Abstract:
The present disclosure illustrates an image forming apparatus with structural connection function. The image forming apparatus can be applied to a business machine, to solve the problem of bad quality of image caused by shaking of a developing module. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the groove with the inclined angle is equal to the pressure angle of the gear to constrain the operation direction of the developing module, so as to prevent the developing module from shaking. The present disclosure just modifies the design of the guiding channel to constrain the developing module, so the cost of components can be reduced efficiently.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Taiwan Patent Application No. 103204978, filed on Mar. 24, 2014, in the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus with structural connection function, in particular, to an image forming apparatus applied to a business machine to solve the problem of bad quality of the image due to shaking of a developing module. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     At present, the image forming apparatus of the business machine utilizes a developing roller to transfer the toner on an organic photo conductor to develop the image, and the organic photo conductor then transfers the toner on the printing media. During the developing process, the driving gear of the organic photo conductor engages with the slave gear of the developing roller for simultaneous rotation, so that the developing roller can coat the toner on the surface of the organic photo conductor. However, when these gears are engaged, a moment is transmitted along the pressure angle and shakes the developing roller, which results in the problem of bad quality of the formed image. 
     To solve this problem, in the prior art, an all-directional connector is applied to connect the organic photo conductor and the developing roller for image developing, so the force is not transmitted by the set of gears and the above-mentioned problem can be solved. However, the manufacturing cost of the image forming apparatus is increased because of the complex structure and high cost of the all-directional connector. 
     In addition, in the prior art, gear series are used to engage and constrain each other. However, the gear series also increases the cost and occupies more space, so it is not easy for miniaturization and cost down. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To solve the problem in the prior art, one of the objectives of the present disclosure is to provide an image forming apparatus with structural connection function. The image forming apparatus utilizes a groove with an inclined angle equal to a pressure angle of the gear, to constrain an acting range of the developing module and to balance the carry-over moment while the driving gear is rotating, so the developing module can be prevented from shaking. 
     Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide an image forming apparatus with structural connection function. The guiding channel of the image forming apparatus is redesigned to constrain the developing module, so that the cost of components can be reduced efficiently. 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides an image forming apparatus with structural connection function, which comprises a base, a photosensitive drum, and a developing module. Two sides of the base are provided with corresponding guiding channels respectively, and each of the guiding channels includes a mounting groove and a constrained straight groove. The mounting groove is located at an opening end of constrained straight groove, and the constrained straight groove has a groove with an inclined angle. The photosensitive drum is located inside the base. The developing module is movably placed in the guiding channel, and the developing module comprises a developing box and a developing roller. The developing roller is mounted on the developing box, and the driving gear of the photosensitive drum is engaged with the developing gear of the developing roller for driving. The inclined angle is equal to a pressure angle of the driving gear of the photosensitive drum, and the constrained straight groove is located on a normal direction of the pressure angle to constrain an acting range of the developing module. 
     Preferably, two ends of an axle of the developing roller are provided with a rotation element respectively, and an outer diameter of the rotation element is equal to or smaller than a width of the constrained straight groove. 
     Preferably, the rotation element comprises a bearing, a roller, or the combination thereof. 
     Preferably, the mounting groove is arranged to dismount or mount the developing module. 
     Preferably, an action line between the driving gear of the photosensitive drum and the developing gear of the developing roller is horizontal. 
     Preferably, the imaging forming apparatus according to the present disclosure further comprises an adjusting member located between the base and the developing module. The adjusting member comprises an elastic element and an adjusting element to adaptively adjust contact degree between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller, so as to maintain stable contact between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller. 
     The image forming apparatus with structural connection function provided in the present disclosure has the following advantages. 
     The first advantage is cost saving. The original assembly is redesigned by modifying the inclined angle of the guiding channel to equal to the pressure angle, so the modified structure can be used to connect and constrain the developing module, and the cost of components can be saved efficiently. 
     The second advantage is ensuring of the quality of image developing. After the developing module is mounted and fixed, the acting range of the developing module can be constrained effectively and the developing module is not easily shaken, so that the quality of the developing can be ensured. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The detailed structure, operating principle and effects of the present disclosure will now be described in more details hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings that show various embodiments of the present disclosure as follows. 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an image forming apparatus with structural connection function according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a combined view of the image forming apparatus with structural connection function according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the image forming apparatus with structural connection function according to the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of exemplary embodiments and is not to be construed as limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, as well as other exemplary embodiments, are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. The relative proportions and ratios of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated or diminished in size for the sake of clarity and convenience in the drawings, and such arbitrary proportions are only illustrative and not limiting in any way. The same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. 
