JP6957975B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

The electrophotographic image forming apparatus has a configuration for preventing contamination in the apparatus and image defects due to toner scattered from the developing apparatus. As such a configuration, for example, a lever mainly composed of a lever for hitting the base end of the device wall member on the downstream side of development and an actuator for moving the lever, and removing toner adhering to the device wall due to scattering are disclosed. (See Patent Document 1 below). As another example, a film member is provided on the upper surface of the sleeve cover protruding inside the developing container, and the film member is vibrated by the protrusions provided on the outer peripheral surface of the idle gear that drives the developing roller, and the film member is scattered by scattering. A configuration is disclosed in which the accumulated toner is shaken off to suppress the accumulation of the toner (see Patent Document 2 below).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 09-211974 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-190767

However, in the configuration where the base end of the device wall member on the downstream side of development is hit with a lever, the vibration of the device wall to which the toner is attached is small in response to the impact of hitting the lever, so it is larger in order to effectively remove the toner. It was necessary to hit the lever with an impact, and the damage to the device was great. Further, in the configuration in which the film member is vibrated, the vibration at both ends of the film is weak, and the toner cannot be effectively removed.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of effectively preventing the accumulation of scattered toner on the constituent members arranged in the vicinity of the toner image forming portion while suppressing damage to the apparatus. do.

In the present invention for achieving the above object, the image carrier, the toner supply member that supplies toner to the surface of the image carrier, and the downstream side of the surface of the image carrier with respect to the toner supply member in the moving direction. A component member arranged close to the image carrier and the toner supply member, and a vibration device for applying vibration to the component member are provided, and the component member includes the image carrier and the toner. A portion arranged close to the supply member is provided so as to project toward the surface of the image carrier, the projecting base portion is used as a fixed end edge, and the projecting tip portion is used as a free end edge. The vibrating device is an image forming device that applies vibration to the projecting member between the fixed edge and the free edge.

According to the developing apparatus of the present invention having such a configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent the accumulation of scattered toner on the constituent members arranged near the forming portion of the toner image while suppressing damage to the apparatus. ..

It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the image forming apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a main part block diagram which shows the characteristic part of the image forming apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a main part perspective view which shows the characteristic part of the image forming apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a main part block diagram which shows the characteristic part of the image forming apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view of the main part which shows the characteristic part of the image forming apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the main part which shows the characteristic part of the image forming apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a main part perspective view which shows the characteristic part of the image forming apparatus of 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The common components in each embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

<< First Embodiment >>
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, and is a configuration diagram of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 1 viewed from the front (front). The image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an image reading unit 11 and an operating unit 13 on the upper surface portion of the housing 10. Inside the housing 10, a control unit 15, an image forming unit 20, and a transfer unit 30 are provided on the image reading unit 11 side, and a fixing unit 40 and a paper supply unit 50 are sequentially provided below these. There is. Further, at a position close to the image forming unit 20, a vibration device 100, which is characteristic of the following embodiments, is provided. The configuration of each of these members is as follows.

<Image reader 11>
The image reading unit 11 reads an image of a document placed on a document table 11a formed on the upper surface thereof and generates image data. In the present embodiment, the image data is not limited to the data generated by the image reading unit 11, but is received from an external device such as a personal computer or another image forming device connected to the image forming device. May be good.

<Operation unit 13>
The operation unit 13 is installed on the upper part of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, and the type, paper width, number of sheets, and the like of the recording paper P when forming an image can be set from the operation unit 13.

<Control unit 15>
The control unit 15 controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 15 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory), which are not shown here, and performs various operations according to various processing programs for the image forming apparatus.

<Image forming unit 20>
The image forming unit 20 is for forming a toner image, and the image forming apparatus 1 forms a toner image of each color of, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). It has four image forming portions 20 for the purpose. Each image forming unit 20 includes a photoconductor 21, a developing device 23 arranged around the photoconductor 21, and a cleaning unit 25 of the photoconductor 21, and further, a charging unit and a charging unit (not shown here) are omitted. It has an exposed part.

