JPH01277878A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the storage amount of a developer by slanting the internal bottom surface of a toner recovery container in a mountain shape, and sliding a developer which is sent out of a device main body and discharged from a discharge opening by a recovery auger on a slanting surface and carrying the developer to the inner part of the toner recovery container. CONSTITUTION:The developer T is stored in the toner recovery container 40 installed so that its opening part 41 is coupled detachably with the discharge opening 35, and the internal bottom surface 40a of the toner recovery container 40 is slanted in the mountain shape. Therefore, when the developer T which is sent out of the device main body and discharged from the discharge opening 35 by the recovery auger 34 falls on the internal bottom surface 40a of the toner recovery container 40, the developer T is carried to the inner part of the toner recovery container 40 by the sliding energy on a slanting surface 43. Consequently, the storage amount of the developer can be increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a cleaning device installed in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine, a laser printer, etc. The present invention relates to a cleaning device that has an improved means for cleaning and recovering developer remaining on the surface.

(Prior Art) In recent years, blade type cleaning devices, which are simple in structure and inexpensive, have been frequently used as cleaning devices incorporated in image forming apparatuses such as electronic copying machines and laser printers.

Conventionally, in this type of cleaning device, as shown in FIG. 7, a developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) T remaining on a photoreceptor a, which is an image carrier, after a developed image is transferred is removed.
The toner T is scraped off by a cleaning blade C made of an elastic body provided on the main body of the apparatus, and the scraped toner T is collected into the main body of the apparatus, and the collected toner T is further transferred to the photoconductor by a collecting auger d. a along the front-side axial direction, and as shown in FIG.
The toner collection container f is configured such that it can be housed in a square box-shaped toner collection container f made of plastic that is removably connected to the toner collection container f.

In such a leaning device, the discharge port e protruding from the main body of the device hangs down, and the opening g of the toner collection container 'af connected to the discharge port e is also vertically formed. This is the current situation.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) Therefore, the toner T falling from the discharge port e through the mouth g of the toner collection container f is directed to the flat inner bottom surface portion directly below the mouth g of the toner collection container f. Not only is the amount of toner T stored in the toner collection container f small, but also the toner detecting means (not shown) detects that the toner is "recovered" before the toner collection container f is full. There was a good chance that a malfunction such as a "toner full" warning would be displayed.

The present invention has been made under the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can reliably transport and store collected toner deep inside a toner collection container. It's about doing.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a method for removing the developer remaining on the image bearing member after image transfer by contacting and separating it from the surface of the image bearing member. A rotating cleaning blade scrapes and cleans the developer and collects it inside the apparatus main body, and the collected developer is conveyed along the axial direction of the image carrier with a collection auger, thereby sending it out of the apparatus main body. The developer is discharged from a discharge port, and the developer is stored in a toner collection container installed with an opening removably connected to the discharge port, and the inner bottom surface of the toner collection container is inclined in a mountain shape. This is what I did.

(Function) That is, the present invention achieves 1 by having the above configuration.
When the developer that is sent out of the device main body by the collection auger and discharged from the discharge port falls onto the inner bottom surface of the toner collection container, the developer is transported deep into the toner collection container by the force of sliding down the slope. This makes it possible to increase the amount of developer that can be accommodated.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings shown in FIGS. 1 to 6.

Figure 5 shows the internal configuration of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus equipped with a cleaning device according to the present invention.
is the main body of the copying machine. A paper feed cassette 2 that can automatically or manually feed paper is installed on the right side of the copying machine main body 1, and a paper output tray 3 is installed on the left side of the main body 1, and a document (not shown) is placed thereon. A document table 4 is provided on the top surface y' of the document device plate and is capable of reciprocating in the left-right direction (direction of arrow a).

A drum-shaped photoreceptor 10 serving as an image carrier is arranged approximately in the center of the copying machine main body 1 so that it can be rotated in the direction of the arrow in synchronization with the document table 4 by a drive mechanism (not shown). The photoreceptor 10 is uniformly charged by a charger 11 and irradiated with f! by an exposure lamp 12. Focusing light transmission body (product name: SELFOC lens array) 1 that constitutes the X-draft image imaging system device
3 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 10,
A non-magnetic component toner T is supplied and adhered to this electrostatic latent image by a developing device 14 to develop it, and an image of this developer (hereinafter referred to as a toner image) is sent to a transfer charger 15 side.

The transfer charger 15 transfers a toner image onto copy paper P made of plain paper as a recording paper that is fed from a paper feed cassette 2 that is automatically or manually fed via a paper feed roller 16 and a pair of aligning rollers 17 and 17. The copy paper P after the transfer is printed on the photoreceptor 10 by a peeling charger 18 using AC corona discharge, passes through a conveyance path 19, fuses and fixes the toner image by a fixing device 20, and transfers the toner image to a discharge roller pair. 21.21, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3.

