image forming apparatus 1 in a predetermined mounting direction, the developing cartridge 500 also including a housing 501 having a main body portion 501a which can accommodate developer, and a conductive side cover 501b and a driving side cover 501c provided on both sides of the main body portion 501a, respectively, the housing 501 further including a bearing member 508 provided between the main body portion 501a and the driving side cover 501 c; the developing cartridge 500 further includes a handle 502 provided at the rear end of the housing 501 and a developing roller 503 at the front end, and a stirring frame (not shown) for stirring the developer partially supported inside the main body portion 501 a.

Also in the present embodiment, the developing cartridge 500 includes a driving force receiving member 510 provided at the right end of the casing 501, a driving gear 505, and an elastic member 511 provided between the driving force receiving member 510 and the driving gear 505, the driving force receiving member 510 being rotatable by a rotational driving force output from the driving force applying member 3 in the image forming apparatus 1, the driving gear 505 being provided coaxially with the driving force receiving member 510 and rotatable in response to the rotation of the driving force receiving member 510, and the driving force receiving member 510 being movable in the left-right direction with respect to the casing 501; alternatively, the driving force receiving member 510 may be provided in the developing cartridge 500 so as to be fixed relative to the casing 501 in the left-right direction, and during the mounting of the developing cartridge 500, the driving force receiving member 510 may be expanded and contracted by pushing the driving force applying member 3, thereby bringing the driving force receiving member 510 into a retracted engagement, and the driving force receiving member 510 of such a structural arrangement may make the developing cartridge 500 unnecessary to provide the elastic member 511, and the structure of the developing cartridge 500 may be further simplified; further, the driving force receiving member 510 and the driving gear 505 are in clearance fit, and the driving force receiving member 510 can swing in a direction crossing the left-right direction (radial direction) with respect to the driving gear 505, which greatly reduces the probability of interference with the power output of the image forming apparatus due to manufacturing error or mounting error, and improves the coupling success rate of the driving force receiving member 510 and the driving force applying member 3; further, the elastic member 511 is configured as a conical spring, specifically, a conical coil spring, which abuts between the first limiting portion 521a configured as a protrusion on the driving force receiving member 510 and the second positioning portion 521b1 configured as a groove in the inner cavity of the driving gear 505, one end of the conical coil spring with a smaller diameter is positioned on the first positioning portion 521a of the driving force receiving member 510, and one end with a larger diameter is positioned on the second positioning portion 521b1 of the driving gear 505, so that, when an external force acts on the driving force receiving member 510, the driving force receiving member 510 can swing against the elastic force of the conical coil spring in a radial direction intersecting the left-right direction, and when the external force is removed from the driving force receiving member 510, the elastic force accumulated by the conical coil spring is released to be able to be used for resetting the driving force receiving member 510 after radial movement, so that the rotation axis of the driving force receiving member 510 moves from a direction inclined with respect to the left-right direction to a direction parallel to the driving force direction, that is to be coaxial with the driving gear 505, and thus, the first positioning member 510 is provided with the first positioning portion 521b, which is configured as a rotatable positioning member 521b, can be positioned on the driving force receiving member 505, and the second positioning member 521b is not provided.

In addition, the developing cartridge 500 further includes a developing roller gear 506 directly engaged with the driving gear 505 to receive a rotational driving force, the developing roller gear 506 being provided at the right end of the developing roller 503 and being capable of driving the developing roller 503 to rotate; and a transmission gear 507 directly engaged with the drive gear 505 and a stirring frame gear 519 engaged with the transmission gear 507, the stirring frame gear 519 being provided at the right end of the stirring frame, the stirring frame gear 519 being rotatable by receiving the rotational driving force of the drive gear 505 via the transmission gear 507, and further being capable of driving the stirring frame to rotate.

