JP2006017883A - Optical writing unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical writing unit with an optical member stored inside the dustproof housing, wherein cleaning performance of a cleaning member is improved for a translucent dustproof member which closes the opening formed in the housing for a light beam to pass through. <P>SOLUTION: The edge 41a of the elastic cleaning member 41 formed in a planar shape is pressed against the outer face 37a of the translucent dustproof member 37 which closes the opening 36 formed in the housing 23, so that the cleaning member 41 cleans the outer face 37a thereof while it moves to the translucent dustproof member 37. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical writing device and an image forming apparatus including the same.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as laser printers and digital copying machines have been required to improve image quality, increase the image forming speed, reduce the size of the apparatus, and save energy. As a result, a high-performance optical member that irradiates the photosensitive member with a light beam is used.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, it is common to use a developer such as toner, and since toner scattering in the image forming apparatus cannot be completely eliminated, dust such as toner and paper dust forms an image. Adhere to various parts of the device. The optical member used in the optical writing device is very disliked from the adhesion of dust due to its nature, and is often housed in a dust-proof housing. The dustproof housing is formed with an opening for allowing the light beam to pass toward the photoreceptor, and the opening is closed with a light-transmitting dustproof member such as glass that allows the light beam to pass therethrough. However, the outside of the housing of the optical writing device is exposed to dust floating in the image forming apparatus, and the dust adheres to the outer peripheral surface of the translucent dustproof member that covers the opening. When dust adheres to the outer peripheral surface of the light-transmitting dustproof member that closes the opening, the light beam transmitting through the light-transmitting dustproof member is reduced, thereby reducing the quality of the image formed. It will be.

  For this reason, it is desirable to prevent dust from adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the translucent dust-proof member and to clean it quickly when adhering.

  As an optical writing device for the purpose of easily cleaning dust adhering to the outer peripheral surface of a translucent dustproof member covering the opening, one described in Patent Document 1 is known. In the optical writing device described in Patent Document 1, a slide member provided slidably along a light-transmitting dustproof member (dustproof glass) that closes the opening, and a cleaning provided at the tip of the slide member A cleaning mechanism composed of a pad or the like is provided. The cleaning pad is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is attached so that the entire bottom surface is in contact with a light-transmitting dustproof member (dustproof glass). Then, by sliding the slide member, the translucent dustproof member is cleaned while the cleaning pad slides on the translucent dustproof member.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-267983

  However, the cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that the cleaning performance is low because the translucent dust-proof member is cleaned by wiping off dust with a cleaning pad. In particular, in recent years, there is a tendency for toners having a nearly spherical shape to be used due to demands for higher image quality of image forming apparatuses. However, since toners having a nearly spherical shape have difficulty in cleaning properties, they are described in Patent Document 1. The cleaning mechanism is difficult to remove.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning member for a light-transmitting dustproof member that is formed in a housing and closes an opening through which a light beam passes, in an optical writing device in which an optical member is housed in a dustproof housing. This is to improve the cleaning property.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an optical writing apparatus that irradiates an image carrier with a light beam, an optical member that irradiates the image carrier with the light beam is accommodated and radiated toward the image carrier. A housing formed with an opening through which the light beam passes, a transparent dustproof member attached to the housing at a position where the opening is closed, and allowing the light beam to pass therethrough, and having an elastic plate shape. The cleaning member, and a sliding mechanism that presses an edge of the cleaning member against the outer surface of the permeable dust-proof member and slidably holds the cleaning member along the permeable dust-proof member. Is characterized in that the outer surface of the permeable dust-proof member is cleaned as it moves relative to the permeable dust-proof member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to the first aspect, the slide mechanism includes a slide member to which the cleaning member is attached, and a slide member provided outside the housing by a fitting structure. It has a holding | maintenance part slidably hold | maintained along the said permeation | transmission dustproof member, and an operation part which is provided in the said slide member and receives operation which slides the said slide member, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to the second aspect, the operation portion protrudes from the housing in a sliding direction of the slide member in the housing.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to the second or third aspect, the slide member is provided so as to be detachable from the holding portion.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to the fourth aspect, a plurality of the opening, the transmissive dustproof member and the holding portion corresponding to the opening are provided, and the number of the slide members Is less than the number of the openings.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to the fourth or fifth aspect, a rising portion from the edge portion toward the fixed end of the cleaning member is inclined toward the insertion direction side of the slide member with respect to the holding portion. It is characterized by that.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, the cleaning member is provided on the downstream side in the insertion direction of the cleaning member with respect to the cleaning target region of the cleaning member. And a toner storage section for storing the toner collected by the above.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to the seventh aspect, the toner reservoir has a concave shape.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the toner reservoir has a convex shape.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing apparatus according to any one of the fourth to ninth aspects, the cleaning member is abutted against the cleaning member that is provided outside the cleaning target area of the cleaning member and slides and cleans the cleaning member. The cleaning part which performs is provided.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to the tenth aspect, the cleaning portion is provided on the downstream side in the pulling direction of the slide member with respect to the cleaning target region of the cleaning member. To do.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the sliding direction of the cleaning member is a scanning direction of the light beam and a reverse direction thereof.

