JP6091119B2 - Cleaning unit, process cartridge, image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning unit, a process cartridge including a cleaning unit, and an image forming apparatus including a cleaning unit.

Conventionally, as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a printer using an electrophotographic process, cleaning that removes toner as a developer remaining on a photosensitive drum as an image carrier on which a toner image as a developer image is formed What is provided with a unit is known. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning frame and a cleaning blade that is supported by the cleaning frame and is provided in contact with the photosensitive drum. The waste toner removed by the cleaning blade is stored in a waste toner storage unit.
Here, a conventional waste toner sealing configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12A is an overall view of a cleaning unit 8 having a conventional waste toner sealing configuration. FIG. 12B is a WW sectional view of FIG. FIG.12 (c) is an enlarged view of FIG.12 (b). Hereinafter, the axial direction of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 4 (the arrow X direction in FIG. 12A) is defined as the longitudinal direction.
As shown in FIG. 12A, cleaning blade elastic members (hereinafter simply referred to as elastic members) 86R and 86L are provided in the vicinity of both ends of the cleaning blade 7 in the longitudinal direction. The elastic members 86R and 86L prevent the waste toner stored in the waste toner storage unit 26a from leaking from the gap between the cleaning frame 26 and the cleaning blade 7.
Further, cleaning blade end seal members (hereinafter simply referred to as end seal members) 85R and 85L are provided near both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 7. The end seal members 85R and 85L prevent waste toner from leaking through the gaps between the cleaning frame 26, the photosensitive drum 4, and the cleaning blade 7. As shown in FIG. 12A, the end seal member 85R and the end seal member 85L have the same shape that is symmetrical with respect to the center in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, only the end seal member 85R and the elastic member 86R are used here. The explanation is omitted, and the explanation of the end seal member 85L and the elastic member 86L is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 12C, the end seal member 85R is disposed on the elastic member 86R. Here, when the cleaning blade 7 is assembled to the cleaning frame 26 after the end sealing member 85R has been attached to the cleaning frame 26 in advance, the cleaning blade 7 is prevented from riding on the end sealing member 85R. There is a need. Therefore, it is necessary to assemble the cleaning blade 7 with a gap 60 provided between the end seal member 85R and the cleaning blade 7.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12A, protrusions 85aR and 85aL are provided to make the end seal members 85R and 85L substantially L-shaped. The protrusions 85aR and 85aL seal toner leakage from the longitudinal end faces 7fR and 7fL of the cleaning blade 7.

JP 2005-234164 A

However, in the waste toner sealing configuration, it is necessary to attach the end seal member to the cleaning frame with high accuracy so that the toner does not leak from the gap between the end seal member and the cleaning blade. Similarly, the positions of the end seal member and the cleaning blade need to be assembled with high accuracy. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the cleaning unit may increase. Moreover, in the structure which provides the protrusion part 85a in the edge part seal member 85 as mentioned above, a manufacturing cost will increase because the magnitude | size of an edge part seal becomes large.
Also, as shown in Patent Document 1, a seal member is attached to a bracket attached to a frame body, the bracket is pressed against the rotating body by an urging member, and further pressed in the axial direction of the rotating body to suppress toner leakage. A configuration has been proposed. However, in such a configuration, the manufacturing cost increases as the number of parts increases.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning unit that is low in cost and has a high developer sealing property.

In order to achieve the above object, a cleaning unit used in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
A frame,
A cleaning blade that is supported by the frame so that the tip contacts the rotatable image carrier and removes the developer on the image carrier;
A first sealing member kicked set, injection molded to the frame between the end portion and around the axial direction of the rotating shaft of the image bearing member, the frame member and the cleaning blade,
A second sealing member provided between near the end portion in the axial direction, and said frame member and said image bearing member at a position opposite to the tip of the cleaning blade,
Have
Wherein the first sealing member, before close contact with the second sealing member when it is compressed between the Kizo carrier and the frame body by the attached and the second sealing member, deformation unit which deforms If, have a, a space to allow the deformation in a direction extending when the flexible portion is compressed,
The first sealing member is characterized in that the space is formed by the axial width of the portion adjacent to the deforming portion in the extending direction being narrower than the deforming portion .
In order to achieve the above object, the cleaning unit used in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
A frame,
A cleaning blade that is supported by the frame so that the tip contacts the rotatable image carrier and removes the developer on the image carrier;
A first sealing member injection-molded on the frame body, provided between the frame body and the cleaning blade in the vicinity of the end portion in the axial direction of the rotation axis of the image carrier;
A second sealing member provided between the image carrier and the frame at a position facing the tip of the cleaning blade near the end in the axial direction;
Have
The second sealing member has an L-shaped protruding portion that protrudes outward from the end face of the cleaning blade in the axial direction, and further extends in a direction from the distal end side to the proximal end side of the cleaning blade,
The first sealing member is a deformed portion that is in close contact with the second sealing member and deforms when compressed between the frame and the second sealing member by attaching the image carrier. And a second deforming portion that closely contacts and deforms the projecting portion when compressed between the image carrier and the frame, and a space that allows deformation in a direction extending when the deforming portion is compressed, and it characterized in that it has a.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus including the cleaning unit.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the cleaning unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cleaning unit having a low cost and a high developer sealing property.

The figure which shows the seal | sticker structure which concerns on Example 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a process cartridge according to the first embodiment. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cleaning unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the cleaning blade which concerns on Example 1. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an end seal member according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the seal structure of the edge part vicinity of the longitudinal direction in Example 1. FIG. The fragmentary perspective view which shows the elastic member in Example 1 The figure which shows the seal structure of the edge part vicinity of the longitudinal direction in Example 2. FIG. The fragmentary perspective view which shows the elastic member in Example 2 The figure which shows the seal structure of the edge part vicinity of the longitudinal direction in Example 2. FIG. Diagram showing a conventional cleaning unit

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the component parts described in this embodiment should be changed as appropriate according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. It is not intended that the scope of the present invention be limited to the following embodiments.

