JPH0213309B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in an image carrier cleaning device such as an electrophotographic copying machine, and more particularly, to a cleaning means for separating magnetic toner remaining on the image carrier from the image carrier, and a cleaning device for separating magnetic toner remaining on the image carrier. The present invention relates to an improvement in a cleaning device equipped with a conveying means for attracting and conveying and removing magnetic toner by magnetic force.

As a conventional cleaning device as mentioned above,
The conveying means is one that directly attracts the magnetic toner to the surface of a rotating magnet roller and conveys and removes it, or one that attracts and conveys the magnetic toner to the surface of a rotating or stationary sleeve that covers the surface of the rotating magnetic roller or the rotating magnet body. known to be removed. Such cleaning devices require a scraping means to remove the toner adsorbed from the surface of the rotating magnet roller or sleeve, and therefore the rotating magnet roller or sleeve and the scraping means are likely to wear out. There was a big drawback.

Therefore, the present inventors invented a cleaning device that does not require scraping means or the like in the conveyance means, has a simple structure, and has a magnetic conveyance means. The conveying means includes a rotating magnet and a moving magnetic field applied to the surface by covering the surface of the rotating magnet from at least a portion close to the image carrier to a portion where the magnetic toner falls due to gravity on the opposite side. The magnetic toner separated from the image carrier by the cleaning means is captured by the moving magnetic field on the surface of the guide and carried to the opposite side, where it is affected by the magnetic force of the rotating magnet. It is removed from the influence and falls due to gravity. This eliminates the need to use scraping means for the surface of the guide, but the carried magnetic toner tends to stay on the surface of the guide where the influence of the magnetic force of the rotating magnet is weakened. There was also the problem that the fallen toner accumulated in one place and the collected toner storage reservoir was not used effectively.

The present invention is intended to solve the problems of the invention described above, and the above problems are solved by applying vibration to the guide body by a vibration applying means that is caused to vibrate by the magnetic force of the rotating magnet body. .

The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated examples.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of the cleaning device of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 5 are partial sectional views showing modifications of FIG. 1, respectively.

In the figure, Z indicates an image carrier such as a copying machine that rotates in the direction of the arrow, 1 indicates a scraper blade that is a cleaning means of a cleaning device, 2 indicates a rotating magnet that rotates in the direction of the arrow, and 3 indicates the surface of the rotating magnet 2. It is a guide body that covers at least the part close to the image carrier Z to the part on the opposite side where the magnetic toner T falls due to gravity, and the guide body 3 shown in FIGS. It is formed integrally with the case wall 5 of the device to be formed, and the guide body 3 in FIG. 5 is separated from the case wall 5 of the device. A moving magnetic field is generated on the surface of the guide body 3 covering the surface of the rotating magnet 2 by the magnet of the rotating magnet 2. That is, at least this part of the guide body 3 is made of the same material as the sleeve in conventional magnetic cleaning devices. In such a cleaning device, the residual magnetic toner T on the image carrier Z is scraped off by the scraper blade 1, as in the conventional cleaning device in which the surface of the rotating magnet body is covered with a fixed sleeve. Alternatively, a portion directly leaves the surface of the image carrier Z and adheres to the surface of the guide body 3. The attached magnetic toner T moves in the direction of the arrow opposite to the rotating direction of the rotating magnet 2 due to the influence of the moving magnetic field, and is removed from the influence of the magnetic field on the side of the guide body 3 opposite to the image carrier Z. It falls into toner reservoir 4. In that case, if the guide body 3 and the case wall 5 of the toner reservoir 4 following it are stationary, the magnetic toner T
As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the particles remain in the area outside the magnetic field, and are deposited along the case wall 5 on the falling side.

Therefore, in the cleaning device of the present invention, a vibration imparting means 6 is provided which vibrates by the magnetic force of the rotating magnet body 2 and applies vibration to the guide body 3.

The vibration imparting means 6 shown in FIG. The magnet 8 is attracted by the rotation of the body 2,
As a result, the swing lever rotates back and forth, so that the operating arm 6b of the swing lever hits the case wall 5 of the toner reservoir 4 connected to the guide body 3.

The vibration applying means 6 shown in FIG. 2 differs from the one shown in FIG. 1 in that the magnet 8 shown in FIG. .

The vibration imparting means 6 shown in FIG. 3 differs from that shown in FIG. 1 in that the support shaft 7 of the swing lever is provided on the case wall 5 of the guide body 3 or toner reservoir 4.

The vibration imparting means 6 in FIG. 4 is provided with an easily bendable structure such as a joint in the part where the guide body 3 separates from the rotary magnet body 2, and the rotary magnet is attached to the casing body 3 or the case wall 5 beyond the joint. It has a configuration in which a magnetic body 11 is provided so as to be influenced by the magnetic force of the body 2.

FIG. 5 shows that the case wall 5 of the toner reservoir 4, which has been vibrated by the vibration applying means 6 similar to that shown in FIG. 1, hits the guide body 3.
An example is shown in which vibration is applied to

In the above examples, since vibration is applied to the guide body 3 and the case wall 5 of the toner reservoir 4 by the vibration imparting means 6, the magnetic toner T attached to the guide body 3 is affected by the magnetic field. Not only will the toner not accumulate at the part where it comes off, but the toner will be evenly stored in the reservoir 4.

However, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be such that only the guide body 3 is vibrated. Alternatively, although the structure becomes more complicated, the rotating magnetic field may be generated in the same manner as when the rotating magnet body is rotated by an electromagnet without rotating.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of the cleaning device of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 5 are partial sectional views showing modifications of FIG. 1, respectively. Z...image carrier, 1...scraper blade, 2...
Rotating magnet body, 3... Guide body, 4... Toner reservoir, 5...
Case wall, 6... Vibration imparting means, 6a... Driven arm, 7
...Spindle, 8...Magnet, 9, 11...Magnetic material, 10...Spring, T...Magnetic toner.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a cleaning device comprising a cleaning means for separating magnetic toner remaining on an image carrier from the image carrier, and a conveying means for conveying and removing the separated magnetic toner by attracting it by magnetic force, as the conveying means, A rotating magnet, and a guide that covers the surface of the magnet from at least a portion close to the image carrier to a portion on the opposite side where the magnetic toner falls due to gravity, and generates a moving magnetic field on the surface by the magnet. 1. A cleaning device comprising: a body; and a vibration imparting means that vibrates by the magnetic force of the magnet body to give vibration to the guide body.