JP2005070559A - Cleaning device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device which is capable of effectively cleaning off toner remaining on the surface of a photoreceptor in order to form images of high quality, and to provide an image forming apparatus provided with the cleaning device. <P>SOLUTION: When toner combing processing is performed by using a roll-like brush 3 as preprocessing for scraping remaining toner from the outer circumferential surface of a photoreceptor 1 by using a cleaning blade 2, the tip ends of the fibers 3b of the brush 3 rotating with the rotation of a shaft member 3a separate from the surface of the photoreceptor 1 and are engaged with a flicker 4 being a scraping member, and fibers 3b stand up, while flipping the toner stuck to the fibers 3b in response to release of this engagement. A partition 6 separating a transport path where toner is transported by a toner transport mechanism 5, and the rotation space of the brush 3 from each other is so provided that its lower end part 6a is brought into contact with the rotating circumferential surface of the brush 3 at a position where fibers 3b stand up. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device, and more particularly to a cleaning device suitable for cleaning toner adhering to the surface of a photoreceptor of an image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same.

In general, an xerographic image forming apparatus (for example, a copying apparatus, a facsimile apparatus, or a printer apparatus) forms an electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface of a photosensitive drum based on printing information, and the electrostatic latent image is converted into toner. Then, the image is formed by a process such as developing the toner image and transferring the toner image onto a transfer sheet.
In such an image forming apparatus, it is indispensable to clean the residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive member after being transferred onto the transfer paper, and as a cleaning device for performing such cleaning, the toner image transferred on the surface of the image carrier is transferred. An image carrier cleaning device that removes and collects toner after the process, and stores the collected toner, a casing provided with a toner discharge conveyance path, and a toner discharge conveyance path. An image carrier comprising: a toner conveying member that conveys the cleaning device main body; and a fur brush that is rotationally driven so as to rub against the surface of the image bearing member and guides the removed and collected toner to the toner conveying member. In the cleaning device, the base end side is fixed to a casing portion close to the lower portion of the toner conveying member, and the free end side is attached to the fur brush. An elastic toner accumulation preventive, which is arranged so as to extend and bite into the fur brush, and has a surface opposite to the casing surface as a toner guide surface guided from the fur brush to the toner conveying member 2. Description of the Related Art An image carrier cleaning device provided with a member (see Patent Document 1) is known.
In this patent document 1, a toner accumulation preventing member is provided so as to bite into the fur brush. However, in the cleaning device described in this patent document 1, the toner conveying member is a cleaner as shown in FIG. In this arrangement, there is little risk that the toner transported by the toner transporting member will adhere to the fur brush.
JP-A-6-102801

However, in recent years, when it is necessary to arrange the cleaning device near the apex of the photosensitive member due to the demand for downsizing of the image forming apparatus, it is necessary to adopt a configuration in which the toner transport path is provided above the fur brush. In other words, the toner transported along the toner transport path adheres to the fur brush again, and there is a problem that sufficient cleaning performance cannot be obtained.
Accordingly, the present invention optimizes the installation position of the partition plate in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to effectively clean the residual toner on the surface of the photoreceptor so as to perform high-quality image formation. Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device and an image forming apparatus including such a cleaning device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a scraping means for scraping a toner adhering to the surface of the photoreceptor, and a surface of the photoreceptor disposed on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photoreceptor with respect to the scraping means. A cleaning device for removing the toner adhering to the surface of the photosensitive member provided with a raising means for raising the toner and a toner conveying means for conveying the toner scraped by the above-mentioned scraping means. In
The brushing means is disposed downstream of the brush in the rotational direction of the brush from the nip position between the brush and the photoreceptor, and a brush formed by implanting fibers on a rotatable shaft member disposed in parallel with the rotational axis of the photoreceptor. A scraping member that engages with the fibers of the brush, a partition member that partitions the toner transport path for transporting the toner by the toner transport means and the brush, and the partition member has an end thereof The portion is arranged at a position where the fiber of the brush is disengaged from the scraping member and the shape of the fiber is restored, and in the vicinity thereof.
With this configuration, the gap for allowing the toner to fly and fly when the brush fibers rise is sufficiently large, and the toner flows back to the brush and reattaches to the brush fibers, causing clogging. Can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to carry out an effective scratching treatment for the toner adhering to the surface of the photoreceptor, and it is possible to perform high-quality image formation by sufficiently cleaning the surface of the photoreceptor.