On the other hand, the residual toner on the photoreceptor 10 after the toner image is transferred to the copy paper P and peeled off is cleaned by a cleaning device 30, which will be described later, and the electric potential on the photoreceptor 10 is maintained at a constant level by a lamp 22. level or below to enable the next copy operation.

The copying machine main body 1 includes an upper frame (not shown), a photoreceptor 10, a charger 11, an exposure lamp 12, a converging light transmitter 13, a cleaning device 30, a static elimination lamp 22, and a developing device. Each device such as the device 14 is assembled by appropriate means to constitute the upper unit 1a, while a transfer charger 15, a peeling charger 18, . Fixing device 20
The lower unit 1b is constructed by attaching devices such as a pair of ejection rollers 21 and 21, and other mechanisms such as a power supply unit (not shown) to form a one-car unit, as shown in FIG.
They are pivotally supported so that they can be opened and closed at a desired angle (for example, 30 degrees) with the transport path 19 of the copy paper P as a boundary, thereby facilitating repairs and inspections.

A cleaning device 30 according to the present invention is as follows.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cleaning blade 32 made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber swings on the inside upper part of the main body 31 that supports the photoreceptor 10 loaded in the main body 1 of the copying machine. The main blade 32 is rotatably supported, and is always biased toward the photoreceptor 10 so that it can come into contact with the photoreceptor 10 to scrape off residual toner T that adheres to the surface of the photoreceptor 10 after transfer. On the other hand, a recovery blade 33 is provided at the inner lower part thereof. This recovery blade 33.

The toner T scraped off by the main blade 32 is guided to the outer bottom of the apparatus main body 31 to be collected. By transferring the photoreceptor 10 in the axial direction on the front side, the photoreceptor 10 is fed into a discharge port 35 projecting outside the main body 31 of the apparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the discharge port 35 protruding outside the device main body 31 is provided with an inclination toward the lower right, and a connecting fitting groove 36 is formed on the opening edge of the discharge port 35. is formed in the shape of a flange, and a flange portion 42 of the mouth portion 41 of the toner collection container 40, which is detachably held on the side surface outside the device main body 31, is provided with a seal ring made of urethane or the like. They are connected to each other by being force-fitted from the horizontal direction via the holes 50.

That is, the opening 41 of the toner collection container 40 is inclined downwardly and to the right at the same angle as the discharge port 35, and the inner bottom surface 40a thereof is formed into a chevron-shaped inclined surface 43.
The toner T sent out of the apparatus main body 31 by the collection auger 34 and discharged from the discharge port 35 is directed diagonally downward to the right through the mouth 41 of the toner collection container 40, as shown by the solid line arrow in FIG. At the same time, the toner T is allowed to slide down the inclined surface 43, and the toner T is conveyed deep into the toner collection container 40 by the force of the toner T, thereby making it possible to store the toner T uniformly throughout the toner collection container 40.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the developer remaining on the image carrier after image transfer can be reduced.

A cleaning blade that rotates toward and away from the surface of the image carrier scrapes and cleans it and collects it in the apparatus main body, and the collected developer is transported along the axial direction of the image carrier with a collection auger. By doing so, the developer is fed into the outside of the apparatus main body and discharged from the discharge port, and the developer is stored in a toner collection container which is installed with its mouth removably connected to the discharge port, and the developer is stored inside the toner collection container. Because the bottom surface is sloped in a mountain shape, the developer that is sent out of the device main body by the first collection auger and discharged from the discharge port slides on the sloped surface of the inner bottom of the toner collection container, causing the developer to flow into the toner collection container. It is possible to provide a cleaning device that has the excellent effect of being able to convey the developer to the back, thereby uniformly storing the developer throughout the entire area, and increasing the amount of developer that can be stored. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the cleaning device according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along the line ■-m in FIG. A schematic explanatory diagram showing the internal structure of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus equipped with a cleaning device according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 also shows the open and closed state of the upper unit and lower unit of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. An explanatory diagram, FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the main parts of a conventional cleaning device, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the connection state of the toner discharge port of the conventional device main body and the mouth of the toner collection container. . 10... Image carrier (drum-shaped photoreceptor), 30... Cleaning device, 31... Apparatus main body. 32...Cleaning blade, 34...Collection auger, 35...Discharge port, 36...Connection fitting groove, 4o...1-ner recovery container, 40a...Inner bottom surface. 41... Mouth part, 42... Flange part, 43... Inclined surface. T...Developer (toner). Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takeshi Suzue Industry Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] After image transfer, the developer remaining on the image carrier is scraped off with a cleaning blade that rotates toward and away from the surface of the image carrier, and collected into the main body of the apparatus. By transporting the image carrier along the axial direction, the toner is sent out of the apparatus main body and discharged from the discharge port, and is placed in a toner collection container installed with its mouth removably connected to the discharge port. In addition to housing the developer,
A cleaning device characterized in that the inner bottom surface of the toner collection container is inclined in a mountain shape.