JP2005134684A - Cleaning device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device which can stably clean an image carrier without causing a turn-up in a cleaning blade. <P>SOLUTION: A cleaning device 16 is equipped with a cleaning blade 22 engaging with an image carrier 11 and a cleaning auxiliary mechanism 23 disposed on the upstream side of the cleaning blade. The cleaning auxiliary mechanism 23 has a cleaning brush 24, a toner recovery section 27 which receives toner 17 removed from the image carrier 11, and a toner holding section 28 which receives the supply of the toner 17 from the toner recovery section 27. The toner 17 in the toner holding section 28 is supplied through the cleaning brush 24 to the image carrier 11 for the purpose of lubrication of the cleaning blade 22 by utilizing the difference of the intermolecular forces of the toner 17 and the cleaning brush 24 and of the toner 17 and the image carrier 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on an image carrier after the transfer of a toner image formed on the image carrier such as a photosensitive drum, and a copying machine and printer incorporating the cleaning device. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, when the surface of the photosensitive drum is uniformly charged in the charging process, a charge pattern corresponding to the exposure is formed on the photosensitive drum as an electrostatic latent image in the subsequent exposure process. Further, in the development process, the latent image is visualized by toner adhesion using electrostatic force. The image visualized by the adhesion of the toner is copied onto the paper in the transfer process, and the toner copied onto the paper is fixed on the paper as an image by receiving heat and pressure in the fixing process.

  After the above-described development process, the photosensitive drum undergoes a cleaning process for removing toner remaining on the photosensitive drum prior to undergoing a charging process for a new image forming process.

  A cleaning blade is provided for cleaning the photosensitive drum, and a conductive auxiliary roller such as a conductive roller or a conductive brush roller is provided upstream of the cleaning blade to prevent the cleaning blade from turning up. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the area corresponding to the image portion of the photosensitive drum of the auxiliary roller, a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied in order to supplementarily remove the toner remaining in the image portion, and a non-image is used for the purpose of lubricating the cleaning blade. A voltage having the same polarity as the toner is applied to a region corresponding to the non-image portion of the auxiliary roller so that the toner supplied to the portion is not removed by the auxiliary roller. As a result, toner for performing a lubricating function is held between the cleaning blade and the photosensitive drum on the photosensitive drum, and the toner held on the photosensitive drum is removed from the photosensitive drum by the cleaning blade without causing the cleaning blade to turn up. Removed.

  In addition, a cleaning roller is arranged on the upstream side of the cleaning blade, a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the cleaning roller, and a constant current is supplied to the cleaning roller by this voltage application, so that As processing, it has been proposed to remove residual toner on the photosensitive drum with a cleaning roller in an auxiliary manner (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  Further, it has been proposed to apply a bias voltage to the cleaning roller disposed on the upstream side of the cleaning blade to release toner for lubricating the cleaning blade onto the photosensitive drum for the purpose of preventing the cleaning blade from turning over. (For example, refer to Patent Document 3).

  Further, the cleaning roller disposed upstream of the cleaning blade is configured with a magnet roller, and the rotation speed of the magnet roller is changed according to the environmental operating temperature. In order to prevent the cleaning blade from turning over, it has been proposed to supply toner onto the photosensitive drum for lubrication of the cleaning blade (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

Furthermore, in order to prevent the cleaning blade that cleans the transfer belt from being turned over, it has been proposed to provide a toner adhesion device that supplies toner for lubricating the cleaning blade to the transfer belt upstream of the cleaning blade. (For example, refer to Patent Document 5).
JP 2001-92322 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-31996 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-31997 JP 2000-231320 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-38778

  However, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1, since the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum is subjected to charge injection in the transfer process, the potential of the residual toner becomes unstable. For this reason, the toner removing action of the auxiliary roller to which a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied in order to supplementarily remove the toner remaining in the image area is not stable, and the amount of toner adhering to the photosensitive drum is not stable. Therefore, it was not possible to reliably prevent the blade from being turned up.

  In the prior art described in Patent Document 2, since the toner cannot be supplied to the photosensitive drum for lubricating the blade, the blade is turned up.