Example 1
In the first embodiment, as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as an image forming apparatus), a full-color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which four process cartridges (hereinafter simply referred to as cartridges) are detachable is illustrated. To do. However, the number of cartridges to be mounted on the image forming apparatus is not limited to this, and can be set as needed. For example, in the case of an image forming apparatus that forms a monochrome image, the number of cartridges attached to the image forming apparatus may be one. In the first embodiment, a four-color full-color laser printer using an electrophotographic process is exemplified as one form of the image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or these Other image forming apparatuses combining these functions may be used.

<Schematic configuration of image forming apparatus>
First, the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3A is an external perspective view of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 is a four-color full-color laser printer using an electrophotographic process, and forms a color image on a recording medium S. The image forming apparatus 1 is a process cartridge type, and a process cartridge P (PY / PM / PC / PK) (hereinafter referred to as a cartridge) is detachably attached to the apparatus body 2 to form a color image on the recording medium S. To do.

  Here, regarding the image forming apparatus 1, the side on which the apparatus opening / closing door 3 is provided is defined as a front surface (front surface), and the surface opposite to the front surface is defined as a back surface (rear surface). Further, when the image forming apparatus 1 is viewed from the front, the right side is the driving side and the left side is the non-driving side. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the non-driving side. The front side of the sheet is the non-driving side of the image forming apparatus 1, the right side of the sheet is the front of the image forming apparatus 1, and the back side of the sheet is the image forming apparatus 1. Drive side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body 2 includes four cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) of a first cartridge PY, a second cartridge PM, a third cartridge PC, and a fourth cartridge PK. It is arranged horizontally. Each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) has the same electrophotographic process mechanism, and each has a different toner color. A rotational driving force is transmitted to the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) from a drive output unit (not shown) of the apparatus main body 2. A bias voltage (charging bias, developing bias, etc., not shown) is supplied from the apparatus main body 2 to each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK).

As shown in FIG. 3A, each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) of the first embodiment includes a photosensitive drum 4 as an image carrier and a photosensitive drum 4. It has a cleaning unit 8 provided with charging means and cleaning means as working process means. Each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) includes a developing device 9 including a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 4. The cleaning unit 8 and the developing device 9 are coupled to each other. Further, a charging roller 5 is used as a charging unit, a cleaning blade 7 is used as a cleaning unit, and a developing roller 6 as a developer carrying member is used as a developing unit.

  The first cartridge PY contains yellow (Y) toner in the developing frame 29 and forms a yellow toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. The second cartridge PM contains magenta (M) toner in the developing frame 29 and forms a magenta toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. The third cartridge PC contains cyan (C) toner in the developing frame 29 and forms a cyan toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. The fourth cartridge PK contains black (K) toner in the developing frame 29 and forms a black toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a laser scanner unit LB as an exposure unit is provided above the first to fourth cartridges P (PY / PM / PC / PK). The laser scanner unit LB outputs a laser beam Z corresponding to the image information. The laser beam Z passes through the exposure window 10 of the cartridge P and scans and exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an intermediate transfer belt unit 11 as a transfer member is provided below the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK). The intermediate transfer belt unit 11 includes a driving roller 13, a turn roller 14, and a tension roller 15, and a flexible transfer belt 12 is stretched over the intermediate transfer belt unit 11. The transfer belt 12 is provided to be rotatable in the direction of arrow C in FIG.

  The lower surface of the photosensitive drum 4 of each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) is in contact with the upper surface of the transfer belt 12. The contact portion is a primary transfer portion. A primary transfer roller 16 is provided inside the transfer belt 12 so as to face the photosensitive drum 4. A secondary transfer roller 17 is brought into contact with the turn roller 14 via the transfer belt 12. A contact portion between the transfer belt 12 and the secondary transfer roller 17 is a secondary transfer portion.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a feeding unit 18 is provided below the intermediate transfer belt unit 11. The feeding unit 18 includes a paper feeding tray 19 and a paper feeding roller 20 in which the recording media S are stacked and stored. Further, a fixing unit 21 and a discharge unit 22 are provided on the upper left side in the apparatus main body 2 in FIG. The upper surface of the apparatus body 2 is a discharge tray 23. The recording medium S is fixed on the toner image by the fixing means provided in the fixing unit 21 and is discharged to the discharge tray 23.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is configured to form an image with the detachable cartridge P including the photosensitive drum 4 and the cleaning unit 8 including the charging unit and the cleaning unit. But you can. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may have a configuration in which at least one photosensitive drum 4 and a charging unit are provided in the apparatus main body 2 and an image is formed by a detachable cartridge P having a cleaning unit including a cleaning unit. .

<Image forming operation>
Next, an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the photosensitive drum 4 of each of the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed (counterclockwise in FIG. 2 and arrow D in FIG. 3B). direction). Then, the laser scanner unit LB is also driven. In synchronization with the driving of the laser scanner unit LB, in each cartridge P, the charging roller 5 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 to a predetermined polarity and potential. The laser scanner unit LB scans and exposes the surface of each photosensitive drum 4 with laser light Z in accordance with the image signal of each color. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal of the corresponding color is formed on the surface of each photosensitive drum 4. The formed electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing roller 6 that is driven to rotate at a predetermined speed (clockwise in FIG. 2 and in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 3B).

  By the electrophotographic image forming process operation as described above, a yellow toner image corresponding to the yellow component of the full color image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 of the first cartridge PY. Then, the toner image is primarily transferred onto the transfer belt 12. Similarly, a magenta toner image corresponding to the magenta component of the full-color image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 of the second cartridge PM. Then, the toner image is primary-transferred superimposed on the yellow toner image already transferred onto the transfer belt 12. Similarly, a cyan toner image corresponding to the cyan component of the full-color image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 of the third cartridge PC. Then, the toner image is primary-transferred superimposed on the yellow and magenta toner images already transferred onto the transfer belt 12. Similarly, a black toner image corresponding to the black component of the full color image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 of the fourth cartridge PK. Then, the toner image is primary-transferred superimposed on the yellow, magenta, and cyan toner images already transferred onto the transfer belt 12.