The partition member is arranged so that the end of the partition member engages with the brush fiber at a position where the fiber of the brush is disengaged from the scraping member and the shape of the fiber is restored. More preferably.
The end of the partition member can be effectively prevented from adhering to the toner in the toner conveying path when the end of the partition member is as close as possible to the fiber of the brush or engaged with the fiber of the brush. In addition, since there is a partition plate at the position where the shape of the brush fiber is restored, the toner attached to the brush fiber is maximized by the collision with the scraping member, and the toner in the toner transport path adheres to the brush. The amount can be minimized.

Here, the toner can be effectively prevented from adhering to the brush by applying the present invention to the configuration in which the toner conveying means is disposed above the scraping means.
The present invention is configured as an image forming apparatus provided with such a cleaning device.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the partition member is disposed so that the end of the fiber of the brush as the raising means rises while repelling the toner so that the end thereof is in contact with the rotating peripheral surface of the brush. As a result, it is possible to effectively suppress the backflow of toner from the toner transport path to the rotation space of the brush while sufficiently increasing the gap for allowing the toner flying by the brush fibers to fly. Therefore, the clogging of the brush can be prevented and the surface of the photoreceptor can be effectively cleaned, and high-quality image formation can be realized.

Hereinafter, embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention can be understood. It should be noted that the following embodiments and examples are examples embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus K to which a cleaning apparatus A according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) is applied. Here, the image forming apparatus is exemplified by a multifunction machine, but this may be a facsimile machine, a printer machine, or the like.
First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus K according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus K is a multifunction machine having a copying function and a printer function. The image forming apparatus K shown in the present embodiment is related to a monochrome developing apparatus, but may naturally be related to color development.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus provided with a cleaning mechanism according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in a copying machine K which is an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, a photosensitive drum (photosensitive body or image) is rotated in a direction A in the figure by a charging device 30 in a copying machine main body K1. The carrier 40 is uniformly charged, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 40 by a laser beam from an exposure device (laser scanning unit or the like) 60 based on the original image read by the original reading device 5. The developing device 7 attaches a developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. The toner is supplied to the developing device 7 from the toner container 8.

The sheet is conveyed from the sheet feeding mechanism 9 via the sheet conveyance path 10 toward the photosensitive drum 40 on which the toner image is formed as described above, and the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 40 is transferred by the transfer roller 11 to the sheet. Is transcribed. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 40 and conveyed to the fixing device 12 having a pair of fixing rollers to fix the toner image. The paper that has passed through the fixing device 12 is sent to a paper conveyance path 13 branched in a plurality of directions, and the conveyance direction is sorted by a branching member at a branch point of the paper conveyance path 13 and is sent as it is (or sent to the paper conveyance path 17). After the two-sided copying is performed, the sheet is discharged from the sheet discharge unit of the upper sheet tray 102a, the lower sheet tray 102b, or the sheet tray 103.

