JP2007233088A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus designed such that a cleaning member or a body to be cleaned is prevented from being damaged during the operation of inserting or removing a cleaning unit freely removably inserted in an apparatus housing and the inside of the apparatus housing is prevented from being soiled with scattering toner. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a belt cleaning unit housing 84 that has a guide 84a freely slidably fitted to a rail member 100e extended in the widthwise direction perpendicular to the moving direction of an intermediate transfer belt 30 and that is freely removably inserted in the apparatus housing 100 via the rail member 100e and guide 84e. The image forming apparatus also includes a cleaning member hold member by which the belt cleaning blade 81 switched between a contact position and a separation position is held in the separation position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention forms an electrostatic latent image, develops it with toner, forms a toner image, and finally transfers and fixes the toner image onto a predetermined recording medium, thereby forming a fixed toner image on the recording medium. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image.

  In an image forming apparatus used for an electrophotographic copying machine, printer, facsimile, or the like, an image carrier represented by a photosensitive drum or the like is uniformly charged, and exposure light carrying image information is supplied to the image carrier. To form an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, develop the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image on the image carrier, and directly or directly form the formed toner image. For example, an intermediate transfer member is interposed and finally transferred onto a recording medium and fixed, whereby an image composed of a fixed toner image is formed on the recording medium.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus configured to transfer and fix a formed toner image directly on a recording medium, the toner image formed on the image carrier is transferred onto the recording medium, and then the image carrier is used. A cleaning unit for cleaning the toner remaining on the top is provided. In addition, in an image forming apparatus configured to transfer and fix a formed toner image onto a recording medium with an intermediate transfer member interposed therebetween, the image on the image carrier after the toner image is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer member. A cleaning unit for cleaning toner remaining on the toner image, and a toner image formed on the image bearing member is secondarily transferred onto a recording medium with an intermediate transfer member interposed therebetween, and then the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer member is cleaned. A cleaning unit is in place. By providing such a cleaning unit in the image forming apparatus, a member to be cleaned such as an image carrier or an intermediate transfer member is repeatedly used.

  As such a cleaning unit, a unit that scrapes off the toner remaining on the cleaning target by bringing a plate-shaped cleaning blade into contact with the surface of the cleaning target that carries the toner image, or a cleaning brush or a cleaning roll is contacted. A unit that electrostatically adsorbs the toner remaining on the object to be cleaned and scrapes the remaining toner with a cleaning blade is generally used.

  Here, cleaning members such as a cleaning blade, a cleaning brush, and a cleaning roll are consumables, and some image forming apparatuses are provided with a detachable cleaning unit for maintenance such as replacement of the cleaning member. is there. Various techniques for preventing the cleaning member and the object to be cleaned from being damaged when the cleaning unit is attached to and detached from such an image forming apparatus have been proposed.

  As an image forming apparatus provided with a detachable cleaning unit, for example, an image forming apparatus is proposed in which the cleaning unit is brought into contact with and separated from the surface of the image carrier when the cleaning unit is attached or detached. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Further, as an image forming apparatus provided with a detachable cleaning unit, an intermediate transfer unit having an intermediate transfer member and a toner on the intermediate transfer unit are cleaned by a cleaning blade so that the image forming apparatus can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body. Cleaning means (hereinafter, this cleaning means is referred to as a cleaning unit), and guides the cleaning unit so that it does not contact the intermediate transfer member when the cleaning unit is inserted, and maintains the posture after the cleaning unit is inserted. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus including posture holding guide means and fixing means for fixing the cleaning blade of the cleaning unit at a position where the cleaning blade comes into contact with the intermediate transfer member (see, for example, Patent Document 2). ).
JP 2003-122228 A JP 2004-258357 A

  According to the technique proposed in Patent Document 1 described above, it is possible to prevent the cleaning means and the image carrier from being damaged, the image carrier from being loosened, and the like. However, in the technique proposed in Patent Document 1, there is no mention of means for regulating the attitude of the cleaning unit at the time of attaching / detaching the cleaning unit. There is a risk of toner scattering from the unit and contaminating the inside of the image forming apparatus.