  In this manner, a full-color unfixed toner image of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is formed on the transfer belt 12. On the other hand, the recording medium S is separated and fed from the paper feed tray 19 one by one by the paper feed roller 20 at a predetermined control timing. The recording medium S is introduced into a secondary transfer portion that is a contact portion between the secondary transfer roller 17 and the transfer belt 12 at a predetermined control timing. As a result, the four color superimposed toner images on the transfer belt 12 are sequentially transferred onto the surface of the recording medium S in sequence while the recording medium S is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit.

  Thereafter, the recording medium S onto which the four-color superimposed toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 21, and the toner image is fixed by being pressurized and heated. Then, the recording medium S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge tray 23 by the discharge unit 22. Image formation is completed by a series of operations as described above.

<Configuration of cartridge>
As shown in FIG. 3A, each cartridge P has a horizontally long shape in which the direction of the axis a of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 4 (axial direction) is a longitudinal direction, and includes a cleaning unit 8 and a developing device 9. And a driving side cover member 24 and a non-driving side cover member 25.

<Configuration of cleaning unit>
The configuration of the cleaning unit will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cleaning unit according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3B, the cleaning unit 8 includes a photosensitive drum 4, a charging roller 5, and a cleaning frame body 26 that supports the cleaning blade 7.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the photosensitive drum 4 is rotatably supported by a driving side cover member 24 and a non-driving side cover member 25. Then, a driving force of a motor (not shown) of the apparatus main body 2 is obtained from the drum driving coupling 4a and is driven to rotate (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 3B).

  Both ends of the charging roller 5 are rotatably supported by a non-driving side charging roller bearing 27R and a driving side charging roller bearing 27L (not shown) of the cleaning frame 26 shown in FIG. The charging roller 5 is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 and is driven to rotate, and is charged with the charging bias to charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. At this time, in order to uniformly charge the surface, both ends of the charging roller 5 are pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 by pressure springs 28R and 28L (not shown).

  The cleaning blade 7 is fixed to the support surface 26c of the cleaning frame 26 shown in FIG. 4, and its tip is brought into contact with the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 4 (the direction of arrow D in FIG. 3B) in the counter direction. Is provided. The cleaning blade 7 cleans the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 by removing (scraping) transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 4 (on the image carrier) during image formation. At this time, the tip of the cleaning blade 7 is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 with a predetermined pressure in order to completely remove (scrap off) the transfer residual toner.

  The transfer residual toner scraped off from the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 by the cleaning blade 7 is stored as a waste toner in a waste toner storage portion 26 a as a storage portion of the cleaning frame 26. As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning frame 26 has a waste toner collecting sheet member 44, an end seal member 45R as a second sealing member, in order to prevent leakage of waste toner stored in the waste toner storage portion 26a. 45L and elastic members 46R and 46L as first sealing members, respectively. The cleaning frame 26 does not necessarily have the waste toner container 26a. The cleaning unit 8 may be provided with a mechanism for transporting the waste toner so that the waste toner is stored in the waste toner storage portion outside the cleaning frame 26. Details of the waste toner sealing configuration will be described later.

<Configuration of developing device>
As shown in FIG. 3B, the developing device 9 has a horizontally long shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the rotation axis of the developing roller 6 as a developing means. In addition to the developing roller 6, the developing device 9 includes a developing frame 29, a developing blade 31, a developer supply roller 33, and a flexible sheet member 35. The developing frame 29 has a toner containing portion 29c for containing toner, and an opening 29c for discharging the toner from the toner containing portion 29c to the outside. The developing roller 6 and the developer supply roller 33 are disposed in the opening of the developing frame 29, and both end portions of the shafts of the developing roller 6 and the developer supplying roller 33 are bearings assembled on both side surfaces of the developing frame 29. A member (not shown) is rotatably supported.

  The developing blade unit 30 is a unit in which the developing blade 31 is fixed on a support sheet metal 32, and the support sheet metal 32 is fixed to the developing frame 29 with screws. The developing blade 31 is a thin metal plate having a thickness of about 0.1 mm, and the free end of the developing blade 31 in the short direction is relative to the rotation direction of the developing roller 6 (the direction of arrow E in FIG. 3B). It is in contact with the counter direction.

  The flexible sheet member 35 is disposed on the side surface of the developing frame 29 facing the developing blade 31 so as to contact the developing roller 6, and the toner from the gap between the developing frame 29 and the developing roller 6 is disposed. Prevents leakage.

  The developing device 9 has a pressure spring (in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 3 (b)) in the direction in which the developing roller 6 comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 4 about the swing center (axis line b) shown in FIG. The developing roller 6 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 4 at all times. At the time of image formation, the developer supply roller 33 and the developing roller 6 are rotated and rubbed by driving, whereby the toner is carried on the developing roller 6. The developing blade 31 regulates the thickness of the toner layer formed on the peripheral surface of the developing roller 6, and applies a charge due to frictional charging to the toner by the contact pressure of the developing blade 31. The charged toner on the developing roller 6 adheres to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 4 at the contact portion between the developing roller 6 and the photosensitive drum 4, and the latent image is developed. A seal member 36 is provided between the developing frame 29 and the developing blade 31 to prevent toner from leaking from the gap between the developing frame 29 and the developing blade 31.

