JP2007178671A - Cleaning device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device capable of surely storing scraped toner into a toner container without causing it to leak from the cleaning device and without affecting the force of the contact of a cleaning member or the like with a photoreceptor drum or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device removes residual toner on the photoreceptor 11 of an image forming apparatus. The cleaning device includes: a cleaning blade 36 disposed so as to be brought into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 11 and separated therefrom; the toner container 31 for storing toner removed from the photoreceptor 11 by the cleaning blade 36; and a guide member 37 disposed in firm contact with the face of the cleaning blade 36, which face is opposite the photoreceptor 11, below the leading end 36a of the cleaning blade 36, extending in a high position in the toner storage part TS of the toner container 31, and used to guide removed toner from the photoreceptor 11 to the toner storage part TS. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus for removing toner remaining on an image carrier in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, a multi-function machine or a multi-function machine called MFP (Multi Function Peripherals), it is formed on a photosensitive drum as an image carrier. The electrostatic latent image is developed to form a toner image, the toner image is transferred onto an intermediate transfer member or a recording medium, and the transferred toner image is fixed to form an image.

  In such an image forming apparatus, a cleaning device is provided in order to remove the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum (Patent Documents 1 to 3).

On the other hand, in a color image forming apparatus, a tandem type is often used to increase the copying speed. In that case, in order to shorten the first print time and improve the compactness, an electrophotographic process unit is used. May be disposed below the intermediate transfer belt (FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2). In that case, the cleaning member of the cleaning device is often arranged such that its free end faces upward from the positional relationship with the peripheral component parts.
JP-A-10-153935 JP2004-240006 JP 2004-317954 A

  By the way, in order to reduce variation in strength with which the cleaning member comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum, the contact force of the cleaning member may be adjusted using a coil spring or the like. When the coil spring is used, since the cleaning member swings (rotates) separately from the toner container, a clearance as a swinging space is required between the cleaning member and the toner container. It becomes.

  As a result, the toner scraped off by the cleaning member may fall from the gap between the cleaning member and the toner container, and as a result, a phenomenon may occur in which the toner leaks from the cleaning device.

  In such a case, it is conceivable to dispose an elastic body in the gap between the cleaning member and the toner container to close the gap. However, in this case, since the elastic body is compressed by the swinging of the cleaning member, the repulsive force of the compressed elastic body acts on the cleaning member and the contact force of the cleaning member to the photosensitive drum is adjusted. It will be bigger than.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and does not affect the contact force of the cleaning member or the like to the photosensitive drum, and the toner scraped off does not leak from the cleaning device. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can be securely stored.

  An apparatus according to the present invention is a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on an image carrier in an image forming apparatus, the cleaning member disposed so as to be able to contact and separate from the surface of the image carrier, and the cleaning device A toner container for storing the toner removed from the image carrier by the member, and one end of the cleaning member that is in close contact with the surface opposite to the image carrier and below the front end of the cleaning member; Is a free end that extends to above the toner container of the toner container, and guides the toner removed from the image carrier by the cleaning member to guide it to the toner container. And a member.

  Preferably, the toner container is provided with a transport device for transporting toner contained therein to the toner recovery container, and the guide member extends to above the transport device.

  The cleaning member is swingably attached to the toner container.

  The cleaning member includes a cleaning blade and a holding member that holds the cleaning blade.

  The guide member is detachably attached to the cleaning blade.

  Further, the cleaning blade is disposed in a counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier and is disposed so that a tip portion thereof faces upward.

  According to the present invention, the abutting force of the cleaning member or the like on the photosensitive drum or the like is not affected, and the scraped toner can be reliably stored in the toner container without leaking from the cleaning device.

  1 is a front view showing a part of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional front view of the cleaning device 17, and FIG. 3 is a view of the cleaning device 17 from the direction A1 in FIG. FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs full color image formation by electrophotography, and four process units Y, M, C, and Bk are arranged in a tandem format below an intermediate transfer belt. In this regard, reference can be made to FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2 described above and the description thereof. In the present embodiment, since the cleaning device, which is a characteristic part, is common to the four process units, description will be made with reference to FIG. 1 showing only one process unit.

  In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 includes a cylindrical photosensitive member 11, a charging device 12 using a corona discharge device for charging the surface of the photosensitive member 11, and the surface of the photosensitive member 11 is electrostatically scanned with a laser beam. A laser unit 13 that forms a latent image, a developing device 14 that forms a toner image by attaching toner to the surface of the photoconductor 11, and a transfer device 16 that transfers the toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 11 to a transfer material 15. And a cleaning device 17 for removing toner (residual toner) remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 11 after transfer.

  Note that the photoconductor 11, the charging device 12, the developing device 14, and the cleaning device 17 are integrally configured as a process cartridge PG that can be attached to and detached from the main body frame of the image forming apparatus 1.

  In this embodiment, a sheet is used as the transfer material 15. After four toner images of Y, M, C, and Bk are synthesized on the sheet, the toner image is fixed by a fixing device and discharged onto a tray or the like. However, the toner image on the photoconductor 11 may be temporarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt using an intermediate transfer belt, and then transferred again to the paper.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the surface of the photoconductor 11 rotating in the direction of the arrow M1 is charged in the same manner by the charging device 12, and then is image-exposed with a laser beam whose intensity is modulated by the image to form an electrostatic latent image. Is formed. Next, the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 11 is developed by the developing device 14 using toner of any one of Y, M, C, and Bk, and is visualized as a toner image.

  After the toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 11 is transferred to the transfer material 15, the transfer material 10 separated from the photoconductor 11 is fixed by the fixing device and discharged outside the apparatus. On the other hand, toner remaining on the photoconductor 11 without being transferred to the transfer material 15 is scraped and collected by the cleaning device 17 in preparation for the next image formation.

  2 and 3, the cleaning device 17 includes a toner container 31, a holding member 32, a coil spring 35, a cleaning blade 36, a guide member 37, and the like.

  The toner container 31 is a container for storing the toner removed from the photoreceptor 11 by the cleaning blade 36, and is formed in a box shape from a synthetic resin or a metal material. The toner container 31 is surrounded by a wall surface leaving the opening KK, and a portion close to the bottom inside is a toner storage portion TS. The toner TN that has fallen from above accumulates in the toner storage unit TS. In the drawing, the toner container 31 is drawn integrally, but a plurality of members may be combined. In particular, the toner storage unit TS is configured as a portable container separate from other parts. Then, it may be removable from the main body.

  The holding member 32 is formed in a plate shape from a synthetic resin or a metal material, and hinges 33 are provided at both ends thereof. The hinges 33 and 33 are pivotally attached to the toner container 31 by shaft pins 34 and 34, whereby the holding member 32 is swingable (rotatable) with respect to the toner container 31. is there.

  The cleaning blade 36 is formed in a plate shape from synthetic resin or the like, and is attached to the holding member 32 integrally with screws or the like. The front end portion (front end edge) 36 a of the cleaning blade 36 has a blade shape or an edge shape so as to come into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 11 and scrape (scrap) residual toner.

  The lower end portion of the holding member 32 is pulled downward with an appropriate force by the tension of the coil spring 35, whereby a force in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 2 acts on the holding member 32 around the shaft pin 34. As a result, the tip 36a of the cleaning blade 36 comes into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 11 with an appropriate strength.

  As described above, the cleaning member constituted by the holding member 32 and the cleaning blade 36 is disposed so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the surface of the photoconductor 11. A state in which the cleaning member is separated from the photoconductor 11 is shown by a chain line in FIG. Further, the cleaning blade 36 is arranged in a counter direction (reverse direction) with respect to the moving direction of the surface of the photoconductor 11, and is arranged so that a tip end portion 36a thereof faces upward.

  As well shown in FIG. 2, a gap SK exists between the holding member 32 and the wall surface of the toner container 31. As described above, the gap SK is a swinging space necessary for the cleaning member to swing separately from the toner container. When there is no gap SK, the holding member 32 and the toner container 31 interfere with each other so that the holding member 32 cannot swing or the swinging is not smooth.

  The guide member 37 is a film-like sheet-like body made of a synthetic resin such as polyester, and is provided in close contact with the surface of the cleaning blade 36 on the side opposite to the photoreceptor 11 and at a position below the front end portion 36a. It has been. The close contact in this case means a state in which the toner TN falling from above does not leak and go to the gap SK. The guide member 37 is provided so as to pass through the opening KK of the toner container 31 and cover the upper portion of the gap SK, and the free end portion 37a extends to the upper side of the toner storage portion TS.

