JP5726250B2 - Cleaning member, cleaning device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning member that removes developer from the surface of an image carrier, a cleaning device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus.

  Here, examples of the image forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, and a facsimile machine. The process cartridge refers to a cartridge in which at least the image carrier and the cleaning device are integrated into a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, after transferring a developer image formed on an image carrier to a recording medium in order to repeatedly use the image carrier, cleaning is performed as a cleaning unit for removing the developer remaining on the image carrier. A blade system is known.

  The cleaning blade method is a method of removing the developer from the surface of the image carrier by bringing an elastic blade into contact with the surface of the image carrier with a predetermined pressure.

  In Patent Document 1, the cleaning member has a structure in which a blade is attached to the tip of a sheet metal as a support member by molding. Then, the cleaning member is fixed by attaching the sheet metal to the frame body with screws or the like, thereby being brought into contact with the surface of the image carrier at a predetermined pressure.

JP 2002-341721 A

  However, with the widespread use of image forming apparatuses such as printers, there is a tendency for miniaturization, high speed, and high image quality. If the image forming apparatus is downsized, the size of the image carrier is reduced. In addition, the image carrier rotates faster due to the higher speed. That is, the blade that is in contact with the surface of the image carrier causes the image carrier to slide repeatedly on the surface of the image carrier at a high speed. Then, the temperature of the blade itself rises and the hardness of the blade becomes soft. As a result, the frictional force between the image carrier surface and the blade increases. As a result, there may be problems such as an increase in driving torque for driving the image bearing member and blade curl. Furthermore, recently, a developer having a spherical shape may be used to improve image quality. In this case, in order to remove the developer from the surface of the image carrier, it is necessary to increase the contact pressure of the blade against the image carrier, which is one of the factors that promote the above-described problem.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning member, a cleaning device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in driving torque when driving an image carrier and curling of a blade. .

  The structure of the present invention for solving the above-described problem is that a cleaning member that is attached to a fixed portion and removes the developer from the surface of the cleaning target is a cleaning target in a counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the cleaning target. And a curved support member having a flexibility and comprising a metal leaf spring material, the blade portion being provided on the tip side. The blade part support part, the fixed part fixed to the fixed part, and the blade part support part and the fixed part are located between the abutting part and the fixed part, which are located between the blade part support part and the fixed part. A bending apex located on the side away from the surface of the object to be cleaned with respect to the elbow line segment, and the fixed part is disposed downstream of the abutting part in the moving direction of the object to be cleaned. , Support member that supports the blade part only by the blade part support part , And wherein the cleaning member having a.

  By adopting this configuration, the abutting pressure can be made more stable than before when the image carrier is driven. In other words, it is possible to suppress an increase in torque when driving the image carrier and a blade sag.

Configuration schematic diagram of cleaning member in this embodiment The conceptual diagram which shows a mode that the support member in this embodiment deform | transforms. The conceptual diagram which shows a mode that a support member deform | transforms when a photosensitive drum moves from the state where it stood still. Schematic configuration of the cleaning device in the present embodiment Configuration schematic diagram of process cartridge according to the present embodiment Detailed configuration diagram of cleaning member in embodiment 1 Simulation calculation of the relationship between dynamic friction coefficient and contact pressure Simulation calculation of the relationship between dynamic friction coefficient and friction force Modification Example of Cleaning Member Support Member According to Embodiment 1 Modification of the cleaning member blade according to the first embodiment Cleaning member support member according to the second embodiment Schematic configuration of a cleaning apparatus according to the third embodiment Schematic configuration of a cleaning apparatus according to the fourth embodiment An example of an image forming apparatus in this embodiment An example of a color tandem image forming apparatus according to this embodiment An example of an image forming apparatus having a recording medium conveying member in the present embodiment Configuration schematic diagram of cleaning member of comparative example Detailed configuration of cleaning member of comparative example

Example 1
Hereinafter, an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 14 is an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic monochrome laser beam printer, and this figure is a schematic configuration diagram thereof.

  Near the center of the image forming apparatus main body M, a drum-type photosensitive drum 1 as an image carrier (charged body) is disposed. The photosensitive drum 1 is obtained by forming an OPC (organic optical semiconductor) photosensitive layer on the outer peripheral surface of a conductive drum base such as aluminum. It is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow R at a predetermined process speed: 200 mm / s.