<Detailed configuration of cleaning blade>
Next, the configuration of the cleaning blade according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A is an external perspective view of the cleaning blade according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cleaning blade according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 5B, the two-dot chain line indicates the photosensitive drum 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the cleaning blade 7 includes an elastic blade portion 7a and a support member 7b that supports the elastic blade portion 7a. Here, the name of each part of the cleaning blade 7 is defined as follows. A surface where the cleaning blade 7 contacts the photosensitive drum 4 is a top surface 7d. The side where the cleaning blade 7 abuts against the photosensitive drum 4 is the blade tip side, and the surface which is on the tip side of the cleaning blade 7 and is perpendicular to the top surface 7d is the tip surface 7e. Surfaces perpendicular to the top surface 7d at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 7 are defined as longitudinal end surfaces 7fR and 7fL. The side that faces the top surface 7d and contacts the elastic members 46R and 46L is defined as a bottom surface 7g. Further, a direction parallel to the top surface 7d and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is defined as a short direction (an arrow d direction in FIGS. 5A and 5B).

  The elastic blade portion 7a is formed of an elastic body that comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 4, and is fixed to the support member 7b by adhesion or integral molding. The elastic blade portion 7 a abuts the front end side of the photosensitive drum 4 in the longitudinal direction, and removes transfer residual toner from the photosensitive drum 4. Examples of the material of the elastic blade portion 7a include synthetic rubber such as natural rubber and urethane.

  The support member 7b is formed of a steel plate (for example, iron sheet metal) of 0.5 to 2.0 mm, and is fixed to the support surface 26c (see FIG. 4) of the cleaning frame 26 with screws. Further, the support member 7b has a bending portion 7c in the short-side direction in order to reduce the bending in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 7, and increases the longitudinal bending rigidity. If the supporting member 7b has sufficient rigidity, the bending portion 7c is not necessary. The supporting member 7b can increase its rigidity, for example, by further increasing the thickness or by using a strong material such as stainless steel.

<Detailed configuration of end seal member>
Next, the configuration of the end seal member as the second sealing member according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, in Example 1, the end seal member 45R has a substantially L shape having a protruding portion 45aR having a length L, and includes a surface layer 45eR, an adhesive layer 45fR, an intermediate layer 45gR, and an adhesive layer. Consists of 45 hR. When the protrusion 45aR is attached to the cleaning unit, the protrusion 45aR protrudes outward from the longitudinal end surface 7fR of the cleaning unit 8 in the longitudinal direction, and further extends in the direction from the distal end side to the proximal end side of the cleaning blade 7 therefrom. As described above, since the end seal member 45 has the protrusion 45aR, it is possible to prevent waste toner from leaking from the cleaning frame 26. 6 shows an example of the configuration of the end seal member 45, the length of the protrusion 45a may be shorter than that shown in FIG. 6, and the sealing performance at the tip of the cleaning blade 7 may be improved. If sufficient, the protrusion 45a is not necessarily required.

  The surface layer 45eR is composed of a base fabric and pile yarns raised from the base fabric, or a base fabric alone. The surface layer 45eR is bonded to the surface of the intermediate layer 45gR via an adhesive layer 45fR such as a double-sided tape or an adhesive. Base fabrics include woven fabrics made by weaving warp and weft yarns, knitted fabrics made by knitting yarns, and non-woven fabrics that bind fibers together. Nonwoven fabrics include a system in which fibers are bonded by blowing heated steam, a system in which fibers are bonded by melting with heat, and a system in which fibers are entangled using a high-pressure water stream. Raised pile yarns include looped ones and ones in which the loops are cut and raised one by one. Further, even in the case of the configuration of only the base fabric, the yarn is electrostatically flocked to the base fabric and may be a raised base fabric.

  Examples of the material for the surface layer 45eR include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, nylon, and acrylic resin. Furthermore, synthetic fibers such as polyethylene terephthalate, semi-synthetic fiber cotton such as rayon, natural fibers such as cotton, etc., or combinations or twisted yarns thereof may be used. Moreover, you may use for the surface layer 45eR what apply | coated the lubricants, such as a silicone resin and stearic acid. As the surface layer 45eR, other materials may be used as long as they have good heat resistance, durability, and wear resistance and can sufficiently maintain the adhesive strength with the adhesive layer 45fR.

  The intermediate layer 45gR is a cushion layer formed of an elastic body. As a material for the intermediate layer 45gR, a synthetic resin foam such as polyurethane, and other materials such as synthetic rubber, natural rubber, and thermoplastic elastomer are used. The intermediate layer 45gR may be made of other materials as long as the heat resistance and durability are good and the adhesive strength between the adhesive layer 45fR and the adhesive layer 45hR is sufficiently maintained.

  The adhesive layer 45hR is on the back surface of the intermediate layer 45gR and is formed by a double-sided tape, a pressure sensitive adhesive, or the like. Let the sticking surface side of the sticking layer 45hR be the adhesion surface 45bR. Other materials may be used for the adhesive layer 45hR as long as they have flexibility and sufficient adhesive strength to the intermediate layer 45gR is maintained.

  Further, in Example 1, the end seal member 45R having a four-layer configuration of the surface layer 45eR, the adhesive layer 45fR, the intermediate layer 45gR, and the adhesive layer 45hR is given as an example, but as a two-layer configuration of the surface layer 45e and the adhesive layer 53, Also good. In that case, the structure of the surface layer 45e needs to have a certain thickness by using a nonwoven fabric as the material of the base fabric 45eR. Note that the end seal member 45L (see FIG. 4) is a symmetrical shape of the end seal member 45R and has the same configuration, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

<Seal configuration of waste toner container>
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the seal configuration of the waste toner container will be described. The cleaning frame 26 includes a waste toner collection sheet member 44, end seal members 45R and 45L as second sealing members, and a first sealing member to prevent leakage of waste toner stored in the waste toner storage portion 26a. Elastic members 46R and 46L.

  The waste toner collecting sheet member 44 is a flexible sheet member that prevents waste toner leakage from the gap in the short direction between the cleaning frame body 26 and the photosensitive drum 4. The waste toner collection sheet member 44 is disposed so as to abut on the photosensitive drum 4 on the side surface in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning frame 26 facing the cleaning blade 7 in the photosensitive drum 4.