Of these, the photoconductor 21 is an example of an image carrier, and is a photoconductor drum rotated by a drive motor. In the photoconductor 21, an electrostatic latent image is formed on a drum-shaped side peripheral surface uniformly charged by a charged portion (not shown) by exposure scanning by an exposed portion (not shown), and the electrostatic latent image is formed. A toner image is formed by adsorbing the toner on the surface. The exposure scanning by the exposure unit is performed based on, for example, the image data read by the image reading unit 11 or the image data received from an external device.

Further, the developing apparatus 23 supplies the charged toner to the photoconductor 21 at the developing nip on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 21 and on the upstream side of the cleaning unit 25 with respect to the charged portion and the exposed portion, and sensitizes the photoconductor 21. A toner image is formed on the side peripheral surface of the body 21. The configuration of such a developing device 23 will be described in detail next. The cleaning unit 25 is arranged on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 21 with respect to the charged unit and the exposed unit, and scrapes off the toner electrostatically adsorbed on the side peripheral surface of the photoconductor 21 to collect the toner.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a main part showing a feature portion of the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a photoconductor 21, a developing apparatus 23, and a vibrating apparatus 100 which will be described in detail later. Is. As shown in this figure, the developing device 23 includes a housing 23a and a toner supply member 23b provided in the housing 23a.

The housing 23a is a housing for accommodating the developer 2 in which the toner 2a is held by the carrier 2b, and is an example of a constituent member arranged in close proximity to the photoconductor 21 and the toner supply member 23b. Such a housing 23a has a side wall opening 23aa arranged so as to face the side peripheral surface of the photoconductor 21, and is arranged along the photoconductor 21.

Further, the housing 23a is projected from the edge portion of the side wall opening 23aa arranged along the photoconductor 21 on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 21 toward the photoconductor 21 side. An upper lid 24 is provided as a projecting member. The upper lid 24 has a fixed edge A on one side along the photoconductor 21, and is fixed to the main body of the housing 23a only at the fixed edge A. Further, the upper lid 24 has a free end edge B whose tip protruding from the fixed end edge A is arranged along the photoconductor 21, and the leaf spring in which the free end edge B vibrates most with respect to the fixed end edge A. It is formed in a shape.

The upper lid 24 as described above may have a shape bent between the fixed edge A and the free edge B along the toner supply member 23b arranged in the housing 23a. The gap between the leaf spring-shaped upper lid 24 having the free end edge B and the main body of the housing 23a sandwiches an elastically deformable material such as urethane foam so that the vibration of the upper lid 24 is not hindered. It shall be sealed by letting it.

In the upper lid 24 as described above, a force point C to which vibration is applied by the vibration member 102 of the vibration device 100 described later is set between the fixed end edge A and the free end edge B. That is, the upper lid 24 has a configuration in which the free end edge B vibrates greatly with the fixed end edge A as a fulcrum by applying vibration to the force point C by the vibrating member 102.

The toner supply member 23b is a so-called developing roller, and is housed inside the housing 23a including the upper lid 24 at a position close to the side wall opening 23aa of the housing 23a. The toner supply member 23b is provided in the housing 23a in parallel with the photoconductor 21, is arranged close to the side peripheral surface of the photoconductor 21, and is arranged in the forward or reverse direction with respect to the photoconductor 21. It is rotatably provided. The toner supply member 23b has a configuration in which the developer 2 holding the toner 2a is adsorbed on the surface, and the adsorbed developer 2 is transported to the side wall opening of the housing 23a by rotation.

In the developing apparatus 23 as described above, the developer 2 is supplied to the photoconductor 21 by the toner supply member 23b, and the negatively charged toner 2a is adsorbed on the electrostatic line image of the photoconductor 21 formed by exposure to the toner. Form an image.

