JP4956970B2 - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning a charging roll, an image carrier, an intermediate transfer member, and the like in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

  Generally, in an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine using an electrophotographic process, in order to form an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum, the image carrier is charged in advance to a predetermined potential. A charging device is used. Further, in an image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt, a charging device that charges the intermediate transfer member is used to transfer a toner image formed on the image carrier to the intermediate transfer member. .

  Conventionally known as these charging devices are a non-contact charging method using corona discharge and a contact charging method in which a continuous discharge is generated in a minute gap using a charging roll or the like.

  In the non-contact charging method using corona discharge, a wire is stretched close to or away from the surface of the body to be discharged in the shield case, and a high voltage is applied to the wire to generate corona discharge, and the body to be discharged A predetermined charge is applied to the surface. Although this charging method is suitable for uniform charging, it is necessary to treat this ozone because a large amount of discharge products such as ozone are generated to promote deterioration of the device. And high cost.

  For this reason, recently, a contact-type charging method in which a charging member is charged by directly contacting a member to be charged has been studied. In this charging method, a DC roll or alternating voltage is applied to a rubber roll or brush that is in contact with the surface of a charged body such as an image carrier to cause a discharge in a minute space near the contact area, thereby charging the charged body. The body is charged.

  In addition to the advantage that discharge products such as ozone and nitrogen oxides are less likely to be generated in this contact charging method compared to non-contact charging devices such as corotron that uses corona discharge, a small charging member is charged. Since it arrange | positions so that a body may be contacted, there exists an advantage that charging device itself can be reduced in size and weight. On the other hand, since charging members such as rubber rolls and brushes are always in contact with the object to be charged, foreign matter such as toner, dust, paper dust, etc. remaining on the object to be charged accumulates on the brush surface, and dirt that does not fully accumulate is charged. Reattaches to the charger and causes image quality defects, or reduces the cleaning performance of the charger.

Therefore, for example, in a charging device that charges an image carrier by generating a continuous discharge in a minute gap between the charging electrode and the image carrier, foreign matter adhering to the roll-shaped charging electrode is acrylic, nylon, or the like. A charging device is disclosed in which fibers such as rayon and polyester are removed with a brush-like cleaning member in which fibers are planted and the charging electrode is uniformly charged (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-186805 (pages 4 to 6)

  However, in the charging device disclosed in Patent Document 1, foreign matters attached to the charging electrode during use are gradually removed without being completely removed by the brush, causing abnormal discharge or unstable discharge, and image quality. Defects may occur.

  In addition, in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, there are, for example, an image carrier and an intermediate transfer body as cleaning objects that need to be cleaned in addition to the above-described charging roll, and these rotating objects to be cleaned are cleaned. 2. Description of the Related Art A cleaning device that cleans an object to be cleaned by bringing a brush into contact therewith is widely known. Even in such a cleaning device such as an image bearing member or an intermediate transfer member, foreign matter adhering to the surface of the member to be cleaned during use is gradually removed without being completely removed by the cleaning brush, and it is easy to cause image quality defects. There's a problem.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can maintain high cleaning performance for a long period of time.

The first cleaning device of the present invention that achieves the above object provides:
In a cleaning apparatus that cleans the surface of a cleaning object by bringing a cleaning brush into contact with the object to be cleaned that rotates in a predetermined direction,
The cleaning brush is obtained by implanting hollow cylindrical hair.

  According to the first cleaning device of the present invention, since the cleaning brush in which hollow cylindrical hair is planted is used, the toner particles removed from the object to be cleaned are not only the surface of the hair but also the hollow hair. High cleaning performance can be maintained because it is held in the station.

In addition, the second cleaning device of the present invention that achieves the above-described object provides:
In a cleaning apparatus that cleans the surface of a cleaning object by bringing a cleaning brush into contact with the object to be cleaned that rotates in a predetermined direction,
The cleaning brush is obtained by implanting irregularly shaped hair whose cross-sectional shape changes irregularly when cut perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction at each point along the longitudinal direction.

