JP2002316738A - Rotary feed member cleaner, sheet feeder and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary feed member cleaner that can keep reliably removing a deposit depositing on a rotary feed member, and a sheet feeder and an image forming device that are provided with the device and extended in life. SOLUTION: The rotary feed member cleaner comprises a paper dust removing plate 111 provided with rigidity and supported on a frame supporting a register roller 5, and an elastic sheet 113 provided with elasticity and supported on the paper dust removing plate 111 so as to abut the register roller 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary conveying member cleaning device for cleaning a rotary conveying member.
The present invention relates to a sheet conveying device provided with the rotary conveying member cleaning device, and an image forming device such as a copier, a printer, or a facsimile device having a function of forming an image on a recording medium such as a sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a rotary conveying member cleaning device provided in an image forming apparatus of this type, a registration roller cleaning device has been disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-152658. There is an apparatus in which a cleaning member is pressed against to remove paper dust from a registration roller.

[0003] As a cleaning device for a rotary sheet feeding member, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 53-106130 (Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 62-106130).
Japanese Patent No. 21691).

Further, as a secondary cleaning means, there is one configured, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-255360.

[0005]

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

If the cleaning member is simply pressed against the registration roller, the paper dust removed between the cleaning member and the registration roller accumulates. As shown in FIG. 7, when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the sheet, especially in the corresponding portion of the paper feed roller, the ratio of sliding of the sheet and the roller is large, and the amount of generated paper dust itself is smaller than that of other portions. It tends to occur frequently.

When the conveyed sheet arrives at the registration rollers, the amount of paper dust collected from the registration rollers by the paper dust cleaning device increases, so that the amount of paper dust deposited on the paper dust cleaning device increases.

When the allowable amount of paper dust of the paper dust cleaning device is exceeded, a phenomenon that paper dust that cannot be completely cleaned passes through the paper dust cleaning device starts to occur, and a sufficient cleaning effect cannot be maintained.

[0009] Further, in the above-mentioned state, the paper dust accumulated in the cleaning device may pass through the cleaning member in a solidified state. When such a lump of paper dust reaches the photoreceptor in the image area, the paper dust causes damage to the photoreceptor and accelerates the scraping at a stretch, which significantly shortens the life of the photoreceptor.

[0010] If the photosensitive member is scratched or scraped, a good image cannot be obtained.

Furthermore, if the sheet is continuously transported without removing the lump of the paper dust accumulated in the paper dust cleaning device, the paper dust and the registration roller will rub against each other. Then, the paper dust may scrape the registration roller, reduce the conveyance force of the registration roller, and reduce the conveyance accuracy of the sheet.

As for the secondary cleaning of paper dust, if the paper dust is not moved out of the image area, the life of the machine due to the paper dust is inevitably reduced as described above.

Further, there is no configuration conceived for storing and collecting paper dust moved outside the image area, and there is a problem that paper dust is scattered in the machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary transport member capable of continuing to reliably remove the deposits attached to the rotary transport member. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device, a sheet conveying device including the cleaning device, and an image forming device that has a long life.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a rotary conveying member cleaning apparatus for cleaning a conveying surface of a rotary conveying member for conveying a material to be conveyed. A rigid member fixed to a frame supporting the rotary transport member, and an elastic sheet having elasticity and supported by the rigid member and in contact with the rotary transport member.

It is also preferable that the elastic sheet is supported by the rigid member such that a front end portion of the elastic sheet comes into contact with the rotary conveyance member.

[0017] It is also preferable that the elastic sheet abuts on the rotating and conveying member and bends, and a tip of the elastic sheet is provided in a direction opposite to a rotating direction of the rotating and conveying member.

It is also preferable that a cleaning member is provided for contacting the elastic sheet and moving in the axial direction of the rotary conveying member to clean the elastic sheet.

It is preferable that the cleaning member abuts on the rotary transport member to clean the rotary transport member.

[0020] The cleaning member performs a cleaning operation by moving in a passage area through which the conveyed material passes in the axial direction.
When the cleaning operation is not performed, it is also preferable that the cleaning operation is held outside the passage area.

It is preferable that the cleaning member includes an elastic foam.

The cleaning member is provided at least at an end on the moving direction side during the cleaning operation, from an end of a contact surface that comes into contact with the rotary conveyance member and the elastic sheet, from the corresponding contact surface in the moving direction. It is also preferable to provide an inclined portion that is inclined in a direction away from the vehicle.

