JP2763822B2 - Method and apparatus for cleaning electrophotographic photosensitive member - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor used for removing residual toner, paper dust, and corona products from an electrophotographic photoreceptor such as a copying machine or a laser printer. The present invention relates to a cleaning method and a cleaning device.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, a rectangular cleaning blade or a cleaning blade and an elastic cleaning roller using a sponge or the like are used to remove residual toner, paper powder, and corona products on the surface of a photoreceptor such as a copying machine and a laser printer. Combinations have been used.

That is, the cleaning blade is disposed with the corner of one end face pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor, and removes residual toner on the surface by rotation of the photoreceptor. The residual toner, paper dust and corona products are removed by contacting the surface and assisting the cleaning blade.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> By the way, selenium and cadmium sulfide have been used as materials for conventional electrophotographic photoreceptors. However, since the material hardness is soft, the material is easily damaged. JIS A scale 50 ゜ -90 ゜) must be used. In addition, the residual toner is cleaned and removed by pressing the surface of the photoreceptor using the elastic force of the polyurethane rubber.

However, since there are minute protrusions on the surface of the photoconductor,
The so-called filming phenomenon in which the toner penetrates or is scraped between the cleaning blade and the photoreceptor surface and is pressed against the photoreceptor surface by the cleaning blade to form a thin film of toner, paper powder, corona products, and the like. At present it is impossible to avoid. Further, the formed filming cannot be removed by such a low-hardness cleaning blade.

In addition, the image quality also deteriorates due to an increase in the number of copies, and a photosensitive member having a high surface hardness, such as amorphous silicon, which is hard to be scratched, has appeared, and a filming phenomenon by a urethane rubber cleaning blade has increased.
The image is extremely deteriorated with thousands of copies.

This phenomenon also occurs in a cleaning device using a cleaning blade and a cleaning roller together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the circumstances described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus for an electrophotographic photoreceptor that remove a filmed material on the surface of a photoreceptor.

<Means for Solving the Problems> A method for cleaning an electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises providing a fine particle binder layer comprising a binder and abrasive fine particles on a surface of a cleaning film. The method for cleaning an electrophotographic photosensitive member, wherein the fine particle binder layer rubs the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member in a direction opposite to the rotating direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member to remove residual foreign matters on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, A fine particle binder layer having fine abrasive particles having different particle diameters is provided on both surfaces of the cleaning film, and a fine particle binder layer having fine fine abrasive particles slides on the surface of the photoreceptor. The method is characterized in that, on the downstream side in contact with the photosensitive member, the residual foreign matter on the surface is removed by sliding contact with the surface of the photosensitive member.

Further, the configuration of the cleaning device of the second invention includes a cleaning film having a fine particle binder layer formed of abrasive fine particles and a binder formed on a surface thereof, a supply unit for supplying and winding the cleaning film, and a winding unit; In a cleaning device provided with a pressing roller for rubbing the fine particle binder layer on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, a fine particle binder layer using abrasive fine particles having different particle diameters is formed on both surfaces of the cleaning film, Providing a reversing roller for reversing the transport direction of the cleaning film after being pressed by the pressing roller, and providing a winding roller having a diameter larger than the pressing roller, at the time of winding the winding roller, The other fine particle binder layer which is different from the surface slid by the pressing roller Characterized in that so as to wind the cleaning film sliding contact with the photosensitive member surface.

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional cleaning device,
2 (a) and 2 (b) are schematic views of the cleaning device of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, a cleaning film 11 having on both sides a fine particle binder layer composed of abrasive fine particles and a binder, a supply roller 12 and a take-up roller 13 for supplying and winding the cleaning film 11, and a supply roller A backup roller that presses the cleaning film 11 transported from 12 against the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 14
The winding roller 13 and the backup roller 15 are respectively brought into sliding contact with the surface of the photoreceptor while the cleaning film 11 is transported in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 14. Then, the remaining foreign matter (filming material) on the surface of the photoreceptor 14 is removed. Reference numeral 16 denotes a cleaning blade, which removes foreign substances such as toner and paper dust on the upstream side of the cleaning device as in the conventional case.

This cleaning device is provided with a reversing roller 17 for reversing the conveying direction of the cleaning film after being pressed by the pressing roller (backup roller) 15, and has a winding roller 13 having a diameter larger than that of the pressing roller.
When the winding roller is wound, the cleaning film is wound while the other fine particle binder layer, which is different from the surface slid by the pressing roller, is slid on the photosensitive member surface.

Here, the film constituting the cleaning film 11 in which abrasive fine particles are provided via a binder includes, for example, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyester represented by polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethalene terephthalate, and the like.
Examples thereof include polycarbonate and the like.

Examples of the binder that holds the polishing fine particles include a flexible binder such as a urethane binder or a modified 6-nylon binder, and a binder that dissolves in water or an alcohol solvent to form an emulsion is preferable.

