JP3500324B2 - Apparatus equipped with a powder carrying rotating body - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device provided with a powder-carrying rotary member, for example, a cleaning device or a developing device provided in an image forming apparatus, and more specifically, to a powder such as toner. The present invention relates to a seal structure of a powder-carrying rotary member such as a photoconductor, which is supported and rotated, a transfer drum or a developing roller, and a powder container which is arranged adjacent to the powder-carrying rotary member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a photosensitive member carrying a toner image, a cleaning device for removing and containing untransferred toner on the photosensitive member, and a plurality of toner images formed on the photosensitive member are superposed on each other. An intermediate transfer member for transferring to a sheet and a cleaning device that removes and stores untransferred toner on the intermediate transfer member, or a developing roller that supplies toner to the photosensitive member and supplies the developing roller to the developing roller. Between a powder-carrying rotary member that carries and rotates powder and a powder-carrying member that is disposed adjacent to the powder-carrying rotary member and that stores powder, such as a developing tank that stores toner. As a seal structure at the end of the powder-carrying rotary member in the rotation axis direction, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-46049 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-24927.
A technique as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3 is disclosed.

In Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-46049, in order to prevent toner leakage from a side end portion of the cleaning device casing, which is a contact portion between the cleaning device casing and the photoconductor, this portion is provided. , A structure in which a sealing member made of a flexible fiber is attached is disclosed.

Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-249273 discloses a developing roller which carries toner and supplies it to a photosensitive member, and a side seal structure of a developing tank which accommodates toner supplied on the developing roller. ing.

[0005]

In the prior arts of the above publications, since the seal member made of fiber or another seal member is simply attached, the toner easily moves along the gap between the fibers. However, the contamination of the copying machine cannot be avoided sufficiently. When the pressure contact force between the seal member and the powder-carrying rotary member is increased in order to improve the sealing property, the rotational torque of the powder-carrying rotary member increases, and the powder powder is rotated as compared with the case where the rotational torque is small. The life of the drive system for driving the carrier rotating body is shortened.

The object of the present invention is to reliably seal the powder in the container facing the powder-carrying rotary member so as not to leak, and to reduce the frictional force with the powder-carrying rotary member. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus including a powder carrying rotating body.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a powder-carrying rotary member for carrying powder, a container for facing the powder-carrying rotary member and containing powder therein, and a powder carrier. A first seal member for sealing the upstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying rotary body between the bodies, and a second sealing member for sealing the downstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying rotary body between the powder carrying body and the containing body. And a powder-carrying rotary body including a sealing means for sealing an end portion of the powder-carrying rotary body between the powder-carrying body and the containing body in an axial direction perpendicular to a rotation direction of the powder-carrying rotary body, wherein the sealing means comprises: (A) a base surface portion formed on the inner wall of the container facing the powder-carrying rotary body; and (b) a powder extending from the first seal member to the side end portion of the second seal member along the rotation direction, A protrusion formed higher on the inner wall facing the carrying rotating body from the base surface, and (c) a third
A seal member, which is in a natural state and has an elastic flat plate shape with a uniform thickness, is provided over the base surface portion and the protruding portion, and contacts the outer peripheral surface of the powder carrying rotating body. A third part having a light contact state with the rear surface of the first seal member opposite to the powder carrying rotating body.
An apparatus including a powder-carrying rotating body, comprising: a seal member. The present invention also relates to a powder-carrying rotary body that carries powder, a container that faces the powder-carrying rotary body, and houses powder therein, and a powder-carrying rotary body between the powder-carrying body and the carcass. A first seal member for sealing the upstream side in the rotation direction of
A second seal member for sealing a downstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying rotor between the powder carrying body and the containing body, and an axis line perpendicular to the rotating direction of the powder carrying rotary body between the powder carrying body and the containing body. In a device including a powder carrying rotating body including a sealing means for sealing an end portion in a direction, the sealing means includes: (a) a base surface portion formed on an inner wall of the container facing the powder carrying rotating body;
(B) The first seal member to the second seal member along the rotation direction.
A projecting portion extending to a side end portion of the seal member, the first portion being formed higher on the inner wall facing the powder carrying rotating body from the base surface portion and extending in the direction perpendicular to the rotation direction, and the first portion continuing to the first portion. A protrusion having two parts, and (c) a third seal member, which is a flat plate-like member having an elastic property in a natural state and having a uniform thickness, and provided across the base surface and the protrusion. And a third seal member having a part that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the powder-carrying rotary member to seal it and closely adheres to the back surface of the first seal member opposite to the powder-carrying rotary member in a light contact state. And a powder-carrying rotary body.

According to the present invention, the periphery of the opening of the container facing the powder carrying rotary member is surrounded by the first to third seal members 12, 1.
Sealed by 1,15. Particularly according to the invention,
Due to the protrusion 41, a part of the width of the third seal member is
It contacts the surface of the powder-carrying rotary body with a higher pressure than the remaining part, and this part extends in the rotational direction. Therefore, even if the powder from the container enters the third seal member, it is prevented from leaking outward in the width direction, and from between the sliding contact portion between the outer peripheral surface of the powder-carrying rotary member and the part. Leakage can be prevented and the sealing performance can be improved. Moreover, the third
Since it is possible to reduce the contact area where the seal member and the powder-carrying rotary member are in sliding contact with each other, it is possible to reduce the frictional force, thereby reducing the rotational torque of the drive system for rotationally driving the powder-carrying rotary member. Therefore, the life of the drive system can be extended.

