Patent ID: 6915092

Claim:
A remanufacturing method for remanufacturing a process cartridge including a transfer member unit having a transfer belt, and a drum unit having an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, said method comprising: (i) a pin removing step of removing a pin which connects the transfer member unit and the drum unit at each of one and the other longitudinal ends of the process cartridge; (ii) a drum unit removing step of removing the drum unit from the transfer member unit; (iii) a one-end cover removing step of removing an end cover from one longitudinal end of the transfer member unit; (iv) a screw unit removing step of removing a screw unit from a transfer member unit frame, wherein the screw unit integrally includes a screw disposed in a removed developer accommodating portion, provided in the transfer member unit, for accommodating a developer removed from the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, a gear for transmitting a rotational driving force to the screw, and an inlet opening for feeding a developer from the drum unit into the removed developer accommodating portion, and wherein when the screw unit is removed from the transfer member unit frame, the screw disposed in the removed developer accommodating portion is pulled out through an opening of the screw unit provided in the removed developer accommodating portion; (v) a developer removing step of removing the developer accommodated in the removed developer accommodating portion through the opening of the screw unit; (vi) a screw unit mounting step of inserting a screw into the removed developer accommodating portion through the opening of said screw unit, and mounting the screw unit to a transfer member unit frame; (vii) a one-end cover mounting step of mounting the one-end cover to the transfer member unit; and (viii) a coupling step of coupling the transfer member unit and the drum unit by pins.