JPH0473598B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a cleaning device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

In an image forming apparatus that repeats the process of continuously running a photoreceptor provided with a photoconductive layer in an endless manner to form a transferable image with toner on its surface and transferring the transferable image to a transfer material, After transferring a transferable image to a transfer material, it is essential to completely remove the residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor in order to continuously obtain high-quality images. It is well known to provide cleaning devices for removing .

Many cleaning devices have been proposed in the past that use cleaning blades, fur brushes, etc. as means for removing residual toner from the photoconductor. Blades that are pressed against the surface and scrape off residual toner with the edge of the blade have been widely used because they are simple, compact, inexpensive, and have excellent toner removal properties.

When using such a cleaning blade, the longitudinal edges of the long rectangular flexible blade, each having a length corresponding to the width of the photoreceptor, are held between two metal plates or the like. However, methods have been used to fix the blade by tightening these metal plates together with screws, but with this method, the flexible blade is not pressed evenly by the screws. This tends to cause local deformation, which may adversely affect the straightness and pressing force of the edge on the side that is pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor, leading to a risk of deteriorating the cleaning action. Even if the above-mentioned drawbacks could be alleviated by means such as interposing a spacer in the fastening screw portion, it is clear that this would hardly be a fundamental solution.

In order to eliminate such defects, it has already been proposed to glue the blade along its entire length to a holder made of a rigid material for supporting the blade and attaching it to the main body of the cleaning device.
The edge on the holder side to which the blade is attached is usually formed by pressing a metal plate or molding a synthetic resin, so there may be irregularities due to sagging, burrs, etc. ,
Even if you leave this as is and glue the blade material,
As in the case described above, it is difficult to achieve a uniform pressure contact effect over a long period of time, and from a cost perspective it is difficult to precisely machine the contact edge of the holder to eliminate bulges and sagging. Undesirable.

Furthermore, in order to eliminate defects caused by such adhesion, avoid the edge of the holder on the blade adhesion side, and apply adhesive to a flat part away from the edge where it is not affected by irregular shapes such as burrs. Although it has already been proposed that the blade is glued to It is difficult to make the length from the edge that presses against the photoreceptor to the part that is bonded to the holder uniform over the entire length of the blade in the longitudinal direction.
If there is a change in the length of the holder, local stress concentration will occur at the adhesive boundary, which will likely cause the blade to separate, which will inevitably have an adverse effect on the cleaning action.

The present invention has been made in view of the current situation, and is a device in which a blade is fixed by adhesive to a blade holder (holding member) attached to a housing of a main body of a cleaning device. A guide (positioning reference part) that includes all processes such as applying adhesive to the holder, fixing the blade to it, and attaching the completed holder and blade connecting member to the cleaning device main body.
To provide a method for manufacturing a cleaning device that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks by making it possible to manufacture a holder and blade assembly and attaching it to the cleaning device extremely easily and accurately based on the above-mentioned method. It is something.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below using an image forming apparatus equipped with a cylindrical rotating photoreceptor as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a rotating cylindrical photoreceptor extending perpendicularly to the plane of the paper and rotating in the direction of arrow A. A cleaning device 2 extending parallel to the photoreceptor is disposed close to the photoreceptor. A transferable image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor by charging means, exposure means, developing means, transfer means, etc. (not shown) arranged around the photoreceptor 1, and then transferred onto a transfer material (not shown) by the transfer means. Therefore, after the transferable image has been transferred, the residual toner T that did not contribute to the transfer reaches the cleaning blade 3 of the cleaning device 2 while remaining attached to the surface of the photoreceptor, where it is scraped off from the photoreceptor and this toner is removed. The liquid is guided by the scoop sheet 7 and stored in the storage space 11 in the cleaning device 2.
Incidentally, reference numeral 9 denotes a point wheel for forcibly feeding the scraped toner to the storage space.

A portion of the cleaning blade 3 in the longitudinal direction is glued to a holder 4 made of a rigid material including metal, and a guide hole (not shown) formed in this holder is engaged with a pin 5 formed in the main body of the cleaning device. It is assumed that

Next, a method of manufacturing the above-described assembly of the huller 4 and the blade 3 will be explained.

Figures 2A to 2D show means for manufacturing the assembly, in which the assembly is mounted on a plywood 10 with four pins P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ and P ₄ implanted at predetermined positions at the four corners. Pins P ₁ , P ₄ ; Guide holes (positioning reference parts) 41, 44 and 4 are provided in the parts corresponding to P ₂ and P ₃ , respectively.
2, 43 (see Figure 3) holder 4a, 4
b are opposed and engaged as shown in FIG. 2A, and adhesive is applied thereon to each of the holders 4a, 4b.
A frame 12 is placed on which a thin film 13 with long holes 13a and 13b for coating is arranged at fixed positions.

At this time, the aforementioned pins P ₁ ,
Guide holes 12a, 12b, etc. are provided at locations corresponding to P2 _, etc.
12c and 12d, the relative positions of the base plate 10, holders 4a, 4b, and frame 12 are all regulated by pins _P1 to _P4 , as shown in FIG. 2B. The long holes 13a and 13b of the thin film 13 and the holder 4a facing thereto,
The relative position of 4b is also determined by the pins _P1 to _P4 .