[0009]

According to the invention, the third seal member is a plate-shaped seal member in a natural state, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped seal member, and a portion arranged on the protruding portion of the seal member has a larger amount than a remaining portion. Then, in a state where the pressure per unit area is high, the surface of the powder-carrying rotary member is slidably contacted. Therefore, leakage of powder can be prevented with a relatively simple structure. Such a configuration of the present invention is particularly shown in FIGS.
This is clearly shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

The present invention further includes: a front seal member, which is disposed at an end portion of the second seal member on the upstream side in the rotation direction and is in contact with the powder-carrying rotary member, and inside the container rather than the second seal member. A second seal member, which is arranged and has a front seal member fixed at one end, and which has a film having high elasticity and flexibility in a direction in which it comes in contact with and separates from the powder-carrying rotary member, and an elastic material. And an intervening member interposed between the film and the film. The present invention also relates to a powder-carrying rotary body that carries powder, a container that faces the powder-carrying rotary body, and houses powder therein, and a powder-carrying rotary body between the powder-carrying body and the carcass. A first sealing member for sealing the upstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying body, a second sealing member for sealing the downstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying body between the powder carrying body and the containing body, and the powder carrying body and the containing body. An apparatus provided with a powder carrying rotary body including a third seal member for sealing an end portion of the powder carrying rotary body in an axial direction perpendicular to a rotation direction of the powder carrying rotary body, wherein the rotation is performed at the end portion of the second seal member. A front seal member that is arranged on the upstream side in the direction of contact with the powder-carrying rotary member, and a second seal member that is arranged inside the containing member, and the front seal member is fixed at one end to the powder-carrying rotary member. A film having high elasticity and flexibility in the direction of contacting and separating,
An apparatus provided with a powder-carrying rotating body, which is made of an elastic material and includes an interposing member interposed between the second sealing member and the film 24.

According to the present invention, the part 15e of the third seal member 15 is brought into close contact with the back surface of the first seal member 12 opposite to the powder carrying rotating body in a light contact state. This prevents the powder from leaking from the end portion of the first seal member 12.

The present invention is also an image forming apparatus including an apparatus provided with the above-mentioned powder carrying rotating body.

According to the present invention, the present invention can be widely applied in connection with an electronic image forming apparatus such as a color copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, etc., such as powder such as toner inside the machine body. Leakage and scattering can be reliably prevented.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows an electrophotographic image forming apparatus 1 which is a digital color copying machine according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a copying machine 1, which is one of the two. This Figure 1
As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine 1 is a double-sided automatic document feeder (abbreviated as ARDF; Reversing Automatic Document Feeder).
112, a scanner unit 110, an image forming unit 210, and a paper feed mechanism 211 are provided and configured, and an operation panel (not shown) is further provided.

The RADF 112 conveys a document set at a predetermined position onto a document table 111 in the scanner section 110. After the document image is read by the scanner section 110, the RADF 112 reaches a predetermined take-out position. It has a function to carry out. RADF 112 is the scanner unit 1
After the document image is read by 10, the document is turned upside down and conveyed again to the document table 111. This allows
In the copying machine 1, it is possible for the scanner unit 110 to read images on both sides of a document.

Further, the RADF 112 is a document table 111.
It can be opened and closed freely. Therefore, when the user uses the RADF 112, the RADF 1
The original can be directly placed on the original table 111 by opening the RADF 112 while keeping 12 closed.

The scanner section 110 is for reading an image of a document conveyed by the RADF 112, and is an image input device in the copying machine 1. This scanner unit 1
As shown in FIG. 1, 10 includes a first scanning unit 113, a second scanning unit 114, an optical lens 115, and an optical conversion element (CC
D: Charge Coupled Device) line sensor (hereinafter C)
116).

First and second scanning units 113, 1
Reference numeral 14 is for reciprocating in parallel with the document table 111 to read an image of a document placed on the document table 111. The first scanning unit 113 has an exposure lamp 61 that exposes an original image, and a first mirror 62 that deflects a reflected light image from the original in a predetermined direction. It is set so as to reciprocate in parallel with the document table 111 at a predetermined scanning speed while maintaining a constant distance from the lower surface of the document table 111.

The second scanning unit 114 has the second and third mirrors 6 for deflecting the reflected light image deflected by the first mirror 62 in the direction in which the optical lens 115 is located.
3, 64. It is configured to reciprocate in parallel with the document table 111 while maintaining a constant speed relationship with the first scanning unit 113. The optical lens 115 reduces the reflected light image from the document deflected by the first to third mirrors 62 to 64 and forms an image at a predetermined position on the CCD 116.

The CCD 116 photoelectrically converts the formed reflected light image to generate image information of an electric signal, and the image forming unit 2
It is for outputting to 10. This CCD116
Can read color images. CCD116
Can generate image information of line data that is color-separated for each color component of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) from the reflected light image of the color image.

The image forming section 210 prints an image on a sheet based on the image information output from the CCD 116. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming section 210 includes a black image transfer section 301, a yellow image transfer section 302, a magenta image transfer section 303, and a cyan image transfer section 304. The transfer units 301 to 304 have substantially the same configuration, and are set to transfer a black image, a yellow image, a magenta image, and a cyan image to a sheet based on image information. There is.

As shown in FIG. 1, these transfer portions 301 to
Reference numeral 304 denotes a laser beam scanner unit (abbreviated as LS).
U) 227a to 227d and the image forming station Pa
To Pd, respectively. LSU227a-22
Pixel signals corresponding to the black component, the yellow component, the magenta component, and the cyan component in the image information are input to 7d, respectively. Based on these image signals, the LSUs 227a to 227d generate image forming stations Pa to P.
The photosensitive drums 222a to 222d, which will be described later, in d are exposed to light to form an electrostatic latent image.

These LSUs 227a to 227d are semiconductor laser diodes LD shown in FIG. 2 in order to generate a dot-shaped laser beam modulated according to image information.
1 to LD4. The control unit I67 shown in FIG.
Controls the power of the semiconductor laser diodes LD1 to LD4 and the timing of light generation. In addition, LSU2
27a to 227d are polygon mirrors 240a to 240d and f-θ lenses 241a to 241 as shown in FIG.
d and mirrors 242a-242d, 243a-243.
d.

The polygon mirrors 240a to 240d have a function of deflecting the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser element in the main scanning direction. Further, each of the above-mentioned f-θ lenses and mirrors is a polygon mirror 240a.
The laser beams deflected by ˜240 d are imaged on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 222 a ˜ 222 d.

The image forming stations Pa to Pd are LSs.
A toner image corresponding to each color is generated based on the laser beams emitted from U227a to 227d, and the toner images are sequentially transferred to the sheet P. As shown in FIG. 1, these image forming stations Pa to Pd are provided on the photosensitive drum 22.
2a to 222d, and a charger 223a.
To 223d, developing devices 224a to 224d, transfer device 22
5a to 225d and cleaning devices 226a to 22
6d denotes photosensitive drums (transfer drums) 222a to 222.
It is arranged along the direction of arrow F around d.

Each of the photosensitive drums 222a to 222d is a drum-shaped transfer roller having a photosensitive material on its surface, and is set so as to be rotationally driven in the arrow F direction. The chargers 223a to 223d are provided on the photoconductor drum 222.
Each of a to 222d is uniformly charged.

The developing devices 224a to 224d contain black, yellow, magenta and cyan toners, respectively. The developing devices 224a to 224d have a function of developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor drums 222a to 222d with these toners to form a toner image.

The transfer devices 225a to 225d are corona dischargers for transferring the toner images on the photosensitive drums 222a to 222d to the sheets. As shown in FIG. 2, the power (potential) of these transfer devices 225a to 225d is controlled by the control unit II68. Transfer device 225a-22
The cleaning devices 226a to 226d shown in FIG. 1 provided on the downstream side of 5d have a function of removing the toner remaining on the photoconductor drums 222a to 222d after the transfer to the sheet P.

The sheet feeding mechanism 211 conveys the sheet to a predetermined position of the image forming section 210 in order to transfer the toner image of each color generated by the image forming section 210 onto the sheet.
The sheet feeding mechanism 211 receives the sheet P after the toner image is transferred.
Has the function of discharging

As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet feeding mechanism 211 includes a sheet cassette 251, a take-out roller 253, a plurality of conveying rollers 252 and 261, a registration roller 212, a transfer / conveying belt mechanism 213, a fixing device 217, and a conveying direction switching gate. 218, paper discharge roller 219, and paper discharge tray 22
It has 0. The sheet cassette 251 accommodates a cut sheet-shaped sheet P used in the copying machine 1. The take-out roller 253 is a pickup roller for taking out the sheets P one by one from the sheet cassette 251. The transport rollers 252, ... Send the sheet P ejected from the sheet cassette 251 to the main transport path L and transport the sheet P on the main transport path L.

In the pre-registration detection switch 69, the sheet P conveyed by the conveying rollers 252, ...
It detects that a predetermined position has been passed upward and outputs a predetermined detection signal. The registration roller 212 temporarily holds the sheet P conveyed on the main conveyance path L. The registration roller 212 has a function of feeding the toner images on the photoconductor drums 222a to 222d to the transfer / conveying belt mechanism 213 at timing with the image forming stations Pa to Pd so that the toner images on the photosensitive drums 222a to 222d can be satisfactorily transferred to the sheet P. is doing. The registration rollers 212 detect the photosensitive drums 222a to 222a based on the detection signal output from the pre-registration detection station.
The sheet P is set to be fed to the transfer / conveying belt mechanism 213 so that the leading edge of the toner image on the sheet 2d is pressed against the leading edge of the printing range on the sheet P.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer / transport belt mechanism 213 has a drive roller 214, a driven roller 215, a transport belt 216, a suction charger 228, a charge eliminator 229, and an auxiliary roller 231. The conveyor belt 216 is a belt wound between a driving roller 214 and a driven roller 215, and is frictionally driven by the rollers 214 and 215 in the arrow Z direction. Conveyor belt 216
Is the sheet P sent by the registration roller 212.
Is electrostatically adsorbed and conveyed to each of the image forming stations Pa to Pd and the fixing device 217.