  The surface (circumferential surface) of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly (uniformly) charged with a predetermined polarity and potential by a charging roller 2 as a charging member. The surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after charging is a laser beam output from a laser beam scanner 3 as an exposure means, and is scanned and exposed by a laser beam modulated in accordance with a time-series electric digital pixel signal of target image information. Receive. Then, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target image information is formed. The toner (developer) 4 conveyed by the developing sleeve 6 of the developing device 5 is attached to the electrostatic latent image and developed as a toner image (developed image).

  The recording medium 7 is fed by a paper feed roller 8 and sent to a transfer nip portion between the photosensitive drum 1 and the transfer roller 9 so as to be synchronized with the toner image written on the photosensitive drum 1 for recording. A toner image is transferred to the surface of the medium 7. A transfer transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 9 from a transfer bias application power source (not shown) during transfer. The recording medium 7 to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and conveyed to a fixing device 10 as fixing means, where the toner image is fixed on the surface by being heated and pressed.

  On the other hand, after the toner image is transferred, the residual toner remaining on the surface without being transferred to the recording medium 7 is removed by a cleaning device 11 as a cleaning unit, and used for the next image formation.

  In addition, this embodiment can also be applied to cleaning an image forming apparatus capable of forming a color image. FIG. 15 shows an example of a color tandem image forming apparatus. This is a color laser printer using a transfer type electrophotographic process, a contact charging method, a reversal development method, and a maximum sheet passing size of A3 size. A four-drum type (in-line) printer that has a plurality of process cartridges 17 and continuously transfers multiple images to an intermediate transfer belt 18 that is an intermediate transfer member that is a second image carrier to obtain a full-color print image. is there.

  In FIG. 15, an endless intermediate transfer belt 18 is suspended from a drive roller 18a, a tension roller 18b, and a secondary transfer counter roller 18c, and is driven to rotate at a predetermined process speed of 300 mm / s in the direction of the arrow in the figure. . Four process cartridges 17 are arranged in series on the intermediate transfer belt 18 in the order of yellow 17Y, magenta 17M, cyan 17C, and black 17K.

  In the color tandem image forming apparatus, since there are four cleaning devices (11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K), a large driving torque is generated when the photosensitive drums (1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K) are driven. . However, if the configuration of this embodiment is applied, the effect of reducing the driving torque is increased.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the present invention can also be applied to an intermediate transfer belt cleaner 19 that cleans the toner 4 remaining after the secondary transfer roller 20 of the intermediate transfer belt 18. In the present embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the toner 4 collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaner 19 is conveyed to a waste toner collection container (not shown) by a screw.

In addition, the present embodiment can also be applied as a cleaning device for the transfer / conveyance belt 21 that is a conveyance member that conveys the recording medium 7 and transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1. FIG. 16 shows an example of a color tandem type image forming apparatus having a transfer / conveyance belt 21. In FIG. 16, an endless transfer / conveyance belt 21 is suspended by a drive roller 21a, a tension roller 21b, and a driven roller 21C, and is driven to rotate at a predetermined process speed of 300 mm / s in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Four process cartridges 17 are arranged in series on the transfer / conveyance belt 21 in the order of yellow 17Y, magenta 17M, cyan 17C, and black 17K. The recording medium 7 is conveyed by the transfer / conveyance belt 21, and the toner images formed on the photosensitive drums (1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K) are sequentially transferred by the transfer rollers (9Y, 9M, 9C, 9K). The The fog toner exists on the photosensitive drums (1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K), and the surface of the transfer / conveyance belt 21 is soiled between the recording media 7 by the fog toner. The fog toner is collected by the transfer / conveyance belt cleaner 21.
The leaning member 12 according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cleaning member 12 in the present embodiment. The cleaning member 12 removes the toner 4 remaining after the transfer from the photosensitive drum 1 which is a member to be cleaned, which is attached to the fixed portion. The cleaning member 12 supports the blade 14 in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 in the counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 1 (arrow in FIG. 1), and supports the blade 14 from the flexible support member 13. Composed.

  The support member 13 includes an end portion 131 provided with the blade 14, the other end portion 132 having a fixed portion 134 fixed to the fixing portion, and a bent portion positioned between the one end portion 131 and the other end portion 132. 133. The bending portion 133 is on the side away from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 (photosensitive drum) with respect to the line segment L connecting the contact portion 138 where the blade 14 contacts the photosensitive drum 1 and the fixed portion 134. (The side away from the surface of 1). Further, the support member 13 has a fixed portion 134 disposed on the downstream side in the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 1 with respect to the contact portion 138, and supports the blade 14 only at one end portion 131.

