JP5883808B2 - Cleaning device and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device that cleans an image carrier that carries a toner image, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

  An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet includes a photosensitive drum (image carrier) that carries a toner image. After the toner image is transferred to the sheet, the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum is cleaned by a cleaning device. As the cleaning device, a blade cleaning method using an elastic blade is known (for example, Patent Document 1). In this method, the tip of the elastic blade is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum, and the toner remaining on the peripheral surface is scraped off by the tip of the elastic blade. For this reason, it is important to bring the tip of the elastic blade into contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum with an appropriate pressure and a uniform pressure (appropriate blade pressure).

  Generally, the cleaning device includes a housing that collects the residual toner scraped off. The elastic blade is attached to the housing. In this configuration, there is an image forming apparatus in which a photosensitive drum and an elastic blade are attached to the same housing in order to ensure an appropriate blade pressure.

JP 2000-75753 A

  Recently, there is a tendency that toner having a fine particle diameter is used for forming a highly accurate image. In this case, in order to improve the cleaning performance of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum by the elastic blade, it is necessary to set the blade pressure with higher accuracy. However, it is difficult for the conventional apparatus to set the blade pressure with high accuracy.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device capable of setting the pressure contact force of the blade tip to the peripheral surface of an image carrier with high accuracy, and an image forming apparatus using the same.

A cleaning device according to one aspect of the present invention is a cleaning device that cleans the peripheral surface of an image carrier having a peripheral surface that carries a toner image, and is in pressure contact with a base end and the peripheral surface of the image carrier. A blade having a distal end, a housing having a blade support portion having a mounting surface facing a peripheral surface of the image carrier, and facing the mounting surface in a state where the base end side of the blade is held. A holder attached to the blade support, and an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the pressure contact force of the tip of the blade to the peripheral surface of the image carrier by adjusting the height of the holder attached to the attachment surface When the state in which adjustment is completed the installation height by adjusting mechanism, and a fixture for locally securing said holder to said blade support, the adjusting The structure includes a screw hole provided in the holder, an adjustment screw screwed into the screw hole, and a screw receiving part provided in the blade support portion, and passes through the screw hole of the adjustment screw. The mounting height is adjusted by rotating the adjusting screw in a state in which the leading end is abutted against the screw receiving portion, and the holder has a first surface facing the blade support portion and vice versa. The blade support portion includes a boss portion having a screw hole, and the adjustment screw includes a first screw head picked by a user, A first screw portion having a smaller diameter than the first screw head and provided with a thread on the peripheral surface, and a tip of the first screw portion abuts against the screw receiving portion, The fixture has a second screw head and a thread on the circumference. The second screw portion is threaded into the screw hole of the boss portion through the flat hole, and the second screw head is formed on the holder. The adjustment screw and the fixing screw are in contact with the second surface and are arranged in a straight line in the axial direction of the image carrier, and the fixing surface and the fixing surface are fixed in the state where the fixing is performed. There is a gap between the first surface of the holder .

  According to this configuration, the mounting height of the holder that holds the base end side of the blade with respect to the mounting surface of the housing can be adjusted by the adjusting mechanism. By adjusting the mounting height, the pressure contact force (blade pressure) of the tip of the blade against the peripheral surface of the image carrier is adjusted. Therefore, the blade pressure can be set with high accuracy.

Further , in a state where the adjustment of the mounting height by the adjustment mechanism is completed, the fixture further includes a fixture for locally fixing the holder to the blade support portion, and in a state where the fixation by the fixture is performed, there is a gap between said holder and said mounting surface.

  According to this configuration, even when the holder is fixed to the blade support portion, the mounting surface and the holder can be brought into a state where they are not in surface contact. That is, since the holder is substantially separated from the housing, the holder is not affected by the deformation of the housing. For this reason, even if the housing is warped due to heat, for example, the warping does not affect the holder and does not affect the pressure contact state of the blade tip to the peripheral surface of the image carrier.

Further , the adjustment mechanism includes a screw hole provided in the holder, an adjustment screw screwed into the screw hole, and a screw receiving part provided in the blade support part, and the adjustment screw includes the adjustment screw. tip penetrating the threaded hole, by the adjusting screw is rotated in this sealed state to the screw receiving portion, the mounting height Ru is adjusted.

  According to this configuration, the mounting height can be adjusted simply by rotating the adjustment screw, so that the configuration of the adjustment mechanism can be simplified and the user's work can be simplified.

