JPH03288186A - Cleaning device for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely supply the desired quantity of toner to a blade edge by making a cleaning blade attachable to/detachable from the casing of a cleaning device and attaching a container in which lubricant is sealed near the edge of the cleaning blade press-contacting with an image carrier. CONSTITUTION:The cleaning blade 2 is attached to a supporting member 3 which is attached to the casing of the cleaning device, and a film 20 is attached on the surface near the edge of the blade 2 press-contacting with the image carrier by sticking the periphery of the film 20, then the lubricant is sealed in the inner space. By inverting and stretching one edge part 22 of the film 20 after the supporting member 3 is attached to the casing of the cleaning device with the blade 2, the film 20 is peeled from the surface of the blade 2 and the lubricant in the inner space overflows in the vicinity of the blade edge. Thus, the necessary and sufficient toner is surely supplied to the blade edge at the beginning of starting the blade.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Object of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer that repeatedly performs an electrostatic transfer process, and particularly to a cleaning apparatus therefor.

(Prior Art and Problems to be Solved) In the well-known image forming apparatus as described above, a cleaning means is essential for removing residual toner that is not transferred to the transfer material and remains on the image carrier each time transfer is performed. As this cleaning means, an elastic cleaning blade that is configured to come into pressure contact with the image carrier and scrape off the residual toner has been widely used because it is simple, compact, and has an excellent toner removal function. It is well known that it is in practical use.

In this type of cleaning device, an appropriate amount of toner (including lubricant if lubricant is added) is always present in the area where the edge of the cleaning blade comes into contact with the surface of the image carrier. If the amount is too small, the friction between the blade edge and the image carrier will increase, causing chattering and blade curling.
There is a risk of cleaning failure due to increased pressure on the blade.

This is especially a problem when the blade is new, and if the blade is started without toner or some kind of lubricant applied to the edges, there is a high probability of poor cleaning.

For this reason, in the past, when a service person replaced a blade, it was common to apply toner to the edge of the blade before starting operation. There were other problems.

Such a situation is particularly noticeable in an image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 5, in which a cleaning device is provided above the image carrier.

To briefly describe this device, the image carrier 5, which has an axis perpendicular to the plane of the paper and rotates in the six directions of the arrows, has a
One end of a cleaning plate 2 attached to a support member 3 is in contact with the surface of an image carrier 5 in a casing 1 arranged parallel to the axis.

At a transfer site (not shown), when the residual toner that has not been transferred to the transfer material reaches the end of the blade 2, it is scraped off from the image carrier by the blade edge and accumulated as shown by the reference numeral 6 in the figure. The accumulated toner is brought to the position of the conveying screw 10 on the left side in the figure by a blade 8 attached to the shaft 7 and rotating in the direction of arrow B, and is discharged to the outside by the screw 10.

The reference numeral 4 in the figure is a seal member that prevents the heat and pressure of the toner from both ends of the blade 2, and the reference numeral 15 is a scoop sheet consisting of a sheet 14 attached to a support member 12 attached to the casing. This prevents toner from leaking from the downstream side.

In such devices, in order to prevent toner from slipping through, it is necessary to set the cleaning blade against the image carrier with a strong pressure, which makes it easy for the blade to turn over. When applying a small amount of toner to the blade edge, it is not enough to apply a small amount of toner to the blade edge.
It is necessary to separately supply a considerable amount of toner, as indicated by , and this makes maintenance difficult.

The present invention has been made to deal with such a situation, and involves disposing a container containing a required amount of toner at a suitable location on the surface of the cleaning blade or saving sheet, and removing the container when necessary. An object of the present invention is to provide a leaning device that avoids toner scattering and reliably applies a desired amount of toner to the blade edge to ensure smooth operation thereafter. It is.

(2) Structure of the invention (technical means for solving the problem and its operation) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cleaning device equipped with a cleaning blade that comes into pressure contact with an image bearing member, in which the cleaning blade is attached to the cleaning device. The cleaning blade is removably attached to the casing, and is characterized in that a container containing a lubricant is attached near the edge of the cleaning blade that comes into pressure contact with the image carrier.

With this configuration, when installing a new blade for cleaning replacement, etc., it is possible to supply a sufficient amount of toner as a lubricant to the blade edge, and it is also possible to prevent toner from scattering. .

(Description of Embodiments) FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing the configuration of the cleaning blade portion of the cleaning device shown in the fifth section, when the present invention is applied to the cleaning blade portion, and is for the sake of clarity. Components corresponding to those in the fifth section are designated by the same reference numerals.

A cleaning blade 2 is attached to a support member 3 attached to the casing of the cleaning device, and a film made of an appropriate material such as Boester or polypropylene is placed on the surface of the blade 2 near the edge of contact with the image carrier. 2
The periphery of 0 is glued, and the internal space is filled with lubricant 21.
Toner or suitable lubricating fine particles (
For example, fluorine compound particles (trade name: Cefbon J) are mixed therein.

One edge portion of the film 20 is extended as shown by the reference numeral 22, so that the film 20 can be peeled off from the blade surface by grasping it by hand.

With this configuration, the support member 3 is connected to the blade 2.
When the film 20 is attached to the casing of the cleaning device and then pulled while being reversed as shown by the white arrow in FIG. When the image forming apparatus starts operating, this lubricant acts on the blade edge and prevents the blade from chattering, curling, etc., allowing normal continuous operation thereafter. .

In this way, even during maintenance, there is no need to apply lubricating toner to the blade edge with the blade exposed to the outside, so there is no need to contaminate the operator's fingers or the surrounding area (also, it is possible to prevent It is possible to reliably supply the necessary and sufficient toner to the blade edge.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing another embodiment.

This figure shows the lubricant container provided with the film 23 for enclosing the lubricant in the embodiment described above and attached to the surface of the support member 12 of the scooping sheet 15.

The container has a structure similar to that of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 18 to 1C, and contains lubricant therein.

When the film 23 is removed after the scooping sheet 15 having such a structure is attached to the casing as shown in the fifth section, the internal lubricant immediately reaches the flade edge portion, which is different from the case of the device of the embodiment described above. The same effect can be achieved.

Figures 38 to 3C show still other embodiments of the present invention.

On one side of the cleaning blade 2, a container 24 containing a lubricant and having approximately the same length as the cleaning blade and made of polyester film or the like is adhered near the blade edge and parallel to it, as shown in the figure. It is.

A strip-shaped film 25 is attached to the upper inner wall of the container 24 over the entire length of the container, as shown in FIG. It is.

With this structure, when this extended portion is pulled in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. This leads to the blade edge, and the same effect as in the previous embodiment is achieved.

With this configuration, the container portion that encloses the powdered lubricant is separate from the cleaning blade, making it easy to manufacture.

It is also easy to understand that such a container can also be placed on the side of the tray.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show still another embodiment of the present invention.

In this case, a container made of a film material is formed to enclose the edge of the cleaning blade 2, and a lubricant is sealed inside.

In use, this film material may be peeled off from the blade 2 or destroyed by a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. 3A so that the lubricant acts on the blade end.

Such an arrangement is advantageous as it ensures that sufficient lubricant is present at the blade end.

(3) As described in detail, according to the present invention, in a cleaning device using a cleaning blade, when a new blade is used, such as when replacing the blade, the blade edge is reliably and sufficiently cleaned. Since the lubricant can be supplied, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of chatter and blade slippage, and it is also possible to prevent the toner, which is the lubricant, from scattering to the surrounding area, thereby greatly improving the ease of maintenance.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1A is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 1B is a sectional view taken along line C-C in Fig. 1A, same as above, Fig. 1C is an end view of same as above, Fig. 2 is another view. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of still another embodiment, FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along the line F-F in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3C is an end view of the same example. , FIG. 4A is a perspective view of yet another embodiment, Rade, 3
...Supporting member, 4...Sealing member, 5...Image carrier, 8...Blade, 10...Transportation screw 12.
... Supporting member, 14... Sheet, 15... Scooping sheet, 20.23.24.25... Film.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a cleaning device equipped with a cleaning blade that comes into pressure contact with the image carrier, the cleaning blade is detachable from the casing of the cleaning device, and a lubricant is applied near the edge of the cleaning blade that comes into pressure contact with the image carrier. A cleaning device equipped with a container filled with. (2) The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the container containing the lubricant is attached to a surface adjacent to an edge of the cleaning blade. (3) The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the container containing the lubricant is located on the scooping sheet side facing the cleaning blade. (4) The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a container enclosing a lubricant is disposed so as to surround an edge of the cleaning blade.