  In the prior art described in Patent Document 3, the polarity of the toner collected from the photosensitive drum for lubrication becomes unstable as in the technique in Patent Document 1, so that the blade on the photosensitive drum is lubricated. The problem remains in supplying a stable amount of toner. For this reason, it has not been possible to reliably prevent the blade from turning over.

  Further, in the prior art described in Patent Document 4, the amount of toner in the collection unit that stores the toner supplied to the photosensitive drum for lubrication cannot be detected, and the blade lubrication is performed according to the amount of toner in the collection unit. Therefore, the amount of toner supplied to the photosensitive drum becomes unstable, which is insufficient to prevent the blade from turning over.

  Further, even in the prior art described in Patent Document 5, the amount of toner in the toner collection unit provided in the toner adhesion device cannot be controlled properly, and the blade is lubricated according to the amount of toner in the collection unit. Since the amount of toner supplied to the photosensitive drum becomes unstable, it is insufficient for preventing the blade from turning over.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can stably clean an image carrier without causing a cleaning blade to turn over, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

  The invention according to claim 1 is provided on the upstream side of the cleaning blade with respect to rotation of the image carrier, and a cleaning blade engaged with the image carrier to remove toner remaining on the rotating image carrier. And a cleaning brush that functions as an auxiliary to the cleaning blade, and is disposed below the cleaning brush and the blade and removed from the image carrier. A toner collecting unit that receives the toner and a toner retaining unit that receives supply of toner from the toner collecting unit, and each of the space between the toner and the cleaning brush and between the toner and the image carrier. Using the difference in intermolecular force, the toner in the toner retention portion is passed through the cleaning brush. Characterized in that it is a can be supplied to the image bearing member to lubricate said blade.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the toner in the toner collecting portion and the toner retaining portion is moved by the operation of the respective agitating members disposed in the two portions. It is characterized by being able to circulate like round.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in the invention of the second aspect, the toner recovery portion and the toner retention portion are communicated with each other via a communication path for allowing the toner to circulate around the two portions. And a valve member that opens and closes to adjust the amount of toner in the toner retention portion in relation to the communication path.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the third aspect, the valve member holds the toner in the toner retention portion in a fixed amount in accordance with a detection signal from a toner detection sensor provided in the toner retention portion. It is characterized by comprising a shutter that opens and closes as much as possible.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the toner detection sensor is capable of adjusting a detection height position of a toner level in the toner retention portion.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus, the cleaning device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning brush is not applied with a bias voltage, and therefore, the cleaning brush is physically applied on the image carrier regardless of the amount of toner remaining on the image carrier. Residual toner remaining unevenly is supplementarily removed, and the toner supplied from the toner recovery unit to the toner retention unit is removed by the intermolecular forces between the toner and the cleaning brush and between the toner and the image carrier. The difference is used to supply the image carrier evenly for lubricating the cleaning blade.

  The toner removing action and supplying action of this cleaning brush depend on the difference between the aforementioned intermolecular forces (van Desworth force) without depending on the electric force due to the bias voltage applied to the cleaning brush as in the prior art. That is, the cleaning brush basically mechanically removes the toner from the image carrier without mechanically using an electric force acting between the conventional toner and the toner on the image carrier. Supply.

  For this reason, the toner in the toner staying portion is supplied to the image carrier evenly and stably for lubrication of the cleaning blade by the cleaning brush regardless of the change in the charged state of the toner. Residual toner on the image carrier is appropriately removed from the image carrier by the cleaning blade without causing the cleaning blade to turn up.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the toner circulates around the toner collecting portion and the toner retaining portion by the operation of the toner stirring member provided in each of the toner collecting portion and the toner retaining portion, an appropriate amount is contained in the toner retaining portion. Therefore, an appropriate amount of toner is always supplied to the image carrier to prevent the cleaning blade from turning over.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, an appropriate amount of toner is secured in the toner retention portion by controlling the opening and closing operation of the valve member provided in association with the communication path that communicates the toner recovery portion and the toner retention portion. The