The adsorption charger 228 is a brush provided between the image forming station Pa and the registration roller 212, and is for charging the surface of the conveyor belt 216. That is, in the copying machine 1, the conveyor belt 2
By charging 16 and electrostatically adsorbing the sheet P, the deviation of the sheet during conveyance is prevented.

The static eliminator 229 is used in the image forming station P.
It is provided between d and the fixing device 217, and is for removing the charge on the surface of the conveyor belt 216 by an alternating current. Toner images of the respective colors are transferred to the sheet P conveyed to the image forming stations Pa to Pd,
Overlaid. Then, when the transfer by the image forming station Pd is completed, the sheet P is set to be sequentially peeled from the transport belt 216 from the leading end portion thereof by the static eliminator 229 and guided to the fixing device 217.

The fixing device 217 thermally fixes the unfixed toner image transferred to the sheet P. And
The sheet P that has been subjected to the heat fixing process is transferred to the transfer direction switching gate 2
It is transported to 18. The switching gate 218 selectively switches the transport path of the sheet P after fixing between the discharge path toward the discharge tray 220 and the sub-transport path S.

The sub-conveyance path S is a conveyance path for reversing the sheet P and re-supplying it to the image forming section 210.
The sheet P sent to the sub-transport path S is turned upside down via the switchback transport path 221, and then the transport roller 26
It is set to be conveyed on the sub-conveyance path S by 1, ..., And supplied again to the image forming unit 210.

Here, the image forming stations Pa to Pd.
The formation and transfer of the toner image in 3 will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 222a in the image forming station Pa. FIG. 4 shows the non-exposed area and the exposed area.
The transition of the surface potential of the photoconductor in each process of charging, exposure, development, transfer and charge removal is shown.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the toner image is formed, the surface of the photosensitive drum 222a is charged by the charger 223.
a uniformly negative polarity (here, for example, -500
V) and then exposed by the LSU 227a according to the black image data. By this exposure, when an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a black image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 222a, the exposed portion potential on the photoconductor surface is rapidly attenuated, and is lower than the developing potential (for example, -200V). Also reaches the developing process in a state where it is on the positive polarity side (here, for example, about −100 V). The potential of the non-exposed portion on the surface of the photoconductor is gradually attenuated, but is maintained at a value larger on the negative polarity side than the developing potential (eg, -200 V) (eg, about -38 V).
0 V) reaches the development step.

In the developing step, the toner adheres to the exposed portion of the electrostatic latent image on the positive side of the developing potential, and the non-exposed portion of the electrostatic latent image on the negative side of the developing potential. No toner adheres to the. As a result, the electrostatic latent image is visualized by the toner to form a toner image.

Next, a transfer process is performed. Transfer device 22
A voltage of, for example, +1.2 kV is applied to 5a, and this voltage is set to give a positive charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner to the sheet on the transport belt 216. Therefore, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 222a is transferred to the sheet at the transfer device 225a. On the sheet 71 shown in FIG. 3, the toner transferred previously is illustrated, but it does not exist in the image forming station Pa arranged on the most upstream side but exists in the image forming stations Pb to Pd.

After that, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 222a is removed by the cleaning device 226a, and then the charge is removed by the charge remover 271 (not shown in FIG. 1).

Next, a detailed configuration of the cleaning devices 226a to 226d, which is a characteristic configuration of the copying machine 1, will be described. These cleaning devices 226a to 226
Since d has the same structure, only the cleaning device 226a will be described below. 5 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of the cleaning device 226a, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the cleaning device 226a. As shown in these drawings, the cleaning device 226a includes a cleaning blade 11 which is a second sealing means, a toner receiving seal 12 which is a first sealing means, a screw 14,
Side seal 15, holder 16, which is the third sealing means
It has a, 16b and a front seal 23.

The holders 16a and 16b are for the photosensitive drum 2
22a is a holder into which the cleaning step 22a is fitted, and the side steps 31 are provided at both ends of the cleaning housing 13.
It is formed integrally with. When the photoconductor drum 222a is fitted, first, the cylindrical end portion T1 projecting axially outward from the photoconductor drum 222a is inserted into the hole 16 of the holder 16b.
b1 (operation in FIG. 5), and thereafter, the cylindrical end portion T2 protruding outward on the opposite side in the axial direction of the photoconductor drum 222a is inserted into the cutout portion 16a1 of the holder 16a (FIG. 5). Medium, working). Stopper S with holder 16a
When the photoconductor drum 222a is attached to the notch portion 16a1 (operation in FIG. 5), the photoconductor drum 222a does not come off from the holders 16a and 16b. In this state, the cleaning device 2
26a is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, from the main body side, the rotation shaft of the photosensitive drum 222a is moved to the holder 16
From the hole 16b1 of b to each end T of the photosensitive drum 222a
The rotary shaft of the photoconductor drum 222a is fitted into the holes T1a and T2a of 1, 2, and the photoconductor drum 222a is fitted to the rotary shaft.
Is fixed, the photosensitive drum 222a can be rotationally driven with respect to the cleaning device 226a. The rotation of the photosensitive drum 222a is performed by rotationally driving the rotation shaft of the photosensitive drum 222a.