  Here, the elastic members 46R and 46L will be described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 7, and FIG. FIG. 7A shows a state after the elastic member is injection-molded (cast-formed) on the cleaning frame, and shows a state before the cleaning blade and the end seal member are assembled. FIG. 7B is a view showing a seal configuration in the vicinity of the end portion in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade. In addition, in Fig.7 (a), the assembly position of the edge part sealing member 45R is shown with a dashed-two dotted line. Since the elastic members 46R and 46L have the same symmetrical shape, only the non-drive-side elastic member 46R will be described.

In the first embodiment, the elastic member 46 </ b> R is a thermoplastic elastomer that is a resin material injection-molded on the cleaning frame 26. Injection molding refers to fixing a mold to the cleaning frame 26 and injecting molten resin to form a shape. As shown in FIG. 7B, the elastic member 46 </ b> R is disposed on the center side about 0 to 10 mm in the longitudinal direction from the longitudinal end surface 7 f </ i> R of the cleaning blade 7. Further, as shown in FIG. 7A, the elastic member 46R includes a cleaning blade vertical seal portion (hereinafter referred to as a vertical seal portion) 46dR and an end seal member mounting seat which is a mounting portion of the end seal member 45R. It is comprised by the surface part (henceforth a seat surface part) 46bR. The vertical seal portion 46dR of the elastic member 46R prevents waste toner leakage from the gap between the cleaning blade 7 in the longitudinal direction and the cleaning frame 26. The detailed shape of the elastic member 46R will be described later.

  The end seal members 45R and 45L are compressed between the photosensitive drum 4 and the cleaning frame 26 at positions opposite to the front end of the cleaning blade 7 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 7, and the elastic member 46R. , 45L in contact with each other. The end seal member 45R prevents waste toner leakage from the gaps between the cleaning blade 7, the photosensitive drum 4, the elastic member 46R, and the cleaning frame 26.

  Further, with reference to FIGS. 1, 7, and 8, the configuration of waste toner seals at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 7 will be described in detail along the assembly order. Here, the waste toner sealing configuration on the non-driving side will be described. Fig.1 (a) is AA sectional drawing of Fig.7 (a). FIG.1 (b) is BB sectional drawing of FIG.7 (b), Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state which assembled | attached the cleaning blade. FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG. 7B and shows a state where the photosensitive drum is assembled. FIG.1 (d) is an enlarged view of FIG.1 (c). FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view showing an elastic member provided in the cleaning frame. Here, the longitudinal direction is the X direction, the short direction is the Y direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X direction and the Y direction is the Z direction (the arrow direction in each figure is positive).

<Molding and shape of injection seal>
First, the elastic member 46R is injection molded. The elastic member 46R has a T-shaped rib shape in the Y direction and the X direction, as shown in FIG. The elastic member 46R has a vertical seal portion 46dR that seals the gap between the cleaning blade 7 and the cleaning frame 26, and a seat surface portion 46bR as a deforming portion for attaching the end seal member 45R. As shown in FIG. 7B, the width L3 of the seat surface portion 46bR is configured to be wider than the width L4 of the vertical seal portion 46dR.

  As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 1A, the seat surface portion 46bR of the elastic member 46R, which is the surface of the Y direction end portion, includes an upper surface 46b1R, a contact surface 46b2R, and an adjacent surface 46b3R. The upper surface 46b1R is in close contact with the front contact portion 26bR of the cleaning frame 26. The contact surface 46b2R is in contact with the adhesive surface 45bR of the end seal member 45R. The adjacent surface 46b3R is a surface in the -Y direction and is adjacent to the vertical seal portion 46dR.

  FIG. 1A shows the seating surface portion 46bR of the elastic member 46R before deformation. In the Y direction, the contact surface 46b2R of the seat surface portion 46bR is changed from the thickness h1 that is the thickness of the upper surface 46b1R of the contact surface 46b2R in the + Z direction to the thickness h2 that is the thickness of the adjacent surface 46b3R in the + Z direction. It is a slope shape in which the thickness of the is increased. That is, the thickness increases from the thickness h1 to the thickness h2 as it approaches the tip surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7. As shown in FIG. 1A, the rear end surface 46cR of the elastic member 46R, which is the surface in the −Y direction, is injection-molded so as to be in close contact with the rear contact portion 26dR of the cleaning frame body 26. The upper surface 46d1R of the vertical seal portion 46dR is molded so as to be larger by J in the Z direction side than the support surface 26c of the cleaning blade 7.

<Attaching the end seal member>
As shown in FIG. 7B and the like, the end seal member 45R is disposed on the contact surface 46b2R of the elastic member 46R. The elastic member 46R is in contact with the end seal member 45R with a contact width U.

<Cleaning blade assembly>
A description will be given along the assembly order of the cleaning blade. In FIG. 1B, the cleaning blade 7b and the end seal member 45R immediately before being assembled are indicated by a two-dot chain line. The cleaning blade 7 is assembled from the direction of the arrow K in FIG. 1B while overlapping the adhesive surface 45bR of the end seal member 45R in the Y direction. At this time, the ridgeline portion 45e1R of the surface layer 45eR of the end seal member 45 and the tip surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7 have a gap T1.

<Sealing between the cleaning blade and the vertical seal of the elastic member>
As shown in FIG. 1A, the + Z-direction upper surface 46d1R of the vertical seal portion 46dR of the elastic member 46 is injection-molded larger than the cleaning blade 7 support surface 26c by J, so the bottom surface 7g of the cleaning blade 7 It contacts and is crushed by the support member 7b.

  Here, the sealing performance between the cleaning blade 7 and the vertical seal portion 46dR will be described. Since the elastic member 46R is an elastic body, the elastic member 46R is deformed along the shape of both the bottom surface 7g and the support member 7b of the cleaning blade 7 when assembled. Therefore, there is no gap between the cleaning blade 7 and the vertical seal portion 46dR. The elastic member 46 </ b> R, which is a thermoplastic elastomer, is sticky and adheres closely to the cleaning blade 7. Therefore, the sealing property between the elastic member 46R and the cleaning blade 7 is kept high. Since the adhesiveness is kept high, the width L4 of the vertical seal portion 46dR of the elastic member 46R can be reduced as shown in FIG.

