JP2016161635A - Developer cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developer cartridge capable of suppressing an interference toward the other gear, while supporting a gear so as not to be inclined.SOLUTION: A developer cartridge includes: a first gear 442; an intermediate gear 440 having a second gear 441 arranged in the outside of the axial direction of the first gear 442; an agitator gear 450 having a third gear 451 engaged with the first gear 442 and a fourth gear 452 arranged in the outside of the axial direction of the third gear 451; a rotor 460 contacting the fourth gear 452 so as to rotate; and a first cover member 200 covering the agitator gear 450. The fourth gear 452 has a cylindrical part 452A. At least one of the second gear 441 and the rotor 460 has facing parts 441A, 462A facing the cylindrical part 452A outside of the cylindrical part 452A in the axial direction. The first cover member 200 has an agitator gear support part 250 for contacting an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical part 452A outside of the facing parts 441A, 462A in a rotational trajectory and supporting the agitator gear 450.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a developing cartridge including a cover member that covers a gear.

  In general, a developing cartridge including a rotating member such as an agitator has a plurality of gears arranged on a side surface of a housing. Conventionally, there has been known a developing cartridge in which gears are overlapped to reduce the size of the developing cartridge (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-133663 A

  By the way, in the above-described technique, the housing supports each gear. However, for example, it is desirable to provide a support member that supports the gears on a cover member that covers a plurality of gears so that the gears do not tilt. However, if the gears overlap, the support part and the gears may interfere with each other.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a developing cartridge capable of suppressing interference with other gears while supporting the gears so as not to tilt.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a developing cartridge of the present invention includes a housing, an agitator having a rotation shaft, a coupling that receives a driving force from the outside, and a coupling having a coupling gear on the peripheral surface, An intermediate gear having one gear and a second gear that is disposed outside the first gear in the axial direction in which the rotating shaft extends and has a larger diameter than the first gear, and meshes with the coupling gear; An agitator gear having a third gear meshing with the first gear, a fourth gear disposed outside the third gear in the axial direction and having a diameter smaller than that of the third gear, and fixed to the rotating shaft; A rotating body that contacts and rotates with the gear, and a cover member that covers at least a part of the intermediate gear and the agitator gear are provided.
The fourth gear has a cylindrical cylindrical portion that extends in the axial direction about the rotation shaft.
At least one of the second gear and the rotating body is disposed outside the cylindrical portion in the axial direction and has a facing portion facing the cylindrical portion.
The cover member has a support portion that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion outside the rotation locus of the facing portion and supports the agitator gear.

  According to the developing cartridge configured as described above, since the agitator gear is supported from both sides by the housing and the support portion provided on the cover member, it is possible to suppress the inclination of the agitator gear. In addition, since the support portion is provided outside the rotation locus of the facing portion that overlaps the cylindrical portion of the agitator gear, the support portion can be prevented from interfering with the facing portion.

  In the developing cartridge described above, the rotating body may be configured to move in the axial direction with rotation.

  When the rotating body is configured in this way, the agitator gear tends to tilt, particularly when the rotating body meshes with the tip of the fourth gear of the agitator gear. Therefore, the tilt of the agitator gear can be suppressed.

  In the developing cartridge described above, the second gear is disposed outside the cylindrical portion in the axial direction, has a first facing portion facing a part of the cylindrical portion, and the rotating body is the cylindrical portion in the axial direction. When the second opposing portion is disposed outside the cylindrical portion and faces the cylindrical portion, the support portion is cylindrical outside the rotation trajectory of the first opposing portion and the second opposing portion when viewed along the axial direction. It is desirable to be in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the part.

  According to this, it can suppress that a support part interferes with the 1st opposing part of a 2nd gear, and the 2nd opposing part of a rotary body.

  Further, in this case, the support portion is disposed on one side in the rotation direction of the fourth gear with respect to the contact position between the fourth gear and the rotating body, and contacts the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion. It is desirable to have the 2nd support part which is arranged on the other side of the rotation direction of the 4th gear, and contacts the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical part.

  According to this, it is possible to suppress the agitator gear from being inclined by the force received from the intermediate gear and the rotating body, as compared with the case where the support portion has only the first support portion or only the second support portion.

  Moreover, the above-mentioned support part may have a connection part which connects a 1st support part and a 2nd support part.

  According to this, the intensity | strength of a support part can be improved rather than the case where a connection part is not provided.

  In the developing cartridge described above, when the cover member has a window at a position overlapping with a part of the fourth gear when viewed along the axial direction, the support portion is disposed at a position shifted from the window. It is desirable.

  According to this, when looking into the inside of the window from the outside, it is possible to suppress the support portion from being in the way.

  In the developing cartridge described above, the cover member may have a first restricting portion that contacts the facing portion and restricts movement of the agitator gear in the axial direction.

  In the developing cartridge described above, the cover member may have a second restricting portion that contacts the agitator gear and restricts the movement of the agitator gear in the axial direction.

