JPH0711736B2 - Electrostatic copying machine - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electrostatic copying machine, and more particularly to an electrostatic copying machine including a support unit frame detachably mounted in a housing.

<Prior Art> In recent years, a rotating drum having a photoconductor on its peripheral surface, a toner removing device for removing toner particles remaining on the photoconductor surface, and the like are mounted on a support unit frame, and the support unit frame is attached to and detached from the copier housing. An electrostatic copying machine which can be freely mounted is put to practical use. In this type of electrostatic copying machine, since the support unit frame is detachable, it is possible to easily inspect and repair the rotary drum and the toner removing device by taking the support unit frame out of the housing. There is.

On the other hand, the toner removing device includes a toner removing unit (which can be composed of, for example, a cleaning blade) for removing the toner particles remaining on the surface of the photoconductor and a toner storing unit for storing the removed toner particles. The toner particles removed from the surface of the photoconductor by the action of
The toner is accommodated in the toner accommodating portion through a receiving opening formed in a portion facing the photoconductor.

However, in the conventional electrostatic copying machine described above, when the support unit frame is taken out of the housing and tilted, the toner particles and the like contained in the toner containing portion are
Leaked to the outside from the receiving opening and scattered into the atmosphere,
There was a problem of falling on the floor.

<Object of the Invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and its main object occurs when the support unit frame is detached from the housing and tilted with a relatively simple configuration. An object of the present invention is to provide an electrostatic copying machine capable of reliably preventing toner particles from scattering.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a copying machine housing, a supporting substrate having a photosensitive member on its surface, a toner image forming means for forming a toner image on the photosensitive member of the supporting substrate, and the photosensitive member. At least the support base and the toner removing device are provided with a transfer unit for transferring the toner image formed on the body to a copy sheet, and a toner removing device for removing the toner particles remaining on the photosensitive member after the transfer. In the electrostatic copying machine in which the toner is attached to a support unit frame that is detachably attached to the working position in the housing, the toner removing device acts on the surface of the photoconductor and the toner particles remaining on the surface are removed. A cleaning blade for removing the toner particles, a toner storage portion for storing the toner particles removed by the cleaning blade, and the toner particles removed by the cleaning blade for the toner. The cleaning blade and the seal member are disposed in a receiving opening of the toner storage portion formed at a portion facing the photoconductor, and the cleaning blade includes a seal member for guiding the storage blade to the storage portion. The seal member is configured to be operable in a working position that acts on the surface of the photoconductor and a non-working position that separates from the photoconductor, and the seal member is in contact with or close to the surface of the photoconductor. Is configured to be operable in a second position retracted from the housing, and the cleaning blade is positioned in the non-acting position and the sealing member is positioned in the second position when the support unit frame is detached from the housing. Holding means for holding the cleaning blade and the sealing member in cooperation with each other to substantially close the receiving opening, and the supporting unit frame. An actuation means for actuating the cleaning blade from the non-acting position to the using position and actuating the sealing member from the second position to the first position when the cleaning blade is removably mounted in the housing. An electrostatic copying machine provided with the above is provided.

<Preferred Specific Examples of the Invention> Specific examples of an electrostatic copying machine configured according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the overall construction of an embodiment of an electrostatic copying machine constructed according to the present invention will be outlined. Referring to FIG. 1, the illustrated electrostatic copying machine includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped copying machine housing indicated by numeral 2. On the upper surface of the housing 2, a document placing means 4 for placing a document to be copied is provided so as to be reciprocally movable in the left-right direction in FIG.

A rotary drum 6 (constituting a support base) having a photoconductor on its peripheral surface is arranged at a substantially central portion in the housing 2. Around the rotary drum 6 which is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 8, when viewed in the direction of rotation, the corona discharger for charging is sequentially provided.
10, an optical system 12, a developing device 14, a transfer corona discharger 16 (which constitutes transfer means), a toner removing device 18 (described later),
And a lamp 20 for static elimination is arranged. Also, the optical system 12
A document irradiation lamp 22 is provided in association with the above. The original irradiation lamp 22 irradiates an original (not shown) placed on the original placing means 4 to be copied through an opening 24 formed in the upper wall of the housing 2. The illustrated optical system 12 is, for example, a focusing optical transmission element (for example, a rod-shaped lens sold by Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. under the trade name “SELFOC Microlens”) can be used in the front-back direction (in FIG. 1). The optical element 26 is formed by arranging a plurality of elements in a direction (perpendicular to the paper surface), and guides the reflected light from the document to the surface of the photoconductor of the rotary drum 6.

