JP2011164575A - Cleaning device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress noise and vibration, by avoiding the state of occurrence of an unstable mode according to a situation. <P>SOLUTION: A noise detection means 441 or a vibration detection means 442 pick up the noise generated by the vibration of a cleaning blade 41 and a holder 42. A noise detection section 51, an A/D conversion section 52 and an operation section 53 respectively carry out respective processes of electrical signal conversion, digital signal conversion and FFT. A noise level determination section 54 determines whether the noise level exceeds a prescribed threshold based on the signal after FFT processing. When the noise level exceeds the threshold, by a movement control section 55, when the signal is inputted, a movement contact means 45 is driven and an elastic body member 43 moves horizontally or with rotation to come into contact with a holder 42. When the elastic body member 43 comes into contact with the holder 42, attenuation is greatly varied in a vibration system composed of the cleaning blade 41 and the holder 42 and its noise and vibration are suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a cleaning device that reduces noise generated between a blade member and a photosensitive member, and a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus including the cleaning device.

  Noise prevention is centered on passive measures using sound absorbing and sound insulating materials. In an image forming apparatus, there are many methods for reducing the noise generated as a result of reducing the vibration amplified by the photoconductor by inserting a damping material into the photoconductor to enhance the attenuation characteristic. It has been. There is also a method of reducing noise by reducing the vibration of the cleaning blade. In recent years, it has finally been possible to actively reduce noise with the development of signal processing technology. Such active noise control has been applied to refrigerators, automobiles, and the like, and these cancel noises by causing them to interfere with each other by producing a reverse phase sound using a speaker or the like.

In Patent Document 1, in the cleaning device of the image forming apparatus, the resonance frequency of the cleaning blade is set so that the vibration frequency generated by the stick slip between the image carrier and the cleaning blade does not match or does not exist in the vicinity. It is intended to reduce noise by setting and avoiding vibration amplification due to resonance.
Further, in Patent Document 2, in the cleaning device of the image forming apparatus, the vibration detected by the vibration detecting unit is applied to the vibration detected by the stick slip between the image carrier and the cleaning blade. As in active noise control, vibration is actively controlled to reduce noise generated by reducing blade vibration.
Further, in Patent Document 3, a frictional force detection means for a cleaning blade is provided, and cleaning failure due to toner slipping, fluctuations in frictional force, blade noise and chatter generated between the image carrier and the cleaning blade, and a cleaning blade The frictional force is controlled so as to reduce the occurrence of filming due to turning up of the blade, turning up of the blade, and toner additive or paper dust adhering to the surface of the image carrier.

However, in a photoconductor unit of an image forming apparatus, stick-slip occurs due to friction between the cleaning blade and the photoconductor, and vibration due to stick-slip becomes an excitation source to generate high-frequency noise from the photoconductor. There is a problem that noise is transmitted from the cleaning blade to the unit housing. In order to remove the residual toner, a cleaning device is indispensable, and reduction of these noises is desired.
This noise is a stick-slip vibration source, but the vibration mode of the stick-slip is self-excited vibration, which is generated or not, but very unstable, and is an unstable mode in eigenvalue analysis. This unstable mode changes depending on the sliding state between the cleaning blade and the photoconductor, but changes in the physical properties of the blade due to temperature and humidity changes in the image forming apparatus, deterioration of the cleaning blade over time, The unstable mode may or may not occur depending on the combination of various states such as toner adhesion.
Therefore, even with the exact same configuration, noise / vibration due to a stick-slip suddenly occurs one day, or a phenomenon that occurs or does not occur depending on the environment of the installation location. The unstable mode that causes this is self-excited vibration, but when the vibration system is greatly attenuated, the vibration amplitude is immediately reduced and noise is not generated.

  However, in order to avoid the state where the unstable mode occurs, depending on the situation, this stick-slip phenomenon is detected by noise emitted from the blade, and the elastic member is brought into contact with the blade holder to Noise and vibration can be prevented by greatly changing the attenuation.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the problem is to provide a cleaning device capable of preventing noise and vibration by avoiding the state where the unstable mode is generated according to the situation. There is to do.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process cartridge having the above-described cleaning device, photoconductor, developing device and the like as cartridge structures.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that is small in size and easy to perform maintenance work.

In order to achieve the above object, a cleaning device of the present invention includes a blade member that performs cleaning by contact with an image carrier and a holding member that holds the blade member, and the blade member is applied to the image carrier. In a cleaning device that cleans toner remaining in contact, noise detecting means capable of detecting noise in the vicinity of the blade member or holding member or vibration detecting means capable of detecting vibration by contacting the blade member or holding member; And a moving contact means for moving and contacting the elastic member to the blade member or the holding member.
Further, the cleaning device of the present invention further operates the moving contact means when the noise detected by the noise detection means or the level of vibration detected by the vibration detection means exceeds a predetermined threshold, The elastic member is moved and brought into contact with the blade member or the holding member.
The cleaning device according to the present invention is further characterized in that the moving contact means moves and contacts the elastic member to the blade member or the holding member in the horizontal direction or the rotation direction.
Further, the cleaning device of the present invention is further characterized in that the elastic member uniformly contacts the blade member or the holding member in the longitudinal direction.
Further, the cleaning device of the present invention is further characterized in that, after the elastic body member comes into contact, when the noise level falls below a set threshold value, the elastic member is separated from the blade member or the holding member.
In the cleaning device of the present invention, when the elastic member is in contact with the blade member or the holding member, the contact position and the contact angle of the blade member with respect to the image carrier are within a certain range. It is characterized by controlling.

