JP2000010448A - Cleaning device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately supply lubricant to an image carrier by forming solid lubricant into a plate part and a projecting part extending in a longitudinal direction nearly in the center of the plate part so that its cross section is T- shape. SOLUTION: A cleaning brush is constituted by implanting rayon conductive yarn in a sheet shape and winding it around a metallic bar, and scrapes residual toner while it is rotated. By applying a solid zinc stearate bar 41 as the lubricant onto the cleaning brush which being in contact therewith, frictional resistance between the cleaning brush and a photoreceptor drum is lowered. The bar 41 is easily broken because it is composed of the plate part 41 and the projecting part 41b so that its cross section is T-shape, consequently, its periphery is reinforced and fixed by surrounding the plate part 41a by an ST holder 42 functioning as a fixing member consisting of a sheet metal. The projecting part 41b is a part for supplying the lubricant by getting into the cleaning brush, and is constituted so that the holder 42 may not disturb the supply of the lubricant.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic or electrostatic recording type image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a surface of an image carrier provided in the image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of cleaning device has been applied to, for example, an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine.

[0003] In these image forming apparatuses such as printers, a latent image is formed by selectively exposing an image carrier uniformly charged by a charger to a latent image, and the latent image is visualized with a developer by a developing device. Then, the image by the developer is transferred to a recording medium to record an image.

Then, the developer remaining on the image carrier after the transfer is removed by a cleaning blade and the developer is stored in a cleaning container, and the next development is performed by the image carrier having a cleaned and cleaned surface. I have to.

In recent years, the image carrier, the charging device, the developing device, the cleaning section, the waste toner box, etc. are integrated into a cartridge to form a cartridge. An image carrier in which parts can be replaced to facilitate maintenance has been put to practical use.

When the life of the image carrier is further extended and the number of printable sheets is increased, the developing device, whose supply capacity is limited, is made an isolated unit, and the developing cartridge, the image carrier, the charging device, Drum cartridges with an integrated cleaning unit are divided into two parts, making it easier to install and maintain the main unit as in the case of process cartridges, and using them in accordance with the life of the main components. I have.

[0007] Waste toner generated by cleaning in the drum cartridge is stored in a cleaning container having a capacity enough to accommodate the life of the image carrier, and is removed when the drum cartridge is replaced.

[0008]

However, in the case of the above-described prior art, the following problems have occurred.

As described above, in recent years, the life of a drum cartridge having an image carrier has been prolonged and the number of printable sheets has tended to increase, and the performance of the cleaning cartridge alone may not reach the life of the drum cartridge.

[0010] In some cases, the cleaning cannot be completely performed only by the cleaning blade irrespective of the life and depending on the nature of the developer.

Therefore, as a cleaning assisting means, there is a means for providing a conductive cleaning brush upstream of the cleaning blade, applying a certain potential to the cleaning brush, and bringing the cleaning brush into contact with the photosensitive drum. There is a disadvantage that the surface of the body drum is easily damaged or deteriorated.

In order to solve such a problem, a method has been adopted in which a lubricant such as zinc stearate is applied to the cleaning brush in advance to reduce the frictional resistance with the photosensitive drum to prevent scratches and deterioration. Was.

[0013] Since this solid lubricant is shaved and consumed by being applied, it is ideal to provide a mechanism capable of surely applying a sufficient amount to the cleaning brush even if the lubricant is consumed. Is desirable.

However, providing such a mechanism requires a considerable space. If there is not enough space in the cleaning container, the mechanism must be provided with a simple configuration. It was difficult to achieve a holding method and a method of applying to a cleaning brush.

Further, a solid lubricant such as zinc stearate has a drawback that it is a fragile member, so that it is prevented from cracking, or even if cracked, the broken pieces do not cause any adverse effect in the cleaning container. I needed to.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple structure and a solid lubricant that can appropriately supply a lubricant to an image carrier. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device and an image forming apparatus having excellent reliability.

