JPH05313512A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device which maintains stable cleaning performance by completely removing a toner image even when the amount of toner transferred from a first image carrier and sticking to a second image carrier is extremely large. CONSTITUTION:The image forming device provided with a means which transfers a toner image on the first image carrier 2 onto the second image carrier 3 and the second image carrier 3 which carries the transferred toner image and is driven to rotate is further provided with a cleaner 5 for removing toner remaining on the second image carrier 3, the members of the cleaner 5 are disposed in the following order from the upstream side in the rotating direction of the second image carrier 3 to an entrance seal member 6, a brush member for making residual toner uniform, and a cleaning blade 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer or a fax machine using an electrophotographic process having an image bearing member and a cleaning device which comes into contact with the image bearing member to remove residual toner. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Most of the conventional image forming apparatus 1 using an electrophotographic process is the same as that of the embodiment of the present invention, so that it will be described with reference to FIG. It forms a toner image for each of the three primary color components on the first image carrier 2, which is a photoconductor, several times, and at the same time, forms a toner image for each of the color components,
A color toner image is formed by sequentially transferring the images onto the second image carrier 3 which is an intermediate transfer member stretched and rotated by the driving roller 16 and the bias roller 17 to form a color toner image. Are collectively transferred onto the recording paper 4. Toner remaining on the second image carrier 3 after image transfer
Is cleaned by the cleaning device 5. The cleaning device 5 includes a cleaning blade 8 as a cleaning member, and the cleaning blade 8 is brought into contact with the second image carrier 3 to scrape and remove the residual toner 10. Further, as the auxiliary member of the cleaning blade 8, a brush roller is used to forcibly and continuously remove the toner 10, and the cleaning blade 8 scrapes off the toner which cannot be completely removed by the brush roller. In addition, 6 is an inlet seal, 10 is a backup roller, and 11 is a cleaning blade holder.

[0003]

In the image forming apparatus as described above, when the amount of the toner remaining on the second image carrier is very large like a solid image, a cleaning blade is used. When the toner is removed with the cleaning blade, it cannot be completely removed with the cleaning blade alone, and in the case of the one having the brush roller, if the toner removing ability is too high, the second image carrier is shaved too much to shorten its life. In addition, since the toner is no longer supplied to the edge of the cleaning blade, the frictional force applied to the cleaning blade increases, the cleaning blade is turned over, and a member for removing the toner adhering to the brush roller is required for cleaning. There is a problem that the cost of the device increases.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional image forming apparatus as described above, and to solve the problem even if the amount of toner remaining on the second image carrier is very large. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that completely removes a toner image, keeps the life of the second image carrier long, and maintains stable cleaning performance at low cost.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 transfers the toner image on the first image carrier to the second image carrier. Means for carrying the transferred toner image and being driven to rotate second
An image forming apparatus having an image carrier has a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on the second image carrier, and each member of the cleaning device is arranged from an upstream side in a rotation direction of the second image carrier. It is characterized in that an inlet seal member, a brush member for making residual toner uniform, and a cleaning blade are arranged in this order. According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the brush member is a brush blade. According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the brush member is a brush roller. According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, means for swinging the brush member in the longitudinal direction of the brush is provided. The invention of claim 5 is the invention of any one of claims 1 to 4,
The brush fiber of the brush member has conductivity, and means for applying a bias potential to the brush member is provided. In the invention of claim 6, in the invention of claim 5, the bias potential is an AC voltage.

[0006]

In the above invention, the invention of claim 1 is the image forming apparatus as described above, which has a cleaning device for removing the toner remaining on the second image carrier. Since the member is arranged in this order from the upstream side with respect to the rotation direction of the second image carrier, the inlet seal member, the brush member for making the residual toner uniform, and the cleaning blade, the brush member adheres onto the second image carrier. The toner of a solid image with a very large amount of toner is made uniform and is removed by a cleaning blade. According to the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, since the brush member is a brush blade, the toner of the solid image having a very large amount of toner adhering to the second image carrier is made uniform and cleaning is performed. Remove with a blade. According to the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 1, since the brush member is a brush roller, the toner of the solid image having a very large amount of toner adhering to the second image carrier is made uniform and cleaning is performed. Remove with a blade. The invention of claim 4 relates to claim 1
In the invention described above, since the means for oscillating the brush member in the longitudinal direction of the brush is provided, the brush roller is oscillated so that the toner amount of the solid image adhered on the second image carrier is very large. Are homogenized and removed with a cleaning blade. According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the brush fibers of the brush member are electrically conductive, a means for applying a bias potential to the brush member is provided, and the bias potential is applied to the brush member. However, electrostatic repulsion is generated between the brush fibers and the toner particles, and the toner is not clogged between the brush fibers. According to the invention of claim 6, in the invention of claim 5, since the bias potential is an AC voltage, an AC bias potential pressure is applied to the brush member to adhere the toner to the brush member or the second image carrier. And the second
The electric potential on the surface of the image carrier is removed to reduce the electrostatic adhesion force thereof, thereby effectively disturbing the toner.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment shown in the drawings, the same parts as those of the conventional one are referred to by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted, and mainly different parts will be described.

This embodiment is shown in FIGS. In the cleaning device 5 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an inlet seal member 6, a brush member 7 for uniformizing residual toner, and a cleaning blade 8 are arranged in this order from the upstream side with respect to the rotation direction of the second image carrier 3. The inlet seal member 6 and the cleaning blade 8 are provided in contact with the second image carrier 3.