[0023] Outside the passage area and below at least a part of the movement area of the cleaning member, the adhering matter adhered to the rotary transport member and the elastic sheet, which is cleaned by the cleaning member, is collected. It is also preferable to provide a receiving portion.

The cleaning member is held on one of the ends outside the passage area as a standby position before the cleaning operation, and the receiving part is on the other side among the ends outside the passage area. It is also preferable that the adhering material provided below the end of the movable area of the cleaning member and cleaned by the cleaning member moving from the one side to the other side is collected.

It is also preferable that the rigid member includes a guide for moving the cleaning member in the axial direction.

The rotary transport member is a registration roller that corrects skew of the transported material transported from the upstream side along the transport path and transports the transported material downstream at a predetermined timing. It is also suitable.

[0027] The sheet conveying apparatus is characterized by comprising a rotary conveying member for conveying a sheet along a conveying path, and the above-described rotary conveying member cleaning device.

An image forming apparatus is characterized by comprising the above-described sheet conveying apparatus and image forming means for forming an image on a sheet.

It is also preferable that the other side of the housing outside the passage area in the housing of the apparatus main body, at least in the vicinity of the rotary conveying member cleaning device, can be opened.

[0030]

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, and their relative arrangement should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the following embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a copying machine as an example of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The outline of the image forming operation by the image forming means until a copy image is obtained will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

When an original is set on the original glass 201 and a copy button is pressed, the exposure device 202 moves in the direction of arrow a while irradiating the original, and scans the entire original.

The light illuminating the original from the exposure device 202 is turned back by the second and third mirrors 203, and is reflected by the lens.
An image is formed on D204. Image information of the document read by the CCD 204 is converted into an electric signal by an image processing unit and transmitted to the laser scanner 205. Then, it is scanned by an image writing optical system corresponding to the image information emitted from the laser scanner 205 and forms an image on the photosensitive drum 206 to form an electrostatic latent image.

This electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing unit 207 with toner.

The sheets are stored in the sheet cassette 1 and set in the apparatus main body.

When the sheet cassette 1 is set in the apparatus main body, the sheet surface in the sheet cassette 1 is raised by the lifter motor, and the sheet can be fed.

Sheets whose movement is started by the paper feed roller 2 are separated one by one by separation roller pairs 3 and 4, and are passed by several conveyance roller pairs to a registration roller lower guide 207 and a registration upper roller 208. It is transported to the nip of pairs 5 and 6.

The sheet is subjected to registration correction by the registration roller pairs 5 and 6, that is, a loop is formed in the guide section before the registration and is conveyed to the transfer section 7 at a predetermined timing, and the toner image developed by the developing device 207 is formed. Transcribed.

The sheet on which the image has been transferred is peeled off from the photosensitive drum 206 by a separation charger. Then, the image on the sheet is fixed by the fixing device 9 via the transport unit 8 and is discharged out of the apparatus by the discharge roller 10 to complete the one-sided copy operation.

When making a double-sided copy, the sheet is fed to a sheet reversing path 209,
0, the sheet is conveyed again to the registration rollers 5 and 6 after passing through the sheet re-feeding stay 211 also serving as a sheet re-feeding guide, so that the sheet is reversed to the back side of the previously copied one side. After that, it is the same as the copy of the first side.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a main part of a paper dust cleaning device 100 as a rotary conveying member cleaning device of the sheet conveying device according to the present embodiment.

In the paper dust cleaning apparatus 100, an elastic sheet 113 is adhered to and supported by a paper dust removing plate 111 as a rigid member made of a highly rigid sheet metal with a double-sided tape. The elastic sheet 113 needs to bend so that the leading end of the elastic sheet 113 comes into contact with the registration roller 5 as a rotary conveyance member.
(Trade name), a product having a thickness of 50 μm is used.

If the elastic sheet 113 is deformed such as by waving at the contact portion of the resist roller, the contact of the elastic sheet 113 with the resist roller 5 cannot maintain uniformity over the entire length of the resist roller, causing the adherence of paper powder or the like to pass through. Would.

However, in the present embodiment,
An elastic sheet 11 is attached to a paper dust removing plate 111 made of sheet metal.
3 prevents deformation of the front end of the elastic sheet by utilizing the rigidity and flatness of the sheet metal, and improves the cleaning performance of adhering substances such as paper powder, thereby preventing the lowering of the conveyance accuracy of the registration roller. ing. Further, a reinforcing plate 112 (a rigid member) is fixed to the paper dust removing plate 111 with a screw, and the strength of the entire cleaning device is provided by the paper dust removing plate 111 and the reinforcing plate 112.