  The said structure WHEREIN: It is desirable for the said blade support part to provide the guide member which guides the movement of the said holder in the case of adjustment of the said attachment height.

  According to this configuration, since the holder moves while being guided by the guide member, the blade pressure can be set with higher accuracy.

  In this case, the blade is a long member extending along the axial direction of the image carrier, the holder has substantially the same length as the blade in the axial direction, It is desirable that they are disposed at least on one end side and the other end side in the axial direction. According to this configuration, the blade pressure can be adjusted uniformly in the axial direction of the image carrier.

  An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes an image carrier including a peripheral surface that supports a toner image, and the cleaning device that cleans the peripheral surface.

  According to the present invention, the pressing force of the blade tip to the peripheral surface of the image carrier can be set with high accuracy. Therefore, the cleaning performance of the peripheral surface of the image carrier by the cleaning device can be improved, and it can contribute to the improvement of the image quality of the image formed on the sheet by the image forming device.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the cleaning apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the cleaning device. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the principal part of the said cleaning apparatus. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of the said cleaning apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the cleaning apparatus which concerns on a comparative example. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of the cleaning apparatus which concerns on a comparative example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of the image forming apparatus 1. Here, a monochrome printer is illustrated as the image forming apparatus 1, but the image forming apparatus may be a copier, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine having these functions, or a color printer that forms a color image. There may be.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body housing 10 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing structure, and a paper feeding unit 20, an image forming unit 30, a fixing unit 40, and a toner container 50 housed in the main body housing 10. .

  A front cover 11 is provided on the front side of the main body housing 10, and a rear cover 12 is provided on the rear side. When the front cover 11 is opened, the toner container 50 is exposed to the front side. Thereby, the user can take out the toner container 50 from the front side of the main body housing 10 when the toner runs out. The rear cover 12 is a cover that is opened at the time of sheet jam or maintenance. The units of the image forming unit 30 and the fixing unit 40 can be taken out from the rear side of the main body housing 10 by opening the rear cover 12. Further, on the upper surface of the main body housing 10, a paper discharge unit 13 for discharging the sheet after image formation is provided.

  The paper feeding unit 20 includes a paper feeding cassette 21 that accommodates a sheet on which image forming processing is performed. A part of the paper feed cassette 21 protrudes further forward from the front surface of the main body housing 10. An upper surface of a portion of the sheet cassette 21 accommodated in the main body housing 10 is covered with a sheet cassette top plate 21U. The sheet feeding cassette 21 has a sheet accommodating space for accommodating the bundle of sheets, and the sheet accommodating space is provided with a lift plate 211 for lifting the bundle of sheets for feeding. A sheet feeding portion 21 </ b> A is provided at an upper portion on the rear end side of the sheet feeding cassette 21. In the sheet feeding portion 21A, a paper feed roller 21B for feeding the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle one by one is disposed.

  The image forming unit 30 performs an image forming process for forming a toner image on a sheet fed from the paper feeding unit 20. The image forming unit 30 includes a photosensitive drum 31 (image carrier), a charging device 32, an exposure device (not shown in FIG. 2), a developing device 33, a transfer device, which are arranged around the photosensitive drum 31. A roller 34 and a cleaning device 35.

  The photosensitive drum 31 includes a peripheral surface 31C (FIG. 3) that forms an electrostatic latent image and carries a toner image corresponding to the electrostatic latent image. As the photosensitive drum 31, a photosensitive drum using an amorphous silicon (a-Si) material can be used. The charging device 32 uniformly charges the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31, and includes a charging roller that contacts the photosensitive drum 31.

  The exposure apparatus has a laser light source and optical equipment such as a mirror and a lens, and irradiates the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 with light modulated based on image data given from an external device such as a personal computer. An electrostatic latent image is formed. The developing device 33 supplies toner to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 in order to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 31 to form a toner image. The developing device 33 includes a developing roller 331 that carries toner to be supplied to the photosensitive drum 31, and a first conveying screw 332 and a second conveying screw 333 that circulate and convey the developer inside the developing housing while stirring. The transfer roller 34 is a roller for transferring a toner image formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 onto a sheet. The transfer roller 34 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 to form a transfer nip portion. The transfer roller 34 is given a transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner.