  According to the second cleaning device of the present invention, since the cleaning brush in which irregular hair having a very large surface area is implanted is used, the toner particles removed from the object to be cleaned adhere to the irregular hair having a very large surface area. So high cleaning performance can be sustained.

  Here, it is preferable that the cleaning brush is formed by twisting a plurality of the hairs and then planting the hairs.

  When the cleaning device of the present invention is configured as described above, since a cleaning brush having an increased surface area is used by twisting a plurality of bristles, higher cleaning performance can be maintained.

Moreover, it is also preferable that the cleaning brush is obtained by flocking the hair with a flocking density of 200 Kf / cm ² or more.

  When the cleaning device of the present invention is configured as described above, a higher cleaning performance can be maintained by using a cleaning brush planted at a high density.

  Moreover, it is also one of the preferable aspects that the said cleaning brush is a thing which planted the said hair in the length of 10 mm or less in length.

  When the cleaning device of the present invention is configured as described above, a higher cleaning performance can be maintained by using a cleaning brush planted with an appropriate length.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the cleaning apparatus which can maintain high cleaning performance over a long period of time is realizable.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment, and shows a so-called tandem type digital color printer.

  An image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an image processing system 10 that forms an image corresponding to gradation data of each color, a sheet conveyance system 40 that conveys recording paper (sheets), such as a personal computer or an image reader. An IPS (Image Processing System) 50, which is an image processing system that is connected to a device or the like and performs predetermined image processing on received image data, is provided.

  The image processing system 10 includes four image forming units 11Y, 11M, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) arranged in parallel at a certain interval in the horizontal direction. 11C, 11K, a transfer unit 20 for transferring the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drums 12 of the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, 11K onto the intermediate transfer belt 21, and the image forming units 11Y, 11M, A ROS (Raster Output Scanner) 30 which is an optical system unit for irradiating laser beams to 11C and 11K is provided. Further, the main body 1 is provided with a fixing device 29 for fixing the image on the recording paper (sheet) secondarily transferred by the transfer unit 20 to the recording paper using heat and pressure.

  Further, toner cartridges 19Y, 19M, 19C, and 19K are provided for supplying toner of each color to the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K.

  The transfer unit 20 includes a drive roll 22 that drives an intermediate transfer belt 21 that is an intermediate transfer member, a tension roll 23 that applies a constant tension to the intermediate transfer belt 21, and a secondary transfer of the superimposed toner images of each color onto a recording sheet. For this purpose, a backup roll 24 and an intermediate transfer body cleaner 25 for removing residual toner and the like existing on the intermediate transfer belt 21 are provided.

  The intermediate transfer belt 21 is stretched between the drive roll 22, the tension roll 23, and the backup roll 24 with a constant tension, and is rotationally driven by a dedicated drive motor (not shown) excellent in constant speed. The drive roll 22 is circulated at a predetermined speed in the direction of the arrow. As the intermediate transfer belt 21, for example, a belt whose resistance is adjusted with a belt material (rubber or resin) that does not cause charge-up is used.

  The intermediate transfer body cleaner 25 includes a cleaning brush 25a and a cleaning blade 25b. The intermediate transfer belt cleaner 25 removes residual toner, paper dust, and the like from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 after the transfer process of the toner image is completed. It is configured to prepare for the forming process.

  The ROS 30 includes a polygon mirror 31 that deflects and scans laser light (LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, and LB-K) emitted from the semiconductor laser, in addition to a semiconductor laser and a modulator (not shown). In the example shown in FIG. 1, since the ROS 30 is provided below the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and llK, there is a risk of contamination due to dropping of toner or the like. Therefore, the ROS 30 is provided with a rectangular parallelepiped frame 32 for sealing each constituent member, and a glass window 33 through which laser light (LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, LB-K) passes. Is provided above the frame 32 to enhance the shielding effect together with the scanning exposure.