[0017]

According to the present invention, there is provided a cleaning brush for cleaning a surface of an image carrier while rotating, and a lubricant which penetrates into the cleaning brush to remove lubricant. A solid lubricant supplied while applying the solid lubricant, wherein the solid lubricant has a T-shaped cross section having a flat plate portion, and a convex portion extending in a longitudinal direction substantially at the center of the flat plate portion. And a fixing member that reinforces and fixes substantially the entire area of the flat plate portion so as to allow the protrusion to penetrate into the brush and not to prevent the protrusion from entering the brush. And

Therefore, since the solid lubricant is reinforced and fixed to substantially the entire area of the flat plate portion by the fixing member, cracks are prevented and the lubricant can be appropriately supplied into the brush by the convex portions.

Preferably, the fixing member is configured to be slidable with respect to the flat plate portion.

After the fixing member is reinforced and fixed to the flat plate portion, elastic cap members attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the fixing member are provided, and the elastic cap member is attached to the mating attachment member to which the fixing member is attached. It is preferable to elastically fit and attach using elastic deformation.

It is preferable that an elastic deformation portion of the elastic cap member is abutted against a mounting position provided on the mating mounting member to be positioned.

The mounting portion provided on the mating mounting member is a round hole, and the mounting portion of the elastic cap member is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the round hole. The substantially cylindrical shape provided on at least one side may have a substantially D-shaped cross-section partially cut away.

The mating member has a scraping member for scraping developer accumulated in the cleaning brush, and when the elastic cap member is mounted on the mating member, the solid lubricant is scraped. The cleaning brush may be located downstream of the removing member in the rotation direction of the cleaning brush.

A scraping unit having a scraping member for scraping developer accumulated in a cleaning brush for rotating the surface of the image carrier while rotating, and a solid lubricant fixed to the scraping unit while being fixed to the scraping unit. In this state, the solid lubricant may be located downstream of the scraping member in the rotation direction of the cleaning brush.

It is preferable that the amount of the solid lubricant entering the cleaning brush is larger than the amount of the scraping member entering the cleaning brush.

A cleaning blade for cleaning the surface of the image carrier may be provided downstream of the cleaning brush in the rotation direction of the image carrier.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: a latent image forming means for forming a latent image on an image carrier; and a developing means for developing the latent image with a developer. And transfer means for transferring the development to a transfer member,
The developer that has failed to be transferred by the transfer unit is cleaned by the cleaning device.

[0028]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions of the components described in this embodiment,
The material, shape, relative arrangement, and the like are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them unless otherwise specified.

(First Embodiment) A cleaning device and an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this embodiment, a color laser printer will be described as an example of the image forming apparatus.

[Overall Description of Image Forming Apparatus] First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus will be schematically described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus (color laser printer) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The color laser printer is generally composed of an image carrier (photoreceptor 15) rotating at a constant speed, a fixed black developing device, an image forming unit including three rotatable color developing devices, and an image forming unit. And an intermediate transfer member that holds the color image that has been developed and transferred by the multi-transfer and further transfers to a transfer material fed from a feeding unit.

Then, the transfer material on which the color image has been transferred is then conveyed to the fixing section 25, where the color image is fixed on the transfer material, and is discharged to a discharge section 37 on the upper surface of the apparatus by discharge rollers.

The rotatable color developing device and the fixed black developing device are configured to be individually detachable from the printer main body.

Next, the structure of each section of the image forming apparatus will be described in detail sequentially.

[Image Carrier Unit] The drum cartridge 13 is integrally formed with a photosensitive drum 15 as an image carrier and a cleaning container 14 of a cleaning device also serving as a holder for the image carrier 15. Is detachably supported with respect to the printer main body, and is configured such that the unit can be easily replaced in accordance with the life of the image carrier 15.

The photosensitive drum 15 according to the present embodiment is constituted by applying an organic photoconductive layer to the outside of an aluminum cylinder having a diameter of about 60 mm, and is rotatably mounted on a cleaning container 14 also serving as a holder for the photosensitive drum 15. Supported.

On the periphery of the photosensitive drum 15, a cleaner blade (cleaning blade) 16, a primary charging means 1
A photoreceptor drum 15 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure in accordance with an image forming operation by transmitting a driving force of a drive motor (not shown) to one end on the rear side in the figure.

[Charging Means] The charging means 17 uses a contact charging method.
The surface of the photosensitive drum 15 is uniformly charged by applying a voltage to the conductive roller.

[Exposure Unit (Latent Image Forming Unit)] The exposure to the photosensitive drum 15 is performed from the scanner unit 30.