The developing cartridge 500 further includes first movable portions 520 provided at both left and right ends of the housing 501, respectively, the first movable portions 520 being movably supported on the housing 501, the first movable portions 520 located at both left and right ends of the housing 501 having substantially the same structure and position, and the first movable portions 520 located at the right end of the housing 501 will be described for convenience of description; specifically, the driving-side protecting cover 501c is provided with a first rail 521 configured as an arc-shaped groove and a stopper 509 configured as a protrusion provided on the housing 501 at a rear end of the first rail 521, and a portion of the first movable portion 520 is mounted on the first rail 521 and movable along a path preset by the first rail 521, which is stopped by the stopper 509 to be stopped in a moving process to be away from the developing roller 503, to limit a moving stroke of the first movable portion 520; further, the first movable portion 520 is slidably mounted on the housing 501 with respect to the housing 501; the first movable portion 520 is movable relative to the housing 501 between a first position, in which the developing cartridge 500 is located when the first movable portion 520 is not subjected to an external force, near the developing roller 503, and a second position, in which the developing roller 503 is distant from the first movable portion 520; specifically, the first movable portion 520 includes a force receiving portion located at one side end (in this embodiment, the lower end) of the first movable portion 520 and protruding outside the housing 501, the force receiving portion being capable of receiving a urging force from the urging member 10 in the image forming apparatus 1, the force receiving portion including a pair of first force receiving portion 520a and second force receiving portion 520b disposed oppositely in the front-rear direction, at least a portion of the force receiving portion 520a including a portion of the first force receiving portion 520a facing the front side of the developing cartridge 500, and at least a portion of the second force receiving portion 520b facing the rear side of the developing cartridge 500; the first movable portion 520 further includes a catching portion 520c provided on the other side end (upper end in this embodiment) of the first movable portion 520 and configured to protrude, the first catching portion 520c being caught in the movable rail 6 of the image forming apparatus 1 when the developing cartridge 500 is mounted in the image forming apparatus 1, the first catching portion 520c being capable of driving the movable rail 6 to swing backward in the course of moving the first catching portion 520c from the first position to the second position with respect to the housing 501 by the urging member 10 urging the first force receiving portion 520a of the first movable portion 520 when the developing cartridge 500 needs to be detected by the image forming apparatus 1, so that the touching portion 6a of the movable rail 6 touches the detection switch of the image forming apparatus 1 to realize the detection function, that is, during the movement of the first movable portion 520 from the first position to the second position to realize the detection function by the image forming apparatus 1, the developing cartridge 500 is still located at the first position, that is, the housing 501 and the driving force receiving member 510 supported on the housing 501 will remain stationary with respect to the driving force applying member 3, the driving force receiving member 510 and the driving force applying member 3 will remain in the engaged state without being disengaged from each other, and therefore, compared to the prior art, abrasion and interference between the two due to frequent engagement and disengagement will be avoided.

A second elastic member 532 is further provided between the housing 501 and the first movable portion 520, specifically, the second elastic member 532 is connected at one end to the driving side cover 501c and at the other end to the upper end of the first movable portion 520 (i.e., the end facing away from the force receiving portion) because the agitator frame gear 519 is disposed between the main body portion 501a of the housing 501 and the bearing member 508 in the left-right direction, that is, in a right-side space where the bearing member 508 is not provided in the agitator frame gear 519, the right end of the bearing member 508 corresponding to the agitator frame gear 519 in the left-right direction is left-right-side space which is available for accommodating the second elastic member 532, in other words, projected in the left-right direction, the second elastic member 532 has an overlapping portion with the agitator frame gear 519, and when the first movable portion 520 of the developing cartridge 500 is not subjected to an external force, the elastic force generated by the second elastic member 532 can act on the first movable portion 520 to hold the first movable portion 520 in the first position, when the first force receiving portion 520a of the first movable portion 520 is forced by an external force, the first movable portion 520 is movable rearward from the first position to the second position with respect to the housing 501 against the elastic force of the second elastic member 532, the first movable portion 520 in the second position is further away from the developing roller 503 than the first movable portion 520 in the first position, after the external force is removed from the first movable portion 520, the elastic force of the second elastic member 532 is released and exerted on the first movable portion 520 such that the first movable portion 520 is moved from the second position to the first position in a return manner, that is, the second elastic member 532 is operable to hold the first movable portion 520 in the first position when the first movable portion is not acted upon by the external force and is also operable to move the first movable portion 520 from the second position to the first position in a return manner, it should be noted that, the second elastic member 532 is a tension spring, and during the movement of the first movable portion 520, the second elastic member 532 with one end connected thereto can swing along with the movement of the first movable portion 520, so as to avoid bending to affect the connection stability of the two.