  Next, the sealing of the gap between the cleaning blade 7 and the end seal member 45R will be described. As shown in FIG. 1B, the end seal member 45 </ b> R is pressed by the cleaning blade 7. At this time, a force in the assembly direction K is applied to the seat surface portion 46bR as a deformed portion of the elastic member 46R through the end seal member 45R.

  As shown in FIG. 7, since the width L4 of the vertical seal portion 46dR adjacent to the seat surface portion 46bR is smaller than the width L3 of the seat surface portion 46bR, the seat surface portion 46bR is in the −Y direction of the adjacent surface 46b3R of the elastic member 46R. A space allowing compression and extension is formed. Due to the pressing force of the cleaning blade 7, the adjacent surface 46b3R of the seat surface portion 46bR of the elastic member 46R greatly extends in the space direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1B, the ridgeline 46fR between the adjacent surface 46b3R of the elastic member 46R and the contact surface 46b2R is a distance M in the direction of arrow N perpendicular to the assembly direction (the direction to be compressed) due to deformation. Just move. As a result, the end seal member 45R assembled to the seat surface portion 46bR of the elastic member 46R moves by the distance M in the direction of arrow N along with the movement of the elastic member 46R, and approaches the tip 7e of the cleaning blade 7. Then, the gap T1 between the tip surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7 and the ridge line 45e1R of the end seal member surface layer 45eR is reduced.

  A state when the photosensitive drum 4 is assembled is shown in FIG. A state of the cleaning blade 7 and the end seal member 45R before the photosensitive drum 4 is assembled is indicated by a two-dot chain line. In the end seal member 45R, the abutting portion 45dR comes into contact with the front end surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7, and the surface layer 45eR comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 4. When the photosensitive drum 4 is assembled, the seat surface portion 46bR of the elastic member 46R is pressed and deformed via the end seal member 45R, thereby moving in the arrow N direction. At this time, the gap T1 between the tip surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7 and the ridge line 45e1R of the end seal member surface layer 45eR is reduced to the gap T2. Alternatively, the tip surface 7e and the end seal member 45R are in contact with each other. As described above, the end seal member 45R can seal the gap in the longitudinal direction of the elastic member 46R, the cleaning blade 7, the photosensitive drum 4, and the cleaning frame 26, and can improve waste toner leakage.

FIG. 1D shows a detailed view of the vicinity of the tip surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7 when the photosensitive drum 4 is rotated. The state before rotation is indicated by a two-dot chain line. The photosensitive drum 4 rotates in the direction of arrow D. The front end surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7 is deformed by the frictional force with the photosensitive drum 4, and moves downstream in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 4. Due to the friction between the end seal member 45R and the photosensitive drum 4, a frictional force in the direction of arrow D is provided upstream of the tip of the cleaning blade 7 in the rotational direction in the region where the toner on the photosensitive drum 4 is removed. It works on the end seal member 45R. As a result, the end seal member 45R moves in the direction of arrow D by the frictional force.

  At this time, the end seal member 45R is also compressed in the circumferential direction of the photosensitive drum 4 by the cleaning blade 7 and the photosensitive drum 4. Therefore, following the movement of the tip surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7, the end seal member 45R moves so as to extend in the arrow D direction. Further, the force applied to the end seal member 45R moves the adhesive surface 45bR of the end seal member 45 and the upper surface 46b1R of the elastic member 46R in the direction of arrow D. Therefore, the end seal member 45R can follow the tip surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7 and suppress the gap T2 from widening. Further, when the photosensitive drum 4 rotates, the compressed end seal member 45R extends, so that the contact between the end surface of the end seal member 45R in the + Y direction and the cleaning frame 26 is ensured.

  As described above, the waste toner sealing property is improved by reducing the gap between the cleaning blade 7 and the end seal member 45R. However, simply moving the end seal member 45R attachment position closer to the tip surface 7e of the cleaning blade 7 makes it easier to ride on the surface layer 45eR of the end seal member 45R when the cleaning blade 7 is assembled. When the cleaning blade 7 rides on the surface layer 45eR, a gap is generated between the photosensitive drum 4 and the end seal member 45R. When the waste toner passes through the gap, the waste toner sealing property is impaired.

  In the first embodiment, by assembling the cleaning blade 7, the seat surface portion 46bR of the elastic member 46R that forms the attachment seat surface of the end seal member 45R can be deformed. Therefore, when the elastic member 46R is compressed and deformed between the photosensitive drum 4 and the cleaning frame 26, the gap T between the cleaning blade 7 and the end seal member 45R can be reduced, and the assemblability is impaired. Without this, waste toner sealing performance can be improved.

  In the first embodiment, a thermoplastic elastomer by injection molding is used for the elastic member 46R, and the seat surface portion 46bR of the elastic member 46R is formed of a thermoplastic elastomer as an adhesive surface of the end seal member 45R. By using the thermoplastic elastomer, the clearance T between the cleaning blade 7 and the end seal member 45R can be reduced by assembling the cleaning blade 7 and the drum. Since the gap can be reduced, the waste toner sealing property is improved. Therefore, the waste toner sealing state is maintained even if the length L of the protrusion 45aR of the end seal member 45R is shortened. Therefore, since the size of the end seal member 45R is reduced, the cost can be reduced.

  Further, the material cost of the thermoplastic elastomer that is the material of the elastic member 46R is almost the same as that of the synthetic resin foam that is the material of the elastic member 86R that has been generally used so far. Therefore, the cleaning unit 8 can be configured at a low cost without increasing the cost of the elastic member 46R. The waste toner sealing configuration at the longitudinal driving side end of the cleaning blade 7 is the same as the waste toner sealing configuration at the longitudinal non-driving side end of the cleaning blade 7 described so far, and is therefore omitted. .