<Transfer unit 30>
Returning to FIG. 1, the transfer unit 30 is arranged in parallel with the image forming unit 20. The transfer unit 30 includes an intermediate transfer belt 31 configured as a rotating endless belt, a plurality of rollers 33a to 33d inscribed in the intermediate transfer belt 31, and a primary transfer unit 35. The transfer unit 30 includes a secondary transfer roller 37, a static elimination roller 39, and a cleaning unit 25'.

Of these, the intermediate transfer belt 31 is hung on a plurality of rollers 33a to 33d, rotates in the direction opposite to each photoconductor 21 of the image forming unit 20, and is arranged in a state of sequentially contacting all of the photoconductors 21. ..

The primary transfer unit 35 sandwiches the moving intermediate transfer belt 31 between the image forming unit 20 and the photoconductor 21 at each position on the inner peripheral side of the intermediate transfer belt 31 so as to face the photoconductor 21 of each image forming unit 20. It is arranged in the state of doing. A voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to these primary transfer units 35, whereby the toner of each color adhering on the photoconductor 21 is sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 31 to form a color image.

Further, the secondary transfer roller 37 is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the intermediate transfer belt 31 in a state of sandwiching the intermediate transfer belt 31 with one roller 33c. The nip portion where the secondary transfer roller 37 and the roller 33c come into contact transfer the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 to the recording paper P conveyed from the paper supply unit 50 described below. It becomes the transfer position.

Further, the static elimination roller 39 is provided on the downstream side of the secondary transfer roller 37 in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 31 and on the upstream side of the primary transfer portion 35 in a state of sandwiching the intermediate transfer belt 31. Removes the charge of.

Further, the cleaning portion 25'is provided at a position facing one roller 33a on the outer peripheral side of the intermediate transfer belt 31 between the static elimination roller 39 and the primary transfer portion 35, and is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 31. Scrape off the toner that makes up the color image.

<Fixing part 40>
The fixing section 40 is arranged on the downstream side of the secondary transfer roller 37 in the transfer section 30 with respect to the transport direction of the recording paper P conveyed from the paper supply section 50 described below. The fixing unit 40 nips and conveys the recording paper P supplied from the secondary transfer roller 37 in a heated state, and fixes the toner image transferred to the recording paper P to the recording paper P. Further, the recording paper P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the outside of the housing 10.

<Paper supply unit 50>
The paper supply unit 50 is arranged close to the secondary transfer roller 37 in the transfer unit 30. The paper supply unit 50 includes a cassette 51 for storing the recording paper P, a feeding roller 53 for feeding the recording paper P stored in the cassette 51, and a transport roller 55 for transporting the recording paper P fed by the feeding roller 53. I have. Then, the transfer roller 55 sandwiches the recording paper P together with the intermediate transfer belt 31 on the outer peripheral side of the intermediate transfer belt 31 between the secondary transfer roller 37 and the roller 33c.

<Vibration device 100>
The vibrating device 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is for applying vibration to the upper lid 24 provided on the housing 23a of the developing device 23. The vibration device 100 includes a vibration generator 101, a vibration member 102, and a control unit 103. These components are as follows.

[Vibration generator 101]
The vibration generator 101 is, for example, an actuator, and vibrates a vibrating member 102 projecting from the vibration generator 101 in the projecting direction. Such a vibration generator 101 may oscillate periodic vibrations, or may apply vibrations due to a single impact.

As an example, such a vibration generator 101 is supposed to generate vibration having a frequency of 40 kHz and an amplitude of 5 μm. Further, the vibration generator 101 may have a variable vibration frequency and amplitude, for example, the frequency can be controlled between 10 kHz and 300 kHz, and the amplitude can be controlled between 1 μm and 10 μm. ..

[Vibration member 102]
The vibration member 102 is a long plate-shaped member provided so as to project from the vibration generator 101, and transmits the vibration generated by the vibration generator 101 to the upper lid 24.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a feature portion of the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 2 above, the vibration member 102 of the vibration device 100 is arranged along the arrangement direction of the upper lid 24, that is, the arrangement direction of the photoconductor 21. Further, the vibrating member 102 is arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to the upper lid 24, and its tip 102a is provided in a state of being in contact with or in close contact with the upper lid 24 over both ends of the upper lid 24. As a result, when the vibrating member 102 is vibrated in the protruding direction by the vibration generator 101, the tip 102a of the vibrating member 102 presses the upper lid 24 from a substantially vertical direction to vibrate.

