JP2003295719A - Process device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a process device capable of improving the paper powder removing performance and an image forming device provided with the process device. <P>SOLUTION: A process unit 22 is provided with a primary cleaning roller 82 for catching paper powder on a photosensitive drum 28 and a secondary cleaning roller 83 for catching the paper powder caught by the primary cleaning roller 82 and both the end parts of these rollers 82, 83 in the axial direction are supported by common bearing members 85. Consequently the relative positions of both the rollers 82, 83 can be surely held at fixed positions. Thereby, the pressurized contact force of these rollers 82, 83 can be stabilized and the power powder removing performance can be improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process device and a laser printer equipped with the process device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, a photosensitive drum and a portion around the photosensitive drum are
A process unit in which a charger, a scanner device, a developing roller, and a transfer roller are sequentially provided according to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum is provided. As the photosensitive drum rotates, the surface of the photosensitive drum is first uniformly charged by a charger, and then exposed by high-speed scanning of a laser beam from a scanner device, and electrostatically based on predetermined image data. A latent image is formed. On the other hand, in this process unit, toner is stored in the toner hopper,
Toner is supplied to the developing roller from a toner hopper and is carried on the developing roller as a thin layer. By the rotation of the developing roller, the toner carried on the developing roller is supplied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum when facing the photosensitive drum and selectively carried. By doing so, a visible image is formed. Then, the visible image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum is transferred to the paper while facing the transfer roller and while the paper passes between the photosensitive drum and the transfer roller.

In such an image forming apparatus, the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum after being transferred to a sheet is
It is known that the residual toner is collected by a so-called cleanerless developing method in which the developing roller collects the toner again.

In such a cleanerless developing system, when a large amount of residual toner is generated after transfer, the residual toner cannot be collected by the developing roller, and a visible image is formed on the photosensitive drum next. On the other hand, the effect of the residual toner may appear, and a ghost may occur in the image. Therefore, a conductive cleaning roller is further provided so as to be in contact with the photosensitive drum, and when transferring the toner to the paper, a bias is applied to the cleaning roller so that the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum moves to the cleaning roller. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum is temporarily captured by the cleaning roller, while the toner is not transferred onto the paper, that is, during the period corresponding to the interval between the paper on which images are continuously formed. A bias is applied to the cleaning roller so that the toner captured by the roller moves to the photosensitive drum, the toner temporarily captured by the cleaning roller is discharged back onto the photosensitive drum, and the returned toner is developed. It is collected by a roller.

However, in such a cleanerless developing system, the paper dust adhering to the photosensitive drum from the paper at the time of transfer is also captured by the cleaning roller. Therefore, for example, in JP-A-9-127844, a cleaning roller is used. It is proposed to provide a conductive brush that rubs against the surface of the cleaning roller, and apply a bias having the same polarity as the toner to the conductive brush to capture only the paper dust adhering to the cleaning roller with the conductive brush. ing.

[0006]

However, in the case of the conductive brush, since the density of the brush to be planted is rough, the tip of the brush cannot be uniformly brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning roller, so that the paper dust There is a limit to improving the paper dust removal performance such as uneven removal.

Therefore, the present invention provides a process apparatus capable of improving the paper dust removing performance, and an image forming apparatus including the process apparatus.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a process apparatus including an image carrier, which is disposed so as to face the image carrier and removes foreign matter on the image carrier. A primary roller for capturing, a secondary roller arranged to face the primary roller, for capturing foreign matter on the primary roller, and a primary bearing for rotatably supporting the primary roller. A bearing member integrally formed with a secondary bearing portion for rotatably supporting the secondary roller, wherein both axial end portions of the primary roller and the secondary roller are respectively The bearing is supported by the bearing member.

According to this structure, first, the foreign matter on the image bearing member can be captured by the primary roller, and then the foreign matter attached on the primary roller can be captured by the secondary roller. Therefore, the paper dust removing performance can be improved.

Moreover, in this structure, since both axial end portions of the primary roller and the secondary roller are bearing-supported by the common bearing member, the relative arrangement of the primary roller and the secondary roller is ensured. Can be kept constant. Therefore, it is possible to stabilize the pressure contact force between the primary roller and the secondary roller and improve the paper dust removing performance by stable driving.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as claim 1.
In the invention described in (1), the casing of the process device is configured to be dividable into an upper casing and a lower casing, and by combining the upper casing and the lower casing, each of the bearings It is characterized in that the member is positioned.

According to this structure, by combining the upper casing and the lower casing, each bearing member, and by extension, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be positioned.
Therefore, it is possible to reliably position the primary roller and the secondary roller while maintaining their relative positions by a simple assembly.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the second aspect, one of the bearing members is pressed from below by the lower casing, and the other bearing member is disposed in the upper casing. It is characterized in that it is positioned by being pressed from above by.

According to this structure, one bearing member is pressed from below by the lower housing, and the other bearing member is pressed from above by the upper housing, so that these bearing members are positioned in a well-balanced manner. . Therefore, the primary roller can be brought into uniform contact with the image carrier in the axial direction, and stable driving can be ensured.

The invention described in claim 4 is the same as that of claim 1.
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a holder member to which each of the bearing members supporting the axially opposite ends of the primary roller and the secondary roller is mounted,
It is characterized in that the holder member is attached to the housing of the process apparatus.

According to this structure, first, both axial end portions of the primary roller and the secondary roller are supported by the common receiving member, and then each bearing member is mounted on the holder member, and then the holder is mounted. By mounting the member on the housing of the process apparatus, the primary roller and the secondary roller are
The holder member can be mounted in the housing of the process device in a state where it is positioned and unitized. Therefore, it is possible to easily handle the primary roller and the secondary roller, and to securely mount the primary roller and the secondary roller in the housing of the process apparatus by simple assembly.

The invention described in claim 5 is the same as claim 1.
In the invention described in any one of (1) to (4), the primary roller includes a metal roller shaft and a roller portion made of a foam provided around the roller shaft, and the secondary roller is It is characterized by comprising a metal roller shaft and a metal roller portion provided around the roller shaft.

According to this structure, the primary roller is
It comprises a metal roller shaft and a roller portion made of foam,
Since the secondary roller includes the metal roller shaft and the metal roller portion, first, the foreign matter on the image carrier is satisfactorily captured by the primary roller, and then the primary roller Foreign matter can be satisfactorily captured by the secondary roller. Therefore, it is possible to achieve good foreign matter capture.

The invention according to claim 6 is the same as claim 1.
In any of the above-described inventions, a conductive collar member is provided at one end of the roller shaft of the primary roller and one end of the roller shaft of the secondary roller. It is characterized by that.

According to this structure, when the power supply member is brought into contact with each color member, a bias is applied to the roller shaft of the primary roller and the roller shaft of the secondary roller via each color member. be able to. Further, the contact between each color member and each power supply member can reduce the damage due to wear and the abnormal noise more than the contact between each roller shaft and each power supply member.

The invention according to claim 7 is the same as that of claim 6.
In the invention described in (1), the housing of the process apparatus is provided with a power feeding member that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of each of the collar members.

According to this structure, since each power feeding member is provided so as to contact the outer peripheral surface of each color member, the process can be performed by mounting the primary roller and the secondary roller in the housing of the process apparatus. Each color member can be brought into contact with each power supply member provided in the housing of the device. Therefore, each power feeding member and each collar member can be reliably brought into contact with each other by a simple assembly. Further, if each power feeding member is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of each color member, even if the primary roller and the secondary roller vibrate in the axial direction due to the thrust force caused by their driving, each power feeding member and each color roller The contact with the member can be prevented from being released, and stable power supply can be achieved. Further, if each power supply member is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of each color member, the space for disposing the power supply member on the axially outer side of the primary roller and the secondary roller can be eliminated, and space can be saved. You can

The invention described in claim 8 is the same as claim 1.
The invention described in any one of 1 to 7 is characterized in that each of the bearing members is provided with an urging member for urging the primary roller toward the image carrier.

According to this structure, since each urging member urges each bearing member, the primary roller moves relative to the image carrier while the relative position of the secondary roller to the primary roller is maintained. Contact with a predetermined pressing force. for that reason,
While maintaining the relative position of the primary roller and the secondary roller, 1
The next roller can be reliably brought into contact with the image carrier with a predetermined pressing force.

The invention described in claim 9 is the same as that of claim 8.
In the invention described in (3), each urging member is provided so as to urge the secondary roller downward.

With this structure, it is possible to ensure the reliable mounting of the secondary roller to the holder member and the housing while the relative position of the secondary roller to the primary roller is maintained.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, the primary roller is positioned with respect to the image carrier in the housing of the process apparatus. Is provided so as to abut on each of the bearing members.

With this structure, when the bearing members that support the primary roller and the secondary roller are assembled in the housing of the process apparatus, the relative position of the secondary roller with respect to the primary roller is maintained. In this state, each bearing member comes into contact with the contact member so that the primary roller is positioned with respect to the image carrier. Therefore, the relative positions of the image carrier, the primary roller, and the secondary roller can be easily and reliably achieved simply by assembling each bearing member to the housing of the process apparatus.

The invention according to claim 11 is the same as the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
It is characterized in that a scraping member for scraping off the foreign matter on the next roller is provided.

With this structure, the foreign matter on the secondary roller captured from the primary roller can be scraped off by the scraping member. Therefore, the capturing performance of the secondary roller can be secured for a long period of time, and the paper dust removing performance can be improved.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the eleventh aspect, the scraping member is supported by the upper case, and the upper case and the lower case are connected to each other. Is assembled so as to come into contact with the secondary roller.

According to this structure, the scraping member can be brought into contact with the secondary roller only by assembling the upper casing and the lower casing. Therefore, reliable removal of paper dust can be achieved by simple assembly.

Further, in the invention described in claim 13, in the invention described in claim 11 or 12, the friction coefficient of the scraping member with respect to the secondary roller is equal to the friction coefficient of the primary roller with respect to the secondary roller. It is characterized in that it is configured to be smaller than the coefficient.

With this structure, it is possible to reduce the rotational torque of the secondary roller. In addition, slippage between the primary roller and the secondary roller can be prevented, and 1
The paper dust removing performance can be improved by reliably driving the secondary roller and the secondary roller.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the eleventh to thirteenth aspects, the scraping member is provided from a contact portion of the scraping member which is in contact with the secondary roller. It is characterized in that it is formed in a shape that does not easily tilt toward the downstream side of the rotation direction of the secondary roller.

According to such a structure, even if the scraping member rubs against the rotationally driven secondary roller, the scraping member has a
Since it is difficult for the secondary roller to tilt toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the secondary roller, the scraping performance of the scraping member can be ensured for a long period of time, and the scraping member bends. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the rotation torque of the secondary roller from increasing.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the fourteenth aspect, the scraping member has a tangential length of a contact portion of the scraping member with the secondary roller, It is characterized in that it is formed longer than the length in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the tangential direction.

According to this structure, even if the scraping member rubs against the rotationally driven secondary roller, the length of the scraping member in the tangential direction of the contact portion with the secondary roller is large. Since it is formed to be longer than the length in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the tangential direction, it is sure to tilt from the contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller contacts toward the downstream side direction of the rotation direction of the secondary roller. Can be prevented.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the fourteenth aspect, the scraping member has the secondary portion with respect to a contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller comes into contact. The thickness of the upstream end of the roller in the direction of rotation is
It is characterized in that it is formed thinner than the thickness of the downstream end of the secondary roller in the rotational direction.

According to this structure, even if the scraping member rubs against the rotationally driven secondary roller, the scraping member is moved to the contact portion of the scraping member which comes into contact with the secondary roller by 2
Since the thickness of the upstream side end of the secondary roller in the rotation direction is smaller than the thickness of the downstream side end of the secondary roller in the rotation direction, the scraping member is contacted with the secondary roller at the contact portion. It is possible to reliably prevent the secondary roller from tilting toward the downstream side in the rotation direction.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to sixteenth aspects, the image carrier and the primary roller are connected by a helical gear. Is characterized by.

According to this structure, the power from the image carrier is stably transmitted to the primary roller via the helical gear. Therefore, the driving of the primary roller can be stabilized.

The invention described in claim 18 is the same as the invention described in claim 17, wherein the housing of the process apparatus is
A sliding plate for receiving a pressing force of the helical gear generated by a thrust force is provided at a position facing the helical gear provided on the primary roller.

According to this structure, even if the casing of the process apparatus receives the pressing force from the helical gear generated by the thrust force, the pressing force can be received by the sliding plate. It is possible to prevent an increase in the rotation torque of the next roller, and prevent damage to the housing of the process device.

The invention described in claim 19 is the same as the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 18,
The secondary roller and the secondary roller are characterized by being connected by a gear.

According to this structure, the primary roller and the secondary roller are
Since the secondary roller is connected by the gear, the secondary roller can be driven reliably with respect to the primary roller.

In the invention described in claim 20, in the invention described in claim 19, the primary roller and the secondary roller are driven at a peripheral speed ratio of substantially 1: 1. Is characterized by.

According to this structure, the primary roller and the secondary roller are
Since the secondary roller is driven at a peripheral speed ratio of substantially 1: 1, the secondary roller can be stably driven with respect to the primary roller with a small driving force.

The invention described in claim 21 is the same as the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 20,
The axial length of the secondary roller is the same as or longer than the axial length of the primary roller.

When the axial length of the primary roller is longer than the axial length of the secondary roller, the pressure contact force with respect to the image carrier changes between the contact portion and the non-contact portion of the primary roller with the secondary roller. As a result, the pressure contact force in the axial direction of the primary roller with respect to the image carrier may become uneven.

However, according to this structure, since the axial length of the secondary roller is equal to or longer than the axial length of the primary roller, the primary roller is a secondary roller over the entire axial direction. Contacted. Therefore, the pressure contact force of the primary roller with respect to the image carrier does not change, and the primary roller can be uniformly pressed against the image carrier in the axial direction.

The invention according to claim 22 is the same as the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 21.
It is characterized in that the axial length of the next roller is equal to or longer than the length of the image forming area in the axial direction of the image carrier.

With such a configuration, the axial length of the primary roller is equal to or longer than the length of the image forming area in the axial direction of the image carrier, so that the entire image forming area of the image carrier is covered. It is possible to achieve good removal of foreign matter.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in a process apparatus including an image carrier, a primary roller which is arranged so as to face the image carrier and catches foreign matter on the image carrier, and the first roller. A secondary roller, which is disposed to face the next roller and captures foreign matter on the primary roller, is provided, and the housing of the process apparatus is configured to be divided into an upper housing and a lower housing. The primary roller and the secondary roller are positioned by combining the upper case and the lower case.

According to this structure, first, the foreign matter on the image bearing member can be captured by the primary roller, and then the foreign matter deposited on the primary roller can be captured by the secondary roller. Therefore, the paper dust removing performance can be improved.

Moreover, in this configuration, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be positioned by combining the upper casing and the lower casing. Therefore, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be reliably positioned by simple assembly.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the invention, in the twenty-third aspect of the invention, each of the bearing members supporting the axially opposite ends of the primary roller and the secondary roller is mounted. And a holder member that is attached to a housing of the process apparatus.

According to this structure, first, each bearing member supporting the axial ends of the primary roller and the secondary roller is mounted on the holder member, and then the holder member is mounted on the housing of the process apparatus. By mounting the primary roller and the secondary roller on the body, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be mounted on the housing of the process apparatus in a state of being positioned and unitized by the holder member. Therefore, it is possible to easily handle the primary roller and the secondary roller, and to securely mount the primary roller and the secondary roller in the housing of the process apparatus by simple assembly.

The invention described in claim 25 is the invention described in claim 23 or 24, wherein one end of the roller shaft of the primary roller and one end of the roller shaft of the secondary roller. Is characterized in that each of them is provided with a conductive collar member.

According to this structure, when the power supply member is brought into contact with each color member, the bias is applied to the roller shaft of the primary roller and the roller shaft of the secondary roller through each color member. be able to. Further, the contact between each color member and each power supply member can reduce the damage due to wear and the abnormal noise more than the contact between each roller shaft and each power supply member.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twenty-fourth aspect, the casing of the process apparatus is
It is characterized in that each of the collar members is provided with a power feeding member that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the collar member.

With this structure, since each power feeding member is provided so as to contact the outer peripheral surface of each color member, if the primary roller and the secondary roller are mounted in the casing of the process apparatus, the process can be performed. Each color member can be brought into contact with each power supply member provided in the housing of the device. Therefore, each power feeding member and each collar member can be reliably brought into contact with each other by a simple assembly. Further, if each power feeding member is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of each color member, even if the primary roller and the secondary roller vibrate in the axial direction due to the thrust force caused by their driving, each power feeding member and each color roller The contact with the member can be prevented from being released, and stable power supply can be achieved. Further, if each power supply member is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of each color member, the space for disposing the power supply member on the axially outer side of the primary roller and the secondary roller can be eliminated, and space can be saved. You can

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in a process apparatus including an image carrier, a cleaning roller, which is disposed so as to face the image carrier and catches foreign matter on the image carrier, and the cleaning roller. And a bearing member for rotatably supporting the cleaning roller, wherein both ends of the cleaning roller in the axial direction are bearing-supported by the bearing members, and one of the bearing members is supported from below by a casing of the process apparatus. Pressed, the other bearing member,
It is characterized in that it is positioned by being pressed from above by the housing of the process device.

According to this structure, the cleaning roller can catch the foreign matter on the image carrier,
It is possible to improve the paper dust removing performance.

Moreover, in this structure, one bearing member is pressed from below by the housing and the other bearing member is pressed from above by the housing, so that these bearing members are positioned in a well-balanced manner. Therefore, the cleaning roller can be brought into uniform contact with the image carrier in the axial direction, and stable driving can be ensured.

According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in a process apparatus including an image carrier, a primary roller that is arranged to face the image carrier and that captures foreign matter on the image carrier, and the first roller. The casing of the process apparatus includes a secondary roller that is arranged to face the next roller and that captures foreign matter on the primary roller, and a scraping member that scrapes off foreign matter on the secondary roller. The upper casing and the lower casing are configured to be separable, the scraping member is supported by the upper casing, and the upper casing and the lower casing are assembled. And is configured to come into contact with the secondary roller.

According to this structure, first, the foreign matter on the image carrier is captured by the primary roller, then the foreign matter attached on the primary roller is captured by the secondary roller, and then the The foreign matter on the secondary roller captured from the next roller can be scraped off by the scraping member. Therefore, the paper dust removing performance can be improved.

Moreover, in this structure, the scraping member can be brought into contact with the secondary roller only by assembling the upper casing and the lower casing. Therefore, reliable removal of paper dust can be achieved by simple assembly.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the twenty-eighth aspect, the friction coefficient of the scraping member with respect to the secondary roller is greater than the friction coefficient of the primary roller with respect to the secondary roller. It is also characterized in that it is configured to be smaller.

With this structure, it is possible to reduce the rotation torque of the secondary roller. In addition, slippage between the primary roller and the secondary roller can be prevented, and 1
The paper dust removing performance can be improved by reliably driving the secondary roller and the secondary roller.

According to a thirtieth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twenty-eighth aspect or the twenty-ninth aspect, the scraping member is moved from a contact portion of the scraping member which is in contact with the secondary roller to the secondary roller. It is characterized in that it is formed in a shape that does not easily tilt toward the downstream side of the rotation direction.

According to this structure, even if the scraping member rubs against the rotationally driven secondary roller, the scraping member has a
Since it is difficult for the secondary roller to tilt toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the secondary roller, the scraping performance of the scraping member can be ensured for a long period of time, and the scraping member bends. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the rotation torque of the secondary roller from increasing.

According to a thirty-first aspect of the present invention, in the thirty-first aspect of the invention, the scraping member has a tangential length of a contact portion of the scraping member with the secondary roller, It is characterized in that it is formed longer than the length in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the tangential direction.

According to this structure, even if the scraping member rubs against the rotationally driven secondary roller, the length of the scraping member in the tangential direction of the contact portion of the scraping member with the secondary roller is small. Since it is formed to be longer than the length in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the tangential direction, it is sure to tilt from the contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller contacts toward the downstream side direction of the rotation direction of the secondary roller. Can be prevented.

According to a thirty-second aspect of the present invention, in the thirtieth aspect of the present invention, the scraping member has a secondary portion with respect to a contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller comes into contact. The thickness of the upstream end of the roller in the direction of rotation is
It is characterized in that it is formed thinner than the thickness of the downstream end of the secondary roller in the rotational direction.

According to such a structure, even if the scraping member rubs against the rotationally driven secondary roller, the scraping member does not contact the contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller contacts.
Since the thickness of the upstream side end of the secondary roller in the rotation direction is smaller than the thickness of the downstream side end of the secondary roller in the rotation direction, the scraping member is contacted with the secondary roller at the contact portion. It is possible to reliably prevent the secondary roller from tilting toward the downstream side in the rotation direction.

According to a thirty-third aspect of the present invention, in a process apparatus including an image bearing member, a cleaning roller is provided to face the image bearing member so as to capture foreign matter on the image bearing member. The image carrier and the cleaning roller are connected by a helical gear.

According to this structure, the cleaning roller can catch the foreign matter on the image carrier,
It is possible to improve the paper dust removing performance.

Moreover, in this structure, the power from the image carrier is stably transmitted to the cleaning roller via the helical gear. Therefore, the driving of the cleaning roller can be stabilized.

According to the invention described in Item 34, in the invention according to Item 33,
A sliding plate for receiving a pressing force of the helical gear generated by a thrust force is provided at a position facing the helical gear provided on the cleaning roller.

According to this structure, even if the casing of the process apparatus receives a pressing force from the helical gear generated by the thrust force, the pressing force can be received by the sliding plate, so that cleaning is performed. It is possible to prevent the rotation torque of the roller from increasing and also to prevent damage to the housing of the process device.

According to a thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in a process apparatus provided with an image carrier, a primary roller which is arranged to face the image carrier and catches foreign matter on the image carrier, and the first roller. A secondary roller arranged to face the next roller to catch foreign matter on the primary roller;
The secondary roller and the secondary roller are characterized by being connected by a gear.

According to this structure, first, the foreign matter on the image carrier is captured by the primary roller, and then the foreign matter attached on the primary roller can be captured by the secondary roller. Therefore, the paper dust removing performance can be improved.

Moreover, in this structure, since the primary roller and the secondary roller are connected by the gear, the secondary roller can be reliably driven with respect to the primary roller.

According to a thirty-sixth aspect of the invention, in the thirty-fifth aspect of the invention, the primary roller and the secondary roller are driven at a peripheral speed ratio of substantially 1: 1. Is characterized by.

According to this structure, the primary roller and the secondary roller are
Since the secondary roller is driven at a peripheral speed ratio of substantially 1: 1, the secondary roller can be stably driven with respect to the primary roller with a small driving force.

A thirty-seventh aspect of the present invention is the invention according to any one of the first to twenty-sixth, twenty-eight to thirty-two, thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth aspects, in which the primary roller is provided with a developing member on the image carrier. A bias for attracting the agent and the paper dust is applied, and a bias for attracting only the paper dust on the primary roller is applied to the secondary roller.

According to this structure, the developer and the paper dust on the image carrier are electrically attracted by the primary roller, and then only the attracted paper dust on the primary roller is attracted by the secondary roller. Since the paper dust is electrically sucked, the paper dust can be efficiently removed, and the paper dust removal performance can be improved.

A thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to twenty-sixth, twenty-eight to thirty-two, thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth aspects, wherein the primary roller is a developing device on the image carrier. Bias for sucking agent and paper dust,
A bias for returning the developer applied to the primary roller to the image carrier is selectively applied, and a bias for attracting only the paper dust on the primary roller is applied to the secondary roller. It is characterized by being.

According to this structure, the developer and the paper dust on the image carrier are electrically attracted by the primary roller, and then the attracted developer on the primary roller is electrically attracted to the image carrier. The paper dust on the primary roller that has been sucked back is electrically sucked by the secondary roller. Therefore, the paper dust can be efficiently removed while the developer is collected by the cleanerless developing method, and the paper dust removal performance can be improved.

A thirty-ninth aspect of the invention is the invention according to any one of the first to thirty-eighth aspects, in which a developing means for developing the latent image formed on the image carrier is provided.
A transfer unit for transferring the developer image developed by the developing unit to a transfer medium, and the developer remaining on the image carrier after the transfer unit transfers the image to the transfer medium is collected by the developing unit. It is characterized by being configured as follows.

According to this structure, the developer remaining after the transfer can be collected by the developing means by the cleanerless developing method. Therefore, a special member for removing the remaining developer such as a blade and waste. A developer reservoir is not required, and the device configuration can be simplified.

The invention described in Item 40 is an image forming apparatus, which is characterized by including the process apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 39.

Since the paper dust removing performance can be improved by providing such a process apparatus, high quality image formation can be achieved.

[0095]

1 is a side sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus to which a process unit as a process apparatus of the present invention is mounted.

In FIG. 1, the laser printer 1 is
An electrophotographic laser printer that forms an image by a non-magnetic one-component developing method, including a feeder unit 4 for feeding a sheet 3 as a transfer medium into a main body casing 2, and a fed sheet. 3 is provided with an image forming section 5 for forming a predetermined image.

The feeder unit 4 has a paper feed tray 6 which is detachably mounted on the bottom of the main body casing 2, a paper feed mechanism unit 7 provided at one end of the paper feed tray 6, and a paper feed mechanism. Conveying rollers 8 and 9 are provided downstream of the section 7 in the conveying direction of the sheet 3, and registration rollers 10 are provided downstream of the conveying rollers 8 and 9 in the conveying direction of the sheet 3.

The paper feed tray 6 has a box shape with an open upper surface capable of accommodating the sheets 3 in a laminated form, and is attachable to and detachable from the bottom of the main body casing 2 in the horizontal direction. A paper pressing plate 11 is provided in the paper feed tray 6. The sheet pressing plate 11 is capable of stacking the sheets 3 in a stacked manner, and is swingably supported at the end portion far from the sheet feeding mechanism section 7, whereby the sheet feeding mechanism section 7 is supported.
The end portion closer to is movable up and down.
A spring (not shown) is arranged below the paper pressing plate 11, and the paper pressing plate 11 is biased upward by the spring. Therefore, as the stacking amount of the sheets 3 increases, the sheet pressing plate 11 swings downward against the biasing force of the spring with the end portion farther from the sheet feeding mechanism section 7 as a fulcrum.

The paper feed mechanism section 7 includes a paper feed roller 12, a separation pad 13 facing the paper feed roller 12, and a spring 14 arranged on the back side of the separation pad 13. The separation pad 13 is pressed against the paper feed roller 12 by the urging force.

When the paper pressing plate 11 is biased upward by the spring, the uppermost paper 3 on the paper pressing plate 11 is pressed toward the paper feeding roller 12. The rotation of the paper feed roller 12 causes the leading edge of the paper 3 to move to the paper feed roller 1
It is sandwiched between 2 and the separating pad 13, and the paper 3 is separated sheet by sheet by the cooperation of the paper feeding roller 12 and the separating pad 13. The separated sheet 3 is sent to the registration roller 10 by the transport rollers 8 and 9.

The registration roller 10 is composed of a pair of rollers, and corrects the skew of the paper 3 and sends it to the image forming position (the contact portion between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 31 which will be described later). ing.

Further, the feeder section 4 of the laser printer 1 further feeds the multi-purpose tray 15 on which sheets 3 of arbitrary size are stacked and the sheet 3 stacked on the multi-purpose tray 15. The multi-purpose sheet feeding mechanism section 16 and the multi-purpose conveying roller 17 are provided.

The multi-purpose tray 15 is constructed so that sheets 3 of any size can be stacked in a stack.

The multi-purpose paper feed mechanism section 16 includes a multi-purpose paper feed roller 18, a multi-purpose separation pad 19 facing the multi-purpose paper feed roller 18,
And a spring 20 arranged on the back side of the multi-purpose separating pad 19, and by the urging force of the spring 20,
The multi-purpose separation pad 19 is pressed against the multi-purpose paper feed roller 18.

Then, the uppermost sheet 3 stacked on the multi-purpose tray 15 is sandwiched between the multi-purpose sheet feeding roller 18 and the multi-purpose separating pad 19 by the rotation of the multi-purpose sheet feeding roller 18, and then the sheets are stacked. By the cooperation of, the sheets are separated one by one. Paper 3 separated
Is sent to the registration roller 10 by the multi-purpose carrying roller 17.

The image forming section 5 comprises a scanner section 21, a process unit 22 as a process device, and a fixing section 23.

The scanner section 21 is provided in the upper part of the main body casing 2, and has a laser emitting section (not shown), a polygon mirror 24 which is driven to rotate, and lenses 25a and 25a.
b, a reflecting mirror 26 is provided. The laser beam which is modulated based on predetermined image data and emitted from the laser emitting section passes or is reflected in the order of the polygon mirror 23, the lens 25a, the reflecting mirror 26, and the lens 25b, as will be described later. The surface of the photosensitive drum 28 of the process unit 22 is irradiated with the light.

The process unit 22 includes the scanner section 21.
It is disposed below and is detachably attached to the main body casing 2. This process unit 22 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a photosensitive drum 28 as an image bearing member, a developing cartridge 29, a scorotron charger 30 as a charger, and a transfer unit as a transfer unit are provided in a drum frame 27 that constitutes the casing of the process unit 22. The transfer roller 31 and a cleaning unit 81 described later in detail are provided.

The developing cartridge 29 is detachably attached to the drum frame 27, and has a toner hopper 32, a supply roller 33 provided on the side of the toner hopper 32, a developing roller 34 as a developing means, and a layer thickness regulation. And a blade 35.

The toner hopper 32 is filled with a positively charging non-magnetic one-component toner as a developer. As this toner, styrene-based monomers such as styrene,
A polymerizable monomer represented by acrylic monomers such as acrylic acid, alkyl (C1 to C4) acrylate, and alkyl (C1 to C4) methacrylate is copolymerized by a known polymerization method such as suspension polymerization. The polymerized toner obtained by this is used. The polymerized toner has a substantially spherical shape with an average particle size of about 6 to 10 μm and has very good fluidity. The polymerized toner is mixed with a coloring agent such as carbon black or wax. Further, an external additive such as silica is added to improve the fluidity of the toner.

Further, the toner hopper 32 is provided with an agitator 36. The agitator 36 includes a rotating shaft 37 rotatably supported in the center of the toner hopper 32.
And a stirring blade 38 provided around the rotating shaft 37
And the film 3 attached to the free end of the stirring blade 38.
9 and 9. When the rotary shaft 37 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the stirring blade 38 moves in the circumferential direction, the film 39 scrapes up the toner in the toner hopper 32, and conveys it toward the supply roller 33 described below.

On the side of the rotary shaft 37 opposite to the side where the stirring blade 38 is provided, a cleaner 4 for cleaning a window 40 for detecting the remaining amount of toner provided on the side wall of the toner hopper 32.
1 is provided.

The supply roller 33 is provided on the side of the toner hopper 32 so as to be rotatable in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the agitator 36. The supply roller 33 is configured by coating a metal roller shaft with a conductive urethane sponge.

The developing roller 34 is provided on the side of the supply roller 33 so as to be rotatable in the same direction as the rotation direction of the supply roller 33. In the developing roller 34, the surface of a metal roller shaft is coated with a conductive elastic material, conductive urethane rubber or silicone rubber containing carbon fine particles, and the surface of the elastic material contains urethane containing fluorine. It is formed by coating a coating layer of rubber or silicone rubber. A power source (not shown) is connected to the roller shaft of the developing roller 34, and a predetermined developing bias is applied.

The supply roller 33 and the developing roller 34 are arranged so as to face each other and are in contact with the developing roller 34 in such a state that the supply roller 33 is compressed to some extent. Is
At their facing contact portions, they rotate in opposite directions.

The layer thickness regulating blade 35 is composed of the supply roller 33.
Between the supply roller 33 and the photosensitive drum 28 in the rotation direction of the developing roller 34, and is arranged to face the developing roller 34 along the axial direction of the developing roller 34. There is. The layer thickness regulating blade 35 includes a leaf spring member 42, a pressure contact portion 43 provided at the tip of the leaf spring member 42 and made of insulating silicone rubber that comes into contact with the developing roller 34, and the leaf spring member 4.
A back-up member 44 provided on the back surface of No. 2 and a support member 45 for supporting the rear end portion of the leaf spring member 42 on the developing cartridge 29 are provided.

The layer thickness regulating blade 35 is composed of the leaf spring member 42.
Is supported by the developing cartridge 29 by the support member 45, the pressing portion 43 is pressed against the surface of the developing roller 34 by the elastic force of the leaf spring member 42.

The toner in the toner hopper 32 is scraped up by the rotation of the agitator 36 and conveyed toward the supply roller 33. By the rotation of the agitator 36, the cleaner 41 is rotated and the window 40 is cleaned.

The toner carried to the supply roller 33 is rotated by the rotation of the supply roller 33 and the developing roller 3
4 is supplied. From the supply roller 33 to the developing roller 3
At the time of supplying the toner to the No. 4, the toner is rubbed between the supply roller 33 and the developing roller 34, and is positively charged.

The charged toner is carried on the surface of the developing roller 34, and as the developing roller 34 rotates, the pressure contact portion 4 between the developing roller 34 and the layer thickness regulating blade 35.
Enter between 3 and. When the toner passes between the developing roller 34 and the pressure contact portion 43, the toner is further charged by friction, the thickness of the layer is regulated, and the toner is carried on the surface of the developing roller 34 as a thin layer.

The photosensitive drum 28 is disposed on the side of the developing roller 34 so as to face the developing roller 34, and is supported by the drum frame 27 so as to be rotatable in the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the developing roller 34. This photosensitive drum 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes a cylindrical aluminum surface on which a positively chargeable photosensitive layer made of polycarbonate or the like is formed, and the cylindrical aluminum is electrically grounded. A photosensitive drum drive gear 28a composed of a helical gear is provided at the end of the photosensitive drum 28 (see FIG. 7).

The scorotron charger 30 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 28 so as not to come into contact with the photosensitive drum 28 with a predetermined gap therebetween and is supported by the drum frame 27. This scorotron charger 30
Is a scorotron-type charger for positive charging that generates corona discharge from a charging wire made of tungsten, and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 to a positive polarity. A grid electrode 30a is provided between the wire and the photosensitive drum 28.

As the photosensitive drum 28 rotates, the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is uniformly positively charged by the scorotron type charger 30, and the laser beam emitted from the scanner section 21 based on predetermined image data is emitted. It is exposed by being irradiated and an electrostatic latent image is formed.

Next, when the toner carried on the surface of the developing roller 34 and positively charged is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 28 while facing the photosensitive drum 28 by the rotation of the developing roller 34, the toner is deposited on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28. The electrostatic latent image to be formed, that is, the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 that is uniformly positively charged, is supplied to the exposed portion exposed by the laser beam and whose potential is lowered, and is selectively carried. Visualized.

The transfer roller 31 is disposed below the photosensitive drum 28 so as to face the photosensitive drum 28, and is rotatably supported by the drum frame 27 in the direction opposite to the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 28. The transfer roller 31 is formed by coating a metal roller shaft with a conductive rubber material, and a power source (not shown) is connected to the roller shaft. When the toner is transferred to the paper 3, a predetermined transfer bias is applied.

Then, as the photosensitive drum 28 rotates, the paper 3 conveyed from the registration roller 10 contacts the surface of the photosensitive drum 28, and while passing between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 31, the photosensitive drum 28 is exposed to light. The toner carried on the surface of the drum 28 is transferred to the paper 3. The sheet 3 to which the toner has been transferred is conveyed toward the fixing unit 23 via the conveyance belt 46, as shown in FIG.

The fixing section 23 is provided on the side of the process unit 22 and on the downstream side in the transport direction of the paper 3, and includes a heating roller 47, a pressing roller 48, and a transport roller 49. The heating roller 47 is provided with a halogen lamp as a heater in a metal tube. The pressing roller 48 is disposed below the heating roller 47 so as to face the heating roller 47, and is provided so as to press the heating roller 47 from below. Further, the transport roller 49 is provided on the downstream side of the heating roller 47 and the pressing roller 48 in the transport direction of the sheet 3.

The toner transferred to the sheet 3 is melted by heat and fixed to the sheet 3 while passing between the heating roller 47 and the pressing roller 48. The paper 3 is conveyed by the conveyance roller 49 to the conveyance roller 50 provided in the main body casing 2.
Also, the sheet is conveyed toward the sheet discharge roller 51.

The carrying roller 50 is provided on the downstream side of the carrying roller 49 in the carrying direction of the paper 3, and the discharging roller 5 is provided.
1 is provided above the discharge tray 52. The sheet 3 conveyed by the conveying roller 49 is conveyed by the conveying roller 50.
The sheet is conveyed to the sheet discharge roller 51 by the sheet discharge roller 51, and then discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 52 by the sheet discharge roller 51.

In this laser printer 1, the photosensitive drum 2 is transferred after being transferred onto the sheet 3 by the transfer roller 31.
The residual toner remaining on the surface of No. 8 is collected by the developing roller 34, that is, the so-called cleanerless developing method. If the residual toner is collected by such a cleanerless developing method, the photosensitive drum 2
No special member such as a blade for removing the residual toner from No. 8 and a waste toner storage section are not required, and the apparatus configuration can be simplified.

Further, the laser printer 1 is provided with a paper 3
Re-conveying unit 61 for forming an image on both sides of. The re-conveying unit 61 includes a reversing mechanism section 62.
And the re-conveyance tray 63 are integrally formed, and the re-conveyance tray 63 is inserted above the paper feed tray 6 while the reversing mechanism portion 62 is externally attached to the rear side of the main body casing 2. In such a state, it is detachably attached.

The reversing mechanism portion 62 is externally attached to the rear wall of the main body casing 2, a casing 64 having a substantially rectangular cross section is provided with a reversing roller 66 and a re-conveying roller 67, and a reversing guide plate 68 is provided from the upper end portion. It is projected upward.

On the downstream side of the conveying roller 49, the sheet 3 having an image formed on one surface and conveyed by the conveying roller 49 is reversed with respect to the direction toward the conveying roller 50 (solid line state). A flapper 65 for selectively switching to the direction toward the roller 66 (state of virtual line)
Is provided.

The flapper 65 is rotatably supported at the rear portion of the main body casing 2, and is provided with the transport roller 4
The sheet 3 arranged near the downstream side of 9 and having the image formed on one surface thereof by the excitation or non-excitation of a solenoid (not shown) and conveyed by the conveying roller 49 is directed to the conveying roller 50 (solid line state). And a direction toward the reversing roller 66 (state of an imaginary line), which will be described later, so as to be selectively swingable.

The reversing roller 66 is disposed on the downstream side of the flapper 65 and above the casing 64, and is composed of a pair of rollers, and is configured so that the rotation can be switched between the forward direction and the reverse direction. The reversing roller 66 is
First, the sheet 3 is rotated in the forward direction so that the sheet 3 is reversed to the guide plate 6
8 and then rotate in the opposite direction to feed paper 3
Can be conveyed in the reverse direction.

The re-conveying roller 67 is on the downstream side of the reversing roller 66, and is the reversing roller 66 in the casing 64.
The sheet 3 which is disposed immediately below the reversing roller 66 is composed of a pair of rollers and is reversed by the reversing roller 66.
It is configured so that it can be transported to the No. 3 station.

The reversing guide plate 68 is a plate-like member extending further upward from the upper end of the casing 64, and the sheet 3 fed by the reversing roller 66.
Is configured to guide.