As described above, in the first embodiment, the cleaning unit for removing the transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum is injection-molded as an elastic member that is compressed between the cleaning blade and the cleaning frame. Use a thermoplastic elastomer. This elastic member is in close contact with the end seal member at the seat surface portion as the deformed portion, and is compressed by the photosensitive drum, so that the shape of the seat surface portion is deformed, and the end seal member is attached to the tip of the cleaning blade. Get closer. Therefore, the gap between the cleaning blade and the end seal member can be reduced, and the waste toner sealing property can be improved. In the first embodiment, the cleaning unit for removing the transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum has been described. However, the transfer residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 12 (see FIG. 2) of the image forming apparatus is removed. May be a cleaning unit.

(Example 2)
Next, the cleaning unit 108 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a seal configuration at an end portion in the longitudinal direction according to the second embodiment. 9A is a view as seen from the direction perpendicular to the support surface of the cleaning frame, and FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along line W2-W2 of FIG. 9A. FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view illustrating the elastic member according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V2-V2 of FIG. FIG. 11A is a diagram showing a state before the cleaning blade 7 is assembled. FIG. 11B is a diagram showing a state where the cleaning blade is assembled, and FIG. 11C is a diagram showing a state where the photosensitive drum is assembled. In addition, the description about the part which overlaps with Example 1 is abbreviate | omitted.

<Molding and shape of injection seal>
First, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 10, an elastic member 146 </ b> R as a first sealing member is cast-molded on the cleaning frame 126. The elastic member 146R is a bonding seat surface portion 146bR that is a surface for bonding the vertical seal portion 146dR that seals the gap between the cleaning blade 7 and the cleaning frame body 126 and the end seal member 145R as the second sealing member. Have

  As shown in FIGS. 9B and 10, the seat surface portion 146bR of the elastic member 146R that is the front surface in the Y direction includes an upper surface 146b1R, a contact surface 146b2R, and an adjacent surface 146b3R. The upper surface 146b1R is in close contact with the front contact portion 126bR of the cleaning frame 126. The contact surface 146b2R is in contact with the adhesive surface 145bR of the end seal member 145R. The adjacent surface 146b3R is a rear surface in the Y direction and is adjacent to the vertical seal portion 146dR.

  In the Y direction, the contact surface 146b2R of the seat surface portion 146bR is changed from the thickness h1 in the + Z direction of the upper surface 146b1 to the thickness h2 in the + Z direction of the adjacent surface 146b3R in the Y direction. It is a slope shape in which the thickness in the + Z direction increases. Further, the rear end surface 146cR of the elastic member 146R, which is the rear surface in the Y direction, is injection-molded so as to be in close contact with the rear contact portion 126dR of the cleaning frame 126. The upper surface 146d1R of the vertical seal portion 146dR is injection-molded so as to be larger by J in the Z direction side than the support surface 126c of the cleaning blade 7.

  Next, the shape of the elastic member 146R on the outer side in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 7 will be described with reference to FIG. The elastic member 146R has an outer seat surface portion 146hR as a second deformed portion of the end seal member 145R that seals the longitudinal outer side of the cleaning blade 7. In the longitudinal direction, the thickness h3 of the −X side surface 146h1R of the outer seat surface portion 146hR is thicker than the thickness h4 of the + X side surface 146h3R, and the outer contact surface 126eR of the cleaning frame 126 has a slope shape. ing.

<Long waste toner sealing configuration>
Next, the toner sealability of the gap between the cleaning blade 7 in the longitudinal direction and the end seal member 145R in the cross section in the short direction will be described along the assembly sequence. The waste toner sealing configuration of the non-driving end surface portion in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 7 and the end seal member 145R will be described with reference to FIGS. 9, 11A, 11B, and 11C. . First, the vertical seal portion 146dR is injection-molded on the cleaning frame 126. In the outer seat surface portion 146hR of the vertical seal portion 146dR, the thickness h3 of the −X side surface 146h1R is thicker than the thickness h4 of the + X side surface 146h3R with respect to the thickness direction of the end seal member 145R. That is, as shown in FIG. 11B, the thickness increases from h4 to h3 as it approaches the + X direction end face 7fR of the cleaning blade 7.

<Attaching the end seal member and assembling the cleaning blade>
In the second embodiment, the end seal member 145R is attached to the seat surface portion 146bR and the outer seat surface portion 146hR of the vertical seal portion 146R. Next, the cleaning blade 7 is assembled to the cleaning frame 126. A cross-sectional view of the state where the cleaning blade 7 is assembled is shown in FIG. There is a gap d1 between the + X direction end face 7fR of the cleaning blade 7 and the inner side face 145cR of the end seal member 145R. Since the gap d1 exists, when the cleaning blade 7 is assembled, the + X direction end surface 7fR of the cleaning blade 7 can be assembled without climbing on the surface layer 145eR of the end seal member 145R.

  Further, the vertical seal portion 146dR closely adheres to the bottom surface 7g of the cleaning blade 7 and the support member 7b along the shape. The + X direction side surface 146gR of the vertical seal portion 146dR has a slope shape. Therefore, the pressing force due to the assembly of the cleaning blade 7 is applied to the side surface 146gR in the + X direction, and is brought into close contact with the cleaning blade 7 while falling in the N2 direction of FIG.

  Next, a state when the photosensitive drum 4 is assembled is shown in FIG. The state of the elastic member 146R and the end seal member 145R before the photosensitive drum 4 is assembled is indicated by a two-dot chain line. By assembling the photosensitive drum 4, a force in the assembling direction K is applied to the outer seat surface portion 146hR of the elastic member 146R via the end seal member 145R. The outer seat surface portion 146hR has a large thickness. In the −X direction on the −X side surface 146h1R side, the + X direction side surface 146gR is inclined to form a space. Since the elastic member 146R has a space that can be expanded in this manner, the outer seat surface portion 146hR is thick due to the pressing force of the photosensitive drum 4, -the X side surface 146h1R side is thin, and the + X side is thin. It is deformed larger than the side surface 146h1R side.

