JP7419481B2 - image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning an image bearing member carrying developer, a cartridge equipped with this cleaning device and used in an electrophotographic image forming device, and an electrophotographic image forming device.
An electrophotographic image forming device forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming method, and examples thereof include an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (LED printer, laser beam printer, etc.), and a facsimile machine. and word processors, etc.

In so-called process cartridge type image forming apparatuses, not only cartridges that are compatible with the main body of the image forming apparatus into which the cartridge is installed, but also cartridges that are not compatible may be installed in the cartridge mounting part of the main body of the image forming apparatus. be. This is incorrect cartridge mounting (erroneous insertion). A cartridge that is compatible with the main body of the image forming apparatus is, for example, a cartridge that has the same product model. Hereinafter, a cartridge that is compatible with the main body of an image forming apparatus will be referred to as a compatible cartridge, and a cartridge that is not compatible will be referred to as a non-compatible cartridge.
Patent Document 1 proposes a method for preventing incorrect installation of an unsuitable cartridge as described above. This occurs because when a non-conforming cartridge is inserted into the main body of an image forming apparatus, the movable base provided near the opening of the main body of the image forming apparatus cannot engage with the boss provided on the non-conforming cartridge. This is a method that prevents attachment. That is, in the above-mentioned configuration, an engaging portion is provided on the movable base, and a compatible cartridge has a configuration in which the movable base and the boss of the cartridge engage, and a non-compatible cartridge has a configuration in which the movable portion and the boss interfere to prevent further insertion. It is being

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-66794

An object of the present invention is to further develop the above-mentioned conventional example, and to provide a technique that can more reliably determine whether or not a cartridge is compatible with an image forming apparatus using a simple configuration.

In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes:
The device body,
a cartridge configured to be removable from the device main body in a mounting direction;
Equipped with
The cartridge is
a positioned portion protruding in a direction intersecting the mounting direction;
a pressing part;
has
configured such that the relative position of the positioned portion and the pressing portion does not change when moved in the mounting direction,
The device main body is
a positioning part that comes into contact with the positioned part of the cartridge and positions the cartridge in the mounting direction with respect to the apparatus main body;
a guide portion that guides the positioned portion of the cartridge toward the positioning portion when the cartridge is moved in the mounting direction;
a movable member having a pressed portion and configured to rotate from a first position to a second position around a rotation axis extending in a direction in which the positioned portion of the cartridge protrudes;
has
When the movable member is in the first position, a portion of the movable member is located within a movement path of the positioned portion of the cartridge in the guide portion;
When the movable member is in the second position, the part of the movable member is located outside the movement path;
When the cartridge is moved in the mounting direction, the pressing portion of the cartridge presses the pressed portion of the movable member to move the movable member from the first position to the second position. move it,
While the movable member is in the second position due to the pressure of the pressing portion, the positioned portion of the cartridge passes through the part of the movable member and comes into contact with the positioning portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to more reliably determine whether or not a cartridge is compatible with an image forming apparatus with a simple configuration.

An explanatory diagram of the operation of the configuration to prevent incorrect installation when inserting a compatible cartridge in the embodiment An explanatory diagram of the operation of the configuration to prevent incorrect installation when inserting a compatible cartridge in the embodiment An explanatory diagram of the operation of the configuration to prevent incorrect installation when inserting a compatible cartridge in the embodiment An explanatory diagram of the operation of the configuration to prevent incorrect installation when inserting a compatible cartridge in the embodiment An explanatory diagram of the operation of the configuration to prevent incorrect installation when inserting a compatible cartridge in the embodiment Schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus in an example Schematic sectional view of a cartridge in an example Exploded view of cartridge in example Exploded view of cartridge in example Schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus in an example Schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus in an example A diagram showing how a cartridge is installed in an image forming apparatus in an embodiment. An explanatory diagram of the operation of the configuration for preventing incorrect installation when a non-conforming cartridge is inserted in the embodiment An explanatory diagram of the operation of the configuration to prevent incorrect installation when taking out a compatible cartridge in the embodiment

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, with reference to drawings, the form for implementing this invention is illustratively described in detail based on an Example. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangement of the components described in this embodiment should be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration of the device to which the invention is applied and various conditions. That is, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following embodiments.

A cartridge and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a laser beam printer will be described as an example of an image forming apparatus, and a cartridge used in the laser beam printer will be described as an example of a cartridge.
In the following description, it is assumed that the longitudinal direction of the cartridge coincides with the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum, which is an image carrier.
Further, the reference numerals in the description are used to refer to the drawings, and do not limit the structure.
Furthermore, the component configuration that is integrated into the cartridge is appropriately designed depending on the device configuration, etc., and is not limited to the component configuration of the cartridge shown here.

[Example 1]
[Overall configuration of image forming apparatus]
FIG. 2 shows an image forming apparatus main body A (hereinafter referred to as "apparatus main body A") in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "image forming apparatus") according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and a cartridge as a first cartridge. FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of cartridge B. FIG.
Here, the apparatus main body A is the part of the image forming apparatus excluding the cartridge B.

The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is a laser beam printer using electrophotographic technology in which a cartridge B is removably attached to the main body A of the apparatus.
A sheet tray 4 on which a recording medium (recording material) (hereinafter referred to as "sheet PA") on which an image is to be formed is stacked is arranged below the cartridge B.
Further, the apparatus main body A includes a pickup roller 5a, a pair of feeding rollers 5b, a transfer guide 6, a transfer roller 7, a conveyance guide 8, a fixing device 9, a pair of discharge rollers 10, and a discharge roller along the conveyance direction D of the sheet PA. Trays 11 and the like are arranged in sequence. Note that the fixing device 9 includes a heating roller 9a and a pressure roller 9b.

[Image formation process]
Next, an outline of the image forming process will be explained. Based on the print start signal, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum (hereinafter referred to as the photosensitive drum 62 or simply drum 62) moves at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the direction of arrow R in FIGS. 2 and 3. Rotationally driven.
A charging roller (charging member) 66 to which a bias voltage is applied comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62, and uniformly charges the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62.
The exposure device 3 outputs laser light L according to image information. The laser light L passes through a laser aperture 71h provided in the cleaning frame 71 of the cartridge B, and scans and exposes the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, in the developing unit 20 as a developing device, the toner T in the toner chamber 29 is stirred and conveyed by the rotation of the conveying member (stirring member) 43, and sent to the toner supply chamber 28.
The toner T is carried on the surface of the developing roller (developing sleeve) 32 by the magnetic force of the magnet roller 34 (fixed magnet). The developing roller 32 is a developer carrier that carries developer (toner T) on its surface in order to develop the latent image formed on the drum 62 .
While the toner T is triboelectrically charged by the developing blade 42, the layer thickness on the circumferential surface of the developing roller 32, which serves as a developer carrier, is regulated.

The toner T is supplied to the drum 62 according to the electrostatic latent image, and develops the latent image. Thereby, the latent image is visualized as a toner image (developer image). The drum 62 is an image carrier that carries a latent image or an image formed with toner (toner image, developer image) on its surface. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet material PA stored in the lower part of the apparatus main body A is sent out from the sheet tray 4 by the pickup roller 5a and the feeding roller pair 5b in synchronization with the output timing of the laser beam L. Then, the sheet material PA is conveyed to a transfer position between the drum 62 and the transfer roller 7 via the transfer guide 6. At this transfer position, the toner images are sequentially transferred from the drum 62 to the sheet material PA.

The sheet material PA to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the drum 62 and conveyed to the fixing device 9 along the conveyance guide 8 . Then, the sheet material PA passes through a nip portion between a heating roller 9a and a pressure roller 9b that constitute the fixing device 9. A pressure/heat fixing process is performed in this nip portion, and the toner image is fixed on the sheet material PA. The sheet material PA on which the toner image has been fixed is conveyed to a pair of discharge rollers 10 and discharged onto a discharge tray 11 .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the residual toner on the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62 after the transfer is removed by a cleaning blade 77, and the drum 62 is used again for the image forming process. The toner removed from the drum 62 is stored in the waste toner chamber 71b of the cleaning unit 60. The cleaning unit 60 is a unit that includes a photoreceptor drum 62.
In the above, the charging roller 66, the developing roller 32, the transfer roller 7, and the cleaning blade 77 are process means that act on the drum 62.

[Overall cartridge configuration]
Next, the overall structure of the cartridge B will be explained using FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cartridge B, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are exploded perspective views illustrating the structure of the cartridge B. In this embodiment, the description of screws used to connect each component will be omitted.

Cartridge B includes a cleaning unit (photoreceptor holding unit, drum holding unit, image carrier holding unit, first unit) 60 and a developing unit (developer carrier holding unit, second unit) 20.
Generally, a process cartridge is a cartridge that integrally includes an electrophotographic photoreceptor and at least one of process means that acts on it, and is attached to the main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (apparatus main body). It is removable. Examples of process means include charging means, developing means and cleaning means.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning unit 60 includes a drum 62, a charging roller 66, a cleaning member 77, and a cleaning frame 71 that supports these members.
As shown in FIG. 4, on the drive side of the drum 62, a drive-side drum flange 63 provided at the drive-side end of the drum 62 is rotatably supported by a hole 73a of a drum bearing 73. In a broader sense, the drum bearing 73 and the cleaning frame 71 can also be collectively referred to as a cleaning frame.
As shown in FIG. 5, on the non-drive side, a hole (not shown) in the drum flange on the non-drive side is rotatably supported by a drum shaft 78 press-fitted into a hole 71c provided in the cleaning frame 71. The configuration is as follows.
Each drum flange is a supported part rotatably supported by a bearing part.

In the cleaning unit 60, the charging roller 66 and the cleaning member 77 are arranged in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 62, respectively.
The cleaning member 77 includes a rubber blade 77a that is a blade-shaped elastic member made of rubber as an elastic material, and a support member 77b that supports the rubber blade. The rubber blade 77a is in contact with the drum 62 in a counter direction to the rotational direction of the drum 62. That is, the rubber blade 77a is in contact with the drum 62 such that its tip portion faces upstream in the rotational direction of the drum 62.

As shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner removed from the surface of the drum 62 by the cleaning member 77 is stored in a waste toner chamber 71b formed by the cleaning frame 71 and the cleaning member 77.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a scooping sheet 65 for preventing waste toner from leaking from the cleaning frame 71 is provided at the edge of the cleaning frame 71 so as to come into contact with the drum 62.

The charging roller 66 is rotatably attached to the cleaning unit 60 via charging roller bearings 67 at both ends of the cleaning frame 71 in the longitudinal direction.
Note that the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame 71 (the longitudinal direction of the cartridge B) is substantially parallel to the direction in which the rotational axis of the drum 62 extends (the axial direction). Therefore, hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, when simply referring to the longitudinal direction or simply the axial direction, the axial direction of the drum 62 is intended.
The charging roller 66 is pressed against the drum 62 by a charging roller bearing 67 being pressed toward the drum 62 by an urging member 68 . The charging roller 66 rotates as the drum 62 rotates.

As shown in FIG. 3, the developing unit 20 includes a developing roller 32, a developing container 23 that supports the developing roller 32, a developing blade 42, and the like. The developing roller 32 is rotatably attached to the developing container 23 by bearing members 26 (FIG. 4) and 27 (FIG. 5) provided at both ends.

Further, a magnet roller 34 is provided inside the developing roller 32. In the developing unit 20, a developing blade 42 for regulating the toner layer on the developing roller 32 is arranged. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, spacing members 38 are attached to both ends of the developing roller 32, and when the spacing members 38 and the drum 62 come into contact with each other, the developing roller 32 is attached to the drum 62. 62 and is held with a slight gap.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a blow-out prevention sheet 33 for preventing toner from leaking from the developing unit 20 is provided at the edge of the bottom member 22 so as to come into contact with the developing roller 32. Further, a conveyance member 43 is provided in the toner chamber 29 formed by the developer container 23 and the bottom member 22 . The conveyance member 43 stirs the toner contained in the toner chamber 29 and conveys the toner to the toner supply chamber 28 .

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cartridge B is constructed by combining a cleaning unit 60 and a developing unit 20.

When the developing unit and cleaning unit are connected, first, the center of the first developing support boss 26a of the bearing member 26 is connected to the first hanging hole 71i on the driving side of the cleaning frame 71, and the second hanging hole 71j on the non-driving side. The center of the second developing support boss 27a of the bearing member 27 is aligned with the center of the bearing member 27. Specifically, by moving the developing unit 20 in the direction of arrow G, the first developing support boss 26a and the second developing support boss 27a fit into the first hanging hole 71i and the second hanging hole 71j. Thereby, the developing unit 20 is movably connected to the cleaning unit 60. More specifically, the developing unit 20 is rotatably (rotatably) connected to the cleaning unit 60 . That is, the developing roller 32 is connected to the drum 62 so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from it. Thereafter, the cartridge B is constructed by assembling the drum bearing 73 to the cleaning unit 60.

In this embodiment, the driving side biasing member 46L (FIG. 5) and the non-driving side biasing member 46R (FIG. 4) are formed of compression springs. Due to the biasing forces of these springs, the driving side biasing member 46L and the non-driving side biasing member 46R are configured to reliably press the developing roller 32 toward the drum 62 by biasing the developing unit 20 against the cleaning unit 60. do. Furthermore, a spacing member 38 attached to both ends of the developing roller 32 is provided. That is, the drum 62 and the developing roller 32 come into contact with each other with a predetermined contact pressure via the spacing member 38, so that the developing roller 32 is held at a predetermined distance from the drum 62, and their relative positions are determined.

Here, in order to stably develop the electrostatic latent image on the drum 62 with the toner T carried on the circumferential surface of the developing roller 32, the distance between the drum 62 and the developing roller 32 must be kept constant and accurate. It is desirable that In other words, the contact pressure when the drum 62 and the developing roller 32 come into contact with each other via the spacing member 38 is required to be stable.

[Installing the cartridge]
Next, installation of the cartridge B will be explained in detail using FIGS. 6(a), 6(b), 7(a), 7(b), 8(a), and 8(b). do. FIG. 6(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the drive-side guide section of image forming apparatus A for explaining the mounting of the cartridge B, and FIG. 6(b) is an image for explaining the mounting of the cartridge B. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a non-drive side guide portion of the forming apparatus A. FIG. 7A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the drive side of the image forming apparatus A for explaining the positioning of the cartridge B. FIG. FIG. 7B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the non-drive side of the image forming apparatus A for explaining the positioning of the cartridge B. FIG. FIG. 8(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the drive-side guide section of image forming apparatus A for explaining the mounting of the cartridge B, and FIG. 8(b) is an image for explaining the mounting of the cartridge B. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a non-drive side guide portion of the forming apparatus A.

I will explain how to install cartridge B. As shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), the first driving side plate 15 has a guide rail top 15g and a guide rail 15h as a guide, and the non-driving side plate 16 has a guide rail 16d. and a guide rail 16e. Further, the drum bearing 73 provided on the drive side of the cartridge B has a rotation stopping portion 73c.
Note that the mounting direction of the cartridge B is a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the drum 62 (see arrow C).