  The process cartridge of the present invention is a process cartridge that integrally supports at least an image carrier and a cleaning device that cleans residual toner by contacting a blade member to the image carrier, and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. The cleaning device is any one of the above-described cleaning devices.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention uses an image carrier, a charging device that charges the surface of the image carrier, an exposure device that exposes the surface of the image carrier to form a latent image, and toner for the latent image. An image forming apparatus having at least a developing device that forms a visible image by developing, a transfer device that transfers the visible image to a recording medium, and a fixing device that fixes the transferred image transferred to the recording medium The image forming apparatus includes any one of the cleaning devices described above.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention further includes a plurality of image carriers, and forms a color image with a plurality of toners.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention further includes the process cartridge described above.

As described above, in the cleaning device of the present invention, it becomes possible to increase the damping characteristics of the vibration system including the blade member, the holding member, and the image carrier, thereby reducing the self-excited vibration generated and reducing the noise.・ Vibration can be reduced.
In the process cartridge of the present invention, noise can be reduced in the cartridge having improved maintainability at the time of replacement. In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, an image forming apparatus having a cleaning device capable of reducing noise can be realized.

It is a schematic block diagram of one Embodiment of the cleaning apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the sound pressure level measured when the squeal noise from the blade member has generate | occur | produced. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the sound pressure level measured when the cleaning apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention is employ | adopted and noise and vibration are controlled. It is a schematic block diagram of other embodiment of the cleaning apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the vibration level with respect to the frequency in the vibration detected by the vibration detection means in the cleaning apparatus of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structure of other embodiment of the cleaning apparatus of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structure of other embodiment of the cleaning apparatus of this invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus including a cleaning device of the present invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, which includes a plurality of image carriers. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention and around the photoreceptor 11 including the cleaning device according to the present invention. It is a schematic structure sectional view of one embodiment of a process cartridge containing a cleaning device of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that it is easy for a person skilled in the art to make other embodiments by changing or correcting the present invention within the scope of the claims, and these changes and modifications are included in the scope of the claims. The following description is an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the claims.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the configuration of one embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention.
The cleaning device 40 of the invention according to the description of the present application (hereinafter simply referred to as “the present invention”) basically includes a cleaning blade 41 that is a blade member, and a holder 42 that is a holding member for holding the cleaning blade 41. Is provided near the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 when the noise detected by the noise detection means 441 exceeds a predetermined level. The elastic member 43 is moved at 45 and the elastic member 43 is brought into contact with the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 to suppress noise and vibration.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the case of the cleaning device 40 having such a configuration, it is known that stick slip occurs between the cleaning blade 41 and the photosensitive member 11 as described above. The cleaning blade 41 and the photoconductor 11 are vibrated by stick-slip, and noise is generated by acoustic emission. In particular, when the photoconductor 11 resonates or when the cleaning blade 41 resonates and the excitation force to the photoconductor 11 increases, the noise increases. The vibration mode of the stick-slip is self-excited vibration, which generates or does not generate noise but is very unstable, and is an unstable mode in eigenvalue analysis. This unstable mode changes depending on the sliding state between the cleaning blade 41 and the photosensitive member 11, but changes in physical property values of the cleaning blade 41 due to temperature / humidity changes in the image forming apparatus 1 and the cleaning blade 41. The unstable mode may or may not occur depending on a combination of various states such as deterioration over time and toner adhesion on the photoconductor 11. Therefore, even with the exact same configuration, noise / vibration due to a stick-slip suddenly occurs one day, or a phenomenon that occurs or does not occur depending on the environment of the installation location. The unstable mode that causes this is self-excited vibration, but when the vibration system is greatly attenuated, the vibration amplitude is immediately reduced and noise is not generated.

Accordingly, the cleaning device 40 of the present invention includes a cleaning blade 41 that is pressed against the photoconductor 11 in order to remove residual toner from the photoconductor 11 that is an image carrier, and a holder 42 that holds the cleaning blade 41. . Furthermore, the noise detection unit 441, the noise detection unit 441 connected to the noise detection unit 441, an analog / digital (hereinafter, A / D) conversion unit 52, a calculation unit 53, a noise level determination unit 54, And a movement control unit 55 that controls the movement contact means 45 based on the determination of the noise level determination unit 17. Further, a moving contact means 45 for moving the elastic body member 43 to contact the crane blade 41 and the like is provided.
Moreover, as the noise detection means 441, a microphone can be used, for example. Any of the moving contact means 45, the movement control unit 55, etc. may be provided in the cleaning device 40 or arranged in the main body of the image forming apparatus 1.
Here, the noise detection unit 441 picks up noise generated by the vibration of the cleaning blade 41 and the holder 42. The noise detecting means 441 is preferably installed in the vicinity of the cleaning blade 41. In addition, when a microphone with high directivity is used, malfunction due to other noise in the device can be prevented. The means for picking up the sound is not limited to the microphone, and various sound detection means can be considered.