  Reference numeral 16 denotes a cleaning mechanism that removes residual toner on the photosensitive drum 40 and its external additive, and has a brush 3 that is a scratching means, and a cleaning blade and a conveying means that will be described later. The present invention relates to the cleaning mechanism 16. The paper feed mechanism 9 is detachably attached to the copier K1, and includes paper feed cassettes 91 and 92 for storing paper, and a stack bypass (bypass tray) 93 provided above them. The sheet conveying path 10 is connected to an image forming unit including the photosensitive drum 40 and the developing device 7.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the cleaning apparatus A will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the cleaning device A.
The cleaning device A has a housing B and a cleaning blade that scrapes off residual toner after sheet transfer from the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 1 with its end abutting against the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 1 of the image forming apparatus (not shown). (Scraping means) 2 and a roll-like treatment for scratching the toner adhering to the surface of the photoreceptor 1 as a pretreatment so that the residual toner can be effectively scraped by the cleaning blade 2 The surface of the photosensitive member 1 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 2, a scraping means J having a flicker (scraping member) 4 for scraping off the toner adhering to the brush 3, and a partition plate 6 described later. Toner transport mechanism 5 for transporting the collected toner, toner scraped by the cleaning blade 2, and toner scraped by the brush 3. So prevented from re-adhering to the brush 3, and a said partition plate (partition member) 6 which separates the rotation space of the toner transport path and the brush 3 by the toner conveying mechanism 5 inside the housing B.

The cleaning blade 2 is made of a plate-like member made of an elastic material such as rubber. The cleaning blade 2 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface at the upper portion of the photosensitive member 1 and is inclined upward from the horizontal direction toward the opposite end portion. It is comprised from the plate-shaped member provided.
The brush 3 is formed as a brush in which a large number of fibers 3b are arranged radially on the peripheral surface of a rotatable shaft member 3a that is arranged in parallel with the rotation axis of the photosensitive member 1. The brush 3 rotates in the counterclockwise direction (direction indicated by the arrow C2) so as to send the toner toward the downstream side in the rotation direction (indicated by the arrow C1) of the photosensitive member 1 provided with the toner conveying mechanism 5. Yes.
The flicker 4 is a plate-like member disposed so that the brush 3 engages with the tip of the fiber 3b of the shaft member 3a of the brush 3 after the brush 3 performs the toner scraping treatment. As shown in FIG. 2, the end of the flicker 4 on the side that engages with the tip of the fiber 3b is provided with a large number of rectangular through holes 4a so that the portion engaged with the fiber 3b has a thin rod shape.

As schematically shown in FIG. 4, the partition plate 6 has a lower end portion 6 a on the rotating circumferential surface of the brush 3, a position where the fibers 3 b of the brush 3 once laid by engaging with the flicker 4 rise, that is, The end of the partition plate 6 is slightly inclined toward the brush 3 so that the brush fibers engage with the brush fibers at a position where the engagement of the fibers with the scraping member is released and the shape of the fibers is restored. And attached to the inner wall surface of the housing B. However, since the contact between the end portion of the partition plate 6 and the brush is not performed at a single point, the end portion of the partition plate 6 is disengaged from the fibers of the brush due to the engagement of the brush fibers with the scraping member. It suffices if it is provided in the vicinity of the position where the shape is restored.
As described above, in the embodiment, in the configuration in which the toner 3 is scraped by the brush 3 as a pretreatment for scraping the toner by the cleaning blade 2 on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 1, the rotation is performed with the rotation of the shaft member 3 a of the brush 3. As a result, the tip of the fiber 3b of the brush 3 away from the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 1 is engaged with the flicker 4, and further, the shaft member 3a is rotated so that the engagement between the tip of the fiber 3b and the flicker 4 is released. The toner adhering to the fiber 3b is bounced and flies with the momentum of the broken fiber 3b rising. At this time, the partition plate 6 that partitions the toner conveyance path and the rotation space of the brush 3 is provided at a position where the lower end portion 6a contacts the rotation peripheral surface of the brush 3 at a position where the fiber 3b rises. With this configuration, the gap for allowing the toner bounced and flying by the fibers 3b of the brush 3 to pass through is made sufficiently large so that the toner transport mechanism 5 does not obstruct the toner scraping to the toner transport path, and the toner The backflow of the toner from the conveyance path to the rotation space of the brush 3 can be effectively suppressed, and the reattachment of the toner to the brush fiber 3b can be prevented.
Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently clean the photosensitive member 1 so as to suppress clogging of the brush 3 and form a high-quality image.
It should be noted that the partition plate of the present invention is provided in the vicinity of the position where the fiber of the brush is released from the engagement with the scraping member and the shape of the fiber is restored within a range where the effect of the present invention is effective. It can be appropriately arranged depending on the material of the brush and the degree of engagement between the brush and the flicker 4. Further, the brush 3 and the partition plate 6 can be more effectively engaged with each other to effectively prevent the toner from being reattached to the brush 3. However, in consideration of the durability of the brush 3, it can be brought close to the brush 3 without contacting it. It may be arranged.

