JP2012198253A - Cleaning device and image forming device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device that prevents residual toner in a housing from contaminating the vicinity of the cleaning device while preventing the residual toner or paper dust from remaining in the vicinity of a tip of a toner receiving member, and to provide an image forming device including the same.SOLUTION: The cleaning device comprises: a cleaning roller (44) which comes into press-contact from above with the surface of an image carrier (30) with a toner image formed thereon to polish the surface of the image carrier using residual toner; a toner receiving member (60) disposed in a housing (41) storing the cleaning roller on the upstream side of a contact position between the image carrier surface and the cleaning roller as seen from a rotation direction of the image carrier, and having a tip (61) in press-contact with the image carrier surface to prevent the residual toner in the housing from scattering or dropping to the outside of the housing; and a pressure-reducing member (70) disposed close to the upper part of the toner receiving member in the housing, and having a tip (71) in press-contact with the cleaning roller to reduce the pressure of the residual toner to the toner receiving member.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device for removing residual toner and the like remaining on the surface of an image carrier during transfer, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the cleaning device.

  In this type of image forming apparatus, an electrophotographic system is used. When the charger precharges an image carrier, for example, a photosensitive drum, and the exposure unit irradiates light on the surface of the photosensitive drum, the photosensitive drum An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface. Further, the developing device carries toner, and the toner adheres to the electrostatic latent image, and the toner image is developed on the surface of the photosensitive drum. Then, the visualized toner image is transferred and fixed on a sheet or a sheet via an intermediate transfer member.

Here, the toner may remain on the surface of the photosensitive drum without being transferred to the paper, and needs to be removed before the next image formation. Therefore, a structure for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum is disclosed (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Specifically, in Patent Document 1, the cleaning blade comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum, and the residual toner remaining on the surface is removed.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 has a cleaning roller in addition to a cleaning blade that scrapes off residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum. The residual toner contains a trace amount of abrasive. The residual toner removed by the cleaning blade is temporarily stored in the toner receiving member and adheres to the cleaning roller. The cleaning roller removes discharge products and the like attached to the surface of the photosensitive drum.

JP-A-8-194417 JP 2004-54104 A

  Incidentally, the cleaning device includes an upper surface cleaning layout system arranged above the photosensitive drum. Specifically, a housing containing the cleaning roller opens downward, and the cleaning blade is installed in this opening. In other words, the residual toner removed by the cleaning blade is collected in the housing, but its opening faces downward.

  That is, in the above structure, there is a risk that the residual toner in the housing will be scattered or dropped outside the housing. For this reason, the toner receiving member is provided on the upstream side of the opening of the housing, for example, the nip region between the cleaning roller and the photosensitive drum when viewed in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum, and the tip is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum. Residual toner in the housing is received.

However, in this upper surface cleaning layout system, a load due to residual toner in the housing acts on the toner receiving member, and residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the photosensitive drum that has moved from the transfer position toward the cleaning device is absorbed by the toner receiving member. There is a problem of collecting near the tip.
More specifically, when the amount of residual toner in the housing increases, the pressure in the housing increases and the toner receiving member is pushed downward.

When the toner receiving member is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum, residual toner or paper dust on the surface of the photosensitive drum is collected near the tip of the toner receiving member.
Residual toner and paper dust that has accumulated in the vicinity of the front end of the toner receiving member then forms a gap that separates the front end of the toner receiving member from the surface of the photosensitive drum, and residual toner in the housing passes through this gap. It will scatter and fall out of the housing.

As described above, the upper surface cleaning layout system still has a problem that the residual toner in the housing is scattered or dropped out of the housing simply by installing the toner receiving member.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to prevent residual toner and paper dust from being collected near the tip of the toner receiving member, and to prevent contamination around the cleaning device due to residual toner in the housing, and the mounting thereof An image forming apparatus is provided.

  According to a first aspect of the invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a cleaning roller that presses a surface of an image carrier on which a toner image is formed from above and polishes the surface of the image carrier using residual toner; Located in the housing containing the cleaning roller upstream of the contact position between the surface of the image carrier and the cleaning roller as viewed in the rotation direction, the tip of the housing contacts the surface of the image carrier and remains in the housing. A toner receiving member that prevents the toner from scattering and dropping out of the housing, and a toner receiving member that is provided in the housing close to the upper portion of the toner receiving member. And a pressure reducing member for reducing pressure on the body.