     It will be understood that, although the terms ‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. Thus, a first element discussed below could be termed a second element without departing from the teachings of embodiments. As used herein, the term “or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     Please refer to both of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus with structural connection function is mounted inside a business machine, such as a printer, a copying machine or a multi-function printer. The image forming apparatus comprises a base  10 , a photosensitive drum  20  and a developing module  30 . In implementation, the base  10  is a main structure or a body member of the business machine. Each of two sides of the base  10  is provided with a corresponding guiding channel  11 . 
     Each guiding channel  11  comprises a mounting groove  111  and a constrained straight groove  112 . The mounting groove  111  is located on an opening end of the constrained straight groove  112 , so that the developing module  30  can be movably and smoothly assembled or disassembled for repairing. The constrained straight groove  112  is a groove with inclined angle β. The photosensitive drum  20  is disposed inside the base  10 , and the developing module  30  is movable disposed in the guiding channel  11 . 
     The developing module  30  comprises a developing box  31  and a developing roller  32 . The developing box  31  is configured for storing the toner or other developing coatings. The developing roller  32  is mounted on the developing box  31 , located opposite to the photosensitive drum  20  and contacts with the photosensitive drum  20 . The driving gear  25  of the photosensitive drum  20  is engaged with the developing gear  325  of the developing roller  32 . When the driving gear  25  of the photosensitive drum  20  rotates, the developing gear  325  of the developing roller  32  is driven by the engagement with the driving gear  25  to rotate simultaneously for developing. 
     For further illustration, the photosensitive drum  20  and the driving gear  25  are coaxial, and the developing roller  32  and the developing gear  325  are also coaxial. A power source not shown in figure inputs power to the driving gear  25  to engagedly drive the developing gear  325  and rotate the developing roller  32 . 
     Each of two ends of the axle of the developing roller  32  is provided with a rotation element  321 , for smoothly assembling the developing module  30  along the guiding channel  11 . The outer diameter of the rotation element  321  is equal to or smaller than the width of the constrained straight groove  112 . The rotation element  321  is a rotating contact element, such as a bearing or a roller. 
     An action line between the driving gear  25  of the photosensitive drum  20  and the developing gear  325  of the developing roller  32  is horizontal. The inclined angle β of the constrained straight groove  112  is equal to the pressure angle α of the driving gear  25  of the photosensitive drum  20 . The constrained straight groove  112  is located on the normal direction of the pressure angle α. When the developing module  30  is glided along the constrained straight groove  112  to contact the photosensitive drum  20 , the acting range of the developing roller  32  is constrained by engagement between the driving gear  25  and the developing gear  325 . 
     In more detail, when the inclined angle β of the constrained straight groove  112  is lower than the pressure angle α (β&lt;α), the developing module  30  is moved upward by just little upward force, and the quality of forming image is affected correspondingly. 
     If the inclined angle β of the constrained straight groove  112  is larger than the pressure angle α(β&gt;α), it is easy to generate interference between the driving gear  25  of the photosensitive drum  20  and the developing gear  325  of the developing roller  32 , so the grind of the gear increases. In addition, when the inclined angle β is too large, the gear interference will affect the smooth assembly. 
     The inclined angle β of the constrained straight groove  112  according to the present disclosure is modified to equal to the pressure angle α(β=α). The shaking range of the developing roller  32  can be constrained by the structural connection, so the quality of image development can be ensured. Therefore, the problem that developing roller  32  shakes during the developing process can be solved efficiently by just modifying the inclined angle β, and the cost of designing, manufacturing and assembling the elements can also be reduced efficiently. 
     In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the guiding channel  11  can comprise a vertical surface  113 . The mounting groove  111  and the constrained straight groove  112  are respectively connected to two sides of the vertical surface  113  that are opposite to each other. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 , after the business machine is operated for a period, the toner contained inside the developing module  30  will be reduced gradually and it causes change of weight of the developing module  30 , so the contact degree between the photosensitive drum  20  and the developing roller  32  is also changed correspondingly. In this case, although the developing roller  32  can be constrained by the constrained straight groove  112 , the problem of assembly margin or components grind still causes the developing roller  32  to shake a little. 
     To solve the problem, the image forming apparatus with structural connection function according to the present disclosure further comprises an adjusting member  50  which is located between the base  10  and the developing module  30  and comprises an elastic element  51  and an adjusting element  52  to adjust adaptively the contact degree of the photosensitive drum  20  and the developing roller  32 , to ensure the quality of forming image of the business machine. 
     In this embodiment, the developing box  31  of the developing module  30  can have a quarter-circular surface  311 , and the adjusting element  52  can have a flat surface  521  facing the quarter-circular surface  311 . The quarter-circular surface  311  is abutted against the flat surface  521 . 
     The above-mentioned descriptions represent merely the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, without any intention to limit the scope of the present disclosure thereto. Various equivalent changes, alternations or modifications based on the claims of present disclosure are all consequently viewed as being embraced by the scope of the present disclosure.