  With the cleaning member 12 having the above-described configuration, even if the frictional force between the photosensitive drum 1 and the blade 14 increases, a sudden increase in the contact pressure of the blade can be suppressed. The operation will be described below.

  First, a cleaning member 212 as a comparative example will be described. FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventionally known cleaning member as a comparative example. A urethane rubber blade 214, which is an elastic body, is supported by a rigid support member 213 and is in contact with the photosensitive drum 201. An elastic blade 214 is pressed against (deformed) the surface of the photosensitive drum 201 to obtain a contact pressure for removing residual toner from the surface of the photosensitive drum 201.

  When the photosensitive drum 201 rotates, the blade 214 receives a resultant force F3 that is a resultant force of the drag force F1 due to the contact pressure of the blade 214 and the frictional force F2 of the surface of the photosensitive drum 201 and the blade 214. When the frictional force F2 increases, the resultant force F3 increases. The blade 214 has a relatively low degree of freedom in the direction of the resultant force F3. Therefore, the blade 214 is deformed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Since this deformation is in the direction in which the blade 214 bites into the photosensitive drum 201, the drag F1 increases. As the drag force F1 increases, the frictional force F2 further increases. As a result, the drag F1 increases rapidly. For this reason, there has been a case in which problems such as an increase in driving torque for driving the photosensitive drum 1 and a deflection of the blade may occur.

  Next, the cleaning member 12 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing how the flexible support member 13 is deformed when the frictional force between the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and the blade 14 increases.

  In the cleaning member 12 in this embodiment, a flexible support member 13 is pressed against (deformed) the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 to remove residual toner from the surface of the photosensitive drum 201. Getting contact pressure.

  When the photosensitive drum 1 rotates, the blade 14 receives a resultant force F3 that is a resultant force of the drag force F1 due to the contact pressure of the support member 13 and the frictional force F2 of the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and the blade 14. With respect to the resultant force F3, the one end 131 has a small degree of freedom in deformation because it is small in angle with the resultant force F3, and is not easily deformed (stretched). On the other hand, the other end portion 132 has a large degree of freedom of deformation because the angle formed by the other end 132 and the resultant force F3 is large with respect to the direction of the resultant force F3. Therefore, the deformation as shown by the broken line in FIG. 2 is possible. The other end 132 can be deformed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, so that the blade 14 supported by the support member 13 does not need to bite into the photosensitive drum 1. As a result, the increase in the drag F1 is suppressed. For this reason, it is possible to suppress an increase in driving torque for driving the photosensitive drum 1 and blade curling.

  The other end 132 is preferably configured to receive a bending moment due to the resultant force F3. Therefore, the one end 131 is configured to receive the force from the blade 14 and elastically deform the other end 132.

  Further, it is important that the other end portion 132 can be elastically deformed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 by the resultant force F3. Therefore, the blade 14 is supported only by the one end portion 131 and is not provided on the bending portion 133 so that the elastic deformation (bending) of the other end portion 132 is not hindered.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing how the support member 13 is deformed when the photosensitive drum 1 moves from a stationary state. It is desirable that the blade 14 supported by the support member 13 need not penetrate into the photosensitive drum 1 more. Therefore, it is desirable that the bending portion 133 is configured to be movable in a direction away from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 when the photosensitive drum 1 moves from a stationary state.

  As a material of the support member 13, an engine nearing plastic represented by polyacetal (POM), polycarbonate (PC), polyphenylene sulfide resin (PPS), or the like can be used. A desired cleaning contact pressure may be obtained by adjusting the plate thickness, the length of the one end portion 131 and the other end portion 132, and the amount of penetration of the cleaning member 12 into the photosensitive drum 1.

  Moreover, as a material of the support member 13, for example, a metal spring member having spring characteristics such as SUS or phosphor bronze plate can be used. A metal material is more advantageous than the engine nearing plastic in terms of productivity, cost, accuracy, and the like. Further, an elastic damping member or the like having elasticity can be used.

  Next, the cleaning device 11 will be described. The cleaning device 11 includes a cleaning container 15 serving as a storage unit configured of a frame that stores the toner 4 removed from the photosensitive drum 1, a fixing unit 153 provided in the cleaning container 15, and the cleaning member 12. Have

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cleaning device 11 in the present embodiment.
The cleaning device 11 includes a cleaning member 12, a squeeze sheet 16, and a cleaning container 15. The cleaning member 12 is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and scrapes off the residual toner 4 remaining after the transfer. The squeeze sheet 16 is disposed upstream of the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 1 of the cleaning member 12 in order to scoop off the toner 4 that has been scraped off, and is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The cleaning container 15 is for storing the remaining toner 4 that has been scooped off. The cleaning member 12 is fixed to a fixing portion 153 provided in the cleaning container 15 at a fixed portion 134 of the support member 13. As an example of a method of fixing the cleaning member 12 to the cleaning container 15, as shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning member 12 is fixed by attachment screws 152 arranged in several places in the longitudinal direction via a holding member 151.