  In the developing cartridge described above, the rotating body may have a detected portion that can be detected by a detection unit provided outside.

  In the developing cartridge described above, the rotating body may have gear teeth that mesh with the fourth gear.

  In this case, when the rotating body has a facing portion, the distance from the rotation center of the rotating body to the facing portion of the rotating body is longer than the distance from the rotation center of the rotating body to the tooth tip of the gear tooth. can do.

  Moreover, the above-mentioned detected part may protrude toward the said axial direction outer side from the opposing part.

  In the developing cartridge provided such that the rotating body described above moves in the axial direction with rotation, the housing has an opening for filling the developer and a cap for closing the opening, A boss that rotatably supports the rotating body and a cam that is provided so as to surround the boss and that converts the rotation of the rotating body into motion along the axial direction may be included.

  In the developing cartridge described above, the distance from the rotation center of the fourth gear to the facing portion is shorter than the distance from the rotation center of the fourth gear to the tooth tip of the fourth gear as viewed along the axial direction. be able to.

  The developing cartridge described above may include a developing roller extending along the axial direction.

  In the developing cartridge described above, when the cover member has a plate-like main body portion facing the agitator gear in the axial direction, the support portion may be formed integrally with the main body portion.

  According to the present invention, since the agitator gear is supported from both sides by the housing and the support portion provided on the cover member, it is possible to suppress the inclination of the agitator gear. In addition, since the support portion is provided outside the rotation locus of the facing portion that overlaps the cylindrical portion of the agitator gear, the support portion can be prevented from interfering with the facing portion.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a laser printer including a developing cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows a developing cartridge. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the left side wall and cap of a housing | casing. FIG. 6 is a view showing the left side surface of the developing cartridge with the first cover member and the second cover member removed. It is a figure which expands and shows an intermediate | middle gear, an agitator gear, and a rotary body. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a gear train and an actuator. It is the figure which looked at the rotary body periphery for demonstrating operation | movement of a rotary body from the lower side. They are the perspective view (a) which shows the surface inside the left-right direction of a 1st cover member, and a side view (b). FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the left side surface of the developing cartridge with the first cover member and the second cover member attached. It is II sectional drawing of FIG.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the following description, after describing a schematic configuration of a laser printer provided with a developing cartridge, a characteristic part of the present invention will be described.

  In the following description, the direction will be described with reference to the user who uses the laser printer 1. That is, the right side in FIG. 1 is “front”, the left side is “rear”, the front side is “left”, and the back side is “right”. Also, the vertical direction in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the laser printer 1 includes a main body casing 2, a paper feeding unit 3 that supplies paper S, an exposure device 5, a process cartridge 10 that transfers a toner image onto the paper S, and a paper S And a fixing device 8 for thermally fixing the toner image.

  The paper feed unit 3 is provided at a lower portion in the main casing 2 and mainly includes a paper feed tray 31, a paper pressing plate 32, and a paper feed mechanism 33 including a paper feed roller and the like that are omitted from the reference numerals. Yes.

  In the paper feed unit 3, the paper S in the paper feed tray 31 is brought close to a paper feed mechanism 33 provided above by a paper pressing plate 32. The sheet S is supplied to the process cartridge 10 by the sheet feeding mechanism 33.

  The exposure apparatus 5 is disposed in the upper part of the main casing 2 and includes a laser light emitting unit, a polygon mirror, a lens, a reflecting mirror, and the like (not shown). In this exposure apparatus 5, the surface of the photosensitive drum 61 is exposed by scanning the surface of the photosensitive drum 61 of the process cartridge 10 at high speed with laser light (see the chain line) based on the image data emitted from the laser light emitting unit. .

  The process cartridge 10 can be attached to and detached from the main casing 2 by appropriately opening the front cover 2A on the front side of the main casing 2. The process cartridge 10 is mainly composed of a drum unit 6 and a developing cartridge 7.

  The drum unit 6 mainly includes a photosensitive drum 61, a charger 62, and a transfer roller 63.

  The developing cartridge 7 is detachably attached to the drum unit 6, and is configured to be detachably attached to the main casing 2 as a process cartridge 10 in a state where it is attached to the drum unit 6. The developing cartridge 7 mainly includes a developing roller 18 extending in the left-right direction, a supply roller 19, a layer thickness regulating blade 14, an agitator 16, and a casing 100 that supports these members. The housing 100 includes a toner storage unit 15 that stores toner as an example of a developer.

  The agitator 16 is a stirring member that stirs the toner in the toner storage unit 15 by rotating. The agitator 16 is fixed to the rotating shaft 16A supported by the housing 100 and the rotating shaft 16A, and can be rotated integrally with the rotating shaft 16A. And a stirring blade 16B.

