JP2008107481A - Cleaning device and image forming apparatus equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device smoothly discharging adhesive substance removed from the surface of an image carrier to space where the image carrier, a rotating member and a blade are close to each other. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device 80 is equipped with: a grinding roller 82 that is a rotating member for removing the adhesive substance on the surface of a photoreceptor drum 21 while rotating in contact with the photoreceptor drum 21; and a cleaning blade 83 provided on the downstream side of the grinding roller 82 in a drum rotating direction and coming into contact with the photoreceptor drum 21 and scraping the adhesive substance on the surface thereof. The cleaning blade 83 is equipped with a chipped part 83c obtained by removing a part of the cleaning blade 83 at a place closest to the grinding roller 82. Thus, a discharge path for the adhesive substance on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 21, which is scraped by the cleaning blade 83, is secured even when the image forming apparatus is reduced in size. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device for transferring a toner image onto a sheet and then removing adhering matter such as toner remaining on the surface of an image carrier to perform cleaning. The present invention also relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus typified by a copying machine or a printer equipped with this cleaning device.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, a photosensitive drum is widely used as an image carrier. A general image forming operation using the photosensitive drum is as follows. The surface of the photosensitive drum is uniformly charged with a predetermined potential by a charging device, and by irradiating the LED light or the like of the exposure device there, the potential is partially attenuated to form an electrostatic latent image of an original image. Is done. The electrostatic latent image is developed with a developing device, whereby a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum. The toner image is transferred onto the sheet when the sheet is inserted into a transfer region formed by bringing the photosensitive drum and the transfer member into contact with or in close proximity to each other.

  In such an image forming apparatus, after a toner image is transferred to a sheet, a small amount of toner may remain on the surface of the photosensitive drum without being transferred to the sheet. Residual toner and other adhering matter adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum become an obstacle to the next new image formation, so that cleaning is necessary. As a cleaning method used for such a purpose, a cleaning roller, a polishing roller, a rotating brush, or the like, which is a rotating member, is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum to move and collect a deposit such as residual toner on the rotating member. A method, a method in which a blade is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum to scrape off an adhering matter, or a cleaning method in which these methods are combined is widely known.

An example of an image forming apparatus that cleans the surface of a photosensitive drum after transferring a toner image onto a sheet by using a polishing roller that is a rotating member and a cleaning blade as described above can be seen in Patent Document 1. .
JP 2000-276026 A (page 3, FIG. 3)

  The image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a cleaning device for a photosensitive drum having a general configuration, which includes a polishing roller and a cleaning blade, and the deposits scraped from the surface of the photosensitive drum by the cleaning blade. Is smoothly fed in the discharge direction as the polishing roller rotates. However, as the image forming apparatus is further reduced in size, there has been a problem that deposits scraped from the surface of the photosensitive drum by the cleaning blade cannot be discharged smoothly.

  This is because with the miniaturization of the image forming apparatus, the arrangement space of the photosensitive drum, the cleaning apparatus, and the like is also miniaturized, and the space where the photosensitive drum, the polishing roller, and the cleaning blade are close to each other is very narrow. Because it is becoming. As a result, deposits such as toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum stay in the space. Since the toner stays for a long time, the toner becomes overcharged, adversely affecting the photosensitive drum, and a problem arises in that an image defect such as a minute black spot occurs at the next image formation.

  For such problems, measures have been taken to make it difficult for the toner to be charged by changing the additive mixed with the toner from a high resistance to a low resistance. However, on the other hand, there is a problem that the developing device is insufficiently charged and the image density is lowered. Although it is conceivable to use both high resistance and low resistance additives, the mixing ratio differs depending on the model, which causes a problem that the cost and production man-hour are significantly increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the deposits removed from the surface of the image carrier with respect to the space where the image carrier and the rotary member and blade for removing the deposits from the surface are close to each other. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device that can smoothly discharge and prevent stagnation and can maintain a suitable cleaning performance for the surface of an image carrier. Another object of the present invention is to provide a high-performance image forming apparatus equipped with such a cleaning device.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is provided with a rotating member that removes deposits on the surface of the rotating member while rotating in contact with the image carrier, and provided on the downstream side of the rotating member in the image carrier rotating direction. In a cleaning device provided with a blade that contacts a carrier and scrapes off deposits on the surface thereof, the blade has a notch portion in which a part of the blade is removed at a position closest to the rotating member. It was.