  Thus, the free end portion 37a of the guide member 37 has sufficiently entered the toner storage space, guides the toner TN removed from the photoreceptor 11 by the cleaning blade 36, and converts the toner TN into the toner. It leads to the storage part TS and works to accumulate there.

  Therefore, the toner TN scraped off from the photoreceptor 11 does not fall into the gap SK and does not leak, and is reliably stored in the toner storage unit TS. Since the free end portion 37a of the guide member 37 is neither fixed nor in contact with the toner container 31, the guide member 37 has no force acting on the cleaning blade 36 other than its gravity, and the guide member 37 is light. The operation of the cleaning blade 36 is hardly affected. Therefore, the contact force of the cleaning blade 36 to the photosensitive member 11 can be adjusted by the tension of the coil spring 35, and the contact force to the surface of the photosensitive member 11 can be accurately adjusted to an appropriate magnitude.

  Incidentally, when another film-like guide member is provided in the gap SK between the toner container 31 and the cleaning member and both ends of the guide member are attached to the toner container 31 and the cleaning member, the guide member becomes the cleaning member. On the other hand, a force other than gravity is applied, and the contact force of the cleaning member to the photosensitive member 11 is affected. Further, when the end portion of the guide member is brought into contact with the toner container 31 or the cleaning member, when the ridge line of the end portion of the guide member is wavy, the cleaning member is swung by the force of the coil spring 35 or the like. At this time, the end of the guide member may not come into contact with the cleaning member or the like, and there is a possibility that the function of closing the gap SK cannot be performed.

  The guide member 37 is detachably fixed to the cleaning blade 36. For example, it is pressed and fixed in close contact with the surface of the cleaning blade 36 by a pressing plate (not shown), or sandwiched and fixed by two members, or fixed by a fastener or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the residual toner on the photoconductor 11 is removed by the cleaning device 17 has been described. However, not only the photoconductor 11 but also other image carrier, for example, when residual toner such as an intermediate transfer belt is to be removed. Also, the cleaning device 17 can be applied.

  Next, an image forming apparatus 1B according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The image forming apparatus 1B of the second embodiment is the same as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment described above except for the cleaning device 17B. Therefore, here, only differences from the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a front view showing a part of an image forming apparatus 1B according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 4, the cleaning device 17B includes a toner container 31B, a holding member 32, a coil spring 35, a cleaning blade 36, a guide member 37, a conveying device 38, and the like.

  The transport device 38 transports the toner TN stored in the toner storage unit TS of the toner container 31B to a toner collection container (not shown). The conveying device 38 itself is a well-known device, and can be configured using, for example, the screw described in Patent Document 1 described above. Further, the guide member 37 has a free end portion 37a extending above the toner storage portion TS. However, it is even better if this is further extended so as to extend above the conveying device 38.

  Therefore, the residual toner on the photoconductor 11 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 36 and dropped, and is guided by the guide member 37 and enters the toner storage unit TS. Since the toner storage unit TS is provided with the transport device 38, the toner TN is carried out by the transport device 38 to the outside.

  Also in the cleaning device 17B of the second embodiment, the guide member 37 does not affect the contact force of the cleaning member to the photoreceptor 11, and the scraped toner TN does not leak from the cleaning device 17B. The toner TN can be securely stored in the toner container 31 </ b> B, and the stored toner TN can be carried out to the outside by the transport device 38.

  Next, an image forming apparatus 1C according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the image forming apparatus 1 </ b> C of the third embodiment, the arrangement of the members is opposite to that of the image forming apparatus 1 </ b> B of the second embodiment. Since the functions are exactly the same, only the cleaning device 17C will be mainly described here.

  FIG. 5 is a front view showing a part of an image forming apparatus 1C according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 5, the cleaning device 17C includes a toner container 31C, a holding member 32C, a coil spring 35C, a cleaning blade 36C, a guide member 37C, a conveying device 38C, and the like.