Further, the tip 102a of the vibrating member 102 preferably has a small contact area with the upper lid 24 from the viewpoint of efficiently vibrating the upper lid 24, and for example, the plate-like thickness is about 1 mm.

Here, the position where the tip 102a of the vibrating member 102 contacts the upper lid 24 and applies vibration, that is, the force point C, is located between the fixed end edge A and the free end edge B of the upper lid 24 in the arrangement direction of the photoconductor 21. It is set between both ends of the upper lid 24 along the line. As a result, the vibrating member 102 is configured to press and vibrate the upper lid 24 between both ends of the upper lid 24 along the arrangement direction of the photoconductor 21.

Such a force point C is preferably a position closer to the fixed edge A between the fixed edge A and the free edge B of the upper lid 24. This makes it possible to vibrate the free end edge B with a larger amplitude than the magnitude (amplitude) of the vibration applied to the force point C.

Further, the force point C is preferably a position corresponding to an integral fraction of the distance between the fixed edge A and the free edge B on the upper lid 24. As a result, by appropriately setting the oscillation frequency of the vibration generator 101, the upper lid 24 can be resonated by the vibration applied from the force point C, and the free end edge B can be vibrated with a larger amplitude. It will be possible.

Further, the force point C is preferably set at a position where the amplitude of the free edge B is maximized by resonance while the amplitude of the fixed edge A is zero. Such a force point C is, for example, a distance of 1/3 or 1/7 from the fixed edge A side, or 1/7, when the distance between the fixed edge A and the free edge B is 1. It is set to a distance of 3/7. As a result, while maximizing the amplitude of the free edge B by resonance, the amplitude of the fixed edge A is set to zero, and the device body from which the fixed edge A is fixed to the main body of the housing 23a and further to the main body of the housing 23a is fixed. It is possible to prevent the application of vibration.

The vibrating member 102 as described above is not limited to a continuous long plate-shaped member, and is dispersedly provided at a plurality of locations so as to apply vibration only to a necessary portion of the upper lid 24. You may.

Further, the amplitude of the vibration of the upper lid 24 by the vibration member 102 described above is set within a range in which the vibrating upper lid 24 does not interfere with the photoconductor 21 and the toner supply member 23b.

[Control unit 103]
The control unit 103 is connected to the vibration generator 101 and controls the drive of the vibration generator 101 to control the vibration from the vibration member 102 to the upper lid 24 and the vibration of the upper lid 24 due to the vibration. .. As an example, the control unit 103 has an upper lid 24 during non-image formation, that is, in a state where an electrostatic latent image is not formed on the side peripheral surface of the photoconductor 21 and toner is not electrostatically adsorbed. The drive of the vibration generator 101 is controlled so as to vibrate.

In this case, when the control unit 15 generates a signal indicating that the image forming apparatus 1 is not forming an image, the control unit 103 oscillates the vibration generator 101 using this as a trigger.

The control unit 103 for performing the above control includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory), which are not shown here. The CPU executes the above control by reading the program stored in the ROM. The control unit 103 is configured as a part of the control unit 15 shown in FIG.

<Effect of the first embodiment>
The image forming apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration is located on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 21 in the housing 23a of the developing device 23 provided in the vicinity of the photoconductor 21 from the fixed edge A toward the free edge B. An rimmed upper lid 24 is provided, and the vibration device 100 applies vibration to the force point C between the fixed end edge A and the free end edge B of the upper lid 24. As a result, the free end edge B can be vibrated with a larger amplitude than the amplitude of the vibration applied to the force point C, and is the tip of the upper lid 24 forming a part of the housing 23a, which is the most on the photoconductor 21. Scattered toner adhering to the free edge B side arranged in close proximity can be effectively removed by sieving. Further, since the vibrating member 102 is provided between both ends of the upper lid 24, the free end edge B of the upper lid 24 vibrates uniformly between both ends, so that the free end edge B side is provided over the entire area between both ends of the upper lid 24. The adhering scattered toner can be effectively removed by sieving.