  The invention according to claim 13 is the optical writing device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the outer surface of the transparent dustproof member is the housing around which the transparent dustproof member is attached. It is flush with or protrudes from the outer surface of the.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, the cleaning member abuts on the permeable dustproof member with a pressing force of 5 gf / cm to 25 gf / cm. It is characterized by.

  A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is the optical writing device according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects, wherein the cleaning member has a JIS-A hardness of 65 ° to 80 °.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the optical writing device according to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects, the material of the cleaning member is polyurethane rubber.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for transferring a toner image obtained by developing an electrostatic latent image formed by writing a light beam on an image carrier with an optical writing device onto a recording medium. The apparatus is an optical writing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

  According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventeenth aspect, the toner has a shape factor SF1 of 100 to 150 and a shape factor SF2 of 100 to 140.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventeenth or eighteenth aspect, the insertion direction of the slide member into the holding portion is at a position that is a direction from the front side to the back side of the image forming apparatus. An optical writing device is provided.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the seventeenth to nineteenth aspects, the optical writing device is disposed at a position where the emission direction of the light beam is horizontal or upward. It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, in the optical writing device in which the optical member is housed in the dust-proof housing, the cleaning member against the light-transmitting dust-proof member that is formed in the housing and closes the opening through which the light beam passes is provided. The cleaning property can be improved.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a longitudinal front view schematically showing a color printer 1 as an image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, four printer engines 3 (3Y, 3C, 3M, and 3K), an optical writing device 4 that emits a light beam, and an intermediate portion are disposed in a substantially central portion inside a main body case 2 of the color printer 1. A transfer belt 5 and the like are disposed. Each printer engine 3 is a portion for forming a toner image, and has the same structure. Each printer engine 3 uses a different color toner to form a different color toner image. In the description of the present specification and drawings relating to the printer engine 3 and the components of the printer engine 3, the subscripts Y, C, M, and K indicate yellow, cyan, magenta, and black, respectively. These subscripts are omitted as necessary.

  The mechanical structures of the four printer engines 3Y, 3C, 3M, and 3K are the same, and each printer engine 3 is disposed around the photoreceptor 6 and the photoreceptor 6 that are image carriers that are driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow. The charging unit 7, the developing unit 8, the cleaning unit 9, and the like.

  The photoreceptor 6 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown), and a photosensitive layer is provided on the outer peripheral surface. By irradiating the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 6 with the light beam emitted from the optical writing device 4, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image data is written on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 6.

  The charging unit 7 is a conductive roller member formed in a roller shape, and a charging bias voltage is supplied to the charging unit 7 from a power supply device (not shown) so that the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 6 is uniform. Charged.

  The developing unit 8 supplies toner to the photoreceptor 6. The supplied toner adheres to the electrostatic latent image written on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 6, whereby the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 6 is visualized as a toner image. The developing unit 8 holds toner having a shape factor SF-1 set to 120 to 180 and a shape factor SF-2 set to 120 to 190, and supplies the toner to the surface of the photoreceptor 6. .