When images are to be formed on both sides of the sheet 3, the flapper 65 first causes the sheet 3 to reverse the roller 6.
6 and the reversing mechanism 62
Then, the sheet 3 having the image formed on one surface is received. After that, the received sheet 3 is turned over by the reverse roller 6
When the sheet 3 is sent to the sheet 6, the reversing roller 66 makes a positive rotation while sandwiching the sheet 3, and once conveys the sheet 3 along the reversing guide plate 68 toward the upper outside. Paper 3
Is sent to the upper outside, and when the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet 3 is nipped by the reversing roller 66, the normal rotation of the reversing roller 66 stops.

Then, the reversing roller 66 rotates in the reverse direction, and the sheet 3 is conveyed to the re-conveying roller 67 in a state of being reversed in the front-rear direction so as to be directed substantially right below. The timing for rotating the reversing roller 66 from the normal rotation to the reverse rotation is set to the fixing unit 2
The paper passage sensor 76 provided on the downstream side of the paper 3
It is controlled so that a predetermined time elapses from the time when the rear end is detected. Further, when the conveyance of the sheet 3 to the reversing roller 66 is completed, the flapper 65 is switched to the original state, that is, the state in which the sheet 3 sent from the conveying roller 49 is sent to the conveying roller 50.

Next, the sheet 3 conveyed to the re-conveyance roller 67 is conveyed to the re-conveyance tray 63 described below.

The re-conveyance tray 63 includes a sheet supply section 69 to which the sheet 3 is supplied, a tray main body 70, and a skew roller 71.
Is equipped with.

The paper supply unit 69 is externally attached to the rear portion of the main body casing 2 below the reversing mechanism unit 62 and includes a curved paper guide member 72. Re-conveying roller 67
The sheet 3 fed from the sheet in a substantially vertical direction is guided in a substantially horizontal direction by the curved shape of the sheet guide member 72, and is delivered to the tray body 70 in a substantially horizontal state.

The tray main body 70 has a substantially rectangular plate shape and is provided above the paper feed tray 6 in a substantially horizontal direction. The upstream end of the tray main body 70 is connected to the paper guide member 72. The downstream end is connected to the upstream end of the re-conveyance path 73 for guiding the sheet 3 from the tray body 70 to the conveyance roller 9. The downstream end of the re-conveyance path 73 extends toward the conveyance roller 9.

Further, in the conveyance path of the sheet 3 in the tray main body 70, skew rollers 71 for conveying the sheet 3 while abutting against a reference plate (not shown) are provided at predetermined intervals in the sheet 3 conveying direction. Two are arranged apart from each other.

The skew rollers 71 are arranged in the vicinity of a reference plate (not shown) provided at one end of the tray main body 70 in the width direction, and the skew rollers are arranged in a direction whose axis is substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet 3. The drive roller 74 and the skew drive roller 74 are opposed to each other with the paper 3 interposed therebetween, and the axis of the drive roller 74 is inclined from the direction substantially orthogonal to the transport direction of the paper 3 toward the reference plane. And a slanted driven roller 75 arranged in the direction.

The sheet 3 sent out from the sheet supply unit 69 to the tray main body 70 is passed through the re-conveyance path 73 while the one end edge in the width direction of the sheet 3 is brought into contact with the reference plate by the skew roller 71. It is sent to the transport roller 9. The sheet 3 with the front and back reversed is conveyed toward the image forming position via the registration rollers 10. Then, again, the back surface of the sheet 3 conveyed to the image forming position is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 28 to face it, and after the toner forming the visible image is transferred,
The image is fixed on the fixing unit 23 and discharged onto the discharge tray 52 in a state where images are formed on both sides.

Process unit 22 of laser printer 1
Is a cleaning unit for temporarily collecting the residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 after the transfer and collecting the paper dust as a foreign substance adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 from the paper 3 during the transfer. 81 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 81 includes the photosensitive drum 2 in the drum frame 27.
7 is provided on the opposite side of the developing roller 34,
Primary cleaning roller 82 as a primary roller, and 2
A secondary cleaning roller 83 as a secondary roller and a holder member 84 that supports the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the primary cleaning roller 82 includes a roller shaft 82a composed of a shaft body in which nickel plating is deposited on an iron material manufactured by a drawing method, foamed silicone rubber, foamed urethane rubber, and foamed EPDM. And a roller portion 82b made of a conductive foam.
The roller portion 82b is provided around the roller shaft 82a over the axial direction of the roller shaft 82a so that both axial ends of the roller shaft 82a are exposed.

The secondary cleaning roller 83 is composed of a shaft body in which nickel plating is deposited on an iron material manufactured by a drawing method, and has a diameter larger than the roller shafts 83a at both ends and the roller shaft 83a at the inner side. The roller portion 83b is integrally formed. The surface roughness of the roller portion 83b is such that Rz (10-point average surface roughness) is 3.2 μm or less.

Roller portion 8 of secondary cleaning roller 83
The diameter of 3b is smaller than the diameter of the roller portion 82b of the primary cleaning roller 82, and the axial length of the roller portion 83b of the secondary cleaning roller 83 is the same as that of the primary cleaning roller 82. Roller part 8
The length in the axial direction of 2b is equal to or longer than that.

If the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are configured as described above,
The paper dust on the photosensitive drum 28 can be satisfactorily captured by the next cleaning roller 82, and then the paper dust on the primary cleaning roller 82 can be satisfactorily captured by the secondary cleaning roller 83. Capture can be achieved.

The axial length of the roller portion 82b of the primary cleaning roller 82 is equal to or longer than the length of the image forming area in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 28. Therefore, the primary cleaning roller 82 can achieve good removal of paper dust over the entire image forming area of the photosensitive drum 28.

Then, these primary cleaning rollers 8
The secondary and secondary cleaning rollers 83 are rotatably supported by a common bearing member 85 at both axial ends thereof.

That is, the bearing member 85 is made of resin and has a substantially elliptical plate-shaped bearing plate 86, and a primary bearing portion 87 and a secondary bearing portion 88 which are integrally formed with the bearing plate 86. There is. Primary bearing portion 87 and secondary bearing portion 88
Have a cylindrical shape penetrating the bearing plate 86 in the orthogonal direction, and are formed adjacent to each other so that the roller shaft 82a of the primary cleaning roller 82 and the roller shaft 83a of the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be inserted and supported. There is.

As shown in FIG. 3, each bearing member 85 has a side film 89 as a first seal member,
A torsion spring 90 as a biasing member is provided.
The side film 89 is made of a flexible resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate, has an elliptical shape that is substantially the same as the bearing plate 86, and has two holes through which the primary bearing portion 87 and the secondary bearing portion 88 are inserted. Has been formed.
The torsion spring 90 is made of a steel wire, and the coil portion 90 a around which the steel wire is wound, and both ends of the coil portion 90,
In the same direction, end portions 90b and 90c that linearly extend so as to be substantially V-shaped are integrally formed.

The coil portion 90a of the torsion spring 90
Is an axial direction with respect to the bearing plate 86 (in the case of simply an axial direction, a direction along the axial direction of the primary cleaning roller 82, the secondary cleaning roller 83 and the photosensitive drum 28, and a holder member 84, which will be described later). This means the same direction as the width direction of the paper dust storage portion 94, the upper frame 110, the lower frame 111, etc. The same applies hereinafter) From the inside to the secondary bearing portion 8
8 is fitted on the outside. In addition, the one end 90b of the torsion spring 90 is locked to the primary bearing 87 downward. Also,
In the bearing member 85 to which the torsion spring 90 is attached, the side film 89 has two holes externally fitted to the primary bearing portion 87 and the secondary bearing portion 88 from the axially inner side with respect to the bearing plate 86. It is installed as described.

Roller shaft 8 of primary cleaning roller 82
Both axial end portions of 2a are inserted into the respective primary bearing portions 87, and the roller shaft 8 of the secondary cleaning roller 83 is provided.
Both axial end portions of 3a are inserted into the respective secondary bearing portions 88. In this way, the primary cleaning roller 82
Bearing members 85 are attached to both axial end portions of the roller shaft 82a and axial end portions of the roller shaft 83a of the secondary cleaning roller 83.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 8 are
3 is arranged in parallel so as to be in contact with each other,
A common bearing member 85 rotatably supports the bearing.

The bearing members 8 are provided at both axial end portions of the roller shaft 82a of the primary cleaning roller 82 and axial end portions of the roller shaft 83a of the secondary cleaning roller 83.
5 is attached, one side shaft end portion of the roller shaft 82a of the primary cleaning roller 82, and 2
Collars 93a and 93 as collar members are provided on one end of the roller shaft 83a of the next cleaning roller 83.
b are provided respectively. The collars 93a and 93b have a substantially cylindrical shape and are made of a conductive resin.

The bearing members 8 are provided at both axial end portions of the roller shaft 82a of the primary cleaning roller 82 and axial end portions of the roller shaft 83a of the secondary cleaning roller 83.
5, the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 is attached to the other side shaft end of the roller shaft 82a of the primary cleaning roller 82, and the other side shaft end of the roller shaft 83a of the secondary cleaning roller 83 is attached. A secondary cleaning roller drive gear 92 is provided in each of the above.

The primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 is
A helical gear 91a that meshes with the photosensitive drum drive gear 28a.
And a spur gear 91b that meshes with the secondary cleaning roller drive gear 92, and is integrally formed. The helical gear 91a and the spur gear 91b are formed such that the helical gear 91a is located outside the spur gear 91b in the axial direction of the primary cleaning roller 82. A projection 91c is formed on the axially outer end surface of the helical gear 91a so as to project substantially axially outward in a hemispherical shape.

The secondary cleaning roller drive gear 9
Reference numeral 2 is a spur gear that meshes with the spur gear 91b of the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91.

The primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 and the secondary cleaning roller drive gear 92 are
With the spur gear 91b of the secondary cleaning roller drive gear 91 and the secondary cleaning roller drive gear 92 meshing with each other, the other end of the roller shaft 82a of the primary cleaning roller 82 and the roller shaft of the secondary cleaning roller 83. It is attached to the other end of the shaft 83a.

Thus, the primary cleaning roller 8
The secondary cleaning roller 83 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are connected by meshing between the spur gear 91 b of the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 and the secondary cleaning roller drive gear 92. It should be noted that the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 have a substantially 1: 1 circumference due to the engagement of the spur gear 91 b of the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 and the secondary cleaning roller drive gear 92. It is set to be driven at a speed ratio.

As shown in FIG. 5, the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are rotatably supported by the common bearing member 85 at both axial end portions thereof, as shown in FIG. 84
Is attached to.

The holder member 84 is made of resin and integrally includes a paper dust storage portion 94 as a foreign matter storage portion and a roller receiving portion 95.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the paper dust storage portion 94 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view and a concave shape in a side sectional view extending along the width direction, and a plurality of protruding walls along the width direction. 96 are provided at a predetermined distance from each other. The protruding wall 96 is erected from the bottom wall 97 along a direction orthogonal to the width direction so as to partition the paper dust storage portion 94 into predetermined spaces in the width direction. Also, this protruding wall 96
As will be described later, the upper end of the upper frame 110 of the upper frame 110, which will be described later, is configured so that the space above the paper dust storage portion 94 communicates in the width direction with the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 assembled. The height is formed so as to be separated from the ceiling portion 130 by a predetermined distance.

Further, at both side ends of the holder member 84 in the width direction of the paper dust storage portion 94, a holder side defining rib 98 as a holder side rib and a spring on the outside in the width direction of the holder side defining rib 98. Receiving parts 99 are provided respectively.

The holder-side defining rib 98 is provided in the paper dust storage portion 94.
5 are erected upward on both side ends of the base plate along a direction orthogonal to the width direction, and the upper end parts thereof are arranged as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b) and FIG. 5 (c), it is formed in an inclined shape along a ceiling portion 130 (see FIG. 13) of the upper frame 110 described later. The holder-side defining rib 98
As will be described later, in the state where the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 are assembled, the upper end portion thereof is
The height is formed so as to be in contact with a sponge seal 133 described later and to be separated from the ceiling portion 130 of the upper frame 110 by a predetermined distance (see FIG. 13).

Further, the spring receiving portion 99 has a plate-like shape and is provided outside the holder-side defining rib 96 in the width direction with a predetermined space in the width direction from the holder-side defining rib 96. The secondary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are formed along the width direction so as to face the other end 90 c of the torsion spring 90 in a state of being supported by the holder member 84.

Further, the front end portion of the paper dust storage portion 94 (the developing cartridge 29 side of the process unit 22 is the rear side,
The cleaning unit 81 side is the front side. The same applies below)
The front wall 1 that comes into contact with a sponge seal 133 described later.
01 is bent and formed upward from the bottom wall 97 along the width direction.

Further, the roller receiving portion 95 is the paper dust storage portion 9
4, a bottom wall 100 that is formed integrally with the paper dust storage portion 94 and that is formed along the width direction, and a bearing support that is provided at both ends in the width direction and that receives each bearing member 85. And a section 102.

The bottom wall 100 of the roller receiving portion 95 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), it has a concave shape and is formed continuously from the bottom wall 97 of the paper dust storage portion 94. In addition, between the bottom wall 100 of the roller receiving portion 95 and the bottom wall 97 of the paper dust storage portion 94, the protruding groove portion 10 protruding in a reverse concave cross-section along the width direction.
3 is formed.