Therefore, it is possible to more effectively prevent the scattered toner from accumulating on the upper lid 24 of the housing 23a, which is a constituent member provided around the photoconductor 21, while suppressing the damage to the image forming apparatus 1 due to the vibration to a small value. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inside of the device from being contaminated by the scattered toner due to the scattered toner and the defect of the formed image due to the adhesion of the scattered toner due to the toner spill while ensuring the life of the device.

<< Modification 1 of the first embodiment >>
As a modification 1 of the first embodiment, an example is provided in which an amplitude detecting means (not shown here) is provided. The amplitude detecting means is for detecting the amplitude of the vibration of the upper lid 24, and is connected to the control unit 103. Such an amplitude detecting means is arranged, for example, on the upper part of the upper lid 24. When such an amplitude detecting means is provided, a vibration generator 101 having a variable frequency of oscillating vibration is used.

As an example, this amplitude detecting means detects the amplitude of the upper lid 24 at a position of an integral fraction of the distance between the fixed edge A and the free edge B. For example, as described as an example in the first embodiment, when the distance between the fixed edge A and the free edge B is 1, the force point C is a distance of 1/3 from the fixed edge A side. When set to, the amplitude detecting means detects the amplitude of the upper lid 24 at a distance of 2/3 from the fixed edge A side. Further, as described as an example in the first embodiment, when the distance between the fixed edge A and the free edge B is 1 for the force point C, 1/7 or 3 / from the fixed edge A side. When set to a distance of 7, the amplitude detecting means detects the amplitude of the upper lid 24 at a distance of 2/7, 4/7, or 6/7 from the fixed edge A side.

Then, the control unit 103 controls the frequency of the vibration oscillated from the vibration generator 101 so that the amplitude of the upper lid 24 detected by the amplitude detecting means becomes zero. As a result, the vibration applied to the force point C of the upper lid 24 can be resonated by the vibration exciter 100, and the free end edge B can be vibrated with the largest amplitude most effectively. Moreover, since the amplitude of the fixed edge A is also 0, the transmission of vibration to the transformation of the housing 23a can be prevented, and damage to the device can be prevented.

<< Modification 2 of the first embodiment >>
As a modification 2 of the first embodiment, there is an example in which the vibration generator 101 is movable and the force point C can be moved with respect to the configuration of the modification 1. Such a vibration generator 101 has a moving means, and the moving means is connected to the control unit 103.

In this case, the control unit 103 moves the vibration generator 101 to a position where the amplitude of the upper lid 24 detected by the amplitude detecting means becomes 0. Such movement of the vibration generator 101 is performed for each frequency of vibration oscillated in the vibration generator 101. As a result, the vibration applied to the force point C of the upper lid 24 can be resonated by the vibration exciter 100, and the free end edge B can be vibrated with the largest amplitude most effectively.

<< Second Embodiment >>
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a main part showing a feature portion of the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a photoconductor 21, a developing apparatus 23, and a vibrating apparatus 200 which will be described in detail later. be. Further, FIG. 5 is a top view of a main part showing a feature portion of the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment, and corresponds to a view of FIG. 4 as viewed from the vibration apparatus 200 side. The difference between the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment shown in these figures and the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment is that a toner suction device is used as the vibrating device 200. Other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, here, the configuration of the vibration exciter 200 using the toner suction device will be described, and the description of the configuration similar to that of the other first embodiment will be omitted.

<Vibration device 200>
The vibrating apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is for applying vibration to the upper lid 24 provided in the housing 23a of the developing apparatus 23. In particular, the vibrating device 200 of the second embodiment provides a toner suction device for sucking and collecting scattered toner leaking from the gap between the photoconductor 21 and the housing 23a of the developing device 23 in each image forming unit 20. It was constructed using. Such a vibration device 200 includes a suction duct 201, a vibration generator 202, a vibration member 203, and a control unit 204. These components are as follows.