  In the process cartridge 10, the surface of the photosensitive drum 61 is uniformly charged by the charger 62 and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser light from the exposure device 5, so that the photosensitive drum 61 is based on the image data. An electrostatic latent image is formed. The toner in the toner storage unit 15 is first supplied to the supply roller 19 while being stirred by the agitator 16, and then supplied from the supply roller 19 to the developing roller 18. As the developing roller 18 rotates, the developing roller 18 enters between the developing roller 18 and the layer thickness regulating blade 14 and is carried on the developing roller 18 as a thin layer having a constant thickness.

  The toner carried on the developing roller 18 is supplied from the developing roller 18 to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 61. As a result, the electrostatic latent image is visualized and a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 61. Thereafter, the sheet S is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 61 and the transfer roller 63 so that the toner image on the photosensitive drum 61 is transferred onto the sheet S.

  The fixing unit 8 is disposed behind the process cartridge 10 and mainly includes a heating roller 81 that heats the sheet S on which the toner image is formed by the process cartridge 10, and a pressure roller 82 that presses the heating roller 81. ing. In the fixing device 8, the toner image transferred onto the sheet S is thermally fixed while the sheet S passes between the heating roller 81 and the pressure roller 82. The paper S on which the toner image is thermally fixed is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 22 by the paper discharge roller 23 and the fixing paper discharge roller 24.

Next, the configuration of the developing cartridge 7 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 100 of the developing cartridge 7 includes a left side wall 110 disposed on the left end side of the developing roller 18. A first cover member 200 as an example of a cover member and a second cover member 300 are attached to the outer side surface of the left side wall 110. A gear train 400 as shown in FIG. 4 is provided inside the first cover member 200 and the second cover member 300.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 100 has an opening 111 for filling the toner containing portion 15 with toner at the front portion of the left side wall 110. Further, the housing 100 has a cap 120 that closes the opening 111.

  The casing 100 supports the shaft 18A of the developing roller 18 and the shaft 19A of the supply roller 19 at the rear end. The housing 100 includes a first cylindrical portion 112, a support protrusion 113, and a second cylindrical portion 114 that protrude from the left side wall 110 between the shaft 18 </ b> A of the developing roller 18 on the left side wall 110 and the opening 111. .

  The first cylindrical portion 112 is disposed on the front side of the shaft 18 </ b> A of the developing roller 18. The support protrusion 113 is disposed on the front oblique upper side of the first cylindrical portion 112. The second cylindrical portion 114 is disposed obliquely below the front of the support protrusion 113. At the center of the second cylindrical portion 114, a rotating shaft 16A of the agitator 16 supported by the housing 100 is disposed.

  The cap 120 is made of a resin that is softer and more flexible than the housing 100. The cap 120 includes a flange 121 extending in parallel with the left side wall 110, a cap 122 protruding from the flange 121 and fitting into the opening 111, a boss 123 protruding from the flange 121 outward in the left-right direction, a cam 124, and a first A stopper 125 and a second stopper 126 are provided.

  The cam 124 is a rib provided so as to surround the boss 123, and has a C-shape opened to the rear side. The specific shape of the cam 124 will be described later.

  The first stopper 125 and the second stopper 126 are walls that rise from the flange 121. The first stopper 125 is disposed at a position spaced from the lower end of the cam 124. The second stopper 126 is disposed at a position spaced from the upper end of the cam 124.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the gear train 400 includes a coupling 410, a developing gear 420, a supply gear 430, an intermediate gear 440, an agitator gear 450, and a rotating body 460.

  The coupling 410 is a gear that engages with a drive input member (not shown) provided in the main body casing 2 when the developing cartridge 7 is attached to the main body casing 2, and the outer periphery of the first cylindrical portion 112 of the housing 100. The surface is rotatably supported. And the coupling 410 has the coupling gear 411 in the surrounding surface. In the present embodiment, the coupling 410 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 4 when the driving force is transmitted from the driving input member.

  The developing gear 420 is rotatably provided integrally with the shaft 18A of the developing roller 18. The developing gear 420 meshes with the coupling gear 411 and rotates upon receiving a driving force from the coupling 410.

  The supply gear 430 is rotatably provided integrally with the shaft 19 </ b> A of the supply roller 19. The supply gear 430 meshes with the coupling gear 411 and rotates upon receiving a driving force from the coupling 410.

  The intermediate gear 440 is a member that rotates when a driving force is transmitted from the coupling 410, and is rotatably supported on the outer peripheral surface of the support protrusion 113 of the housing 100. In the present embodiment, the intermediate gear 440 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 4 when the driving force is transmitted from the coupling 410.