The noise detector 51 converts the sound pressure level detected by the noise detector 441 into an electric signal. The A / D converter 52 converts the electric signal, which is an analog signal, into a digital signal. The arithmetic unit 53 performs fast Fourier transform (FFT) processing on the digital signal. The noise level determination unit 54 determines whether the noise level detected through the noise detection unit 441 as described above exceeds a predetermined threshold (for example, 100 dB) based on the signal after the FFT processing. If it exceeds, a signal to that effect is output. When the movement control unit 55 inputs the signal, the movement control unit 55 drives the moving contact means 45 for moving the elastic member 43 horizontally. When the moving contact means 45 is driven, the elastic member 43 moves horizontally and comes into contact with the holder 42. When the elastic member 43 comes into contact with the holder 42, the vibration of the vibration system composed of the cleaning blade 41 and the holder 42 is greatly changed, so that noise and vibration are suppressed. In this embodiment, the elastic member 43 is brought into contact with the holder 42, but it may be brought into contact with the cleaning blade 41 itself.
If the noise / vibration is reduced in this way, the level of the noise picked up by the noise detecting means 441 falls below the predetermined threshold at a certain point in time. The signal output from the unit 54 is stopped, and thus the movement control unit 55 moves the elastic member 43 away from the holder 42. With such an operation, it is possible to adaptively cope with unstable noise, and it is possible to return the cleaning blade 41 to an appropriate position with respect to the photoconductor 11 and realize proper cleaning.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the sound pressure level measured when squeaking noise from the blade member is generated. Here, the horizontal axis represents frequency (Hz), and the vertical axis represents sound pressure level (dB). As shown in the figure, in a state where such noise is generated, a remarkable peak of the sound pressure level appears around about 4000 Hz.
Here, the vibration mode of stick-slip is self-excited vibration, and the success or failure of the generation is very unstable, and is a so-called unstable mode in eigenvalue analysis. This unstable mode changes depending on the contact slip state between the cleaning blade 41 and the photosensitive member 11, but changes in physical property values of the cleaning blade 41 due to temperature and humidity changes in the image forming apparatus 1, and the cleaning blade 41. Depending on the combination of various states such as deterioration over time and toner adhesion state on the photoreceptor, the unstable mode may or may not be entered. Therefore, even with exactly the same mechanical configuration, noise and vibration due to stick-slip suddenly occur one day, and the occurrence depends on the environment of the installation position. The unstable mode that causes this is self-excited vibration as described above. However, when the vibration system is greatly attenuated, the vibration amplitude immediately decreases and noise is not generated.
On the other hand, when focusing on the image forming apparatus including the cleaning device, the color image forming apparatus, in particular, has a plurality of image forming units, so that the apparatus becomes large. In addition, when each unit such as cleaning and charging fails individually or it is time to replace it due to its life, the apparatus is complicated and it takes a lot of time to replace the unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the sound pressure level measured when noise and vibration are controlled by employing the cleaning device of one embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, it is a figure which shows the specific example of the sound pressure level measured when the cleaning apparatus which has the said structure and function is employ | adopted and noise and vibration are controlled. Compared to FIG. 2, when the elastic member 43 moves and contacts the holder 42, the peak reaching the sound pressure level of 120 dB disappears, and the large noise generated conventionally is suppressed. I understand.
Note that when the elastic member 43 is in contact with the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 and noise and vibration are suppressed, the contact angle of the cleaning blade 41 with respect to the photosensitive member 11 deviates from the initial angle (home position). Is also possible. In this case, the original cleaning characteristics for the toner by the cleaning blade 41 may be deteriorated. On the other hand, when noise and vibration are reduced and the elastic member 43 is retracted, the contact angle returns to the initial angle, and the cleaning characteristics are also restored. However, at least the cleaning characteristics during noise suppression are not guaranteed.
Therefore, even when the elastic member 43 is in contact with the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 and noise and vibration are suppressed, the contact position and the contact angle of the cleaning blade 41 with respect to the photoconductor 11 are set to the initial position and the initial angle. On the other hand, control is performed so as to be within a certain range. According to such a configuration, it is possible to reduce noise without significantly impairing the original cleaning characteristics. That is, it is possible to optimize the position and angle of the cleaning blade 41 with respect to the photoconductor 11 while preventing the deterioration of the cleaning characteristics while bringing the elastic body member into contact and reducing noise.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention.
The cleaning device 40 of the invention according to the description of the present application (hereinafter simply referred to as “the present invention”) basically includes a cleaning blade 41 that is a blade member, and a holder 42 that is a holding member for holding the cleaning blade 41. Is provided with an elastic member 43 provided in the vicinity of the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 when the noise detected by the vibration detection means 442 exceeds a predetermined level. By moving the elastic member 43 by the contact means 45 and bringing the elastic member 43 into contact with the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42, noise and vibration are suppressed.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the case of the cleaning apparatus 40 having such a configuration, it is known that stick slip occurs between the cleaning blade 41 and the photosensitive member 11 as described above. The cleaning blade 41 and the photoconductor 11 are vibrated by stick-slip, and vibration is generated. In particular, when the photosensitive member 11 resonates or when the cleaning blade 41 resonates and the excitation force to the photosensitive member 11 increases, the vibration increases. As described above, the vibration mode of the stick-slip is self-excited vibration, which is generated or not but very unstable, and is an unstable mode in eigenvalue analysis. This unstable mode changes depending on the sliding state between the cleaning blade 41 and the photosensitive member 11, but changes in physical property values of the cleaning blade 41 due to temperature / humidity changes in the image forming apparatus 1 and the cleaning blade 41. The unstable mode may or may not occur depending on a combination of various states such as deterioration over time and toner adhesion on the photoconductor 11. Therefore, even with the exact same configuration, noise / vibration due to a stick-slip suddenly occurs one day, or a phenomenon that occurs or does not occur depending on the environment of the installation location. The unstable mode that causes this is self-excited vibration, but when the vibration system is greatly attenuated, the vibration amplitude is immediately reduced and vibration is not generated.