[Suction duct 201]
The suction duct 201 is a cylindrical suction path, and is provided corresponding to each image forming portion 20. Each suction duct 201 is arranged on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 21 with respect to the housing 23a, and the upper lid 24 provided on the housing 23a and the top surface of the housing 23a are part of a cylindrical suction path. It is configured to be the bottom surface. However, the upper lid 24 has a free end edge B whose tip protruding from the fixed end edge A is arranged along the photoconductor 21, and the free end edge B vibrates most with respect to the fixed end edge A. The fact that it is formed in a spring shape is the same as in the first embodiment.

Each such suction duct 201 has a suction end 201a on one end side, and the suction end 201a is arranged close to a gap between the photoconductor 21 and the housing 23a of the developing device 23. On the other hand, the other end of each suction duct 201 is drawn out from the image forming portion 20 as an exhaust end 201b and integrated as a common suction duct, and the integrated end becomes a common exhaust end 201b of each suction duct 201. There is. Further, the suction duct 201 also functions as a vibration transmission member for transmitting the vibration generated by the vibration generator 202 described later to the vibration member 203.

Further, the suction duct 201 as described above is provided between the main body of the suction duct 201 and the top surface of the housing 23a in order to prevent air leakage from the gap between the main body of the suction duct 201 and the top surface of the housing 23a. It is assumed that the gap between the two is sealed. In this case, the gap between the main body of the suction duct 201 and the top surface of the housing 23a is closed so that the vibration of the suction duct 201 is not transmitted to the housing 23a and does not affect the operation of the upper lid 24. It is important to stop. As an example of such sealing, a configuration in which an elastically deformable material 300 such as urethane foam is sandwiched between the main body of the suction duct 201 and the top surface of the housing 23a is exemplified.

The suction duct 201 is not limited to the above configuration, and the suction duct 201 is sucked so that the vibration of the suction duct 201 is not transmitted to the housing 23a and does not affect the operation of the upper lid 24. It suffices if the duct 201 and the housing 23a are sealed.

Further, in the suction duct 201 as described above, a suction fan 205 is connected to the exhaust end 201b via a toner capture filter (not shown here). The suction fan 205 exhausts the gas sucked from the suction end 201a of each suction duct 201 from the exhaust end 201b. As will be described later, such a suction fan 205 may be used as a vibration generator that generates weak vibration by driving.

[Vibration generator 202]
The vibration generator 202 is, for example, an actuator, which is provided in the suction duct 201 and vibrates the suction duct 201. Such a vibration generator 202 is the same as the vibration generator described in the first embodiment, and may oscillate periodic vibrations, or applies vibrations due to a single impact. It may be a thing.

[Vibration member 203]
The vibration exciting member 203 is a member provided so as to project from the inner wall of the suction duct 201, which is a vibration transmission member, toward the upper lid 24, and the vibration of the suction duct 201 generated by the drive of the vibration generator 202 is transmitted to the upper lid 24. Tell to.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a feature portion of the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment, and is a view corresponding to a cross section along a force point C shown in the top view of FIG. Further, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part showing a feature portion of the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment, and corresponds to a perspective view of a cross section of the main part of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 5, the vibration exciting member 203 is a frame-shaped member provided so as to project from the inner wall of the suction duct 201 toward the upper lid 24, and is an upper lid. It is provided corresponding to both ends of the 24.

The vibrating member 203 is arranged along the arrangement direction of the upper lid 24, that is, the arrangement direction of the photoconductor 21. Further, the vibrating member 203 is arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to the upper lid 24, and its tip 203a is provided at both ends of the upper lid 24 in a state of being in contact with or in close contact with the upper lid 24. .. As a result, when the suction duct 201 vibrates due to the drive of the vibration generator 202, the tip 203a of the vibration member 203 projecting from the suction duct 201 presses both ends of the upper lid 24 from a substantially vertical direction. It is configured to vibrate.