The developing cartridge 500 further includes a second movable portion 516 provided at the lower side of the casing 501, the second movable portion 516 being provided separately from the first movable portion 520 and movable in the mounting direction of the developing cartridge 500 with respect to the casing 501, in the present utility model, the second movable portion 516 is configured as a slider, and a second rail 517 configured as a chute is provided on the bearing member 508 of the casing 501, the second rail 517 extending substantially in the mounting direction of the developing cartridge 500, alternatively, the extending direction of the second rail 517 may be a direction intersecting the front-rear direction as long as it has a portion extending in the front-rear direction, the second movable portion 516 being mounted on the second rail 517 and movable along a path preset for the second rail 517, i.e., the second movable portion 516 is slidable in a direction toward or away from the developing roller 503 with respect to the casing 501 along the second rail 517, and, in the mounting direction of the developing cartridge 500, both the upstream side and the downstream side of the second rail 517 are provided with a second blocking portion 531 for blocking and restricting the movement of the second movable portion 516, and the second movable blocking portion 531 may be movable within a certain range 531.

Furthermore, a first elastic member 515 is connected between the housing 501 and the second movable portion 516, that is, a first connecting portion of one end of the first elastic member 515 is connected to the housing 501 and a second connecting portion of the other end is connected to the second movable portion 516, the first connecting portion of the first elastic member 515 being located on the rear side of the second connecting portion, in other words, on the upstream side of the second connecting portion in the mounting direction of the developing cartridge 500; preferably, the first elastic member 515 is a tension spring, the first and second connection portions are configured as hooks and loops, which can be hooked on the housing 501 and the second movable portion 516, respectively, to be positioned, between a pair of hooks and loops, the first elastic member 515 is further provided with a deformable portion 115a connecting the first and second connection portions, the deformable portion 115a is configured as a plurality of coils arranged along a length direction of the tension spring, the first movable portion 520 covers at least a portion of the deformable portion 115a of the first elastic member 515 when viewed from right to left, in other words, the first movable portion 520 has an overlapping portion with the deformable portion 115a of the first elastic member 515, when the first movable portion 520 is not subjected to an external force, the elastic force generated by the first elastic member 515 may act on the second movable portion 516 to be brought into abutment with and hold the upstream-side blocking portion 531 at a position defined as a first position of the second movable portion 516 for convenience of description, when the second movable portion 516 is located at the first position, projected in the left-right direction, the projected range of the first elastic member 515 is located outside the projected range of the stirring rack gear 519, in other words, in a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction, the first elastic member 515 is spaced apart from the stirring rack gear 519, which makes the first elastic member 515 as far as possible from the stirring rack gear 519, avoiding interference of the respective parts which are easily caused by providing too many parts at the position where the agitating frame gear 519 is covered in the left-right direction, allows the respective parts to be arranged at the right end of the casing 501 in a relatively uniform manner, and when the second force receiving portion 520b of the first movable portion 520 is subjected to urging force forward (toward the direction approaching the developing roller 503), the first movable portion 520 arranged with the above-described position can be moved forward against the elastic force of the second elastic member 532 and urge the second movable portion 516 from the first position to the third position, the first movable portion 520 in the third position having its force receiving portion closer to the developing roller 503 than the first movable portion 520 in the first position, at the same time, the second movable portion 516 is movable along the second rail 517 from the first position to a second position closer to the developing roller 503 than the first position against the elastic force of the first elastic member 515, and during the movement of the second movable portion 516, the elastic force generated by the deformation of the first elastic member 515 is applied to the casing 501, the elastic force having a component force directed toward the direction approaching the developing roller 503, which causes the developing roller 503 supported on the casing 501 to press forward against the photosensitive drum 23, and the both are kept in contact with a certain pressure F to ensure the normal development imaging of the developing cartridge 500, and at this time, the developing cartridge 500 is in the second position, although the developing cartridge 500 moves in this process, the distance of movement thereof is small and the driving force receiving member 510 has a certain swingable amount in the radial direction, which will be insufficient to disengage the driving force receiving member 510 from the driving force applying member 3, and therefore, the developing cartridge 500 in the second position, the driving force receiving member 510 and the driving force applying member 3 remain engaged. It should be noted that, during the movement of the second movable portion 516, the stretching direction of the first elastic member 515 when stretched is substantially parallel to the movement direction of the second movable portion 516, so that during the movement of the second movable portion 516, the extending direction of the length of the first elastic member 515 remains substantially unchanged, the force transmission direction does not change with the movement of the second movable portion 516, and the elastic force transmitted to the developing roller 503 becomes stable and controllable.

