JPH05132120A - Belt cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a belt cleaning device which can effectively eliminate substances adhering to a carrier belt. CONSTITUTION:In a belt cleaning device 10 in which a cleaning roller 30 is pressed into contact with the outer face of a carrier belt 13 wound around a pair of pulleys 11 and 12 so as to eliminate substances adhering to the outer face of the carrier belt 13, the cleaning roller 30 is arranged so that at least a part of the cleaning roller 30 is positioned inside two virtual lines L1 and L2 which are parallel with each other and connect contact points between the pair of pulleys 11 and 12 and the carrier belt 13 to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a belt cleaning device for removing deposits adhering to a recording paper conveying belt of a printer, a copying machine or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some ink jet printers, a belt conveying device is used as a device for conveying a recording sheet to a printing position. In such a printer, ink may adhere to the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor due to a printing error. Therefore, a cleaning device has been developed in which the cleaning roller is pressed against the conveyor belt to remove the ink adhering to the conveyor belt.

In some laser printers, a belt conveying device is used to press the recording paper against the photosensitive drum at the transfer position. In such a printer, the developer adheres to the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor. Therefore, a cleaning device has been developed in which the cleaning roller is pressed against the conveyor belt to remove the developer adhering to the conveyor belt.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional cleaning device, when the conveyor belt extends with time, the pressure contact force of the cleaning roller with the conveyor belt decreases, so that the ink adhered to the conveyor belt and There is a problem that the developer is less likely to be collected by the cleaning roller and the cleaning effect is reduced.

Therefore, it is conceivable to dispose the cleaning roller close to the pulley around which the conveyor belt is hung so that the conveyor belt is sandwiched between the cleaning roller and the pulley. However, even with this
Since the contact area between the conveyor belt and the cleaning roller is small, there is a problem that the cleaning effect is low.

An object of the present invention is to provide a belt cleaning device capable of efficiently removing deposits attached to a conveyor belt.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A belt cleaning device according to the present invention is a belt cleaning device for removing a deposit adhered to the outer surface of a conveyor belt by pressing a cleaning roller against the outer surface of the conveyor belt hung on a pair of pulleys. In the apparatus, the cleaning roller is arranged such that at least a part of the cleaning roller is located inside two imaginary lines that are parallel to each other and connect the contact points between the pair of pulleys and the conveyor belt. And

By disposing the cleaning roller so that at least a part of the cleaning roller is located inside two virtual lines parallel to each other that connect the contact points of the pair of pulleys and the conveyor belt, the cleaning roller is arranged. It is preferable that 1/8 or more of the entire circumference of the roller is brought into contact with the above-mentioned transport belt.

[0009]

The cleaning roller is arranged so that at least a part of the cleaning roller is located inside two virtual lines parallel to each other that connect the contact points between the pair of pulleys around which the conveyor belt is hung and the conveyor belt. Therefore, the contact area between the cleaning roller and the conveyor belt is increased. For this reason, the adhering matter adhering to the outer surface of the conveyor belt is effectively adsorbed to the cleaning roller, and the cleaning effect is improved.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an ink jet printer will be described with reference to FIG.

In this ink jet printer, the recording paper is carried by the belt carrying device 10. The belt conveying device 10 has a recording sheet conveying direction (direction indicated by arrow A).
It is provided with a pair of pulleys 11 and 12 arranged at intervals, and an endless conveyor belt 13 hung on these pulleys 11 and 12. Then, one of the pulleys 11 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow B by a drive source (not shown), so that the conveyor belt 13 runs.

The upper running path of the upper and lower running paths of the carrying belt 13 is the recording paper carrying path, and the printing position is in the middle of the recording paper carrying path. At this printing position, an inkjet print head 20 is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the recording paper conveyance direction.

In the middle of the lower traveling path of the conveyor belt 13,
A cleaning roller 30 for pressing the outer surface of the conveyor belt 13 to remove ink adhering to the outer surface of the conveyor belt 13.
Are arranged. The cleaning roller 30 is arranged such that a part of the cleaning roller 30 is positioned inside two upper and lower virtual lines L1 and L2 that are parallel to each other and connect the contact points between the pair of pulleys 11 and 12 and the conveyor belt 13. There is. By arranging the cleaning roller 30 in this manner, about 1/6 of the entire circumference of the cleaning roller 30 is in contact with the conveyor belt 13. Cleaning roller 30
As the material, those having a rubber layer formed around a roller body made of a conductor, those having a felt layer formed around a roller body made of a conductor, and the like are used. The cleaning roller 30 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow C by a drive source (not shown).

The ink adhering to the conveyor belt 13 is adsorbed to the cleaning roller 30 at the pressure contact position between the cleaning roller 30 and the conveyor belt 13. The cleaning roller 30 includes two upper and lower virtual lines L that connect the contact points of the pair of pulleys 11 and 12 and the conveyor belt 13 and are parallel to each other.
By disposing the cleaning roller 30 so that a part of the cleaning roller 30 is located inside the L1 and L2, a contact area between the outer surface of the cleaning roller 30 and the outer surface of the conveyor belt 30 is widened. The attached ink is effectively adsorbed to the cleaning roller 30.

Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a laser printer will be described with reference to FIG.