  The sheet conveyance system 40 is loaded with a recording paper (sheet) on which an image is recorded and fed, a nudger roll 42 that picks up and feeds the recording paper from the paper feeding device 41, and is fed from the nudger roll 42. A feed roll 43 that separates and conveys the recording sheets that have been separated one by one and a conveyance path 44 that conveys the recording sheets separated one by one by the feed roll 43 toward the image transfer unit are provided. Also, a registration roll 45 that conveys the recording paper conveyed through the conveyance path 44 in time toward the secondary transfer position, and a backup roll 24 that is provided at the secondary transfer position and is in pressure contact with the recording paper. And a secondary transfer roll 46 for secondary transfer of the image.

  Further, a discharge roll 47 for discharging the recording paper on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 29 to the outside of the main body 1 and a discharge tray 48 for stacking the recording paper discharged by the discharge roll 47 are provided. In addition, a double-sided conveyance unit 49 is provided that enables double-sided recording by inverting the recording paper fixed by the fixing device 29.

  Next, the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K in the image process system 10 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K. Here, a yellow (Y) image forming unit 11Y and a magenta (M) image forming unit 11M are illustrated. The other image forming units 11C and 11K have substantially the same configuration.

  The image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K use a photosensitive drum 12 as an image carrier that rotates in the direction of arrow A while holding a toner image, and a charging drum 13a that rotates in the direction of arrow B. An electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 12 by the laser light (LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, LB-K) from the ROS 30. A developing unit 14 that develops the toner image on the developing roller 14a, and a photosensitive drum 12 that is provided across the intermediate transfer belt 21 to transfer a toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 12 onto the intermediate transfer belt 21. A transfer roll 15 and a photoconductor cleaner 16 for removing residual toner remaining on the photoconductor drum 12 after transfer are provided.

  The charging roll 13a in this embodiment corresponds to a member to be cleaned according to the present invention.

  Details of the charger 13 will be described later.

  In the present embodiment, the photosensitive drum 12, the charger 13, and the photosensitive cleaner 16 of the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K are integrated into a cartridge so that the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus 1 Only the cartridge can be removed, and only the cartridge can be attached to the main body 1. Each of these cartridges is mounted with a nonvolatile memory (not shown). In this nonvolatile memory, for example, when the cartridge is mounted on a predetermined image forming unit 11Y, 11M, 11C, or 11K, such as the number of revolutions of the photosensitive drum 12, the high voltage application time, the number of prints, etc. Stores cartridge usage history information. These cartridges can be used by being replaced between the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K. Since each of the cartridges is equipped with a non-volatile memory, the cartridge itself can store its own usage history information even when the cartridge is used in different units. As a result, for example, the correct lifetime can be determined for each cartridge.

  Next, an embodiment in which the first and second cleaning devices of the present invention are applied to the charger 13 will be described in detail.

  3 is a diagram showing the charger 13 provided in the image forming unit shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the housing 51 from which the charging roll 13a is removed from the charger 13. As shown in FIG.

  The charger 13 is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 (see FIG. 1) to charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 to a predetermined potential, and a housing 51 that houses the charging roll 13a. It has. A metal shaft 13b is attached to both ends of the charging roll 13a.

  The charging roll 13a is constituted, for example, by forming a surface layer in which carbon is dispersed in polyamide on a base layer of styrene rubber having an outer diameter of 14 mm. Note that fluorine or nylon may be dispersed in the surface layer. The hardness (Asuka C) is 70 ° or less, the surface roughness Rz is 0.9 or less, the friction coefficient is 0.2 or less, and the capacitance is 1500 pF to 3000 pF.

  The housing 51 includes a side wall portion 52 that covers one side surface of the charging roll 13a, a bearing portion 53 that is integrally provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the side wall portion 52, and rotatably supports the shaft 13b of the charging roll 13a. A charging roll cleaner 54 that also serves as a bottom wall covering the lower end surface of the roll 13a is provided.