  As a result, the outer seat surface portion 146hR of the elastic member 146R moves in the direction of arrow N2 in FIG. As the outer seat surface portion 146hR moves, the inner side surface 145cR of the end seal member 145R moves in the arrow N2 direction. As a result, the gap between the inner side surface 145cR of the end seal member 145R and the outer side surface 7fR of the cleaning blade 7 decreases from d1 to d2. Therefore, the waste toner sealing property between the cleaning blade 7 and the inner side surface 145cR of the end seal member 145R is improved.

  Further, the cleaning blade 7 is deformed by the assembly of the photosensitive drum 4, and the vertical seal portion 146dR is further pressed. Since the vertical seal portion 146R is further tilted and deformed in the N2 direction, the repelling force obtained by compressing the vertical seal portion 146dR does not increase the force with which the cleaning blade 7 comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 4, and provides good sealing performance. Can be obtained.

As described above, simply moving the end seal member 145R attachment position closer to the side surface of the cleaning blade 7 makes it easier to ride on the surface layer 145eR of the end seal member 145R when the cleaning blade 7 is assembled. When the cleaning blade 7 rides on the surface layer 145eR, a gap is generated between the photosensitive drum 4 and the end seal member 145R, and the waste toner sealing property may be impaired. In the second embodiment, the assembly of the photosensitive drum 4 can reduce the gap between the cleaning blade 7 and the end seal member 145R from the gap d1 to the gap d2. The toner sealing property can be improved.

  In the second embodiment, the upper surface 146b1R of the elastic member 146R is formed as a bonding surface of the end seal member 145R using a thermoplastic elastomer for the elastic member 146R as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the gap T between the cleaning blade 7 and the end seal member 145R can be reduced by assembling the cleaning blade 7 and the photosensitive drum 4. Since the gap can be reduced, the waste toner sealing property is improved.

  Further, an additional effect of the invention in the second embodiment will be described. In the longitudinal direction, an outer seat surface portion 146h of the elastic member 146R is formed by using a thermoplastic elastomer for the elastic member 146R, and the thickness adjacent to the + X direction end surface 7fR of the cleaning blade 7 is made thicker than the longitudinal outer side. As described above, by providing the outer seat surface portion 146h, the gap between the + X direction end surface 7fR of the cleaning blade 7 and the longitudinal gap d1 of the end seal member 145 can be reduced when the photosensitive drum 4 is assembled. . As a result, the waste toner sealing property at the longitudinal end portion is improved. Further, even when the length L of the protruding portion 145aR of the end seal member 145R is shortened, the waste toner sealing state is maintained. Therefore, since the size of the end seal member 145R is reduced, the cost can be reduced.

  In addition, the material cost of the thermoplastic elastomer that is the material of the elastic member 146R is almost the same as that of the synthetic resin foam that is the material of the elastic member that has been generally used so far. Therefore, the cleaning unit 108 can be configured at a low cost without increasing the cost of the elastic member 146R. The waste toner sealing configuration at the longitudinal driving side end of the cleaning blade 7 is the same as the waste toner sealing configuration at the longitudinal non-driving side end of the cleaning blade 7 described so far, and is therefore omitted. .

Photosensitive drum ... 4, cleaning blade ... 7, cleaning frame (frame) ... 26, end seal member (second sealing member) ... 45, elastic member (first sealing member) ... 46

Claims (7)

In a cleaning unit used in an image forming apparatus,
A frame,
A cleaning blade that is supported by the frame so that the tip contacts the rotatable image carrier and removes the developer on the image carrier;
A first sealing member kicked set, injection molded to the frame between the end portion and around the axial direction of the rotating shaft of the image bearing member, the frame member and the cleaning blade,
A second sealing member provided between near the end portion in the axial direction, and said frame member and said image bearing member at a position opposite to the tip of the cleaning blade,
Have
Wherein the first sealing member, before close contact with the second sealing member when it is compressed between the Kizo carrier and the frame body by the attached and the second sealing member, deformation unit which deforms If, have a, a space to allow the deformation in a direction extending when the flexible portion is compressed,
The cleaning unit, wherein the first sealing member has the space formed by a width of the axial direction of a portion adjacent to the deformable portion in the extending direction being narrower than the deformable portion . The second sealing member is provided upstream of the tip of the cleaning blade in the rotational direction of the image carrier in a region where the developer on the image carrier is removed by the cleaning blade. The cleaning unit according to claim 1 . 3. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the deformed portion before being deformed in the compressed direction is thicker as it is closer to a tip of the cleaning blade. In a cleaning unit used in an image forming apparatus,
A frame,
A cleaning blade that is supported by the frame so that the tip contacts the rotatable image carrier and removes the developer on the image carrier;
In the vicinity of the end in the axial direction of the rotational axis of the image carrier, the frame and the cleaning block
A first sealing member, which is provided between the lathe and injection-molded on the frame,
A second sealing member provided between the image carrier and the frame at a position facing the tip of the cleaning blade near the end in the axial direction;
Have
The second sealing member has an L-shaped protruding portion that protrudes outward from the end face of the cleaning blade in the axial direction, and further extends in a direction from the distal end side to the proximal end side of the cleaning blade,
The first sealing member is a deformed portion that is in close contact with the second sealing member and deforms when compressed between the frame and the second sealing member by attaching the image carrier. And a second deforming portion that closely contacts and deforms the projecting portion when compressed between the image carrier and the frame, and a space that allows deformation in a direction extending when the deforming portion is compressed, and features and to torque leaning unit to have a. The frame body, a cleaning unit according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that it comprises an accommodating portion for accommodating the developer removed by said cleaning blade. Claim 1-5 wherein the device can process cartridge detachable to the main body of the image forming apparatus characterized by having a cleaning unit according to any one of. Image forming apparatus characterized by having a cleaning unit according to any one of claims 1-5.

Images