Process cartridge, electrophotographic image forming apparatus, driving force transmission part, and electrophotographic photosensitive drum

A process cartridge which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the apparatus including a motor;

• and a driving rotatable member for transmitting a rotational driving force from said motor and having a twisted hole formed therein at a central portion thereof having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, said process cartridge comprising:
• an electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• process means actable on said electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• and
• a twisted projection provided at a longitudinal end of said electrophotographic photosensitive drum and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, said twisted projection being engageable with the twisted hole,
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted from said driving rotatable member to said electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between the twisted hole and said twisted projection, and wherein said twisted projection is urged toward the twisted hole when said driving rotatable member is rotated with said twisted projection being in engagement with the twisted hole when said process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly.

A process cartridge which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the apparatus including a motor;

• a main assembly gear for transmitting a rotational driving force from the motor and having a twisted hole formed therein at a central portion thereof having a substantially triangular cross-section, said process cartridge comprising:
• an electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• process means actable on said electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• and
• a twisted projection in the form of a substantially triangular prism provided at a longitudinal end of said electrophotographic photosensitive drum, said twisted projection being engageable with the twisted hole;
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted from the main assembly gear to said electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between said twisted hole and said twisted projection, and wherein said twisted projection is urged toward said twisted hole when the main assembly gear is rotated with said twisted projection being in engagement with the twisted hole when said process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly.

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus, for forming an image on a recording material, to which a process cartridge is detachably mountable, said said apparatus comprising:

• a. a motor;
• b. a driving rotatable member for transmitting a rotational driving force from said motor;
• c. a twisted hole formed in said driving rotatable member at a central portion thereof and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions;
• d. mounting means for detachably mounting the process cartridge, the process cartridge including an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a twisted projection provided at a longitudinal end of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, the twisted projection being engageable with said twisted hole;
• and
• e. feeding means for feeding the recording material,
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted from said driving rotatable member to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between said twisted hole and the twisted projection, and wherein the twisted projection is urged toward said twisted hole when said driving rotatable member is rotated with the twisted projection being in engagement with said twisted hole when the process cartridge is mounted to a main assembly of said image forming apparatus.

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus, for forming an image on a recording material, to which a process cartridge is detachably mountable, said apparatus comprising:

• a. a motor;
• b. a main assembly gear for transmitting a rotational driving force from said motor;
• c. a twisted hole formed in said main assembly gear at a central portion thereof and having a substantially triangular cross-section;
• d. mounting means for detachably mounting the process cartridge, the process cartridge including an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, process means actable on said electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a twisted projection in the form of a substantially triangular prism provided at a longitudinal end of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the twisted projection being engageable with said twisted hole;
• and
• e. feeding means for feeding the recording material,
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted from said main assembly gear to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between said twisted hole and the twisted projection, and wherein the twisted projection is urged toward said twisted hole when said main assembly gear is rotated with the twisted projection being in engagement with said twisted hole when the process cartridge is mounted to a main assembly of said image forming apparatus.

A driving force transmitting part for transmitting a driving force to an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and to a developing roller for developing a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum, wherein the photosensitive drum and the developing roller are contained in a process cartridge which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus which includes a motor, a main assembly gear for transmitting a driving force from the motor, a twisted hole formed in the main assembly gear at a central portion thereof and having a substantially triangular cross-section, said driving force transmitting part comprising:

• a drum gear for transmitting the driving force received from said main assembly to the developing roller when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly;
• a shaft provided at a central portion of said drum gear;
• and
• a twisted projection in the form of a substantially triangular prism provided at an end of said shaft and which is engageable with the twisted hole of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus to receive the driving force from the main assembly when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly.

An electrophotographic photosensitive drum for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the apparatus including a motor, a driving rotatable member for transmitting a driving force from the motor, and a twisted hole formed in the driving rotatable member at a central portion thereof and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, said electrophotographic photosensitive drum comprising:

• a. a cylindrical member having a photosensitive layer on a circumferential surface thereof;
• and
• b. a twisted projection provided at an end of said cylindrical member, said twisted projection being engageable with the twisted hole and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions for receiving the driving force from said driving rotatable member,
• wherein when said electrophotographic photosensitive drum is mounted to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus, said twisted projection is engaged with the twisted hole to receive the driving force for rotating said electrophotographic photosensitive drum.

An electrophotographic photosensitive drum for a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the main assembly including a motor, a main assembly gear for transmitting a driving force from said motor, and a twisted hole formed in the main assembly gear at a central portion thereof and having a substantially triangular cross-section, said electrophotographic photosensitive drum comprising:

• a. a cylindrical member having a photosensitive layer on a circumferential surface thereof;
• and
• b. a driving force transmitting part mounted to an end of said cylindrical member, said transmitting part including:
• a drum gear for transmitting the driving force from the main assembly to a developing roller when said process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly;
• a shaft provided at a center of said drum gear;
• and
• a twisted projection in the form of a substantially triangular prism provided at an end of said shaft, for engaging with the twisted hole to receive the driving force from the main assembly when said process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly,
• wherein said driving force transmitting part receives the driving force from the main assembly through engagement between the twisted hole and twisted projection and transmits the driving force to said electrophotographic photosensitive drum through said shaft and to the developing roller through said drum gear.

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, comprising:

• an electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• charging means for charging said electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• developing means for developing a latent image formed on said electrophotographic photosensitive drum into a toner image;
• transfer means for transferring the toner image formed by said developing means from said electrophotographic photosensitive drum onto the recording material;
• fixed means for fixing the toner image transferred onto the recording material by said transfer means on the recording material;
• a motor;
• a driving rotatable member for transmitting a rotational driving force from said motor;
• a twisted projection integrally rotatable with said driving rotatable member and provided at a central portion thereof, said twisted projection having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions;
• and
• a twisted hole formed in a longitudinal end of said electrophotographic photosensitive drum and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, said twisted hole being engageable with said twisted projection,
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted to said electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between said twisted projection and said twisted hole, and wherein said photosensitive drum is urged toward said twisted projection when said driving rotatable member is rotated with said twisted hole being in engagement with said twisted projection.