Further, a seal attaching portion 104 having an inclined surface inclined from the lower rear side to the upper front side is formed in the protruding groove portion 103 so as to protrude in the width direction,
A mid film 105 as a second seal member is attached to the inclined surface of the seal attaching portion 104 in the width direction. The mid film 105 has a substantially rectangular shape and is made of a flexible resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate. The mid film 105 is inclined along the inclined surface of the seal adhering portion 104 so that its free end portion faces the front side. It is provided.

Further, the bottom wall 10 in the roller receiving portion 95 is
A rear wall 106 that is bent upward from the rear end is formed at the rear end of the first wall 1. The rear wall 106 is formed with an inclined surface that inclines from the lower front side toward the upper rear side. On the inclined surface of the rear wall 106,
A lower film 107 as a fourth seal member is attached. The lower film 107 has a substantially rectangular shape,
It is made of a flexible resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate, and is provided along the inclined surface of the inclined surface of the rear wall 106 so that its free end portion is inclined toward the rear side.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the longitudinal length of the mid film 105 and the lower film 107 is the same as or longer than the axial length of the primary cleaning roller 82. .

Further, each bearing support portion 102 has a plate shape, and as shown in FIG. 5B, the primary recess 108 for receiving the primary bearing portion 87 of the bearing member 85 and the secondary bearing portion 88. A secondary side recess 109 is formed for receiving.

Then, each bearing member 85 corresponds to the holder member 8
By being mounted on the roller receiving portion 95 of No. 4, it is supported by the holder member 84.

That is, the torsion spring 90 is replaced by the spring bearing portion 9.
9 locked (see FIGS. 5 (b) and 5 (c))
Then, the bearing plate 86 of the primary bearing portion 87 and the secondary bearing portion 88
The portion that protrudes inward in the axial direction with respect to each bearing support portion 1
No. 02 is loosely fitted in the primary side concave portion 108 and the secondary side concave portion 109. In this way, 2
The next bearing portion 88 is biased downward by the torsion spring 90, and each bearing member 85 is attached to the holder member 84.

The primary bearing portion 87 and the secondary bearing portion 88 of each bearing member 85 are loosely fitted in the primary side concave portion 108 and the secondary side concave portion 109 of each bearing supporting portion 102. In this state, the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are integrally movable in the front-rear direction, and the torsion spring 90 always urges the secondary cleaning roller 83 downward, and The primary cleaning roller 82 is biased rearward.

When the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are supported by the holder member 84, the mid film 105 faces the secondary cleaning roller 83 from below, as shown in FIG. The mid film 105 has a secondary cleaning roller 83 at the free edge of the mid film 105.
The secondary cleaning roller 83 comes into contact with the secondary cleaning roller 83 in the axial direction in a state in which the secondary cleaning roller 83 is directed in the downstream direction. As a result, as will be described later, when the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 are assembled,
Below the next cleaning roller 83, the paper dust storage portion 94 and the primary cleaning roller 82 are defined by the mid film 105.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the holder member 84 supporting the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 is replaced by the cleaning unit 8
The integrated unit 1 is mounted on the drum frame 27.

As shown in FIG. 13, the drum frame 27 is dividable into an upper frame 110 as an upper casing and a lower frame 111 as a lower casing. With the holder member 84 assembled to the lower frame 111, the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 are combined with each other, so that the cleaning unit 81 includes the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 1.
It is sandwiched between 11 and.

The lower frame 111 is made of resin, and as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the holder mounting portion 112 to which the holder member 84 is mounted, the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 31 are mounted in the front-rear direction. The drum mounting portion 113 and the cartridge mounting portion 114 in which the developing cartridge 29 is mounted are continuously and integrally formed.

The holder mounting portion 112 includes the lower frame 11
It is provided at the front end of No. 1, and as shown in FIG.
Protrusions 115 formed along the width direction and lower support ribs 116 as a contact member formed along the front-rear direction are provided at both ends thereof.

The protruding portion 115 is formed so as to protrude upward so as to fit in the protruding groove portion 103 of the holder member 84 when the holder member 84 is assembled.

Further, each of the lower support ribs 116 has a portion projecting outward in the axial direction with respect to the bearing plate 86 of the primary bearing portion 87 and the secondary bearing portion 88 at both widthwise end portions of the holder mounting portion 112. It stands upright so as to face each other. Each lower support rib 116 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 11, a substantially L-shaped primary side having a primary side bottom surface 117 facing the lower side of the primary bearing section 87 and a primary side front side surface 118 facing the front side of the primary bearing section 87. Receiver 11
9, and a secondary side bottom surface 12 that faces the lower side of the secondary bearing portion 88.
0 and a secondary side receiving portion 122 having a substantially L-shape, which includes a secondary side front side surface 121 facing the front side side of the secondary bearing portion 88,
It is formed in two steps in the vertical direction.

More specifically, one of the lower support ribs 116 on one side in the axial direction of the primary cleaning roller 82 in the width direction facing electrode plates 128a and 128b, which will be described later, (hereinafter referred to as the electrode side). The primary side bottom surface 117 of the lower support rib 116 arranged at the end portion is in a state where the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 are assembled, as shown in FIG.
The height is set so as to press from below. Further, the lower support rib 1 arranged at the other width direction side (hereinafter, referred to as gear side) end facing the sliding plate 129 described later.
The primary side bottom surface 117 of 16 is set to a height that does not press the primary bearing portion 87 from below in a state where the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 are assembled, as shown in FIG.

The primary front side surface 118 of each lower support rib 116 has an upper frame 110 and a lower frame 11.
In the assembled state of 1 and 1, the primary cleaning roller 82 is set to be positioned with respect to the photosensitive drum 28.

Further, the protruding portion 115 of the holder mounting portion 112
On the rear side, a plurality of holder receiving ribs 123 for receiving the roller receiving portions 95 of the holder member 84 are provided upright in the front-rear direction at predetermined intervals in the width direction.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, at the end portion of the holder mounting portion 112 on the electrode side, as a power feeding member, 2
Two electrode plates 128a and 128b are provided, respectively. The electrode plates 128a and 128b are provided so as to face the outer peripheral surfaces of the collars 93a and 93b described above on the outer side in the width direction with respect to the lower support ribs 116 formed on the electrode side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a sliding plate 129 made of a metal plate is provided at the gear-side end of the holder mounting portion 112 so as to face the projection 91c of the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91. Has been.

The drum mounting portion 113 is the holder mounting portion 11
2 is provided on the rear side, and as shown in FIG. 10, a transfer roller supporting portion 124 on which the transfer roller 31 is rotatably supported at the lower portion, and a photosensitive drum 28 at the upper portion as shown in FIG. And a photosensitive drum supporting portion 125 that is rotatably supported.

The cartridge mounting portion 114 receives the developing cartridge 29 and is a receiving plate portion 126 having a substantially rectangular plate shape in plan view.
And side plates 127 bent upward from both sides of the receiving plate 126 in the width direction.

The upper frame 110 is made of resin,
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the ceiling portion 130 has a substantially rectangular shape in a bottom view and covers the cleaning unit 81 in the front-rear direction, a charger supporting portion 131 for supporting the scorotron charger 30, and a scanner portion. A laser beam passage portion 132 for irradiating the photosensitive drum 28 with the laser beam from the laser beam 21 is continuously and integrally formed.

The ceiling portion 130 is provided at the front end portion of the upper frame 110, and as shown in FIG. 13, a sponge seal 133 as a third sealing member and a scraping member formed along the width direction thereof. Sponge scraper 134, and ceiling-side defining ribs 135 and upper support ribs 1 formed at both ends thereof along the front-rear direction.
36 are provided.

The sponge seal 133 has a substantially rectangular plate shape, and is supported by the front end portion of the ceiling portion 130 in the width direction so as to face the bottom wall 97 of the paper dust storage portion 94 in the vertical direction.

The sponge scraper 134 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and is arranged in parallel with the sponge seal 133 at a predetermined distance on the rear side of the sponge seal 133, and has a horizontal rib 137 protruding from the ceiling portion 130. , Supported across the width. The sponge scraper 134 is made of urethane sponge so that the coefficient of friction of the sponge scraper 134 with respect to the secondary cleaning roller 83 is smaller than the coefficient of friction of the primary cleaning roller 82 with respect to the secondary cleaning roller 83. Also, this sponge scraper 13
As will be described later, 4 is formed in a shape that does not easily tilt from the contact portion of the sponge scraper 134 with which the secondary cleaning roller 83 comes into contact, toward the downstream side in the rotational direction of the secondary cleaning roller 83. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 17A, the length in the tangential direction of the contact portion C of the sponge scraper 134 with the secondary cleaning roller 83 (that is, the length in the front-rear direction) A
Is longer than the length B in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the tangential direction (that is, the vertical length (thickness)) B.

The ceiling-side defining ribs 135 are arranged on both sides of the sponge seal 133 and the sponge scraper 134 in the width direction, and the holder-side defining ribs 98 and the spring receiving portions 9 are provided.
9 are provided so as to face each other between 9 and 9 and are erected downward in the front-back direction.

Further, the upper support ribs 136 are arranged in parallel with the ceiling-side defining ribs 135 at predetermined intervals on the outer side in the width direction with respect to the ceiling-side defining ribs 135, and are arranged downward along the front-rear direction. Is erected toward. Each upper support rib 136 has a primary bearing portion 87 and a secondary bearing portion 88.
The bearing plate 86 is formed so as to face the lower support ribs 116 with a portion protruding outward in the axial direction interposed therebetween.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, each upper support rib 136 faces the upper side of the primary bearing 87.
A primary holding portion 139 having a secondary upper surface 138, a secondary upper surface 140 facing the upper side of the secondary bearing 88, and a secondary rear side surface 141 facing the rear lateral of the secondary bearing 88. The substantially L-shaped secondary side holding portion 142 provided is formed in one step in the vertical direction.

More specifically, at the axially opposite ends of the primary cleaning roller 82, the primary side upper surface 138 of the upper side supporting rib 136 formed at the electrode side end portion has the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111. In the assembled state, as shown in FIG. 16, the height is set so that the primary bearing portion 87 is not pressed from above. Further, the primary side upper surface 1 of the upper side support rib 136 formed at the gear side end portion
In the state where the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 are assembled, as shown in FIG.
The height is set so that the primary bearing portion 87 can be pressed from above.

The charger supporting portion 131 is provided on the rear side of the ceiling portion 130, and as shown in FIG. 12, the front side supporting ribs 143 and the rear side supporting ribs 143 are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction. The support ribs 144 are erected downward in the width direction. The scorotron charger 30 is provided between the front support rib 143 and the rear support rib 144 along the width direction.

The grid electrode 30a includes the front side support rib 14
3 and the rear side support rib 144, a plurality of them are provided along the width direction at predetermined intervals in the front-rear direction.

Further, an upper film 145 as a fifth seal member is attached to the front side surface of the lower end portion of the front side support rib 143 across the width direction. The upper film 105 has a substantially rectangular shape and is made of a flexible resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate. The upper film 105 is provided along the front side surface of the front support rib 143 so that its free end portion faces downward. There is.

The laser beam passage portion 132 is provided on the rear side of the charger support portion 131, and the laser beam passage 146 for irradiating the photosensitive drum 28 with the laser beam from the scanner portion 21 is inclined downward to the front side. The openings are formed in a circular shape.

The holder member 84 is, as shown in FIG.
Are fitted to the holder mounting portion 112 of the lower frame 111, and the holder member 84 is positioned with respect to the lower frame 111.

By assembling in this way, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the primary cleaning roller 82 is located downstream of the position facing the transfer roller 31 with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 28, and is also the scorotron charger 3.
At the position on the upstream side of the position facing 0, the photosensitive drum 28
It is arranged opposite to. In addition, the secondary cleaning roller 83
Is disposed on the side opposite to the photosensitive drum 28 with respect to the primary cleaning roller 82, and further, the paper dust storage portion 94.
Is disposed on the opposite side of the secondary cleaning roller 83 from the primary cleaning roller 82.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15 and FIG.
The lower support ribs 116 of the lower frame 111 oppose the portions of the primary bearing portion 87 and the secondary bearing portion 88 that project outward in the axial direction with respect to the bearing plate 86 from below. The lower side and the front side of the primary bearing portion 87 face the primary bottom surface 117 and the primary front side surface 118, respectively, so that the primary bearing portion 87 is received by the primary receiving portion 119.
Further, the lower side and the front side of the secondary bearing portion 88 face the secondary side bottom surface 120 and the secondary side front side surface 121, so that the secondary bearing portion 88 is received by the secondary side receiving portion 122.

As shown in FIG. 13, the lower film 107 laterally faces the photosensitive drum 28. The lower film 107 is in contact with the lower film 107 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 28 in such a state that the edge of the free end of the lower film 107 is directed toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 28.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, each electrode plate 128
a and 128b are outer peripheral surfaces of the collars 93a and 93b respectively provided on one end of the roller shaft 82a of the primary cleaning roller 82 and one end of the roller shaft 83a of the secondary cleaning roller 83. When,
The collars 93a and 93b are slidably contacted in the vertical direction from the lower side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the photosensitive drum 28 and the primary cleaning roller 82 are connected by the engagement of the photosensitive drum drive gear 28a and the helical gear 91a, and the photosensitive drum 28 and the primary cleaning roller 82 are substantially in a ratio of 1: 2. It is set to be driven at the peripheral speed ratio. The sliding plate 129 is arranged so as to face the protrusion 91c of the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91.