Accordingly, the cleaning device 40 of the present invention includes a cleaning blade 41 that is pressed against the photoconductor 11 in order to remove residual toner from the photoconductor 11 that is an image carrier, and a holder 42 that holds the cleaning blade 41. . Furthermore, the vibration detection means 442, the vibration detection means 51 connected to the vibration detection means 442, an analog / digital (hereinafter referred to as A / D) conversion part 52, a calculation part 53, and a noise level determination part 54, And a movement control unit 55 that controls the movement contact means 45 based on the determination of the noise level determination unit 54. Further, a moving contact means 45 for moving the elastic body member 43 to contact the crane blade 41 and the like is provided.
When the vibration detection unit 442 capable of detecting the state of vibration is provided by contacting the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 for holding the cleaning blade 41 and the vibration level detected by the vibration detection unit 442 exceeds a set threshold value Further, the moving contact means 45 that holds the elastic member 43 provided in the vicinity of the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 moves the elastic member 43 to contact the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42. As an example, when the threshold value of the output signal from the vibration sensor of the vibration detection means 442 is 4.0e-5, the moving contact means 45 that holds the elastic member 43 moves the elastic member 43 to clean the cleaning blade. 41 or the holder 42 is shown, and in the same figure, the structure which contacts by moving horizontally is shown. Further, the vibration is determined by performing A / D conversion on an analog time signal of vibration obtained from the vibration sensor, performing FFT processing in the arithmetic unit, and then determining a threshold from the vibration level of this signal. As described above, the elastic member 43 is brought into contact with the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 to greatly change the damping of the vibration system, thereby aiming to prevent noise and vibration.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the vibration level with respect to the frequency of the vibration detected by the vibration detecting means in the cleaning device of the present invention.
In FIG. 5, the vibration (indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 5) generated by the holder 42 of the cleaning device 40 detected by the vibration detection means 442 in the cleaning device 40 of the present invention, and the moving contact means 45 are elastic bodies. The vibration (shown by the solid line in FIG. 5) generated when the member 43 is moved and brought into contact with the holder 42 is shown.
As can be seen from FIG. 5, the vibration peak generated at about 720 Hz disappears due to the contact of the elastic member 43, and the peak disappears.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention.
In the cleaning device 40 shown in FIG. 6, the difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is that the moving contact means 45 controls the rotation mechanism of the elastic member 43 to bring the elastic member 43 into contact with the holder 42. It is a point and other composition is the same. Therefore, the effect of noise suppression is exactly the same as in the embodiment of FIG.
The configuration of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 is a simple configuration and easy to implement. In addition, the elastic contact member 45 and the moving contact means 45 made of a member that supports the elastic member 43 are configured to be easily brought into uniform contact with the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 in the longitudinal direction by horizontal movement or rotation. It is possible to prevent poor cleaning due to the loss of the contact pressure balance in the direction, and it is possible to reduce noise and vibration by increasing the damping characteristics. Further, the installation position of the noise detection means 441 capable of detecting noise is preferably in the vicinity of the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the units 51 to 54 can be recognized as a functional configuration indicating the processing order, and the hardware may be integrated. These may be provided in the cleaning device 40 or may be provided in the image forming apparatus 1.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention.
In the cleaning device 40 shown in FIG. 7, the difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is that the moving contact means 45 controls the rotation mechanism of the elastic member 43 to bring the elastic member 43 into contact with the holder 42. It is a point and other composition is the same. Therefore, the effect of vibration suppression is exactly the same as in the embodiment of FIG.
The configuration of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 is a simple configuration and easy to implement. Further, the moving contact means 45 comprising an elastic member and a member that supports the elastic member has a configuration that can be easily brought into uniform contact with the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 in the longitudinal direction by horizontal or rotational movement. It is also possible to prevent poor cleaning due to the loss of balance. The installation position of the vibration detection means 442 that detects the vibration state of the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42 is preferably in contact with the cleaning blade 41 or the holder 42.

  Further, the moving contact unit 45 moves the elastic member 43 to the photosensitive member 11 when the noise or vibration level detected by the noise detection unit 441 or the vibration detection unit 442 exceeds a threshold. After contacting the holder 42 to greatly attenuate and reduce noise and vibration, the noise and vibration are reduced, and then the elastic member 43 set at the initial stage is returned to the home position, whereby the photosensitive member 11 of the cleaning blade 41 is returned. The angle abutting on can be returned to the angle in the set state. This is because the cleaning of the toner by the cleaning blade 41 may fail to exhibit the original cleaning characteristics when the contact angle changes, and may cause problems in cleaning even if noise and vibration can be reduced. By controlling the cleaning blade 41 according to a certain position or angle from the home position and managing the contact state, it is possible to reduce noise and vibration while exhibiting the original cleaning characteristics.