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the valve member is constituted by a shutter that opens and closes in response to a detection signal from a toner detection sensor provided in the toner retention portion, so that an appropriate amount of toner is contained in the toner retention portion. Secured.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the detection height position of the toner level of the toner detection sensor can be adjusted according to the increase / decrease of the image area ratio on the image carrier. An appropriate amount of toner is supplied to the image carrier for lubrication of the cleaning blade in accordance with the increase and decrease of the toner amount, and the cleaning blade is prevented from turning up properly.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the residual toner on the image bearing member can be properly removed by the cleaning device without causing the turning-up of the image carrier, so that a good image can be obtained by the image forming apparatus incorporating the cleaning device. can get.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the toner in the toner staying portion can be stably and evenly stabilized for lubricating the cleaning blade using the van Desworth force regardless of the variation of the charged state. Therefore, the residual toner on the image carrier including the toner is appropriately removed by the cleaning blade without causing the cleaning blade to be turned up, so that the image carrier can be properly cleaned.

  Further, it is not necessary to apply a bias voltage to the cleaning brush, and power saving can be achieved.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to secure an appropriate amount of toner in the toner retention portion by the toner around the toner recovery portion and the toner retention portion, and to prevent the cleaning blade from turning over. Therefore, the cleaning blade can be prevented from turning over for a long period of time.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, by controlling the opening / closing operation of the valve member provided in association with the communication path that communicates the toner collecting portion and the toner retaining portion, an appropriate amount of toner is supplied by the toner retaining portion. Therefore, the cleaning blade can be more reliably prevented from being turned over.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, an appropriate amount of toner can be secured in the toner retention portion by the shutter that opens and closes according to the detection signal from the toner detection sensor provided in the toner retention portion, As a result, an appropriate amount of toner for preventing the cleaning blade from turning over can be stably supplied to the image carrier, so that the image carrier can be better cleaned.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by adjusting the detection height position of the toner level of the toner detection sensor, an appropriate amount of toner can be retained in the toner retention portion according to the image area ratio, thereby An appropriate amount of toner according to each image mode corresponding to the change in the image area ratio can be supplied to the image carrier for lubrication, and the image carrier can be properly cleaned according to this image mode. it can.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the residual toner on the image carrier can be properly removed by the cleaning device without causing the turning up by the cleaning device, the image forming apparatus incorporating this cleaning device can provide a good result. An image is obtained.

  The features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description along with the illustrated embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows an example in which a cleaning device according to the present invention is incorporated in a copying machine. As shown in FIG. 1, a copying machine 10 according to the present invention includes a photosensitive drum 11 that is driven to rotate clockwise in the drawing. For example, a charging device 12, an exposure device 13, a developing device 14, and a transfer device 15, which are well known in the art, are arranged on the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 11 that is an image carrier along the rotation direction. A cleaning device 16 according to the present invention is disposed between the charging device 12 and the charging device 12.

  When a uniform charge is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 by the charging action of the charging device 12, the exposure device 13 receives, for example, laser irradiation modulated by image data. By this exposure, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 with a charge pattern corresponding to the image, as is well known. The toner 17 is supplied from the developing device 14 onto the photosensitive drum 11 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed. The toner 17 selectively adheres on the photosensitive drum 11 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed according to the polarity applied thereto and the polarity of the electrostatic latent image. By the adhesion of the toner 17, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 is developed and visualized.

  The toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 formed of the toner 17 by the development is transferred by the transfer device 15 onto the recording paper 19 supplied through the paper supply rollers 18 and 18 as is well known. . When the toner image transferred onto the recording paper 19 is supplied to a fixing device 21 having a heating roller 21a and a pressure roller 21b, which are well known in the past, through a guide roller 20, the toner image is transferred onto the recording paper 19 by the fixing device. By being fused, the toner image is fixed on the recording paper 19.

  The toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred onto the recording paper 19 in the transfer process by the transfer device 15, but a part of the toner 17 remains on the photosensitive drum 11. The residual toner on the photosensitive drum 11 adversely affects subsequent image formation.

  A cleaning device 16 is provided between the transfer device 15 and the charging device 12 in order to remove residual toner on the photosensitive drum 11 that adversely affects image formation from the photosensitive drum 11.

  The cleaning device 16 includes a cleaning blade 22 made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber and an auxiliary cleaning mechanism 23. The cleaning blade 22 scrapes off the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 11 by pressing the edge 22a against the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 as in the prior art.