Further, the cleaning frame 71 has a positioning portion 71d and a rotation stopping portion 71g on the non-driven side in the longitudinal direction. When the cartridge B is installed through the cartridge insertion port 17 of the apparatus main body A, the boss 73g and rotation stopper 73c of the cartridge B are guided by the guide rail top 15g and the guide rail 15h of the apparatus main body A on the driving side of the cartridge B. On the non-driven side of the cartridge B, the positioned portion 71d and the rotation stop portion 71g of the cartridge B are guided by the guide rail 16d and the guide rail 16e of the apparatus main body A. As a result, the cartridge B is attached to the main body A of the apparatus.

Next, a state in which the opening/closing door 13 is closed will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 6(a), 6(b), 7(a), and 7(b), the first drive side plate 15 includes an upper positioning part 15a for positioning, a lower positioning part 15b, and a rotation stopper. It has an upper portion 15c1 and a rotation stopper portion 15c2. Further, the non-driving side plate 16 has a positioning portion 16a, an upper rotation stop portion 16c1, and a lower rotation stop portion 16c2. The drum bearing 73 has an upper part to be positioned (a first part to be positioned, a first projection, a first overhang) 73d and a lower part to be positioned (a second part to be positioned, a second projection, a second projection). It has a projecting portion) 73f.

Further, the cartridge pressing members 1 and 2 are rotatably attached to both ends of the opening/closing door 13 in the axial direction. The cartridge pressing springs 19 and 21 are respectively attached to both ends of a front plate provided in the image forming apparatus A in the longitudinal direction. The drum bearing 73 has a pressed portion 73e as a biasing force receiving portion, and the cleaning frame 71 has a pressed portion 71o on the non-drive side (see FIGS. 3, 6, and 7). By closing the door 13, the pressed parts 73e and 71o of the cartridge B are pressed by the cartridge pressing members 1 and 2 urged by the cartridge pressing springs 19 and 21 of the apparatus main body A (see FIG. 7).

As a result, on the driving side, the upper positioning part 73d, the lower positioning part 73f, and the rotation stopper part 73c of the cartridge B come into contact with the upper positioning part 15a, the lower positioning part 15b, and the rotation stopper part 15c of the apparatus main body A, respectively. . As a result, the cartridge B and the drum 62 are positioned on the drive side. Furthermore, on the non-driven side, the positioned portion 71d and the rotation stopper 71g of the cartridge B abut against the positioning portion 16a and the rotation stopper 16c of the apparatus main body A, respectively. As a result, the cartridge B and the drum 62 are positioned on the non-drive side.

So far, the above structure has been described as an example of a structure for determining the position of the cartridge B with respect to the apparatus main body A, but the description is not intended to limit the structure of the means for positioning to the above structure. It may be configured to act directly on the driven side positioning part 73d and rotation stopper part 73f of the cartridge B, and the non-drive side positioning part 71d and rotation stopper part 71g to fix each positioning part.

[Configuration to prevent incorrect cartridge installation]
Regarding the configuration for preventing incorrect cartridge installation (misinstallation prevention system), cartridge B is used as a first cartridge (compatible cartridge) that is compatible with device main body A, and cartridges D and E are used as second cartridges that are not compatible (non-compatible cartridges). I will explain.