Next, embodiments of the image forming apparatus 1 and the process cartridge 10 including the cleaning device described in the above embodiments will be described.
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus including the cleaning device of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main part of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, which is provided with a plurality of image carriers. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the periphery of the photoreceptor, which is the image forming apparatus of the present invention and includes the cleaning device of the present invention.
Next, an embodiment of the image forming apparatus 1 including the above-described cleaning device 40 will be described. As an example of the present invention, a full-color image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.
An image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention forms an automatic document conveying device (ADF) 5 that automatically conveys a placed document from above, a scanner (reading device) 4 that reads the document, and a toner image. An image forming unit 3 and a recording member 9 such as a recording sheet are provided below the image forming unit 3 and a paper supply unit 2 to be supplied is disposed.
The image forming apparatus 1 has an image forming unit 3 disposed at the center thereof. In the image forming unit 3, four image forming units 10 as process cartridges corresponding to yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toners are provided at approximately the center of the image forming unit 3. They are arranged in a tandem shape arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction. Above the four image forming units 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K, an exposure device 12 that exposes the surface of each charged photoreceptor 11 based on image data of each color to form a latent image is provided. . Below the four image forming units 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K, an endless belt made of a heat-resistant material such as polyimide or polyamide and adjusted to a medium resistance is wound around rollers 651 and 652. A transfer device 60 having an intermediate transfer belt 61 that is supported and rotated is arranged.
Since any image forming unit 10 has the same configuration, in this figure, the display of Y, C, M, and K is omitted if it is not related to the distinction of colors. Each of the image forming units 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K includes photoreceptors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K. Around each photoreceptor 11, a charging device 20 that applies a charge to the surface of the photoreceptor 11 and the photoreceptor 11 are provided. The latent image formed on the surface is developed with each color toner to form a toner image, a developing device 30 that applies a lubricant (not shown) to the surface of the photoconductor 11, and the surface of the photoconductor 11 after the toner image is transferred. A cleaning device 40 having a cleaning blade for cleaning is disposed. Thus, one image forming unit 10 is formed. Here, the image forming unit 10 integrally supports at least one of the photoconductor 11, the charging device 20, the developing device 30, the cleaning device 40, and the lubricant applying device, and the image forming apparatus. 1 is used as a process cartridge that is detachable. However, the image forming unit 10 may be in the form, and is not limited to the charging device illustrated here.

The photoconductor 11 is a metal such as amorofus silicone or selenium, or an organic photoconductor. Here, the photoconductor 11 is described as an organic photoconductor. The organic photoreceptor 11 has a resin layer in which a filler is dispersed, a photosensitive layer having a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer on a conductive support, and a protective layer in which a filler is dispersed on the surface thereof.
The photosensitive layer may be a single-layered photosensitive layer containing a charge generation material and a charge transport material, but a laminated type composed of a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer is excellent in sensitivity and durability.
In the charge generation layer, a pigment having charge generation ability is dispersed in a suitable solvent together with a binder resin as necessary using a ball mill, an attritor, a sand mill, an ultrasonic wave, etc., and this is coated on a conductive support. It is formed by drying. As binder resin, polyamide, polyurethane, epoxy resin, polyketone, polycarbonate, silicone resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polyvinyl ketone, polystyrene, polysulfone, poly-N-vinylcarbazole, polyacrylamide, polyvinyl benzal, polyester Phenoxy resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl acetate, polyphenylene oxide, polyamide, polyvinyl pyridine, cellulose resin, casein, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and the like. The amount of the binder resin is suitably 0 to 500 parts by mass, preferably 10 to 300 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the charge generating material.
The charge transport layer can be formed by dissolving or dispersing the charge transport material and the binder resin in a suitable solvent, and applying and drying the solution on the charge generation layer. Charge transport materials include hole transport materials and electron transport materials. As the binder resin, polystyrene, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl acetate, Polyvinylidene chloride, polyarate, phenoxy resin, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate resin, ethyl cellulose resin, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polyvinyl toluene, poly-N-vinyl carbazole, acrylic resin, silicone resin, epoxy resin, melamine resin, urethane resin, phenol Examples thereof include thermoplastic or thermosetting resins such as resins and alkyd resins.
In addition, a protective layer may be provided on the photosensitive layer. By providing the protective layer and improving the durability, the photosensitive member 11 having high sensitivity and no abnormal defects of the present invention can be used effectively.
Materials used for the protective layer include ABS resin, ACS resin, olefin-vinyl monomer copolymer, chlorinated polyether, allyl resin, phenol resin, polyacetal, polyamide, polyamideimide, polyacrylate, polyallylsulfone, polybutylene, Examples thereof include resins such as polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyarylate, polyethersulfone, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, acrylic resin, polymethylbenten, polypropylene, polyvinylidene chloride, and epoxy resin. Of these, polycarbonate or polyarylate can be most preferably used. Other protective layers include fluorine resins such as polytetrafluoroethylene, silicone resins, and inorganic fillers such as titanium oxide, tin oxide, potassium titanate, and silica for the purpose of improving wear resistance. What disperse | distributed the filler etc. can be added. The filler concentration in the protective layer varies depending on the filler type used and also on the electrophotographic process conditions using the photoconductor 11, but the ratio of the filler to the total solid content on the outermost layer side of the protective layer 9 is 5% by mass or more. Preferably it is 10 mass% or more and 50 mass% or less, Preferably about 30 mass% or less is favorable.

