JP2001083863A - Process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a process cartridge whose recovering ability of waste toner is excellent and whose running cost is reduced. SOLUTION: This process cartridge possesses at least a photoreceptor 1 and a cleaning device 3 to remove toner from the photoreceptor 1 at the inside of a casing 8 and is integrally attached and detached to/from an image forming device main body. In this case, the cleaning device 3 is constituted of a first recovering part 9 to temporarily carry the toner recovered from the surface of the photoreceptor by a blade 3b and a sealing means 3c abutting on the photoreceptor 1 and a second recovering part 10 to recover the toner from the first recovering part 9 and the second recovering part 10 is independently freely attached and detached to/from the casing 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a process cartridge mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a facsimile, a photosensitive member as an image carrier and a developing device are integrally housed in a case, and consumables in the case are eliminated, and the life of parts and the like is reduced. When it runs out, the case is replaced with the case, thereby facilitating maintenance. An integrated unit including such a photoreceptor and its peripheral image forming apparatus is called a process cartridge. In general, a process cartridge is designed in consideration of the durability of components of each image forming apparatus so that the life of the image forming apparatus such as the photosensitive member 1 does not end before all the toner in the cartridge is consumed. I have.

A conventional process cartridge is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-8-305103 and JP-A-8-27.
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 2279, there is provided a cleaning device for removing transfer residual toner on the photoconductor, and waste toner is collected inside the cleaning device. The configuration of a conventional process cartridge provided with a cleaning device will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

A process cartridge shown in FIG. 1 includes a photosensitive member 1 and a contact type charging roller 2 which rotates in contact with the surface of the photosensitive member.
, A cleaning device 3 for slidingly contacting the photoreceptor 1 and cleaning the surface thereof, and a developing device 4 are integrally provided by a casing 8. The cleaning device 3 has a waste toner storage portion 3a, and a cleaning opening portion provided with a cleaning blade 3b and an entrance seal 3c that contact the photoconductor 1 below the waste toner storage portion 3a. When the process cartridge is mounted at a substantially central portion in the image forming apparatus, the photosensitive member 1
And a nip is formed, and the image on the photoconductor 1 can be transferred to the transfer paper T passing through the transfer nip.

The photoconductor 1 is an image carrier having a photoconductive layer such as OPC, and rotates clockwise during an image forming operation. A high voltage is applied to the charging roller 2 at the time of image formation, and the surface of the photoconductor 1 is uniformly charged and charged. The photoreceptor 1 having a surface charged with a laser beam L from a writing device (not shown) eliminates negative charges on the photoreceptor 1 to form an electrostatic latent image. The developing device 4 contains toner, and the toner is transferred to the photosensitive member 1 by the rotation of the developing roller 4a.
The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface is visualized.

On the other hand, the transfer paper T which has been transported to the registration roller 6 and is on standby is sent out from the registration roller 6 in synchronism with the image on the photoreceptor 1. A transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 5 at the same time that the leading end of the transfer paper T enters the nip portion, and a charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner on the photoconductor 1 is applied to the transfer roller 5 to perform transfer.
The toner remaining on the photoconductor 1 without being transferred to the transfer paper T is
After being removed by the cleaning device 3, the photosensitive member 1 is finally exposed over the entire surface by the charge removing lamp 7 to remove residual charges, and is ready for the next copying operation.

[0007]

As described above, the process cartridge is generally replaced when the consumables such as toner are exhausted. For this reason, image forming parts such as the photoconductor 1 that can still be used are wasted. That is, the advantage of the process cartridge resides in the maintainability in which the case is firmly integrated using a case so that the user can easily replace it. Since this maintenance property cannot be sacrificed, the entire process cartridge that has undergone cleaning failure or the like has to be replaced while the durability of other image forming devices remains, resulting in a high running cost.

As shown in FIG. 2, a conventional process cartridge generally has a cleaning section having a cleaning blade 3b and the like located below the waste toner storage section 3a. For this reason, the ability to collect waste toner and the like are easily exhausted, and various problems have occurred as described below.