The reinforcing plate 112 also functions as a rail as a guiding portion, and the bent portion of the reinforcing plate 112 functions as a rail. The bent portion of the reinforcing plate 112 has a cleaning pad holder 114 as a cleaning member. Are supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (axial direction of the registration roller) in FIG.

A cleaning pad 115 made of a foamed sponge as an elastic foam is attached to the cleaning pad holder 114 as a cleaning member, and is arranged so as to contact from the registration roller 5 to the elastic sheet 113.

The registration roller 6 is a metal shaft whose surface is coated with CR rubber (chloroprene rubber), and is driven via a gear by a motor. The registration roller 5 is a metal roller, and a required pressure is secured by spring-pressing the bearings at both ends against the registration roller 6. The rotation direction of the registration rollers 5, 6 rotates in the direction of arrow b, and the sheet conveyed from the pre-registration guides 207, 208 is sent out in the direction of arrow a.

In this embodiment, the elastic sheet 113 at the tip of the paper dust cleaning device 100 is at an angle of 60 degrees (α in the figure) with respect to a line connecting the centers of the registration rollers 5 and 6, and enters the registration roller 5 by an amount δ. Is set to 0.6 mm, and the paper dust cleaning device 100 is configured to contact the registration roller 6 in the shaded area. With such a configuration, the elastic sheet 113 abuts on the registration roller 5 and bends, and the leading end of the elastic sheet 113 is provided in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the registration roller 5.

By doing so, the tip of the elastic sheet 113 abuts in the counter direction in the rotation direction of the registration roller 5, so that the paper dust of the registration roller can be stably removed.

The elastic sheet 113 and the paper dusting plate 1
Paper powder can be loaded in a triangular zone formed by the reinforcing plate 11 and the reinforcing plate 112. Therefore, if there is paper dust in this area, the movement of the cleaning pad holder 114 and the cleaning pad 115 enables the movement of the paper dust.

Here, the management of the contact position of the tip of the elastic sheet 113 with the registration roller needs to be limited to the position indicated by the hatched portion. That is, when the end of the elastic sheet 113 is closer to the photosensitive drum 206 than the shaded area, the elastic sheet 113 comes into contact with the surface of the elastic sheet 113, not the end of the elastic sheet 113, and a sufficient paper dust cleaning effect cannot be obtained. .

On the other hand, the leading end of the elastic sheet 113 is located in front of the registration guides 207 and 208 more than the hatched area.
When the contact is made on the side, the elastic sheet 113 is turned up by the rotation of the registration roller 5, and in this case also, the paper dust cannot be cleaned.

As described above, the elastic sheet 113 is provided in a narrow range.
It is necessary to position and attach the paper dust removing plate 111 of the paper dust cleaning device 100 to the front and rear side plates 301 and 302 which are the frames of the apparatus main body supporting the registration roller since it is necessary to abut the registration roller. By doing so, the members to be fixed are the same, so that the variation in the position of the tip end of the elastic sheet 113 can be suppressed to a small extent. Therefore, it is possible to stably arrange the leading end of the elastic sheet 113 at the position indicated by the hatched portion of the registration roller 5 (the fixed state of the paper dust cleaning device 100 will be described later).

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the longitudinal direction of the paper dust cleaning device 100 as seen from the direction of arrow Q in FIG.

In FIG. 3, the right side is the side of the operation unit (the side plate of the housing is openable to enable maintenance and the like) of the image forming apparatus, the left side is the back side, and the paper dust removing plate 111 is shown.
Is inserted into the positioning hole of the rear plate 301, and the operation unit side 111c of the paper dust removing plate 111 is inserted into the front plate 30.
2 and is fixed to a main body frame which is a frame of the main body of the image forming apparatus.

When the moving rod 116 is fixed to the main body frame, the moving rod 116 is moved to the innermost position, and the moving rod 116 is brought into contact with the bent portion 112 a of the reinforcing plate 112. Since the moving bar 116 is rotatably held by the cleaning pad holder 114, the cleaning pad holder 114 and the cleaning pad 115 are in a copying enabled state.
Is a position on the outside of the A3 sheet, which is the maximum image forming area (or the passing area where the conveyed material passes) of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment (the end outside the passing area where the conveyed material passes) Part on one side). In this state, the cleaning members (the cleaning pad holder 114 and the cleaning pad 115) do not move during copying because the stopper member is fixed to the operation unit side.