  In Patent Document 2 described above, the cleaning unit and the cleaning blade are provided with posture holding guide means for preventing the cleaning unit and the cleaning blade from coming into contact with the intermediate transfer member during insertion of the cleaning unit into the image forming apparatus main body. In the unit insertion process, since the insertion operation is restricted by the guide, it is described that the cleaning unit cannot be operated in directions other than the insertion direction. Here, in Embodiment 6 of Patent Document 2, there is also a description that the cross-sectional shape of the cleaning unit and the shape of the insertion opening are the same, but in machining, the machining is performed with exactly the same dimensions as the reference dimensions. This is impossible, and processing is performed based on so-called dimensional tolerances. Therefore, such a configuration with the same shape cannot be realized. Accordingly, in realizing such an image forming apparatus, a gap is generated between the upper and lower grooves provided on the image forming apparatus side and the upper and lower convex guides provided on the cleaning unit side. If such a gap exists, the cleaning unit operates in a direction other than the insertion direction. In general, since the cleaning unit has an axial length of about 400 to 500 mm, even if the amount of movement is kept small near the insertion opening, the amount of movement is large at the tip. Therefore, in the technique proposed in Patent Document 2, when the cleaning unit is attached or detached, the cleaning unit may come into contact with the intermediate transfer member, and the cleaning blade or the intermediate transfer member may be damaged.

  Further, in this Patent Document 2, when the insertion of the cleaning unit is completed, the upper restraint of the cleaning unit is released, and the screw drive input shaft that fits into the coupling of the image forming apparatus main body is rotated as the rotation shaft. It is described as being fixed by a fixing means. However, since there is no restriction on the operation opposite to the coupling fitting, the cleaning unit may come into contact with the intermediate transfer member until it is fixed by the fixing means, and the cleaning blade or the intermediate transfer member may be damaged.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention prevents damage to the cleaning member and the object to be cleaned during the insertion / extraction operation of the cleaning unit detachably attached to the apparatus casing, and also contaminates the inside of the apparatus casing due to scattering of toner. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that prevents the above-described problem.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object provides:
An electrostatic latent image is formed and developed with toner to form a toner image, and this toner image is finally transferred and fixed on a predetermined recording medium to form an image composed of a fixed toner image on the recording medium. In the image forming apparatus to
An apparatus housing having a rail member that is disposed inside the object to be cleaned that moves in a predetermined direction and extends in a width direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the object to be cleaned;
A cleaning unit housing having a guide guide slidably fitted to the rail member, and detachably mounted on the device housing via the rail member and the guide guide;
A cleaning member supported by the cleaning unit housing, the posture of which is changed between a contact position that contacts the cleaning object and a separation position that is separated from the cleaning object;
And a cleaning member holding member that holds the cleaning member in the separated position according to an operation.

  Here, the “object to be cleaned” in the present invention refers to, for example, an image carrier or an intermediate transfer member. The “cleaning member” in the present invention refers to, for example, a cleaning blade, a cleaning brush, or a cleaning roll.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a guide guide that is slidably fitted to a rail member that extends in a width direction perpendicular to a moving direction of an object to be cleaned that moves in a predetermined direction. A cleaning unit casing is detachably attached to the apparatus casing via a guide guide. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the cleaning unit casing is attached and detached, the guide unit is fitted to the rail member so that the cleaning unit casing is perpendicular to the moving direction of the object to be cleaned. Therefore, it is easy to insert / remove the cleaning unit casing in parallel with the width direction without tilting the toner, and it is difficult for toner to spill out of the cleaning unit casing, and the image forming apparatus during the attachment / detachment operation. Internal contamination is prevented. Further, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the cleaning unit housing in which the guide guide is fitted to the rail member is positioned at a predetermined position by the guide guide and the rail member.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention further includes a cleaning member supported by the cleaning unit casing, the posture of which is changed between a contact position that contacts the cleaning object and a separation position that is separated from the cleaning object. A cleaning member holding member that holds the separated position according to the operation is provided. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the rail member is cleaned in a direction different from the width direction due to a gap generated between the rail member and the guide guide fitted to the rail member. The cleaning unit casing is arranged in such a positional relationship that the cleaning unit casing does not come into contact with the object to be cleaned even if the unit casing moves, and the cleaning member is held in the separated position by the cleaning member holding member. During the attaching / detaching operation, the cleaning unit casing and the cleaning member held in the cleaning unit casing are prevented from coming into contact with the body to be cleaned, and the cleaning member and the body to be cleaned are prevented from being damaged.