When the upper frame 110 is assembled to the lower frame 111 with the holder member 84 assembled to the lower frame 111, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the primary bearing part 87 has a bottom surface on the primary side. 117 and a primary-side receiving portion 119 including a primary-side front side surface 118, and 1
It is held in a sandwiched manner by the primary side holding portion 139 composed of the secondary side upper surface 138.

The secondary bearing portion 88 has the secondary bottom surface 12
0 and the secondary side receiving part 122 which consists of the secondary side front side surface 121
And the secondary-side holding portion 142 formed of the secondary-side upper surface 140 and the secondary-side rear side surface 141, and held in a sandwiched manner.

In this way, each bearing member 85 is positioned by being vertically sandwiched by the upper support rib 136 of the upper frame 110 and the lower support rib 116 of the lower frame 111.

More specifically, in the primary cleaning roller 82, as shown in FIG. 16, the primary bearing portion 87 is pressed from below by the primary side bottom surface 117 at one end portion thereof, as shown in FIG. As shown, at the other end,
The primary bearing portion 87 is pressed from above by the primary-side upper surface 138, so that the horizontal direction is positioned. Further, at both ends, the primary bearing portions 87 are brought into contact with the primary-side front side surfaces 118, whereby the primary bearing portions 87 are positioned with respect to the photosensitive drum 28 in the front-rear direction. And
The primary cleaning roller 82 is always urged toward the photosensitive drum 28 by the torsion spring 90 in the thus positioned state.

Further, in the secondary cleaning roller 83, in the state where each secondary bearing portion 88 is received by each secondary side receiving portion 122, the secondary side receiving portion 122 and the secondary side holding portion 142 are connected. It is held in a loosely fitted state.

Further, the holder member 84 is the lower frame 11
When the upper frame 110 is combined with the lower frame 111 in a state where the upper frame 110 is mounted on the first frame 1, the space between the holder-side defining ribs 98 and the spring receiving portions 99 shown in FIG.
Each ceiling-side defining rib 135 shown in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the holder-side defining ribs 98 and the ceiling-side defining ribs 135 overlap with each other in the width direction at both ends of the paper dust storage portion 94, so that the overlap portion 147 is formed. Is formed. Both ends of the paper dust storage portion 94 are defined by the overlap portion 147.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, when the upper frame 110 is combined with the lower frame 111 in a state where the holder member 84 is mounted on the lower frame 111, the upper end portions of the holder-side defining ribs 98, The upper end of the front wall 101 contacts the sponge seal 133 supported by the ceiling part 130 of the upper frame 110, and the lower part of the sponge scraper 134 supported by the ceiling part 130 of the upper frame 110 is a secondary part. The cleaning roller 83 comes into contact with the cleaning roller 83 in the axial direction.

As a result, the paper dust storage portion 94 is defined such that both widthwise ends thereof are sealed by the holder-side defining ribs 98, the ceiling-side defining ribs 135, and the sponge seal 133. , Its front end is the front wall 10
1 and the sponge seal 133, the rear end of the sponge scraper 13 is defined.
It is defined in a state of being sealed by the fourth and second cleaning rollers 83 and the mid film 105. As a result, a space including the paper dust storage portion 94 is formed as a paper dust storage chamber 148, and is defined by a roller chamber 149 described below.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the upper film 145 is arranged between the primary cleaning roller 82 and the scorotron type charger 30 so as to face the photosensitive drum 28 from above. Upper film 145
The end edge of the free end portion is held in a state in which a slight gap is provided so as not to contact the photosensitive drum 28 over the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 28. As a result, the primary cleaning roller 82 is located below the primary cleaning roller 82 and the photosensitive drum 28.
Is defined by the upper photosensitive drum 28 and the upper film 145 on the upper side thereof.
8 and a scorotron charger 30.

Thus, the primary cleaning roller 8
The space for accommodating the secondary cleaning roller 83 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 is the sponge scraper 134 and the mid film 10.
5, the lower film 107 and the upper film 145 form a roller chamber 149.
48 and the photosensitive drum 28, respectively.

When the photosensitive drum 28 is rotated by power from a motor (not shown), the power is applied to the photosensitive drum drive gear 28a and the primary cleaning roller drive gear 9
It is transmitted to the primary cleaning roller 82 via the first helical gear 91a, and is further transmitted via the spur tooth gear 91b of the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 and the secondary cleaning roller drive gear 92. 8
3 is transmitted. Therefore, together with the photosensitive drum 28,
The secondary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 rotate in the directions of the arrows shown in FIG. 13 (the primary cleaning roller 82 is clockwise and the secondary cleaning roller 83 is counterclockwise).

When the toner is transferred onto the sheet 3, a bias (negative bias) lower than the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 28 is applied in order to attract the toner on the photosensitive drum 28 to the primary cleaning roller 82. , Electrode plate 12
It is applied to the primary cleaning roller 82 via 8a and the collar 93a. Then, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 28 is temporarily captured by the primary cleaning roller 82.

On the other hand, when the toner is not transferred to the paper 3,
That is, in order to attract the paper dust on the photosensitive drum 28 to the primary cleaning roller 82 during a period corresponding to the interval between the continuously fed sheets 3 and the sheet 3, a bias higher than the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 28 is applied. (Positive bias) is applied to the primary cleaning roller 82 via the electrode plate 128a and the collar 93a. Then, the toner temporarily captured by the primary cleaning roller 82 is returned to the photosensitive drum 28, and is transferred from the paper 3 to the photosensitive drum 28 during transfer.
The paper dust adhered to is caught by the primary cleaning roller 82. The toner returned to the photosensitive drum 28 is collected by the developing roller 34.

Therefore, even if a large amount of residual toner remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 after the transfer, the residual toner can be reliably collected by the developing roller 34. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the adverse effect on the image quality due to the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 28.

In order to suck only the paper dust on the primary cleaning roller 82 to the secondary cleaning roller 83, the electrode plate 128b is attached to the secondary cleaning roller 83.
A bias higher than the surface potential of the primary cleaning roller 82 (a positive bias) is always applied via the conductive collar 93b.

The paper dust captured by the primary cleaning roller 82, when facing the secondary cleaning roller 83,
It is always electrically captured by the secondary cleaning roller 83. The paper dust captured by the secondary cleaning roller 83 is
When facing the sponge scraper 134, it is scraped off by the sponge scraper 134,
Stored in 4.

That is, this cleaning unit 81
Then, the residual toner and the paper dust on the photosensitive drum 28 are electrically sucked by the primary cleaning roller 82. The toner attracted by the primary cleaning roller 82 is electrically returned onto the photosensitive drum 28, while the paper dust attracted by the primary cleaning roller 82 is electrically attracted by the secondary cleaning roller 83, and the secondary cleaning is performed. It is captured by the roller 83. Therefore, the paper dust can be efficiently removed in parallel with the recovery of the residual toner by the cleanerless developing method, and the paper dust removing performance can be improved.

Moreover, since the paper dust captured by the secondary roller is scraped off by the sponge scraper 134 and stored in the paper dust storage section 94, the removed paper dust can be collected without scattering. You can Therefore, the once removed paper dust can be prevented from adhering to the photosensitive drum 28 again, and the paper dust removal performance can be improved. In addition, the sponge scraper 134
Since the paper dust sucked by the next cleaning roller 83 is scraped off, the paper dust capturing performance of the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be maintained for a long period of time, and the paper dust removing performance can be maintained.

Further, from the bottom wall 97 of the paper dust storage portion 94,
A plurality of protruding walls 96 are erected at predetermined intervals in the width direction. Since the paper dust storage portion 94 is defined by the protruding walls 96 in such a manner that the upper space is communicated along the width direction, even if the process unit 22 is tilted, the space defined by each protruding wall 96 is defined. Paper powder can be held for each. Therefore, the paper dust storage unit 94 is prevented from moving in the width direction, and the paper dust storage unit 9 is prevented.
It is possible to reduce the leakage of paper powder from No. 4.

In addition, in this process unit 22, 1
Since both end portions in the axial direction of the secondary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are bearing-supported by a common bearing member 85, the relative arrangement of the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 is surely fixed. Can be kept at Therefore, the pressure contact force between the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 is stabilized, and the paper dust removing performance can be improved by stable driving.

Further, in the process unit 22, the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 are combined and the bearing members 85 are sandwiched therebetween.
As a result, the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be positioned. Therefore, by simple assembly, the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be reliably positioned while maintaining their relative positions.

Moreover, in this process unit 22,
At both axial ends of the primary cleaning roller 82, the gear-side end portions of the primary cleaning roller 82 have the primary bearing portions 87, and the primary-side upper surface 138 of the upper support rib 136 of the upper frame 110.
Is pressed from above by the electrode side end and the primary bearing 8
7 through the lower support rib 116 of the lower frame 111.
Since it is pressed from below by the primary side bottom surface 117, it is positioned in a balanced manner in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the primary cleaning roller 82 can be brought into uniform contact with the photosensitive drum 28 in the axial direction,
Stable driving can be secured.

That is, when the photosensitive drum 28 is driven in the thus positioned state, the primary cleaning roller 82 is rotationally driven by the engagement of the photosensitive drum drive gear 28a and the helical gear 91a.
In this process unit 22, the photosensitive drum drive gear 2
8a and the helical gear 91a rotate together from the bottom to the top in the meshing portion thereof, so that the photosensitive drum drive gear 28a tries to push the helical gear 91a upward. As a result, the primary cleaning roller 8
A force that pushes upward acts on the gear side end portion of 2.

However, at both end portions in the axial direction of the primary cleaning roller 82, at the end portion on the electrode side, the primary bearing portion 87 is formed.
Is pressed from below by the primary-side bottom surface 117, and at the gear side end, the primary bearing portion 87 is pressed from above by the primary-side upper surface 138. Therefore, the end portion of the primary cleaning roller 82 on the gear side is reliably prevented from being pushed upward by the force generated by the engagement between the photosensitive drum drive gear 28a and the helical gear 91a, and the primary cleaning roller 82 is Since it uniformly contacts the photosensitive drum 28 in the axial direction, the photosensitive drum 28 and the primary cleaning roller 82 can be stably driven.

Further, in this process unit 22, first, both axial ends of the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are supported by the common receiving member 85, and then each bearing member 85 is held. After mounting the holder member 84 on the lower frame 11
By mounting the first cleaning roller 82, the secondary cleaning roller 83, and the paper dust storage section 94 on the holder mounting section 112 of No. 1, the relative arrangement thereof is positioned by the holder member 84 to form a unit, It can be mounted on the frame 27. Therefore, 1
The secondary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be easily handled, and the reliable attachment to the drum frame 27 by simple assembly can be achieved.

Further, if the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are mounted on the lower frame 111 by such an assembly, the collar members 93a and 93b are attached to the electrode plates 128a and 128b provided on the lower frame 111. Can be contacted. Therefore, the collar members 93a and 93b are surely brought into contact with the electrode plates 128a and 128b by a simple assembly, and the collar members 93a and 93b are securely contacted.
Through the roller shaft 82 of the primary cleaning roller 82
a and the roller shaft 83a of the secondary cleaning roller 83
A predetermined bias can be applied to each.

Moreover, each collar member 93a and 93b
And the electrode plates 128a and 128b are brought into contact with each other, 1
Each electrode plate 1 is attached to the roller shaft 82a of the secondary cleaning roller 82 and the roller shaft 83a of the secondary cleaning roller 83.
It is possible to reduce damage due to wear and abnormal noise, as compared with directly contacting 28a and 128b. Further, when the collar members 93a and 93b are worn,
If replaced, its performance can be maintained.

Further, each electrode plate 128a and 128b
Are brought into contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the color members 93a and 93b, not the axially outer end surfaces of the color members 93a and 93b, so that the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 drive them. Even if the axial force vibrates due to the resulting thrust force, the electrode plates 128a and 128b and the collar members 93a and 9a
It is possible to prevent the contact with 3b from being released,
Stable power supply can be achieved.

Furthermore, each electrode plate 128a and 128b
By contacting the outer peripheral surfaces of the color members 93a and 93b with each other, the space for arranging the electrode plates 128a and 128b on the axially outer side of the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be eliminated, which saves the space. Space can be saved.

Further, in this process unit 22, since each torsion spring 90 biases each bearing member 85, the primary cleaning is performed while the relative position of the secondary cleaning roller 83 with respect to the primary cleaning roller 82 is maintained. The roller 82 is reliably brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 28 with a predetermined pressing force. Therefore, the primary cleaning roller 8
While maintaining the relative position between the secondary cleaning roller 83 and the secondary cleaning roller 83, the primary cleaning roller 82 can be reliably brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 28 with a predetermined pressing force.

Further, since each torsion spring 90 urges the secondary cleaning roller 83 downward via each secondary bearing portion 88, the relative position of the secondary cleaning roller 83 with respect to the primary cleaning roller 82. With the position kept, the holder member 84 of the secondary cleaning roller 83
It is possible to secure a reliable attachment to.