In the lower part of the housing 2, a copy paper conveying mechanism generally designated by the numeral 28 is arranged. At the upstream end of the copy paper transport mechanism 28, that is, at the right end in FIG. 1, a cassette-type copy paper supply means 30 is provided. Illustrated copy paper feeding means
30 is a cassette receiving portion 34 provided with a feeding roller 32
And a copy paper cassette in which the cassette receiving portion 34 is detachably mounted through an opening 36 formed in the right side wall of the housing 2.
It is composed of a combination of 38, and by the action of the feeding roller 32, the copying paper is fed one by one from the sheet-shaped copying paper layer (not shown) contained in the copying paper cassette 38. The sheet-shaped copy paper fed from the copy paper supply means 30 through the guide plates 40 and 42 passes on the guide plate 48 by the action of the conveying rollers 44 and 46, and the rotary drum 6 and the transfer corona discharger.
Transported between 16 The copy paper is then guided on the guide plate 50 and conveyed to the fixing device 52, and then the guide plate 54.
From the opening 62 formed in the left side wall of the housing 2 by the action of the discharge rollers 58 and 60.
Emitted to 64. The fixing device 52 includes an upper roller 66 and a lower roller 68 which cooperate with each other, and a heating means 70 is provided in the upper roller 66.
Is provided.

In the electrostatic copying machine described above, the rotary drum 6 has the arrow 8
While being rotated in the direction shown by, the toner image forming means, that is, the corona discharger 10 for charging in the specific example, the optical system.
A toner image is formed on the photoconductor by the action of 12 and the developing device 14, and the toner image is transferred to the copy paper by the action of the transfer corona discharger 16. That is, the charging corona discharger 10 charges the photoconductor on the rotary drum 6 substantially uniformly with a time constant polarity, and then the image of the original is projected through the optical element 26 onto the surface of the photoconductor (in this case, the original is projected). The mounting means 4 is the first
The scanning movement is performed from the left side to the right side in the drawing), and thus an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original is formed on the photoconductor. Thereafter, the magnetic brush generated by the magnetic brush mechanism 72 of the developing device 14 acts on the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor to apply toner particles, and the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image. Next, between the rotary drum 6 and the transfer corona discharger 16, the sheet-like copy paper fed from the copy paper supply means 30 as described above is brought into contact with the surface of the photoconductor, and the transfer corona discharger 16 is transferred. By the action, the toner image on the photoconductor is transferred to the copy paper. After that, the copy paper on which the toner image is transferred is peeled off from the surface of the photoconductor, and then the fixing device.
After the toner image is conveyed to the sheet 52 and the toner image is fixed by the heating and pressing action of the upper roller 66 and the lower roller 68 of the fixing device, the tray 64
Is discharged to. On the other hand, the rotary drum 6 continues to rotate further,
The residual toner particles remaining on the photoconductor are removed by the action of the toner removing device 18, and then the residual charge on the photoconductor is eliminated by the action of the charge eliminating lamp 20.

In the illustrated example, a vertical front substrate (not shown) and a vertical rear substrate 74 (not shown) are spaced in the housing 2 in the front-back direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1, vertical direction in FIG. 3). (Fig. 3) is provided, and partition walls 76 and 78 are fixed between the vertical front substrate and the vertical rear substrate 74.
The partition wall 76 includes an inclined portion 76a that inclines downward to the left from the inner surface of the right end portion of the upper wall of the housing 2, a horizontal portion 76b that extends substantially horizontally to the left from the lower end of the inclined portion 76a, and a horizontal portion. 76b
Has a hanging portion 76c that hangs downward from the left end of the housing 2. The partition wall 78 includes a lower horizontal portion 78a extending substantially rightward from the inner surface of the left side wall of the housing 2 and a right end of the lower horizontal portion 78a. A vertical portion 78b extending upward and vertically, and an upper horizontal portion 78c extending substantially horizontally to the right from the upper end of the vertical portion 78b are provided. The partition walls 76 and 78 form a vertical front substrate (not shown) and a vertical rear portion. The space between the substrates 74 is substantially divided into two. Then, in the specific example, as shown in FIG. 1, the optical element 26 is provided in the opening portion existing between the left end of the partition wall 76 and the right end of the partition wall 78.
, And an upper reflection plate for reflecting the light from the original irradiation lamp 22 toward the original to be copied in the upper space partitioned by the partition walls 76 and 78.
80 and a lower reflection plate 82 are arranged, and in the lower space partitioned by partition walls 76 and 78, the rotary drum 6 and the developing device.
14, other components such as a toner removing device 18, a copy paper transport mechanism 28, etc. are provided (the rotary drum 6 and the toner removing device 18 are mounted on a supporting unit frame 84, and the supporting unit frame 84 Is to be detachably attached to the upper part of the lower space as described later).