The charging device 20 includes a charging roller 21 configured by covering a conductive core bar with a medium-resistance elastic layer as a charging member. The charging roller 21 is connected to a power source (not shown) and is applied with a predetermined direct current voltage (DC) and / or alternating current voltage (AC). The charging roller 21 that discharges ions uses an elastic resin roller as a material. In addition, the charging roller 21 may contain an inorganic conductive material such as carbon black or an ionic conductive material in order to adjust electric resistance.
In addition, the charging roller 21 is disposed with a small gap with respect to the photoreceptor 11. This minute gap is set by, for example, winding a spacer member having a certain thickness around the non-image forming regions at both ends of the charging roller 21 to bring the surface of the spacer member into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 11. can do. Further, the charging roller 21 may be brought into contact without being brought close to the photosensitive member. The photosensitive member 11 can be charged by discharging at a portion that is in a roller shape and is close to the photosensitive member 11. Further, by making them close and not in contact with each other, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of contamination due to the transfer residual toner of the charging roller 21. In addition, the charging roller 21 is provided with a charging cleaner roller (not shown) that contacts the surface of the charging roller 21 for cleaning.
In the developing device 30, a developing sleeve having a magnetic field generating means (not shown) is disposed at a position facing the photoreceptor 11. Below the developing sleeve, a stirring / conveying screw having a mechanism for mixing toner introduced from a toner bottle (not shown) with a developer and pumping the toner into the developing sleeve while stirring is provided. The developer composed of the toner and the magnetic carrier conveyed by the developing sleeve is regulated to a predetermined developer layer thickness by the regulating member and is carried on the developing sleeve. The developing sleeve carries and carries the developer while supplying the toner to the photoconductor 11 while moving in the same direction at a position facing the photoconductor 11. In addition, toner cartridges for each color in which unused toner is stored are detachably stored in a space above the photoconductor 11. Toner is supplied to each developing device 30 as necessary by toner conveying means such as a mono pump or air pump (not shown). A toner cartridge for black toner that is highly consumed can be set to have a particularly large capacity.
On the other hand, as described above, the cleaning device 40 is configured by the cleaning blade 41 and a holder for holding the cleaning blade 41, and the cleaning blade 41 is brought into pressure contact with the photoconductor 11 to remain from the photoconductor 11. Remove toner.
The toner cleaned by the cleaning device 40 and removed from the photoconductor 11 is stored in a waste toner bottle (not shown) as a waste toner by a toner conveying member and collected by a service person or developed as a recycled toner. It is carried to the apparatus 30 and used for development. The features of the cleaning device 40 of the present invention are described above.

The transfer device 60 transfers an intermediate transfer belt 61 on which toner images are stacked, a primary transfer roller 62 that transfers and stacks the toner images on the photoreceptor 11 to the intermediate transfer belt 61, and transfers the stacked toner images to the recording member 9. A secondary transfer roller 63 and the like are provided. Further, the transfer device 60 is provided with a facing member 67 inside the intermediate transfer belt 61 at a portion facing the secondary transfer roller 63.
A primary transfer roller 62 that primarily transfers a toner image formed on the photoconductor 11 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61 is disposed at a position facing each photoconductor 11 with the intermediate transfer belt 61 interposed therebetween. The primary transfer roller 62 is connected to a power source (not shown), and is applied with a predetermined direct current voltage (DC) and / or alternating current voltage (AC). As the polarity of the voltage to be applied, the polarity is opposite to the polarity of the charge of the toner, and primary transfer is performed by drawing and moving from the photoreceptor 11 to the intermediate transfer belt 61 side. The primary transfer roller 62 is preferably semiconductive by containing an inorganic conductive material such as carbon black and an ionic conductive material in order to adjust electric resistance. Even if the resistance value of the primary transfer roller 62 is different, the transfer efficiency is hardly changed. However, if the image area ratio is different, the transfer efficiency is greatly different, so that the transfer efficiency cannot be stably maintained. This is because the current flows preferentially to the portion where the toner is not present in the transfer nip portion. As a result, when the image area ratio is small, the transfer voltage value becomes low and the electric field necessary for transfer cannot be obtained sufficiently. is there. In particular, when the resistance value of the primary transfer roller 62 is low, the influence of the resistance value of the toner interposed in the transfer portion becomes large. When constant current control is employed in this way, it is desirable to use a primary transfer roller 62 having a high resistance value. However, if the resistance value exceeds 5 × 10 ⁸ Ω, a toner image is formed due to current leakage. The risk of disturbance is increased. Therefore, it is preferable to use a primary transfer roller having a resistance value in the range of 1 × 10 ⁵ Ω to 5 × 10 ⁸ Ω. The phenomenon that the current flows preferentially to the portion where the toner does not intervene is not only due to the above-described toner resistance, but also the primary transfer voltage applied to the metal core provided at the center of the primary transfer roller 62 and the photosensitive member 11. This is also because the transfer current tends to flow toward the larger potential difference because the portion where the toner is not developed is larger than the portion where the toner is developed. This is because the toner image is the same as the charging polarity of the photoconductor 11, and the toner is developed on the photoconductor 11 where the photoconductor potential is removed by receiving the image exposure of the photoconductor 11, thereby forming a toner image on the photoconductor 11. This occurs in the case of the image forming apparatus 1 that performs this. The photosensitive member potential is high where the toner image is not formed and the photosensitive member potential is low where the toner image is formed, but the transfer potential is opposite to the photosensitive member potential, so the primary transfer voltage and the photosensitive member potential The difference is larger at the portion where the toner is not developed than at the portion where the toner is developed. In this case, the resistance value of the primary transfer roller 62 is desirably in the range of 5 × 10 ⁷ Ω to 5 × 10 ⁸ Ω. Within the range of 5 × 10 ⁷ Ω or more and 5 × 10 ⁸ Ω or less, if the resistance of the primary transfer roller 62 increases in the low temperature environment, it becomes difficult to enter the above range, and the secondary transfer is controlled at a constant current. As a result, the voltage applied to the repulsive roller 67 rises and current leaks. Therefore, when the apparatus is placed in a low-temperature environment as in the image forming layer 1 of the present invention, the temperature rise of all the primary transfer rollers 62 is reduced by keeping all the primary transfer rollers 62 warm. Thus, the occurrence of leakage can be prevented.