  The intermediate gear 440 integrally includes a first gear 442 and a second gear 441 that is disposed outside the first gear 442 in the left-right direction and has a larger diameter than the first gear 442. The second gear 441 and the first gear 442 are respectively formed with gear teeth over the entire circumference, and the gear teeth of the second gear 441 are engaged with the coupling gear 411.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the second gear 441 and the first gear 442 are connected by a cylindrical portion 443 disposed between the second gear 441 and the first gear 442. The second gear 441 is provided so as to spread radially outward from the left end portion of the cylindrical portion 443, and the entire radially outer end portion is a thick portion 442A that protrudes on both sides in the left-right direction from the inside. The thick portion 442A is provided with gear teeth. The thick portion 442A is provided on the ring-shaped first protrusion 444 (see also FIG. 4) centered on the axis of the intermediate gear 440 provided on the outer surface in the left-right direction and on the inner surface in the left-right direction. And a ring-shaped second protrusion 445 centering on the axis of the intermediate gear 440.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the agitator gear 450 is a member that is provided so as to rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 16 </ b> A of the agitator 16 and is driven by driving force transmitted from the intermediate gear 440. The agitator gear 450 is rotatably supported on the inner peripheral surface of the second cylindrical portion 114 of the housing 100. In the present embodiment, the agitator gear 450 receives the driving force from the intermediate gear 440 and rotates clockwise in FIG.

  The agitator gear 450 includes a third gear 451 that meshes with the gear teeth of the first gear 442 of the intermediate gear 440 and a fourth gear 452 that is disposed outside the third gear 451 in the left-right direction.

  The fourth gear 452 is a gear having a smaller diameter than the third gear 451. The fourth gear 452 includes a cylindrical portion 452A having a cylindrical shape centering on the rotation shaft 16A of the agitator 16. The cylindrical portion 452A extends in the left-right direction. The cylindrical portion 452A has an inner peripheral surface 453 formed in a ring shape. The fourth gear 452 has gear teeth 452B on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion 452A.

  The third gear 451 and the fourth gear 452 are disposed between the left side wall 110 and the second gear 441 of the intermediate gear 440 in the left-right direction that is the axial direction of the rotating shaft 16A of the agitator 16. The second gear 441 of the intermediate gear 440 is disposed on the outer side in the left-right direction of the fourth gear 452, and is an example of a facing portion that overlaps with a part of the cylindrical portion 452A of the fourth gear 452 when viewed along the left-right direction. As a first facing portion 441A (a portion near the outer periphery of the second gear 441). The first facing portion 441A is a surface of the second gear 441 on the housing 100 side, and is a portion facing the cylindrical portion 452A of the fourth gear 452 in the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the distance L1 from the rotation center of the fourth gear 452 to the first facing portion 441A is the distance from the rotation center of the fourth gear 452 to the tooth tip of the fourth gear 452 when viewed from the left-right direction. It is shorter than L2.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a part of the first facing portion 441A is disposed at a position closer to the rotating shaft 16A of the agitator 16 than the inner peripheral surface 453 of the cylindrical portion 452A. The first protrusion 444 and the second protrusion 445 provided on the second gear 441 of the intermediate gear 440 are disposed on the first facing portion 441A and overlap with the fourth gear 452 when viewed in the left-right direction. (See also FIG. 10).

  The rotator 460 is a member that rotates when a driving force is transmitted from the agitator gear 450. In the present embodiment, the rotating body 460 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 4 when a driving force is transmitted from the agitator gear 450.

  The rotating body 460 is formed of a resin that is harder than the cap 120. The rotating body 460 includes a missing tooth gear portion 461, a disk portion 462 disposed on the outer side in the left-right direction of the missing tooth gear portion 461, and a detected portion provided on the outer surface (left side surface) of the disk portion 462. As an example, a detected protrusion 463, a cylindrical portion 464 extending in the left-right direction, and a pressed portion 465 (see FIG. 7A) provided on the inner side surface (right side surface) of the disc portion 462 are integrally provided. doing. The rotating body 460 is supported by the housing 100 via the cap 120 by inserting the boss 123 of the cap 120 through the cylindrical portion 464.

  The toothless gear portion 461 is formed in a semicircular shape with the cylindrical portion 464 as the center, and is provided to rotate about the axis of the cylindrical portion 464. The toothless gear portion 461 as an example of gear teeth is disposed so that the outer peripheral surface faces the fourth gear 452 of the agitator gear 450, and gear teeth are provided on the outer peripheral surface.

  The missing gear portion 461 is upstream of the rotating body 460 in the rotational direction with respect to the meshing position P (see FIG. 6A) as an example of the contact position with the fourth gear 452 when the developing cartridge 7 is new. Are located apart. The rotating body 460 has a pressed protrusion (not shown) that protrudes inward in the left-right direction from the disk portion 462. On the other hand, the agitator gear 450 has a pressing protrusion (not shown) that protrudes outward from the third gear 451 in the left-right direction. The pressing protrusion is provided to press the pressed protrusion of the rotating body 460 in the rotating direction of the rotating body 460 when the agitator gear 450 rotates. Thereby, after the agitator gear 450 starts to rotate, the rotor 460 is configured to start rotating with the missing gear portion 461 meshing with the fourth gear 452.