  The cleaning device 35 cleans the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 after the toner image is transferred to the sheet, and conveys the residual toner recovered by the cleaning toward a recovery bottle (not shown). The cleaning device 35 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 31. The photosensitive drum 31, the charging device 32, and the cleaning device 35 are integrated as one unit (drum unit). The cleaning device 35 will be described in detail later.

  The fixing unit 40 performs a fixing process for fixing the transferred toner image on the sheet. The fixing unit 40 includes a fixing roller 41 having a heating source therein, and a pressure roller 42 that is pressed against the fixing roller 41 and forms a fixing nip portion with the fixing roller 41. When the sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is passed through the fixing nip portion, the toner image is fixed on the sheet by heating by the fixing roller 41 and pressing by the pressure roller 42.

  The toner container 50 stores toner to be supplied to the developing device 33. The toner container 50 includes a container main body 51 serving as a main storage location of toner, a cylindrical portion 52 projecting from a lower portion on one side surface of the container main body 51, and a lid member 53 covering the other side surface of the container main body 51. And a rotating member 54 that is contained in the container and conveys toner. The toner stored in the toner container 50 is supplied into the developing device 33 from the toner discharge port 521 provided on the lower surface of the front end of the cylindrical portion 52 when the rotating member 54 is driven to rotate.

  In the main body housing 10, a main conveyance path 22F and a reverse conveyance path 22B are provided to convey the sheet. The main conveyance path 22 </ b> F passes through the image feeding unit 21 and the fixing unit 40 from the sheet feeding unit 21 </ b> A of the paper feeding unit 20, and the paper discharge port 14 provided to face the paper discharge unit 13 on the upper surface of the main body housing 10. It extends to. The reverse conveyance path 22B is a conveyance path for returning a sheet printed on one side to the upstream side of the image forming unit 30 in the main conveyance path 22F when performing duplex printing on the sheet.

  A registration roller pair 23 is disposed on the upstream side of the transfer nip portion of the main conveyance path 22F. After the sheet is temporarily stopped by the registration roller pair 23 and skew correction is performed, the sheet is sent out to the transfer nip portion at a predetermined timing for image transfer. A plurality of conveyance rollers for conveying the sheet are arranged at appropriate positions on the main conveyance path 22F and the reverse conveyance path 22B. For example, a paper discharge roller pair 24 is disposed in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 14.

  The reverse conveyance path 22 </ b> B is formed between the outer side surface of the reverse unit 25 and the inner surface of the rear cover 12 of the main body housing 10. One roller of the transfer roller 34 and the registration roller pair 23 is mounted on the inner surface of the reversing unit 25. The rear cover 12 and the reversing unit 25 can be rotated about the axis of the fulcrum 121 provided at the lower end thereof. When a sheet jam occurs in the reverse conveyance path 22B, the rear cover 12 is opened. When a sheet jam occurs in the main conveyance path 22F, or when the unit of the photosensitive drum 31 and the developing device 33 are taken out, the reversing unit 25 is opened in addition to the rear cover 12.

  Next, the detailed structure of the cleaning device 35 according to this embodiment will be described. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning device 35, FIG. 4 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the cleaning device 35. In FIG. 3, the photosensitive drum 31 to be cleaned by the cleaning device 35 is also shown. 3 shows the cleaning device 35 in an actual arrangement posture, but in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cleaning device 35 is drawn upside down.

  The cleaning device 35 includes a cleaner housing 60 (housing), a polishing roller 61, a conveying screw 62, a toner seal 63, a blade support portion 64, a cleaning blade 70 (blade), a holder 80, and an adjusting screw 91 (adjusting mechanism).

  The cleaner housing 60 is a housing made of a resin molded product that houses or supports each member constituting the cleaning device 35, and includes a housing space 60A. The storage space 60A is an upper wall 601 that is curved in an arc shape, a rear wall 602 and a front wall 603 that respectively hang downward from the front and rear end edges of the upper wall 601, and a lower wall that hangs downward from the left and right edges of the upper wall 601. The left wall 605 and the right wall 606 are partitioned. The polishing roller 61 and the conveying screw 62 are accommodated in the accommodating space 60A so as to bridge between the left wall 605 and the right wall 606.

  The lower surface of the cleaner housing 60 is opened (opening 60B), and the cleaning device 35 faces the photosensitive drum 31 in the opening 60B. The polishing roller 61 and the conveying screw 62 are disposed in parallel with the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 31. Further, a charging housing portion 604 for mounting the charging device 32 is extended in front of the front wall 603.