Here, the shape factors SF-1 and SF-2 of the toner particles will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the shape factor SF-1, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the shape factor SF-2. The shape factor SF-1 is a value indicating the ratio of the roundness of the shape of the spherical substance, as shown in FIG. The shape factor SF-1 is represented by a value obtained by dividing the square of the maximum length MXLNG of an elliptical figure formed by projecting a spherical substance on a two-dimensional plane by the figure area AREA and multiplying by 100π / 4. That is, the shape factor SF-1 is defined by the following equation (1).
SF-1
= {(MXLNG) ² / AREA} × (100π / 4) (1)
When the value of SF-1 is 100, the shape of the substance is a true sphere. Moreover, the larger the value of SF-1, the more irregular the shape of the substance.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shape factor SF-2 is a numerical value indicating the ratio of the unevenness of the shape of the substance. The shape factor SF-2 is represented by a value obtained by dividing the square of the perimeter PERI of a figure formed by projecting a substance on a two-dimensional plane by the figure area AREA and multiplying by 100 / 4π. That is, the shape factor SF-2 is defined by the following equation (2).
SF-2
= {(PERI) ² / AREA} × (100 / 4π) (2)
When the value of SF-2 is 100, there is no unevenness on the surface of the substance. Moreover, the larger the value of SF-2, the more conspicuous the surface of the substance becomes.

  The cleaning unit 9 cleans residual toner adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 6 after the toner image formed on the photoconductor 6 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5.

  The intermediate transfer belt 5 is a loop belt formed using a resin film or rubber as a base, and a toner image formed on the photoreceptor 6 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5. This intermediate transfer belt 5 is supported by rollers 10, 11, 12 and is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow. On the inner peripheral surface side (inside the loop) of the intermediate transfer belt 5, four transfer rollers 13 that transfer the toner image on each photoconductor 6 onto the intermediate transfer belt 5 are arranged. The toner images formed on the respective photoreceptors 6 are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 5 so that a color toner image is carried on the intermediate transfer belt 5. On the outer peripheral surface side (outside the loop) of the intermediate transfer belt 5, a cleaning unit 14 that cleans residual toner, paper dust, and the like attached to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 5 is disposed.

  Below the four printer engines 3 and the optical writing device 4 inside the main body case 2, a paper feed cassette 15 in which the recording medium P is stacked and held is disposed. The recording media P stacked and held in the paper feed cassette 15 are separately fed by the paper feed roller 16 in order from the highest one.

  Inside the main body case 2, a transport path 17 is formed through which the recording medium P separated and fed from the paper feed cassette 15 is transported. On the conveyance path 17, a registration roller 18, a transfer roller 19, a fixing unit 20, a paper discharge roller 21, and the like are arranged.

  The registration roller 18 is a roller that is rotationally driven intermittently at a predetermined timing. By intermittently driving the registration roller 18, the recording medium P that has been transported to the position of the registration roller 18 and stopped is sent to a transfer position sandwiched between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the transfer roller 19. The toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 5 is transferred to the recording medium P in the process in which the recording medium P passes this transfer position.

  The fixing unit 20 is a part that applies heat and pressure to the recording medium P to which the toner image has been transferred to melt the toner and fix the toner image on the recording medium P. The recording medium P on which the toner image is fixed by passing through the fixing unit 20 is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 22 formed on the upper surface of the main body case 2 by a paper discharge roller 21.

  In such a configuration, the electrostatic latent image formed on each photoconductor 6 by the optical writing device 4 is developed with the Y, M, C, and K toners of the developing units 8 to form toner images of the respective colors. The toner images on the respective photoreceptors 6 are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 5, and the color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 5 is positioned between the transfer roller 19 and the intermediate transfer belt 5. When the recording medium passes, it is transferred to the recording medium, and the recording medium onto which the toner image has been transferred is fixed on the fixing unit 20 and then discharged onto the discharge tray 22.