  Further, in the cleaning device having the above-described configuration, the blade has a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the axial direction of the image carrier, and comes into contact with the image carrier at a corner portion thereof. It was decided to be constituted by chamfering on the corner portion close to the member.

  In the cleaning device having the above configuration, the blade is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction with respect to the rotating member.

  In the present invention, the cleaning device is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the rotating member that contacts and rotates the image carrier and removes the adhering matter on the surface thereof is provided on the downstream side of the rotating member in the rotation direction of the image carrier, and contacts the image carrier. In the cleaning device provided with a blade that scrapes off deposits on the surface, the blade is provided with a notch portion in which a part of the blade is removed at a position closest to the rotating member. Even when downsizing is achieved, it is possible to secure a discharge path for deposits scraped off by the blade. Thereby, the deposits removed from the surface of the image carrier can be smoothly discharged from the space where the image carrier, the rotating member, and the blade are close to each other. Further, it is possible to prevent the adhering matter from staying in the space for a long time, and it is possible to prevent the charged state on the surface of the image carrier from being adversely affected. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a cleaning device that can maintain a suitable cleaning performance for the surface of the image carrier.

  Further, the blade has a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the axial direction of the image carrier, and comes into contact with the image carrier at the corners thereof. Since it is configured, it is possible to easily enhance the action of smoothly discharging the deposits removed from the surface of the image carrier from the space where the image carrier, the rotating member, and the blade are close to each other. . As a result, the effect of maintaining a suitable cleaning performance for the surface of the image carrier can be further improved.

  Further, since the blade is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction with respect to the rotating member, it prevents the adhered matter removed from the surface of the image carrier from staying in the form of being accumulated on the upper surface of the blade. be able to. Therefore, even in a structure in which a rotating member is provided in the upper part of the housing of the cleaning device and a blade is provided below the rotating member, the image carrier, the rotating member, The deposits can be effectively discharged from the space close to the blade, and it is possible to maintain a suitable cleaning performance for the surface of the image carrier.

  In the present invention, since the cleaning device is mounted on the image forming apparatus, the surface of the image carrier is separated from the space where the image carrier and the rotating member and the blade for removing deposits from the surface are close to each other. The removed adhering matter can be smoothly discharged to prevent stagnation, and a high-performance image forming apparatus capable of maintaining a suitable cleaning performance for the surface of the image carrier can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, an image output operation of an image forming apparatus equipped with a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional front view of an image forming apparatus. This image forming apparatus is of a color printing type in which a toner image is transferred onto a sheet using an intermediate transfer belt.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a paper cassette 3 is disposed below the inside of the main body 2 of the image forming apparatus 1. The paper cassette 3 stores and accommodates paper P such as cut paper before printing. The sheets P are separated and sent one by one toward the upper left of the sheet cassette 3 in FIG. The paper cassette 3 can be pulled out horizontally from the front side of the main body 2.

  A first paper transport unit 4 is provided inside the main body 2 and on the left side of the paper cassette 3. The first paper transport unit 4 is formed substantially vertically along the left side surface of the main body 2. The first paper transport unit 4 receives the paper P sent out from the paper cassette 3 and transports the paper P vertically upward along the left side surface of the main body 2 to the secondary transfer unit 40.

  A manual paper feed unit 5 is provided above the paper cassette 3 and on the right side, which is the side opposite to the left side of the main body 2 where the first paper transport unit 4 is formed. . In the manual sheet feeding portion 5, paper P having a size not contained in the paper cassette 3, a paper to be fed one by one such as a thick paper and an OHP sheet are placed.