  The auxiliary cleaning mechanism 23 is disposed upstream of the cleaning blade 22 with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11, and includes a cleaning brush 24 and a toner container with an open top disposed below the cleaning blade 22 and the cleaning brush 24. 25. The cleaning brush 24 has a rotation axis 24 a parallel to the axis of the photosensitive drum 11, and is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction in contact with the photosensitive drum 11 upstream of the portion where the edge 22 a of the cleaning blade 22 contacts. The

  The cleaning brush 24 is not subjected to voltage application, and mechanically sweeps the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 to remove at least a part of the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 11 as a pretreatment for toner removal by the cleaning blade 22. Scrape off the photosensitive drum 11.

  The receiving container 25 is disposed along and below the cleaning blade 22 and the cleaning brush 24 in order to receive the toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 22 and the cleaning brush 24 from the upper end opening 25a. A partition wall 26 is provided inside the storage container 25 along the longitudinal direction thereof. The interior of the storage container 25 is partitioned by the partition wall 26 into a toner recovery part 27 located on the photosensitive drum 11 side of the partition wall and a toner retention part 28 located on the opposite side of the partition wall 26.

  The top portion 26 a of the partition wall 26 abuts on the cleaning brush 24, thereby scraping the residual toner transferred from the photosensitive drum 11 to the cleaning brush 24 into the toner recovery unit 27. The toner scraped off from the photosensitive drum 11 by the cleaning blade 22 and the cleaning brush 24 is collected in the toner collecting unit 27.

  In each of the toner collection unit 27 and the toner retention unit 28, stirring members 29 and 30 such as screws are disposed along the respective longitudinal directions of the toner collection unit 27 and the toner retention unit 28. 29 and 30 are rotated in the same clockwise direction in the example shown in FIG. A toner detection sensor 31 for detecting whether or not the toner in the toner retention portion has reached a predetermined height position is provided on the wall surface of the toner retention portion 28.

  As shown in FIG. 2, communication ports 32 and 33 are formed in the partition wall 26 in the storage container 25 so that the toner recovery part 27 and the toner retention part 28 communicate with each other at both ends along the longitudinal direction of the storage container 25. The communication ports 32 and 33 are provided with shutters 34 and 35 as valve members for opening and closing the communication ports. The shutters 34 and 35 can be opened and closed by, for example, a detection signal from the toner detection sensor 31. Accordingly, the communication ports 32 and 33 provided with the shutters 34 and 35 are connected to the toner collection unit 27 and the toner retention unit 28. It functions as a communication path that can be opened and closed.

  The agitating members 29 and 30 provided in the toner recovery unit 27 and the toner retention unit 28 have variable rotation speeds according to a detection signal from the toner detection sensor 31, for example. The agitating member 29 provided in the toner collecting unit 27 moves the toner in the toner collecting unit 27 from one communication port 32 toward the other communication port 33 by rotation thereof. Further, the stirring member 30 provided in the toner retaining portion 28 moves the toner in the toner retaining portion 28 from the other communication port 33 toward the one communication port 32 by the rotation thereof.

  As a result, when the stirring members 29 and 30 rotate with the shutters 34 and 35 opened, the toner in the container 25 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 36 in FIG. Cycle to go around. As is well known in the art, a part of the toner in the toner collecting unit 27 can be sent from the discharge port 37 to an exhaust toner tank (not shown) as necessary.

  In the cleaning device 16 according to the present invention, the cleaning brush 24 of the auxiliary cleaning mechanism 23 sweeps a part of the toner on the photosensitive drum 11 into the toner collecting portion 27 as a pre-processing for cleaning by the cleaning blade 22. The cleaning brush 24 is not charged and remains unevenly on the photosensitive drum 11 by physically sweeping the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 without being affected by the charged state of the toner as in the prior art. A part of the toner is surely swept off into the toner collecting unit 27. In addition, the toner remaining on the cleaning brush 24 is scraped off into the toner recovery portion 27 by the top portion 26 a of the partition wall 26.