  Next, the process cartridge 17 that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body M and has the photosensitive drum 1, the fixing portion 153 provided in the cleaning container 15, and the cleaning member 12 according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the process cartridge 17 in the present embodiment.
In the process cartridge 17, four process devices including a photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller 2, a developing device 5, and a cleaning device 11 are integrally incorporated in a cartridge container. The process cartridge 17 is configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body M.

Next, the cleaning member 12 will be described in more detail.
FIG. 6 is a detailed configuration diagram of the cleaning member 12 in the first embodiment.
As described above, the cleaning member 12 includes the support member 13 and the blade 14 having flexibility. The support member 13 includes a first end 131 provided with the blade 14, a second end 132 having a fixed portion 134 fixed to the fixing portion 153 of the cleaning container 15, and a gap between the first end 131 and the second end 132. It is comprised from the bending part 133 located in. The bending portion 133 is located on the side away from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 with respect to a line segment connecting the contact portion 138 where the blade 14 contacts the photosensitive drum 1 and the fixed portion 134.

  In the first embodiment, a SUS material is used as the material of the support member 13. The plate thickness t was 0.2 mm. The angle θ of the bent portion 133 shown in FIG. 6 is uniformly 90 ° in the direction of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 1. At this time, when the length of the one end 131 of the support member 13 is L1, and the length of the other end 132 is L2, L1 = 12 mm and L2 = 12 mm. Further, as in the conventional case, the setting angle of the photosensitive drum 1 and the cleaning member 12 is 30 degrees, and the penetration amount is 1.05 mm.

  The contact pressure of the cleaning member 12 on the photosensitive drum 1 at this time was about 35 gf per 1 cm in the rotation axis direction of the photosensitive drum 1. For comparison, a confirmation was made at a set angle of 20 degrees. As a result, the contact pressure was about 30 gf per 1 cm in the rotation axis direction of the photosensitive drum 1.

  Note that the angle θ of the bent portion 133 is not necessarily 90 °. A predetermined contact pressure may be obtained by adjusting the length L1 of the one end portion 131 of the support member 13, the length L2 of the other end portion 132, the set angle, and the penetration amount.

  The material of the blade member 14 was urethane rubber. The hardness used was a JISA hardness of 70 degrees. It is desirable to reduce the deformation of the blade member 14 itself and increase the force with which the one end 131 elastically deforms the other end 132. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, it is better to minimize the influence of the deformation of the blade member 14 as much as possible. In the first embodiment, k = 3.0 mm, l = 2.0 mm, m = 0.5 mm, n = 0.5 mm.

  As a comparative example, it was also confirmed for a conventionally known cleaning member 212. FIG. 18 is a detailed configuration diagram of a conventionally known cleaning member 212. A blade 214 is supported at the tip of a support member 213 having rigidity. The cleaning contact pressure is obtained by the deformation of the blade 214, which is an elastic body. The material of the blade 214 was urethane rubber, and its hardness was 70 degrees JISA hardness. The length of the free end of the blade 214 shown in FIG. 17 is L, and L = 5.2 mm. The material of the support member 213 is a SUS material, and the plate thickness t is 1.8 mm. The set angle between the photosensitive drum 1 and the cleaning member 12 was 30 degrees, and the penetration amount was 1.05 mm. The contact pressure of the cleaning member 12 on the photosensitive drum 1 at this time was about 35 gf per 1 cm in the rotation axis direction of the photosensitive drum 1.

  Deformation calculations were performed on these cleaning devices, and dynamic contact pressure was calculated. As a calculation method, assuming the friction, the relationship between the deformation shape and the force applied when the front end of the cleaning member is pushed in the downstream direction of one rotation of the photosensitive drum was calculated. Then, from the obtained force, a component perpendicular to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 was defined as a contact pressure, a parallel component was defined as a friction force, and the ratio was determined as a friction coefficient.

  The deformation calculation at this time was modeled and calculated with a simple two-dimensional cantilever beam (Bernoulli-Euler assumption) by considering the blade support and the neutral axis of the blade. As parameters used for the calculation, the bending elastic modulus E = 167,000 MPa of the SUS plate and the elastic modulus E = 6 MPa of the urethane rubber were used.