  Note that a bearing 55 that rotatably supports the shaft 13b of the charging roll 13a is attached to the bearing portion 53 so as to be movable in a direction in which it is in contact with and away from the photosensitive drum 12 (see FIG. 1). Further, the bearing 55 is urged in a direction approaching the photosensitive drum 12 by a coil spring 56 attached to the bearing portion 53. A high bias voltage is applied to the charging roll 13a via the coil spring 56.

  In the present embodiment, a driving mechanism for rotating the charging roll 13a is not particularly provided, and is driven to rotate as the photosensitive drum 12 (see FIG. 1) that contacts the charging roll 13a rotates. .

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the end portion of the charging roll cleaner 54, FIG. 6 is a view showing the entire charging roll cleaner 54, and FIG. 7 is a view showing a state where the charging roll cleaner is swung.

  The charging roll cleaner 54 includes a flat plate 57 disposed on the lower side of the charging roll 13 a and a side wall portion 58 erected upward from the end of the flat plate 57. The charging roll cleaner 54 is formed in a substantially mountain shape of the flat plate 57. A cleaning brush 59 is fixed to the upper surface 57a with a double-sided tape or the like.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the charging roll cleaner 54 is attached to the bearing portion 53 of the housing 51 so as to be rotatable around the shaft 60. As shown in FIG. A stopper (not shown) provided in the portion engages with the bearing portion 53 to stop in a state substantially orthogonal to the side wall portion 52. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the charging roll cleaner 54 rotates in the reverse direction, and the front end portion 54 a in the width direction abuts against a stopper 61 provided at the lower end portion of the inner surface of the side wall portion 52. Is supposed to stop by.

  Here, the cleaning brush 59 is formed with a base cloth part and a flocked part on the film laminate, and a double-sided tape is attached to the bottom of the film laminate. Moreover, the base fabric part is comprised with nylon, and the hair transplant part is comprised with the special hair so that it may mention later.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a rotation mechanism 62 for rotating the charging roll cleaner 54 (see FIG. 7) and a drive mechanism 74 for driving the rotation mechanism 62. FIG. 9 shows a cleaner, a rotation mechanism, FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a cleaning state by the drive mechanism, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the cleaning brush 59 is separated from the charging roll 13a.

  The rotation mechanism 62 is disposed below the charging roll 13a, and has a cam 63 that drives the charging roll cleaner 54 in a direction in which the charging roll cleaner 54 comes in contact with and separates from the surface of the charging roll 13a. The cam 63 includes a shaft portion 64 formed in an elongated rod shape with a substantially circular cross section, a narrow flat plate portion 65 integrally formed along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the shaft portion 64, and the flat plate portion. It has a thin synthetic resin Mylar film (trade name) 66 adhered on 65 with a double-sided tape.

  As this mylar film 66, for example, a film having a thickness of 125 μm is used. Note that the elastic deformation amount of the mylar film 66 can be varied by appropriately changing the thickness of the mylar film 66, and the pressing force with which the cleaning brush 59 is brought into contact with the surface of the charging roll 13a can be adjusted.

  Further, the cam 63 is configured to be rotated by an arm portion 68 provided at an end portion in the axial direction, and by rotating the cam 63 by the arm portion 68, the mylar film 66 is charged with a charging roll cleaner. The back surface of 54 is pushed up, and the cleaning brush 59 attached to the charging roll cleaner 54 is brought into contact with the surface of the charging roll 13a. It should be noted that the Mylar film 66 tends to be elastically deformed particularly in the central portion in the axial direction when the charging roll cleaner 54 is rotated, and prevents the charging roll cleaner 54 from rotating insufficiently. A plurality of ribs 69 are attached to the center of the back surface.