Further, from the viewpoint of efficiently vibrating the upper lid 24, the tip 203a of the vibration member 203 preferably has a smaller contact area with the upper lid 24, as in the first embodiment. For example, the frame-shaped thickness is about 1 mm. It is assumed that.

Since such a vibrating member 203 is a frame-shaped member, it is provided inside the suction duct 201 without obstructing the air flow and exhaust shown by the arrows in FIG. 7.

Here, the position where the tip 203a of the vibrating member 203 contacts and presses the upper lid 24, that is, the force point C, is located between the fixed end edge A and the free end edge B of the upper lid 24 along the arrangement direction of the photoconductor 21. It is set at both ends of the upper lid 24. As a result, the vibrating member 203 is configured to press and vibrate the upper lid 24 at both ends of the upper lid 24 along the arrangement direction of the photoconductor 21.

Further, the position of the force point C with respect to the projecting direction of the upper lid 24 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and it is preferable that the position of the force point C is closer to the fixed edge A than to the free edge B. Further, if the frequency of vibration by the vibration generator 202 is constant, the force point C is positioned so that the amplitude of the fixed edge A becomes zero while maximizing the amplitude of the free edge B by resonance. It is preferable to do so.

The arrangement position of the vibration member 203 as described above is not limited to both ends of the upper lid 24a. For example, at the suction end 201a of each suction duct 201, it may be arranged corresponding to a portion where the suction force is weak, or may be provided between both ends of the upper lid 24a.

Further, in the vibration of the upper lid 24 by the vibration member 203 described above, the amplitude of the upper lid 24 to be vibrated by this is set within a range that does not interfere with the photoconductor 21 and the toner supply member 23b. ..

[Control unit 204]
The control unit 204 is connected to the vibration generator 202 and controls the drive of the vibration generator 202 to control the vibration from the vibration member 203 to the upper lid 24 and the vibration of the upper lid 24 due to the vibration. This is the same as the vibration member of the first embodiment. As an example, the control unit 204 has an upper lid 24 during non-image formation, that is, in a state where an electrostatic latent image is not formed on the side peripheral surface of the photoconductor 21 and toner is not electrostatically adsorbed. The drive of the vibration generator 202 is controlled so as to vibrate.

When the suction fan 205 is used as the vibration generator, the control unit 204 is connected to the suction fan 205 and controls the drive of the suction fan 205 to move the vibration member 203 to the upper lid 24. It controls the vibration and the vibration of the upper lid 24 due to this.

The control unit 204 for performing the above control includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory), which are not shown here. The CPU executes the above control by reading the program stored in the ROM. The control unit 204 is configured as a part of the control unit 15 shown in FIG.

<Effect of the second embodiment>
Even in the configuration of the second embodiment described above, the toner suction device is provided at the force point C between the fixed edge A and the free edge B of the upper lid 24 provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 21. It is a configuration in which vibration is applied by the vibration exciter 200 configured in use. As a result, as in the first embodiment, the free end edge B can be vibrated with a larger amplitude than the amplitude of the vibration applied to the force point C, so that the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Is possible. Further, particularly when the suction fan 205 is used as the vibration generator 202 in the vibration device 200 of the second embodiment, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained without using a special vibration device.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the photoconductor 21 is developed as a constituent member arranged in the vicinity of the photoconductor 21 and the toner supply member 23b on the downstream side in the moving direction of the surface of the photoconductor 21 with respect to the toner supply member 23b. The housing 23a of the device 23 has been illustrated. However, such a component is not limited to the housing 23a of the developing apparatus 23, and the scattered toner from the developing nip portion adheres to the downstream side in the moving direction of the surface of the photoconductor 21 with respect to the toner supplying member 23b. It can be widely applied to easy-to-use components.