According to the first invention, the cleaning device is a top surface cleaning layout system, and includes a cleaning roller that presses the surface of the image carrier from above. The cleaning roller uses the residual toner to polish the surface of the image carrier and can remove discharge products and the like attached to the surface of the image carrier.
Here, in the upper surface cleaning layout system, the opening of the housing that houses the cleaning roller faces downward, and it is necessary to prevent the residual toner in the housing from scattering or dropping out of the housing. Therefore, a toner receiving member is provided in the opening of the housing, and its tip is brought into contact with the surface of the image carrier.

  In the housing, a pressure reducing member is provided above the toner receiving member. The pressure reducing member receives a load caused by residual toner, more specifically, pressure in the housing caused by residual toner. Therefore, even if the amount of residual toner in the housing increases, residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the image carrier do not accumulate near the tip of the toner receiving member.

As a result, scattering and dropping of the residual toner in the housing to the outside of the housing can be avoided, and contamination around the cleaning device due to the residual toner can be prevented.
Further, since the pressure reducing member is disposed near the toner receiving member, it is difficult for residual toner to enter between the pressure reducing member and the toner receiving member. Therefore, the state of the toner receiving member does not change from the beginning of use. That is, the surface of the image carrier is not kept pressed and can move up and down following the residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the image carrier.

  In addition, since the tip of the pressure reducing member is in contact with the cleaning roller, the abdomen of the pressure reducing member can press the cleaning roller to make surface contact. Therefore, the residual toner on the cleaning roller does not fall off and can remain pressed against the cleaning roller.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a toner layer regulating member that is accommodated in the housing, rotates in contact with the cleaning roller, and can adjust the toner layer thickness. .
According to the second invention, in addition to the action of the first invention, if the thickness of the residual toner adhering to the cleaning roller fluctuates, the surface of the image carrier cannot be satisfactorily polished. It is necessary to adjust so as not to cause unevenness. In this case, the scraper scrapes off the toner layer, but the toner layer regulating member allows a large amount of residual toner to adhere to the cleaning roller. However, if the toner layer regulating member is simply provided, there is a concern that the amount of residual toner in the housing increases, and residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the image carrier are likely to accumulate near the tip of the toner receiving member. However, according to said cleaning apparatus, the said concern can be wiped off.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first or second aspect of the invention, when viewed from the rotational direction of the image carrier, the surface of the image carrier is above the surface of the image carrier downstream of the contact position between the image carrier and the cleaning roller. And a cleaning blade for removing residual toner from the surface of the image carrier.
According to the third invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second inventions, the cleaning blade removes residual toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier, and the cleaning roller removes the residual toner to the image. It can be used quickly for cleaning the surface of the carrier.

The fourth invention is an image forming apparatus equipped with the cleaning device of the first to third inventions.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the above-described cleaning device can perform good image formation over a long period of time, it contributes to improving the reliability of the image forming device.

  According to the present invention, since the pressure reducing member is provided above the toner receiving member, residual toner and paper dust do not collect near the tip of the toner receiving member. Therefore, it is possible to provide a cleaning device that can prevent contamination around the cleaning device due to residual toner in the housing, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the cleaning device.

1 is a cross-sectional front view schematically illustrating a multifunction machine according to an embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the drum unit periphery of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a toner receiving sheet and a pressure reducing sheet in FIG. 2. It is explanatory drawing of the state in the housing by a conventional structure. It is explanatory drawing of the state in the housing by a present Example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a cross section viewed from the front side of a multifunction machine 1 which is an example of an image forming apparatus.
The multi-function device 1 of this embodiment has an in-body discharge-type device body 2, and a discharge tray 14 is formed below the scanner unit 7.

  A document feeding device 20 is mounted on the upper side of the apparatus main body 2, that is, on the upper side of the scanner unit 7. The document feeding device 20 is configured to be able to automatically transport a document to a predetermined image reading position (ADF: Auto). Document Feeder). Specifically, when the multifunction device 1 is used as a copying machine, a facsimile, or a network scanner, a document is conveyed from the document feeder 20 and the image surface is optically read by the scanner unit 7.