That is, when an image signal is given to the laser diode, the laser diode irradiates the polygon mirror 31 with image light corresponding to the image signal.

The polygon mirror 31 is rotated at a high speed by a scanner motor, and the image light reflected by the polygon mirror 31 selectively rotates the surface of the photosensitive drum 15 at a constant speed via the imaging lens 32 and the reflection mirror 33. The exposure is performed, and as a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 15.

[Developing Means] The developing means comprises three rotary developing devices 20 for developing each color of yellow, magenta, cyan and black in order to visualize the electrostatic latent image.
Y, 20M, 20C and one black developing unit 21B.

The black developing device 21B is a fixed developing device. A developing sleeve 21BS is arranged at a position facing the photosensitive drum 15 at a minute interval (about 300 μm) with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. To form a visible image.

The black developing unit 21B feeds the toner in the container by a feeding mechanism, and applies a thin layer of the toner to the outer periphery of the developing sleeve 21BS rotating clockwise in the drawing by an application blade 21BB pressed against the outer periphery of the developing sleeve 21BS. In addition, charge is applied to the toner (frictional charging).

Further, by applying a developing bias to the developing sleeve 21BS, toner development is performed corresponding to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 15.

Three rotating developing units 20Y, 20M, 20C
Are removably held by a developing rotary 23 that rotates about a shaft 22. At the time of image formation, each developing device is rotated about the shaft 22 while being held by the developing rotary 23, and a predetermined developing device Stops at a position facing the photosensitive drum 15 and the developing sleeve 21BS is positioned so as to face the photosensitive drum 15 at a small interval (about 300 μm).
A visible image is formed corresponding to the electrostatic line image.

When a color image is formed, the developing rotary 23 rotates for each rotation of the intermediate transfer member 9 and the yellow developing device 2 rotates.
The developing process is performed in the order of 0Y, magenta developing device 20M, cyan developing device 20C, and then black developing device 21B.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which a yellow developing unit 20Y, which is a yellow rotary developing unit, is positioned and stationary at a position facing the image carrier unit.

The yellow developing unit 20Y sends the toner in the container to the coating roller 20YR by a feeding mechanism, and rotates in the clockwise direction in the figure by the coating roller 20YR rotating clockwise in the figure and the blade 20YB pressed against the outer periphery of the developing sleeve 20YS. A thin layer of toner is applied to the outer periphery of the developing sleeve 20YS, and a charge is applied to the toner (frictional charging).

A toner is developed on the photosensitive drum 15 in accordance with the latent image by applying a developing bias to the developing sleeve 20YS facing the photosensitive drum 15 on which the latent image is formed.

Magenta developing device 20M, cyan developing device 20
For C, toner development is performed by the same mechanism as described above.

Each rotary developing device (yellow developing device 20)
Each of the sleeves of the Y, magenta developing unit 20M and cyan developing unit 20C) is connected to a high-voltage power supply for each color development and a drive provided in the printer main body when each developing unit is rotated to the developing position, and is used for each color development. , A voltage is sequentially and selectively applied, and the drive is connected.

[Intermediate Transfer Body (Transfer Means)] Intermediate Transfer Body 9
During the color image forming operation, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 15 visualized by each developing unit is printed four times (Y, M,
C, B), the image is rotated in a clockwise direction in synchronization with the peripheral speed of the photosensitive drum 15 in order to receive the multiple transfer, and the intermediate transfer member 9 that has received the multiple transfer is an intermediate transfer member. By transferring the transfer material 2 while sandwiching the transfer material 2 between the transfer material 9 and the transfer roller 10 to which a voltage is applied, the toner images of the respective colors on the intermediate transfer body 9 are simultaneously multiplex-transferred onto the transfer material 2.

The intermediate transfer member 9 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which an outer periphery of an aluminum cylinder 12 having a diameter of 180 mm is covered with an elastic layer 11 such as a medium resistance sponge or medium resistance rubber.

The intermediate transfer member 9 is rotatably supported,
It rotates by receiving drive from a gear (not shown) fixed integrally.

[Cleaning Unit] The cleaning unit cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 15 after the toner visualized on the photosensitive drum 15 is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 9 by the developing means. The waste toner that has been cleaned is stored in the cleaner container 14.