  On the other hand, the drive mechanism 74 includes a drive motor 75 as a drive source. A fan-shaped gear 80 provided integrally with the arm 79 is engaged with the gear 76 attached to the drive motor 75 via two-stage reduction gears 76 and 77. The arm 79 swings by rotating the drive motor 75 by a predetermined amount. The arm 79 is formed with a projection 79a (see FIG. 9) that contacts the cam 63. By swinging the arm 79 in this manner, for example, the cleaning brush 59 is brought into contact with the charging roll 13a as shown in FIG. 9, or the cleaning brush 59 is separated from the charging roll 13a as shown in FIG. You can also.

  In this embodiment, normally, the cleaning brush 59 is separated from the charging roll 13a, and the cleaning brush 59 is brought into contact with the charging roll 13a at an appropriate timing to clean the surface of the charging roll 13a. Yes.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the cleaning brush 59 urged by the swinging arm 79 is a straight line A connecting the shaft center 121 of the photosensitive drum 12 and the shaft center 131 of the charging roll 13a. A pressing force is applied in the direction. Accordingly, all the pressing force of the cleaning brush 59 acts on the charging roll 13a, and the cleaning performance of the charging roll 13a by the cleaning brush 59 can be improved.

  Further, since the charging roll 13a is cleaned using the cleaning brush 59, the frictional resistance acting between the two can be reduced as compared with the case where a cleaning blade or the like is used. As a result, the rotation of the charging roll 13a driven by the photosensitive drum 12 is less likely to be hindered, and stable cleaning can be performed while suppressing uneven cleaning.

  Further, since the cleaning brush 59 is normally separated from the charging roll 13a, the rotation of the charging roll 13a driven by the photosensitive drum 12 is not easily obstructed, and the rotation failure of the charging roll 13a during image formation and the rotation thereof. Therefore, it is possible to prevent charging failure and image formation failure.

  Furthermore, since the cleaning brush 59 is attached below the charging roll 13a, foreign matter such as residual toner and dust once removed by the cleaning brush 59 falls in the opposite direction to the charging roll 13a due to gravity. These foreign substances can be prevented from transferring again to the charging roll 13a side.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described. A color material reflected light image of a document read by an image reading device (not shown) and color material image data formed by a personal computer (not shown) are, for example, R (red), G (green), and B (blue). Each 8-bit reflectance data is input to the IPS 50. In the IPS 50, the input reflectance data is subjected to predetermined image processing such as various image editing such as shading correction, position shift correction, lightness / color space conversion, gamma correction, frame deletion, color editing, and moving editing. Is done. The image data that has been subjected to image processing is converted into color material gradation data of four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), and is output to the ROS 30.

  In the ROS 30, laser light (LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, LB-K) emitted from a semiconductor laser (not shown) is converted into f-θ in accordance with input color material gradation data. The light is emitted to the polygon mirror 31 through a lens (not shown).

  In the polygon mirror 31, the incident laser light is modulated in accordance with gradation data of each color, deflected and scanned, and image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K through an imaging lens (not shown) and a plurality of mirrors. Each of the photosensitive drums 12 is irradiated. In each of the photosensitive drums 12 of the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K, the charged surface is scanned and exposed to form an electrostatic latent image. The formed electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) in each of the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K. Is done.

  The toner images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 12 of the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K are multiplex-transferred onto an intermediate transfer belt 21 that is an intermediate transfer member. At this time, the black image forming unit 11 </ b> K that forms a black toner image is provided on the most downstream side in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 21, and the black toner image is finally transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 21. Is done.

  On the other hand, in the sheet conveyance system 40, the nudger roll 42 rotates in accordance with the timing of image formation, and recording paper of a predetermined size is supplied from the paper feeding device 41. The recording sheets separated one by one by the feed roll 43 are conveyed to the registration roll 45 through the conveyance path 44 and are temporarily stopped. Thereafter, the registration roll 45 rotates in accordance with the movement timing of the intermediate transfer belt 21 on which the toner image is formed, and the recording paper is conveyed to the secondary transfer position formed by the backup roll 24 and the secondary transfer roll 46. . On the recording sheet conveyed from the lower side to the upper side at the secondary transfer position, the toner images on which the four colors are transferred are sequentially transferred in the sub-scanning direction by using a pressing force and a predetermined electric field. . The recording paper on which the toner images of the respective colors are thus transferred is fixed by heat and pressure by the fixing device 29 and then discharged to a discharge tray 48 provided on the upper portion of the main body 1 by a discharge roll 47.