  The polishing roller 61 is a rubber roller that is disposed almost directly above the rotation shaft of the photosensitive drum 31 and includes a peripheral surface 61C that has been roughened. The circumferential surface 61C is in pressure contact with the circumferential surface 31C of the photosensitive drum 31, and when the photosensitive drum 31 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3, the polishing roller 61 is driven to rotate clockwise. The polishing roller 61 polishes the peripheral surface 31C using the toner remaining on the peripheral surface 31C of the photosensitive drum 31 as an abrasive, thereby removing deposits such as discharge products attached to the peripheral surface 31C. The left and right ends of the polishing roller 61 are rotatably supported by the left wall 605 and the right wall 606 of the cleaner housing 60.

  The conveying screw 62 is disposed in front of the polishing roller 61 and above the cleaning blade 70, and includes a shaft 621 and a spiral blade member 622 disposed around the shaft 621. The conveying screw 62 conveys the residual toner scraped off from the peripheral surface 31C of the photosensitive drum 31 by a cleaning blade 70 described later in the right direction in the cleaner housing 60. The left end side of the conveying screw 62 is rotatably supported by the left wall 605. On the other hand, the right end side of the conveying screw 62 is supported by a bearing in a collected toner conduit 623 extending rightward from the right wall 606. A recovery bottle (not shown) is attached to the far end of the recovery toner conduit 623.

  A support sheet metal 613 extending in the left-right direction is disposed above the polishing roller 61. The support metal plate 613 supports the scraper 614 and the internal seal film 615. The scraper 614 is made of a thin metal plate, is held vertically by a support metal plate 613, and its lower end is in contact with the circumferential surface of the polishing roller 61. The amount of toner adhering to the peripheral surface of the polishing roller 353 is regulated by the scraper 614.

  The inner seal film 615 is held horizontally by the support sheet metal 613 and closes the space above the scraper 614. The toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 70 or the scraper 354 may jump upward in the accommodation space 60A. The internal seal film 615 prevents the splashed toner from scattering and guides the toner into the conveyance area of the conveyance screw 62.

  The toner seal 63 closes a region closer to the rear of the opening 60B of the cleaner housing 60 (a gap between the lower end of the rear wall 602 of the cleaner housing 60 and the photosensitive drum 31), and the toner from the housing space 60A to the outside. It is a film member that prevents leakage of water. A holding metal plate 631 of the toner seal 63 is attached to the outer surface of the rear wall 602 in a surface contact state. The toner seal 63 is held horizontally at the lower edge of the holding metal plate 631, and the tip thereof is in contact with the peripheral surface 31 </ b> C of the photosensitive drum 31.

  The blade support portion 64 is a portion that extends in the horizontal direction forward from the lower end of the front wall 603, and is a portion that is provided integrally with the cleaner housing 60 in order to support the cleaning blade 70. The blade support portion 64 has a flat mounting surface 64S (the lower surface of the blade support portion 64) that faces the circumferential surface 31C of the photosensitive drum 31 from an oblique direction.

  The cleaning blade 70 is a long elastic plate-like member made of an elastic rubber material such as polyurethane rubber and extending along the axial direction (left-right direction) of the photosensitive drum 31. The cleaning blade 70 includes a base end 71 (front end portion) and a front end 72 (rear end portion) pressed against the peripheral surface 31C of the photosensitive drum 31 when viewed in the front-rear direction. The proximal end 71 is held by a holder 80, and the distal end 72 is a free end. The tip 72 is in contact with the circumferential surface 31C on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 31 with respect to the contact position of the polishing roller 61 described above. The tip 72 is in contact with the circumferential surface 31 </ b> C from the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 31. As a result, the toner remaining on (attached to) the peripheral surface 31 </ b> C of the photosensitive drum 31 or the deposit such as the discharge product is scraped off by the tip 72 of the cleaning blade 70. The scraped toner or the like is accumulated on the upper surface of the cleaning blade 70 and is eventually collected in a collection bottle through the collection toner conduit 623 by the conveying screw 62.