In this laser printer, the recording sheet is pressed against the photosensitive drum 50 by the belt conveying device 40 at the transfer position. The belt transport device 40 is
A pair of pulleys 41, 42 arranged at intervals in the recording paper conveyance direction (direction indicated by arrow A), and these pulleys 4
1 and 42, and an endless conveyor belt 43. Then, one of the pulleys 41 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow B by a drive source (not shown), so that the conveyor belt 43 runs.

The upper running path of the upper and lower running paths of the carrying belt 43 is the recording paper carrying path, and there is a transfer position close to the photosensitive drum 50 in the middle of the recording paper carrying path.
Inside the conveyor belt 43, a transfer charger 51 that generates an electric field for transferring the developer image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 50 to the recording paper conveyed by the conveyor belt 43.
Are provided close to the photosensitive drum 50.

Below the conveyor belt 43, the conveyor belt 4 is provided.
A cleaning device 60 for removing the developer adhering to the outer surface of No. 3 is provided. Cleaning device 60
Is the conveyor belt 4 in the lower traveling path of the conveyor belt 43.
3. A cleaning roller 61 pressed against the outer surface, a recovery roller 62 pressed against the cleaning roller 61, a developer scraping blade 63 pressed against the recovery roller 62, and a developer scraped by the developer scraping blade 63 are stored. And a recovery tray 64 for doing so.

The cleaning roller 61 is arranged such that a part of the cleaning roller 61 is positioned inside two upper and lower virtual lines L1 and L2 which are parallel to each other and which connect the contact points between the pair of pulleys 41 and 42 and the conveyor belt 43. Has been done. By arranging the cleaning roller 61 in this way,
About 1/8 of the entire circumference of the cleaning roller 61 is in contact with the conveyor belt 43. As the cleaning roller 61, one having a rubber layer formed around a conductive roller body, one having a bristle brush formed around the conductive roller body, or the like is used.

A bias having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the developer is applied to the roller body of the cleaning roller 61 by the power source 71. Here, it is assumed that the developer is negatively charged. Therefore, a voltage (+) having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the developer is applied to the roller body of the cleaning roller 61 by the power source 71. The cleaning roller 61 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow C by a drive source (not shown).

A metal roller is used as the recovery roller 62. A voltage (+) having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the developer is also applied to the collecting roller 62 by the power source 72. The voltage value of the power supply 72 is larger than the voltage value of the power supply 71. The recovery roller 62 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow D by a drive source (not shown).

The developer adhering to the conveyor belt 43 is adsorbed to the cleaning roller 61 at the position where the cleaning roller 61 and the conveyor belt 43 are in pressure contact with each other. The cleaning roller 61 has two imaginary lines L which are parallel to each other and which connect the contact points of the pair of pulleys 41 and 42 and the conveyor belt 43.
By arranging the cleaning roller 61 so that a part of the cleaning roller 61 is located inside the L1 and L2, the contact area between the outer surface of the cleaning roller 61 and the outer surface of the conveyor belt 43 is widened. The attached developer is effectively adsorbed to the cleaning roller 61.

Further, since a voltage (+) having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the developer is applied to the cleaning roller 61, at the pressure contact position between the cleaning roller 61 and the conveyor belt 43, the conveyor belt 43 moves. The developer adhering to the outer surface is cleaned by the cleaning roller 61 from the conveyor belt 43 side.
An electric field that attracts the side is generated. Therefore, at the pressure contact position between the cleaning roller 61 and the conveyor belt 43, the developer attached to the outer surface of the conveyor belt 43 is effectively adsorbed by the cleaning roller 61.

The developer attracted to the cleaning roller 61 is attracted to the collecting roller 62 at the position where the cleaning roller 61 and the collecting roller 62 are in pressure contact with each other. A voltage (+) having a polarity opposite to the charge polarity of the developer is applied to the collecting roller 62.
Since the bias voltage value is larger than the bias voltage value applied to the cleaning roller 61, at the position where the cleaning roller 61 and the recovery roller 62 are in pressure contact with each other, the developing roller attracted to the cleaning roller 61 is applied. An electric field is generated to attract the agent from the cleaning roller 61 side to the collecting roller 62 side. Therefore, at the pressure contact position between the cleaning roller 61 and the collection roller 62, the developer attracted to the cleaning roller 61 is efficiently adsorbed to the collection roller 62.

The developer adsorbed by the collecting roller 62 is scraped off by the developer scraping blade 63 at the pressure contact position between the collecting roller 62 and the developer scraping blade 63, and falls into the collecting tray 64.

In the above embodiment, the cleaning roller 61
And a bias is applied to the collection roller 62,
It is not necessary to apply a bias to the cleaning roller 61 and the collecting roller 62. Further, the collecting roller 62 is omitted, and the developer scraping blade 63 is replaced with the cleaning roller 6.
You may make it press-contact with 1.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently remove the deposits on the conveyor belt.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment when the present invention is applied to an inkjet printer.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a laser printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Belt Conveying Device 11, 12 Pulley 13 Conveying Belt 30 Cleaning Roller 40 Belt Conveying Device 41, 42 Pulley 43 Conveying Belt 60 Cleaning Device 61 Cleaning Roller

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G03G 15/00 108 7369-2H

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A belt cleaning device, wherein a cleaning roller is pressed against the outer surface of a conveyor belt hung on a pair of pulleys to remove the deposits on the outer surface of the conveyor belt. The cleaning roller is arranged such that at least a part of the cleaning roller is located inside two imaginary lines that are parallel to each other and connect the contact points.