  On the other hand, a front-loading type paper feed cassette 3 is installed at the lower part of the apparatus main body 2, and is arranged in two upper and lower stages along the height direction of the apparatus main body 2 in this embodiment. Each of the paper feed cassettes 3 is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body 2, and when pulled out toward the front side of the multifunction machine 1, the inside of the paper feed cassette 3 is opened to the outside.

In addition, arrows indicated by solid lines in FIG. 1 indicate the sheet conveyance path and the conveyance direction.
Various papers P before image formation are accommodated in each paper feed cassette 3 in a stacked state, and this paper P is separated from the paper feed cassette 3 one by one and sent out to the left as viewed in FIG. . The paper P in the transport path 4 is transported upward along the left side surface of the apparatus main body 2.

In addition, an openable manual feed tray 5 is provided on the right side surface of the apparatus main body 2, and the sheet fed from the manual feed tray 5 is also transported to the transport path 6 and then transported upward.
Inside the apparatus main body 2, a registration roller 17, an image forming unit 9, and a transfer unit 10 are sequentially arranged on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction.

  An exposure unit 8 and a toner container 11 are provided on the right side of the image forming unit 9, and a photosensitive drum (image carrier) 30 of the image forming unit 9 is sent from the exposure unit 8 based on a signal from a controller (not shown). The laser beam L is irradiated toward the surface, and the electrostatic latent image is developed. Further, toner is supplied from the toner container 11 to the developing unit 33 via a supply path (not shown), and the developing unit 33 develops the toner on the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 30.

A fixing unit 12 and a discharge branching unit 13 are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the transfer unit 10 when viewed in the paper conveyance direction. In the case of single-sided printing, the paper discharged from the fixing unit 12 passes through a discharge roller 15. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 14.
On the other hand, a duplex printing conveyance path 16 is disposed between the discharge branching section 13 and the conveyance path 4. In this duplex printing conveyance path 16, the sheet discharged from the fixing unit 12 is returned to the conveyance path 4. The image is sent again toward the image forming unit 9.

Incidentally, the above-described photosensitive drum 30 of the present embodiment is an a-Si drum having a diameter of, for example, about 40 mm and having an amorphous silicon-based layer on the surface thereof. It is installed and driven clockwise in FIGS. 1 and 2 by a drive motor (not shown).
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a charger 32, a developing roller 34, a transfer roller 36, and a cleaning device 40 are provided at appropriate positions around the photosensitive drum 30.

The charger 32 is located obliquely above and to the right of the photosensitive drum 30 in FIG. 2, and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 30. The charger 32 may be a direct contact system having a charging roller in direct contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 in addition to the illustrated corona discharge system.
Further, the developing roller 34 is disposed diagonally to the lower right of the photosensitive drum 30, faces the photosensitive drum 30, and is driven counterclockwise in FIG. 2 by a driving motor (not shown).

The transfer roller 36 is configured to be capable of being pressed against the photosensitive drum 30 from the diagonally lower left side. The photosensitive drum 30 and the transfer roller 36 form a nip portion for transferring the toner image onto the paper P.
Here, the toner of this embodiment contains a small amount of abrasive (titanium oxide, silica, alumina, etc.) and is used for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 by the cleaning device 40.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cleaning device 40 of this embodiment is disposed on the upper portion of the photosensitive drum 30 (upper surface cleaning layout system).
Specifically, the cleaning device 40 of the present embodiment includes a housing 41 that opens toward the photosensitive drum 30 on the downstream side of the transfer position with the transfer roller 36 as viewed in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 30. A cleaning roller 44, a cleaning blade 46, and a toner recovery unit 50 are provided at appropriate positions of the housing 41.

Specifically, the housing 41 opens downward, and has a front wall 42 facing the conveyance path of the paper P, and a rear wall 43 opposite to the front wall 42, for example, above the charger 32. The opening of the housing 41 is defined together with the non-side wall.
The cleaning roller 44 of this embodiment is in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 30 from above in the vicinity of the front wall 42 in the opening of the housing 41, and its rubbing surface extends along the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 30. ing.

The cleaning roller 44 is made of ethylene rubber such as conductive foam EPDM having a diameter of about φ12 mm, for example, and is driven counterclockwise in FIG. The surface of the photosensitive drum 30 after the transfer is rubbed and polished in the trail direction.
As a result, the cleaning roller 44 removes residual toner and the like attached to the amorphous silicon layer of the photosensitive drum 30.

  The upper surface cleaning layout system will be described in an orthogonal coordinate system with the axis O of the photosensitive drum 30 in FIG. 2 as the origin O. The nip region between the cleaning roller 44 and the photosensitive drum 30 passes through the origin O. The angle formed with the horizontal axis (X axis) is located within the range of 45 ° to 135 ° of the Cartesian coordinate system, and in this embodiment, a structure in which the nip region is formed at a position of about 100 ° is taken as an example. Cite.

  Next, the cleaning blade 46 comprises a galvanized steel plate body 46a fixed to the lower end of the housing 51, and a polyurethane rubber blade portion 46b welded to the body 46a. The edge of the blade portion 46b is the photoreceptor. The drum 30 is disposed on the downstream side of the cleaning roller 44 in the rotation direction, and extends along the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 18.

Then, this edge comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 30 in the counter direction, and scrapes off residual toner including abrasives adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 30.
The residual toner scraped from the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 by the cleaning roller 44 and the cleaning blade 46 adheres to the rubbing surface of the cleaning roller 44.

On the other hand, the thickness of the residual toner adhering to the rubbing surface of the cleaning roller 44 is adjusted by a layer regulating roller (toner layer regulating member) 48 that is in contact with the rubbing surface in the trail direction.
The layer regulating roller 48 is installed on the upper right side of the cleaning roller 44 as viewed in FIG. 2, that is, on the opposite side of the contact position between the cleaning roller 44 and the photosensitive drum 30 and above the edge of the cleaning blade 46. Has been.

  More specifically, like the cleaning blade 46 and the cleaning roller 44, the layer regulating roller 48 extends along the rotation axis direction of the photosensitive drum 30, contacts the cleaning roller 44, and rotates in a driven manner. That is, when the cleaning roller 44 rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 2, the layer regulating roller 48 rotates clockwise as viewed in FIG. 2 and rotates in the trail direction with respect to the cleaning roller 44 in the housing 41. Touch.

Accordingly, an amount necessary for polishing the photosensitive drum 30 is pushed toward the rubber portion of the cleaning roller 44, and the thickness of the residual toner can be adjusted uniformly.
On the other hand, residual toner or the like that has dropped from the cleaning roller 44 is collected from the toner collection chamber 50. Specifically, the toner collection unit 50 has a screw near the rear wall 43 of the housing 41 as seen in FIG.

  The screw extends along the direction of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 30, and the tip is connected to a drive motor (not shown). When this drive motor is driven, the residual toner discharged rightward from the layer regulating roller 48 in the housing 41 is collected in a collection container (not shown) via a screw.

Incidentally, the cleaning device 40 of this embodiment includes a toner receiving sheet (toner receiving member) 60, and prevents residual toner in the housing 41 from leaking out of the housing 41.
The toner receiving sheet 60 is provided on the front wall 42 of the housing 41 on the upstream side of the nip region between the cleaning roller 44 and the photosensitive drum 30 when viewed in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 30.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a holding plate 63 having a substantially L shape in cross section is provided on the front wall 42 of the housing 41. The holding plate 63 has an upper end 64 joined or fastened to the front wall 42, extends along the front wall 42, and then bends toward the opening of the housing 41. At the bent portion, the lower end of the front wall 42 is formed. It has an upper surface 66 that faces the lower surface 67 and a lower surface 67 that faces the photosensitive drum 30.

The toner receiving sheet 60 of the present embodiment is formed of, for example, a thermoplastic urethane sheet having a thickness of about 0.1 mm, and extends along the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 30 in the same manner as the cleaning roller 44 and the like.
The base side of the toner receiving sheet 60 is attached to the lower surface 67 from the lower side of the holding plate 63 using, for example, a double-sided tape.

On the other hand, the front end 61 of the toner receiving sheet 60 is configured to be able to contact the surface of the photosensitive drum 30.
That is, when the tip 61 comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 30, residual toner that exists in the housing 41, particularly between the front wall 42 and the cleaning roller 44, is scattered toward the surface of the photosensitive drum 30. It becomes difficult to fall.

Here, in addition to the toner receiving sheet 60, the cleaning device 40 of this embodiment also includes a pressure reducing sheet (pressure reducing member) 70.
The pressure reducing sheet 70 of the present embodiment is formed of, for example, a polymer polyethylene sheet having a thickness of about 0.1 mm, and extends along the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 30.