Moreover, in this process unit 22,
When the holder member 84 is attached to the lower frame 111, the primary bearing portions 87 are brought into contact with the primary-side front side surfaces 118, so that the position of the primary cleaning roller 82 in the front-rear direction with respect to the photosensitive drum 28 is determined. . Therefore, only by assembling the holder member 84 to the lower frame 111, the relative positions of the photosensitive drum 28, the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be easily and reliably achieved.

Since each bearing member 85 is provided with a side film 89 for preventing paper dust from leaking from both axial ends of the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83, respectively. Even if the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are integrally moved by the urging force of the torsion spring 90, the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are moved from both axial end portions of the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83. Leakage of paper dust can be prevented by each side film 89, and the scattered paper dust can be prevented from scattering.

Further, in this process unit 22, since the sponge scraper 134 can be brought into contact with the secondary cleaning roller 83 simply by assembling the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111, the sponge scraper 134 can be easily assembled. Reliable removal of paper dust can be achieved.

Since the coefficient of friction of the sponge scraper 134 with respect to the secondary cleaning roller 83 is set to be smaller than the coefficient of friction of the primary cleaning roller 82 with respect to the secondary cleaning roller 83, the secondary cleaning roller 83. The rotation torque can be reduced. In addition, the primary cleaning roller 82
And the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be prevented from slipping, and the paper dust removing performance can be improved by reliably driving the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83.

Further, since the sponge scraper 134 is made of sponge, the contact area with the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be widened to enhance the paper dust scraping ability.

Also, this sponge scraper 134 is
As shown in FIG. 17A, this sponge scraper 1
34, a shape in which the secondary cleaning roller 83 is less likely to tilt toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the secondary cleaning roller 83, more specifically, the secondary cleaning roller 83 in the sponge scraper 134. The tangential length A of the contact portion C is formed longer than the orthogonal length B orthogonal to the tangential direction. Even if the sponge scraper 134 rubs against the rotationally driven secondary cleaning roller 83, from the contact portion C of the sponge scraper 134 with which the secondary cleaning roller 83 comes into contact, the direction toward the downstream side of the rotational direction of the secondary cleaning roller 83 is increased. It is possible to reliably prevent tilting. Therefore, sponge scraper 13
The scraping performance by 4 can be secured for a long time. Further, since the sponge scraper 134 does not bend, it is possible to prevent the rotation torque of the secondary cleaning roller 83 from increasing.

The sponge scraper 134 is moved from the contact portion of the sponge scraper 134 with which the secondary cleaning roller 83 comes into contact to the secondary cleaning roller 8
In order to make the shape that does not easily tilt toward the downstream side of the rotation direction of 3, the secondary cleaning roller 83 in the sponge scraper 134 contacts as shown in FIG. For the contact portion C to
The thickness D of the upstream end of the secondary cleaning roller 83 in the rotation direction may be smaller than the thickness E of the downstream end of the secondary cleaning roller 83 in the rotation direction. Even if formed in this way, the sponge scraper 134
It is possible to reliably prevent the secondary cleaning roller 83 from tilting toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the secondary cleaning roller 83 from the contact portion C with which the secondary cleaning roller 83 contacts.

In the process unit 22, the photosensitive drum 28 and the primary cleaning roller 82 are connected to each other by the photosensitive drum drive gear 28a and the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 which are helical gears. The power from the photosensitive drum 28 is stably transmitted to the primary cleaning roller 82 via the helical gear. Therefore, the driving of the primary cleaning roller 82 can be stabilized.

When the photosensitive drum 28 and the primary cleaning roller 82 are connected to each other by a helical gear, a thrust force acts on the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91. A sliding plate 129 made of a metal plate is provided at a position facing the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91, and a hemispherical projection formed on the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 is provided to the sliding plate 129. The portion 91c slides. By the contact between the sliding plate 129 and the protrusion 91c, the pressing force of the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 generated by the thrust force can be received. for that reason,
The rotation torque of the primary cleaning roller 82 can be prevented from increasing, and the lower frame 11 made of resin can be prevented.
The damage of 1 can be prevented. Furthermore, the protrusion 91c
Touches the sliding plate 129, so that sliding resistance can be reduced.

Furthermore, in this process unit 22,
Since the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are connected by the meshing of the primary cleaning roller drive gear 91 and the spur gear 91b, the secondary cleaning roller 83 is securely attached to the primary cleaning roller 82. Can be driven. Moreover, since the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are driven at a peripheral speed ratio of substantially 1: 1, the primary cleaning roller 82 is driven by a small driving force.
On the other hand, the secondary cleaning roller 83 can be stably driven.

In addition, in this process unit 22, 2
The axial length of the secondary cleaning roller 83 is equal to or longer than the axial length of the primary cleaning roller 82.

If the axial length of the primary cleaning roller 82 is longer than the axial length of the secondary cleaning roller 83, the contact portion and the non-contact portion of the primary cleaning roller 82 with the secondary cleaning roller 83 will be described. At this time, the pressure contact force with respect to the photosensitive drum 28 is changed, and the primary cleaning roller 8 with respect to the photosensitive drum 28 is changed.
The pressure contact force in the axial direction of 2 may become uneven.

If the axial length of the secondary cleaning roller 83 is set to be equal to or longer than the axial length of the primary cleaning roller 82 as in the present embodiment, the primary cleaning roller 82 will move in the axial direction. The secondary cleaning roller 83 comes into contact with the entire surface. Therefore, the pressing force of the primary cleaning roller 82 on the photosensitive drum 28 is uniform throughout, and the primary cleaning roller 82 can be pressed uniformly on the photosensitive drum 28 in the axial direction.

In the process unit 22, the paper dust accumulating portion 94 is separated from the primary cleaning roller 82 by the mid film 105 which contacts the surface of the secondary cleaning roller 83 below the secondary cleaning roller 83. Is made. The mid film 105 prevents the paper dust stored in the paper dust storage portion 94 from leaking to the primary cleaning roller 82 via the lower side of the secondary cleaning roller 83. Therefore, the once removed paper dust can be prevented from adhering to the primary cleaning roller 82 again, and the paper dust removal performance can be improved.

Further, in this process unit 22, both widthwise sides of the paper dust storage portion 94 are formed by overlapping the holder-side defining ribs 98 and the ceiling-side defining ribs 135 in the widthwise direction. Since it is defined by the overlapping portion 147, both sides of the paper dust storage portion 94 can be partitioned without providing a special member. Moreover, since the holder-side defining ribs 98 and the ceiling-side defining ribs 135 overlap each other in the width direction on both sides of the paper dust storage portion 94, leakage of paper dust from both ends thereof can be reliably reduced. can do.

Further, since the upper end portion of the front wall 101 of the paper dust storage portion 94 is in contact with the sponge seal 133 supported by the ceiling portion 130 of the upper frame 110, the paper dust storage portion can be easily assembled. Leakage of paper powder from the front wall 101 of 94 can be prevented.

Furthermore, the ceiling portion 1 of the upper frame 110
The lower part of the sponge scraper 134 supported by 30
Since the secondary cleaning roller 83 comes into contact with the axial direction of the secondary cleaning roller 83, the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111 are assembled to each other, so that both widthwise end portions of the paper dust storage portion 94 are defined by the holder-side defining ribs. 9
8, each ceiling side defining rib 135 and sponge seal 13
It is defined in a sealed state by 3. Further, the front end portion of the paper dust storage portion 94 is defined in a state of being sealed by the front wall 101 and the sponge seal 133, and the rear end portion of the paper dust storage portion 94 is formed by the sponge scraper 134, the secondary cleaning roller 83, and It is defined by being sealed by the mid film 105.

As a result, the space containing the paper dust storage portion 94 is formed as a paper dust storage chamber 148 and is defined by the roller chamber 149 in which the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 are provided.

Therefore, the paper dust storage portion 94 can be defined by the primary cleaning roller 82 simply by assembling the upper frame 110 and the lower frame 111.
By defining the paper dust storage unit 94, it is possible to prevent the paper dust stored in the paper dust storage unit 94 from scattering, and to prevent the paper dust from adhering to the primary cleaning roller 82 again. .

Further, in this process unit 22,
The primary cleaning roller 82 is defined by the lower film 107 from the photosensitive drum 28 on the lower side between the primary cleaning roller 82 and the photosensitive drum 28, and on the upper side thereof, by the upper film 145 from the photosensitive drum 28. Is made. It is possible to prevent the paper dust staying on the primary cleaning roller 82 side from leaking to the photosensitive drum 28 side from the vertical direction between the image carrier drum 28 and the primary cleaning roller 82. Therefore, the once removed paper dust can be prevented from adhering to the photosensitive drum 28 again, and the paper dust removal performance can be improved.

In addition, the lower film 107 has a free edge portion which contacts the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 28 while the free edge portion of the lower film 107 is directed toward the downstream side in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 28. The end portions are arranged in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 28 with a slight gap so as not to contact the photosensitive drum 28. The smooth rotation of the photosensitive drum 28 is ensured to reduce the damage on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28, and the primary cleaning roller 82 side and the photosensitive drum 28 side are reliably sealed by the lower film 107 and the upper film 145. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to favorably prevent paper dust from leaking from the primary cleaning roller 82 side to the photosensitive drum 28 side.

Further, since the upper film 145 is arranged between the primary cleaning roller 82 and the scorotron type charger 30, the upper film 145 prevents the paper dust staying on the primary cleaning roller 82 side.
It is possible to prevent the scorotron charger 30 from being attached to the grid electrode 30a. Therefore, the photosensitive drum 28 can be charged well.

The length of the lower film 107 and the upper film 145 in the longitudinal direction is determined by the primary cleaning roller 82.
Since it is formed to have the same axial length as or longer than the axial length, it is possible to more reliably prevent paper dust from leaking from the primary cleaning roller 82 side to the photosensitive drum 28 side.

As a result, the sponge scraper 134, the mid film 105, the lower film 107 and the upper film 145 form a roller chamber 149,
It is defined by the paper dust storage chamber 148 and the photosensitive drum 28. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the paper dust removed in the paper dust storage chamber 148 from scattering toward the roller chamber 149, and the primary cleaning roller 82 and the secondary cleaning roller 83 in the roller chamber 149.
It is possible to prevent the paper dust captured by the sheet from scattering to the photosensitive drum 28 side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the paper dust from scattering in each chamber and improve the paper dust removing performance.

Since the laser printer 1 is provided with the process unit 22 as described above, the paper dust removing performance can be improved, so that high quality image formation can be achieved.

[0270]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the pressure contact force of the primary roller and the secondary roller is stabilized, and the paper dust removing performance is improved by the stable driving. You can

According to the invention described in claim 2, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be reliably positioned while maintaining their relative positions by a simple assembly.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the primary roller can be brought into uniform contact with the image carrier in the axial direction, and stable driving can be ensured.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be mounted on the housing of the process apparatus in a state in which they are positioned as a unit by the holder member, so that the primary roller and the secondary roller can be mounted. It is possible to easily handle the roller and the secondary roller, and to securely mount the roller and the secondary roller on the housing of the process apparatus by simple assembly.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 5, it is possible to realize excellent trapping of foreign matter.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the contact between each color member and each power supply member reduces damage due to wear and noises more than the contact between each roller shaft and each power supply member. You can

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, each power feeding member and each collar member can be reliably brought into contact with each other by a simple assembly. In addition, stable power supply can be achieved, and further space saving can be achieved.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the primary roller can be surely brought into contact with the image carrier with a predetermined pressing force while maintaining the relative position of the primary roller and the secondary roller. it can.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to ensure the reliable mounting of the secondary roller to the holder member and the housing while maintaining the relative position of the primary roller and the secondary roller.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the relative positions of the image bearing member, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be easily and surely achieved simply by assembling each bearing member to the housing of the process apparatus. can do.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the capturing performance of the secondary roller can be secured for a long period of time, and the paper dust removing performance can be improved.

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, reliable removal of paper dust can be achieved by simple assembly.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the rotation torque of the secondary roller can be reduced. Also, 1
The paper dust removing performance can be improved by reliably driving the secondary roller and the secondary roller.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the invention, the scraping performance of the scraping member can be ensured for a long period of time, and the rotation torque of the secondary roller is prevented from increasing due to the bending of the scraping member. can do.

According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the scraping member from tilting toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the secondary roller from the contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller contacts. it can.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the scraping member from tilting toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the secondary roller from the contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller contacts. it can.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the driving of the primary roller can be stabilized.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the rotation torque of the primary roller from increasing, and
It is possible to prevent damage to the housing of the process device.

According to the nineteenth aspect of the invention, the secondary roller can be reliably driven with respect to the primary roller.

According to the twentieth aspect of the invention, the secondary roller can be stably driven with respect to the primary roller with a small driving force.

According to the twenty-first aspect of the invention, the pressure contact force of the primary roller with respect to the image carrier does not change,
The primary roller can be pressed uniformly against the image carrier in the axial direction.

According to the twenty-second aspect of the invention, it is possible to achieve excellent removal of foreign matter over the entire image forming area of the image carrier.

According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be reliably positioned by simple assembly.

According to the twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the primary roller and the secondary roller can be mounted on the housing of the process apparatus in a state where they are positioned by the holder member and unitized. It is possible to easily handle the roller and the secondary roller, and to securely mount the roller and the secondary roller on the housing of the process apparatus by simple assembly.