The cleaning blade 11 is a blade made of an elastic material, and is fixed to the cleaner housing 13 via a blade holder 17. Blade 11
Removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum 222a by rubbing the surface of the photoconductor drum 222a. The width of the cleaning blade 11 is equal to the photosensitive drum 222a.
Is set to be longer than the width of the image forming area, and is set to be shorter than the entire width of the photosensitive drum 222a.

The toner receiving seal 12 is a sealing member made of a sheet-like film. The toner receiving seal 12 is fixed to the cleaner housing 13 via a metal plate 19 on the upstream side of the cleaning blade 11 in the rotation direction 72 of the photosensitive drum 222a. Further, both ends of the toner receiving seal 12 come into contact with recesses 15a provided on the front surface of the side seal 15 which will be described later. The toner receiving seal 12 has a function of guiding the toner removed by the cleaning blade 11 into the cleaner housing 13 and the photosensitive drum 222a.
It has a function of contacting the surface of the cleaner housing 13 and sealing the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 222a of the cleaner housing 13 to the outside.

The screw 14 is used for the cleaner housing 1
It is a conveying unit that conveys the toner guided into the inside of the collecting container 3 to a predetermined collecting container.

The side seal 15 is a seal member attached to the inside of the holders 16a and 16b in the side step 31, and is brought into sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the end of the photosensitive drum 222a in the axial direction. It is provided in. The side seals 15 seal the both ends of the cleaner housing 13 and
It has a function of preventing toner from scattering from the inside to the outside. The side seal 15 will be described later.
The side seals 15 are shown as crossed diagonal lines in FIG. The side seal 15 is an elastic flat plate-shaped seal member having a uniform thickness in the radial direction of the photosensitive drum 222a in a natural state, that is, in a state where no external force acts. The photoconductor drum 222a and the screw 14 have parallel axes in one plane. The side step 31 has an arcuate surface which is a part of a right circular cylinder surface having the same axis as the axis of the photosensitive drum 222a.

The front seal 23 is a seal member provided at both ends of the cleaning blade 11. The front seal 23 guides the toner flowing toward the end portion at the edge portion of the cleaning blade 11 into the cleaner housing 13, prevents the toner from moving from the edge portion to the side seal 15, and seals the side seal 15. It has a function of more reliably preventing the toner from scattering to the outside.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the cleaning device 226a. FIG. 7 (1) is a sectional plane line AA in FIG.
It is a sectional view of cleaning device 226a seen from above. FIG. 7 (2) is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning device 226a taken along the section line CC of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the front seal 23 is a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) affixed inside the blade holder 17.
It is attached to one end of a film 24 made of.
The film 24 is a film having high elasticity and flexibility in a direction in which the film 24 separates from and contacts the photoconductor drum 222a.

Further, as shown in FIG.
4 and the cleaning blade 11, that is, the space formed by the thickness of the blade holder 17,
An intervening member 25 made of an elastic material such as sponge is provided so as to come into contact with both the cleaning blade 11 and the film 24.

8 (1) to 8 (3) show examples of dimensions of the cleaning blade 11, the film 24, the interposition member 25, the front seal 23, and the blade holder 17. FIG. 8A shows the cleaning blade 11
8 (2) is a cross-sectional view of the blade holder 17, and FIG. 8 (3) is a front side of the cleaning blade 11. FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the front seal 23 has a width L1 = 10 mm having a dimension of L2 = 3 mm in the direction acting on the edge of the cleaning blade 11 from the surface attached to the film 24 and L3 = 3 mm in the thickness direction. Is a rectangular parallelepiped. Further, the front seal 23 is arranged with a gap L4 = 0.5 mm from the end of the cleaning blade 11. The materials of the cleaning blade 11, the film 24, and the interposition member 25 are urethane rubber, PET, and urethane foam, respectively. Although not shown in FIG. 8, the side seal 15 has a structure in which acrylic fibers are woven and raised, and the toner receiving seal 12 is made of a urethane sheet.

When the cleaning blade 11 is bent by receiving a force from the photosensitive drum 222a, the interposition member 25 transmits the displacement at the time of bending to the front seal 23. When the cleaning blade 11 bends, the film 24 is pushed together with the cleaning blade 11 and the interposition member 25, and the position of the front seal 23 moves to the inside of the cleaner housing 13. Therefore, the cleaning blade 11 is pushed by the photosensitive drum 222a.
Even if the front seal 23 bends, the mutual position of the front seal 23 and the end surface of the cleaning blade 11 on which the toner moves does not change, and the front seal 2 does not have the intervening member 25.
3 approaches the photoconductor drum 222a side, and the photoconductor drum 2
Since no unnecessary pressure is applied to the cleaning blade 11 by rubbing against the cleaning blade 22a, the cleaning blade 11 is not reversed. That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the end area of the cleaning blade 11, the photosensitive member 222a of the cleaning blade 11 is
The film 24 having the front seal 23 adhered and fixed to the front end thereof is disposed on the side opposite to the surface facing the. An interposition member 25 is arranged between the film 24 and the cleaning blade 11.