Referring further to FIGS. 2 and 3 together with FIG. 1, the illustrated electrostatic copying machine includes a support unit frame 84 which is detachably mounted in the housing 2. The illustrated support unit frame 84 has a front wall (not shown) and a rear wall 86 (FIG. 2) that are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction, and a bottom wall is provided between the front wall and the rear wall 86. 88, right wall 90, left wall 92 and upper wall 94 (first
(Fig. 2, Fig. 2) are provided. Then, in the specific example, the corona discharger 10 for charging, the developing device 14, and the lamp 20 for discharging are mounted on the front wall and the rear wall 86 of the supporting unit frame 84 together with the rotating drum 6 and the toner removing device 18 as required. In connection with this, an opening 96 is formed in a portion of the bottom wall 88 facing the transfer corona discharger 16, and
An opening 98 is formed in a portion of the upper wall 94 facing the optical element 26 (see FIG. 1). Referring also to FIG. 5, the illustrated toner removing device 18 includes a cleaning blade 100 for removing the toner particles remaining on the photoconductor, and a toner containing portion for containing the toner particles removed by the cleaning blade 100. 102, and a seal member 104 for guiding the removed toner particles into the toner containing portion 102.
A support shaft 106 is rotatably supported between a front wall and a rear wall 86 of the support unit frame 84, and the blade holding member 1 is attached to the support shaft 106.
08 is mounted, and the base of the cleaning blade 100 is mounted on the blade holding member 108 as required. The illustrated blade holding member 108 has a main holding member 108a fixed to the support shaft 106 and an auxiliary holding member 108b attached to the main holding member 108a, and between the main holding member 108a and one end portion of the auxiliary holding member 108b. The base of the cleaning blade 100 is sandwiched between. The main holding member 108a, the auxiliary holding member 108b, and the cleaning blade 100 extend between the front wall and the rear wall 86 of the support unit frame 84 in the width direction of the rotary drum 6, that is, the front-back direction. In the specific example, the main holding member
An elastic member 110 such as rubber is arranged at the other end of 108a. As shown in FIG. 5, the above-mentioned cleaning blade 100 is arranged in a receiving opening defined in a portion of the toner removing device 18 facing the rotary drum 6, and is shown in a solid line in FIG. , The tip of the cleaning blade 10 acts on the surface of the photoconductor of the rotary drum 6 when in this operating position, and the non-operating position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5 (the non-operating position). (2), the cleaning blade 100 does not separate from the photosensitive member of the rotating drum 6 and acts on the surface of the photosensitive member.
Are selectively located in. Further, the toner containing portion 102 shown in the figure includes the lower portion of the left wall 92 of the support unit frame 84, a part of the bottom wall 88 (the left portion of the bottom wall 88), the upper surface of the bottom wall 88, and the rotary drum 6.
Is defined by a side wall portion 112 that curves and extends upward along the periphery of the upper wall portion 114, and an upper wall portion 114 that extends leftward from the upper end of the side wall portion 112, and toner is provided between the inner surface of the left wall 92 and the left end of the upper wall portion 114. There is an opening in the housing 102. Such toner storage unit 102
Exists below the cleaning blade 100 between the front wall and the rear wall 86 of the support unit frame 84. Furthermore, the seal member
104 is disposed below the site where the cleaning blade 100 is disposed in the receiving opening. A plate-shaped seal supporting member 116 is rotatably disposed at the opening of the toner containing portion 102 (the left end of the upper wall 114 in the specific example), and the seal member 104 is attached to one surface of the seal supporting member 116. And the tip of the seal member 104 is attached to the seal support member 116.
It projects slightly beyond the right edge of the. In the specific example, the support shaft portion 1 is provided at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the seal support member 116.
16a (only the supporting shaft portion provided at the rear end portion is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) is provided, and the supporting shaft portion 116a is provided.
Are rotatably supported by a front wall (not shown) and a rear wall 86 of the support unit frame 84, respectively. This seal support member
116 is rotatable between a first angular position shown by a solid line in FIG. 5 (an angular position also shown in FIG. 1) and a second angular position shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. When the position 116 is at the first angular position, the seal member 104 is positioned at the first position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 (the position also shown in FIG. 1), and the tip end of the seal member 104 is rotated by the rotary drum 6. Relatively weakly contact or come close to the surface of the photosensitive member (seal member 104
5 contacts or approaches the surface of the photoconductor at a position slightly lower than the position where the cleaning blade 100 contacts, as shown in FIG. 5, and when the seal support member 116 is in the second angular position. The seal member 104 is positioned at the second position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5, and retracts from the surface of the photosensitive drum of the rotary drum 6. The seal member 104 described above is
For example, it can be formed from a relatively flexible sealing material such as synthetic rubber such as urethane rubber.

In the electrostatic copying machine of the specific example, the supporting unit frame 84 on which the rotary drum 6 and the toner removing device 18 and the like are mounted is moved in the front-rear direction with respect to the housing 2 and is detachably mounted on the working position in the housing 2. And support unit frame
Cleaning blade 100 in connection with mounting and dismounting of 84
Is selectively urged to the operating position and the non-operating position, and the seal member 104 is selectively urged to the first position and the second position. More specifically, the right wall 90 and the left side 92 of the support unit frame 84 are provided with support pieces 118 and 120, respectively, which project outward, on the other hand, on the other hand, on the housing 2 side, the inner surface of the right side wall of the housing 2 is provided. A supporting step portion 124 is defined by the supporting member 122 fixed to, and a supporting recess 128 is defined by the right end portion of the lower horizontal portion 78a of the partition wall 78 and the supporting member 126 fixed thereto ( (See FIG. 1). The support pieces 118 and 120 provided on the support unit frame 84 extend in the front-rear direction, and the support step portion 124 is provided corresponding to the support piece 118 provided on the right wall 90. The support recess 128 is provided corresponding to the support piece 120 provided on the left wall 92.
Accepts 20 slidably in the front-back direction. Therefore, the support piece 11
8 is mounted on the support step portion 124 and the support piece 120 is supported in the recess 1
Position the support unit frame 84 inside the 28 to position the arrow 130 (3rd
By moving it backward and forward as shown in the figure),
The support unit frame 84 is positioned at a working position in the housing 2 (a position partially shown by a solid line in FIG. 3) as required. When the support unit frame 84 is in the operating position, the rotary drum 6 mounted on the support unit frame 84,
The developing device 14, the toner removing device 18, etc. are held in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 1, and the above-described required copying operation can be performed. On the other hand, by moving the support unit frame 84 from the operating position to the front in the front-rear direction shown by the arrow 132 (FIG. 3), the support state by the support pieces 118 and 120, the support step portion 124, and the support recess 128 is released. , Support unit frame 84
Is detached from the inside of the housing 2 as required (note that the support unit frame 84 passes through a vertical front substrate (not shown) in relation to the support unit frame 84 being movably supported in the front-rear direction). A possible opening is formed).

