JPH04156481A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device of which repairing is easy, its structure is also simple, its reliability is high and having a less-expensive electrical charger assembled therein by a method wherein a driving means for manually operating a cleaning member is provided, and the driving means is constructed to engage with the cleaning member when a process cartridge is fixed to a main body of the device. CONSTITUTION:When a handle 411 of a driving member 41 is held by hand and moved in a rightward or leftward direction, an engagement between a convex part 332 of a slider 31 and a concave part 412 of the driving member 41 is released and a guiding plate 171 of a process cartridge 17 is pulled out of a guiding groove 182 of a main body 181 of the device. In turn, when the process cartridge 17 is inserted, there is no trouble during insertion of the process cartridge 17 as long as the driving member 41 and the slider 31 are placed at an initial position of the cleaning member 310, so that the convex part 332 of the slider 31 and the concave part 412 of the driving member 41 are engaged from each other and stopped. With such an arrangement, it is possible to provide an image forming device of which repairing is easy, its structure is simple, its reliability is high and using a process cartridge having a less- expensive electrical charger assembled therein.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms images by an electrophotographic method and has an improved charging device for a photoreceptor.

[Background of the invention]

2. Description of the Related Art In image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines and printers, charging devices that use elongated wire-like discharge wires as electrodes are used as charging means for uniformly charging a photoreceptor.

Depending on the charging conditions, a charging device may be used that is provided with a charge control grid between the photoreceptor and the electrode to make corona charging by the electrode uniform and to prevent excessive charging. Due to the high voltage charge applied to the electrodes and grids of the charging device, toner particles, paper particles, solid substances such as oxide films, etc., adhere to the electrodes and grids of the charging device. The grid causes non-uniform distribution of the intensity of the charge applied to the photoreceptor, resulting in uneven density of the copied image.

Therefore, a cleaning member for the purpose of cleaning the electrodes and grids is built into the charging device. For example, a cleaning member supported by a bank plate, which is a shielding member for the electrodes, is periodically slid along the electrodes and grids. ,
It is said to be a method of cleaning by the rubbing action.

As a driving means for sliding the cleaning member,
There are manual methods and methods using power from a drive motor, etc., but the manual method has a simple structure and has the advantage of fewer failures (and low cost). When using the device, it has the advantage that there is no need to insert your hand inside the device when cleaning, and it can be controlled so that cleaning can be done automatically at an appropriate time. .

On the other hand, in an image forming apparatus, a photoreceptor on which an image is formed is held in place, and an image forming means provided at the periphery of the photoreceptor is integrated into a process force, and is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as the main body). An image forming apparatus that enables this is also provided. ”-Note 1 Since the charging device is built into the charger cartridge, when cleaning the charging device that has 2JL in it when using the manual cleaning method described above, you must insert your hand inside the device body to remove the charging device. t# Cleaning by moving the cleaning plate member by hand or removing the process cartridge from the main body of the apparatus] As in the case of the second paragraph, the cleaning member of the charging device is moved by hand to clean it. In addition, in the case of a cleaning method using the power of the drive motor, etc., the drive motor is usually installed inside the charging device, and a control device for easily operating the drive motor to clean a specified number of copies is also built into the main body of the device. ing.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

In the case of manual cleaning method as above, 1 liter of charging device
During IF cleaning, in order to insert your hand into the inside of the device body and move the cleaning member of the charging device, you must move it so that you can clean it.
For example, the clamshell method is known, where the main body is divided into two parts and one side is flipped upwards, or the unit containing the charging device is pulled out so that there is enough room to insert your hand. A method of cleaning the charging device by removing the unit incorporating the charging device from the main body of the device so that the cleaning member can be easily reached by hand and moving the cleaning member of the charging device by hand is used.

However, in any case, if you move the cleaning member by hand,
This requires manual operation in a narrow space, and is cumbersome when combined with the operation described in step 1 above, where the first hand must be inserted or a unit incorporating a charging device for easy access must be inserted.

In addition, in the case of a cleaning method using the power of a drive motor, the structure of the charging device becomes complicated because the drive motor is installed inside the charging device (-1) as described above. Since the apparatus is also incorporated into the main body of the apparatus at the same time, the cost of the image forming apparatus increases.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks = 4
- An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus using a process cartridge incorporating a charging device that is easy to repair, simple in structure, highly reliable, and inexpensive. It is intended for this purpose.