Next, a suitable adhesive is applied to the shallow recess formed by the presence of the thin film 13 inside the frame 12,
When the spatula S is moved to spread the adhesive as shown in FIG. 2B, the adhesive enters the long holes 13a and 13b and is applied to each holder 4a and 4b.

When the frame 12 is then removed, a holder remains with adhesive applied to the surface to which the blade is to be bonded, as shown in FIG. 2C. Figure 3 shows these holders 4a and 4b removed from the base plate and the second
It is shown juxtaposed in the opposite direction to Figure C.

What is shown in Fig. 2C is each holder 4a, 4b.
Edges 4c and 4d on the side where the blade will be glued in the future
Although the adhesive is shown to the fullest extent, as mentioned earlier, in order to prevent the influence of the irregular shape of the edge of the holder, a thin film 1.
The positions of the elongated holes 13a and 13b provided in the holes 3 may be adjusted as appropriate.

FIG. 2D shows this, and the same figure is a sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 2B, and the frame 1
The elongated hole 13a of the thin film 13 attached to the blade 2 is moved to a position recessed by a distance d from the blade attachment side edge 4c of the holder 4a. By doing this, it is possible to avoid the effects of shedding, burrs, etc. that occur during holder manufacturing on the edge 4c, especially on both edges, and to reduce the distance from the adhesive edge of the blade to the holder to the scraped edge over the entire length. can be maintained evenly over the period.

Fig. 4 shows another means of applying adhesive to _the holder, in which a _second
Provide pins P ₁ to P ₄ as shown in Figure A and others,
The base plate 10 on which the holders 4a and 4b positioned in this manner are mounted is placed on the base plate 10 and is run, and an adhesive having an appropriate viscosity is applied from the nozzle of the pouring device DI along the adhesive part of the holder. It is something that will continue.
In this case as well, it is easy to understand that by using a frame as shown in FIG. 2D, the position of applying the adhesive to the holder can be easily determined using the pins P ₁ to P ₄ as a reference. It would be possible.

FIG. 5A schematically shows another means of attaching tape-like, for example double-sided adhesive tape, to the holders, in which the holders 4a, 4b are attached to the base plate 10 with the pins P ₁ to P ₄ in the same manner as before. engage. In this case, the base plate is provided with a convex portion 10a having an edge extending along the blade bonding side edge,
The adhesive tape 17 unwound from the tape is attached along this, and the roller 16 is run to attach the adhesive tape to the holder.

In this case as well, in order to prevent the influence caused by the irregular shape of the edge of the holder as described above, instead of providing the convex portion 10a, as shown in _{FIG .} A long rectangular space 18 (only one is shown in the figure) is engaged between P ₂ and P ₃ , and the spacer 1
An adhesive tape may be applied along line 8 to maintain the distance d shown in the figure.

FIGS. 6A to 6C show examples of still another method for applying adhesive to the holder, such as peeling off the release paper on one side of the double-sided adhesive tape and attaching the pins on the base plate 10. Draw pins 15a, 15b, 15c, 1 at positions corresponding to P ₁ to P ₄
5d (not shown) and the adhesive tape at the adhesive attachment position of the holder, the press mold 15 having cutters 15e and 15f for cutting with the release paper left behind is pressed down in the direction of arrow B, as shown in FIG. 6B. like,
Through holes are made in the corners at positions corresponding to the pins P ₁ to P ₄ mentioned above, and cutters 15e and 15f are formed.
Remove the portion of the cut adhesive tape that will not be attached to the holder.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the holes in the corners of the release paper are engaged with the pins P ₁ to P ₄ of the base plate 10 similar to that described above, and the two pieces are placed on the base plate. Place the holders 4a and 4b so as to face the surface of the adhesive tape, and in this case also, insert the pins _P1 to _P4 into the guide holes 41 to 44 of the holders, and press them down with the pressure plate 16 to bond them to the holders. After adhering the tape, peel off the remaining release paper to create two holders with adhesive in place.

By any of the means explained above, the guide holes 41, 42, 43 and 44 formed in the holder are finally engaged with the pins _P1 to _P4 , and the holder thus positioned by the pins is On the other hand, the adhesive will be applied to a location where the relative position with the holder is determined by the pin, and in this case, the adhesive application boundary line will also be determined at the same time. can be easily understood.

Next, a method of attaching the blade to the two holders 4a and 4b coated with adhesive as shown in FIG. 3 will be explained with reference to FIG. 7A and subsequent figures.

The aforementioned pins are attached to the base plate 20 as shown in FIG. 7A.
Pins P ₅ , P ₆ , in the same relative positions as P ₁ to P ₄ ,
Plant P ₇ and P ₆ . Air gap 2 on these pins
A hole 21a in the corner of the fitting member with 1',
21b, 21c, and 21d are inserted into the gap, and the gap has a size corresponding to two blades, and the blade material 22 is inserted into the gap. Further, as shown in the same figure, holders 4a and 4b are arranged on both side edges with the adhesive d facing the blade material 22, and a pressure plate 23 is further placed and pressed on top of the holders 4a and 4b. ,4
b shall be adhered to both side edges of the blade material 22. As can be seen from the figure, when placing the holders, connect holes 41 to 44 of each holder with pins _P5.
or _P5 .

Furthermore, when the holders 4a and 4b are placed on the pressure plate 23, a convex portion 23a is provided which fits between the holders 4a and 4b, so that the position of the holders is sufficiently fixed, and the holders are pressed from above by an appropriate pressure means. It's okay.

By configuring in this way, the blade material,
Since the relative position of the holder is guided by the pins _P5 to _P8 , the relative arrangement of the holder and the blade can be determined very easily.

After the blade members 22 have been sufficiently bonded to the holders 4a and 4b, the pressure plate 23 is removed, as shown in FIG. 7B, and the base plate 20 and the fitting member 21 removed as shown in FIG. 7C.

As can be readily seen from the figure, FIG. 7C has a configuration in which two holder blade assemblies are integrated.

Next, the means for cutting the object shown in FIG. 7C will be explained. As shown in FIG. A cutter rest 31 having a cutter 31a is disposed in the groove and is reciprocated in the groove by a drive source (not shown). Out pin P ₁
or pins P ₉ , P ₁₀ , P ₁₁ in the positional relationship corresponding to P ₄
and P ₁₂ are implanted. A member consisting of the blade material 22 and the two holders 4a and 4b bonded thereto is inserted through the holes 41 to 44 of each holder using pins _P9.
or P ₁₂ and seated on the protrusions 30a and 30b as shown by the chain lines in the diagram.

The cutter 31a is then moved from the illustrated position to the right by a drive source (not shown).
The blade member 22 is cut by the ninth
Assemble the holder and blade as shown in the figure.
Form individuals.

As can be seen from the above explanation, even when cutting blade material, position the holder using pins P ₉ to P ₁₂ , which have the same relationship and arrangement as pins P ₁ to P ₄ described above, as a reference. I can do it.

Next, returning to FIG. 1, a holder 4 (numerals 4a and 4b in the embodiment) is attached in advance to the cleaning blade support portion of the housing of the cleaning device 2.
By providing pins 5 (only one of which is shown in the figure) at locations corresponding to the guide holes 41, 44 or 42, 43 (see FIG. 3) of the holder, the guide holes 41, 42, 43 of the holder are provided. 44 etc., the blade can be easily attached to a fixed position.

The adhesive may be liquid or solid,
For example, in the former case, the adhesive component is dissolved with a solvent,
Types that evaporate the solvent after adhesion, types that mix and react two or more substances, hot melt types that are solid at room temperature and are applied by heating and melting, highly viscous types, and the latter are film-like hot melt types. A variety of materials can be used, such as a pressurized heat-sealing type, an adhesive tape, etc.

As described above, the present invention includes bonding a blade to a holder and forming a guide hole in the holder in an assembly of a holder and a blade in a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, and manufacturing the assembly. Applying adhesive to the holder, gluing the blade material, cutting the blade material, and mounting the completed assembly to the cleaning device can all be done using the guide hole as a reference, making the manufacturing process extremely simple and cost-effective. It has a lot to do with down.

In addition, the position where the adhesive is applied to the holder can be arbitrarily determined by using appropriate guide members, spacers, etc., and the boundary between the adhesive-adhered and non-adhesive parts can be accurately and straightly drawn. Moreover, since the direction can be maintained constant, the blade can be accurately bonded without worrying about the presence of burrs that occur during processing of the holder itself, which is made of rigid material such as metal, so it is stable over a long period of time. This has the effect of providing a cleaning device that can be used for many purposes.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a cleaning device to which the present invention is applied; FIGS. 2A to 2D are perspective views and partial sectional views showing means for manufacturing a holder blade assembly according to the present invention; FIG. are perspective views of the holder with adhesive attached, Figures 4, 5A, and 5B.
Figures 6A to 6C are explanatory views showing other means for applying adhesive to the holder, Figures 7A to 7C are perspective views showing means for adhering the blade material to the holder, and Figure 8 FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a cutting mechanism showing means for cutting blade material, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the holder/blade assembly divided into two by cutting. 1...Photoreceptor, 2...Cleaning device, 3...
...Blade, 4, 4a, 4b...Holder, 5...
Pin, 10, 20, 30... base plate, P ₁ to P ₁₂
...Positioning pins, 41, 42, 43, 44
... Guide hole, 12 ... Frame body, 13 ... Thin film.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A blade that comes into contact with an image carrier to remove residue on the image carrier, a holding member that holds this blade, and a casing that holds this holding member;
A cleaning device used in an image forming apparatus having the following steps: attaching the blade to the holding member; and positioning and attaching the holding member to which the blade is attached to a support based on a positioning reference portion provided on the holding member. a step of cutting the blade attached to the support via the holding member; and after removing the holding member from the support, attaching the holding member to the housing based on the reference portion. 1. A method of manufacturing a cleaning device for use in an image forming apparatus, comprising the steps of: 2. The method of manufacturing a cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the blade is attached to the holding member by adhesive.