  FIG. 7 shows the result. The horizontal axis represents the dynamic friction coefficient, and the vertical axis represents the contact pressure. FIG. 7A shows the result of Example 1, and FIG. 7B shows the result of the comparative example. It can be seen that the change in the contact pressure with respect to the dynamic friction coefficient is much smaller in the first embodiment than in the comparative example.

  FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the dynamic friction coefficient and the frictional force. The horizontal axis represents the dynamic friction coefficient, and the vertical axis represents the friction force. FIG. 8A shows the result of Example 1, and FIG. 8B shows the result of the comparative example. It can be seen that the change in the friction force with respect to the dynamic friction coefficient is smaller in the first embodiment than in the comparative example. In the comparative example, the frictional force increases at an accelerated rate as the dynamic friction coefficient increases. On the other hand, in Example 1, the increase is almost linear with respect to the increase in the dynamic friction coefficient. Also in the above modeling calculation, it has been confirmed that the contact pressure can be stabilized more than before by adopting the configuration of the cleaning member 12 according to the present invention.

A modification of the cleaning member 12 of the first embodiment will be described.
9 (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e), (f) show modified examples of the support member 13 of the cleaning member 12 according to the first embodiment. .

  In the first embodiment, the support member 13 is formed by bending a single metal leaf spring. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 9A, 9 </ b> B, 9 </ b> C, and 9 </ b> D, the support member 13 may be composed of two members, one end 131 and the other end 132. In consideration of the configuration in which the one end portion 131 receives a force from the blade 14 and elastically deforms the other end portion 132, the configuration of FIGS. 9C and 9D is less likely to disconnect the two members. Since it is a structure, it can be said that it is a more suitable structure.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 9E and 9F, the support member 13 may be constituted by three members, that is, one end portion 131, the other end portion 132, and a bending portion 133.

  Next, FIGS. 10A and 10B show a modification of the blade 14 of the cleaning member 12 according to the first embodiment.

  In the first embodiment, the support member 13 and the blade 14 are configured to be attached by molding. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a configuration in which the blade 14 is attached to the support member 13 with a double-sided tape or a hot melt adhesive may be used. With this configuration, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Further, FIG. 10B is characterized in that the blade member 14 is provided on the upstream side of the one end portion 131 of the support member 13 in the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 1. As described above, it is desirable that the one end portion 131 is configured to elastically deform the other end portion 132 by receiving a force from the blade 14. Therefore, by adopting the configuration shown in FIG. 10B, it is possible to make the configuration in which the blade 14 is not easily peeled off from the support member 13 when the photosensitive drum 1 rotates.

(Example 2)
A second embodiment of the cleaning member 12 of the second embodiment will be described.
11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D show the support member 13 of the cleaning member 12 according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 11 (a) is characterized in that the length of the one end 131 is shorter than the length of the other end 132 in the support member 13 composed of one member. FIG. 11B is characterized in that a constricted portion 136 is provided for increasing the rigidity (strength) of the one end portion 131 against bending stress. FIG. 11C is characterized in that a reinforcing member 135 that is a separate member is provided in order to increase the rigidity of the one end 131.

  In order to efficiently obtain the effect of the present embodiment, it is desirable that the one end portion 131 receives a force from the blade 14 and the other end portion 132 is elastically deformed. As shown in the second embodiment, by increasing the rigidity of the one end portion 131, the force from the blade 14 can be better transmitted to the other end portion 132. As a result, the other end portion 132 can be elastically deformed better, so that the effects of the present invention can be obtained more efficiently.

  FIG. 11D is characterized in that a rigid end portion 139 is provided. In the second embodiment, the thickness of the one end 139 is 0.8 mm. Even with this configuration, the force from the blade 14 can be better transmitted to the other end portion 132, so that the effects of the present invention can be obtained more efficiently. Furthermore, since the one end portion 139 has rigidity in the longitudinal direction, the contact pressure in the longitudinal direction can be stabilized.

(Example 3)
A third embodiment of the cleaning device 11 according to the third embodiment will be described.
FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cleaning device 11 according to the third embodiment.
The cleaning member 12 is attached to the fixed portion and removes the residual toner 4 remaining after transfer from the photosensitive drum 1. The cleaning member 12 includes a blade 14 that contacts the photosensitive drum 1 in a counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 1, and a support member 13 that supports the blade 14.