  A second paper transport unit 6 is provided on the left side of the manual paper feed unit 5. The second paper transport unit 6 is located immediately above the paper cassette 3, extends substantially horizontally from the manual paper feed unit 5 to the first paper transport unit 4, and joins the first paper transport unit 4. Then, the second paper transport unit 6 receives the paper P or the like sent from the manual paper feed unit 5 and transports it to the first paper transport unit 4 substantially horizontally.

  On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 1 receives document image data from an external computer (not shown). The information of the image data is sent to a laser irradiation unit 7 that is an exposure unit disposed above the second paper transport unit 6. The laser irradiation unit 7 irradiates the image forming unit 20 with laser light L controlled based on the image data.

  A total of four image forming units 20 are provided above the laser irradiation unit 7, and an intermediate transfer belt 8 using an intermediate transfer member in the form of an endless belt is provided above each image forming unit 20. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is wound around and supported by a plurality of rollers, and is rotated clockwise in FIG. 1 by a driving device (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the four image forming units 20 are of a so-called tandem system that are arranged in a line from the upstream side to the downstream side in the rotational direction along the rotational direction of the intermediate transfer belt 8. The four image forming units 20 are, in order from the upstream side, a magenta image forming unit 20M, a cyan image forming unit 20C, a yellow image forming unit 20Y, and a black image forming unit 20B. These image forming units 20 are replenished with a developer (toner) by a developer supply container and a conveying unit (not shown) corresponding to each color. In the following description, the identification symbols “M”, “C”, “Y”, and “B” are omitted unless particularly limited.

  In each image forming unit 20, an electrostatic latent image of a document image is formed by the laser light L irradiated by the laser irradiation unit 7 serving as an exposure unit, and the toner image is developed from the electrostatic latent image. The toner image is primarily transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 8 by a primary transfer unit 30 provided above each image forming unit 20. As the intermediate transfer belt 8 rotates, the toner image of each image forming unit 20 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 at a predetermined timing. A color toner image is formed by superimposing the color toner images.

  A secondary transfer unit 40 including a secondary transfer roller 41 is disposed at a position where the intermediate transfer belt 8 is suspended on the sheet conveyance path. The color toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 8 is a secondary formed by the intermediate transfer belt 8 and the secondary transfer roller 41 being pressed against the paper P sent in synchronization by the first paper transport unit 4. Transferred at the transfer nip.

  After the secondary transfer, deposits such as toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 8 are cleaned for the intermediate transfer belt 8 provided upstream of the intermediate transfer belt 8 in the rotation direction of the magenta image forming unit 20M. It is cleaned and collected by the device 9.

  A fixing unit 10 is provided above the secondary transfer unit 40. The paper P carrying the unfixed toner image in the secondary transfer unit 40 is sent to the fixing unit 10 where the toner image is heated and pressed by the heat roller and the pressure roller to be fixed.

  A branch portion 11 is provided above the fixing portion 10. The sheet P discharged from the fixing unit 10 is discharged from the branching unit 11 to the sheet discharging unit 12 provided on the upper part of the image forming apparatus 1 when double-sided printing is not performed.

  The discharge port portion from which the paper P is discharged from the branch portion 11 toward the paper discharge portion 12 functions as the switchback portion 13. When performing duplex printing, the switchback unit 13 switches the transport direction of the paper P discharged from the fixing unit 10. Then, the sheet P is sent downward through the branching unit 11, the left side of the fixing unit 10, and the left side of the secondary transfer unit 40, and again passes through the first sheet transport unit 4 to the secondary transfer unit 40. Sent.