According to the twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, the contact between each color member and each power supply member reduces damage due to wear and noises more than the contact between each roller shaft and each power supply member. You can

According to the twenty-sixth aspect of the invention, each power feeding member and each collar member can be reliably brought into contact with each other by a simple assembly. In addition, stable power supply can be achieved, and further space saving can be achieved.

According to the twenty-seventh aspect of the invention, the cleaning roller can be brought into uniform contact with the image carrier in the axial direction, and stable driving can be ensured.

According to the twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, reliable removal of paper dust can be achieved by simple assembly.

According to the twenty-ninth aspect of the invention, it is possible to reduce the rotational torque of the secondary roller. Also, 1
The paper dust removing performance can be improved by reliably driving the secondary roller and the secondary roller.

According to the thirtieth aspect of the present invention, the scraping performance of the scraping member can be ensured for a long period of time, and the rotation torque of the secondary roller is prevented from increasing due to the bending of the scraping member. can do.

According to the thirty-first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the tilting of the scraping member from the contact portion of the scraping member, which contacts the secondary roller, toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the secondary roller. it can.

According to the thirty-second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the scraping member from tilting toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the secondary roller from the contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller contacts. it can.

According to the invention described in Item 33, it is possible to stabilize the driving of the cleaning roller.

According to the thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent an increase in the rotating torque of the cleaning roller and prevent damage to the housing of the process apparatus.

According to the thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention, the secondary roller can be driven reliably with respect to the primary roller.

According to the thirty-sixth aspect of the invention, the secondary roller can be stably driven with respect to the primary roller with a small driving force.

According to the thirty-seventh aspect of the present invention, the paper dust can be efficiently removed, and the paper dust removal performance can be improved.

According to the thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention, the paper dust can be efficiently removed while the developer is collected by the cleanerless developing system, and the paper dust removal performance can be improved.

According to the thirty-ninth aspect of the present invention, the device configuration can be simplified.

According to the invention described in Item 40, high quality image formation can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an essential part showing a process unit of the laser printer shown in FIG.

3 is an assembly view showing a primary cleaning roller, a secondary cleaning roller and a bearing member of the process unit shown in FIG.

4A and 4B show a primary cleaning roller, a secondary cleaning roller and a bearing member of the process unit shown in FIG. 2, where FIG. 4A is a plan view, FIG. 4B is a left side view, and FIG. 4C is a right side view. .

5 shows a cleaning unit of the process unit shown in FIG. 2, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a left side view,
(C) is a right side view.

6A and 6B show a holder member of the process unit shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 6A being a front view and FIG. 6B being a sectional view taken along line XX.

7 is a plan view showing a lower frame (in a state where a holder member is mounted) of the process unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a left side view of the lower frame shown in FIG.

9 is a right side view of the lower frame shown in FIG. 7. FIG.

10 is a plan view showing a lower frame (a state in which a holder member is not attached) of the process unit shown in FIG.

11 is a bottom view showing an upper frame of the process unit shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

12 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. 11 of the upper frame of the process unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the process unit shown in FIG. 2 (a state in which a holder-side defining rib is in contact with a sponge seal member is shown).

FIG. 14 is a sectional side view of a main part of the process unit shown in FIG. 2 (a state in which a holder-side defining rib and a ceiling-side defining rib overlap with each other appears).

15 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a lower side support rib and an upper side support rib (gear side) of the process unit shown in FIG.

16 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a lower side supporting rib and an upper side supporting rib (electrode side) of the process unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part showing the sponge scraper of the process unit shown in FIG. 2, in which (a) shows the tangential length of the contact portion of the sponge scraper with the secondary cleaning roller in the tangential direction. Is formed longer than the length in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to
(B) shows that the thickness of the upstream end of the sponge scraper in the rotational direction of the secondary cleaning roller is smaller than that of the contact portion of the sponge scraper with the secondary cleaning roller. A mode in which it is formed thinner than the thickness).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 laser printer 3 sheets 22 Process unit 27 drum frame 28 Photosensitive drum 31 transfer roller 34 developing roller 82 Primary cleaning roller 82a roller shaft 82b roller section 83 Secondary cleaning roller 83a roller shaft 83b Roller part 84 Holder member 85 Bearing member 87 Primary bearing 88 Secondary bearing 90 torsion spring 91 Primary cleaning roller drive gear 92 Primary cleaning roller drive gear 93a color 93b color 110 upper frame 111 lower frame 128a electrode plate 128b electrode plate 118 Primary side front side 134 Sponge scraper 129 sliding plate

Continued front page    F term (reference) 2H077 AA37 AB03 AB13 AB15 AC03                       AC04 AC16 AD06 AD13 AE03                       AE04 DA15 DA36 EA14                 2H134 GA01 GB02 GB05 HA01 HA02                       HA07 HA09 HA11 HA13 HA16                       HA17 HF13 JA05 JA11 JA12                       KB03 KB04 KD02 KD08 KF01                       KF03 KF07 KF08 KG03 KG04                       KG07 KG08 KH01                 2H171 FA02 FA03 FA04 FA09 FA13                       FA14 FA15 FA17 FA24 FA25                       FA26 FA28 GA01 JA23 JA27                       JA29 JA30 JA31 JA34 JA43                       JA45 JA48 JA59 KA11 KA12                       KA13 KA18 KA26 LA08 LA10                       QA02 QA08 QA11 QA18 QB02                       QB09 QB15 QB17 QB32 QB53                       QB54 QC03 QC14 QC23 QC25                       QC26 SA10 SA12 SA15 SA18                       SA19 SA22 SA26 SA31 TA02                       TA07 TA19 TB02 UA02 UA03                       UA08 WA02 WA10 WA23

Claims (40)

[Claims] 1. A process apparatus including an image carrier, wherein a primary roller is arranged in contact with the image carrier so as to be in contact therewith, and a primary roller for catching a foreign substance on the image carrier is provided in contact with the primary roller. Secondary rollers, which are arranged to face each other, for catching foreign matter on the primary roller, a primary bearing portion for rotatably supporting the primary roller, and a rotatably support for the secondary roller. A bearing member integrally formed with a secondary bearing portion, wherein both axial end portions of the primary roller and the secondary roller are supported by the bearing members. Process equipment. 2. A housing of a process apparatus is configured to be divided into an upper housing and a lower housing, and each of the bearing members is formed by combining the upper housing and the lower housing. The process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process device is positioned. 3. One of the bearing members is positioned by being pressed from below by the lower housing and the other bearing member being pressed from above by the upper housing. The process apparatus according to claim 2, wherein 4. A holder member to which each of the bearing members supporting the axially opposite ends of the primary roller and the secondary roller is mounted, the holder member being mounted on a housing of a process apparatus. The process device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. The primary roller includes a metal roller shaft and a roller portion made of a foam provided around the metal roller shaft, and the secondary roller includes a metal roller shaft. 5. The process apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a metal roller portion provided around the roller shaft. 6. A conductive collar member is provided on one end of the roller shaft of the primary roller and one end of the roller shaft of the secondary roller, respectively. The process apparatus according to claim 1. 7. The process apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the housing of the process apparatus is provided with a power feeding member that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of each of the collar members. 8. The bearing member according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing member for biasing the primary roller toward the image carrier. The process equipment according to claim 1. 9. The process apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each of the biasing members is provided so as to bias the secondary roller downward. 10. A casing of the process apparatus is provided with an abutting member for positioning the primary roller with respect to the image carrier so as to abut each bearing member. Process device according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that 11. The process apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a scraping member for scraping off the foreign matter on the secondary roller. 12. The scraping member is supported by the upper casing, and is configured to come into contact with the secondary roller when the upper casing and the lower casing are assembled. 12. The process device according to claim 11, characterized in that 13. The friction coefficient of the scraping member with respect to the secondary roller is smaller than the friction coefficient of the primary roller with respect to the secondary roller. Or the process device according to item 12. 14. The scraping member is formed in a shape that does not easily tilt from a contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller contacts in a direction downstream of a rotation direction of the secondary roller. 14. The process apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that. 15. The scraping member is formed such that a tangential direction length of a contact portion of the scraping member with the secondary roller is longer than a length in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the tangential direction. 15. The process device according to claim 14, characterized in that 16. The scraping member is provided with the second part with respect to a contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller comes into contact.
15. The process apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a thickness of an upstream side end portion of the secondary roller in the rotation direction is formed to be thinner than a thickness of a downstream side end portion of the secondary roller in the rotation direction. . 17. The image carrier and the primary roller are
Characterized by being connected by a helical gear,
The process apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16. 18. A casing of the process apparatus includes a sliding plate at a position facing a helical gear provided on the primary roller for receiving a pressing force of the helical gear generated by a thrust force. 18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that it is provided.
The process device described in 1. 19. The process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the primary roller and the secondary roller are connected by a gear. 20. The process apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the primary roller and the secondary roller are driven at a peripheral speed ratio of substantially 1: 1. 21. Process according to any of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the axial length of the secondary roller is the same as or longer than the axial length of the primary roller. apparatus. 22. The length of the primary roller in the axial direction is the same as or longer than the length of the image forming area in the axial direction of the image carrier. The process equipment according to claim 1. 23. In a process apparatus including an image carrier, a primary roller arranged to face the image carrier and for capturing foreign matter on the image carrier; and a primary roller arranged to face the primary roller, A secondary roller for capturing foreign matter on the next roller is provided, and the housing of the process device is configured to be divided into an upper housing and a lower housing. A process apparatus characterized in that the primary roller and the secondary roller are positioned by combining with a casing. 24. A holder member, to which each of the bearing members supporting the axially opposite ends of the primary roller and the secondary roller is attached, the holder member being attached to a housing of a process apparatus. 24. Process device according to claim 23, characterized in that 25. One side end portion of the roller shaft of the primary roller and one side end portion of the roller shaft of the secondary roller,
The process device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that each of them is provided with a conductive collar member. 26. The process apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the housing of the process apparatus is provided with a power supply member that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of each of the collar members. 27. In a process apparatus including an image carrier, a cleaning roller arranged to face the image carrier and for capturing foreign matter on the image carrier, and a bearing for rotatably supporting the cleaning roller. A member, wherein both ends of the cleaning roller in the axial direction are bearing-supported by the respective bearing members, one of the bearing members is pressed from below by a casing of the process apparatus, and the other of the bearing members is The process device is characterized in that it is positioned by being pressed from above by the casing of the process device. 28. In a process apparatus including an image carrier, a primary roller arranged to face the image carrier and for capturing foreign matter on the image carrier; and a primary roller arranged to face the primary roller. The casing of the process device includes an upper casing and a lower casing, which includes a secondary roller for capturing foreign matter on the next roller and a scraping member for scraping foreign matter on the secondary roller. The scraping member is supported by the upper casing, and contacts the secondary roller in a state where the upper casing and the lower casing are assembled. A process device characterized by being configured as follows. 29. The friction coefficient of the scraping member with respect to the secondary roller is smaller than the friction coefficient of the primary roller with respect to the secondary roller. The process device described in 1. 30. The scraping member is formed in a shape that is less likely to tilt from a contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller comes into contact, toward a downstream side in a rotation direction of the secondary roller. 30. Process device according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that 31. In the scraping member, a tangential length of a contact portion of the scraping member with the secondary roller is longer than a length in a perpendicular direction orthogonal to the tangential direction. 31. Process device according to claim 30, characterized in that 32. The scraping member is provided with the contact portion of the scraping member with which the secondary roller contacts.
31. The process apparatus according to claim 30, wherein a thickness of an upstream end portion of the secondary roller in the rotation direction is formed to be smaller than a thickness of a downstream end portion of the secondary roller in the rotation direction. . 33. In a process apparatus including an image carrier, a cleaning roller that is arranged to face the image carrier and captures foreign matter on the image carrier is provided, and the image carrier and the cleaning roller include: Process device characterized by being connected by a helical gear. 34. A casing of the process apparatus, at a position facing a helical gear provided on the cleaning roller,
34. The process apparatus according to claim 33, further comprising a sliding plate for receiving a pressing force of the helical gear generated by a thrust force. 35. In a process apparatus including an image carrier, a primary roller arranged to face the image carrier and for capturing foreign matter on the image carrier; and a primary roller arranged to face the primary roller, A process device, comprising: a secondary roller for capturing foreign matter on the next roller, wherein the primary roller and the secondary roller are connected by a gear. 36. The process apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the primary roller and the secondary roller are driven at a peripheral speed ratio of substantially 1: 1. 37. A bias for attracting the developer and paper dust on the image carrier is applied to the primary roller, and only the paper dust on the primary roller is attracted to the secondary roller. 37. Process device according to any of claims 1 to 26, 28 to 32, 35 and 36, characterized in that a bias is applied. 38. A bias for attracting the developer and paper dust on the image carrier and a bias for returning the developer applied to the primary roller to the image carrier are selected for the primary roller. 27. A bias for attracting only the paper dust on the primary roller is applied to the secondary roller, and the secondary roller is applied with a bias. The process apparatus according to any one of 36. 39. A transfer means for transferring the latent image formed on the image bearing member to a transfer medium, and a developing means for developing the latent image formed on the image bearing member. 4. The developer remaining on the image carrier after the transfer to the transfer medium by the means is collected by the developing means.
8. The process apparatus according to any one of 8. 40. An image forming apparatus, comprising the process device according to claim 1.