The amount of waste toner stored in the container 14 does not fill the container 14 earlier than the life of the image carrier. Therefore, when the life of the photosensitive drum 15 is changed, the cleaner container 14 is simultaneously and integrally replaced. .

The structure of the cleaner container will be described later in detail.

[Sheet Feeding Unit] The sheet feeding unit transfers the transfer material 2 to the image forming unit.
And a cassette 1 containing a plurality of transfer materials 2, a feed roller 3, a feed roller 4, a retard roller 5 for preventing double feed, a paper feed guide 6, a registration roller 8, and the like. It is composed of

At the time of image formation, the paper feed roller 3 is driven and rotated in accordance with the image forming operation, and separates and feeds the transfer material 2 in the cassette 1 one by one, while being guided by the guide plate 6 and passing through the transport roller 7. Then, the transfer material 2 reaches the registration roller 8.

During the image forming operation, the registration roller 8
A non-rotational operation of causing the transfer material 2 to stand still and a rotation operation of transporting the transfer material 2 toward the intermediate transfer body 9 are performed in a predetermined sequence. 2 is aligned.

[Transfer Section] The transfer section comprises a swingable transfer roller 10.

The transfer roller 10 is formed by winding a metal shaft with a medium-resistance foamed elastic material, and can be moved up and down in the figure and is driven.

While the four-color toner image is being formed on the above-mentioned intermediate transfer member 9, that is, while the intermediate transfer member 9 is rotated a plurality of times, the transfer roller 10 is not disturbed as shown by the solid line in FIG. It is located below and separated from the intermediate transfer member 9.

After the formation of the four color toner images on the intermediate transfer member 9, the transfer roller 10 is indicated by a thin line by a cam member (not shown) in accordance with the timing of transferring the color image onto the transfer material 2. The intermediate transfer body 9 is pressed at a predetermined pressure through the upper position, that is, the transfer material 2.

At this time, a bias is applied to the transfer roller 10 at the same time, and the toner image on the intermediate transfer body 9 is transferred to the transfer material 2.
Is transferred to

Here, since the intermediate transfer member 9 and the transfer roller 10 are driven respectively, the transfer material 2 sandwiched between them is conveyed at a predetermined speed to the left in the figure at the same time as the transfer process is performed. Then, it is sent to the next step, the fixing device.

[Fixing Section] As described above, the fixing section 25
As shown in FIG. 1, a fixing roller 26 for applying heat to the transfer material 2 and a pressing roller for pressing the transfer material 2 against the fixing roller 26 are fixed to the toner image formed on the transfer material 2. Each roller is a hollow roller and has a heater 28 and 29 inside thereof, and is configured to be driven to rotate and to simultaneously transfer the transfer material 2.

That is, the transfer material 2 holding the toner image is conveyed by the fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27 and is subjected to heat and pressure so that the toner is transferred to the transfer material 2.
Is established.

[Cleaning Container] The cleaning container will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a drum cartridge provided with a cleaning container.

FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. 2A.

The cleaning is performed by the cleaning blade 16 and the cleaning brush 19 in the cleaning chamber.

The residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 15 slips through the squeeze sheet 18 and enters the cleaning chamber, where it is first scraped off by the cleaning brush 19 on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 15 and is not scraped off by the cleaning brush 19. The remaining toner is scraped off by the cleaning blade 16 on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 15.

The cleaning brush 19 is formed by planting a rayon-based conductive yarn in a sheet shape and winding it around a metal rod, and scrapes off the residual toner while rotating.

The conductive yarn is dropped to the ground through a metal rod, adsorbs the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 15 in relation to a potential difference, and at the same time scrapes it off.

Here, if the cleaning is repeated by the cleaning brush 19, the brush fibers are clogged and the cleaning ability is reduced.

Further, since the fibers themselves are unlikely to fall down due to clogging, a load is generated between the fibers and the photosensitive drum 15.

To prevent this, a scraper unit 38 is provided as a scraping unit which is a member for scraping off the toner of the brush fibers.

The scraper unit 38 is a 0.1 mm thick scraper sheet 39 made of PET which comes into contact with the cleaning brush 19 and a scraper to which the scraper sheet 39 is attached and integrally fixed to a container. (See FIG. 6 and the like).