  The disc part 462 is arrange | positioned in the left-right direction outer side from the agitator gear 450 (refer Fig.7 (a)). The disc portion 462 has a peripheral edge that protrudes radially outward from the toothless gear portion 461, and the protruding portion is disposed on the outer side in the left-right direction with respect to the fourth gear 452 of the agitator gear 450. And overlaps with a part of the cylindrical portion 452A of the fourth gear 452. That is, the disc portion 462 is disposed on the outer periphery in the left-right direction than the fourth gear 452 of the agitator gear 450 and overlaps with a part of the cylindrical portion 452A of the fourth gear 452 when viewed along the left-right direction. It has the 2nd opposing part 462A as an example of an opposing part. As shown in FIG. 5, the distance L3 from the rotation center of the rotating body 460 to the tip of the second facing portion 462A is the distance from the rotation center of the rotating body 460 to the tooth tip of the gear teeth of the missing gear portion 461. It is longer than L4. Note that the second facing portion 462A does not always overlap the cylindrical portion 452A, but is a portion that overlaps the cylindrical portion 452A at a certain point in time while the disk portion 462 rotates once.

  Further, the distance L5 from the rotation center of the fourth gear 452 to the second facing portion 462A is shorter than the distance L2 from the rotation center of the fourth gear 452 to the tooth tip of the fourth gear 452 when viewed from the left-right direction. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the detected protrusion 463 is a wall erected on the disc portion 462, extends continuously from the outer peripheral surface of the disc portion 462, and has both ends in the rotational direction of the rotating body 460 being circular. The plate portion 462 has a U-shaped cross section that extends inward in the radial direction. The detected protrusion 463 protrudes from the second facing portion 462A toward the left side so that at least a portion thereof overlaps with the second facing portion 462A when viewed in the left-right direction.

  The pressed portion 465 is a protrusion that protrudes from the disc portion 462 toward the left side wall 110 of the housing 100 as shown in FIG.

Here, a specific shape of the cam 124 of the cap 120 will be described.
The cam 124 is formed so as to convert the rotation of the rotating body 460 into a motion along the left-right direction. The cam 124 gradually moves to the end portion on the first stopper 125 side (the end portion on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating body 460) of the front end surface (left end surface) as the distance from the first stopper 125 increases. It has an inclined surface 124 </ b> A that is separated from 110. Thereby, when the rotating body 460 rotates, the tip of the pressed portion 465 of the rotating body 460 climbs the inclined surface 124A, so that the rotating body 460 moves outward in the left-right direction. Further, the cam 124 has a parallel surface 124B extending substantially parallel to the left side wall 110 from the inclined surface 124A toward the end on the second stopper 126 side (end on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating body 460) from the tip surface. Have.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the rotating body 460, the detected protrusion 463 is detected by the detecting means provided in the main body casing 2. The detection means includes an actuator 500 and an optical sensor (not shown).

  The actuator 500 integrally includes a swing shaft 510 extending in the left-right direction, a contact lever 520 extending downward from the swing shaft 510, and a light shielding lever 530 extending rearward from the swing shaft 510. For example, the swing shaft 510 is rotatably supported by an inner wall (not shown) of the main casing 2.

  In this actuator 500, the contact lever 520 extends substantially vertically downward from the swing shaft 510, the light shielding lever 530 extends rearward and obliquely downward, and the contact lever 520 is in the non-detection posture. It is provided so as to be able to swing in a detection posture (posture in FIG. 6A) in which the tip is directed rearward than when the light shielding lever 530 is moved upward than in the non-detection posture. The actuator 500 is biased toward a non-detection posture by a spring (not shown).

  The optical sensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged to face each other in the left-right direction, and an optical path from the light emitting element to the light receiving element is blocked by the light shielding lever 530 of the actuator 500 in a non-detecting posture, and the actuator 500 detects Thus, the light shielding lever 530 is disposed at a position where it is retracted from the optical path. When the light shielding lever 530 is retracted from the optical path from the light emitting element to the light receiving element, for example, an ON signal is output from the optical sensor.

Here, operations of the rotating body 460 and the actuator 500 will be briefly described.
When the developing cartridge 7 is a new one, the rotating body 460 is configured such that, as shown in FIG. 4, the toothless gear portion 461 is located more than the meshing position P with the fourth gear 452 of the agitator gear 450 (see FIG. The posture is arranged on the upstream side in the rotation direction. At this time, the detected protrusion 463 is disposed on the upstream side of the contact lever 520 of the actuator 500 in the rotation direction, and the pressed portion 465 includes the first stopper 125 and the cam 124 as shown in FIG. Arranged between.