With such a structure, when the cleaning blade 11 is pressed against the photosensitive member 222a and bends, the cleaning blade 11 is interposed by the interposing member 25.
By pressing, the interposition member 25 presses the film 24. Therefore, when the cleaning blade 11 is pressed against the photosensitive drum 222a, the relative positional relationship of the front seal 23 adhered to the tip of the film 24 with respect to the cleaning edge of the cleaning blade 11 does not significantly change, and the cleaning blade It is possible to stably guide the toner moving along the cleaning edge 23 from the photoconductor side into the cleaner housing.

The cleaning blade 11 has the following characteristics.

(1) The cleaning edge is not a perfect straight line, and since the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member which abuts the cleaning edge is a cylindrical surface, the cleaning edge does not abut perfectly in parallel to the axis of the photosensitive member, so that the pressure is partially applied. In order to remove the toner on the photosensitive drum 222a with the cleaning blade 11, the cleaning blade 11 is made of rubber such as urethane and the toner particle size is very small. If there is no pressure contact force over a predetermined range over the cleaning edge, cleaning failure occurs. Therefore, the pressure contact force is set so that a pressure contact force other than the predetermined pressure is applied even to a portion of the cleaning edge where the pressure contact force is weak.

(2) The end portion of the cleaning blade 11 in the cleaning edge direction has a lower force (deflection strength) for supporting itself than the central portion.

Therefore, due to the reasons (1) and (2) described above, the cleaning blade 11 is inverted (turned) from the end portion in the cleaning edge direction as shown in FIG. 7B.
Easy to cause.

FIG. 14 is a partial sectional view of a cleaning device 226a according to another embodiment of the present invention. This Figure 1
4 corresponds to FIG. 7 (1) described above. In this embodiment, the interposition member 25 in the above-described embodiments is omitted. If the intervening member 25 is not provided as described above, FIG.
4, the front end side of the cleaning blade 11 is pushed, and the front seal 23 is pushed against the front end side of the cleaning blade 11 as indicated by an arrow 11a due to the sliding contact with the photoconductor. As a result, inversion easily occurs due to the above reason. Further, the pressure contact force between the front seal 23 and the surface of the photoconductor drum 222a becomes too strong, and the surface of the photoconductor drum 222a may be rubbed and worn, resulting in a shorter life. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 13 described above,
Such a problem is solved. The present invention also includes the configuration shown in FIG.

The side seal 15 has a thin flat plate shape with a uniform thickness in a natural state in which no external force acts. The side seal 15 has a portion corresponding to the protruding portion 41 in the axial direction of the photoconductor drum 222a, that is, in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 6) at a pressure higher than that of the remaining portion in the width direction of the photoconductor drum 222a. Pressed against the outer surface,
The sealability is improved in this part. The base surface portion 42 formed on the side step 31 of the cleaner housing 13 has an outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 222a so that the side seal can be pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 222b when the side seal is provided on the base surface portion. Is formed on a circular arc surface having the same axis as the axis of the photoconductor drum 222a at a constant interval.

Next, the side seal 15 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the side seal 1
Reference numeral 5 is attached to the inside of the holders 16a and 16b in the side steps 31 provided at both ends of the cleaner housing 13, and is composed of a sealing member made of fiber and has elasticity. .

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the section line BB in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the side step 31 and the side seal 15 are provided on the photosensitive drum 22.
2a has a shape along the shape of the side surface (that is, a cylindrical shape). The photoconductor drum 222a is set so as to rotate while both ends thereof are in close contact with the side seals 15. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the inner end portion of the side seal 15 has a slight gap L6 (= 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm) from both end portions of the cleaning blade 11.
Is arranged.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the structure of the side step 31 before the side seal 15 is attached, and FIG. 11 is a front view showing the structure of the side step 31 in the state shown in FIG. These Figure 10
And as shown in FIG. 11, along the end inner wall 13a of the cleaner housing 13 in the side step 31,
A protrusion 41 extending in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 222a, that is, along the circumferential direction is provided.

The protruding portion 41 is a padding having a height L5 of about 0.2 to 0.5 mm. Side seal 15
Is attached on both the protrusion 41 and the base 42. Due to the projecting portion 41, the pressure contact force per unit area between the side seal 15 attached to the side step 31 and the photosensitive drum 222a becomes particularly high at a portion corresponding to the projecting portion 41. As described above, in the cleaning device 226a, the photosensitive drum 222a of the side seal 15 is provided along the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 222a of the side seal 15 provided at the end of the cleaner housing 13.
Is provided in a part of the contact area of the side seal 15 with the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 222a.

As a result, as compared with a structure in which the contact of the side seal 15 with the photosensitive drum 222a is substantially uniform over the entire side seal 15, the toner which is about to leak from the side seal 15 to the outside can be prevented. It becomes possible to block at the high-pressure contact part. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the toner from leaking from the side seal 15 to the outside, and to more surely prevent the toner from scattering to the outside.