The pressure reducing sheet 70 and the toner receiving sheet 60 are opposed to each other by the thickness of the holding plate 63.
Then, the base side of the pressure reducing sheet 70 is attached to the upper surface 66 from the upper side of the holding plate 63 using, for example, a double-sided tape, and the tip 71 of the pressure reducing sheet 70 contacts the rubbing surface of the cleaning roller 44.

  Further, the tip 71 of the pressure reducing sheet 70 is disposed so as to cover the top of the tip 61 of the toner receiving sheet 60. That is, the pressure reducing sheet 70 protects the toner receiving sheet 60 from residual toner existing between the front wall 42 and the cleaning roller 44, and the toner receiving sheet 60 is disposed between the front wall 42 and the cleaning roller 44. It becomes difficult to be pressed by the residual toner present in the toner.

  In addition, although the pressure reduction sheet 70 of the said Example illustrated the polymeric polyethylene sheet as a material more rigid than the toner receiving sheet 60, the pressure reduction sheet 70 made from SUS may be sufficient. This is because the pressure reducing sheet 70 in this case can also withstand the pressure due to the residual toner existing between the front wall 42 and the cleaning roller 44, and does not wear even when contacting the cleaning roller 44.

  When the multifunction machine 1 performs printing, the sheets are separated and sent one by one from the sheet feeding cassette 4 and the manual feed tray 5, and the sheets reach the registration rollers 17 in the apparatus main body 2. The registration roller 17 sends the paper P to the transfer unit 10 while correcting the oblique feeding of the paper and timing the toner image formed by the image forming unit 9.

The controller is configured to be able to receive image data to be printed from the outside. This image data is data in which various images such as characters, codes, figures, symbols, diagrams, and patterns are converted into data. Based on this data, the controller controls light irradiation and the like.
Specifically, the charger 32 charges the surface of the photoconductive drum 30 with respect to the photoconductive drum 30 that has been neutralized.

Next, when the exposure unit 8 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 with the laser light L, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 30, and a toner image is formed from the electrostatic latent image via the developing roller 34. Formed and transferred to paper.
Thereafter, the sheet is fed toward the fixing unit 12 with an unfixed toner image carried thereon, and the toner image is fixed.

The sheets sent from the fixing unit 12 are discharged to the discharge tray 14 through the discharge branching unit 13 and stacked in the height direction.
When double-sided printing is performed in contrast to this single-sided printing, the paper sent from the fixing unit 12 is pulled back to the double-sided printing conveyance path 16 immediately before being discharged to the paper discharge tray 14, and this paper is conveyed to the conveyance path 4. To the transfer unit 10 again. In this case, the toner image is transferred to the surface of the paper that has not been printed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the cleaning device 40 is an upper surface cleaning layout system, and includes the cleaning roller 44 that presses the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 from above. The cleaning roller 44 uses the residual toner to polish the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 and can remove discharge products and the like attached to the surface of the photosensitive drum 30.

  Here, in the upper surface cleaning layout system, the opening of the housing 41 that houses the cleaning roller 44 faces downward, and it is necessary to prevent the residual toner in the housing 41 from being scattered or dropped out of the housing 41. Therefore, the toner receiving sheet 60 is provided in the opening of the housing 41, and its tip is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 30.

  In the housing 41, a pressure reducing sheet 70 is provided above the toner receiving sheet 60. The pressure reducing sheet 70 receives a load due to residual toner, more specifically, pressure in the housing 41 due to residual toner. Residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 are near the front end 61 of the toner receiving sheet 60. Does not collect.

More specifically, FIG. 4 shows a conventional structure in which the pressure reducing sheet 70 is not disposed and only the toner receiving sheet 60 is provided on the front wall 42. If the residual toner amount in the housing 41 increases, the housing 41 The internal pressure increases, and the toner receiving sheet 60 is pushed downward as indicated by an arrow in FIG.
Next, when the toner receiving sheet 60 remains pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum 30, residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 are collected at the leading end 61 of the toner receiving sheet 60.