  The transport device 38C transports the toner TN stored in the toner storage unit TS of the toner container 31C to a toner collection container (not shown). Further, the free end portion 37a of the guide member 37C extends to above the conveying device 38C. Further, since the rotation direction of the photoconductor 11 is the opposite direction (M2 direction) to FIG. 1, the cleaning blade 36 is arranged in the counter direction (reverse direction) with respect to that direction.

  Residual toner on the photoreceptor 11 is scraped and dropped by the cleaning blade 36C, and is guided by the guide member 37C to enter the toner storage unit TS. Since the toner storage unit TS is provided with the transport device 38C, the toner TN is carried out to the outside by the transport device 38C.

  Also in the cleaning device 17C of the third embodiment, the guide member 37C does not affect the contact force of the cleaning member to the photoreceptor 11, and the scraped toner TN does not leak from the cleaning device 17C. The toner TN can be securely stored in the toner container 31C, and the stored toner TN can be carried out to the outside by the transport device 38C.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the free end portion 37a of the guide member 37 penetrates to the upper part of the toner storage part TS and the upper part of the conveying device 38. However, the cleaning member does not have to penetrate completely there. The residual toner on the photoconductor 11 collected by the toner is transported into the toner container 31 through the guide member 37, and then reaches the toner storage unit TS and the transport device 38 along the inner wall of the toner container 31. It may be. However, even in this case, the position inside the toner container 31 conveyed by the guide member 37 may be considered to be the toner storage unit TS, so that it is the same as the toner storage unit TS described in the above embodiment. It's okay.

  In the embodiment described above, the attachment position and the number of the coil springs 35C can be variously changed. An adjusting mechanism for adjusting the tension of the coil spring 35C may be provided. Instead of the coil spring 35C, a spring may be applied in the rotational direction by attaching a spring to the shaft pin 34 as a center. Moreover, you may use the spring by a wire or a board | plate material. Further, the structure and shape of the hinge 33, the structure of the holding member 32, the shape and size of the cleaning blade 36, the shape, dimensions, and material of the guide member 37, the structure and shape of the toner container 31, and the like are various as described above. Can be changed.

  In addition, the structure, shape, dimensions, number, material, and the like of the whole or each part of the cleaning devices 17, 17B, 17C, the process cartridge PG, or the image forming devices 1, 1B, 1C are appropriately changed in accordance with the spirit of the present invention. be able to.

  Further, the image forming apparatuses 1, 1B, and 1C can be applied to various image forming apparatuses such as monochrome / color copying machines, printers, FAX machines, MFPs, and MFPs.

1 is a front view showing a part of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a sectional front view of a cleaning device. It is sectional drawing which looked at the cleaning apparatus from A1 direction of FIG. It is a front view which shows a part of image forming apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which shows a part of image forming apparatus of 3rd Embodiment based on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1B, 1C Image forming apparatus 11 Photosensitive member (image carrier)
17, 17B, 17C Cleaning device 31 Toner container 32 Holding member (cleaning member)
34 Shaft pin 33 Hinge 35 Coil spring 36 Cleaning blade (cleaning member)
36a Front end portion 37 Guide member 37a Free end portion 38 Transport device SK Gap TN Toner TS Toner storage portion PG Process cartridge

Claims (8)

A cleaning device for removing toner remaining on an image carrier in an image forming apparatus,
A cleaning member disposed so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the surface of the image carrier;
A toner container for storing toner removed from the image carrier by the cleaning member;
The cleaning member is opposite to the image carrier and is in close contact with the surface below the front end of the cleaning member, and has one end as a free end and extends above the toner storage portion of the toner container. A guide member for guiding the toner removed from the image carrier by the cleaning member and guiding the toner to the toner storage unit;
A cleaning device in an image forming apparatus, comprising: The toner container is provided with a conveying device for conveying the toner stored in the toner container to the toner collecting container,
The guide member extends to above the transport device,
The cleaning device in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The cleaning member is swingably attached to the toner container.
The cleaning device in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The cleaning member includes a cleaning blade and a holding member that holds the cleaning blade.
The cleaning device in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The guide member is detachably attached to the cleaning blade.
The cleaning device in the image forming apparatus according to claim 4. The cleaning blade is disposed in a counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier, and is disposed so that a tip portion thereof faces upward.
6. A cleaning device in an image forming apparatus according to claim 4 or 5.   A process cartridge for an image forming apparatus, comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1.   An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1.