  The holder 80 is a sheet metal member that is long in the left-right direction and has an L-shape in a cross-sectional view in the front-rear direction (FIG. 3), and includes a flat plate holding portion 81 that extends in the horizontal direction. The holder 80 has substantially the same length as the cleaning blade 70 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 31. The holder 80 is attached to the blade support portion 64 with the flat plate holding portion 81 holding the base end 71 side of the cleaning blade 70 and with the flat plate holding portion 81 facing the mounting surface 64S in parallel. . The base end 71 of the cleaning blade 70 is fixed to the flat plate holding portion 81 with an adhesive.

  Here, the tip 72 of the elastic cleaning blade 70 is brought into contact with the peripheral surface 31C of the photosensitive drum 31 with an appropriate pressure and with a uniform pressure in the axial direction (left and right direction) of the photosensitive drum 31. It is important to ensure proper blade pressure. When the proper blade pressure cannot be secured, the peripheral surface 31C is not sufficiently cleaned and the image quality deteriorates, or the degree of toner removal in the axial direction is uneven and the image is uneven. . In particular, recently, there is a tendency that a toner having a fine particle diameter is used for forming a highly accurate image. In this case, it is required to set the blade pressure against the peripheral surface 31C of the tip 72 of the cleaning blade 70 with higher accuracy. Although the cleaning performance tends to improve as the blade pressure is increased, the tendency of the life of the cleaning blade 70 to decrease is also remarkable. In addition, when the cleaner housing 60 is made of resin, if the cleaner housing 60 is warped due to the influence of heat, molding unevenness, or the like, the blade pressure may be non-uniform in the axial direction.

  In the present embodiment, in order to realize the above-described accurate setting of the blade pressure, by adjusting the mounting height of the holder 80 with respect to the mounting surface 64S, the periphery of the photosensitive drum 31 at the tip 72 of the cleaning blade 70 is adjusted. An adjustment screw 91 for adjusting the pressure contact force with respect to the surface 31C is provided. Further, after the adjustment of the mounting height, a gap G is provided between the mounting surface 64S and the holder 80 (flat plate holding portion 81) in order to avoid the influence of the warp of the cleaner housing 60. These points will be described with further reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the cleaning device 35.

  The cleaning device 35 of this embodiment includes the above-described adjustment screw 91, fixing screw 92 (fixing tool), and positioning guide pin 642 (guide member) in order to position the holder 80 and attach it to the blade support portion 64. . A first hole 821 (screw hole), a second hole 822, and a third hole 823 are drilled in the holder 80 in order to pass through these three members.

  The adjustment screw 91 includes a screw head 911 that a user picks when the adjustment screw 91 is rotated, and a screw portion 912 having a thread on the peripheral surface. A screw groove is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the first hole 821 of the holder 80, and an adjustment screw 91 is screwed into the first hole 821. The attachment surface 64S of the blade support portion 64 is provided with a screw receiving portion 641 formed of a concave hole having a diameter larger than the diameter of the screw portion 912. A tip 91 </ b> T of the screw portion 912 that passes through the first hole 821 is in contact with the bottom surface of the screw receiving portion 641.

  For this reason, when the adjustment screw 91 is rotated in the forward direction, the tip 91T is in contact with the screw receiving portion 641, so that the adjustment screw 91 is engaged in the first hole 821 in which the screw groove is cut. The holder 80 is moved in a direction in which the upper surface 81B of the flat plate holding portion 81 is separated from the attachment surface 64S. On the other hand, when the adjustment screw 91 is rotated in the reverse direction, the holder 80 moves in a direction in which the upper surface 81B of the flat plate holding portion 81 approaches the attachment surface 64S. In this manner, the height of attachment of the holder 80 to the attachment surface 64S can be adjusted by adjusting the rotation of the adjustment screw 91. Since the holder 80 holds the cleaning blade 70, adjusting the rotation of the adjusting screw 91 adjusts the pressure contact force of the tip 72 of the cleaning blade 70 to the peripheral surface 31C of the photosensitive drum 31. It leads to. Therefore, by adjusting the mounting height of the holder 80 by appropriately rotating the adjustment screw 91 in the forward direction or the reverse direction, a desired blade pressure can be set with high accuracy.

  In the present embodiment, the adjustment screw 91 is disposed on the left end side (one end side in the axial direction) and the right end side (the other end side) of the holder 80. As described above, since the adjusting screws 91 are arranged in the vicinity of both end portions of the holder 80, it is easy to adjust the blade pressure uniformly in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 31. The adjustment screw 91 may be arranged near the center of the holder 80 in addition to the left and right ends of the holder 80.