When the cleaning brush 19 is used, the surface of the photosensitive drum 15 is more easily damaged than when the cleaning is performed only by the cleaning blade 16.

Therefore, a solid zinc stearate stick (solid lubricant) 4 is applied to the cleaning brush 19 as a lubricant.
1 is applied to reduce the frictional resistance between the cleaning brush 19 and the photosensitive drum 15.

This zinc stearate rod 41 is roughly shaped so that its cross section is T-shaped, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a flat plate portion 41a and a convex portion 41b.

As shown in FIG. 3, since the zinc stearate rod 41 is easily broken, it is reinforced around the flat plate portion 41a by an ST holder 42 as a fixing member made of sheet metal.

The protrusion 41b is the cleaning brush 1
9 is a portion for supplying a lubricant (zinc stearate) to prevent the supply from being interrupted by the ST holder 42.

FIG. 3 shows that the zinc stearate rod 41
It is explanatory drawing explaining the state which attaches T holder 42, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view.

Further, as shown in FIG.
2 is attached to the scraper sheet metal 40 via a resin ST cap (elastic cap member) 43.

For this attachment, a patchon utilizing elastic deformation of the resin member is used.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the patch portion 44 is provided on the ST cap 43, and the patch portion 44 and the hole portion 46 provided on the scraper sheet metal 40 are fitted to each other. Fix both sides.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of the ST cap 43, FIG. 5 (a) is a front view, FIG. 5 (b) is a side view, FIG. 5 (c) is a rear view, and FIG. It is an explanatory view of attachment to 40, (a) is a plan view,
(B) is a side view.

The positioning of the ST cap 43 with respect to the scraper sheet metal (counter mounting member) 40 after the patchin is fixed is performed by pressing the ST cap 43 against the abutting portion 45 below.
(FIG. 7), and the upper part is performed by a substantially cylindrical patchon section 44 of the ST cap 43 (FIG. 8).

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views for explaining the play of positioning the ST cap 43 with respect to the scraper sheet metal 40.
(A) is a side view and (b) is a plan view.

[0095] In order to ensure that the patchon portion 44 can be securely inserted, a play of about 0.3 mm is provided between the upper and lower positioning portions.

For the same purpose, the diameter of the patchon portion 44 is set to φ2.8, which is smaller than the diameter φ3 of the hole portion (attached portion) 46 of the scraper sheet metal 40.

In addition, the upper part of the patch part 44 is cut into a D shape 47, and the patch part 44 is bent and the hole 46 is formed.
There is also provided an escape for fitting (FIG. 6B).

FIG. 2B is a detailed view of part A, showing the relationship between the amount of penetration of the zinc stearate rod 41 and the scraper unit 38 into the cleaning brush 19.

The penetration amount α of the zinc stearate rod 41 into the cleaning brush 19 is larger than the penetration amount β of the scraper 38 into the cleaning brush 19, so that α> β.

This is because a lubricant is applied to the cleaning brush 19.
The purpose is to make the toner inside penetrate into a position where the scraper 38 cannot remove the toner, that is, where the brush fiber is hard to fall down with the toner, to increase the resistance of the lubricant with the cleaning brush and to expedite the consumption of the lubricant. is there.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment,
The case where the fixing of the lubricant is made simpler is shown.

The other configuration and operation are the same as those of the first embodiment, so that the same components are denoted by the same reference characters and description thereof is omitted.

If the strength of the lubricant 48 itself is necessary and sufficient without reinforcement of the sheet metal, and if the fixing of the lubricant 48 is necessary and sufficient due to the adhesive force of the double-sided tape, the lubricant 48 is directly scraped. There is also a method of bonding the sheet metal 40 with the double-sided tape 49.

[0104]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the solid lubricant is reinforced and fixed substantially over the entire area of the flat plate portion by the fixing member, the solid lubricant can be prevented from cracking with a simple structure, Since the lubricant can be appropriately supplied into the brush, the reliability is improved.

After reinforcing the fixing member to the flat plate portion,
By providing an elastic cap member attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the fixing member, to the mating mounting member to which the fixing member is attached, by elastically fitting using the elastic deformation of the elastic cap member and attaching, Easy to install.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus (color laser printer) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drum cartridge provided with a cleaning container.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which an ST holder is attached to a zinc stearate rod.