A process cartridge which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the apparatus including a motor, a driving rotatable member for transmitting a rotational driving force from the motor, and a twisted projection integrally rotatable with said driving rotatable member and provided at a central portion thereof, said twisted projection having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, said process cartridge comprising:

• an electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• process means actable on said electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• and
• a twisted hole formed in a longitudinal end of said electrophotographic photosensitive drum and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, said twisted hole being engageable with the twisted projection,
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted from the driving rotatable member to said electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between the twisted projection and said twisted hole, and wherein said photosensitive drum is urged toward the twisted projection when the driving rotatable member is rotated with said twisted hole being in engagement with the twisted projection when said process cartridge is mounted to said main assembly.

A process cartridge which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the apparatus including a motor, a main assembly gear for transmitting a rotational driving force from the motor, a twisted projection in the form of a substantially triangular prism integrally rotatable with the main assembly gear and provided at a central portion thereof, said process cartridge comprising:

• an electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• process means actable on said electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
• and
• a twisted hole formed in a longitudinal end of said electrophotographic photosensitive drum and having a substantially triangular cross-section, said twisted hole being engageable with the twisted projection,
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted from the main assembly gear to said electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between the twisted projection and said twisted hole, and wherein said photosensitive drum is urged toward the twisted projection when the main assembly gear is rotated with said twisted hole being in engagement with the twisted projection when said process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly.

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus, for forming an image on a recording material, to which a process cartridge is detachably mountable, said apparatus comprising:

• a. a motor;
• b. a driving rotatable member for transmitting a rotational driving force from said motor;
• c. a twisted projection integrally rotatable with said driving rotatable member and provided at a central portion thereof, said twisted projection having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions;
• d. mounting means for detachably mounting the process cartridge to said apparatus, the process cartridge including an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, process means actable on said electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a twisted hole formed in a longitudinal end of said electrophotographic photosensitive drum and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, the twisted hole being engageable with said twisted projection;
• and
• e. feeding means for feeding the recording material,
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted from said driving rotatable member to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between said twisted projection and the twisted hole, and wherein the photosensitive drum is urged toward said twisted projection when said driving rotatable member is rotated with said twisted hole being in engagement with said twisted projection when said process cartridge is mounted to a main assembly of said apparatus.

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus, for forming an image on a recording material, to which a process cartridge is detachably mountable, said apparatus comprising:

• a. a motor;
• b. a main assembly gear for transmitting a rotational driving force from said motor;
• c. a twisted projection integrally rotatable with said main assembly gear and provided at a central portion thereof, said twisted projection being in the form of a substantially triangular prism;
• d. mounting means for detachably mounting to said apparatus the process cartridge including an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a twisted hole formed in a longitudinal end of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and having a substantially triangular cross-section, the twisted hole being engageable with said twisted projection;
• and
• e. feeding means for feeding the recording material,
• wherein the rotational driving force is transmitted from said main assembly gear to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum by engagement between said twisted projection and the twisted hole, and wherein the photosensitive drum is urged toward said twisted projection when said main assembly gear is rotated with the twisted hole being in engagement with said twisted projection when said process cartridge is mounted to a main assembly of said apparatus.

A driving force transmitting part for transmitting a driving force to an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and to a developing roller for developing a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum, wherein the photosensitive drum and the developing roller are contained in a process cartridge which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the main assembly including a motor, a main assembly gear for transmitting a driving force from the motor;

• a twisted projection in the form of a substantially triangular prism formed on the main assembly gear at a central portion thereof, said driving force transmitting part comprising:
• a drum gear for transmitting the driving force received from the main assembly to the developing roller when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly;
• a shaft provided at a central portion of said drum gear;
• and
• a twisted hole formed in an end of said shaft and having a substantially triangular cross-section, the twisted hole being engageable with the twisted projection of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus to receive the driving force from the main assembly when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly.

An electrophotographic photosensitive drum for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the apparatus including a motor, a driving rotatable member for transmitting a driving force from the motor, and a twisted projection integrally rotatable with the driving rotatable member and provided at a central portion thereof, said twisted projection having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions, said electrophotographic photosensitive drum comprising:

• a. a cylindrical member having a photosensitive layer on a circumferential surface thereof;
• and
• b. a twisted hole formed in an end of said cylindrical member, said twisted hole being engageable with the twisted projection and having a non-circular cross-section with a plurality of corner portions for receiving the driving force from the driving rotatable member,
• wherein when the photosensitive drum is mounted to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus, said twisted hole is engaged with the twisted projection to receive the driving force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum.

An electrophotographic photosensitive drum for a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the main assembly including a motor, a main assembly gear for transmitting a driving force from the motor, and a twisted projection in the form of a substantially triangular prism formed on said the assembly gear at a central portion thereof, said electrophotographic photosensitive drum comprising:

• a. a cylindrical member having a photosensitive layer on a circumferential surface thereof;
• and
• b. a driving force transmitting part mounted to an end of said cylindrical member, said transmitting part including:
• a drum gear for transmitting the driving force from the main assembly to a developing roller when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly;
• a shaft provided at a center of said drum gear;
• and
• a twisted hole formed in an end of said cylindrical member, for engaging with the twisted projection to receive the driving force from the main assembly when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly,
• wherein said transmitting part receives the driving force from the main assembly through engagement between the twisted projection and said twisted hole, and wherein said transmitting part transmits the driving force to the photosensitive drum through said shaft and to the developing roller through said drum gear.