When the number of copies advances and it seems that paper dust has accumulated, remove the stopper and move the moving rod 1
16 is moved in the direction of arrow a. When the stopper 116a of the moving rod 116 is moved until it comes into contact with the reinforcing plate 112b, the cleaning pad holder 114 is moved to the position indicated by a two-dot chain line.
Move to position 14 '. Then, the paper dust accumulated between the registration roller 5 and the elastic sheet 113 is removed on the right side of the drawing (the other one of the ends outside the passage area through which the conveyed material passes).
The paper powder can be removed from the registration roller 5 and the elastic sheet 113 by moving the elastic roller 113 to the position.

At this time, the cleaning pad 115 has a contact surface which is cut obliquely with respect to the traveling direction (at least at the end on the movement direction side during the cleaning operation, which comes into contact with the registration roller 5 and the elastic sheet 113). (Which is inclined from the end portion in the direction of movement and away from the contact surface). That is, in FIG. 3, the lower side is shorter than the upper side. Thus, when the paper dust accumulated between the registration roller 5 and the elastic sheet 113 is moved to the operation unit side, the paper dust is removed from the registration roller 5 and the elastic sheet 1.
Since the effect of pressing against the side 13 is produced, there is an effect that paper dust is not scattered in the image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cleaning pad holder 114 is moved to the operation area as far as the operation unit side, and the paper powder is dropped from between the registration roller 5 and the elastic sheet 113. At the paper dust drop position, a tray 11 as a receiving portion for receiving the paper dust in order to prevent the paper dust from dropping into the image forming apparatus main body is arranged, and the paper dropped from between the registration roller 5 and the elastic sheet 113 is disposed. The powder is collected by the tray 11. The receiving tray 11 is provided outside the maximum image forming area of the image forming apparatus (or the passing area through which the conveyed material passes) and below at least a part of the moving area of the cleaning pad 115. Good.

The receiving tray 11 is attached to the re-feeding stay 211 described with reference to FIG. Therefore, the paper dust dropped on the receiving tray 11 slides down to the re-feeding stay 211 side by its own weight. The refeeding stay 211 has a substantially C-shape and is configured to be able to hold paper dust dropped from the tray 11, thereby keeping paper dust for the life of the apparatus body, that is, about 1 million sheets. It is a configuration that can do it.

However, when it becomes necessary to remove paper dust, the paper dust can be removed from the right side of the apparatus in FIG. 2 by removing the paper feed unit.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic diagrams showing that the paper dust cleaning device 100 is fixed to the same side plate as the registration roller.

The back side plate 301 rotatably fixes the registration roller 5 via a bush 502. Also, the registration roller 6 is rotatably fixed via a bush 503. The back side plate 301 is provided with a positioning hole 504 of the paper dust cleaning device 100, and the back side of the paper dust removing plate 111 is inserted into the positioning hole 504.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the positioning of the operation unit side of the paper dust cleaning device and the state of fixing to the main body frame.

The operation portion side 111c of the paper dust removing plate 111 is fixed to the attachment portion 302a bent and raised from the front side plate 302 by screws 507, and is positioned and fixed to the apparatus main body. Although not shown in the figure, registration rollers 5 and 6 are rotatably supported at opposing positions of the rear plate 301, and the front side is positioned by the same member as the rear side.

As in the present embodiment, by combining the elastic sheet 113 having elastic properties and the paper dusting plate 111 made of a highly rigid sheet metal, the end of the elastic sheet 113 contacts the registration roller 5. A cleaning member (cleaning pad holder 114, cleaning pad 115) movable along the registration roller in the longitudinal direction of the registration roller for bringing paper dust accumulated in the paper dust cleaning device 100 out of the image area while being in contact with the cleaning device. The standby position and the maximum movement position of the cleaning member are outside the image area of the image forming apparatus, and the tray 11 for collecting paper dust is disposed below the maximum movement position of the cleaning member. The paper dust cleaning device 100
In addition, it is possible to prevent paper dust from being scattered in the image forming apparatus, and to prevent the life of the apparatus from being shortened due to the paper dust.

Further, since the cleaning pad 115 is made of a sponge-like foam and has a shape oblique to the traveling direction, the paper dust can be smoothly moved without scattering the paper dust.

Further, in the sheet conveying device applied to the image forming apparatus, the registration roller 5 which is in contact with the image forming surface immediately before forming the image is cleaned, so that the photoreceptor made of paper dust is formed. Therefore, the life of the photoconductor can be prolonged, and a high-quality image can be provided for a long period of time.

In this embodiment, the description has been made assuming that the registration roller 5 is cleaned as a rotary conveying member. The invention can be applied.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A rigid member supported by a frame supporting the rotary transport member,
By providing the elastic sheet supported by the rigid member and abutting against the rotary transport member, it is possible to reliably remove the adhered substance attached to the rotary transport member.

Further, since the adhered matter adhered to the rotary conveying member and the elastic sheet can be positively moved to the outside of the passage area through which the conveyed material passes by the cleaning member, the life of the apparatus body is prevented from being shortened. Can be.

Accordingly, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus which can obtain a high quality image and extend the life.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a paper dust cleaning device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view in the longitudinal direction of the paper dust cleaning device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining paper dust collection by a tray.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating fixing of the paper dust cleaning device on the operation unit side of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating fixing of the paper dust cleaning device on the back side of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a position of a sheet feeding roller with respect to a registration roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 5 registration roller 6 registration roller 11 tray 100 paper dust cleaning device 111 paper dust removal plate 111a insertion part of paper dust removal plate 111c operation part side of paper dust removal plate 111 112 reinforcing plate 112a bending portion of reinforcing plate 112 112b reinforcing plate 113 Elastic sheet 114 Paper dust cleaning pad holder 115 Cleaning pad 116 Moving bar 207 Lower guide before registration 208 Upper guide before registration 211 Refeeding stay 301 Back side plate 302 Front side plate 302a Mounting part 502, 503 Bush 504 Positioning hole 507 Screw

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A rotary transport member cleaning device for cleaning a transport surface of a rotary transport member that transports a material to be transported, comprising: a rigid member having rigidity and fixed to a frame supporting the rotary transport member; An elastic sheet having elasticity and supported by the rigid member and in contact with the rotary conveying member. 2. The rotary conveying member cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sheet is supported by the rigid member such that a front end portion of the elastic sheet contacts the rotary conveying member. 3. The elastic sheet according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sheet abuts on the rotary conveyance member and bends, and a tip of the elastic sheet is provided in a direction opposite to a rotation direction of the rotary conveyance member. Or the rotary conveying member cleaning device according to 2. 4. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning member that contacts the elastic sheet and moves in the axial direction of the rotary conveyance member to clean the elastic sheet. A cleaning device for a rotary transport member according to item 13. 5. The rotary conveying member cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein said cleaning member also contacts said rotary conveying member to clean said rotary conveying member. 6. The cleaning member performs a cleaning operation by moving in a passage area through which a conveyed material passes in the axial direction.
The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the cleaning device is held outside the passage area when the cleaning operation is not performed. 7. The rotary conveying member cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the cleaning member includes an elastic foam. 8. The cleaning member is provided at least at an end in the movement direction at the time of the cleaning operation from an end of a contact surface that comes into contact with the rotary conveyance member and the elastic sheet in the movement direction. The rotary conveying member cleaning device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising an inclined portion inclined in a direction away from the surface. 9. An adhering matter adhered to the rotating conveyance member and the elastic sheet, which is cleaned by the cleaning member, is provided outside the passage area and below at least a part of the movement area of the cleaning member. The rotary conveying member cleaning device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising a receiving portion for collecting. 10. The cleaning member is held at one of ends outside the passage area as a standby position before a cleaning operation, and the receiving part is the other side among ends outside the passage area. The cleaning device is provided below an end of a movable area of the cleaning member, and collects the attached matter that is cleaned by the cleaning member that moves from the one side to the other side. 10. The rotary conveying member cleaning device according to claim 9. 11. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said rigid member includes a guide portion for moving said cleaning member in an axial direction.
11. The rotary transport member cleaning device according to any one of claims 10 to 10. 12. A registration roller for correcting a skew of a conveyed material conveyed from an upstream side along a conveying path and conveying the conveyed material to a downstream side at a predetermined timing. The rotary conveying member cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein: 13. A sheet conveying device, comprising: a rotary conveying member for conveying a sheet along a conveying path; and the rotary conveying member cleaning device according to claim 1. 14. An image forming apparatus comprising: the sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 13; and image forming means for forming an image on a sheet. 15. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the other side of the housing outside the passage area on the other side of the housing of the apparatus main body, at least in the vicinity of the rotary conveying member cleaning device, can be opened. Item 15. An image forming apparatus according to Item 14.