As described above, the protruding portion 41 is formed on a part of the side step 31 along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 222a. Therefore, side step 3
In comparison with the configuration in which the entire side seal 15 attached to the first side 1 is used as the high-voltage contact portion, the photosensitive drum 222 by the high-voltage contact portion is
It is possible to minimize the decrease in the rotation torque of a.
Further, as compared with the configuration in which the side seal 15 is provided only in the narrow high-pressure contact portion, the adhesion area between the side seal 15 and the side step 31 becomes large, and the side seal 15 is rubbed against the photosensitive drum 222a. The prevention of peeling becomes much more reliable.

On the back side of the toner receiving seal 12, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 (2), the side seal 1 is attached.
A part 15e of 5 is positioned in a light contact state to prevent leakage. End inner wall 13a of the cleaning housing 13
Is not cut out, and as shown in FIG. 7B, a part 15e of the side seal 15 is in close contact with the back surface of the toner receiving seal 12 on the side opposite to the photoconductor drum 222a, and the remaining part is left. 15f is arranged in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 222a.

The protruding portion 41 forms the high-pressure contact portion of the side seal 15 to prevent the scattered toner in the cleaner housing 13 from leaking to the outside, and the end portion side along the cleaning edge of the cleaning blade 11. Of the toner that moves to the inside of the cleaning box 13 due to the front seal 23 is prevented from entering the side seal 15.
The sealing performance is not reduced.

Projection 41 in Side Step 31
The shape of is not limited to the portion extending along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 222a as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and in other embodiments of the present invention,
The shape may be such that it surrounds the side of the cleaner housing 13. That is, the protruding portion 41 may have a configuration as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. In this configuration, the protrusion 41
Covers the entire width of the contact area where the side seal 15 and the photosensitive drum 222a contact each other.
Second portion 52 that has a first portion 51 extending in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of
have. Also in this embodiment, the side seal 15
Is attached on both the protrusion 41 and the base 42. In this embodiment, the second portion 52 prevents the toner from scattering toward the holder 16a, and the first portion 51 prevents the toner that has entered the side seal 15 from escaping in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 222a. It can be suppressed.

In the above-described embodiment, the fiber raising body in which the fibers are woven and raised is used as the third sealing means.
An elastic foam such as sponge may be used. Further, the high-pressure contact portion in the contact area between the third sealing means and the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor, which is the powder-carrying rotary member, is formed by forming the projecting portion on the base (side step 31) on which the third sealing means is provided. However, an object may be provided on the side opposite to the contact side of the third sealing means with the photoconductor, and the object may be attached to the base together with the third sealing means.

[0071]

The third sealing means includes the first sealing means and the second sealing means.
It is more effective to block the toner by forming it so as to extend in the direction of rotation of the powder-carrying rotary member between the first sealing means and the second sealing means. If the blocking effect of the toner is sufficient, it may not be provided between the first sealing means and the second sealing means.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the cleaning device for the photosensitive drum has been described, but in the present invention, the powder-carrying rotary member which carries the powder and rotates, and the powder-carrying rotary member are arranged adjacent to the powder-carrying rotary member. Any powder container can be applied. In another embodiment, for example, a cleaning device that removes toner on the intermediate transfer member can be used.
Further, it is also possible to carry out the seal between the developing roller for supplying the toner onto the photosensitive member and the developing tank for containing the toner for supplying to the developing roller. In the case of a developing tank, for example, in the case of a two-component developer using a carrier and toner, the seal on the upstream side of the rotation of the developing roller, which is a powder-carrying rotary member, is the developer (that is, carrier) on the developing roller. And a mixture of toner) and a doctor blade that controls the layer thickness, and a part of the developing tank bears the seal on the downstream side of the rotation of the developing roller. At this time, it can be said that the developer self-confidence works as a seal member in cooperation with the doctor blade and a part of the developing tank.

[0074]

According to the present invention, a part of the contact area of the third seal member with the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor is applied to the powder-carrying rotary member with a higher pressure contact force per unit area than the rest of the contact area. Since a part of each of them comes into contact with each other and extends in the rotation direction, it is possible to prevent leakage of powder, improve the sealability, and reduce the frictional force between the third seal member and the powder-carrying rotary member. . By reducing the frictional force between the third seal member and the powder-carrying rotary body, it is possible to reduce the rotational torque to the drive system for rotationally driving the powder-carrying rotary body, and thereby the drive system. The life of can be extended.

Further, since the third seal member is not provided only in the high pressure portion but also in the contact area including the high pressure portion with another powder carrying rotary member, the third seal member is adhered. When it is provided, the adhesion area becomes large, so that the third seal member is less likely to be peeled off, and the prevention of peeling off of the third seal member is further ensured.

The third seal member is plate-shaped in a natural state, and the pressure per unit area is increased in the portion corresponding to the protruding portion, whereby the sealing performance can be improved and the powder leakage can be prevented. And the frictional force between the seal member and the surface of the powder-carrying rotary member can be reduced.

According to the present invention, the part 15e of the third seal member 15 is brought into close contact with the rear surface of the first seal member 12 opposite to the powder carrying rotary body in a light contact state. This prevents the powder from leaking from the end portion of the first seal member 12.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent scattering of powder such as toner inside the machine body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and form a clear image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a copying machine 1 which is a digital color copying machine according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration near a photosensitive drum 222a in the image forming station Pa.