  The fixing screw 92 is a screw for locally fixing the holder 80 to the blade support portion 64 in a state where the adjustment of the mounting height of the holder 80 by the adjusting screw 91 is completed. The blade support portion 64 is provided with a boss portion 643 having a screw hole 643H for screwing the fixing screw 92 therein. The fixing screw 92 includes a screw head 921 and a screw portion 922 provided with a screw thread on the peripheral surface. The screw part 922 is screwed into the screw hole 643H through the second hole 822 of the holder 80. The second hole 822 is a flat hole having no thread groove on the inner peripheral surface. In order to fix the holder 80, the fixing screw 92 is tightened until the screw head 921 contacts the lower surface of the holder 80. In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the fixing screws 92 are arranged at three positions on both ends and the center of the holder 80.

  The positioning guide pin 642 is a cylindrical pin projecting downward from the attachment surface 64S of the blade support portion 64, and is inserted into the third hole 823 (which is a flat hole) of the holder 80. The positioning guide pins 642 function to guide the movement of the holder 80 when the mounting height of the holder 80 is adjusted. That is, since the holder 80 moves while being guided in the vertical direction in a state where the movement in the front-rear and left-right directions is restricted by the positioning guide pins 642, it is possible to set the blade pressure with high accuracy.

  The blade pressure adjustment operation is performed, for example, when the image forming apparatus 1 is shipped from the factory. The user first rotates the adjustment screw 91 to adjust the attachment height of the holder 80 with respect to the attachment surface 64S. Thereby, the amount of biting (pressure contact force) of the tip 72 of the cleaning blade 70 with respect to the drum peripheral surface 31C is set appropriately. Thereafter, the user fastens the fixing screw 92 to fix the holder 80 to the blade support portion 64. In this way, the blade pressure can be adjusted via the mounting height of the holder 80 simply by rotating the adjusting screw 91, so that the configuration of the blade pressure adjusting mechanism can be simplified and the user's work can be performed. Simplification can be achieved.

  In a state where the blade pressure is adjusted and the holder 80 is fixed by the fixing screw 92, a gap G exists between the mounting surface 64S and the upper surface 81B of the flat plate holding portion 81 of the holder 80. . Thereby, even when the holder 80 is fixed to the blade support portion 64, the mounting surface 64S and the holder 80 can be brought into a state where they are not in surface contact. In other words, the holder 80 is only locally fixed to the cleaner housing 60 by the fixing screw 92, and both are substantially separated, so that the holder 80 is not affected by the deformation of the cleaner housing 60. I will not receive it. For this reason, even if the cleaner housing 60 is warped due to heat, for example, the warp does not reach the holder 80, and the tip 72 of the cleaning blade 70 is pressed against the circumferential surface 31 </ b> C of the photosensitive drum 31. Also has no effect.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a cleaning device 35A according to a comparative example, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the cleaning device 35A. In the cleaning device 35A, the holder 800 that holds the cleaning blade 700 is attached to the blade support portion 64A by the fixing screw 920 in a state where the holder 800 is positioned by the positioning guide pin 642A. The fixing screw 920 is fastened to a boss portion 643A provided in the blade support portion 64A, whereby the holder 800 is attached to the blade support portion 64A in a surface contact state.

  When the holder 800 is attached to the blade support portion 64 </ b> A in such a manner, the holder 800 is affected by the warp of the cleaner housing 60. That is, the holder 800 is a sheet metal plate that holds the rubber cleaning blade 700, whereas the cleaner housing 60 has a considerably large size and also has rigidity. Therefore, when the holder 800 is completely fixed in a state of surface contact with the blade support portion 64 </ b> A that is a part of the cleaner housing 60, the holder 800 is also deformed following the deformation of the cleaner housing 60. When the holder 800 is deformed, the cleaning blade 700 is naturally deformed, and there is a problem that the axial uniformity of the press contact force with respect to the drum circumferential surface 31C at the tip cannot be secured.

  On the other hand, in the cleaning device 35 of the present embodiment, since the gap G described above exists, even if the cleaner housing 60 is deformed, the deformation is absorbed in the gap G. Therefore, the holder 80 is not affected by the deformation, and the axial uniformity of the pressing force of the tip 72 of the cleaning blade 70 against the drum peripheral surface 31C can be ensured.

