JP2652173B2 - Cleaning device for image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Object of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an electrostatic recording process such as an electrostatic copying machine and the same printer, and particularly to a cleaning device for the image forming apparatus. .

(Problems to be Solved with Conventional Technique) The method includes a step of transferring a transferable toner image formed on the surface of an image carrier to a sheet-like transfer material such as paper, and separating the transfer material from the image carrier. In a known image forming apparatus, it is unavoidable that a part of the toner remains on the image carrier without contributing to the transfer at the time of transfer. Therefore, before starting the next image forming process, the residual toner is sufficiently cleaned. It is necessary to keep.

A number of cleaning means have been proposed and implemented in the past, but one that scrapes off residual toner with a cleaning blade made of an elastic member such as rubber has a simple structure and excellent toner removal function. It has been widely used.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of a cleaning device in such an image forming apparatus. The cleaning device extends in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and approaches a cylindrical image carrier 1 which rotates in the direction of arrow b. A cleaning device 2 is provided in parallel.

A cleaning blade 3 is attached to the cleaning device, and one free edge of the cleaning blade 3 is in pressure contact with the surface of the image carrier 1 and is located upstream of the cleaning device in the traveling direction of the image carrier. It is assumed that toner not transferred to the transfer material at a transfer portion (not shown) is scraped off.

The scraped toner is disposed in the casing of the cleaning device, and reaches the toner storage portion at the back of the casing (the side opposite to the side where the cleaning blade is located) by the toner collecting plate 4 rotating in the direction of arrow a. , And is discharged out of the casing by the conveying screw 5.

In such a case, when the amount of toner in the cleaning device is small, the toner processing can be suitably performed. However, for example, in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, transfer efficiency is reduced and a large amount of toner is sent into the cleaning device. In such a case, a part of the toner tends to be returned in the direction of the image carrier again by the rotating collecting plate, and the toner is accumulated on the back surface of the cleaning blade and near the edge, thereby obstructing the operation of the blade. As a result, it is inevitable that cleaning failure may occur, and that toner may escape from the cleaning device to the outside and contaminate each part.

In order to avoid such a drawback, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a partition plate 7 made of an elastic plate material such as a polyester film is disposed so as to slightly contact the distal end of the collecting plate 4 in the radial direction. There is also a proposal to prevent the backflow of the toner. However, even in such a case, an opening is formed between the collecting plate 4 and the partition plate every time the collecting plate 4 rotates, so that the backflow of the toner is prevented. It is impossible to completely block the toner, and further, particularly in a low-humidity environment, where the fluidity of the toner increases and the toner is liable to be scattered, the vibration caused by the partition plate coming into contact with the collecting plate causes There is a drawback that a large amount of toner scatters and escapes from both ends of the cleaning device.

The present invention has been made to cope with such a situation, and is configured so that toner collected from an image carrier by a cleaning blade into a cleaning device is conveyed to a toner storage unit by a rotating toner collecting plate. In the cleaning device, it is possible to effectively prevent the collected toner from being sent back in the direction of the image carrier or the cleaning blade again, to reduce the driving force of the toner collecting plate, and to effectively prevent the generation of noise and vibration. It is another object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device capable of maintaining a stable cleaning function for a long time.

(2) Configuration of the Invention (Technical Means for Solving the Problems, Action of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a cleaning member for removing residual toner on an image carrier, A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus having an accommodating portion for accommodating the toner to be removed, wherein the toner includes a rotating plate member between the cleaning member and the accommodating portion, and carries the toner to be removed to the accommodating portion. A cleaning plate provided with a collecting plate, a curved surface separated from the rotation path of the toner collecting plate by a small gap, and a partition extending in the direction of the stored toner storage area. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the toner collecting plate and the partition is made of an elastic material. 2).

With this configuration, even if a large amount of toner is introduced into the cleaning device, the toner is effectively prevented from being fed back in the direction of the image carrier, and
The partition does not vibrate due to the rotation of the collecting plate and actively scatters the toner, so that it is possible to prevent poor cleaning and contamination of the inside of the image forming apparatus due to escape of the toner.

(Description of Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a main part of a cleaning device before the present invention is applied to a photosensitive member 1 which is arranged to extend in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and rotates in the direction of arrow b. The cleaning device 2 is disposed in parallel and in close proximity.

Around the photosensitive member, a primary charger, an image signal applying means, a developing device, a transfer charger and other members required for image formation are of course disposed, but they are directly related to the present invention. Because there is no, all are omitted.