In general, the developing cartridge 500 in the present utility model, regardless of whether the movable rail 6 is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 23 with the developing roller 503 at a certain pressure F or with the image forming apparatus 1, the driving force receiving member 510 of the developing cartridge 500 and the driving force applying member 3 are kept in the engaged state all the time, which will avoid abrasion and interference between the two due to frequent engagement and disengagement, relative to the prior art.

Example 6

Next, embodiment 6 of the present utility model will be described, as shown in fig. 35, showing a developing cartridge 600, the developing cartridge 600 being the same as that of embodiment 6 described above, and will not be described in detail in this embodiment, except that the first movable portion 620 in this embodiment is rotatable with respect to the casing 601, that is, the first movable portion 620 is rotatable between a first position, a second position and a third position, and specifically, the first movable portion 620 is a lever having a rotation center 620d, the rotation center 620d being located on the first movable portion 620 as viewed from the left-right direction, and preferably, a mounting portion for mounting the second elastic member 632 on the first movable portion 620 is provided between the force receiving portion and the rotation center 220 d; further, the rotation center 620d is located at one end of the first movable portion 620 in the length direction, that is, the rotation center 220d is disposed at the other end (and the upper end) of the first movable portion 620 opposite to the first force receiving portion 620a, so that, on one hand, the first movable portion 620 can force the first clamping portion 620c to rotate by a sufficient angle during the process of rotating from the first position to the second position, thereby driving the movable rail 6 to swing backward, so that the touching portion 6a of the movable rail 6 can touch the detection switch of the imaging apparatus 1 to realize the detection function, and on the other hand, the displacement distance of the side of the first movable portion 620 where the rotation center 620d is located can be made sufficiently small, so that interference between the first movable portion 620 and the transmission gear during the rotation process can be avoided; the operation of the first movable portion 620 when the first movable portion 620 is forced to push the second movable portion 616 will not be described herein. Therefore, by providing the first movable portion 620 in a rotatable structure with respect to the housing 601, the same can achieve the above-described function of the developing cartridge.

Example 7

Next, embodiment 7 of the present utility model will be described, and as shown in fig. 36 to 40, a developing cartridge 700 is shown, and the developing cartridge 700 is the same as that of the above-described embodiments 5 to 6, and will not be described in detail in this embodiment, except that only one elastic member, namely, the second elastic member 740, is disposed in the developing cartridge 700, and the developing cartridge 700 will be described in detail.

The first movable portion 720 of the developing cartridge 700 is the same as the first movable portion in embodiment 6, and both of them are rotatable about the rotation center 720d of the casing 701, which will not be described again, and alternatively, may be a structure slidable with respect to the casing as in embodiment 5, which is not limited thereto; a groove 701f recessed inward from the right end surface of the housing 701 is further provided at the right end portion of the housing 701, the groove 710f having a substantially fan-shaped outer shape when viewed from right to left, and a third rail 701e having an arc-shaped configuration is further provided at the bottom of the groove 310f, the third rail 701e having a substantially extending direction from the first rail; the developing cartridge 700 further includes a first mounting position 701d protruding outward from the right end portion of the housing 701 and disposed between the rotation center 720d and the third rail 701e in the up-down direction, and a second mounting position 720e provided on the first movable portion 720 protruding toward the left end of the housing 701, the second mounting position 720e being insertable into the third rail 701e to be able to position the first movable portion 720 such that the first movable portion 720 is movable along a path preset by the third rail 701 e.