Furthermore, referring mainly to FIGS. 2 and 3, the rear end side of the support shaft 106 on which the cleaning holding member 108 is mounted penetrates the rear wall 86 of the support unit frame 84 and projects rearward, A connecting member 136 is fixed to the protruding rear end portion 106a of the support shaft 106 by a mounting screw 134. A long hole 138 is formed at the tip of the connecting member 136. Also, the support member 1
The support shaft portion 116a provided at the rear end of the 16 is also a support unit frame.
84 penetrates through the rear wall 86 and projects rearward, and the support shaft 11
A swing member 140 is attached to the protruding end of 6a. A driven portion 142 that projects rearward is provided at the tip of the swinging member 140, and the driven portion 142 extends over a predetermined range within the elongated hole 138 of the connecting member 136, that is, the driven portion 142 of the elongated hole 138. It is relatively movably received over a range from a position where it abuts on one end to a position where it abuts on the other end of the elongated hole 138. Furthermore,
A torsion coil spring 144 that constitutes a biasing means is interposed between the swing member 140 and the rear wall 86 of the support unit frame 84. The torsion coil spring 144 acts on the swinging member 140 in a clockwise direction when viewed from the lower right in FIG. 2, in other words, biases the seal member 104 toward the second position via the seal support member 116. It has a squeezing effect. In the specific example, in the rear wall 86 of the support unit frame 84 in relation to the connecting member 136, a contact pin 146 (which constitutes a blocking means) protruding rearward is planted. Therefore, the oscillating member 140 and the connecting member 136 are normally held by the action of the torsion coil spring 144 and the driven portion 142 at the angular position shown in FIG. 2 and shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. That is, the action of the torsion coil spring 144 causes the swing member 140 to be biased in the clockwise direction in FIG.
42 contacts one end of an elongated hole 138 formed in the connecting member 136 to bias the connecting member 136 counterclockwise in FIG. 2, and the connecting member 136 has an angle at which a part of the connecting member 136 contacts the contact pin 146. The position, that is, the angular position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3 and shown in FIG.
Of the connecting member 136 held at the angular position, the swinging member 140 is attached to the one end (the right end in FIG. 2) of the elongated hole 138 of the connecting member 136. The abutting angular position, that is, as shown in FIG.
It is held at the angular position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the figure (the swing member 14
0 means that the driven portion 142 comes into contact with the one end of the elongated hole 138 of the connecting member 136 to prevent the swinging motion exceeding the angular position. As can be seen by referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, when the connecting member 136 is in the angular position, the blade holding member 108 is positioned in the second angular position via the support shaft 106, thus cleaning. The blade 100 is held in the inoperative position. Also, the swinging member 1
When 40 is in the angular position, the seal support member 116
Is positioned at a second angular position, which is indicated by the alternate long and two short dashes line in FIG. 5, and thus the seal member 104 is held at the second position. Thus, the torsion coil spring 144 and the contact pin 146 are
And constitutes a holding means for holding the seal member 104 in the second position. In the specific example, in order to allow the above-described turning movement of the connecting member 136 and the swinging member 140, the width of the long hole 138 formed in the connecting member 136 varies from the other end side to the one end side. The amount is gradually increased (FIGS. 4-A and 4-B).

On the other hand, in connection with the driven portion 142 of the swing member 140, the vertical rear substrate
Cam means that can contact the tip of the driven portion 142 is provided at a required portion of 74. The illustrated cam means is composed of a bent portion 148 (FIG. 3) formed by bending a part of the vertical rear substrate 74 toward the rear side.
Has an inclined inner surface (acting as a cam acting portion) which is inclined rearward toward the right in FIG.