FIG. 4 shows changes in the surface potential of the photoconductor in the respective steps of charging, exposure, development, transfer and charge removal for the non-exposed area and the exposed area.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of a cleaning device 226a.

6 is a front view of the cleaning device 226a of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along section lines AA and CC in FIG.

8 (1) is an explanatory view showing the back side of the cleaning blade 11 (the side to which the film 24 is attached), and FIG. 8 (2) is a sectional view of the blade holder 17. FIG. 8C is an explanatory view showing the front side of the cleaning blade 11.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line BB in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a side step 31 and its vicinity before a side seal 15 is attached.

11 is a front view showing the configuration of a side step 31 in the state shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side step 31 in a state before attaching a side seal 15 in another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the and its vicinity.

FIG. 13 is a side step 31 in a state before attaching a side seal 15 according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the and its vicinity.

FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Copier 11 cleaning blade 12 Toner receiving sticker 13 cleaner housing 15 Side seal 17 blade holder 23 Front seal 24 films 25 Intervening member 31 Side step 41 Projection

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Naoyuki Harada 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Sharp Corporation (56) References JP-A-3-15876 (JP, A) JP-A-4-9885 (JP , A) JP 10-20665 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/08 505 G03G 21/10

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A powder-carrying rotary member carrying powder, a container for facing the powder-carrying rotary member and containing powder therein, and a powder-carrying rotary member between the powder carrier and the container. A first sealing member for sealing the upstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying body, a second sealing member for sealing the downstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying rotary body between the powder carrying body and the containing body, and the powder carrying body and the containing body In a device provided with a powder carrying rotating body, which comprises a sealing means for sealing an end portion of the powder carrying rotating body in the axial direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the powder carrying rotating body, the sealing means comprises: A base surface portion formed on an inner wall facing the carrying rotating body, and (b) a first seal member to a second seal member along the rotation direction.
A protrusion extending to the side end of the seal member and formed higher on the inner wall facing the powder-carrying rotary member from the base surface; and (c) the third seal member, which has a uniform thickness in a natural state. It is a flat plate shape having elasticity, and is provided over the base surface portion and the protruding portion, and contacts the outer peripheral surface of the powder-carrying rotary member to seal the powder-carrying rotary member of the first seal member. An apparatus provided with a powder-carrying rotary body, comprising: a third seal member having a part that comes into close contact with the back surface which is the opposite side in a light contact state. 2. A powder-carrying rotary member carrying powder, a container for facing the powder-carrying rotary member and containing powder therein, and a powder-carrying rotary member between the powder carrier and the container. A first sealing member for sealing the upstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying body, a second sealing member for sealing the downstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying rotary body between the powder carrying body and the containing body, and the powder carrying body and the containing body In a device provided with a powder carrying rotating body, which comprises a sealing means for sealing an end portion of the powder carrying rotating body in the axial direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the powder carrying rotating body, the sealing means comprises: A base surface portion formed on an inner wall facing the carrying rotating body, and (b) a first seal member to a second seal member along the rotation direction.
A projecting portion extending to a side end of the seal member, the first portion being formed higher on the inner wall facing the powder-carrying rotating body from the base surface portion and extending in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction, and the first portion continuing to the first portion. (C) a third seal member, which is an elastic flat plate having a uniform thickness in a natural state, and is provided over the base surface portion and the protrusion portion. And a third seal member having a part that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the powder-carrying rotary member to seal it, and closely adheres to the rear face of the first seal member opposite to the powder-carrying rotary member in a light contact state. An apparatus comprising a powder-carrying rotating body, comprising: 3. A front seal member, which is arranged at an end portion of the second seal member on the upstream side in the rotation direction and comes into contact with the powder-carrying rotary member, and is arranged inside the container rather than the second seal member, The front seal member is fixed at one end, and has a film having high elasticity and flexibility in a direction in which it comes in contact with and separates from the powder carrying rotating body, and a second seal member and a film made of an elastic material. An apparatus provided with the powder carrying rotating body according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an interposing member interposed therebetween. 4. A powder-carrying rotary member carrying powder, a container for facing the powder-carrying rotary member and containing powder therein, and a powder-carrying rotary member between the powder carrier and the container. A first sealing member for sealing the upstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying body, a second sealing member for sealing the downstream side in the rotation direction of the powder carrying rotary body between the powder carrying body and the containing body, and the powder carrying body and the containing body An apparatus provided with a powder-carrying rotary body including a third sealing member for sealing an end portion of a powder-carrying rotary body between bodies in an axial direction perpendicular to a rotation direction, wherein the rotation is performed at an end portion of the second seal member. A front seal member which is arranged on the upstream side in the direction and which comes into contact with the powder-carrying rotary member; and a front seal member which is arranged inside the container rather than the second seal member, the front seal member being fixed to one end, A film having high elasticity and flexibility in the direction of contacting and separating, Made-volatile materials, apparatus comprising a powder carrier rotating member which comprises a intermediate member interposed between the second seal member and the film 24. 5. An image forming apparatus including an apparatus provided with the powder-carrying rotary member according to claim 1. Description: