JPH04247485A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep the cleaning performance of a photosensitive belt by a cleaning blade even though the both end positions of a sending roller are fluctuated. CONSTITUTION:An elastic cleaning blade 12 is attached to a blade holder 11 constituted of an elastic material supported by the shaft end 2a of the sending roller 2, and the holder is fixed from a main body through the hole 11a. When the sending roller is bent to be fluctuated on the shaft end position, the holder and the blade are followed to move, so that blade pressure to the photosensitive belt is kept and the cleaning performance can be kept.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a cleaning device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, in which the cleaning device cleans the surface of a photoreceptor belt that moves while being supported by the surface of a rotating feed roller. The present invention relates to a cleaning device that cleans the photoreceptor belt by bringing an elastic cleaning blade held by a holding member extending in a right-angled width direction into pressure contact with the photoreceptor belt.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cleaning device for a photoreceptor belt that forms an electrostatic latent image, which is provided in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, as shown in FIG. elastic cleaning blade 12
It is common that a photoreceptor belt 3 is attached to the photoreceptor belt 3 supported by a feed roller 2 to scrape off residual toner thereon.

In addition, in order to prevent the pressing force of the elastic cleaning blade 12 from becoming weaker at both ends than at the center in the width direction of the photoreceptor belt 3, the length of the flexible part of the cleaning blade is increased at the side ends. A cleaning device with a shortened length has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 33709/1983).

0004

A photoreceptor belt is supported by being tensioned between a plurality of feed rollers, and is rotated by the rotation of the feed rollers. In this case, tension is applied by tensioning the shaft at the end of the feed roller in the opposite direction to the direction of tension, so the support beams at both ends of the feed roller are loaded by the belt, and the feed roller causes deflection. Since there is a gap between the support parts of the shafts at both ends of the feed roller, the balance between the tension received from the photoreceptor belt and the force applied to the shaft ends to generate tension is
The shaft end position changes in both force directions.

For this reason, when the cleaning blade is attached to a blade holder fixed to the outer case as in conventional cleaning devices, the cleaning blade cannot follow the positional changes at both ends due to the deflection of the feed roller, and the photosensitive There is a problem in that the pressing force against the body belt becomes uneven, and cleaning performance deteriorates.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and provides a cleaning device that can obtain a uniform pressing force and maintain cleaning performance even when the positions of both ends of the feed roller change. The challenge is to provide the following.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a photoreceptor belt that extends in the width direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the photoreceptor belt, which is supported by the surface of a rotating feed roller and moves. In the cleaning device that cleans the photoreceptor belt by pressing an elastic cleaning blade held on a holding member, the holding member is made of an elastic material, is supported by shafts at both ends of the feed roller, and is oriented in the width direction. A substantially central portion of the cleaning device is fixed from the main body of the cleaning device.

[0008]

[Operation] According to the present invention, the holding member for holding the cleaning blade is formed of an elastic material, is supported by the shafts at both ends of the feed roller, and the approximately central portion in the width direction is separated from the main body of the cleaning device. Since it is fixed,
When the feed roller rotates in a bent state under tension from the photoreceptor belt, when the shaft end position of the feed roller is displaced in the direction of the belt tension and in the opposite direction, the cleaning blade and the Since the positional relationship with the photoreceptor belt is maintained constant, the contact pressure therebetween is constant, and at the shaft end of the displacing feed roller,
The holding member moves together with the shaft end of the feed roller, and the holding member made of an elastic body and the cleaning blade deform in response to the movement, and the contact pressure between the cleaning blade and the photoreceptor belt is also increased at the shaft end. It will be maintained.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 schematically shows a photoreceptor belt device including a cleaning device 10 according to an embodiment. Inside the exterior case 1, a photoreceptor belt 3 is stretched around three feed rollers 2, and is moved in the direction of arrow A by rotation of the feed rollers 2. The shaft end of the feed roller 2 is biased in the opposite direction so as to apply tension to the photoreceptor belt 3 (biasing means is not shown).

In the cleaning device 10, a blade holder 11 serving as a holding member and an elastic cleaning blade 12 attached thereto are provided in an exterior case 1 that also forms the main body of the cleaning device 10. is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoreceptor belt 3 supported by the feed roller 2 with a certain amount of bite, and the residual toner thereon is cleaned.

FIG. 2 shows the construction of the blade holder 11 and the elastic cleaning blade 12. Blade holder 11
is made of an elastic metal such as a spring material, and its both ends in the width direction (direction of arrow B perpendicular to direction A, which is the feeding direction of the photoreceptor belt 3) are connected to the feeding roller 2. is supported by both end shafts 2a. The elastic cleaning blade 12 is glued to the blade holder 11. Further, a distance fixing hole 11a is provided at approximately the center of the blade holder 11 in the width direction, and the distance fixing hole 11a
In order to place the center of the pressing force on the cleaning blade 12 and the feed roller 2 at the center, the hole 11a is supported from the outer case 1 to fix the position so that the positional relationship between the cleaning blade 12 and the feed roller 2 can be maintained constant at the center. .

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a state in which the blade holder 11 and the cleaning blade 12 are deformed in response to the deformation of the feed roller 2 due to the structure described above. Blade holder 11 and cleaning blade 12
Since the blade holder 11 is supported by the shaft end of the feed roller 2, and the position of the hole 11a is fixed from the outer case 1, when the feed roller 2 is deflected and the shaft end is deformed by this, the blade holder 11 will follow it. and blade holder 11
deforms, and cleaning blade 1 changes accordingly.
By also deforming the cleaning blade 12, the pressing force of the cleaning blade 12 against the photoreceptor belt 3 is kept uniform. In this case, since the position of the hole 11a is fixed, escape of the blade holder 11 due to abnormal deformation of the feed roller 2 is prevented.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, the holding member made of an elastic material is supported by the shafts at both ends of the feed roller,
Since the central portion is fixed from the main body, the holding member and the elastic cleaning blade attached to it move in conjunction with the deflection of the feed roller, and the pressing force of the cleaning blade 12 against the photoreceptor belt becomes uniform, cleaning Deterioration in performance can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a photoreceptor belt device including a cleaning device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a blade holder and an elastic cleaning blade portion of the cleaning device according to the embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams showing the state of the blade holder and the elastic cleaning blade when the feed roller is bent.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a photoreceptor belt device including an example of a conventional cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Exterior case (main body) 2　Feed roller 2a　Both end shaft 3 Photoreceptor belt 11 Blade holder (holding member) 12 Elastic cleaning blade

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An elastic cleaning blade held by a holding member extending in the width direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the photoreceptor belt is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoreceptor belt that moves while being supported by the surface of a rotating feed roller, In the cleaning device for cleaning the photoreceptor belt, the holding member is made of an elastic material, is supported by shafts at both ends of the feed roller, and has a substantially central portion in the width direction fixed to the main body of the cleaning device. A cleaning device characterized by: