Process cartridge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12578677-B2
Application number	US-202418954667-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 21, 2024
Priority date	Nov 21, 2023
Publication date	Mar 17, 2026
Grant date	Mar 17, 2026

Abstract

A process cartridge includes: a drum unit including a drive member and a photosensitive drum; a frame body having an opening through which a part of the drum unit is exposed; a shutter member shielding the photosensitive drum exposed through the opening; and a link member connecting the frame body and the shutter member. The shutter member is movable from a shielding position to an open position. A joint between the link member and the shutter member is provided to a part of the shutter member. The link member has a first portion extending from the joint toward the outside of the shutter member. In the shielding position, at least a part of the first portion overlaps with the drive member in a drum axis direction and at least a part of the first portion overlaps with the drive member in a view in an opening direction of the opening.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A process cartridge attachable to and removable from an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus, the process cartridge comprising:
a drum unit including a photosensitive drum rotatable about a rotational axis in parallel with a first direction and a drive member provided to an end of the photosensitive drum in the first direction; a frame body rotatably supporting the drum unit and having an opening that opens in a second direction intersecting with the first direction, the opening exposing a part of the drum unit in a circumferential direction thereof; a shutter member disposed downstream of a part of the photosensitive drum exposed through the opening in the second direction, and shielding a surface of the photosensitive drum, which is the part of the drum unit exposed through the opening, a link member supported on the frame body in a rotatable manner in a third direction that is a direction rotating about an axis parallel with the first direction and intersecting with the second direction and connecting the frame body and the shutter member attached to the link member, wherein the shutter member is caused to rotate by a rotation of the link member and is movable in the third direction between a shielding position shielding the exposed part of the photosensitive drum and an open position not shielding the exposed part of the photosensitive drum, a side of the photosensitive drum in the first direction in which the drive member is provided is a driving side, a side of the photosensitive drum in which the drive member is not provided is a non-driving side, and a direction in which the shutter member moves toward the open position from the shielding position within a movable range of the shutter member is a positive direction along the third direction, the link member is supported rotatably on a part of the frame body on the driving side in the first direction and attached to a part of the shutter member on the driving side in the first direction, in a state where the shutter member is at the shielding position, a joint between the link member and the shutter member is positioned on a part of the shutter member on the positive direction side along the third direction, the link member has a first portion extending from the joint toward the outside of the shutter member in the first direction from the non-driving side toward the driving side, and in a state where the shutter member is at the shielding position, at least a part of the first portion overlaps with the drive member in the first direction, and at least a part of the first portion overlaps with the drive member in a view in the second direction.

2 . The process cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the first portion has a part extending in the first direction and a part protruding from the part extending in the first direction and protruding to a negative direction side along the third direction, in a state where the shutter member is positioned at the shielding position.

3 . The process cartridge according to claim 1 , further comprising a second link member supported rotatably on a part of the frame body on the non-driving side in the first direction and attached to a part of the shutter member on the non-driving side in the first direction.

4 . The process cartridge according to claim 3 , further comprising a connecting portion connecting the link member and the second link member, wherein
the link member rotates in conjunction with the second link member.

5 . The process cartridge according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a third link member supported rotatably on a part of the frame body on the non-driving side in the first direction and attached to a part of the shutter member on the non-driving side in the first direction, wherein in a state where the shutter member is at the shielding position, a joint between the third link member and the shutter member is at a position offset from a joint between the second link member and the shutter member in the negative direction along the third direction.

6 . The process cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein
a size of the shutter member in the first direction is equal to or smaller than a size of the photosensitive drum in the first direction, the photosensitive drum being included in the drum unit; and a part of the frame body outside a passing area in the first direction where the shutter member passes includes a portion overlapping with the passing area in a view in the first direction.

7 . The process cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein, in a state where the shutter member is at the shielding position, an imaginary plane including a downstream end in the second direction of the first portion and a downstream end in the second direction of the part of the frame body outside the passing area of the shutter member in the first direction is positioned offset from the drive member in the second direction.

8 . The process cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein, in a view in the first direction, a point at the intersection of a line passing through a rotational center of the link member and a rotational center of the drum unit with a perpendicular line drawn from the joint between the link member and the shutter member to the line in a state where the shutter member is at the shielding position is at a position between the rotational center of the link member and the rotational center of the drum unit.

9 . The process cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein a line segment connecting a rotational center of the link member and the joint between the link member and the shutter member in a state where the shutter member is at the shielding position is longer than a line segment connecting the rotational center of the drum unit and the joint in a state where the shutter member is at the shielding position.

10 . The process cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the link member receives a force for causing the shutter member to move from the shielding position to the open position by engaging with an engagement portion provided in the apparatus main body during an attaching process of cartridge to the apparatus main body.

11 . The process cartridge according to claim 1 , further comprising a biasing member exerting a force to the link member causing the shutter member to move toward the negative direction along the third direction.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Ishii Soichi
• Toyota Akitoshi

Classifications

• G03G2221/1861

  Rotational subunit connection · CPC title

• G03G21/1821

  means for connecting the different parts of the process cartridge, e.g. attachment, positioning of parts with each other, pressure/distance regulation (G03G21/1825 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G03G2221/1609

  protective arrangements for preventing damage · CPC title

• G03G21/1832 Primary

  Shielding members, shutter, e.g. light, heat shielding, prevention of toner scattering · CPC title

• G03G21/1828

  Prevention of damage or soiling, e.g. mechanical abrasion (G03G21/1839 takes precedence) · CPC title