Then, the residual toner and paper dust continuously accumulated in the vicinity of the tip 61 forms a gap for separating the tip 61 from the surface of the photosensitive drum 30, and the residual toner in the housing 41 is transferred from the gap to the housing. 41 will be scattered or dropped.
However, in this embodiment, a pressure reducing sheet 70 is provided in the housing 41 above the toner receiving sheet 60.

  The pressure reducing sheet 70 receives the pressure in the housing 41 due to residual toner (FIG. 5). Therefore, even if the amount of residual toner in the housing 41 increases, the tip 61 of the toner receiving sheet 60 does not remain pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum 30. For this reason, residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 do not collect near the tip 61, and these residual toner and paper dust travel to the cleaning roller 44.

As a result, the residual toner in the housing 41 can be prevented from being scattered or dropped out of the housing 41, and contamination around the cleaning device 40 due to the residual toner can be prevented.
Further, since the pressure reducing sheet 70 is disposed near the toner receiving sheet 60, it is difficult for residual toner from entering the housing 41 between the pressure reducing sheet 70 and the toner receiving sheet 60.

Therefore, the state of the toner receiving sheet 60 does not change from the beginning of use. That is, the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 is not kept pressed, and can move up and down following the residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the photosensitive drum 30, and the residual toner and paper dust are always directed to the cleaning roller 44.
In addition, since the tip 71 of the pressure reducing sheet 70 is in contact with the cleaning roller 44, the abdomen of the pressure reducing sheet 70 can press the cleaning roller 44 and come into surface contact. Therefore, the residual toner on the cleaning roller 44 does not fall off and can remain pressed against the cleaning roller 44.

  In addition, if the thickness of the residual toner attached to the cleaning roller 44 varies, the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 cannot be satisfactorily polished. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the thickness of the residual toner so that unevenness does not occur. In this case, while the plate-shaped scraper scrapes off the toner layer, the layer regulating roller 48 allows a large amount of residual toner to adhere to the cleaning roller 44. However, if the layer regulating roller 48 is simply provided, the internal pressure of the housing 44 increases, and there is a concern that residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 may easily accumulate near the tip 61. According to the apparatus 40, the concern can be eliminated.

Further, the cleaning blade 46 removes residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 30, and the cleaning roller 44 can quickly use the residual toner for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum 30.
Furthermore, since the cleaning device 40 can prevent the abrasive from adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 30, if a charging roller is used, the abrasive slips from the photosensitive drum 30 and adheres. Can be avoided. In addition, since good image formation is performed over a long period of time, it contributes to improving the reliability of the multifunction machine 1.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.
For example, in the above embodiment, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 30 is directly transferred to the paper P, but an intermediate transfer belt may be provided. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the image forming apparatus is embodied in a multifunction peripheral is shown. However, the present invention is naturally applicable to a copying machine, a printer, and the like having a document feeding device.

  In any of these cases, similar to the above, residual toner and paper dust are not collected near the tip of the toner receiving member, and it is possible to prevent contamination around the cleaning device due to residual toner in the housing.

1 MFP (image forming device)
30 Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
40 Cleaning Device 41 Housing 44 Cleaning Roller 46 Cleaning Blade 48 Layer Restriction Roller (Toner Layer Restriction Member)
60 Toner receiving sheet (toner receiving member)
61 Tip 70 Pressure reducing sheet (pressure reducing member)
71 Tip

Claims (4)

A cleaning roller that presses the surface of the image carrier on which a toner image is formed from above and polishes the surface using residual toner;
The image carrier is provided in a housing that houses the cleaning roller on the upstream side of the contact position between the surface and the cleaning roller as viewed in the rotational direction of the image carrier, and the tip of the housing is in contact with the surface. A toner receiving member for preventing the toner remaining in the housing from scattering and dropping out of the housing;
A pressure reducing member which is provided in the housing in the vicinity of the upper portion of the toner receiving member and whose tip abuts against the cleaning roller to reduce the pressure of the residual toner on the toner receiving member. A cleaning device. The cleaning device according to claim 1,
A cleaning device, further comprising a toner layer regulating member housed in the housing, rotating in contact with the cleaning roller and capable of adjusting a thickness of the toner layer. The cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2,
The image bearing member further includes a cleaning blade that is in contact with the surface from above at a position downstream of the contact position between the surface and the cleaning roller as viewed in the rotational direction of the image carrier, and removes residual toner from the surface. A cleaning device.   An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1.

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