That is, as the toner is consumed, the waste toner accumulates in the waste toner accommodating portion 3a. Due to the heavy pressure, the entrance seal 3c and the cleaning blade 3b which are located between the photosensitive member 1 and close the cleaning opening. May cause toner scattering. In particular, when the waste toner container 3a is disposed above the cleaning blade 3b as in the example shown in the drawing, the toner scatters easily due to the weight of the waste toner, and the waste toner constantly applies pressure to the photoreceptor 1. If they are in contact with each other, they may cause poor cleaning and filming.

Although not shown in the example of FIG. 2, M is used as a means for transporting the waste toner to the back of the waste toner storage section 3a.
An AG roller or a conveying roller having a polygonal cross section may be used. However, conveyance of waste toner by MAG roller is MAG
Since the waste toner is transported only by the attraction force of the roller and the magnetic toner, the transport force is small. In particular, when the waste toner storage unit 3a is disposed above the cleaning blade 3b, and when the capacity of the waste toner storage unit 3a is large, the heavy pressure of the waste toner is inevitably increased. I can't get it. In comparison with this, the conveying force of the polygonal cross-section roller is large, but in this case, the elastic plate contacting the roller alternately contacts the corner and the surface of the conveyance roller. At this time, since the transport roller is usually the same drive source as the photoconductor 1, banding may occur in the image due to the load fluctuation.

In view of the above, according to the present invention, when the toner collecting ability of the waste toner collecting unit reaches a limit, the running cost can be reduced by preventing wasteful replacement of other parts having a remaining life by replacing the cartridge. It is another object of the present invention to provide a process cartridge capable of maintaining the collecting power of the waste toner collecting section.

[0012]

A process cartridge according to the present invention that achieves the above object includes at least an image carrier,
In a process cartridge having cleaning means for removing toner from the image carrier and integrally removably mounting them in the image forming apparatus main body, the cleaning means is provided by a blade and a seal means abutting on the image carrier. A first collection unit that temporarily holds the toner collected from the image carrier surface; and a second collection unit that collects the toner from the first collection unit, wherein the second collection unit is a process cartridge. It is characterized by being detachable from.

[0013] The first accommodating section has a rotating transfer means for carrying the toner by magnetic force on a rotating endless surface,
It is preferable that the rotation transfer unit transfers toner from the first recovery unit to the second recovery unit.

[0014] Further, it is possible to adopt a structure in which the rotary transfer means is a belt transfer means which is close to the blade and the seal means on one end side and is close to the opening of the second recovery section on the other end side. In the case, an opening is provided substantially at the top of the second collection unit, and the belt conveying means is positioned such that the other end near the substantially top opening is higher than the one end near the blade and the sealing means. As a result, a configuration can be provided in which the second collection unit is juxtaposed.

[0015] Further, the opening of the second collecting section may have a scraper in contact with the other end of the belt conveying means.

Further, it is desirable that the second collecting section is completely covered with a casing of the cartridge, and a part of the casing can be opened and closed.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a process cartridge according to the present embodiment, and shows a specific configuration around a cleaning device. The process cartridge of this embodiment includes image forming devices such as a photosensitive member 1, a charging roller 2, a developing roller 4a, and a cleaning device 3 in a casing 8 formed in a cartridge shape. This casing 8
Is detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus main body (not shown), and a user can take out the cartridge together with the casing 8 at the time of paper jam or when replacing the life of the cartridge.

When mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus, the photoreceptor 1 forming a pair with the transfer roller 5 discharges electricity by a discharge lamp 7, charges by a charging roller 2, writes an image with a laser beam L, and develops a developing roller. Visualization of the image according to 4a is performed. The cleaning device 3 is configured to transfer the photoconductor 1 after transferring the image.
Foreign matter such as waste toner is removed from the surface of the substrate and collected.