(For compatible cartridge B)
The operation of the erroneous attachment prevention structure in the case of compatible cartridge B will be explained using FIGS. 1A to 1E and FIG. 8.
1A to 1E are side sectional views showing the process of installing the cartridge B into the apparatus main body A. Note that for convenience, only the non-driving side plate 16 and the cleaning unit 60 are shown. Further, in FIG. 1A, only the cleaning unit 60 and the lever 16g are hatched to identify the shape of the parts, but hatching is not done in FIGS. 1B to 1E for convenience of explanation.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view (a) and partial detailed views (b) and (c) showing how the cartridge B is installed in the apparatus main body A. Again, for convenience, only the non-driving side plate 16 of the device main body A is shown.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a rib 71p extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is provided at the non-drive end of the cleaning frame 71. As shown in FIGS. A first engaging portion 71p1 is provided on the downstream side of the rib 71p in the cartridge insertion direction (arrow C direction).
Further, the non-drive side plate 16 is provided with a guide rail 16f as a first guide portion. The guide rail 16f does not interfere with the rib 71p during the cartridge B insertion process. However, as shown in FIG. 8(c), when trying to insert a cartridge E (first non-conforming cartridge) having a rib 71q at a different position in the longitudinal direction from the rib 71p of cartridge B, the rib 71q It cannot pass through the guide rail 16f. In other words, the guide rail 16f restricts the insertion of the non-conforming cartridge E (reaching the mounting completion position).

That is, the guide rail 16f has an inlet shape corresponding to the outer shape of the rib 71p (first engaging portion 71p1) when viewed in the direction in which the cartridge is attached to the apparatus main body A, and a rib is formed around the inlet. A regulating wall surface that comes into contact with 1q is formed. The guide rail 16f and its surrounding structure, including this regulating wall surface, constitute a first guide portion in the present invention. This first guide portion and the engaging portions (ribs 71p, ribs 71q) provided on the cartridges B and E are used to identify whether the cartridge that is about to be installed in the apparatus main body A is compatible or not. It constitutes a first identification section.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the non-driving side plate 16 is provided with a lever 16g as a movable member. The lever 16g is configured to be able to swing around the axial center H. The lever 16g is biased in the direction of arrow N1 by a biasing force acting from a biasing member (not shown), and the regulated surface 16g1 of the lever 16g comes into contact with the regulated surface 16b provided on the driven side plate 16, so that the lever 16g is positioned. has been decided. At this time, the lever 16g is in a state of blocking the guide path of the positioned portion 71d of the guide rail 16d (second guide portion) (first position, regulation position). As a result, the engaged portion 16g2 provided on the lever 16g is configured to restrict the positioning portion 71d2 of the non-conforming cartridge D from moving in the mounting direction (arrow C direction) within the guide rail 16d, as will be described later. It is configured. As will be described in detail later, the movable member (engaged part 16g2 of the lever 16g) in the regulation position and the positioned parts 71d and 71d2 of the cartridge are compatible or incompatible with the cartridge that is about to be installed in the outside A of the device. It constitutes a second identification section for identifying.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the lever 16g is provided with a surface 16g3 serving as an engaged portion with which the first engaging portion 71p1 engages. The engaged portion 16g2 and the surface 16g3 are provided downstream of the guide rail 16f in the cartridge insertion direction.
As the cartridge B is inserted in the direction of arrow C, the first engaging portion 71p1 comes into contact with the surface 16g3 after passing through the guide rail 16f. In this case, the positioned portion 71d is located upstream in the insertion direction (arrow C direction) than the engaged portion 16g2 of the lever 16g.

As shown in FIG. 1C, as the cartridge B is inserted in the direction of the arrow C, the engaged portion 16g3 receives a force F1 from the first engaging portion 71p1 provided on the cartridge B due to the insertion force of the cartridge B. . As a result, the lever 16g moves in the direction of arrow N2 around the shaft center H against the urging force from the urging member (not shown). As a result, the lever 16g is in a completely released state without blocking the guide path of the positioned portion 71d of the guide rail 16d (second position, non-restricted position). That is, the positioned portion 71d of the cartridge B is allowed to move within the guide rail 16d. At this time, the positioned portion 71d is located upstream in the insertion direction (direction of arrow C) from the location where the lever 16g is in the first position.

As shown in FIG. 1D, even after the insertion of the cartridge B progresses and the positioned portion 71d passes the place where the lever 16g was in the first position, the rib 71p having the first engaging portion 71p1 and the engaged portion 16g3 remains in contact.

