A toner conveying device that conveys toner. The toner conveying device includes a housing, a toner guide portion, and at least two vibration motors. The housing has, in its inside, a toner conveyance path. The toner guide portion is provided in the housing and includes an opening through which toner flows in or out, and a guide passage communicating between the opening and the toner conveyance path. The at least two vibration motors apply vibrations to the toner guide portion. The vibration motors are started at different timings, and driven and controlled by drive signals in which a first pulse and a second pulse of different pulse widths alternately continue.

A driving-force-transmitting mechanism includes a driving-force-transmitting component that transmits a driving force from an apparatus body to an attaching object, the attaching object being attachable to and detachable from the apparatus body; and plural operating components that enables or disables the transmission of the driving force from the apparatus body to the attaching object when the attaching object is attached to or detached from the apparatus body, the operating components operating sequentially with delays in such a manner as to move the driving-force-transmitting component in a direction intersecting attaching and detaching directions in which the attaching object is attached to and detached from the apparatus body.

A process cartridge for use with a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the main assembly including a driving shaft, to be driven by a motor, having a rotational force applying portion, wherein the process cartridge is dismountable from the main assembly in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axial direction of the driving shaft, the process cartridge includes i) an electrophotographic photosensitive drum having a photosensitive layer at a peripheral surface thereof, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum being rotatable about an axis thereof; ii) process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum; iii) a coupling member engageable with the rotational force applying portion to receive a rotational force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the coupling member being capable of taking a rotational force transmitting angular position for transmitting the rotational force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a disengaging angular position in which the coupling member is inclined away from the axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum from the rotational force transmitting angular position, wherein when the process cartridge is dismounted from the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the coupling member moves from the rotational force transmitting angular position to the disengaging angular position.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image developing apparatus and a process cartridge with which an image quality can be improved while reducing a number of parts and reducing an amount of remaining developer.

[SOLUTION] A process cartridge detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming operators includes a developing chamber including a developing roller and a developer supplying roller; a developer accommodating container accommodating the developer provided below the developing chamber with respect to gravity direction, wherein the developer is fed into the developing chamber while being stirred by a feeding member. The developer supplying roller rotates such that a surface thereof moves in the same direction as a surface of the developing roller at a position where the developer supplying roller contacts the developing roller. A surface speed of the developer supplying roller is higher than a surface speed of the developing roller. The developer supplying roller is rotationally driven by receiving a driving force at a position upstream of the developing roller.

A coupling member is provided for a cartridge that includes a cylindrical photosensitive drum that is rotatable about an axis. The coupling member is operatively connected to the photosensitive drum and is capable of receiving a rotational force for rotating the photosensitive drum.

An image forming apparatus according to an example includes a main body, a driving coupler to drive a toner cartridge. The driving coupler is rotatable in a direction, a locking protrusion protrudes from an axial protrusion of the driving coupler in the direction of the driving shaft is lockable into a locking groove concavely formed in the direction of the driving shaft of a passive coupler of the toner cartridge. A driving force transmission surface of the axial protrusion of the driving coupler and a driving force receiving surface of the passive coupler are to contact each other to rotate the passive coupler in the direction.

To further develop a drive transmission method from a main assembly of an apparatus toward a cartridge.

The cartridge is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus including a drive output member configured to output a driving force, and a main assembly side pushing member configured to incline the drive output member by pushing the drive output member. The cartridge includes a photosensitive drum and a cartridge side pushing member. The cartridge side pushing member is configured such that an inclination angle of the drive output member is changed by pushing the main assembly side pushing member.

A composite gear includes: a first member comprising a rotation shaft portion and a disk-shaped web extending in radial directions from the rotation shaft portion; and a second member comprising at least one engaging tooth on an outer periphery thereof and provided being supported by the web so as to surround an outer periphery of the first member. A space is provided between the second member and an outermost peripheral surface of the first member in a radial direction, a space is provided between the first member and an innermost peripheral surface of the second member in a radial direction, and at least one of the first member and the second member is formed to nip another of the first member and the second member from both sides thereof in an axial direction of the rotation shaft portion.

In a developing cartridge, a first supporting member is attached to a housing and has a first developing supporting portion and a driving-force-receiving-member supporting portion, the first developing supporting portion being configured to rotatably support a first part of a rotational shaft, the driving-force-receiving-member supporting portion being configured to rotatably support a driving-force-receiving member. The second supporting member is attached to the housing and has a second developing supporting portion and a detection-rotational-body supporting portion, the second developing supporting portion being configured to rotatably support a second part of the rotational shaft, the detection-rotational-body supporting portion being configured to rotatably support a detection rotational body.

A developing cartridge for an imaging device may include: a housing; a developer roller supported by the housing and configured to rotate about an axis of the developer roller; and a coupling gear on a first side of the housing and configured to rotate; a transmission rod configured to move in response to a rotation of the coupling gear, a first part of the transmission rod on the first side of the housing; a first protrusion movably mounted on a second side of the housing, and configured to move in response to a movement of the transmission rod; and a second protrusion on the first side of the housing, extending toward the second side of the housing, and the second protrusion comprising a guide surface configured to cause the transmission rod to move toward the second side of the housing in response to the rotation of the coupling gear.