An example of an embodiment of the present invention is as follows. The photosensitive member 1 has a drum diameter of 30φ, the outer diameter of the brush 3 is 12.5φ, the length of the fiber 3b of the brush 3 is 3.3 mm, the engagement length of the photosensitive member 1 and the brush is 0.8 mm, the photosensitive member The peripheral speed of 1 is set to 99.2 mm / s, the peripheral speed of the brush 3 is set to 114.5 mm / s, and the engagement length between the flicker 4 (made of SUS304 having a thickness of 0.3 mm) and the brush 3 is set to 1. When the engagement length of the partition plate 6 (96 mm made of PET resin having a thickness of 0.5 mm) and the brush 3 is 0.5 mm, and the distance between the tip of the partition plate 6 and the flicker 4 is 2.0 mm In addition, the best effect was obtained in preventing clogging of the brush 3. In addition, when the end portion 6a of the partition plate 6 is shifted by 1 mm in the direction away from the brush 3, the end portion 6a of the partition plate 6 is shifted by 0.5mm on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the brush 3 and 0.2mm on the upstream side. Results were obtained. Here, the fiber 3b of the brush 3 is a fiber (thickness 120 denier) in which 35 6 denier nylon single fibers are bundled, and the hair shaft density 39000 / inch ² (single fiber) on the brush shaft 3a. The hair was planted at a per capita density).
Although the toner transport mechanism 5 is not clearly shown in the drawing, a protrusion is formed in a spiral shape on the peripheral surface of a shaft member arranged in parallel with the rotation shafts of the photosensitive member 1 and the brush 3. By rotating the member at a predetermined speed, the toner is conveyed in the axial direction of the photosensitive member 1 by the spiral protrusion.

  The present invention can be industrially applied to image forming apparatuses such as copying apparatuses, printer apparatuses, and facsimile apparatuses.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating details of an image forming apparatus to which a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the cleaning apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of the flicker of the apparatus. It is the figure which showed typically arrangement | positioning of the partition plate of the apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

A ... Cleaning device B ... Housing 1 ... Photoconductor 2 ... Cleaning blade 3 ... Brush 4 ... Flicker 5 ... Toner transport mechanism 6 ... Partition plate

Claims (4)

Scraping means for scraping the toner adhering to the surface of the photosensitive member;
A scraping means for scratching the toner adhering to the surface of the photoconductor disposed on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor with respect to the scraping means;
In the cleaning apparatus for removing the toner adhering to the surface of the photosensitive member provided with the toner conveying means for conveying the toner scraped by the scraping means,
A brush formed by flocking fibers on a rotatable shaft member disposed parallel to the rotation axis of the photoconductor;
A scraping member that engages with the fibers of the brush disposed downstream of the nip position between the brush and the photoreceptor in the rotation direction of the brush;
A partition member for partitioning a toner transport path for transporting the toner by the toner transport means and the brush;
The partition member has an end portion disposed at and near a position where the fiber of the brush is disengaged from the scraping member and the shape of the fiber is restored. .   The partition member is arranged such that an end thereof is engaged with the brush fiber at a position where the fiber of the brush is disengaged from the scraping member and the shape of the fiber is restored. Item 10. A cleaning device according to Item 1.   2. A cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner conveying means is disposed above the scraping means.   An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1.

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