  The support member 13 is a curved support member 13 that supports the blade 14 and has flexibility. It is composed of a blade portion support portion 140 provided with a blade 14 on the distal end side, a fixed portion 134 fixed to the fixing portion 153, and a bending apex 137 positioned between the blade portion support portion 140 and the fixed portion 134. Is done. The bending apex 137 is located on the side away from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 (photosensitive drum) with respect to the line segment connecting the fixed portion 134 with the contact portion 138 where the blade portion 14 contacts the photosensitive drum 1. 1 side away from the surface).

  Further, in the support member 13, the fixed portion 134 is disposed on the downstream side in the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 1 with respect to the contact portion 138, and the blade 14 is supported only by the blade portion support portion 140.

  Further, similarly to the second embodiment, a reinforcing portion may be provided from the bending apex 137 to the tip side region where the blade 14 is provided in order to increase rigidity (strength) against bending stress. The reinforcing part may be a throttle part as in FIG. 11 or a reinforcing member which is a separate member.

  By adopting the configuration of the third embodiment, the cleaning device 11 can be reduced in size, particularly reduced in thickness. In addition, the storage capacity for storing the remaining toner 4 can be increased. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. The operation and effect are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Example 4
Embodiment 4 of the cleaning device 11 according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cleaning device 11 according to the fourth embodiment.
In the cleaning device 11 according to the fourth exemplary embodiment, the charging roller 2 that charges the photosensitive drum 1 includes a straight line connecting the abutting portion 138 where the blade 14 abuts on the photosensitive drum 1 and the fixed portion 134, and a support member. 13 is provided in a region surrounded by 13.

  By adopting the configuration of the fourth embodiment, the efficiency of the space of the cleaning device 11 can be improved, and the size can be reduced. Further, since the support member 13 covers most of the charging roller 2, it is possible to reduce the charging noise by the charging roller 2.

M apparatus main body 1 photosensitive drum 2 charging roller 3 laser beam scanner 4 toner 5 developing device 6 recording medium 7 developing sleeve 8 paper feeding roller 9 transfer roller 10 fixing device 11 cleaning device 12 cleaning member 13 support member 14 blade 15 cleaning container 16 Squee sheet 17 Process cartridge 18 Intermediate transfer belt 19 Intermediate transfer belt cleaner 20 Secondary transfer roller 21 Transfer / convey belt 22 Transfer / convey belt cleaner

Claims (14)

In the cleaning member that is attached to the fixed part and removes the developer from the surface of the object to be cleaned,
A blade portion that contacts the object to be cleaned in a counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the object to be cleaned;
A flexible curved support member that supports the blade part and is made of a metal leaf spring material, the blade part support part having the blade part provided on the tip side, and the fixing part A fixed segment, and a line segment connecting the fixed portion and the abutting portion, which is located between the blade portion supporting portion and the fixed portion, and is in contact with the cleaning target body. On the other hand, it has a bending apex located on the side away from the surface of the object to be cleaned, and the fixed part is disposed on the downstream side in the moving direction of the object to be cleaned with respect to the contact part. And a support member that supports the blade part only by the blade part support part,
A cleaning member.   The cleaning member according to claim 1, wherein when the object to be cleaned moves from a stationary state, the bending apex is movable in a direction away from the surface of the object to be cleaned.   The cleaning member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a region extending from the bending apex to the tip end side has a reinforcing portion for increasing strength against bending stress.   The cleaning member according to claim 3, wherein the reinforcing portion is a separate member from the support member.   The cleaning member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the blade portion is provided on an upstream side of the blade portion support portion in a moving direction of the object to be cleaned. A cleaning device used in an image forming apparatus, wherein the fixing portion provided on a frame, the cleaning member according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , and a developer removed from the member to be cleaned. A cleaning unit having a storage unit; In a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus, the image carrier that is the object to be cleaned, the fixing portion provided on a frame, and the cleaning member according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ; Process cartridge. The process cartridge according to claim 7 , wherein the image carrier is a photosensitive drum. The process cartridge is a charging member that charges the image carrier, and is surrounded by the support member and a straight line connecting the abutting portion where the blade portion abuts the image carrier and the fixed portion. a process cartridge according to claim 7 or 8 having a charging member provided in the region. 6. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, comprising: the object to be cleaned; the fixing portion; and the cleaning member according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the member to be cleaned is a photosensitive member that forms a developed image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the member to be cleaned is an intermediate transfer member onto which a developed image is transferred. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the member to be cleaned is a conveying member that conveys the recording medium. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the image forming apparatus color image capable of forming claims 10 to 13.

Images