[Means for solving problems]

The above object is to provide an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge having at least a photoreceptor and a charging device is removably attached to an apparatus main body, and the charging device is provided with at least an electrode and a cleaning member for cleaning the electrode. A driving means for manually operating the cleaning member is provided between the apparatus main body and the charging device, and the driving means operates the γh sweeping member when the process cartridge is installed in the apparatus main body. This is achieved by an image forming apparatus characterized in that it is configured to fit together.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 shows the main unit 6 of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. This shows the main cross section.

The photoreceptor belt 11 includes a driving roller 15 and a driven roller 16.
A charging device 12, a developing device 13, a cleaning belt 14, etc. are arranged as shown in the figure to constitute a process cartridge 17, and an electrostatic image is formed on the photoreceptor belt by a known method. . and process cartridge 17
is the guide groove 182 of the device main body 1, 81 of the image forming device 18.
The guide plate 171 of the process cartridge 17 is fitted into and removably attached to the guide plate 171 of the process cartridge 17.

This figure further shows that the cleaning member 310 for cleaning electrodes etc. is in an initial position which will be explained later, and the recess 412 of the driving part tA41 of the driving means for manually operating the cleaning member 310 and the cleaning member 310 are assembled. Convex portion 3 of slider 31
32 indicates an engaged state.

In this state, the drive member 41 is pressed against the cup in the upper direction of the page, and the handle 4 that operates the drive member 41
], the position of I is such that it does not prevent the driving layer 19 of the exterior casing from closing. In the state shown in this figure with only one driving layer closed, image formation is possible.

FIG. 2 shows the charging device 12 shown in FIG.
This is a diagram seen from the right side of FIG. 1, and supplements the explanation in FIG. 1.

That is, the slider 31 in which the cleaning member 310 is incorporated
can slide along Hackbrae 1, 21, 22,
The left tip convex portion 332 of the lower arm of the slider 31 is connected to the drive portion t.
It engages with the recess 412 of t41 as shown in the figure.

The drive part tJ' 41 is guided by two guide rods 42 parallel to the sliding direction of the slider 31, and the length of the drive member 41 fitted with the guide rod 42 is increased by the sleeve 413. By kneading the handle portion 411 with your hands and moving it from side to side, you can smoothly slide the slider 31 along with it.

In addition, at the initial position of the cleaning member 310, which is the position of the driving member 41 and the slider 31 in the drawing, since the charging device 12 is mounted on the process cartridge 17 as described above, the process cartridge 17 is moved toward the top of the paper. When pulled out, they engage as shown in item 1 - 7 = Convex portion 332 of slider 31 and concave portion 412 of drive member 41
If the process cartridge 17 is disengaged or disengaged, and the process cartridge 17 is further pulled out, there will be no obstruction to the movement of the process cartridge 17 (including the developing device 13) in the direction of the upper surface of the paper, so the guide plate 171 of the process cartridge 17 will be moved to the main body 181 of the apparatus.
It can be pulled out from the guide groove 182. Conversely, when inserting the process cartridge 17, as long as the driving member 41 and slider 3I are in the initial position of the cleaning member 310 as shown in the figure, the guide plate 17 of the process cartridge 17 is inserted into the guide groove 181 of the apparatus main body 181. Since there is no obstacle to the insertion movement of the process cartridge 17, the protrusion 332 of the slider 31 and the recess 412 of the drive member 41 engage and stop at the final insertion position. Become.

By the way, in the state shown in this figure, the flat part 411 of the drive member 41 is
This is a diagram when the slider 31 and the driving member 41 are held in the hand and moved to the left side.
32 and the recess 412 of the drive member 41 are engaged,
The slider 31 also moves to the left and stops when it hits the box-shaped end plate a23, and therefore the drive section tJ' 41 also stops at this position. At this position of the slider 31, that is, the cleaning member 310, the right angle bent protrusion at the tip of the brake spring b231 falls into the recess 331 of the F arm of the slider 31, stopping the slider 31 and the cleaning member 310. There is. Then, at this position of the cleaning member 310, the TFT cleaning member 3
This is the initial position of 1.0. Similarly, the brake spring a185 also stops the drive member 41 at this position. Therefore, when the flat part 411 is grasped and moved in the opposite right direction, the right angle bent protrusion at the tip of the brake spring a185 of the drive member 41 is pushed up from the right corner of the drive member 41, and at the same time, the tip of the brake spring 13231 is pushed up. The right angle bent protrusion of the slider 31
When the left slope of the recess 331 of the lower arm is pushed up, the drive member 41 and the slider 31 engaged therewith, that is, ln
The sweeping member 310 can now move to the right. This rightward movement of the fourth flat portion pushes up the right-angled bent protrusions at the tips of both springs 185, 231, and the braking force of these springs 185, 231 easily moves the drive member 41 and slider. 31, that is, clear (J member 310 does not move from the initial position.

Also, even after removing the process cartridge [7] from the main body 181 of the apparatus as described above, the slider 31 does not have a brake spring b.
231 and the driving member 41 are individually actuated by braking springs a185, so that neither the slider 31, that is, the cleaning member 310, nor the driving member 41 easily moves from the above-mentioned initial position.

In the illustrated position of the driving member 41 and slider 31, that is, in the initial position of the cleaning member 310, the protruding portion 191 of the driving layer 19 can close the driving layer 19 without interfering with the flat portion 411 of the driving member 41. It looks like this.

An interlock switch (not shown) which is operated by the drive layer 19 is also provided, and when the drive layer 19 is closed, the interlock switch is operated and image formation can be performed.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the charging device 12 is being cleaned by operating the driving member 41 and operating the cleaning member 3]0. The detailed operating situation will be explained later in a separate figure, or the general operating situation is as follows. That is, the cleaning member 31
When operating the drive member 41 to operate 0,
Open the drive layer 19 as shown in the figure, grasp the flat part 411 that operates the drive member 41 with your hand, and move from the initial position of the cleaning member 310, which is the uppermost surface of the paper, to the terminal position of the cleaning member 310, which is the paper surface. The drive member 41 is moved to the bottom position, and then the drive member 4I is returned to the original top position on the page. Through this operation, the cleaning member 310 cleans the charging device 12 back and forth.

In addition, during this cleaning operation, the braking spring or the driving member 41 and the slider 31 are respectively braked as described in 1.
When the cleaning member 310 starts to operate from the initial position where the re-braking spring is activated by grasping the handle flat part 4]1 by hand, and when the cleaning member 310 returns to the initial position after cleaning is completed, the operating weight changes. The change is large, and it becomes clear whether the lh sweeping member 310 has moved out of the initial position or has returned to the initial position.

Also, when removing and installing the process cartridge 17 from the apparatus main body 181, open the driving layer 19 as shown in the figure and slide the process cartridge 17 rightward from the guide groove 182 of the apparatus main body 181 as explained in FIG. = 11- Pull out the process cartridge 17 until the guide plate 171 of 7 comes off, or conversely, move the process cartridge 17 to the left toward the main body 18 of the apparatus.
The guide plate 171 of the process cartridge lithography 17 is inserted into the guide groove 182 of No. 1 and pushed until it stops.

4 and 5 are perspective views showing the charging device 12 attached to the process cartridge 17 and its surroundings in an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cleaning member incorporated in the slider 31 or the corona wire 26 and screen grid 25 which are electrodes are being cleaned.

The charging devices 12 are arranged symmetrically with a certain interval apart.
L-shaped back plate a2 that is a shielding member for the electrode
1. A box-shaped end plate a234 and a box-shaped end plate b24 having insulating properties are sandwiched by the back plate b22 at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The slider 31, or cleaning member, is slidably guided in regularly spaced grooves in both bank plates 21,22. Then, from above, it is covered with a screen grid 25 having a U-shaped lid having two surfaces processed into a shape that acts as a grid.

The corona wire 26, which is an electrode, is connected to both the above-mentioned bath cup 1 note 21. 22. A rectangular tube surrounded by a screen grid 25 is stretched between box-shaped end plates 23.24nlIl at both ends.

The slider 31 has an axis a 311. Axis 1) 312 or setting (
felt table a3], 3. A felt stand b314 is pivotally supported. felt table a3], felt a3 on 3
15 or the corona wire 26 at a suitable position for rubbing and cleaning, and the felt b
316 is pasted at a symmetrical position to the fer 1-a 315. Then, both felts 315 and 316 sandwich the corona wire 26, and both felt stands 3 are arranged so that they can be rubbed and cleaned.
13.Both shafts 31 of the slider 31 that pivotally supports 3111
, ], , 312 have both presser springs 318 inserted therein.

On the other hand, the grid blade (indicated by a two-dot chain line) is made of a relatively thin flexible plate material such as urethane rubber.

And, as shown in the figure, there is a circular hole in the center of J to avoid the corona bar = 14-ear 26.
From this hole, the grid blades on the two sides are divided into left and right sides. The pin a319 of the felt stand a313 is the right division part of the grid plate, and the grid blade a321
pin b of felt stand b314.
320 is inserted into the hole in the grid blade b322, which is the left division of the glyph I plate. When both felts 31.5.316 are holding the corona wire 26, the upper end surfaces of both grisso plates 321.322 form a straight line and come into contact with the inner surface of the upper surface of the screen grid 25. It appears to be able to be cleaned by rubbing.

The charging device 12 is detachably attached to the process cartridge rerun 17 using a screw (not shown).

- The drive member 41 is incorporated into the blade device main body 181 as explained in FIG.

Then, if you grasp the flat part 411 of the drive member 41 and move it in the lower right direction, the recess 412 of the drive member 41 and the slider 3
] is engaged, so the slider 31 immediately moves the cleaning member to the lower right.

Since both fers h3] and 5.316 sandwich the corona wire 26 by the spring force of both presser springs 318 as described above, they are moved without being rubbed and cleaned. Also, the two end surfaces of both grid plates 321 and 322 are moved without rubbing and cleaning the inner surface of the screw slit 25, as described above. Then, the slider 31, that is, the cleaning member, moves to the terminal position at the lower right end of the drawing.

Next, when gripping the flat portion 411 and moving the slider 3I in two directions to the left, the slider 3I will immediately move toward the upper left. In this way, the inner surfaces of the corona wire 26 and the screen grid 25 are cleaned back and forth.

FIG. 5 shows the state in which the slider 31 has returned to the upper left end, that is, the state in which the cleaning member is in its initial position.

In this figure, since the slider 31, that is, the cleaning member is located at the upper left end as described above, both felt stands 313, 314
is in an open state by a cam 231 on both sides. Therefore, there is a gap between the two felts 315, 316, and the corona wire 26 and the two felts 31.5, 316 are in a non-contact state.

Like the felt, the grid blade a 32] and the grid blade F b 322 are also separated and placed in an open state.

The reason why the grid blade is shaped like this is to make it easier to stretch the corona wire 26 during assembly.

In this state, the image forming apparatus becomes ready for use, and the corona wire 26 of the charging device 12 and the screen grid 2
By applying a high voltage charge to the photoreceptor belt 5, the photoreceptor belt is uniformly charged.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of another embodiment. In this embodiment the drive means are connected by wires. That is, the convex portion 3 at the tip of the slider 31 in which the cleaning member of the charging device 12 is incorporated.
32 is a guide member b guided by the guide base plate 421
415, and the slider 31 is stopped at this position, which is the initial position of the tR sweeping member, by a brake spring (not shown).

On the other hand, the handle part 411 attached to the guide part shrine a414 guided by the guide base plate 421 in the front is located at this position which is the initial position of the handle part 411 = 17
– is stopped by a brake spring that is not in use.

And these guide members a414 and guide members b4
] and 5 are connected by a wire 416 and a pulley 417 as shown in the figure. Therefore, when cleaning the charging device GL12, open the drive door (not shown) and remove the flat part 41.
1 and operate it in the upper left direction.At first, it may take some force due to the braking force of a braking spring (not shown), but once it moves beyond that force, it will operate smoothly after that until the cleaning member reaches its final position. Then it stops. This time Torihira part 41
When 1 is operated in the opposite direction, it goes to the initial position and stops when the operating weight changes.

The other operating conditions, including these, are exactly the same as those described in the explanation of Figures 2 and 3, so we will explain them here.''
The second explanation will be omitted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

With the present invention, cleaning can be performed easily and easily whenever necessary, so high-quality images can always be obtained. An image forming apparatus using a process cartridge incorporating the apparatus has now been provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a main cross-sectional configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, showing a state in which image formation is possible with a cleaning member positioned at an initial position. FIG. 2 is a view of the charging device shown in FIG. 1, the slider incorporating the cleaning member, the developing unit, and the driving member, seen from the right side of FIG. 1, and shows the engagement between the driving member and the slider incorporating the cleaning member. Indicate the situation. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the driving layer is opened and electrodes etc. are being cleaned or the process cartridge can be removed. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing the charging device used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention and the surrounding situation thereof. FIG. 4 shows the situation during tit cleaning by the cleaning member, and FIG. Figure 5 shows the situation with the cleaning member in its initial position. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another embodiment in which the driving means is a wire drive. 11. Photosensitive belt belt 12...Charging device 17...Process cartridge 18...Image forming device 181 Image forming device main body 19...Driving layer 25 Screen grid

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge having at least a photoreceptor and a charging device is removably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, the charging device includes at least an electrode and a cleaning member for cleaning the electrode. A driving means for manually operating the cleaning member is provided between the image forming apparatus main body and the charging device, and the driving means operates when the process cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus configured to engage with the cleaning member. (2) The exterior casing of the image forming apparatus is provided with a drive door for operating the drive member of the drive means and for attaching and detaching the process cartridge, and the drive member is at a predetermined position. 2. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge can be attached and detached only occasionally, and the drive door can be closed, and image formation is enabled by closing the drive door. image forming device.