The toner image laminated on the intermediate transfer belt 61 is secondarily transferred to the recording member by the secondary transfer roller 63. Similar to the primary transfer roller 62, the secondary transfer roller 63 is connected to a power source (not shown) and is applied with a predetermined DC voltage (DC) and / or AC voltage (AC). The polarity of the voltage to be applied is opposite to the polarity of the charge of the toner, and the secondary transfer is performed by drawing the intermediate transfer belt 61 toward the recording member that has been conveyed.
The intermediate transfer belt 61 is provided with an intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 64 that cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 after the secondary transfer. The rotating member 642 has a mechanism for contacting / separating from the intermediate transfer belt 61 and can be arbitrarily contacted / separated by the control unit of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1. The rotating member 642 is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 61, whereby the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 61 and the recording material adhering as dirt are removed from the intermediate transfer belt 61 and cleaned. The removed toner or the like is stored in a container (not shown).
As the rotating member 64, a roller selected from a metal roller, a rubber roller, a brush roller, and a sponge roller can be used. As the toner, a toner having a volume average particle diameter of 8.0 μm or less, preferably 4.0 μm to 8.0 μm can be used.

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a lubricant applying device 93 that applies a lubricant to the intermediate transfer belt 61. The lubricant application device 93 is a solid lubricant 932 housed in a fixed case, scrapes the lubricant in contact with the solid lubricant 932, and is applied by the brush roller 931 and the brush roller 931 that apply to the intermediate transfer belt 61. A lubricant application blade 934 for leveling the applied lubricant. The solid lubricant 932 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is urged toward the brush roller 931 by a pressure spring 933. The solid lubricant 932 is scraped off and consumed by the brush roller 931, and its thickness decreases with time. However, since the solid lubricant 932 is pressurized by the pressure spring 933, it is always in contact with the brush roller 931. The brush roller 931 applies the lubricant scraped off while rotating to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61.
Note that a lubricant application device 93 having a similar function may be disposed on the photoreceptor 11.
In this embodiment, a lubricant application blade (not shown) as a lubricant leveling means is brought into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 on the downstream side in the moving direction with respect to the lubricant application position by the brush roller. The lubricant application blade is made of rubber which is an elastic body, has a function as a cleaning means, and is in contact with the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 61 in the counter direction. As the solid lubricant, a dry solid hydrophobic lubricant can be used. In addition to zinc stearate, metal compounds having fatty acid groups such as stearic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid can also be used. . Further, waxes such as candelilla wax, carnauba wax, rice wax, wax, ooba oil, beeswax, and lanolin can be used.
Below the transfer device 60, there is provided a fixing device 70 for semi-permanently fixing the toner image on the recording paper to the recording paper. Although not shown, the fixing device 70 is mainly composed of a fixing roller having a halogen heater inside, and a pressure roller disposed opposite to the fixing roller. The fixing device 70 is controlled by control means (not shown) so as to control fixing conditions based on full-color and monochrome images, single-sided or double-sided, and optimal fixing conditions according to the type of paper.