The second elastic member 740 is rotatably installed on the housing 701 with respect to the housing 701, at least a portion of the second elastic member 740 is positioned in the groove part 701f to avoid interference of components of the developing cartridge 700 such as a transmission gear during rotation thereof, and both lengthwise ends of the second elastic member 740 are installed between the first installation site 701d and the second installation site 720e to be positioned; the second elastic member 740 is disposed at a position closer to the left end of the housing 701 with respect to the force receiving portion of the first movable portion 720 in the left-right direction, thereby ensuring that the second elastic member 740 can be accommodated in the groove portion 701f, thereby avoiding interference.

As can be seen from the foregoing embodiments, when the first movable portion 720 is not subjected to the external force, the first movable portion 720 is at the first position, and at this time, the second elastic member 740 is not stretched, and the state in which the first movable portion 720 is at the first position is maintained; the second elastic member 740 rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction of the first movable part 720 in response to the rotation of the first movable part 720 and is gradually stretched while the first movable part 720 rotates from the first position to the second position, and an elastic force generated by the stretching can be used to reset the first movable part 720 to move again from the second position to the first position after the pushing force acting on the first movable part 720 is removed; when the first movable part 720 is moved from the first position to the third position, the second elastic member 740 is also stretched to generate an elastic force that can act on the casing 701 so that the developing roller 703 supported on the casing 701 is pressed toward the photosensitive drum, thereby keeping the developing roller 703 in contact with the photosensitive drum with a certain pressure, that is, the second elastic member 740 can provide a pressure for the contact between the developing roller 703 and the photosensitive drum after being stretched; in general, the first movable portion 720 is maintained at the first position by the second elastic member 740 when not being stressed, the first movable portion 720 is forced to move from the first position to the second position, the elastic force generated by the second elastic member 740 is deformed by stretching and the elastic force generated by the second elastic member 740 is used for restoring the first movable portion 720, the first movable portion 720 is forced to rotate from the first position to the third position, and the elastic force generated by the second elastic member 740 is also deformed by stretching and the elastic force generated by the second elastic member 740 is used for forcing the developing roller 703 to be kept in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum; further, the length of the first mounting position 701d from the second mounting position 720e of the first movable part 720 when the first movable part 720 is in the first position is L1, the length of the first mounting position 701d from the second mounting position 720e of the first movable part 720 when the first movable part 720 is in the second position is L2, the length of the first mounting position 701d from the second mounting position 720e of the first movable part 720 when the first movable part 720 is in the third position is L3, in other words, L2 > L3 > L1, the length of the second elastic member 740 is P1 when the first movable part 720 is in the first position, the length of the second elastic member 740 is P2 when the first movable part 720 is in the second position, and the length of the second elastic member 740 is P3 and P2 > P3 > P1 when the first movable part 720 is in the third position, by this arrangement makes the angle of rotation when the first movable part 720 is moved from the first position to the third position greater than the angle of rotation when the first movable part 720 is moved from the first position to the third position, in order to enable the movable part 720 to move to the detection function of the touch the movable rail 6a to be driven to the detection function of the touch the movable rail 1.

Therefore, it can be appreciated that the developing cartridge 700 of the present embodiment can achieve the above-described function by using only one second elastic member 740 rotatable in response to the movement of the first movable portion 720, which reduces the number of elastic members used, reduces the manufacturing cost, and increases the assembling speed of the developing cartridge, compared to the previous embodiment.

On the one hand, by providing the first movable portion which is movable relative to the housing and which can trigger the detection switch of the image forming apparatus, when the first movable portion triggers the detection switch to realize the detection function, the driving force receiving member and the driving force applying member are not disengaged from each other but are kept in the engaged state all the time, which will avoid abrasion and interference between the two due to frequent engagement and disengagement, compared to the prior art;

On the other hand, by providing the elastic member rotatable relative to the casing in response to the movement of the movable portion, the extending direction of the length of the elastic member is maintained substantially unchanged, that is, substantially straight line extension is maintained at all times, and the elastic force transmission becomes stable, so that the contact pressure between the developing roller and the photosensitive drum becomes more stable, which contributes to improvement of the printing quality of the developing cartridge.