  Next, the optical writing device 4 will be described in detail. 4 is a plan view showing an internal structure of the optical writing device 4, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal front view showing the optical writing device 4, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal side view showing an upper portion of the optical writing device 4.

  The optical writing device 4 has a housing 23 in which an upper cover 23b is fixed to a lower case 23a, and various optical members that irradiate a light beam toward a photosensitive member 6 positioned above are accommodated inside the housing 23. Has been. The optical member housed in the housing 23 is a light source unit 24 (24Y, 24C, 24M) that emits a light beam (laser light) corresponding to image data of different colors (Y, C, M, K). 24K), aperture 25, cylinder lens 26, mirror 27, polygon mirror 28, imaging lens 29, mirrors 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, synchronization detection mirror 31, imaging lens 32, and circuit board 33. The photoelectric element 34 and the like are included. The light source unit 24 includes a semiconductor laser that emits divergent light, a collimator lens that substantially collimates the divergent light emitted from the semiconductor laser, a semiconductor laser driving circuit board, and the like. The polygon mirror 28 is fixed to a polygon motor 35 and rotates at a high speed. The number of rotations of the polygon mirror 28 varies, but there are, for example, those exceeding 30000 rpm.

  In this color printer 1, image data input from a document reading device (scanner) or an image data output device (a personal computer, a word processor, a facsimile receiving unit, etc.) (not shown) is color-separated, and the color-separated image data of each color is obtained. Is converted into a signal for driving each light source unit 24, and a light beam is emitted from each light source unit 24 in accordance with the signal. The light beam emitted from each light source unit 24 reaches the polygon mirror 28 via the aperture 25, the cylinder lens 26, and the mirror 27 (however, only for the light beams emitted from the light source units 24Y and 24K). Thus, deflection scanning is performed in two symmetrical directions.

  The light beams deflected and scanned by the polygon mirror 28 in two symmetrical directions are respectively passed through the imaging lens 29 and turned back by the two mirrors 30a and 30b (or 30c and 30d). The process proceeds toward the photoconductor 6 of No. 3. Then, an electrostatic latent image is written on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 6 by irradiating the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 6 with the light beam traveling toward the photosensitive member 6.

  The light beam that has passed through both ends of the imaging lens 29 is folded back by the synchronization detection mirror 31, passes through the imaging lens 32, and is received by the photoelectric element 34. By receiving light at the photoelectric element 34, a scanning start synchronization signal is output from the photoelectric element 34. Here, since the original meaning of the synchronization detection is to take the scanning timing, it is sufficient that the photoelectric element 34 is installed at a position where the light beam is received prior to the scanning. In order to detect a change in (or time), a photoelectric element 34 may be provided on the rear end side of the scan. In the present embodiment, a configuration is shown in which the photoelectric elements 34 are arranged on both ends of the imaging lens 29 and are synchronized before and after scanning.

  The area around the housing 23 of the optical writing device 4 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper cover 23 b of the housing 23 of the optical writing device 4 is positioned at a position facing the photoconductor 6 of each printer engine 3 and extends along the center line direction of the photoconductor 6. An opening 36 having a shape extending in a slender shape is formed. The reason why the opening 36 is formed in such a shape is that the light beam scans along the center line direction of the photosensitive member 6. The light beams irradiated toward the photosensitive member 6 pass through these openings 36.

  Further, the upper cover 23b is attached with a light-transmitting dustproof member 37 that closes the opening 36 to prevent dust from entering the housing 23 and allows the light beam to pass therethrough. ing. The scanning direction of the light beam is the longitudinal direction of the light-transmitting dustproof member 37 formed elongated along the opening 36. As the translucent dustproof member 37, for example, flat glass is used. As shown in FIG. 6, the outer surface 37 a of the translucent dustproof member 37 is flush with or protrudes from the outer surface of the surrounding housing 23 to which the translucent dustproof member 37 is attached. Here, the optical writing device 4 is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the translucent dustproof member 37 is parallel to the direction from the front side to the back side of the color printer 1.

  The optical writing device 4 is provided with a cleaning mechanism 40 that cleans the outer surface 37 a of the translucent dust-proof member 37. The cleaning mechanism 40 includes a slide member 42 provided with a cleaning blade 41 as a cleaning member, and a holding portion 43 provided on the upper surface of the housing 23 and slidably holding the slide member 42.

  The slide member 42 is formed in a flat plate shape, a cleaning blade 41 is provided on one end side of the slide member 42, and a grippable handle 44 that is an operation unit is provided on the other end side of the slide member 42. ing. The cleaning blade 41 has a plate shape with elasticity. As the hardness of the cleaning blade 41, it is desirable that the JIS-A hardness is 65 ° to 80 °. As a material of such a cleaning blade 41, for example, polyurethane rubber can be exemplified. One slide member 42 is provided for the four openings 36.

  The holding portion 43 is provided for each light transmissive dustproof member 37 on the upper side of the upper cover 23 b of the housing 23. The holding part 43 slidably holds the slide member 42 in the longitudinal direction of the translucent dustproof member 37, that is, in the scanning direction of the light beam in the translucent dustproof member 37 and in the opposite direction. The holding portion 43 is constituted by a plurality of pairs of guide claw portions 45 arranged in the longitudinal direction of the translucent dust-proof member 37, and both sides of the slide member 42 are fitted to the guide claw portions 45, whereby the slide member 42 is slidably attached in the longitudinal direction of the translucent dustproof member 37. Further, the holding portion 43 holds the slide member 42 so as to be detachable, and the insertion / removal is possible from the front side of the color printer 1. On the back side of the translucent dust-proof member 37, a stopper 46 is provided that contacts the slide member 42 and restricts the movement of the slide member 42 to the back side of the color printer 1. The holding mechanism 43, the slide member 42, and the handle 44 constitute a slide mechanism 50.

  When the slide member 42 is inserted and held in the holding portion 43 from the cleaning blade 41 side, the edge portion 41 a of the cleaning blade 41 comes into contact with the outer surface 37 a of the translucent dustproof member 37 with a specified pressing force. Here, the cleaning blade 41 is attached obliquely so that the edge portion 41 a is located on the front side of the color printer 1 and the fixed end is located on the back side of the color printer 1. Therefore, the rising portion 41 b from the edge portion 41 a toward the fixed end of the cleaning blade 41 is inclined toward the insertion direction side of the slide member 42 with respect to the holding portion 43.

  The slide member 42 is slid in a direction in which the slide member 42 is pulled out from the holding portion 43, thereby cleaning the outer surface 37 a of the translucent dust-proof member 37 by the edge portion 41 a. In addition, the slide member 42 slides in the direction in which the slide member 42 is inserted into the holding portion 43, but has a lower cleaning property than the case of sliding in the direction in which the slide member 42 is pulled out from the hold portion 43, but the translucent dustproof member 37. Clean the outer surface 37a.

  Further, the optical writing device 4 is provided with a toner reservoir 51 corresponding to each light-transmitting dustproof member 37. These toner storage portions 51 are formed on the upper surface of the housing 23 on the back side of the translucent dustproof member 37 relative to the cleaning region of the cleaning blade 41 with respect to the translucent dustproof member 37. That is, the toner storage unit 51 is provided on the downstream side in the insertion direction of the cleaning blade 41 into the holding unit 43 with respect to the cleaning target region of the cleaning blade 41. The toner reservoir 51 is formed with a concave recess 51 a for storing toner collected by inserting the cleaning blade 41 into the holder 43.

  Further, the optical writing device 4 is provided with a cleaning unit 52 that cleans the cleaning blade 41 corresponding to each light-transmitting dustproof member 37. The cleaning unit 52 is provided on the downstream side in the pulling direction of the slide member 42 from the holding unit 43 with respect to the region to be cleaned of the translucent dustproof member 37 by the cleaning blade 41. The cleaning unit 52 is formed of a brush, sponge, felt, stepped shape, or the like, contacts the cleaning blade 41 that has been slid in the drawing direction, and removes toner or the like adhering to the cleaning blade 41.