Here, the image forming apparatus of the present invention described above is
“The cleaning member is supported by the cleaning unit housing and changes its posture between a predetermined first position and a predetermined second position,
The cleaning unit housing has a positioning member that positions the cleaning member at the contact position in a state where the cleaning member is changed in posture to the first position.
It is preferable.

  According to such a preferred embodiment, the cleaning unit housing in which the guide guide is fitted to the rail member is positioned more reliably by the positioning member in addition to the guide guide and the rail member.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is further preferable that the cleaning member is a cleaning blade having a plate shape and abutting on and away from the object to be cleaned.

  Since the portion of the cleaning blade having a plate shape that comes into contact with the object to be cleaned is sharp, if the cleaning blade comes into contact with the object to be cleaned during the attaching / detaching operation of the cleaning unit housing, the cleaning blade or the object to be cleaned is likely to be damaged. Therefore, according to such a preferable embodiment, it is very effective for preventing damage to the cleaning member and the object to be cleaned.

  According to the present invention, the cleaning member and the object to be cleaned are prevented from being damaged during the insertion / extraction operation of the cleaning unit detachably attached to the apparatus casing, and the inside of the apparatus casing is prevented from being contaminated by the scattering of toner. An image forming apparatus is provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 1 to which an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied. Here, first, the positioning of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  An image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a rotary developing unit including four developing devices each corresponding to four color toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Toner image of each color of YMCK on the photosensitive drum by developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum in synchronization with feeding of the intermediate transfer belt as an intermediate medium using two photosensitive drums The toner images of each color formed on the photosensitive drum are sequentially superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt and transferred (primary transfer), and the color toner image superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt is recorded on the recording medium. This is a so-called four-cycle full-color image forming apparatus that transfers (secondary transfer) to a sheet and fixes the sheet.

  The image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a photosensitive drum 10 that rotates in a counterclockwise arrow A direction. In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 is a semiconductive material that is stretched around a driving roll 21, a primary transfer roll 22, a tension roll 23, a driven roll 24, and a backup roll 25 and circulates in a clockwise arrow B direction. An intermediate transfer belt 30, a batch transfer device 40 that performs secondary transfer, and a fixing device 50 that fixes an unfixed toner image on a sheet are also provided. The intermediate transfer belt 30 corresponds to an example of a member to be cleaned according to the present invention. The surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 30. The primary transfer roll 22 is disposed at a position facing the photosensitive drum 10 with the intermediate transfer belt 30 interposed therebetween, and a portion where the photosensitive drum 10 and the intermediate transfer belt 30 are in contact is a primary transfer region.

  Further, around the photosensitive drum 10, a charger 11 for applying a predetermined charge to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 to which the predetermined charge is applied are exposed to expose an electrostatic latent image. An optical writing unit 12 is provided. Further, around the photosensitive drum 10, four developing devices 131Y corresponding to the four color toners of YMCK are disposed at positions 90 degrees apart from the center in the circumferential direction of the casing unit 130 having a cylindrical shape. 131M, 131C, and 131K are arranged, and the rotary developing unit 13 that rotates in the clockwise arrow C direction is also provided. Further, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 around the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 and is not transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 30 after the toner image is transferred in the primary transfer region. A drum cleaner 14 is also provided. The rotary developing unit 13 is disposed on the upstream side of the primary transfer region around the photosensitive drum 10. The optical writing unit 12 is disposed further upstream than the rotary developing unit 13, and the charger 11 is disposed further upstream than the optical writing unit 12. The drum cleaner 14 is disposed further upstream than the charger 11.

  The surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is uniformly charged by the charger 11. The surface of the photosensitive drum 10 uniformly charged by the charger 11 is irradiated with laser light carrying image information from the optical writing unit 12 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10. .

  The four developing devices 131Y, 131M, 131C, and 131K arranged in the rotary developing unit 13 adopt a two-component developing system, and the toner cartridges built in the developing devices 131Y, 131M, 131C, and 131K include A two-component developer composed of a magnetic carrier and a toner is accommodated. The developing devices 131Y, 131M, 131C, and 131K arranged in the rotary developing unit 13 also include developing rolls 1311Y, 1311M, 1311C, and 1311K. On the peripheral surfaces of the developing rolls 1311Y, 1311M, 1311C, and 1311K, a developer layer (so-called magnetic layer) in which a magnetic carrier to which toner is attached is layered is formed, and four developing devices 131Y, 131M, 131C, and 131K are formed. Is rotated in the clockwise arrow C direction so that the arranged developing devices 131Y, 131M, 131C, and 131K are sequentially arranged in the developing area facing the photosensitive drum 10. Thus, toner of each color of YMCK is supplied from the developer layer to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 carrying the electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image is developed upon receipt of toner and becomes a toner image.

  A transfer bias having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer roll 22, and YMCK toner images formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 are intermediately transferred from the surface of the photosensitive drum 10. When the intermediate transfer belt 30 rotates four times on the surface of the belt 30, the color toner images overlapped on the intermediate transfer belt 30.

  The batch transfer device 40 includes a secondary transfer roll 41 on the toner image carrying surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 30, and a contact position where the secondary transfer roll 41 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 30 and the intermediate transfer belt 30. The posture is changed between a separation position and a separation position separated from 30. When the batch transfer device 40 is changed to the contact position, the intermediate transfer belt is moved between the secondary transfer roll 41 of the batch transfer device 40 and the backup roll 25 arranged on the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 30. 30 is sandwiched between the two rolls 41 and 25 when the batch transfer device 40 changes its posture to the contact position.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a paper cassette 60 and a registration roll 71 for sending the paper conveyed from the paper cassette 60 to the secondary transfer area. The sheet is fed into the secondary transfer area at a predetermined timing. In the secondary transfer region, the color toner images that overlap one on the intermediate transfer belt 30 are transferred onto the fed paper. The sheet that has received the color toner image in the secondary transfer region is sent to the fixing device 50, where the color toner image is fixed on the sheet, and an image composed of the fixed toner image is formed on the sheet.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a stacking tray 73 on which sheets after image formation is stacked, and a pair of discharges that discharge the conveyed sheets toward the stacking tray 73. A roll 72 is deployed. The sheet on which the image composed of the fixing toner image is formed is further conveyed by various rolls (not shown), sent to the sheet discharge roll 72, discharged toward the stacking tray 73, and stacked on the stacking tray 73.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, a belt cleaning unit 80 is disposed around the intermediate transfer belt 30 and downstream of the batch transfer device 40. This belt cleaning unit 80 scrapes off the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 30 without being transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 30 after the color toner image is secondarily transferred onto the sheet, and has a plate shape. A blade 81 is provided. The belt cleaning blade 81 changes its position between a contact position that contacts the intermediate transfer belt 30 and a separation position that separates from the intermediate transfer belt 30. The belt cleaning blade 81 corresponds to an example of the cleaning member referred to in the present invention. If the residual toner is cleaned by the belt cleaning blade 81 provided in the belt cleaning unit 80 as described above, the color toner image is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 30 again at the primary transfer position after the secondary transfer. Since residual toner is sometimes prevented from being mixed, a high-quality color toner image can be obtained.

  Here, the feature of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention is related to the belt cleaning unit 80 provided in the image forming apparatus 1. Hereinafter, the belt cleaning unit 80 will be described. Will be described in detail.

  2 and 3 are external perspective views of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 with the front cover 15 provided on the front surface facing the operator side in use being opened.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front surface of the image forming apparatus 1 that faces the operator side when in use is provided with a front cover that can be opened and closed toward the operator side. When the front cover is opened, the belt cleaning unit 80 that is detachably attached to the apparatus housing 100 can be inserted and removed. The device housing 100 corresponds to an example of the device housing according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the belt cleaning unit 80 is provided with a handle 82 that is operated when an insertion / extraction operation is performed. In the state shown in FIG. 2, the belt cleaning unit 80 inserted into the apparatus housing 100 is positioned and cannot be inserted or removed. As shown in FIG. 3, the handle 82 is moved to FIG. By rotating 90 ° in the clockwise direction from the state shown, the state is shifted to a state in which the inserted belt cleaning unit 80 can be inserted and removed. A detailed description of the positioning of the belt cleaning unit 80 will be described later.

  4 is an external perspective view of the intermediate transfer belt 30 and the belt cleaning unit 80 provided in the apparatus housing 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIGS.

  In FIG. 4, the handle 82 provided in the belt cleaning unit 80 is rotated 90 ° in the clockwise direction from the state where the insertion / extraction operation is impossible (see FIG. 2), and the insertion / extraction operation of the inserted belt cleaning unit 80 is performed. The figure is now ready for As shown in FIG. 4, the belt cleaning unit 80 is provided with a hand screw 83 that can be operated with the handle 82 rotated 90 ° in the clockwise direction. The hand screw 83 is positioned in the width direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 30 (arrow B direction) of the belt cleaning unit 80 inserted to a predetermined position by rotating the hand screw 83 clockwise. And the belt cleaning unit 80 is fixed.

  5 is an external perspective view of the belt cleaning unit 80 in the state shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the belt cleaning unit 80 in the state shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the handle 82 provided in the belt cleaning unit 80 cannot be inserted and removed, the hand screw 83 is covered by the handle 82, and the hand screw 83 cannot be operated. ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the handle 82 is rotated 90 ° in the clockwise direction from the state where the insertion / extraction operation is impossible, the hand screw 83 can be operated, and the hand screw 83 is moved in the counterclockwise direction. By rotating, the fixing of the belt cleaning unit 80 is released.

  Further, the handle 82 also serves as a shutter function of a toner collection path port (not shown). When the handle 82 is rotated 90 ° in a clockwise direction from a state where the insertion / extraction operation is impossible, the shutter of the toner collection path port is opened. When it is closed and rotated 90 ° counterclockwise from this state, the shutter of the toner collection path port is opened.

  Therefore, when the belt cleaning unit 80 can be inserted / extracted, the shutter of the toner recovery path is closed, and it is possible to prevent the toner from scattering from the toner recovery path port at the time of the insertion / extraction operation at low cost.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the belt cleaning unit 80 includes a belt cleaning unit casing 84 and a belt cleaning blade assembly (hereinafter, this belt cleaning blade assembly is referred to as a belt cleaning blade ASSY) 85. .

  FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of the belt cleaning unit housing 84 with the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 removed from the belt cleaning unit 80 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and FIG. 8 shows the belt shown in FIGS. 7 is an external perspective view of the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 removed from the cleaning unit 80. FIG.

  The belt cleaning unit 80 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  The belt cleaning unit casing 84 of the belt cleaning unit 80 includes a guide guide 84a that is slidably fitted to a rail member described later, and the apparatus casing 100 (FIG. 2, FIG. 2) is provided via the rail member and the guide guide 84a. (See FIG. 3).

  The belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 includes a belt cleaning blade 81, a film seal 86, side seals 871 and 872, a holding bracket 851, a crankshaft 852, and a retract rotation operation arm 853.

  The belt cleaning blade 81 and the film seal 86 are held by the holding bracket 851 with an interval through which the toner scraped off by the belt cleaning blade 81 passes.

  Further, the side seals 871 and 872 are disposed adjacent to both ends of the belt cleaning blade 81 and the film seal 86 in the width direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 30 from the outside in the width direction. The leakage of the toner scraped by 81 is prevented.

  The crankshaft 852 is disposed below the holding bracket 851, and the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 rotates around the crankshaft 852 as a rotation axis.

  The retract rotation operation arm 853 is disposed at one end of the crankshaft 852. When an external force is applied to the retract rotation operation arm 853, the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 rotates the crankshaft 852 around the rotation shaft. The belt cleaning blade 81 and the film seal 86 held by the holding bracket 851 change the posture between a contact position where the belt cleaning blade 81 and the film seal 86 are in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 30 and a separation position where the belt cleaning blade 81 is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 30. A detailed description of this posture change will be described later.

  In addition, the retract rotating operation arm 853 has a pin 853a. The handle 82 provided in the belt cleaning unit 80 snap-fits the handle 82 to the pin 853a of the retract rotation operation arm 853 when the handle 82 is rotated 90 ° in a clockwise direction from a state where the insertion / extraction operation is impossible. The belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 having the belt cleaning blade 81 is held at the separated position by having a snap portion (not shown) and snap-fitting the snap portion to the pin 853a. The combination of the pin 853a of the retract rotating arm 853 and the snap portion of the handle 82 corresponds to an example of the cleaning member holding member according to the present invention.

  The belt cleaning unit housing 84 positions the belt cleaning blade 81 at the contact position in a state where the belt cleaning unit 80 is attached to the apparatus housing 100 and the posture of the belt cleaning blade 81 is changed to the contact position. It has a positioning elongated hole 84b, a positioning round hole 84c, and a positioning boss 84d. The other end 852a of the crankshaft 852 with respect to the one is also used for positioning.

  9 is an external perspective view of the intermediate transfer belt 30 provided in the apparatus housing 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and FIG. 10 shows the intermediate transfer belt 30 shown in FIG. 9. It is the front view seen from the front which turns to an operator side at the time of use.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the apparatus housing 100 that supports the intermediate transfer belt 30 has a positioning long hole of the belt cleaning unit 80 when the belt cleaning unit 80 is attached to the apparatus housing 100. Positioning boss 100a fitted to 84b, positioning boss 100b fitted to positioning round hole 84c of belt cleaning unit 80, positioning elongated hole 100c fitted to positioning boss 84d of belt cleaning unit 80, and belt A positioning hole 100d that fits into the other end 852a of the crankshaft 852 of the cleaning unit 80 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus housing 100 supporting the intermediate transfer belt 30 includes a rail member 100e extending in the width direction perpendicular to the moving direction (arrow B direction) of the intermediate transfer belt 30. Have. As described above, the belt cleaning unit 80 is detachably attached to the apparatus housing 100 via the rail member 100e and the guide guide 84a.

  Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when the cleaning unit casing 84 is attached / detached, the cleaning unit casing 84 is fitted to the rail member 100e so that the cleaning unit casing 84 is attached to the intermediate transfer belt 30. Since the sliding movement is performed in parallel with the width direction perpendicular to the moving direction, the cleaning unit casing 84 can be easily inserted / removed in parallel with the width direction without being inclined, and toner spills from the cleaning unit casing 84. It is difficult to prevent contamination inside the image forming apparatus 1 during the attaching / detaching operation. Further, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the cleaning unit casing 84 fitted with the guide guide 84a fitted to the rail member 100e is positioned at a predetermined position by the guide guide 84a and the rail member 100e. .

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the positioning elongated hole 84 b of the belt cleaning unit 80 is fitted into the positioning boss 100 a of the apparatus housing 100, and the positioning round hole 84 c of the belt cleaning unit 80 is formed of the apparatus housing 100. The positioning boss 100b is fitted, the positioning boss 84d of the belt cleaning unit 80 is fitted into the positioning elongated hole 100c of the apparatus casing 100, and the other end 852a of the crankshaft 852 of the belt cleaning unit 80 is the apparatus casing. The cleaning unit housing 84 is more reliably positioned because it fits into the positioning hole 100d of the 100.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining an operation of changing the posture of the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 of the belt cleaning unit 80 shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 between the contact position and the separation position.

  FIG. 11 shows the belt cleaning unit 80 and the intermediate transfer belt 30 mounted on the apparatus housing 100.

  As described above, the belt cleaning unit 80 includes the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 that rotates around the crankshaft 852 provided at the lower portion of the holding bracket 851 that holds the belt cleaning blade 81 and the film seal 86. . As shown in FIG. 11, the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 includes a spring member 854 that biases the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 from the separated position toward the contact position.

  As described above, when the handle 82 provided in the belt cleaning unit 80 is rotated 90 ° in the clockwise direction from the state in which the insertion / extraction operation is impossible, the snap portion of the handle 82 is attached to the pin 853a of the retract rotation operation arm 853. Is snap-fitted, and the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 having the belt cleaning blade 81 is held at the separated position. When the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 is held in the separated position in this way and the handle 82 is rotated 90 ° counterclockwise, the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 is moved to the contact position by the urging force of the spring member 854. Change posture.

  Here, the belt cleaning unit 80 extends in the width direction perpendicular to the guide direction 84a provided in the belt cleaning unit housing 84 of the belt cleaning unit 80 and the moving direction (arrow B direction) of the intermediate transfer belt 30. It is detachably attached to the apparatus housing 100 via the rail member 100e. Note that the cleaning member housing 84 moves in a direction different from the width direction due to a gap generated between the rail member 100e and the guide guide 84a fitted to the rail member 100e. Even in such a case, the cleaning unit housing 84 is disposed in a positional relationship so as not to contact the intermediate transfer belt 30.

  Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the snap portion of the handle 82 is snap-fitted to the pin 853a of the retract rotating operation arm 853, and the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 having the belt cleaning blade 81 is set to the above-described separated position. By holding, the cleaning unit casing 84 and the belt cleaning blade 81 come into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 30 when the cleaning unit casing 84 is attached and detached, and the belt cleaning blade 81 and the intermediate transfer belt 30 are damaged. Is prevented.

  Next, an operation of changing the posture of the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 between the contact position and the separation position during the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus housing 100 includes a blade retract cam 110 and a blade retract arm 120.

  When the blade retract cam 120 rotates around the rotation fulcrum 120a by rotating the blade retract cam 110 at a predetermined timing, the retract retracting operation arm 853 provided at one end of the crankshaft 852 is moved to the retracting operation arm 853. Then, an external force is applied to change the posture of the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 from the contact position to the separation position. By applying such an external force, the belt cleaning blade ASSY 85 rotates about the crankshaft 852 as a rotation axis, and the belt cleaning blade 81 and the film seal 86 held by the holding bracket 851 come into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 30. The posture is changed between the contact position and the separation position separated from the intermediate transfer belt 30.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus of the present invention uses one photosensitive drum and a rotary developing unit including four developing devices, and generates a toner image for each color according to the rotation of the photosensitive drum. Although an example of a so-called four-cycle type full-color image forming apparatus has been described in which a color image is formed by forming and multi-transferring the toner image onto an intermediate transfer belt, the present invention is not limited to this. Any type of image forming apparatus may be used as long as the image forming apparatus includes a cleaning unit that is detachably attached to the apparatus housing.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the cleaning member according to the present invention is a cleaning blade has been described. However, the cleaning member according to the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a cleaning brush, a cleaning roll, or the like can be used. It may be a member. Since the portion of the plate-shaped cleaning blade that contacts the object to be cleaned is sharp, if the cleaning blade comes into contact with the object to be cleaned during the attachment / detachment operation of the cleaning unit housing, the cleaning blade or object to be cleaned is damaged. Therefore, when the cleaning member is a cleaning blade, it is very effective for preventing damage to the cleaning member and the object to be cleaned.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the member to be cleaned according to the present invention is an intermediate transfer belt has been described. However, the member to be cleaned according to the present invention is not limited to this. Body drum).

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus to which an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in a state in which a front cover provided on the front surface facing the operator side in use is opened. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in a state in which a front cover provided on the front surface facing the operator side in use is opened. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of an intermediate transfer belt and a belt cleaning unit arranged in the apparatus housing of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the belt cleaning unit in the state shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the belt cleaning unit in the state shown in FIGS. FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of the belt cleaning unit housing in a state where the belt cleaning blade ASSY is removed from the belt cleaning unit shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of the belt cleaning blade ASSY removed from the belt cleaning unit shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of an intermediate transfer belt provided in the apparatus housing of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 10 is a front view of the intermediate transfer belt shown in FIG. 9 as viewed from the front side facing the operator when used. It is a schematic diagram explaining the operation | movement which changes an attitude | position between the said contact position and the said separation position of the belt cleaning blade ASSY of the belt cleaning unit shown in FIGS.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 100 Apparatus housing | casing 100a, 100b Positioning boss 100c Positioning long hole 100d Positioning hole 110 Blade retracting cam 120 Blade retracting arm 120a Rotating fulcrum 10 Photosensitive drum 11 Charger 12 Optical writing unit 13 Rotary developing unit 130 Casing Unit 131Y, 131M, 131C, 131K Developing device 1311Y, 1311M, 1311C, 1311K Developing roll 14 Drum cleaner 15 Front cover 21 Drive roll 22 Primary transfer roll 23 Tension roll 24 Drive roll 25 Backup roll 30 Intermediate transfer belt 40 Batch transfer apparatus 41 Secondary transfer roll 50 Fixing device 60 Paper cassette 71 Registration roll 72 Paper discharge roll 73 Loading tray 80 the belt cleaning unit 81 belt cleaning blade 82 handle 83 thumbscrews 84 belt cleaning unit casing 84a guides 84b elongated positioning hole 84c positioned circular hole 84d positioning boss 85 belt cleaning blade ASSY
851 Holding bracket 852 Crankshaft 852a End portion 853 Arm for retract rotation operation 853a Pin 854 Spring member 86 Film seal 871, 872 Side seal

Claims (3)

An electrostatic latent image is formed, developed with toner to form a toner image, and the toner image is finally transferred and fixed on a predetermined recording medium to form an image composed of a fixed toner image on the recording medium. In the image forming apparatus to
An apparatus housing having a rail member which is disposed inside a body to be cleaned that moves in a predetermined direction and extends in a width direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the body to be cleaned;
A cleaning unit housing having a guide guide slidably fitted to the rail member, and detachably mounted on the device housing via the rail member and the guide guide;
A cleaning member supported by the cleaning unit housing, the posture of which is changed between a contact position that contacts the cleaning target body and a separation position that is spaced apart from the cleaning target body;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning member holding member that holds the cleaning member at the separated position according to an operation. The cleaning member is supported by the cleaning unit casing and changes its posture between a predetermined first position and a predetermined second position;
The image according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit housing includes a positioning member that positions the cleaning member at the contact position in a state where the cleaning member is changed in posture to the first position. Forming equipment.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is a cleaning blade having a plate shape and abutting on and away from the object to be cleaned.

Images