  Instead of being discharged as it is to the discharge tray 48, the conveyance direction can be switched by a switching gate (not shown), and the recording sheet fixed by the fixing device 29 can be reversed by the duplex conveyance unit 49. After the reversed recording paper is conveyed to the registration roll 45, an image can be formed on both sides of the recording paper by forming an image on the other unprinted surface by the same flow as described above. Become.

  Next, an image forming operation in the image forming unit 11Y shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail. The same applies to the other image forming units 11M, 11C, and 11K.

  When the image forming operation is started, the photosensitive drum 12 starts to rotate, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 is charged to a predetermined potential by the charging roll 13a. Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 charged to a predetermined potential is selectively irradiated with the laser beam LB-Y to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be created. Next, toner is selectively transferred from the rotating developing roll 14a to the photosensitive drum 12 corresponding to the formed electrostatic latent image, and a toner image corresponding to the image to be created is formed. Further, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 12 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 by the primary transfer bias applied to the primary transfer roll 15. Residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 12 without being transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 21 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 16 a of the photosensitive cleaner 16.

  By the way, in the image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K described above, residual toner and foreign matters that could not be removed by the cleaning blade 16a gradually adhere to the charging roll 13a, thereby reducing the charging performance of the photosensitive drum 12. Alternatively, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 12 may be soiled.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the charging roll cleaner 54 that cleans the surface of the charging roll 13a by bringing the cleaning brush 59 into contact with the charging roll 13a (see FIGS. 2 to 3 and FIGS. 8 to 10) rotating in the direction of arrow B. Is provided.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning brush 59 of the charging roll cleaner 54 is configured by implanting hollow cylindrical hair.

  The charging roll 13a in the first embodiment corresponds to the object to be cleaned according to the present invention, and the charging roll cleaner 54 corresponds to the cleaning device according to the present invention.

  The cleaning apparatus to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the above-described charging roll cleaner 54, but is applied to the intermediate transfer body cleaner 25 (see FIG. 1) and the photoreceptor cleaner 16 (see FIG. 2). Can also be applied.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hair shape used in the cleaning brush according to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 11 shows the shape of the hollow cylindrical hair 91 used in the cleaning brush of the first embodiment. By using the cleaning brush in which the hair 91 having such a shape is planted, the toner particles 93 and 94 removed from the surface of the charging roll adhere to the surface of the hair 91 and are also held in the hollow space 92 of the hollow hair. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a higher cleaning performance than a cleaning brush in which normal hair is implanted.

  In addition, it is preferable that this cleaning brush shall be obtained by flocking a plurality of the above hairs.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state in which two bristles are twisted together.

  As shown in FIG. 12, when a cleaning brush in which a plurality of hairs are twisted together is used, the surface area of the hairs increases, so that the cleaning performance can be improved.

Moreover, it is preferable that this cleaning brush shall be obtained by implanting the bristles with a flocking density of 200 Kf / cm ² or more.

  FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between flocking density and cleaning performance.

As shown in FIG. 13, it can be seen that the cleaning performance is improved in the region where the flocking density is 200 Kf / cm ² or more.

  Moreover, it is preferable that this cleaning brush shall be obtained by implanting the hair into a length of 10 mm or less.

  FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the hair length of the cleaning brush and the cleaning performance.

  As shown in FIG. 14, high cleaning performance can be obtained when the length of the hair is 10 mm or less.

  Next, an embodiment of the second cleaning device of the present invention will be described as a second embodiment.