  In the optical writing device 4 having such a configuration, when toner or the like adheres to the light-transmitting dustproof member 37 during the image forming operation, the user holds the handle 44 of the slide member 42 and slides it. The member 42 is inserted into a holding portion 43 and slid to the back, and then the slide member 42 is pulled out from the holding portion 43. This operation is performed on all the translucent dustproof members 37. Thereby, dust such as toner adhering to the outer surface 37a of each light transmissive dustproof member 37 is removed. At this time, in this embodiment, when the slide member 42 is pulled out, the edge 41a of the cleaning blade 41 is downstream in the movement direction and the fixed end is upstream in the movement direction, and the cleaning blade 41 is in the so-called leading direction. Therefore, the edge portion 41 a acts so as to bite into the translucent dust-proof member 37. Therefore, compared with the conventional case where one surface of the cleaning member is brought into contact with the translucent dust-proof member 37, the adhesion between the cleaning blade 41 and the translucent dust-proof member 37 is enhanced, and the translucent dust-proof member. Since the toner and the like on the outer surface 37a of 37 are removed by scraping, the cleaning property is improved as compared with the conventional case. As a result, the light beam is more permeable to the translucent dust-proof member 37 than in the prior art, and the quality of the image formed is deteriorated due to the dust adhering to the upper surface of the translucent dust-proof member 37. Can be prevented, and high-quality image formation can be performed.

  Thus, since the light-transmitting dustproof member 37 is cleaned when the slide member 42 moves in the pulling direction, for example, even when the slide member 42 is reciprocated a plurality of times, the last pulling-out is performed. Since the translucent dust-proof member 37 is cleaned during movement, the toner accumulated between the downstream side in the drawing direction of the edge portion 41 a and the outer surface 37 a of the translucent dust-proof member 37 is removed from the translucent dust-proof member 37. It is prevented from remaining on the outer surface 37a.

  As described above, since the cleanability with respect to the outer surface 37a of the translucent dustproof member 37 is high, even if the optical writing device 4 is installed at a position where the emission direction of the light beam is horizontal or upward, the translucency is maintained. The toner attached on the outer surface 37a of the dustproof member 37 can be reliably cleaned.

  When the slide member 42 is inserted and moved with respect to the holding portion 43, the edge portion 41a of the cleaning blade 41 is on the downstream side in the movement direction and the fixed end is on the upstream side in the movement direction, and the cleaning blade 41 is in the so-called trading direction and is translucent. It contacts the outer surface 37a of the dustproof member 37. Also in this case, the cleaning performance is lower than in the case of the above-described movement of the slide member 42, but the edge portion 41a of the cleaning blade 41 cleans the outer surface 37a of the translucent dustproof member 37. Then, the toner collected by the cleaning by this insertion movement is stored in the toner storage unit 51. This prevents the toner collected by the cleaning blade 41 from scattering. At this time, the toner reservoir 51 has the shape of the recess 51a, so that the toner can fall into the recess 51a and reliably store toner.

  Further, the cleaning blade 41 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 52 by moving the slide member 42 in the pulling direction with respect to the holding unit 43 and bringing the cleaning blade 41 into contact with the cleaning unit 52. Therefore, the cleaning property of the cleaning blade 41 is ensured. Further, since the cleaning unit 52 is provided on the downstream side in the pulling direction of the slide member 42 with respect to the region to be cleaned of the cleaning blade 41, the cleaning blade 41 is always cleaned when the slide member 42 is pulled out from the holding unit 43. It is cleaned by the part 52.