In the electrostatic copying machine as described above, when the support unit frame 84 is detachably attached to the working position in the housing 2, the cleaning blade 100 and the seal member 104 are respectively set in the working position and the Positioned in the first position. Mainly Fig. 3, Fig. 4-A and Fig. 4
With reference to FIG.
In the front-rear direction shown in the figure), a predetermined position is passed through the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
Move to a position approximately midway between the position indicated by the solid line in the figure) (during this movement, the support unit frame 84
The support pieces 118 and 120 of the housing 2 are shown in FIG.
Supported by the supporting step portion 124 and the supporting recess 128 on the side as required) and the tip of the driven portion 142 provided on the swinging member 140 abuts on the inner surface of the bent portion 148, and further from this position. Arrow 1
When the support unit frame 84 is moved in the direction indicated by 30, the bending portion 148 acts on the driven portion 142 so that the swinging member 140 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 150 (FIG. 4-A) (see FIG. 4-A). Turn counterclockwise in Fig. 2). Thus, the seal support member 116 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 5 around the support shaft portion 116a (which constitutes the second rotation center axis line extending in the front-rear direction), and the seal support member 116 and the seal member 104 are rotated together. Is also turned. During such turning, as is understood from FIG. 4-A, the swing member 14
Since the driven portion 142 of 0 relatively moves in the elongated hole 138 of the connecting member 136 from one end side to the other end side, the connecting member 136 is shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. Is substantially held at the angular position indicated by the chain double-dashed line (in the specific example,
As shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5, the cleaning blade 10
When 0 is in the non-acting position and the seal member 104 is in the second position, the tip of the cleaning blade 100 overlaps with the tip of the seal support member 116, and the cleaning blade 100 rotates more than the seal support member 116. Since the seal supporting member 116 is swung as described above because it is located on the drum 6 side, the cleaning blade 100 is also swung somewhat counterclockwise in FIG. 5 accordingly. In this way, when the rocking member 140 is pivoted to the angular position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4-A, the rocking member 140 is rotated.
The driven portion 142 of is located at the other end of the long hole 138 of the connecting member 136,
Next, when the swinging member 140 is further swung in the direction indicated by the arrow 150 with the movement of the support unit frame 84, the connecting member 136 is moved through the driven portion 142 by the swivel member 140 and the arrow 152.
Direction shown in (Fig. 4-A) (clockwise in Fig. 2)
Is turned to. Thus, the blade holding member 108 is counterclockwise in FIG. 5 about the support shaft 106 (which constitutes the first turning center axis which is located above the second turning center axis and extends in the front-rear direction). The cleaning blade 100 is also swung along with the blade holding member 108 (during such swirling, as will be easily understood from the above description, the seal support member 116 and the seal member via the swing member 140. 104 is turned further clockwise in FIG. 5). Then, when the supporting unit frame 84 is moved to the above-mentioned operating position, the swinging member 140 acts against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 144 via the driven member 142 by the action of the bending portion 148 as shown in FIG. 4-A
It is swung from the angular position shown by the solid line in the figure (the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3) to the angular position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4-B (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3).
6 is also swung from the angular position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4-A to the angular position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4-B as shown in FIG. When the rocking member 140 is swung to the above angular position, the seal support member 116 is also moved clockwise from the second angular position shown by the chain double-dashed line to the first angular position shown by the solid line in FIG. The seal member 104 is swung, and thus the seal member 104 is swung clockwise from the second position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5 to be positioned at the first position shown by the solid line in FIG. Thus, the swinging member 140 and the bent portion 148 that constitutes the cam means are
It constitutes an operating means for operating the seal member 104 from the second position to the first position. Also, the connecting member 136
Is rotated to the above-mentioned angular position, the blade holding member 108 moves from the second angular position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5 to the first position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 via the support shaft 106. Swiveled to an angular position, thus cleaning blade 10
0 is turned counterclockwise from the non-acting position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 to the working position shown by the solid line in FIG. Since it is as described above, when the support unit frame 84 is detachably mounted in the working position, the cleaning blade 100 is held in the working position and the seal member 104 is held in the first position. . In this state, the tip of the cleaning blade 100 acts on the surface of the photoconductor of the rotary drum 6, and the tip of the seal member 104 comes into contact with or comes close to the surface of the photoconductor.
The above-mentioned receiving openings of 18 are opened, and thus the toner particles removed from the surface of the photoconductor by the action of the cleaning blade 100 during the copying operation pass through the above-mentioned opened receiving openings and drop onto the seal member 104, It flows down on the upper surface, and then passes through the opening and then the toner storage unit 102
It is made to fall inside.