In this embodiment, the brush member 7 is
It is provided in minute contact with the image carrier 3, does not require much precision, and a simple and inexpensive mechanism may be used. Then, when a jam occurs, an untransferred image is generated on the upstream side of the transfer portion for transferring the toner image onto the recording paper 4 of the second image carrier 3, and in full color in particular, the four colors are overlapped, so that the image is solid. In the image portion of 1), the amount of toner adhered becomes very large, and the untransferred solid image toner adhering to the second image carrier 3 is disturbed and made uniform as shown in FIG.
The toner adhesion amount per unit area is reduced to be uniform.
Then, the cleaning blade 8 removes the residual toner 10 so that the cleaning failure does not occur.
In this embodiment, a brush-shaped brush blade is used as the brush member 7 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, but a brush roller may be used as shown in FIG.

In the brush blade of the brush member 7 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
An oscillating cam mechanism 13 is provided in the motor, and is driven by a motor 15 to oscillate in the longitudinal direction thereof to efficiently disturb and uniformize the toner image, and the cleaning blade 8 removes the residual toner 10. Make it easier.

Another embodiment of the brush member 7 uses a brush roller, and a swing cam mechanism 13 is provided on a support shaft 14 of the brush roller as shown in FIG. Oscillate, and with the rotation of the brush roller,
The toner image is efficiently disturbed and uniformized, and the residual toner 10 is easily removed by the cleaning blade 8.

The brush member 7 in this embodiment is not intended to remove toner, but is intended to disturb and uniformize the residual toner layer removed by the edge of the cleaning blade 8. Therefore, high precision is required. Without the need for a relatively simple structure, the residual toner can be
10 can be completely removed, and the second image carrier 3 is not damaged.

In this embodiment, the brush fiber of the brush member 7 is conductive, and the bias voltage is applied to the supporting member by the bias potential applying device 9. At this time,
By applying a voltage of about 1000V with the same polarity as the toner charging polarity to the brush fiber, an electrostatic repulsive force is generated between the brush fiber and the toner particles to prevent the toner from clogging between the brush fibers. ..

In this embodiment, as another configuration of the bias applying voltage, the bias applying voltage is changed to an AC voltage to remove the charge between the toner and the second image carrier 3, and between the toner and between the toner and the second image. The electrostatic adhesion force between the carrier 3 may be reduced to efficiently disturb the carrier.

[0015]

The present invention is as described above. According to the invention of claim 1, the means for transferring the toner image on the first image carrier to the second image carrier, and the transferred toner image are An image forming apparatus having a second image carrier that carries and rotates is provided with a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on the second image carrier, and each member of the cleaning device has a second image carrier. Since the inlet seal member, the brush member for making the residual toner uniform, and the cleaning blade are arranged in this order from the upstream side with respect to the rotating direction of the body, the amount of toner adhering to the second image carrier is increased by the brush member. There is an effect that a very large amount of toner is locally disturbed and uniformized, and it can be easily and completely removed by a cleaning blade, and the second image carrier is not damaged. The invention of claim 2 is
In the invention of claim 1, since the brush member is the brush blade, the amount of the toner adhering to the second image carrier is locally disturbed to make the toner uniform, and the cleaning is easily and completely performed. The effect is that it can be removed with a blade. According to the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 1, since the brush member is a brush roller, the amount of toner adhered on the second image carrier is locally made uniform, and the toner is easily made. In addition, there is an effect that it can be completely removed by a cleaning blade. The invention of claim 4 is
In the invention of claim 1, since the means for swinging the brush member in the longitudinal direction of the brush is provided, the brush roller is swung so that the amount of toner adhering to the second image carrier is locally extremely small. The effect is that a large amount of toner is disturbed and uniformized, and can be removed by a cleaning blade. According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the brush fibers of the brush member are electrically conductive, and means for applying a bias potential to the brush member is provided. Has the effect of not clogging. According to the invention of claim 6, in the invention of claim 5, since the bias potential is an AC voltage, the potentials of the toners adhering to the toners or the toners adhering to the second image carrier and the potentials of the surface of the second image carrier are eliminated. There is an effect that the electrostatic adhesion force of the toner is reduced and the toner is efficiently disturbed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the above brush member locally agitates a large amount of toner to make it uniform.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a cleaning device using the above brush blade.

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a cleaning device using the above brush roller.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a swing mechanism of the brush blade of the above.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a swing mechanism of the brush roller of the above.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 image forming apparatus 2 first image carrier 3 second image carrier 4 recording paper 5 cleaning device 6 inlet seal member 7 brush member 8 cleaning blade 9 bias potential applying device 10 residual toner 11 backup roller 12 cleaning blade holder 13 shaking Dynamic cam 14 Spindle 15 Motor 16 Drive roller 17 Bias roller

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a unit for transferring a toner image on a first image carrier to a second image carrier; and a second image carrier for carrying the transferred toner image and being driven to rotate. The apparatus has a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on the second image carrier, and each member of the cleaning device is provided with an inlet seal member and a residual toner uniformly from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the second image carrier. An image forming apparatus in which a brush member to be changed and a cleaning blade are arranged in this order. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brush member is a brush blade. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brush member is a brush roller. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for swinging the brush member in a longitudinal direction of the brush. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brush fibers of the brush member are conductive, and means for applying a bias potential to the brush member is provided. 6. The bias potential is an AC voltage.
Image forming device.