  The toner swept off into the toner recovery unit 27 by the cleaning brush 24 or the cleaning blade 22 is conveyed toward the communication port 32 by the stirring member 29 and is sent to the toner retention unit 28 through the communication port. Since the toner sent to the toner retaining portion 28 is transported toward the communication port 32 by the transporting action of the stirring member 30, the toner in the container 25 is, as described above, the toner collecting portion 27 and the toner retaining portion. It circulates around the part 28 so that it may go around gently. As a result of this circulation, a substantially constant amount of toner is retained in the toner retaining portion 28 and moves from the communication port 33 toward the communication port 32. During this movement, a part of the toner is splashed toward the upper cleaning brush 24 by the stirring action of the stirring member 30 and adheres to the cleaning brush 24 in a substantially uniform state. The toner attached to the cleaning brush 24 is transported to the photosensitive drum 11 as the cleaning brush 24 rotates, and is attached to the photosensitive drum.

  The toner supply operation to the photosensitive drum 11 by the cleaning brush 24 does not depend on the electrostatic force between the toner 17 and the cleaning brush 24 because no voltage is applied to the cleaning brush 24 as described above. 24, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 from the cleaning brush 24 physically or mechanically almost uniformly, based on the difference in intermolecular force between the toner 24 and the photosensitive drum 11 as the image carrier. Attached.

  This coating amount is supplied by the cleaning brush 24 without causing the edge 22a of the cleaning blade 22 to turn or chatter with the photosensitive drum 11 depending on the rotation speed of the stirring member 30 or the rotation speed of the cleaning brush 24. Adjustment is performed so that the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 11 including the toner thus removed is surely scraped off by the cleaning blade 22.

  By the pre-processing of the auxiliary cleaning mechanism 23, the cleaning blade 22 reliably scrapes off the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 into the toner recovery unit 27 without causing chatter or turning, so that the photosensitive drum 11 removes the toner. In a state where it does not remain, the charging device 12 receives a charging process for forming a new image.

  Therefore, according to the auxiliary cleaning mechanism 23, an appropriate amount of toner for preventing the cleaning blade 22 from turning over or chattering can be supplied to the photosensitive drum 11 almost uniformly for lubrication. Can prevent turning and chatter.

  Therefore, according to the copying machine 10 provided with the auxiliary cleaning mechanism 23, the cleaning blade 22 can be prevented from being turned over or chattered, so that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of image defects due to this, and to obtain a good image. Can be obtained.

  Further, according to the auxiliary cleaning mechanism 23, it is not necessary to apply a voltage to the cleaning brush 24, and the toner for lubrication can be supplied to the photosensitive drum 11 by the above-described van Desworth force. Therefore, the amount of toner necessary for lubrication can be stably supplied to the photosensitive drum 11 without being affected by this, and thus the turning and chattering of the cleaning blade 22 can be reliably prevented. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to apply a voltage to the cleaning brush 24, power is saved and this is economical.

  Further, since the toner circulates in a loop around the toner collection unit 27 and the toner retention unit 28 in the container 25, a sufficient amount of toner is supplied to supply the photosensitive drum 11 with an amount of toner necessary for lubrication from the cleaning brush 24. The toner can be held in the toner retention portion 28, and thus, the toner necessary for lubrication over a long period of time can be stably supplied from the cleaning brush 24 to the photosensitive drum 11.

  The opening degree of the valve member including the shutters 34 and 35 provided in the communication passages (32 and 33) defined by the communication ports 32 and 33 can be adjusted according to the operation state of the copying machine 10. That is, the amount of toner collected by the toner collecting unit 27 varies depending on the image to be copied. As the image area ratio is higher, the transfer efficiency is lower, so the amount of residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 after transfer increases. If the amount of residual toner is large, the amount of toner collected in the toner collecting unit 27 increases, so that the amount of toner collected in the toner retaining unit 28 also increases.

  In order to supply a stable amount of toner to the photosensitive drum 11 for lubrication through the cleaning brush 24, it is desirable that a fixed amount of toner is retained in the toner retaining portion 28. Therefore, as described above, the toner collecting portion When the amount of toner collected in the toner 27 is large, both shutters 34 and 35 are closed so that the toner is not conveyed from the toner collecting part 27 to the toner retaining part 28.