Claims

1. A developing cartridge detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus having a force applying member, said developing cartridge comprising: a housing that accommodates a developer, the housing having a first end and a second end opposite the first end in a first direction;

Wherein the developing cartridge further includes a first elastic member that is stretch-deformable in response to movement of the first movable portion.

2. A developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said first elastic members are disposed at first and second ends of said housing, respectively, and when said first movable portion is moved in response to the urging force of said urging member, the elastic forces of said first elastic members at the first and second ends of said housing are equal.

3. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first elastic members are disposed at a first end and a second end of the housing, respectively, and when the first movable portion is moved in response to the urging force of the urging member, an elastic force of the first elastic member at the first end of the housing is smaller than an elastic force of the first elastic member at the second end of the housing.

4. A developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said first movable portion is movable relative to said housing about a fulcrum, said first movable portion includes a force receiving portion that can receive an urging force of said urging member, and an elastic member mounting position to which said first elastic member is connected, said fulcrum is located between said force receiving portion and said elastic member mounting position, said force receiving portion and said elastic member mounting position are provided at both ends in a longitudinal direction of said first movable portion, respectively.

5. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the casing includes an upper casing and a lower casing, and first and second engaging portions as connecting the upper casing and the lower casing, the first engaging portion being located on a downstream side of the developing cartridge mounting direction and configured to extend from a first end to a second end of the casing, the second engaging portion being located on an upstream side of the developing cartridge mounting direction and configured to extend from the first end to the second end of the casing; and in a direction crossing the first direction, making a line segment connecting the first joint part and the second joint part, wherein the line segment passes through the first elastic piece.

6. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a stirring frame for stirring the developer and a stirring frame gear connected to one end of the stirring frame and rotatable to drive the stirring frame, wherein the first elastic member has an overlapping portion with the stirring frame gear in a projection in a first direction.

7. A developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said image forming apparatus includes a movable rail, said first movable portion receiving an urging force of said urging member and being movable relative to said housing to drive said movable rail; the developing cartridge further comprises a second movable part which is arranged with the first movable part body and is connected with the first elastic piece, and the second movable part can respond to the movement of the first movable part to move relative to the shell, so that the first elastic piece can be driven to stretch and deform.

8. The developing cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the first movable portion and the second movable portion are both slidably mounted on the housing.

9. The developing cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the first elastic member includes a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion connected to the housing and the second movable portion, respectively, and a deformable portion connecting the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion and being deformable, the deformable portion having an overlapping portion with the first movable portion, projected in a first direction.

10. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a stirring frame and a stirring frame gear provided at an end of the stirring frame and rotatable to drive the stirring frame, wherein when the first movable portion is projected in the first direction without receiving the urging force of the urging member, the projection range of the first elastic member is located outside the projection range of the stirring frame gear.

11. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first movable portion is rotatable relative to the housing about a rotation center on the first movable portion.

12. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a second elastic member attached to the first movable portion, the second elastic member being capable of returning and moving the first movable portion to a position before receiving the urging force of the urging member.

13. A developing cartridge according to claim 12, wherein said second elastic member is rotatable relative to said housing in response to movement of said first movable portion.

14. A developing cartridge according to claim 13, wherein said first movable portion includes a force receiving portion for receiving an urging force of said urging member, said first movable portion being movable between a first position, in which said first movable portion is in said first position when said first movable portion is not subjected to an external force, said first elastic member having a length P1; when the first movable portion is in the second position, the first elastic member has a length P2, and the force receiving portion is located at the second position farther from the developing roller than at the first position and the third position; when the first movable portion is in the third position, the first elastic member has a length P3, and the force receiving portion is located at the third position closer to the developing roller than at the first position and the second position, wherein P2 > P3 > P1.