The cleaning device 3 as a cleaning means comprises a first recovery unit 9 and a second recovery unit 10. The first collection unit 9 includes a cleaning blade 3b on the upper side of the cleaning opening facing the photoconductor 1 surface,
An entrance seal 3b as a sealing means is provided on the lower side, and has a transport belt 11 inside. The transport belt 11 is vertically supported by a casing 8 so as to be rotatable.
It is composed of an endless metal belt having a magnetic force and stretched between two drive pulleys 11a and driven pulleys 11b. The drive pulley 11a is provided with a gear (not shown) at one shaft end, and the gear of the photoreceptor flange meshes with this gear to be driven to rotate counterclockwise. Further, the lower end side of the feed surface that moves upward by the transport belt 11 is disposed near the cleaning blade 3b and the entrance seal 3c.

The second collection unit 10 is provided with the above-described conveyor belt 11.
An opening 10a is provided in the upper side surface so as to face the upper side of the return surface that moves downward, and is disposed in the casing 8. The lid 8a corresponding to a part of the casing 8 can be opened and closed, and the second collecting unit 10 can be replaced independently by removing the lid 8a. Therefore, even if the second collection unit 10 is full of waste toner, if the other imaging device has a remaining life, only the second collection unit 10 needs to be replaced. Further, the opening 10a of the second collection unit 10
A scraper 12 that contacts the return surface of the conveyor belt 11 is provided on the lower side of the conveyor belt 11. The scraper 12 uses a metal elastic plate or a resin elastic plate such as polyethylene.
The opening 10a, the cleaning blade 3b,
Inlet seal 3c, conveyor belt 11, and scraper 12
And the like have a predetermined width in the front-rear direction in the figure so as to cover an image area corresponding to the maximum paper passing width of the photoconductor 1.

In the cleaning device 3 having the above-described configuration, the waste toner scraped off from the photoreceptor 1 by the cleaning blade 3b is first stored in the first collecting section 9, that is, the lower end side of the conveyor belt 11. From here, it is attracted to the conveyor belt 11 which has a magnetic force and rotates counterclockwise and is conveyed upward. Then, the transported toner turns at the upper end of the transport belt 11 and is scraped into the second recovery unit 10 by the scraper 12 abutting on the return surface side.

In the above configuration, the second collection unit 10 is mounted on the image forming apparatus, and
And is disposed above the cleaning opening provided with the cleaning blade 3b and the like. In this way, the second collection unit 10 is located above the cleaning opening, but is structurally divided from the first collection unit 9 via the transport belt 11, and is separated from the cleaning opening and the photoconductor 1. The pressure of the collected waste toner is completely eliminated. Further, by providing the transport belt 11 in the vertical direction beside the second recovery unit 10, the transport belt 11 can be provided without difficulty between the photoreceptor 1 and the second recovery unit 10, and at the top. The waste toner can be collected by dropping it into the container-shaped second collection unit 10 provided with the opening 10a. Therefore, it is possible to collect and store a large amount of waste toner, especially as compared with the MAG roller, and there is no need to worry about an abnormal image due to the use of the conveying roller having a polygonal cross section.

In particular, the reason why the opening 10a is arranged above the second collecting section 10 is as follows. When the waste toner is stored above the cleaning blade 3b using a MAG roller or the like, the opening 10a is connected to the second collection unit 1
0. In this case, when the second recovery unit 10 is removed from the process cartridge, the surroundings are stained due to leakage of waste toner, and a shutter or the like needs to be provided in the waste toner storage port. In the present embodiment, such a disadvantage is avoided.

In the process cartridge according to the present embodiment, the second recovery unit 10 is completely covered with a casing 8 and has a box-like shape including a lid 8a which can be opened and closed. High strength. In this case, the second collecting unit 10 is a thin-walled part formed by, for example, blow molding, and the running cost can be reduced by reducing the cost of the part and making the replacement part inexpensive. On the other hand, if the second recovery unit 10 is formed as a separate casing, the strength is significantly reduced, and cleaning failure and toner scattering due to deformation of the case are likely to occur.

