JP2007025019A - Damping member, image carrier and method for attaching/detaching damping member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain the vibration of a cylindrical drum and to easily attach/detach a damping member to/from the drum. <P>SOLUTION: The damping member 82 has a cylindrical part 84 having elasticity and coming into tight-contact with the inside of the drum 80, and an engaging part 86 which is provided in the cylindrical part 84 and with which a fixture 92 is engaged. The cylindrical part 84 has a gap part 88 formed nearly in parallel with the shaft direction of the drum 80, and a groove part 90 provided to be nearly opposed to the gap part 88. When a user engages two movable parts 98 in two holes for engagement of the engaging part 86 and operates the fixture 92 so that space between the two movable parts 98 may be narrow, the damping member 82 is bent toward the shaft center of the drum 80 by the fixture 92, and its diameter gets thinner than the inside diameter of the drum 80, whereby it is easily attached to/detached from the drum 80. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vibration damping member, an image carrier, and a method for attaching / detaching the vibration damping member.

2. Description of the Related Art There is known an image forming apparatus that charges a photosensitive drum by bringing a charging roller into contact with the photosensitive drum and forms an image by visualizing an electrostatic latent image written on the photosensitive drum with toner. In this type of image forming apparatus, in order to uniformly charge the photosensitive drum, when a voltage including an AC component is applied to the core of the charging roller, noise is generated due to vibration of the charging roller and the photosensitive drum. there were.
Therefore, it is possible to suppress noise of the photosensitive drum by suppressing vibration of the photosensitive drum by inserting a plate-shaped filler rounded into a cylindrical shape into a photosensitive member configured by providing a photosensitive layer on the surface of a hollow cylindrical substrate. It is known (see Patent Document 1). Patent Document 2 discloses that a vibration damping member in which two types of elastic bodies having a taper are integrated is inserted into a conductive support body of a photosensitive member. Further, Patent Document 3 discloses that a damping member made of a cylindrical elastic body having a tapered hole is fixed by a fixing member in a photosensitive body in which a photosensitive layer is formed on the surface of a cylindrical substrate. . Patent Document 4 discloses that noise is prevented by inserting an integrated elastic cylindrical member and rigid rod-shaped member into a latent image carrier having a photosensitive layer provided on the surface of a cylindrical substrate. .

JP 2003-316045 A JP 2003-345178 A JP 2004-109882 A JP 2004-246318 A

  However, the conventional example has a problem that the vibration damping member cannot be easily attached to and detached from the cylindrical substrate having the photosensitive layer on the surface. A cylindrical substrate with a photosensitive layer on its surface is vulnerable to scratches, and even a slight scratch may affect the image quality and may cause dielectric breakdown from the scratched part when high voltage is applied. However, there is a problem that the vibration damping member must be attached and detached while being handled, and the vibration damping member cannot be easily attached and detached.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vibration damping member that can suppress vibration of a cylindrical drum and can be easily attached to and detached from the drum.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first feature of the present invention is a vibration damping member provided inside the cylindrical drum, which is composed of an elastic body that bends toward the axial center of the drum, The vibration damping member has an engaging portion with which a jig for bending toward the axial center of the drum is engaged. That is, when the vibration damping member is provided inside the drum, the natural frequency of the drum changes, so that the vibration damping member can suppress the vibration of the drum. Further, the vibration damping member bends toward the axis of the drum due to the force received by the engaging portion from the jig, so that it becomes thinner than the inner diameter of the drum and can be easily attached to and detached from the drum.

  Preferably, there is a gap for bending toward the axial center of the drum. In other words, the vibration damping member is configured to bend toward the drum center by bending so that the gap portion is narrowed, thereby being in close contact with the inside of the drum and against the drum. And can be easily attached and detached.

  Preferably, the gap is formed substantially parallel to the axial direction of the drum.

  Preferably, the engaging portion is composed of at least two engaging holes. Preferably, the engaging portion is constituted by an engaging protrusion. That is, the engaging portion can be configured easily, and the configuration of the jig for bending the damping member can be simplified.

  Preferably, the engaging portion has an irreversible deformation portion that is deformed by a force applied from a jig. That is, when a force is applied to the engaging portion by the jig and the vibration damping member is attached / detached, the irreversible deformation portion is deformed, and thus a history of attaching / detaching the vibration damping member remains in the engaging portion. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the damping member is unused when the damping member is recycled.

  The second feature of the present invention includes a cylindrical drum and a vibration damping member provided inside the drum, and the vibration damping member is directed toward the axial center of the drum. The image bearing member includes an engaging portion that is configured by a flexible elastic body and engages with a jig for bending toward the axial center of the drum. Therefore, since vibration of the image carrier can be suppressed, noise generated when the image carrier vibrates can be prevented.

  In addition, the third feature of the present invention is that the engagement is provided with respect to the vibration damping member that is provided on the inner side of the cylindrical drum and includes an elastic body that engages with a jig. A method for attaching and detaching the vibration damping member, in which a jig is engaged with the portion, the vibration damping member is bent toward the center of the axis of the drum by a force applied from the jig, and the vibration damping member is inserted into and removed from the drum. is there.

  According to the present invention, vibration of the cylindrical drum can be suppressed, and the damping member can be easily attached to and detached from the drum.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an outline of an image forming apparatus 10 having an image carrier 44 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming apparatus main body 12, an image forming unit 14 is mounted in the image forming apparatus main body 12, and a discharge unit 16 is provided on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body 12. For example, two-stage sheet feeding units 18 are disposed below the image forming apparatus main body 12.

  Each of the paper feeding units 18 and 18 has a paper feeding unit main body 20 and a paper feeding cassette 22 in which paper is stored. The paper feed cassette 22 is slidably attached to the paper feed unit main body 20 and pulled out in the front direction (left direction in FIG. 1). In addition, a feed roll 24 for supplying paper from the paper feed cassette 22 and a retard roll 26 for feeding the supplied paper one by one are arranged in the upper part near the front end of the paper feed cassette 22.

  The conveyance path 28 is a paper path from the feed roll 24 of the lower sheet feeding unit 18 to the discharge port near the discharge roll 30, and the conveyance path 28 is the front of the image forming apparatus main body 12 (the left side surface in FIG. 1). There is a portion in the vicinity that is formed substantially vertically from the feed roll 24 of the lower sheet feeding unit 18 to the fixing device 36 described later. A transfer device 42 and an image carrier 44 described later are disposed on the upstream side of the fixing device 36 in the conveyance path 28, and a resist roll 38 is disposed on the upstream side of the transfer device 42 and the image carrier 44.

  Therefore, the sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette 22 of the sheet feeding unit 18, 18 by the feed roll 24 is rolled by the retard roll 26 and guided to the transport path 28, temporarily stopped by the registration roll 38, and timed. A developer image is transferred between a transfer device 42 and an image carrier 44, which will be described later. The transferred developer image is fixed by the fixing device 36, and discharged from the discharge port to the discharge portion 16 by the discharge roll 30. Is done.

  The image forming means 14 is, for example, of an electrophotographic type, and includes an image carrier 44, a charging roll 46 that uniformly charges the image carrier 44 by pressure contact, and an image carrier 44 charged by the charging roll 46. , An optical writing device 48 for writing a latent image by light, a developing device 50 for visualizing the latent image of the image carrier 44 formed by the optical writing device 48 with a developer, and a developer image by the developing device 50 on paper. A transfer device 42 composed of, for example, a transfer roll, a cleaning device 52 that cleans the developer remaining on the image carrier 44, and a developer image on the paper transferred by the transfer device 42, for example, for fixing to the paper. The fixing device 36 includes a pressure roll and a heating roll. The optical writing device 48 is composed of, for example, a scanning type laser exposure device, and is arranged in the vicinity of the back side of the image forming apparatus main body 12 in parallel with the above-described paper feeding units 18, 18. To expose. The cleaning device 52 includes a cleaning blade 54 as a cleaning member that contacts the image carrier 44, and a developer recovery unit 56 that stores the developer scraped off by the cleaning blade 54. In this embodiment, a scanning laser exposure apparatus is used as the optical writing device 48. However, as another embodiment, an LED, a surface emitting laser, or the like can be used.

  The process cartridge 60 is obtained by integrating the image carrier 44, the charging roll 46, the developing device 50, and the cleaning device 52. The process cartridge 60 is detachably divided into an image carrier unit 62 in which the image carrier 44, the charging roll 46 and the cleaning device 52 are arranged, and the developing device 50.

  In FIG. 2, an image carrier unit 62 is shown. The image carrier unit 62 has an image carrier unit main body 64, and the image carrier 44 and the charging roll 46 are arranged in the image carrier unit main body 64. In the charging roll 46, a power supply member 68 is in pressure contact with one end of a shaft portion 66 that protrudes at an end portion in the axial direction. The power supply member 68 supplies the shaft portion 66 with a voltage in which an AC component and a DC component applied by a power supply device (not shown) are superimposed, or an AC voltage.

Next, the image carrier 44 will be described in detail.
3 shows the image carrier 44 and is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
4 is a perspective view showing the vibration damping member 82 shown in FIG.
The image carrier 44 includes a cylindrical drum 80 having a photosensitive layer formed on the outer surface thereof, and a vibration damping member 82 that is in close contact with the inside of the drum 80. The drum 80 is made of a conductor such as aluminum and is grounded. The photosensitive layer of the drum 80 is composed of an inorganic or organic photoconductor.

  The damping member 82 is made of, for example, elastic ABS resin or the like, and has a cylindrical portion 84 that is in close contact with the inside of the drum 80, and an engagement that is provided on the cylindrical portion 84 and engages with a jig 92 that will be described later. Part 86. The cylindrical portion 84 includes a gap portion 88 formed substantially parallel to the axial direction of the drum 80 and a groove portion 90 provided so as to substantially face the gap portion 88. The engaging portion 86 is composed of, for example, two engaging holes penetrating the cylindrical portion 84 in the axial direction, and these two engaging holes are provided so as to face each other with the gap 88 interposed therebetween.

Next, a method for inserting and removing the damping member 82 from the drum 80 will be described.
FIG. 5 shows a state where the damping member 82 is bent by the force received by the engaging portion 86 from the jig 92. The jig 92 has, for example, a fulcrum 94, and is configured such that the interval between the two movable parts 98 changes when the operation part 96 is operated by the user. Therefore, when the user engages the two movable portions 98 with the two engagement holes of the engaging portion 86 and operates the jig 92 so that the interval between the two movable portions 98 is narrowed, the user adheres closely to the inside of the drum 80. The damping member 82 having the outer diameter (thickness) to be bent bends so that the gap 88 is narrowed by the force received by the engaging portion 86 from the jig 92. In other words, the damping member 82 is bent toward the axial center of the drum 80 by the jig 92, becomes smaller in diameter than the inner diameter of the drum 80, and is easily attached to and detached from the drum 80.
In addition, the groove part 90 is a part where the thickness of the cylindrical part 84 is thin, and is provided so that the damping member 82 can be easily bent by the jig 92.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method (S 10) of inserting / removing the damping member 82 with respect to the drum 80.
As shown in FIG. 6, in step 100 (S <b> 100), the user engages the two movable portions 98 of the jig 92 with the two engagement holes of the engagement portion 86 of the vibration damping member 82.

  In step 102 (S102), the user operates the operation unit 96 of the jig 92 to bend the vibration damping member 82 so that the gap 88 is narrowed.

  In step 104 (S104), the user inserts / removes the damping member 82 into / from the drum 80.

Next, a modified example of the vibration damping member 82 will be described.
In FIG. 7, the 1st and 2nd modification of the damping member 82 is shown. As shown in FIG. 7A, the first modified example of the vibration damping member 82 has two engaging protrusions 100 that protrude inward from the cylindrical portion 84 to face each other with the gap 88 interposed therebetween. Each of the engaging protrusions 100 is provided with an engaging hole 102. The two engagement holes 102 constitute an engagement portion that engages with the two movable portions 98 of the jig 92.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the second modified example of the vibration damping member 82 has two key-like engagement protrusions that protrude inward from the cylindrical part 84 with the gap part 88 therebetween. Part 100 is provided. Note that the two engaging protrusions 100 shown in FIG. 7B constitute an engaging portion that engages with the two movable portions 98 of the jig 92 without providing the engaging hole 102 or the like.

  In FIG. 8, a modification of the engaging protrusion 100 is shown. As shown in FIG. 8A, in the first modification of the engaging protrusion 100, an irreversible deforming portion 104 made of, for example, a burr-like thin film is provided in each of the engaging holes 102 provided. Yes. The irreversible deformable portion 104 deforms irreversibly when the movable portion 98 of the jig 92 is engaged with the engagement hole 102 and a force is applied from the movable portion 98. That is, when the movable portion 98 is engaged with the engagement hole 102 and the vibration damping member 82 is attached to and detached from the drum 80, the irreversible deformation portion 104 is deformed, and therefore the vibration damping member 82 is attached and detached. It remains in the irreversible deformation unit 104 as a history. Therefore, when the damping member 82 is recycled, it is possible to determine whether or not the damping member 82 is unused by the engagement hole 102 provided with the irreversible deformation portion 104.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, in the second modification of the two key-like engaging projections 100, an irreversible deformation part 104 made of, for example, a burr-like thin film is provided.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8C, for each of the third modified examples of the engaging protrusion 100 having no engaging hole and no key-like portion and longer than the diameter of the movable portion 98, for example, a burr-like thin film An irreversible deformation unit 104 may be provided. In this case, the portion of the irreversible deformable portion 104 that does not receive a force from the movable portion 98 is not deformed, so that the movable portion 98 slides with respect to the engaging protrusion 100 while simplifying the shape of the engaging protrusion 100. Can be prevented.

In FIG. 9, the 3rd thru | or 5th modification of the damping member 82 is shown. As shown in FIG. 9A, in the third modified example of the vibration damping member 82, the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 84 is opposed to the cylindrical portion 84 without the engagement hole or the engaging protrusion being provided. Two engaging grooves 106 are provided at the positions. That is, the vibration damping member 82 is easily attached to and detached from the drum 80 when, for example, the two movable portions 98 of the jig 92 shown in FIG.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the fourth modification of the vibration damping member 82 is substantially opposed to the gap portion 88 without the engagement hole or the engagement protrusion provided in the cylindrical portion 84. When the trapezoidal jig 108 is inserted into the groove 90 provided in this manner, the groove 90 is deformed in the opening direction and is bent so that the gap 88 is narrowed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9C, the fifth modified example of the vibration damping member 82 is disposed at a position where the engaging portion 86 provided with the irreversible deformable portion 104 and the outer surface of the tubular portion 84 face each other. Two engaging grooves 106 are provided. In the fifth modification of the vibration damping member 82, after the vibration damping member 82 is inserted into the drum 80 using the two engagement grooves 106, for example, the gap between the engagement groove 106 and the drum 80 is sealed. When sealed by the member 110, the irreversible deformable portion 104 provided in the engaging portion 86 is deformed when the vibration damping member 82 is removed from the drum 80 for recycling or the like. It can be confirmed whether or not the existing damping member 82 is unused.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an outline of an image forming apparatus having an image carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a bottom view of an image carrier unit. FIG. 3 shows an image carrier and is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view which shows a damping member. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the damping member bent by the force which an engaging part receives from a jig | tool. It is a flowchart which shows the method (S10) which inserts / extracts a damping member with respect to a drum. It is a figure which shows the modification of a damping member, Comprising: (A) is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 2 which shows a 1st modification, (B) is FIG. 2 which shows a 2nd modification. It is AA sectional view. It is an enlarged view which shows the modification of the protrusion for engagement, Comprising: (A) is an enlarged view which shows a 1st modification, (B) is an enlarged view which shows a 2nd modification, (C) These are enlarged views showing a third modification. It is a figure which shows the modification of a damping member, Comprising: (A) is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 2 which shows a 3rd modification, (B) is a perspective view which shows a 4th modification. FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2 showing a fifth modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 44 Image carrier 46 Charging roll 60 Process cartridge 62 Image carrier unit 80 Drum 82 Damping member 84 Cylindrical part 86 Engagement part 88 Clearance part 90 Groove part 92,108 Jig 98 Movable part 100 Engagement protrusion Part 102 engagement hole 104 irreversible deformation part 106 engagement groove

Claims (8)

  A damping member provided inside the cylindrical drum, which is formed of an elastic body that is bent toward the axial center of the drum and engages with a jig that is bent toward the axial center of the drum. A vibration damping member having a joint.   The vibration damping member according to claim 1, further comprising a gap portion for bending toward the axial center of the drum.   The vibration damping member according to claim 2, wherein the gap is formed substantially parallel to the axial direction of the drum.   The damping member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the engagement portion includes at least two engagement holes.   The damping member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the engaging portion includes an engaging protrusion.   6. The vibration damping member according to claim 1, wherein the engaging portion has an irreversible deformation portion that is deformed by a force applied from a jig.   A cylindrical drum and a damping member provided inside the drum, and the damping member is formed of an elastic body that is bent toward the axial center of the drum; An image carrier having an engagement portion with which a jig for bending toward the surface is engaged.   A force applied from the jig by engaging the jig with the engaging portion with respect to the vibration damping member provided on the inner side of the cylindrical drum and having an engaging body with which the jig engages. A method of attaching and detaching the vibration damping member, wherein the vibration damping member is bent toward the axial center of the drum, and the vibration damping member is inserted into and removed from the drum.

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