In the present invention, the abrasive fine particles are materials such as triiron tetroxide, cerium oxide, alumina, silicon carbide, calcium oxide, and diatomaceous earth, and preferably have a particle size of 0.5 to 50 μm. What are fine abrasive particles?
An abrasive having a particle size of 0.5 to 10 μm is referred to. A fine abrasive particle having a coarse particle diameter refers to an abrasive having a particle size of 10 to 50 μm. It is preferable that the composition is dispersed in the range of 0.6 to 25 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder. This is because the dispersion effect is low when the dispersion amount of the abrasive fine particles is 0.6 parts by weight or less, and the addition effect is not exhibited when the dispersion amount is 25 parts by weight or more.

Examples of a method of providing a fine particle binder layer on the surface of the film using the fine polishing particles using a binder include a dipping method and a spray coating method. The thickness of the cleaning film having the obtained fine particle binder layer is preferably 0.1 to 5 mm, more preferably 0.1 to 3 mm.

<Effect> A cleaning film provided with abrasive fine particles via a binder is brought into surface contact with the surface of the photoreceptor so as to disperse the pressing force, and the filmed material on the surface of the photoreceptor is polished through the binder. The fine particles can be removed by the fine particles, and the fine particles of the polishing particles can remove toner, paper powder, and corona biological substances continuously without damaging the surface of the photoreceptor.

<Embodiment> Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.
, A backup roller 15 which rubs the surface of the photoreceptor 14 with the fine particle binder layer of the film while pressing the fed cleaning film 11, and a conveyance of the cleaning film 11 after rubbing. Reversing roller for reversing the direction to the front side of photoconductor 14
And a take-up roller 13 for taking up the inverted cleaning film 11 and pressing the cleaning film 11 against the surface of the photosensitive 14. Then, the cleaning film 11 fed from the supply roller 12 is first pressed by the backup roller 15 to clean the surface of the photoconductor with one of the fine particle binder layers 11a, and then wound up after being inverted by the inversion roller 17. At the time of winding by the roller 13, the surface of the photoconductor 14 is rubbed with the fine particle binder layer 11b on the back side of the fine particle binder layer 11a which has been cleaned earlier.

At this time, the cleaning film 11 has fine particle binder layers 11a and 11b formed on both surfaces. One of the fine polishing particles has a fine particle size (0.5 μm), and the other fine particle binder layer 11b has a fine particle size. Coarse thing (15μm)
The diameter of the winding roller 13 is larger than the diameter of the backup roller 15.

As a result, the surface of the photoreceptor 14 from which the toner and the like have been conventionally removed by the cleaning blade 16 is first cleaned with a fine particle binder layer 11b having abrasive fine particles having coarse particles, and then the fine particles of fine particles are polished. The cleaning is performed again by the fine particle binder layer 11a having the fine particles, and the filming material on the surface of the photoconductor 14 is completely removed.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, since a cleaning film provided with abrasive fine particles via a binder is used, filming can be performed even in an amorphous silicon photosensitive member having a high hardness even when used for a long time. No phenomena occurred.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional cleaning device for a photosensitive member, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a cleaning film, 12 is a supply roller, 13 is a take-up roller, 14 is an electrophotographic photosensitive member, 15 is a backup roller, 16 is a cleaning blade, and 17 is a reversing roller.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A fine particle binder layer comprising a binder and fine abrasive particles is provided on the surface of a cleaning film, and the fine particle binder layer moves the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member in a direction opposite to the rotating direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. In the electrophotographic photoreceptor cleaning method of rubbing and removing residual foreign matter on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, a fine particle binder layer having abrasive fine particles having different particle diameters is provided on both surfaces of the cleaning film, The fine particle binder layer having fine abrasive fine particles, on the downstream side where the fine particle binder layer having coarse abrasive fine particles slides on the surface of the photoreceptor, slides on the surface of the photoreceptor to remove residual foreign matter on the surface. A method for cleaning an electrophotographic photosensitive member, comprising: 2. A cleaning film having on its surface a fine particle binder layer composed of abrasive fine particles and a binder, a supply means for supplying and winding the cleaning film, and a winding means. In a cleaning device having a pressing roller that rubs against the surface of the body, a fine particle binder layer using abrasive fine particles having different particle diameters is formed on both surfaces of the cleaning film, and after being pressed by the pressing roller, A reversing roller for reversing the transport direction of the cleaning film is provided, and a winding roller having a diameter larger than that of the pressing roller is provided.When the winding roller is wound, the winding roller is brought into sliding contact with the pressing roller. The other fine particle binder layer, which is different from the surface, Cleaning device so as to take up the Gufirumu. 3. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the amount of the polishing particles is 0.6 to 25 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder. 4. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fine polishing particles are at least one selected from glycerin composed of triiron tetroxide, cerium oxide, alumina, silicon carbide, calcium oxide, and diatomaceous earth.