ROTATING-BODY ELECTRIFICATION MECHANISM, IMAGE CARRIER UNIT, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR ELECTRIFYING IMAGE CARRIER UNIT

• US 20120213544A1
• Filed: 02/01/2012
• Published: 08/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited, Gamesa Innovation and Technology SL (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: OOYOSHI, Hirobumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,712,277 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/90
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/751 relating to drum G03G15/757 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/80 Details relating to power supplies, circuits boards, electrical connections
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/1867 for electrically connecting the process cartridge to the apparatus, electrical connectors, power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 39/64 Devices for uninterrupted current collection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

According to an embodiment, there is provided a mechanism for electrification of a rotating body used in an image forming apparatus. In the mechanism, compression of an elastically-deformable pressing member brings a portion of a cloth-like or sheet-like conductive member into contact with an electrification object and presses the rest of the conductive member against a conductive contact member, which is any one of the rotating body, a rotating shaft that rotates together with the rotating body, and a shaft that rotatably supports the rotating body. A connecting between the electrification object and the contact member is achieved via the conductive member.

Claims

1. A mechanism for electrification of a rotating body used in an image forming apparatus, wherein

compression of an elastically-deformable pressing member brings a portion of a cloth-like or sheet-like conductive member into contact with an electrification object and presses the rest of the conductive member against a conductive contact member, which is any one of the rotating body, a rotating shaft that rotates together with the rotating body, and a shaft that rotatably supports the rotating body, thereby connecting between the electrification object and the contact member is achieved via the conductive member.

2. The rotating-body electrification mechanism according to claim 1, wherein

the conductive member has at least any one of a slit and a cutout portion that enables the contact member to penetrate through the conductive member and enables the conductive member to bend and be in contact with the contact member when the contact member penetrates through the conductive member.

3. An image carrier unit having a mechanism for electrification of a rotating body used in an image forming apparatus, wherein

compression of an elastically-deformable pressing member brings a portion of a cloth-like or sheet-like conductive member into contact with an electrification object and presses the rest of the conductive member against a conductive contact member, which is any one of the rotating body, a rotating shaft that rotates together with the rotating body, and a shaft that rotatably supports the rotating body, thereby connecting between the electrification object and the contact member is achieved via the conductive member, wherein

the conductive member has at least any one of a slit and a cutout portion that enables the contact member to penetrate through the conductive member and enables the conductive member to bend and be in contact with the contact member when the contact member penetrates through the conductive member, and wherein

the rotating body includes an image carrier with any one of an electrophotographic photosensitive layer, an electrostatic recording dielectric layer, and a magnetic recording magnetic layer on a cylindrical conductive base material;

the image carrier unit comprising;

a flange member that is fixed to at least one end of the image carrier; and

a metal conductive member a base end portion of which is in contact with the conductive member and a tip portion of which is fixed to an inner wall surface of the conductive base member, and is configured to enable the contact member to penetrate therethrough without making contact, wherein

the conductive shaft penetrates through the center of the flange member, thereby rotatably supporting the image carrier,

the pressing member, the conductive member, and the metal conductive member are placed within the flange member in this order from inside, and the metal conductive member is fixed to the inside of the flange member with the pressing member and the conductive member sandwiched therebetween,

the shaft is inserted into the metal conductive member, the conductive member, the pressing member, and the flange member, thereby the conductive member bends and comes in contact with the shaft by compression of the pressing member, and

the conductive base member is connected to the shaft through contact between the metal conductive member and the conductive member.

4. The image carrier unit according to claim 3, wherein

the conductive member bends toward the inside of the flange member thereby being in contact with the shaft.

5. The image carrier unit according to claim 4, wherein

the flange member has a contact holding portion having an inner wall surface in contact with a compressed portion of the pressing member when the conductive member is in contact with the shaft, and the compressed portion of the pressing member is housed and held between the shaft and the inner wall surface.

6. The image carrier unit according to claim 5, wherein

the contact holding portion is shaped so that a distance from the center line of the shaft to the inner wall surface in a radial direction in the flange member becomes gradually larger toward the other end of the image carrier.

7. The image carrier unit according to claim 5, wherein

the image carrier unit satisfies L2<

L1<

L3, where

L1 denotes a distance from the center line of the shaft to the inner wall surface in the radial direction in the flange member,

L2 denotes a distance from a mounting surface of the flange member on which the conductive member is mounted to a start edge of the inner wall surface in a length direction of the shaft, and

L3 denotes a distance from a mounting surface on which the conductive member is mounted to an end edge of the inner wall surface in the length direction of the shaft.

8. The image carrier unit according to claim 3, wherein

the pressing member has at least one portion where a compression ratio of thickness after elastic deformation to original thickness before the elastic deformation is more than 0 and not exceeds 0.7.

9. The image carrier unit according to claim 8, wherein

the pressing member is a nonmetallic elastic body containing at least any one of rubber and sponge.

10. The image carrier unit according to claim 9, further comprising

a pushing member that pushes the conductive member against the metal conductive member, wherein

the pressing member and the pushing member are configured to be integrated.

11. The image carrier unit according to claim 3, wherein

the conductive member is a conductive cloth formed of a cloth-like material into which at least any one of polyethylene terephthalate fiber, nylon fiber, and polyester fiber, nickel, and copper are woven.

12. A process cartridge that integrally holds therein an image carrier and at least any one of a charging unit, a cleaning unit, and a developing unit and is removably attached to a main body of an image forming apparatus, the process cartridge comprising:

the image carrier unit according to claim 3.

13. An image forming apparatus comprising:

the image carrier unit according to claim 3.

14. An image forming apparatus comprising:

the process cartridge according to claim 12.

15. A method for electrifying an image carrier unit including

an image carrier with any one of an electrophotographic photosensitive layer, an electrostatic recording dielectric layer, and a magnetic recording magnetic layer on a cylindrical conductive base material;

an insulating flange member fixed to at least one end of the image carrier;

a conductive shaft that penetrates through a center of the flange member, thereby rotatably supporting the image carrier;

a cloth-like or sheet-like conductive member through which the shaft penetrates;

a metal conductive member of which base end portion is in contact with the conductive member and of which tip portion is fixed to an inner wall surface of the conductive member, and is configured to enable a contact member to penetrate therethrough without making contact; and

an elastically-deformable pressing member through which the shaft can penetrate, the method comprising;

placing the pressing member, the conductive member, and the metal conductive member inside the flange member in this order from inside;

inserting the shaft into the metal conductive member, the conductive member, the pressing member, and the flange member thereby bending the conductive member and also compressing the pressing member thereby bringing the conductive member into contact with the shaft; and

connecting the conductive member to the shaft via contact between the metal conductive member and the conductive member so as to be electrically conductive.