One edge of the cleaning blade 3 attached to the cleaning device is pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor 1, and at a transfer portion (not shown), the residual toner remaining on the photoreceptor does not contribute to the transfer. When the cleaning blade arrives at the position of the cleaning blade with the rotation of the photoconductor, the cleaning blade is scraped off.

A toner collecting plate 4 rotating in the direction of arrow a is disposed upstream of the cleaning blade when viewed in the running direction of the photoconductor, and the toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 3 is transferred to the toner on the rear side. The toner is conveyed to the storage section, and at this position, the toner is further discharged to the outside by the conveying screw 5.

A partition 8 is disposed near the toner collecting plate 4 and above the drawing. The partition wall is formed of a material having a suitable strength such as a metal or a hard synthetic resin, and the edge near the toner collecting plate 4 does not contact the outer end of the collecting plate and the space between the two. Are formed as narrow as possible.

With this configuration, a large amount of toner accumulates in the cleaning device body due to a decrease in transfer efficiency for some reason, and the toner is collected by the toner collecting plate 4 and fed back in the direction of the cleaning blade 3. Even in such a state, most of the toner is blocked from being conveyed by the existence of the partition wall 8 except for the portion that overflows from the minute gap between the collection plate and the collection plate, and does not go in the direction of the cleaning blade. Also, even if the fluidity of the toner decreases and tends to solidify in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, the toner is destroyed between the toner collecting plate and the partition wall and can be smoothly transported to the toner storing portion. To prevent the cleaning function from being adversely affected, and to prevent toner from escaping to the outside and contaminating each part. Is reached on the side of the presence of the cleaning blade toner also Saegigi is a partition wall for scattering, it is possible to prevent a situation such that further escape to the outside.

In the above embodiment, the case where the partition is made of a material having an appropriate hardness has been described.
The cleaning device may be made of an elastic material such as a polyester thin plate or the like, since it is only necessary to withstand the pressure of the toner that is fed backward from the back side of the cleaning device toward the blade. Thus, it is possible to prevent the collecting plate 4 from being damaged even when hard foreign matter is present in the cleaning device and is caught on the partition.

Note that, instead of forming the partition wall with an elastic material as in the above case, the same applies when the toner collecting plate is formed of the same elastic material, or both the partition wall and the toner collecting plate are formed of the same elastic material. It can be easily understood that various functions can be achieved.

Further, the cost can be reduced by forming the partition wall integrally with the casing of the cleaning device.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the basic structure of the cleaning device is the same as that shown in FIG. The end face opposite to 4 has a surface portion 9 'formed in a concave shape along the cylindrical surface defined by the tip of the collecting plate.

With this configuration, when the rotating toner collecting plate is at a position where the partition wall is separated, it is possible to prevent the toner from being fed back from a large gap formed between the partition walls.

With such a configuration, a situation in which a large amount of toner is present on the rear surface of the toner collecting plate on the side where the toner is fed back to the cleaning member side does not occur. The source can be reduced in size and can operate smoothly, and the generation of vibration and noise due to contact between the plate and the partition can be prevented.

Although the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine has been described above, it is easily understood that the present invention is not limited to such an example and can be applied to various image forming apparatuses. Would.

(3) Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention is configured such that the toner removed from the image carrier is conveyed to the toner storage section in the cleaning device by the rotating toner collection member disposed in the device. In the configuration, the toner once collected, as close as possible to the toner collecting member, is provided with cleaning means,
In order to prevent reverse feeding in the direction of the image carrier, etc.
Since the partition wall is provided so as to extend toward the collected toner storage site along the outer circumference of the rotation locus of the toner collection plate, even if a large amount of toner is stored in the toner storage site, a load due to this is applied to the toner collection plate. In addition, it is possible to reduce the driving force of the plate, effectively prevent toner from escaping due to vibration caused by the contact between the toner collecting plate and the backflow preventing member, generate noise, and maintain a good cleaning function at all times. And contribute to obtaining high quality images.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a main part of a cleaning device showing a configuration before the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. It is a side view of the cleaning device for explaining operation of the cleaning device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Photoreceptor, 2 / ... Cleaning device, 3 ... Cleaning blade, 4 ... Toner collection plate, 5 ... Conveying screw, 8 ... Partition wall.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 2. A cleaning apparatus for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a cleaning member for removing a residual toner on an image carrier; and a storage unit for storing a toner to be removed. And a toner collecting plate for transporting the toner to be removed to the storage area, and a curved surface spaced apart from the rotation locus of the toner collecting plate by a small gap. And a partition extending in the direction of the removed toner accommodating portion. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the toner collecting plate and the partition is made of an elastic material.
The cleaning device according to the item.