  Conversely, when the amount of toner collected in the toner collecting unit 27 is small, the opening of the shutter 34 of one communication port 32 is narrowed down so that a predetermined amount of toner stays in the toner retaining unit 28.

  As described above, the valve members 34 and 35 such as shutters are provided at the respective communication ports 32 and 33, and the valve member so that a predetermined amount of toner stays in the toner retaining portion 28 according to the operation state of the copying machine 10. It is possible to adjust the opening degrees 34 and 35, thereby preventing image defects due to chatter and turning of the cleaning blade 22 regardless of the operation state of the copying machine 10.

  The toner detection sensor 31 provided in the toner retention unit 28 outputs a detection signal when the toner level in the toner retention unit 28 exceeds a predetermined value. In response to the detection signal, each shutter, that is, the valve member 34, By automatically adjusting the opening degree of 35, the toner level in the toner staying portion 28 can be held at a predetermined value.

  By maintaining the toner level in the toner retaining portion 28 at a predetermined value, a fixed amount of toner can be supplied more stably from the cleaning brush 24 to the photosensitive drum 11 for lubrication, and the cleaning blade 22 can be more reliably supplied. Turn over or chatter can be prevented.

  As described above, the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 11 increases when the image area ratio is high, and the residual toner decreases when the image area ratio is low. When this residual toner decreases, generally, the amount of toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 22 decreases, so that the frictional force between the cleaning blade 22 and the photosensitive drum 11 increases and the cleaning blade 22 is easily turned over.

  Therefore, under an operating situation where many images having a low image area are used, it is necessary to increase the amount of toner supplied from the cleaning brush 24 for lubrication between the photosensitive drum 11 and the cleaning blade 22.

  For this reason, a sensor capable of adjusting the detection height position is used as the toner detection sensor 31, and the detection height position is set higher than that for a normal user for a user who uses many images having a low image area. By setting, it is possible to set so that a larger amount of toner is accumulated in the toner retention portion 28, and thus it is possible to prevent the cleaning blade 22 from being turned up appropriately.

  In the above description, the cleaning device for cleaning the image carrier composed of the photosensitive drum has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to, for example, a cleaning device for cleaning a transfer belt or other image carrier. .

  The cleaning device according to the present invention can be incorporated in various image forming apparatuses such as a printer and a facsimile in addition to the above-described copying machine.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a copying machine incorporating a cleaning device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the cleaning device shown in FIG. 1 with a cleaning brush removed.

Explanation of symbols

10 Copier 11 Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 Cleaning apparatus 17 Toner 22 Cleaning blade 23 Auxiliary cleaning mechanism 24 Cleaning brush 25 Storage container 27 Toner collection part 28 Toner retention part 29, 30 Stirring member 31 Toner detection sensor 32, 33 Communication port (communication path)
34, 35 Shutter (valve member)

Claims (6)

Cleaning provided with a cleaning blade engaged with the image carrier to remove toner remaining on the rotating image carrier, and a cleaning auxiliary mechanism provided on the upstream side of the cleaning blade with respect to the rotation of the image carrier. A device,
The cleaning auxiliary mechanism includes a cleaning brush that functions as an auxiliary to the cleaning blade, a toner recovery unit that is disposed below the cleaning brush and the blade, and receives toner removed from the image carrier, and the toner recovery unit A toner retention portion that receives the supply of toner from the toner, and utilizing the difference in intermolecular force between the toner and the cleaning brush and between the toner and the image carrier, A cleaning device, wherein the toner can be supplied to the image carrier through the cleaning brush for lubricating the blade.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the toner in the toner collecting portion and the toner retention portion can be circulated around the both portions by the operation of the respective stirring members disposed in the both portions.   The toner collecting part and the toner retaining part are in communication with each other via a communication path for allowing the toner to circulate around both parts, and the amount of toner in the toner retaining part is related to the communication path. The cleaning device according to claim 2, further comprising a valve member that opens and closes for adjustment.   The cleaning device according to claim 3, wherein the valve member includes a shutter that opens and closes to hold a constant amount of toner in the toner retention portion in accordance with a detection signal from a toner detection sensor provided in the toner retention portion.   The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the toner detection sensor is capable of adjusting a detection height position of a toner level in the toner retention portion.   An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1.

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