  Next, a detailed configuration around the image forming unit 20 of the image forming apparatus 1 and its operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged vertical sectional view showing the periphery of the image forming unit, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged vertical sectional view of a portion where the polishing roller and the cleaning blade come into contact with the photosensitive drum. Since the four color image forming units 20 have the same structure, the identification symbols “M”, “C”, “Y”, and “B” are omitted as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 20 includes a photosensitive drum 21 as an image carrier at the center thereof. In the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 21, a charging device 50, a developing device 60, a charge removal device 70, and a drum cleaning device 80 are arranged in this order along the rotation direction. The primary transfer unit 30 is provided between the developing device 60 and the charge removal device 70 along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

  The photoconductor drum 21 extends in the paper width direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction in the image forming apparatus 1, that is, the depth direction of the paper surface of FIG. The photosensitive drum 21 is an inorganic photosensitive drum in which an amorphous silicon photosensitive layer, which is an inorganic photoconductive material, is provided on the outside of a conductive roller-shaped substrate made of aluminum or the like by vacuum deposition or the like, and has a diameter of 30 mm. It is. The photosensitive drum 21 is rotated by a driving device (not shown) so that the peripheral speed thereof is substantially the same as the paper conveyance speed (150 mm / s).

  The charging device 50 includes a charging roller 52 in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 inside the housing 51. The charging roller 52 is in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 21 with a predetermined pressure, and rotates according to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 21. By this charging roller 52, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged with a predetermined polarity and potential. The charging potential at this time is usually about 200 to 1000V. In the housing 51, a cleaning brush 53 is provided at a position separating the charging roller 52 from the photosensitive drum 21, and the surface of the charging roller 52 is cleaned by the cleaning brush 53.

  The developing device 60 includes a developing roller 62 and a supply screw 63 inside the housing 61. The developing roller 62 is in contact or non-contact with the developing system, and is provided in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 21. A bias having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the photosensitive drum 21 is applied to the developing roller 62. The developing roller 62 charges the toner, which is a developer, and causes it to fly to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to develop the electrostatic latent image.

  The developing device 60 uses a two-component toner obtained by mixing a magnetic carrier and a non-magnetic toner as a developer, but may be of a type using a magnetic or non-magnetic one-component toner. Absent. Further, in order to clean the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by polishing, a small amount of powder of titanium oxide, alumina or the like is mixed in the toner as an abrasive. The toner is accommodated in a toner supply container (not shown), conveyed to a location of the developing device 60 by a conveying means (not shown), and replenished inside the housing 61 by a supply screw 63.

  The primary transfer unit 30 is provided with a primary transfer roller 31 that comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 21 via the intermediate transfer belt 8. The primary transfer roller 31 does not have a driving device, and rotates according to the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 8 by contacting the intermediate transfer belt 8. The primary transfer roller 31 is applied with a primary transfer bias of minus 500 to minus 1000 V, which has a polarity different from the charging polarity of the photosensitive drum 21 or toner, as necessary.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate transfer belt 8 is wound around and supported by a plurality of rollers. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is constituted by an elastic belt in which a rubber layer is laminated on the surface of a base layer made of a synthetic resin. As materials, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and chloroprene rubber (CR) are used for the base layer, silicon and urethane, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and urethane are used for the coating.

  The neutralization device 70 is disposed on the downstream side of the primary transfer unit 30 along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21. The static eliminator 70 includes an LED (light emitting diode) 71 and a reflector 72. The LED 71 is attached to the upper surface of the housing 81 of the cleaning device 80. Instead of the LED 71, an EL (electroluminescence) light source, a fluorescent lamp, or the like can be used. The reflector 72 is provided above the LED 71 so as to cover the LED 71. The neutralization device 70 irradiates the photosensitive drum 21 with the neutralization light of the LED 71, thereby removing the charged charge on the surface and preparing for the charging process in the next image forming operation.

  The cleaning device 80 is disposed further downstream of the primary transfer unit 30 and the charge removal device 70 along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21. The cleaning device 80 includes a polishing roller 82 that is a rotating member, a cleaning blade 83, a toner receiving member 84, and a discharge screw 85 inside the housing 81.

  The polishing roller 82, which is a rotating member, is provided in the upper part of the housing 81 so as to be pressed against the photosensitive drum 21 with a predetermined force by biasing means (not shown) provided at both ends of the shaft portion. . The polishing roller 82 is configured by providing ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) around a core metal, has a diameter of 16 mm, and has substantially the same axial length as the photosensitive drum 21.

  The polishing roller 82 is rotated by a driving means (not shown) constituted by a motor or the like. In order to efficiently polish the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, it is necessary to rotate the polishing roller 82 at a predetermined peripheral speed. As a result, the polishing roller 82 is rotated in such a direction that the surface at the contact point with the photosensitive drum 21 moves in the same direction as the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, and the peripheral speed of the polishing roller 82 is one of that of the photosensitive drum 21. .2x is set. The polishing roller 82 collects deposits such as residual toner from the surface of the photoconductive drum 21 and cleans the surface of the photoconductive drum 21 with the toner containing the abrasive adhered to the surface of the polishing roller 82. Fulfill.

  The cleaning blade 83 is disposed on the downstream side of the polishing roller 82 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and on the lower side in the vertical direction with respect to the polishing roller 82 in the housing 81. The cleaning blade 83 is provided by being pressed with a predetermined force against the photosensitive drum 21 by an urging means (not shown). The cleaning blade 83 is a rectangular parallelepiped member made of urethane rubber, such as a plate extending in the drum axial direction, and has substantially the same axial length as the photosensitive drum 21.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the rectangular parallelepiped cleaning blade 83 comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 21 at the corner 83a where the ridge line extends in the drum axial direction. On the other hand, a corner 83b corresponding to a portion of the cleaning blade 83 closest to the polishing roller 82 is provided with a notch 83c from which a part of the blade is removed. The notch 83c is configured by chamfering extending in the drum axis direction. The cleaning blade 83 plays a role of cleaning so as to scrape off deposits such as toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 at the corner 83a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the toner receiving member 84 is disposed immediately below the polishing roller 82 and between the cleaning blade 83 and the discharge screw 85. The toner receiving member 84 is a curved thin plate-like member made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), extends from the vicinity of the cleaning blade 83 toward the downstream side in the rotational direction of the polishing roller 82, and has a length in the axial direction of the polishing roller 82. Have approximately the same length.

  The toner receiving member 84 leaves the upper portion of the toner receiving member 84 to partition the space in which the polishing roller 82 and the cleaning blade 83 are disposed in the housing 81 from the space in which the discharge screw 85 is provided. The toner removed from the drum 21 is provided so as to be easily stored in a space near the peripheral surface of the polishing roller 82. A toner discharge port which is an opening (not shown) is provided at a position below the toner receiving member 84 and between the cleaning blade 83 and the discharge screw 85. The toner discharge port allows the space on the photosensitive drum 21 side and the space on the discharge screw 85 side to communicate with the toner receiving member 84. The toner discharge ports have a rectangular shape and are arranged side by side in the paper width direction.

  The discharge screw 85 is provided below the polishing roller 82 in the housing 81. The discharge screw 85 extends from the inside of the housing 81 to a waste toner collection container (not shown) provided outside the image forming unit 20. The discharge screw 85 serves to discharge waste toner or the like in the housing 81 that has been removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and used for cleaning out of the housing 81, that is, to a waste toner collection container.

  The cleaning device 80 as described above uses a polishing roller 82 and a cleaning blade 83 after the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. Remove deposits and clean.

  In FIG. 3, the deposits removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by the cleaning blade 83 move to the upper surface of the cleaning blade 83. Here, assuming that the missing portion 83c does not exist above the cleaning blade 83, the distance between the cleaning blade 83 and the polishing roller 82 is approximately L1 at the corner 83b closest to the polishing roller 82. This distance L1 is a very short distance for the deposit removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, and hinders the movement of the deposit in the gap.

  However, in the cleaning device 80 of the present invention, the notch 83c is provided on the upper part of the cleaning blade 83 so that the distance between the cleaning blade 83 and the polishing roller 82 at the corner 83b is approximately L2. Thereby, it becomes possible to greatly widen the gap with respect to the distance L1.

