US 8,265,513 B2Granted

Image forming apparatus

AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorYasushi Okabe

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Abstract

The present invention provides a configuration in which an electrically connected condition can further be stabilized in electrical-connection zones between a body of an image-forming apparatus, and an image-forming unit and a plurality of image-forming cartridges. Developing electrode members and wire power-feed electrodes are attached to a slide frame. Each of the developing electrode members has a first body-side contact. The developing electrode members are electrically connected with the developing-roller output terminals. The wire power-feed electrodes are electrically connected with wire output terminals through contact with the wire output terminals. The developing electrode members are elastically deformed as a result of their first body-side contacts being pressed in a direction, which is along a slide direction, by the developing-roller output terminals. The wire power-feed electrodes are pressed in a paper width direction by the wire output terminals.

Claims13

Dependent claims

An image-forming apparatus, comprising:

a main body frame:
a slide frame which is supported by the body frame such that the slide frame can be drawn out from the body frame along a predetermined slide direction;
a plurality of image-forming cartridges configured to be arranged along the slide direction and configured to be attached to the slide frame in such a manner as to be removable along a predetermined attachment/detachment direction intersecting with the slide direction, each of the plurality of image-forming cartridges which has a developing roller disposed in such a manner as to face an electrostatic-latent-image-carrying body and an image-forming-cartridge contact;
and
a plurality of electrodes mounted on the slide frame in such a manner that each of the electrodes which corresponds to each of the image-forming cartridges in one-to-one fashion;
wherein
each of the electrodes includes a cartridge-side electrode configured to establish electrical connection to the developing roller by contacting the image-forming-cartridge contact;
and
each of the cartridge-side electrodes comprises:
a coil portion having a shape of a coil spring,
a latch portion provided at one end of the coil portion and configured to be supported by the slide frame,
an arm portion provided at the other end of the coil portion and having a cartridge-side contact configured to contact the image-forming-cartridge contact.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/344,323Filed 5 Jan 2012 · continuation
Priority: JP 2006-19712119 Jul 2006
Published: US 2012/0107021 A13 May 2012
Granted: 11 Sep 2012
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G03G 21/1652
For connecting the different parts of the apparatus: electrical connection means
G03G 21/1871
For electrically connecting the process cartridge to the apparatus, electrical connectors, power supply: associated with a positioning function
G03G 2215/0119
Plural electrographic recording members: linear arrangement adjacent plural transfer points
G03G 2221/166
For connecting the different parts: electrical connectors

Family

Application11/780,083Parent of this continuation · filed 19 Jul 2007
US 2012/0107021 A1Pre-grant publication · published 3 May 2012
US 8,116,652 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2008/0031656 A1Published application
US 8,265,513 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.