  Here, if the frictional resistance between the cleaning blade 41 and the translucent dust-proof member 37 becomes too large, the cleaning blade 41 may turn over. As one countermeasure against this, by applying a small amount of toner or lubricant to the edge portion 41a of the cleaning blade 41 in contact with the translucent dust-proof member 37, the cleaning blade 41 and the translucent dust-proof member can be obtained by a lubricating effect. It can prevent that frictional resistance with 37 becomes large too much. Therefore, by applying toner and lubricant to the cleaning portion in advance, when the cleaning blade 41 is inserted into the holding portion 43, toner and lubricant are applied to the edge portion 41a of the cleaning blade 41. Thus, the turning-up phenomenon of the cleaning blade 41 can be prevented.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the slide mechanism 50 includes the slide member 42 to which the cleaning blade 41 is attached and the translucent dustproof member 37 provided on the outer side of the housing 23 by a fitting structure of the slide member 42. The slide mechanism 50 is realized with a simple structure by including the holding portion 43 that is slidably held and the handle 44 that is provided on the slide member 42 and receives an operation of sliding the slide member 42.

  In the present embodiment, the handle 44 protrudes from the housing 23 in the sliding direction of the slide member 42 in the housing 23, so that the operation on the handle 44 is facilitated.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the slide member 42 is provided so as to be detachable with respect to the holding portion 43, so that the slide member 42 is removed from the holding portion 43 at a predetermined place except during cleaning. Since it can be stored, the optical writing device 4 and the color printer 1 can be miniaturized. In addition, one slide member 42 can be shared for each light-transmitting dustproof member 37.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a plurality of the openings 36 and the light-transmitting dustproof members 37 and the holding parts 43 corresponding to the openings 36 are provided, and the number of the slide members 42 is greater than the number of the openings 36. In addition, since the number is small (specifically, one), the cost of the optical writing device 4 and the color printer 1 is reduced and the size of the device is reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the width of the cleaning blade 41 can be reduced because the sliding direction of the cleaning blade 41 is the scanning direction of the light beam at the translucent dustproof member 37 and the opposite direction. .

  In the present embodiment, the outer surface 37a of the transparent dustproof member 37 is flush with or protrudes from the outer surface of the surrounding housing 23 to which the transparent dustproof member 37 is attached. In the case where all of the translucent dustproof member 37 is embedded in the surrounding housing 23 to which the translucent dustproof member 37 is attached, toner is accumulated on the outer surface 37 a side of the translucent dustproof member 37. In this embodiment, such a situation is prevented from occurring.

  In the present embodiment, since the material of the cleaning blade 41 is polyurethane rubber, since the material is easily available, the cleaning blade 41 can be easily manufactured.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the toner can obtain a good image quality when the shape factor SF1 is 100 to 150 and the shape factor SF2 is 100 to 140.

  In the present embodiment, the optical writing device 4 is provided at a position where the insertion direction of the slide member 42 into the holding portion 43 is the direction from the front side to the back side of the color printer 1. The operability of the slide member 42 and the visibility of the operation position can be ensured.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the same part as the part demonstrated in FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 6 is shown with the same code | symbol, and description is also abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing the upper part of the optical writing device 4 of the present embodiment. The basic structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the toner storage unit 61 in the optical writing device 4. The toner storage part 61 of the present embodiment has a convex part 61a having a convex shape.

  In such a configuration, the toner collected by cleaning by the insertion movement of the slide member 42 with respect to the holding portion 43 is stored in the toner storage portion 51. At this time, in the toner storage part 61, the backflow of the toner stored over the convex part 61a to the cleaning area side is prevented. Therefore, scattering of the toner stored in the toner storage unit 61 is prevented.

  The pressure applied to the translucent dustproof member 37 by the cleaning blade 41 will be described with reference to FIG. The pressure applied to the translucent dustproof member 37 by the cleaning member is desirably in the range of 5 gf / cm to 25 gf / cm. As shown in FIG. 8, when the applied pressure is less than 5 gf / cm, there is a possibility that toner slips between the cleaning blade 41 and the outer surface 37a of the translucent dust-proof member 37, and the applied pressure Is larger than 25 gf / cm, the edge 41a of the cleaning blade 41 may be turned over by the outer surface 37a of the light-transmitting dustproof member 37, which may cause blade turning.