  As described above, according to the cleaning device 35 according to the present embodiment, the pressing force of the tip 72 of the cleaning blade 70 to the peripheral surface 31C of the photosensitive drum 31 can be set with high accuracy by the adjustment screw 91. . In addition, by providing the gap G described above, the axial uniformity of the pressure contact force can be stably secured. Therefore, the cleaning performance of the drum peripheral surface 31C by the cleaning device 35 can be improved, and it is possible to contribute to the improvement of the image quality of the image formed on the sheet by the image forming device 1.

  The cleaning device 35 and the image forming apparatus 1 including the cleaning device 35 according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the following modified embodiment can be taken. it can.

  (1) In the above embodiment, as an example of the adjustment mechanism, a mechanism in which the tip 91T of the adjustment screw 91 is brought into contact with the screw receiving portion 641 of the blade support portion 64 is exemplified. Instead of this, a mechanism for adjusting the mounting height of the holder 80 with respect to the mounting surface 64S by rotating the cam by bringing the cam circumferential surface into contact with the upper surface 81B of the holder 80 may be used. Or it is good also as a mechanism which adjusts the said attachment height by enabling the wedge member provided with the taper part to be inserted in the clearance gap G, and adjusting the insertion degree to the clearance gap G of the said wedge member.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the fixing screw 92 is illustrated as an example of the fixing tool. Instead of this, other known means for fixing two members separated via the gap G, such as a fixing pin and a fixing rivet, can be employed.

  (3) In the above embodiment, an example in which the gap G is provided between the attachment surface 64S and the upper surface 81B of the flat plate holding portion 81 of the holder 80 has been described. If the cleaner housing 60 is substantially free from deformation such as warping, the gap G may be filled with a spacer or the like after adjusting the mounting height.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 30 Image forming part 31 Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
31C Peripheral surface 35 Cleaning device 60 Cleaner housing (housing)
64 Blade support portion 64S Mounting surface 641 Screw receiving portion 642 Positioning guide pin (guide member)
70 Cleaning blade (blade)
71 Base end 72 Tip 80 Holder 821 First hole (screw hole)
91 Adjustment screw (Adjustment mechanism)
92 Fixing screw (fixing tool)
G gap

Claims (4)

A cleaning device for cleaning the peripheral surface of an image carrier having a peripheral surface for supporting a toner image,
A blade comprising a proximal end and a distal end pressed against the peripheral surface of the image carrier;
A housing comprising a blade support having a mounting surface facing the peripheral surface of the image carrier;
In a state where the base end side of the blade is held, a holder that is attached to the blade support portion so as to face the attachment surface;
An adjustment mechanism that adjusts the pressing force of the tip of the blade against the peripheral surface of the image carrier by adjusting the height of the holder attached to the attachment surface;
A fixture that locally fixes the holder to the blade support in a state where the adjustment of the mounting height by the adjustment mechanism has been completed ,
The adjustment mechanism includes a screw hole provided in the holder, an adjustment screw screwed into the screw hole, and a screw receiving part provided in the blade support part,
The mounting height is adjusted by rotating the adjustment screw in a state where the tip of the adjustment screw penetrating the screw hole is in contact with the screw receiving portion.
The holder includes a first surface facing the blade support and a second surface opposite to the first surface, and a flat hole having no thread groove,
The blade support portion includes a boss portion having a screw hole,
The adjustment screw includes a first screw head that is picked by a user, and a first screw portion that is smaller in diameter than the first screw head and has a thread on the circumferential surface thereof. The tip is to stop against the screw receiving portion,
The fixing device includes a fixing screw having a second screw head and a second screw portion having a screw thread on a peripheral surface, and the second screw portion passes through the flat hole and the boss. The second screw head is in contact with the second surface of the holder;
The adjustment screw and the fixing screw are arranged on a straight line in the axial direction of the image carrier,
Cleaning device that exists is a gap between the state in which the fixing is performed by the fixture, the first surface of the said mounting surface holder.
The cleaning device according to claim 1 ,
The blade support portion includes a guide member that guides the movement of the holder when the attachment height is adjusted. The cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The blade is a longitudinal member extending along the axial direction of the image carrier,
The holder has substantially the same length as the blade in the axial direction;
The said adjustment mechanism is a cleaning apparatus arrange | positioned at least at the one end side and the other end side in the said axial direction of the said holder. An image carrier having a peripheral surface carrying a toner image;
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , which cleans the peripheral surface.
An image forming apparatus comprising:

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