Electrophotography – Having particular structure – Modular or displaceable
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-22
2001-07-24
Beatty, Robert (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Having particular structure
Modular or displaceable
C399S123000, C399S358000, C220S653000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266502
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning frame, a process cartridge and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus onto which such a process cartridge is detachably mountable.
The electrophotographic image forming apparatus serves to form an image on a recording medium by using an electrophotographic image forming process and may be embodied, for example, as an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, LED printer, laser beam printer or the like), an electrophotographic facsimile apparatus or an electrophotographic word processor.
On the other hand, the process cartridge may integrally incorporate an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a charging means or a developing means and a cleaning means as a cartridge unit which is detachably mountable to a main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, or may integrally incorporate an electrophotographic photosensitive member and the cleaning means and at least one of the charging means and the developing means as a cartridge unit which is detachably mountable to a main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, or may integrally incorporate an electrophotographic photosensitive member and at least the cleaning means as a cartridge unit which is detachably mountable to a main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, since a cleaning frame is disposed in the vicinity of the fixing means by the fact that the cleaning means is followed by the fixing means, due to inherent constructural feature of an image forming apparatus, the cleaning frame might be deformed by heat from the fixing means. Of course, the greater a sheet pass width the greater an amount of thermal deformation.
Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image forming process, a process cartridge obtained by integrally incorporating an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member as a cartridge unit which is detachably mountable to a main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus has been used. By using such a process cartridge, since maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by the operator himself without any expert, operability can be improved remarkably. Thus, the process cartridge has widely been used with the image forming apparatus.
The process cartridge is constituted by a cleaning unit integrally including a charging means, a cleaning means and a photosensitive drum, and a developing unit integrally including developing means and toner to be supplied to the developing means. The cleaning unit and the developing unit are interconnected by joining members, thereby forming the process cartridge.
In an image forming apparatus onto which such a process cartridge is detachably mountable, in some cases, in a condition that the process cartridge is mounted, the cleaning unit is opposed to the fixing means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning frame which is hard to be thermally deformed in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which thermal fixing means is opposed to the cleaning frame for supporting a cleaning means, a process cartridge having such a cleaning frame, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus onto which such a process cartridge is detachably mountable.
To achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning frame used in a process cartridge which is detachably mountable to a main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and which includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a cleaning member for removing developer adhered to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the cleaning frame comprising a drum attaching portion for attaching the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, a cleaning member attaching portion for attaching the cleaning member, one end wall provided at one longitudinal end of the cleaning frame, the other end wall provided at the other longitudinal end of the cleaning frame, an exposure opening for receiving information light to be illuminated onto the electrophotographic photosensitive drum attached to the drum attaching portion when the process cartridge is mounted to the main body of the apparatus, and a reinforcing member provided between the one end wall and the other end wall along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame at a side opposite to a side at which the exposure opening is provided in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge which is detachably mountable to a main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the process cartridge comprising (a) a cleaning frame including a drum attaching portion for attaching an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, a cleaning member attaching portion for attaching a cleaning member, one end wall provided at one longitudinal end of the cleaning frame, the other end wall provided at the other longitudinal end of the cleaning frame, an exposure opening for receiving information light to be illuminated onto the electrophotographic photosensitive drum attached to the drum attaching portion when the process cartridge is mounted to the main body of the apparatus, and a reinforcing member provided between the one end wall and the other end wall along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame at a side opposite to a side at which the exposure opening is provided in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame, (b) the electrophotographic photosensitive drum attached to the drum attaching portion, and (c) the cleaning member attached to the cleaning member attaching portion.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic image forming apparatus onto which a process cartridge is detachably mountable for forming an image on a recording medium, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus comprising (a) a mounting means capable of detachably mounting a process cartridge including a cleaning frame having a drum attaching portion for attaching an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, a cleaning member attaching portion for attaching a cleaning member, one end wall provided at one longitudinal end of the cleaning frame, the other end wall provided at the other longitudinal end of the cleaning frame, an exposure opening for receiving information light to be illuminated onto the electrophotographic photosensitive drum attached to the drum attaching portion when the process cartridge is mounted to the main body of the apparatus, and a reinforcing member provided between the one end wall and the other end wall along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame at a side opposite to a side at which the exposure opening is provided in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame; the electrophotographic photosensitive drum attached to the drum attaching portion; and the cleaning member attached to the cleaning member attaching portion, and (b) a conveying means for conveying the recording medium.
According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning frame of a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, which cleaning frame supports an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a cleaning blade for removing developer as waste toner remaining on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum after transferring and has a waste toner chamber, wherein a rib reaching to both end walls of a body of the cleaning frame with respect to a longitudinal direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum substantially in parallel with the electrophotographic photosensitive dr
Chadani Kazuo
Matsuzaki Hiroomi
Suzuki Akira
Tsuda Tadayuki
Beatty Robert
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
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