1 is a longitudinal front view schematically showing a color printer which is an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating shape factor SF-1. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating shape factor SF-2. It is a top view which shows the internal structure of an optical writing device. It is a vertical front view which shows an optical writing device. It is a vertical side view which shows the upper part of an optical writing device. It is a vertical side view which shows the upper part of the optical writing device of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the applied pressure with respect to the translucent dustproof member of a cleaning blade, and cleaning property.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 4 Optical writing apparatus 6 Image carrier 23 Housing 24 Optical member 25 Optical member 26 Optical member 27 Optical member 28 Optical member 29 Optical members 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d Optical member 31 Optical member 32 Optical member 34 Optical Member 36 Opening 37 Light-transmitting dustproof member 37a Outer surface 41 Cleaning member 41a Edge portion 41b Rising portion 42 Slide member 43 Holding portion 44 Operation portion 50 Slide mechanism 51 Toner storage portion 52 Cleaning portion 61 Toner storage portion

Claims (20)

In an optical writing device for irradiating an image carrier with a light beam,
A housing in which an optical member that irradiates a light beam toward the image carrier is housed, and an opening through which the light beam that irradiates the image carrier passes is formed;
A permeable dust-proof member attached to the housing at a position to close the opening and allowing transmission of a light beam;
A cleaning member having elasticity and formed in a plate shape;
A sliding mechanism that presses the edge of the cleaning member against the outer surface of the permeable dust-proof member and holds the cleaning member slidably along the permeable dust-proof member;
With
An optical writing apparatus, wherein the cleaning member cleans an outer surface of the transmissive dustproof member as the transmissive dustproof member moves. The slide mechanism is
A slide member to which the cleaning member is attached;
A holding portion provided outside the housing and slidably holding the slide member along the permeable dust-proof member by a fitting structure;
An operation unit that is provided on the slide member and receives an operation of sliding the slide member;
The optical writing device according to claim 1, further comprising:   The optical writing device according to claim 2, wherein the operation unit protrudes from the housing in a sliding direction of the slide member in the housing.   4. The optical writing device according to claim 2, wherein the slide member is provided so as to be detachable with respect to the holding portion. A plurality of the opening and the permeable dustproof member and the holding part corresponding to the opening are provided,
5. The optical writing device according to claim 4, wherein the number of the slide members is smaller than the number of the openings.   The optical writing device according to claim 4, wherein a rising portion of the cleaning member from the edge portion toward the fixed end is inclined toward an insertion direction side of the slide member with respect to the holding portion.   7. A toner storage unit that is provided downstream of the cleaning member in the insertion direction of the cleaning member and stores toner collected by cleaning the cleaning member. The optical writing device according to any one of the above.   The optical writing device according to claim 7, wherein the toner storage portion has a concave shape.   8. The optical writing device according to claim 7, wherein the toner storage portion has a convex shape.   10. The light according to claim 4, further comprising a cleaning unit that is provided outside the cleaning target area of the cleaning member and that contacts the cleaning member that slides and cleans the cleaning member. Writing device.   The optical writing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the cleaning unit is provided downstream of the cleaning member in the drawing direction of the slide member with respect to the cleaning target region.   12. The optical writing device according to claim 1, wherein the sliding direction of the cleaning member is a scanning direction of the light beam on the transmissive dustproof member and the opposite direction thereof.   13. The outer surface of the transmissive dustproof member is flush with or protrudes from the outer surface of the surrounding housing to which the transmissive dustproof member is attached. The optical writing device described.   The optical writing device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member contacts the permeable dustproof member with a pressure of 5 gf / cm to 25 gf / cm.   The optical writing device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member has a JIS-A hardness of 65 ° to 80 °.   16. The optical writing device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is made of polyurethane rubber. In an image forming apparatus for transferring a toner image obtained by developing an electrostatic latent image formed by writing a light beam on an image carrier with an optical writing device to a recording medium,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical writing apparatus is an optical writing apparatus according to claim 1.   18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the toner has a shape factor SF1 of 100 to 150 and a shape factor SF2 of 100 to 140.   19. The optical writing device is provided at a position where an insertion direction of the slide member into the holding portion is a direction from the front side to the back side of the image forming apparatus. Image forming apparatus. 20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the optical writing device is disposed at a position where the light beam emission direction is horizontal or upward.

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