FIG. 4 is a view showing how an ST cap is attached to an ST holder.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ST cap.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of attaching an ST cap to a scraper sheet metal.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of positioning play of an ST cap with respect to a scraper sheet metal.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of positioning play of the ST cap with respect to the scraper sheet metal.

FIG. 9 is a diagram in which a zinc stearate rod and a scraper sheet metal are fixed with double-sided tape.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 paper feed cassette 2 transfer material 3 paper feed roller 4 feed roller 5 retard roller 6 paper feed guide 7 transport roller 8 registration roller 9 intermediate transfer body 10 transfer roller 11 elastic layer 12 aluminum cylinder 13 drum cartridge 14 container 15 photosensitive drum Reference Signs List 16 cleaning blade 17 primary charging means 18 squeeze sheet 19 cleaning brush 20 developing means 20Y yellow developing device 20YB coating blade 20YR coating roller 20YS developing sleeve 20M magenta developing device 20MB coating blade 20MR coating roller 20MS developing sleeve 20C cyan developing device 20CB coating blade 20 Roller 20CS Developing sleeve 21 Developing means 21B Black developing device 21BB Coating blade 21BS Developing sleeve 22 Low Tally rotating shaft 23 Developing rotary 25 Fixing unit 26 Fixing roller 27 Pressure roller 28, 29 Heater 30 Scanner 31 Polygon mirror 32 Imaging lens 33 Reflecting mirror 34, 35, 36 Discharge roller 37 Discharge tray 38 Scraper unit 39 Scraper sheet 40 Scraper Sheet metal 41 Zinc stearate rod 42 ST holder 43 ST cap 44 ST cap patchon part 45 ST cap butting part 46 Scraper sheet metal hole part 47 ST cap D shape 48 Lubricant 49 Double-sided tape

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazunari Murayama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Canon Inc. (reference) 2H034 AA07 BD01 BD08

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaning brush for cleaning the surface of an image carrier while rotating; and a solid lubricant that penetrates into the brush of the cleaning brush and supplies the lubricant while applying the lubricant. The solid lubricant is formed in a T-shaped cross section having a flat plate portion and a convex portion extending in the longitudinal direction substantially at the center of the flat plate portion, and the convex portion is made to enter the brush, A cleaning device, comprising: a fixing member for reinforcing and fixing substantially the entire area of the flat plate portion so as not to prevent the protrusion from entering the brush. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing member is configured to be slidable with respect to the flat plate portion. 3. An elastic cap member attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the fixing member after the fixing member is reinforced and fixed to the flat plate portion, and an elastic cap member is attached to a mating attachment member to which the fixing member is attached. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is elastically fitted and attached using elastic deformation of the member. 4. The cleaning device according to claim 3, wherein an elastic deformation portion of said elastic cap member is positioned by abutting against a mounting position provided on said mating mounting member. 5. A mounting portion provided on the mating mounting member is formed as a round hole, and a mounting portion of the elastic cap member is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the round hole. The cleaning device according to claim 3, wherein the substantially cylindrical shape provided on at least one of them has a substantially D-shaped cross section partially cut away. 6. The mating member has a scraping member for scraping developer accumulated in the cleaning brush, and when the elastic cap member is attached to the mating member, the solid lubricant is removed. The cleaning device according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning device is located downstream of the scraping member in the rotation direction of the cleaning brush. 7. A scraping unit having a scraping member for scraping a developer accumulated in a cleaning brush for cleaning the surface of the image carrier while rotating, and a solid lubricant fixed to the scraping unit. In the cleaning device, the solid lubricant is located downstream of the scraping member in the rotation direction of the cleaning brush in the fixed state. 8. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an amount of the solid lubricant entering the cleaning brush is larger than an amount of the scraping member entering the cleaning brush. 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning blade downstream of said cleaning brush in a rotation direction of said image bearing member for cleaning a surface of said image bearing member.
The cleaning device according to any one of items 1 to 8, wherein 10. A transfer device comprising: a latent image forming means for forming a latent image on an image carrier; a developing means for developing the latent image with a developer; and a transfer means for transferring development to a transfer member. 10. The developer which has failed to be transferred by the means.
An image forming apparatus that performs cleaning by the cleaning apparatus according to any one of the above.