[0025]

As described above, the process cartridge of the present invention has at least the image carrier and the cleaning means for removing the toner from the image carrier, and is integrally detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. In the process cartridge mounted in the above, the cleaning means is:
A first collection unit that temporarily holds toner collected from the surface of the image carrier by a blade and a sealing unit that abuts on the image carrier, a second collection unit that collects toner from the first collection unit, Since the second collecting unit is detachable from the process cartridge, only the second collecting unit can be replaced even if the toner collecting power is limited. It is possible to provide a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus with a low running cost without wasting the entire cartridge having the forming ability. In addition, since the first recovery unit, which is a means for recovering toner from the surface of the image carrier, and the second recovery unit for storing toner are structurally divided, cleaning performance and the like are reduced by the pressure of the accumulated waste toner. No malfunction occurs.

Further, the first storage section has a rotating transfer means for carrying the toner by magnetic force on a rotating endless surface, and the rotating transfer means transfers the toner from the first collecting section to the second collecting section. According to the configuration for transferring the toner, the toner is carried on the rotary transfer unit, so that the toner does not remain near the blade and the seal unit. In particular, it is assumed that the second recovery unit is located above the blade and the seal unit. Also, the toner can be surely transferred to the second collecting section by the above-mentioned rotary transfer means.

[0027] Further, according to the constitution, the rotary transfer means is a belt conveying means which is close to the blade and the seal means on one end side and is close to the opening of the second collecting section on the other end side.
By the belt conveyance, the opening of the second collecting unit can be arranged apart from the blade and the sealing means of the first collecting unit, and the opening can be provided above the second collecting unit.

In addition, an opening is provided substantially above the second collecting section, and the belt conveying means has the other end closer to the substantially upper opening than the one end close to the blade and the sealing means. According to the configuration which is located above and is juxtaposed with the second collecting section, both the second collecting section and the belt conveying means are arranged without difficulty above the blade and the sealing means. Since the opening of the storage section 2 is located substantially at the top, waste toner does not leak when the cartridge is detached from the cartridge to contaminate the inside of the apparatus. A cost and space-saving process cartridge can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a process cartridge according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a conventional process cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoconductor (image carrier) 3 Cleaning device (cleaning means) 3b Cleaning blade (blade means) 3c Entrance seal (seal means) 8 Casing 8a Part of openable and closable casing 9 1st collection part 10 2nd collection Unit 10a Opening in upper part of second collection unit 11 Conveyor belt (rotary transfer unit, belt transfer unit) 12 Scraper

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A process cartridge comprising at least an image carrier and a cleaning unit for removing toner from the image carrier, wherein the cleaning unit is integrally mounted on a main body of the image forming apparatus in a detachable manner. A first temporarily supporting the toner collected from the surface of the image bearing member by a blade and a sealing means which is in contact with the image bearing member;
And a second unit for collecting toner from the first collection unit.
Wherein the second collection unit is detachable from the process cartridge. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first storage unit has a rotation transfer unit that carries the toner by a magnetic force on a rotating endless surface, and the rotation transfer unit transfers the toner from the first collection unit to the second collection unit. 2. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the toner is transferred. 3. The belt transporting means as claimed in claim 2, wherein said rotary transfer means is a belt transporting means which is close to the blade and the sealing means at one end and close to the opening of the second collecting unit at the other end. The process cartridge as described. 4. An opening is provided substantially above the second collecting section, and the belt conveying means has the other end closer to the substantially upper opening than the one end closer to the blade and the sealing means. 4. The process cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the process cartridge is located above and is arranged in parallel with the second collection unit. 5. The process cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the opening of the second collection unit has a scraper that contacts the other end of the belt conveying means. 6. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a periphery of the second collecting unit is completely covered with a casing of the cartridge, and a part of the casing can be opened and closed. Process cartridge.