  The second cleaning device is a cleaning device in which a cleaning brush is brought into contact with a cleaning target rotating in a predetermined direction to clean the surface of the cleaning target, and the cleaning brush is moved at each point along the longitudinal direction. The hair is formed by implanting irregularly shaped hair whose cross-sectional shape changes irregularly when cut perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the shape of hair used for the cleaning brush in the second embodiment.

  FIG. 15 shows the shape of the irregularly shaped hair 95 whose cross-sectional shape changes irregularly when cut perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction A at each point along the longitudinal direction A used in the cleaning brush of the first embodiment. Show shape. By using the cleaning brush in which the hair 95 having such a shape is implanted, the toner particles removed from the surface of the charging roll adhere to a large amount of the irregularly shaped hair 95 having a very large surface area. Higher cleaning performance than a brush can be obtained.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the deformed hairs 95 are twisted after being twisted, and it is preferable that the deformed hairs 95 are planted at a hair density of 200 Kf / cm ² or more. Furthermore, it is also a preferable aspect that the irregularly shaped hair 95 is implanted in a length of 10 mm or less.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a charger 13 provided in the image forming unit illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a housing 51 from which a charging roll 13a is removed from a charger 13. 3 is an enlarged view of an end portion of the charging roll cleaner 54. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the entire charging roll cleaner 54. It is a figure which shows the state which the cleaner of the charging device rock | fluctuated. 8 is a perspective view showing a rotation mechanism 62 that rotates the charging roll cleaner 54 (see FIG. 7) and a drive mechanism 74 that drives the rotation mechanism 62. FIG. It is a figure which shows the cleaning state by a cleaner, a rotation mechanism, and a drive mechanism. It is a figure which shows the state which spaced apart the cleaning brush 59 from the charging roll 13a. It is a graph which shows the shape of the hair used for the cleaning brush in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state which twisted together two hairs. It is a figure which shows the relationship between flocking density and cleaning performance. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the length of the hair of a cleaning brush, and cleaning performance. It is a figure which shows the shape of the hair used for the cleaning brush in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 10 Image process system 11 Image forming unit 12 Photoconductor drum 13 Charger 13a Charging roll 13b Shaft 14 Developer 14a Developing roll 15 Primary transfer roll 16 Cleaning device 16a Cleaning blade 19 Toner cartridge 20 Transfer unit 21 Intermediate transfer belt 22 Drive Roll 23 Tension roll 24 Backup roll 25 Cleaning device 25a Cleaning brush 25b Cleaning blade 29 Fixing device 30 ROS (Raster Output Scanner)
31 Polygon Mirror 32 Frame 33 Window 40 Sheet Conveying System 41 Paper Feeding Device 42 Nudger Roll 43 Feed Roll 44 Conveying Path 45 Registration Roll 46 Secondary Transfer Roll 47 Discharge Roll 48 Discharge Tray 49 Double-Side Conveying Unit 50 IPS (Image Processing System) )
51 Housing 52 Side Wall 53 Bearing 54 Cleaner 54a Tip 55 Bearing 56 Coil Spring 57 Flat Plate 57a Top 58 Side Wall 59 Cleaning Brush 60 Shaft 61 Stopper 62 Rotating Mechanism 63 Cam 64 Shaft 65 Flat Plate 66 Mylar Film (Product Name) )
68 Arm portion 69 Rib 74 Drive mechanism 75 Drive motor 76, 77 Gear 79 Arm 79a Protrusion 80 Gear 91 Hair 92 Space 93, 94 Toner particle 95 Deformed hair 131 Center of axis

Claims (2)

In a cleaning apparatus that cleans the surface of a cleaning object by bringing a cleaning brush into contact with the object to be cleaned that rotates in a predetermined direction,
As the cleaning brush , a hollow cylindrical hair having a hair density of 200 Kf / cm ² or more and a length of 10 mm or less is used. The toner particles are removed from the surface of the object to be cleaned. A cleaning device that adheres to the surface of the hair and holds it in a void of the hair .   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning brush is obtained by twisting a plurality of the bristles and then planting the bristles.

Images