  In this way, the polishing roller 82 that is a rotating member that removes deposits such as toner on the surface while rotating in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 that is the image bearing member, and the downstream side of the polishing roller 82 in the drum rotation direction. In the cleaning device 80 provided with the cleaning blade 83 provided on the side and scraping off the deposits on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, the cleaning blade 83 is disposed at a position closest to the polishing roller 82. Since the removal part 83c from which a part of 83 is removed is provided, even if the apparatus is downsized, a discharge path for the deposits scraped off by the cleaning blade 83 can be secured. Thereby, the adhering matter removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 can be smoothly discharged from the space where the photosensitive drum 21, the polishing roller 82, and the cleaning blade 83 are close to each other. Further, it is possible to prevent the deposits from staying in the space for a long time, and it is possible to prevent the charged state of the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 from being adversely affected. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a cleaning device 80 that can maintain a suitable cleaning performance for the surface of the photosensitive drum 21.

  The cleaning blade 83 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the drum axial direction, and comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 21 at the corner 83a. The notch 83c is a corner near the polishing roller 82. Since the chamfering process is performed on the photosensitive drum 83b, the deposit removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is smoothly discharged from the space where the photosensitive drum 21, the polishing roller 82, and the cleaning blade 83 are close to each other. It can be easily increased. Thereby, the effect of maintaining a suitable cleaning performance for the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 can be further improved.

  Further, since the cleaning blade 83 is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction with respect to the polishing roller 82, the adhered matter removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 remains in a form that accumulates on the upper surface of the cleaning blade 83. Can be prevented. Therefore, even if the polishing roller 82 is provided in the upper portion of the housing 81 of the cleaning device 80 and the cleaning blade 83 is provided below the polishing roller 82, the operation of the notch 83c of the cleaning blade 83 Adherents can be effectively discharged from the space where the photosensitive drum 21, the polishing roller 82, and the cleaning blade 83 are close to each other, and a suitable cleaning performance can be maintained for the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. It becomes.

  In the present invention, since the cleaning device 80 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 1, the photosensitive drum 21 and the space where the polishing roller 82 and the cleaning blade 83 for removing the deposits from the surface thereof are close to each other. The deposits removed from the surface of the drum 21 can be smoothly discharged to prevent stagnation, and a high-performance image forming apparatus 1 that can maintain a suitable cleaning performance for the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. Can be obtained.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, in the embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning blade 83 has a structure that is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction with respect to the polishing roller 82 that is a rotating member, but is disposed on the upper side in the vertical direction with respect to the polishing roller 82. It may be a different structure. Even with such a structure, the same operation and effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained by providing the notch 83 c at the location closest to the polishing roller 82 of the cleaning blade 83.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 1 is of a color printing type in which the toner image is transferred onto the paper P using the intermediate transfer belt 8, but the type of the image forming apparatus is not limited to this, and the intermediate transfer belt is not limited thereto. It may be a model that does not use, or a model for monochrome printing.

  The present invention can be used in general cleaning apparatuses that transfer a toner image onto a sheet and then remove the adhering matter such as toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier to perform cleaning.

1 is a schematic vertical sectional front view of an image forming apparatus equipped with a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged vertical sectional view showing the periphery of the image forming unit in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a portion where a polishing roller and a cleaning blade are in contact with a photosensitive drum.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 8 Intermediate transfer belt 20 Image forming part 21 Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
80 Cleaning device 82 Polishing roller (rotating member)
83 Cleaning blade (blade)
83a, 83b Corner part 83c Deletion part

Claims (4)

A rotating member that removes deposits on the surface of the rotating member while rotating in contact with the image carrier, and is provided on the downstream side of the rotating member in the rotation direction of the image carrier. In a cleaning device comprising a scraping blade,
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the blade includes a notch portion in which a part of the blade is removed at a position closest to the rotating member.   The blade has a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the axial direction of the image carrier, and comes into contact with the image carrier at a corner portion thereof, and the notch portion is chamfered to a corner portion adjacent to the rotating member. The cleaning device according to claim 1, comprising:   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the blade is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction with respect to the rotating member.   An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1.

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