In the image forming operation, first, an electrostatic latent image for each color formed on the surface of each photoconductor 11 is formed on the photoconductor 11 having a load electrode by the laser beam of the exposure device 12. Next, the developing device 30 develops the toner of a predetermined color having the same polarity (negative polarity) as the charging polarity of the photoconductor 11 and performs reversal development to become a visible image. At this time, the endless intermediate transfer belt 61 is supported by a plurality of rollers 651 to 653 and provided on the top of the photoreceptors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K, and the photoreceptors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K. It is stretched and arranged so that a part after the development process is in contact with the vehicle. The toner images formed on the photoreceptors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 61 by the primary transfer rollers 62Y, 62C, 62M, and 62K, and the toner images are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 61. Overlaid, an unfixed image is formed. A belt cleaning device 64 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the intermediate transfer belt 61 at a position facing the cleaning backup roller 641. The belt cleaning device 64 wipes off unnecessary toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 and foreign matters such as paper dust. Further, a secondary transfer roller 63 is provided on the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer belt 61 at a position facing the support roller 653. A toner image carried by the intermediate transfer belt 61 is transferred to the recording member 9 by applying a bias to the secondary transfer roller 63 while passing the recording member 9 between the intermediate transfer belt 61 and the secondary transfer roller 63. . The polarity of the transfer voltage applied to the secondary transfer roller 63 is a positive polarity opposite to the polarity of the toner. These members related to the intermediate transfer belt 61 are integrally configured as a transfer device 60 together with the intermediate transfer belt 61, and can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus 1.
Below the image forming apparatus 1, a paper feeding device 80 including a paper feeding cassette 81 that accommodates the recording member 9 is provided. Only one sheet of the recording member 9 is reliably sent from the paper feed cassette 81 to the registration roller 84 by the transport roller 82. Further, the recording member 9 that has passed through the secondary transfer roller 63 is transported to a fixing device 70 provided downstream in the transport direction. The recording member 9 after fixing is discharged and stacked by a discharge roller 85 on a discharge tray provided outside the image forming apparatus 1. In FIG. 8, 66 is a conveyor belt and 83 is a conveyor roller.
According to the above configuration, the image forming apparatus 1 including the cleaning device 40 capable of reducing noise can be realized.

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a process cartridge including the cleaning device of the present invention.
The process cartridge of the present invention includes a photoconductor 11 that carries an electrostatic latent image, and a developing device 30 that develops the electrostatic latent image carried on the photoconductor 11 with toner to form a visible image. And other means such as a charging device 20, a cleaning device 40, and a charge removing unit, which are appropriately selected as necessary.
A process cartridge 10 shown in the figure, which is an example of a process cartridge, is a unit in which a photoreceptor 11, a charging device 20, a developing device 30, and a cleaning device 40 are integrated. The process cartridge 10 can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus main body such as a copying machine or a printer. Since the cleaning device 40 is provided in the detachable process cartridge 10, noise can be reduced, and replacement with other devices can be easily performed, and maintenance can be improved.
Therefore, the image forming apparatus 1 as a whole is configured such that the constituent elements of the photoconductor 11, the charging device 20, the developing device 30, and the cleaning device 40 are integrally combined as a process cartridge 10, thereby causing noise caused by cleaning. In addition, it is possible to provide a color image forming apparatus that can be reduced by the user, can be replaced by the user, has high maintainability, is small, and is highly durable.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Paper feed part 3 Image forming part 4 Scanner part 5 Automatic document feeder (ADF)
9 Recording member 10 Image forming unit (process cartridge)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Photoconductor 12 Exposure apparatus 13 Static elimination apparatus 20 Charging apparatus 21 Charging roller 30 Developing apparatus 40 Cleaning apparatus 41 Cleaning blade 42 Holder 43 Elastic body member 441 Noise detection means 442 Vibration detection means 45 Moving contact means 51 Noise detection part 52 A / D Conversion unit 53 Calculation unit 54 Noise level determination unit 55 Movement control unit 60 Transfer device 61 Intermediate transfer belt 62 Primary transfer roller 63 Secondary transfer roller 64 Belt cleaning device 641 Cleaning backup roller 642 Rotating member 65 Support roller 651 Drive roller 652 Drive roller 653 Support roller 66 Conveying belt 70 Fixing device 80 Paper feeding device 81 Paper feeding cassette 82 Paper feeding roller 83 Carrying roller 84 Registration roller 85 Paper discharge roller 93 Lubricant coating device

JP 2005-215163 A JP-A-2005-338170 JP-A-2005-202026

Claims (10)

A blade member for cleaning, and a holding member for holding the blade member,
In the cleaning device for cleaning the toner remaining on the image carrier by bringing the blade member into contact with the image carrier,
The cleaning device further includes:
Noise detecting means capable of detecting noise in the vicinity of the blade member or holding member, or vibration detecting means capable of detecting vibration by contacting the blade member or holding member;
And a moving contact means for moving and contacting the elastic member to the blade member or the holding member. In the cleaning device according to claim 1,
The cleaning device includes:
When the noise level detected by the noise detection means or the vibration level detected by the vibration detection means exceeds a predetermined threshold,
The cleaning device, wherein the moving contact means is operated to move the elastic member to contact the blade member or the holding member. The cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2,
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the moving contact means moves the elastic body member in contact with the blade member or the holding member in the horizontal direction or the rotation direction. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The cleaning device, wherein the elastic member uniformly contacts the blade member or the holding member in the longitudinal direction. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
After the elastic body member comes into contact, when the level of noise or vibration falls below a set threshold value, the cleaning member is separated from the blade member or the holding member. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
When the elastic body member is in contact with the blade member or the holding member, a contact position and a contact angle of the blade member with respect to the image carrier are controlled within a certain range. At least a process cartridge that integrally supports an image carrier and a cleaning device that cleans residual toner by contacting a blade member to the image carrier and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body.
The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is a cleaning device according to claim 1. An image carrier;
A charging device for charging the surface of the image carrier;
An exposure device that exposes the surface of the image carrier to form a latent image;
A developing device for developing the latent image with toner to form a visible image;
A transfer device for transferring the visible image to a recording medium;
In an image forming apparatus having at least a fixing device for fixing a transfer image transferred to the recording medium,
An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8.
The image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image carriers and forms a color image with a plurality of toners. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8 or 9,
An image forming apparatus comprising the process cartridge according to claim 7.

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