  When the rotating body 460 starts to rotate, the pressed portion 465 moves along the inclined surface 124A of the cam 124, so that the rotating body 460 moves outward in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. At this time, the position where the gear teeth of the missing gear portion 461 mesh with the gear teeth of the fourth gear 452 of the agitator gear 450 is also shifted outward in the left-right direction. Then, when the pressed portion 465 is placed on the parallel surface 124B of the cam 124, the movement of the rotating body 460 temporarily stops, and the toothless gear portion 461 rotates in a state of being engaged with the tip portion of the fourth gear 452. .

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 6A, the detected protrusion 463 of the rotating body 460 hits the contact lever 520 of the actuator 500, and the actuator 500 is swung to the detection posture.

  When the rotating body 460 further rotates, as shown in FIG. 6B, the meshing between the missing gear portion 461 and the fourth gear 452 is released, and the rotation of the rotating body 460 stops. At this time, the contact between the detected protrusion 463 and the contact lever 520 is also released, and the actuator 500 returns to the non-detection posture. When the rotation of the rotating body 460 stops, the pressed portion 465 falls between the cam 124 and the second stopper 126 from the front end surface of the cam 124 as shown in FIG. Moves inward in the left-right direction, that is, toward the housing 100 side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second cover member 300 is attached to the rear portion of the left side wall 110 and covers a part of the developing gear 420, the supply gear 430, and the coupling 410.

  The first cover member 200 is provided on the front side of the second cover member 300 and covers the intermediate gear 440, the agitator gear 450 and the rotating body 460.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the first cover member 200 includes a rotating body housing portion 201 having a circular shape in side view that houses the rotating body 460 inside, an intermediate gear 440, and an agitator gear 450. And a gear housing portion 202 to be housed.

  In the rotating body accommodating portion 201, a C-shaped hole 210 opened downward along the movement locus of the detected protrusion 463 is formed in the wall facing the disc portion 462 of the rotating body 460 (see FIG. 2). ). As a result, the detected protrusion 463 can be exposed to the outside of the first cover member 200 from the hole 210 when the rotating body 460 moves outward in the left-right direction.

  Further, the rotating body accommodating portion 201 is provided with a protrusion 220 that protrudes inward in the left-right direction inside the C-shape of the hole 210. As shown in FIG. 9, the protrusion 220 is inserted inside the cylindrical portion 464 of the rotating body 460 and supports the rotating body 460. Accordingly, the rotating body 460 that moves in the left-right direction can be supported from both the housing 100 side and the first cover member 200 side, so that the support of the rotating body 460 is stabilized and the rotating body 460 is moved in the left-right direction. It is possible to guide the movement.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the gear accommodating portion 202 is disposed on the outer side in the left-right direction of the intermediate gear 440 and the agitator gear 450, and is a wall as an example of a plate-like main body portion facing the intermediate gear 440 and the agitator gear 450. Part 230. And the gear accommodating part 202 is the intermediate gear support part 240 which protrudes toward the left side wall 110 side of the left-right wall 110 of the housing | casing 100 from the wall part 230, and the agitator gear support part 250 as an example of a support part. And a pressing portion 260 as an example of a second restricting portion. Further, the wall 230 has a circular window 231 for checking the phase of the agitator gear 450 at a position overlapping with the rotation shaft 16A of the agitator 16 when viewed in the left-right direction (also FIG. 9). reference). The intermediate gear support part 240, the agitator gear support part 250, and the pressing part 260 are formed integrally with the wall part 230.

  The intermediate gear support portion 240 is provided at a position corresponding to the cylindrical portion 443 of the intermediate gear 440. The intermediate gear support portion 240 has a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter substantially the same as the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 443. As shown in FIG. 9, the intermediate gear support portion 240 is inserted inside the cylindrical portion 443 of the intermediate gear 440 and supports the intermediate gear 440.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the agitator gear support portion 250 is a rib formed in a substantially C shape so as to surround the window 231. That is, the agitator gear support 250 is disposed at a position shifted from the window 231.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the agitator gear support portion 250 is a portion that is inserted inside the inner peripheral surface 453 of the cylindrical portion 452 </ b> A of the agitator gear 450, and is formed in a shape that does not interfere with the intermediate gear 440 and the rotating body 460. ing.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8B, the agitator gear support portion 250 is recessed such that the C-shaped bottom portion extends along the edge of the rotating body accommodating portion 201. In addition, both C-shaped ends of the agitator gear support 250 are open toward the center of the intermediate gear support 240. That is, the agitator gear support portion 250 is disposed on the upper side of the window 231, and is disposed on the lower side of the window 231 with the first support portion 251 formed in an arc shape around the rotation shaft 16 </ b> A of the agitator 16. The second support portion 252 formed in an arc shape centering on the 16 rotation axes, and the front ends of the first support portion 251 and the second support portion 252 are connected to each other on the front side of the window 231, and the protrusion of the rotating body accommodating portion 201 And a connecting portion 253 formed in an arc shape centered at 220.

  In the present embodiment, a plane passing through the center of the rotation shaft 16A of the agitator 16 and the front end portion of the first support portion 251 and a plane passing through the center of the rotation shaft 16A of the agitator 16 and the front end portion of the second support portion 252. The angle α formed by is 52 °. A plane passing through the center of the rotation shaft 16A of the agitator 16 and the rear end portion of the first support portion 251 and a plane passing through the center of the rotation shaft 16A of the agitator 16 and the rear end portion of the second support portion 252 are provided. The formed angle β is 114 °. Note that the angle α and the angle β are not limited to this, and may be appropriately changed depending on the size of the intermediate gear 440, the agitator gear 450, and the rotating body 460 and the overlapping size of the gears.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the agitator gear support portion 250 is seen along the left-right direction, outside the rotation locus of the first facing portion 441A of the intermediate gear 440 and the rotation of the second facing portion 462A of the rotating body 460. The agitator gear 450 is supported by partially contacting the inner peripheral surface 453 of the cylindrical portion 452A in the circumferential direction within the range outside the locus.

  Specifically, the first support portion 251 is disposed on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the fourth gear 452 with respect to the meshing position P of the fourth gear 452 and the rotating body 460 (see also FIG. 6A). It contacts the inner peripheral surface 453 of 452A. The second support portion 252 is disposed on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the fourth gear 452 with respect to the meshing position P between the fourth gear 452 and the rotating body 460 and is in contact with the inner peripheral surface 453 of the cylindrical portion 452A.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the pressing portion 260 extends from the front end portion of the first support portion 251 along the edge of the rotating body accommodating portion 201 toward the side opposite to the connecting portion 253. The pressing portion 260 has a smaller protruding amount from the wall portion 230 than the agitator gear support portion 250.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the first cover member 200 configured as described above has the wall portion 230 facing the second gear 441 of the intermediate gear 440. The tip of the first protrusion 444 of the second gear 441 is disposed at a position closer to the wall 230 than the other part of the second gear 441. Thereby, the wall part 230 functions as a 1st control part which controls the movement to the left-right direction of the intermediate | middle gear 440 by contacting the 1st protrusion 444. FIG. By restricting the movement of the intermediate gear 440 in the left-right direction in this way, when the agitator gear 450 attempts to move outward in the left-right direction, the second protrusion 445 of the second gear 441 moves to the fourth gear of the agitator gear 450. It is possible to regulate the movement of the agitator gear 450 by abutting against the shaft 452.

  Further, the front end of the pressing portion 260 faces the fourth gear 452 of the agitator gear 450. And the front-end | tip of the holding | suppressing part 260 is arrange | positioned in the position close | similar to the 4th gear 452 rather than the other part of the wall part 230. FIG. Thereby, when the press part 260 contacts the 4th gear 452, the movement to the left-right direction of the agitator gear 450 can be controlled.

The operation and effect of the developing cartridge 7 configured as described above will be described.
When the rotating body 460 moves outward in the left-right direction as it rotates, the missing gear portion 461 of the rotating body 460 meshes with the tip portion of the fourth gear 452 of the agitator gear 450. In this state, a force is applied to the fourth gear 452 from the toothless gear portion 461, so that the agitator gear 450 is easily tilted. In particular, when the rotating body 460 rotates, the pressed portion 465 of the rotating body 460 moves while being in contact with the cam 124 of the cap 120. However, since the cap 120 is made of a soft material, the pressed portion 465 is the cam 124. May be applied to the fourth gear 452 from the missing gear portion 461.

  In the present embodiment, since the agitator gear 450 is supported from both the left and right directions by the second cylindrical portion 114 of the housing 100 and the agitator gear support portion 250 of the first cover member 200, the tilt of the agitator gear 450 is suppressed. be able to.

  Further, the agitator gear support portion 250 has a cylindrical portion in a range outside the rotation locus of the first opposing portion 441A of the intermediate gear 440 and the second opposing portion 462A of the rotating body 460 that overlap the cylindrical portion 452A of the agitator gear 450. Since it contacts the inner peripheral surface 453 of 452A, it is possible to suppress the agitator gear support 250 from interfering with the intermediate gear 440 and the rotating body 460.

  The agitator gear support 250 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface 453 of the cylindrical portion 452A on the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator gear 450 with respect to the meshing position P between the fourth gear 452 and the partial gear portion 461. Since the first support portion 251 and the second support portion 252 are provided, it is possible to suppress the agitator gear 450 from being inclined as compared with the case where only one of the first support portion and the second support portion is provided. be able to.

  In addition, since the agitator gear support portion 250 includes the connecting portion 253 that connects the first support portion 251 and the second support portion 252, the strength of the agitator gear support portion 250 can be increased compared to the configuration in which the connecting portion is not provided. Can be improved.

  Since the agitator gear support portion 250 is disposed at a position shifted from the window 231 provided in the first cover member 200, the agitator gear support portion 250 is obstructive when looking into the inside of the window 231 from the outside. Can be suppressed.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. About a concrete structure, it can change suitably in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, both the intermediate gear 440 and the rotating body 460 have the opposed portions 441A and 462A that overlap the agitator gear 450 from the left and right sides, but the configuration of the gear train 400 is not limited to this. Absent. For example, the gear train 400 may have a configuration in which the intermediate gear 440 does not overlap the agitator gear 450 from the outside in the left-right direction, or may have a configuration in which the rotating body 460 does not overlap the agitator gear 450 from the outside in the left-right direction.

  In the embodiment, the connecting portion 253 that connects the first support portion 251 and the second support portion 252 connects the front end portions of the first support portion 251 and the second support portion 252, but the configuration of the connecting portion is this. It is not limited to. For example, the connection part may connect the intermediate part of the 1st support part and the 2nd support part. In this case, the support portion may have a shape in which a part of the column is cut out, and the portions that are not cut out may be used as the first support portion and the second support portion.

7 Developing Cartridge 16 Agitator 16A Rotating Shaft 100 Case 111 Opening 120 Cap 123 Boss 124 Cam 200 First Cover Member 230 Wall Part 231 Window 250 Agitator Gear Support Part 251 First Support Part 252 Second Support Part 253 Connection Part 260 Pressing Part 410 Coupling 440 Intermediate gear 441A First opposing portion 450 Agitator gear 451 Third gear 452 Fourth gear 452A Cylindrical portion 453 Inner circumferential surface 460 Rotating body 462A Second opposing portion 463 Detected protrusion

Claims (16)

A housing,
An agitator having a rotation axis;
A coupling that receives a driving force from the outside, and a coupling having a coupling gear on its peripheral surface;
A first gear, and a second gear disposed outside the first gear in the axial direction in which the rotation shaft extends and having a diameter larger than that of the first gear, the second gear meshing with the coupling gear. An intermediate gear,
An agitator gear having a third gear meshing with the first gear and a fourth gear disposed outside the third gear in the axial direction and having a smaller diameter than the third gear; ,
A rotating body that contacts and rotates with the fourth gear;
A cover member that covers at least a part of the intermediate gear and the agitator gear;
The fourth gear has a cylindrical cylindrical portion extending in the axial direction around the rotation axis,
At least one of the first gear and the rotating body is disposed outside the cylindrical portion in the axial direction, and has a facing portion facing the cylindrical portion,
The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the cover member has a support portion that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion outside the rotation locus of the facing portion and supports the agitator gear.   The developing cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the rotating body is configured to move in the axial direction with rotation. The second gear is disposed outside the cylindrical portion in the axial direction, and has a first facing portion facing a part of the cylindrical portion,
The rotating body is disposed outside the cylindrical portion in the axial direction, and has a second facing portion facing the cylindrical portion,
The said support part is contacting the inner peripheral surface of the said cylindrical part outside the rotation locus | trajectory of the said 1st opposing part and the said 2nd opposing part seeing along the said axial direction. The developing cartridge according to claim 1.   The support portion is disposed on one side of the rotation direction of the fourth gear with respect to the contact position between the fourth gear and the rotating body, and contacts the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion; and the contact position 4. The developing cartridge according to claim 3, further comprising a second support portion disposed on the other side of the fourth gear with respect to the rotation direction and contacting the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion.   The developing cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the support portion includes a connecting portion that connects the first support portion and the second support portion. The cover member has a window at a position overlapping with a part of the fourth gear when viewed along the axial direction,
The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is disposed at a position shifted from the window.   The said cover member has a 1st control part which contacts the said opposing part and controls the movement to the said axial direction of the said agitator gear, The any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. A developing cartridge according to item 1.   The said cover member has a 2nd control part which contacts the said agitator gear and controls the movement to the said axial direction of the said agitator gear, The any one of Claim 1-7 characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. A developing cartridge according to item 1.   9. The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body includes a detected portion that can be detected by a detecting unit provided outside. 10.   The developing cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the rotating body has gear teeth that mesh with the fourth gear. The rotating body has the facing portion,
11. The development according to claim 10, wherein a distance from a rotation center of the rotating body to the facing portion of the rotating body is longer than a distance from the rotation center of the rotating body to a tooth tip of the gear tooth. cartridge.   The developing cartridge according to claim 11, wherein the detected portion protrudes outward from the facing portion in the axial direction. The housing has an opening for filling the developer, and a cap for closing the opening,
The cap includes a boss that rotatably supports the rotating body, and a cam that is provided so as to surround the boss and that converts rotation of the rotating body into movement along the axial direction. The developing cartridge according to claim 2.   The distance from the rotation center of the fourth gear to the facing portion is shorter than the distance from the rotation center of the fourth gear to the tooth tip of the fourth gear when viewed along the axial direction. The developing cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 13.   The developing cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a developing roller extending along the axial direction. The cover member has a plate-like main body that faces the agitator gear in the axial direction;
The developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is formed integrally with the main body portion.

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