As shown in FIG. 1E, as the insertion of the cartridge B progresses, the contact state between the rib 71p and the engaged portion 16g3 disappears. As a result, the lever 16g receives a force in the direction of arrow N1 due to the urging force from the urging member (not shown), and moves to the first position.

As described above, in the process of inserting the cartridge B, the lever 16g moves between the first position (restricted position) and the second position (non-restricted position) without contacting the positioned portion 71d.

(In case of non-conforming cartridge D)
With reference to FIG. 9, the operation of the erroneous attachment prevention structure in the case of non-conforming cartridge D (second non-conforming cartridge) will be described.
FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing the state when the cartridge D is inserted into the main body A of the apparatus. Note that, in FIG. 9, like FIGS. 1A to 1E, only the non-driving side plate 16 and the cleaning unit 60 are shown.

The difference between cartridge D and cartridge B is that cartridge D does not have a shape corresponding to the first engaging portion 71p1. Therefore, when inserting the cartridge D into the image forming apparatus, it can move in the direction of arrow C without interfering with the guide rail 16f. However, the cartridge D does not have a shape corresponding to the first engaging portion 71p1. Therefore, even if the cartridge D is inserted further, the cartridge D does not come into contact with the surface 16g3 of the lever 16g, and no force is exerted to move the lever 16g to the second position (non-restricted position). Therefore, the lever 16g remains blocking the guide rail 16d (second position). Therefore, as the cartridge D is inserted further, the positioned portion 71d2 of the cartridge D comes into contact with the protrusion 16g4 provided on the engaged portion 16g2 of the lever 16g as a second identification portion. At this time, force F2 is applied to the protrusion 16g4 from the positioned portion 71d2 due to the mounting force of the cartridge D.

The protrusion 16g4 receives no force from the force F2 received from the positioned portion 71d2 of the non-conforming cartridge D in a direction that opposes the biasing force acting on the lever 16g (F2 does not include such a component force). As such, it is configured to come into contact with the positioned portion 71d2. At least, it is sufficient that the force F2 that the projection 16g4 receives from the positioned portion 71d2 acts in a direction perpendicular to the movable direction of the engaged portion 16g2 of the lever 16g. Preferably, the protrusion 16g4 is pushed from the positioned portion 71d2 at an angle that generates a force acting in a direction along the rotational direction of the lever 16g (in the opposite direction to the direction toward the non-restricted position) due to the biasing force. It is good if it is a composition.

Here, the non-driven side plate 16 has a support part that supports the lever 16g on the opposite side (downstream side in the insertion direction (arrow C direction)) of the engaged part 16g2 that is pushed from the positioned part 71d2 in the lever 16g. A regulating surface 16k is provided. As a result, even if, for example, an attempt is made to forcefully insert the cartridge D, the lever 16g receives a force F2 from the positioned portion 71d and the lever 16g tries to deform, the regulating surface 16k restricts the deformation of the lever 16g in the direction of the force F2. is possible. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lever 16g from being deformed or damaged, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the insertion of an unsuitable cartridge (reaching the mounting completion position).

In this embodiment, in order to save space, the positioned parts 71d and 71d2 on the non-driven side of the cartridge are used as the second identification part, but this configuration is not limited, and other components can be used. It may be used, or a separate configuration dedicated to the identification section may be provided.

[Remove the cartridge]
Referring to FIG. 10, the operation to take out the next suitable cartridge B will be described.
As described above, when the compatible cartridge B is fully installed in the main body, the lever 16g is in the first position.

A second engaging portion 71p2 is provided on the upstream side of the rib 71p of the cartridge B in the insertion direction (arrow direction C). When the cartridge B is moved in the opposite direction to the arrow C direction, the second engaging portion 71p2 comes into contact with the surface 16g3 before the positioned portion 71d comes into contact with the lever 16g. Then, the force F3 is applied to the lever 16g via the second engaging portion 71p2 due to the force for removing the cartridge B. As a result, the lever 16g rotates in the N2 direction around the axis center H, and moves from the first position to the second position. Note that the subsequent ejecting operation is the opposite to the previously described mounting operation of the cartridge B, so a description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not a cartridge is compatible with an image forming apparatus with a simple configuration, without affecting the attachment/detachment operation of a compatible cartridge.