As such components, in addition to the housing 23a of the developing device 23, the pre-transfer eraser (static elimination device) of the photoconductor 21 (not shown here) and the developing device 23 are attached to the main body of the image forming device 1. An example is a stand or the like for fixing. Further, in each of the above embodiments, a photoconductor is exemplified as the image carrier. However, in the case of a configuration in which the image carrier is directly transferred to the recording paper, a guide plate of the recording paper is exemplified as the above-mentioned constituent member. In such a component, a projecting member projecting toward the surface of the image carrier, which is a portion to which scattered toner is particularly likely to adhere, is formed in a leaf spring shape like the upper lid 24, and the tip portion thereof is formed. It may be a free end edge, and a force point for applying vibration may be provided between the fixed end edge and the free end edge.

1 ... Image forming apparatus 21 ... Photoreceptor (image carrier)
23a ... Housing (constituent member)
23b ... Toner supply member 24 ... Top lid (protruding member)
100 ... Vibration device 200 ... Vibration device 201 ... Suction duct 205 ... Suction fan A ... Fixed end edge B ... Free end edge

Claims (11)

Image carrier and
A toner supply member that supplies toner to the surface of the image carrier, and
A component member arranged in the vicinity of the image carrier and the toner supply member on the downstream side in the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier with respect to the toner supply member.
It is equipped with a vibration exciter that applies vibration to the components.
In the constituent member, a portion arranged in close proximity to the image carrier and the toner supply member is provided so as to project toward the surface of the image carrier, and the projecting base portion is fixed at an end edge. It is configured as a protruding member with the protruding tip as a free end edge.
The vibrating device is an image forming device that applies vibration to the projecting member at a position closer to the fixed edge than the free edge between the fixed edge and the free edge of the projecting member. .. Image carrier and
A toner supply member that supplies toner to the surface of the image carrier, and
A component member arranged in the vicinity of the image carrier and the toner supply member on the downstream side in the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier with respect to the toner supply member.
It is equipped with a vibration exciter that applies vibration to the components.
In the constituent member, a portion arranged in close proximity to the image carrier and the toner supply member is provided so as to project toward the surface of the image carrier, and the projecting base portion is fixed at an end edge. It is configured as a protruding member with the protruding tip as a free end edge.
The vibrating device applies vibration to the projecting member between the fixed edge and the free edge .
The constituent member is a housing for accommodating the toner supply member.
The vibrating device is an image forming device configured by using a toner suction device for scattered toner provided on the downstream side in the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier with respect to the toner supply member. The vibrating device applies vibration to the projecting member at a position closer to the fixed edge than the free edge between the fixed edge and the free edge of the projecting member.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The toner suction device is provided with a suction duct.
The vibration exciter uses the suction duct as a vibration transmission member for vibration applied to the projecting member.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 or 3. The toner suction device is provided with a suction fan.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the vibrating device uses the suction fan as a vibration generator of vibration applied to the projecting member. Image carrier and
A toner supply member that supplies toner to the surface of the image carrier, and
A component member arranged in the vicinity of the image carrier and the toner supply member on the downstream side in the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier with respect to the toner supply member.
It is equipped with a vibration exciter that applies vibration to the components.
In the constituent member, a portion arranged in close proximity to the image carrier and the toner supply member is provided so as to project toward the surface of the image carrier, and the projecting base portion is fixed at an end edge. It is configured as a protruding member with the protruding tip as a free end edge.
The vibrating device is an image forming device that resonates the projecting member by vibrating the projecting member between the fixed edge and the free edge. The vibrating device applies vibration to the projecting member at a position closer to the fixed edge than the free edge between the fixed edge and the free edge of the projecting member.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. The constituent member is a housing for accommodating the toner supply member.
The vibrating device is configured by using a toner suction device for scattered toner provided on the downstream side in the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier with respect to the toner supply member.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 or 7. In the vibration device, the position where vibration is applied to the projecting member and the frequency of vibration applied to the projecting member are set so that the amplitude of the fixed edge is zero and the amplitude of the free edge is maximized. Has been
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the constituent member is a part of a developing apparatus including the toner supply member. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the constituent member is a housing for accommodating the toner supply member.

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