Sidley & Austin
Process unit having mounting guides and protective covers
 A fixed frame includes a photosensitive drum and a developing unit, and a movable frame is openable with respect to the fixed frame. The developing unit, which has two pairs of protrusions thereon, is detachably mounted to the fixed frame by engaging the protrusions with two pairs of guides provided on the fixed frame. One pair of guides includes a portion for momentarily catching one pair of the protrusions as the developing unit is being mounted to the apparatus, and each of the other pair of guides includes a inclined portion having the shape of an arc centered on the momentarily catching portion, whereby an impact to the developing unit is alleviated. The developing unit has a shutter which moves to a position for covering a peripheral surface of a developing sleeve when the developing unit is being dismounted, and which retracts from the developing sleeve covering position and moves to a position for covering the photosensitive drum when the developing unit is being mounted. The movable frame accommodates a fixing device to move the fixing device rearwardly together with the movable frame when the movable frame is opened, whereby the danger of an operator touching the fixing device when the apparatus is opened is reduced. 
Minolta Co., Ltd.
G G G G G G G G
G03G G03G G03G G03G G03G G03G G03G G03G
inventional inventional inventional inventional additional inventional additional additional
Hiroshi Narutaka Yuzuru
Mizuno Yoshida Sugimoto