16...Non-drive side plate, 16d...Guide rail, 16f...Guide rail, 16g...Lever (movable member), 16g1...Restricted surface, 16g2...Restricted part, 16g3... Surface (engaged part), 16g4...Protrusion, 16k ...Restriction surface, 17...Insertion port, 60...Cleaning unit, 71...Cleaning frame, 71d...Positioned part, 71d2...Positioned part, 71p...Rib, 71p1...First engagement part, 71p2...Second engagement A... Device main body, B... Conforming cartridge, C... Cartridge insertion direction, D... Non-conforming cartridge (second non-conforming cartridge), E... Non-conforming cartridge (first non-conforming cartridge), H... Center of axis, X... Target Contact points between the positioning part 71d2 and the engaged part 16g2, F1, F2, F3...force, N1/N2...rotation direction of the lever 16g

Claims (7)

The device body,
a cartridge configured to be removable from the device main body in a mounting direction;
Equipped with
The cartridge is
a positioned portion protruding in a direction intersecting the mounting direction;
a pressing part;
has
configured such that the relative position of the positioned portion and the pressing portion does not change when moved in the mounting direction,
The device main body is
a positioning part that comes into contact with the positioned part of the cartridge and positions the cartridge in the mounting direction with respect to the apparatus main body;
a guide portion that guides the positioned portion of the cartridge toward the positioning portion when the cartridge is moved in the mounting direction;
a movable member having a pressed portion and configured to rotate from a first position to a second position about a rotation axis extending in a direction in which the positioned portion of the cartridge protrudes;
has
When the movable member is in the first position, a portion of the movable member is located within a movement path of the positioned portion of the cartridge in the guide portion;
When the movable member is in the second position, the part of the movable member is located outside the movement path;
When the cartridge is moved in the mounting direction, the pressing portion of the cartridge presses the pressed portion of the movable member to move the movable member from the first position to the second position. move it,
While the movable member is in the second position due to the pressure of the pressing portion, the positioned portion of the cartridge passes through the part of the movable member and comes into contact with the positioning portion. Device. The device main body has an inlet portion having a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the pressing portion of the cartridge,
The inlet portion is located at a position overlapping the pressing portion of the cartridge when viewed in the mounting direction,
After the pressing portion of the cartridge passes through the inlet portion, the pressing portion of the cartridge presses the pressed portion of the movable member to move the movable member from the first position to the second position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus moves the image forming apparatus. In the case where the cartridge is a first cartridge, and a cartridge having a portion corresponding to the positioned portion of the first cartridge and not having a portion corresponding to the pressing portion is a second cartridge,
The movable member in the first position is in the first position when the positioned part of the second cartridge moves in the mounting direction within the guide part and presses a part of the movable member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured not to rotate from the position to the second position. The cartridge is
a drum unit having a photosensitive drum rotatable around a drum rotation axis;
a developing unit having a developing roller and rotatably connected to the drum unit;
has
The drum unit includes the positioned portion and the pressing portion,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioned portion extends in the direction of the drum rotation axis. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the part of the movable member is located further away from the rotation axis of the movable member than the pressed portion of the movable member. The cartridge has a frame that supports the photosensitive drum,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pressed portion protrudes from the frame in a direction perpendicular to the drum rotation axis. The positioned portion and the pressing portion of the cartridge are located on a non-contact portion of the drum unit on the opposite side of the drive side from which the drum unit receives a driving force for rotating the photosensitive drum from the apparatus main body in the direction of the drum rotation axis of the drum unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided on the drive side.

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