On the other hand, when the support unit frame 84 is detached from the working position in the housing 2 to the outside of the housing 2, the cleaning blade 100 and the sealing member 104 are respectively moved to the non-working position and the second position as follows. Positioned. That is, the support unit frame 84 is moved from the operating position to the arrow 13
2 (FIG. 3), when the support unit frame 84 moves, the torsion coil spring 144 causes the swinging member 140 to move the arrow 154 (FIG. 4-B).
Is swung in the direction indicated by (
The contact state between the driven portion 142 and the bent portion 148 of 0 is maintained).
Thus, the seal supporting member 116 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 5 about the support shaft portion 116a, and the seal supporting member 116 and the seal member 104 are also rotated in the same manner. During such turning, as can be understood from FIG. 4-B, the driven portion 142 of the swinging member 140 causes the driven portion 142 of the swinging member 140 to move in the long hole 1 of the connecting member 136.
The inside of 38 is moved relatively from the other end to the one end, and the connecting member 136 is shown by the solid line in FIG.
It remains substantially held in the angular position shown. Thus, when the swing member 140 is swung to the angular position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4-B, the swing portion 142 of the swing member 140 is positioned at one end of the elongated hole 138 of the connecting member 136. Then, when the swing member 140 is further swung in the direction indicated by the arrow 154 according to the movement of the support unit frame 84, the swing portion 1 is swung according to the swing of the swing member 140.
The connecting member 136 is swung via 42 in the direction indicated by arrow 156 (FIG. 4-B) (counterclockwise in FIG. 2). As a result, the blade holding member 108 is turned clockwise about the support shaft 106 in FIG. 5, and the cleaning blade 100 is also turned together with the blade holding member 108. As will be readily understood, the seal support member 116 and the seal member 104 are pivoted further counterclockwise in FIG. 5 via the rocker member 140). Then, when the support unit frame 84 is moved to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3,
The action of the torsion coil spring 144 causes the swinging member 140 and the connecting member 136 to move from the angular position shown by the solid line in FIGS. 3 and 4-B to the angular position shown in FIG. 2 and shown by the solid line in FIG. 4-A ( (The position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3) is rotated (the swinging member 140 and the connecting member 136 are rotated by a part of the connecting member 136 abutting the abutting pin 146, so that the swinging motion exceeding the angular position is possible. Will be definitely blocked). When the rocking member 140 is pivoted to the angular position, the seal support member 116 is also pivoted counterclockwise in FIG. 5 from the first angular position to the second angular position, thus sealing member 104.
Is pivoted from the first position to the second position. When the connecting member 136 is swung to the above-mentioned angular position, the blade holding member 108 is swung via the support shaft 106 from the above-mentioned first angular position to the above-mentioned second angular position in the clockwise direction, and thus the cleaning blade 100. Is pivoted from the working position to the non-working position. As it is like this, the support unit frame 84 is arrowed.
When the cleaning blade 100 is moved in the direction indicated by 132 and separated from the housing 2, the cleaning blade 100 is held in the non-acting position and the seal member 104 is held in the second position. In this state, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5, the cleaning blade 100 is located closer to the rotary drum 6 than the seal supporting member 116, and its tip portion is superposed on the tip portion of the seal supporting member 116. 104
The tip of the blade acts on one surface (left surface in FIG. 5) of the cleaning blade 100. Therefore, the cleaning blade 100 and the seal member 104 cooperate with each other to substantially close the receiving opening of the toner removing device 18, and thus to remove the toner from the housing 2 and tilt the supporting unit frame 84 to accommodate the toner. Toner particles and the like housed in the portion 102 do not leak to the outside through the receiving opening, and it is possible to prevent toner particles from scattering. Also, in a specific example,
When the cleaning blade 100 is in the non-acting position and the seal member 104 is in the second position, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5, the tip portion of the seal member 104 protruding from the seal supporting member 116 is cleaned. Blade 1
00 is brought into contact with the above-mentioned one surface and is elastically deformed to some extent, and therefore, due to the tip portion of the seal member 104 elastically acting on the cleaning blade 100, The cleaning blades 100 can be more reliably sealed. Furthermore, in a specific example, when the blade holding member 108 is set to the second angular position, the elastic member 110 disposed at the other end of the main holding member 108a causes the inner surface of the left wall 92 of the support unit frame 84 to move. The main holding member 108a and the left wall 92 are closed by contact with the blade holding member 108 and the elastic member 11 above the toner containing portion 102.
It is substantially closed by 0, in other words, as shown in FIG. 5, the space above the toner containing portion 102 is the seal member 104,
The seal supporting member 116, the cleaning blade 100, the blade holding member 108, and the elastic member 110 are substantially closed, and the toner particles and the like in the toner containing portion 102 can be more reliably prevented from leaking to the outside.

The specific example shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 has been described as applied to the electrostatic copying machine in which the support unit frame is moved in the front-rear direction and is detachably attached to the working position in the housing. The present invention can be similarly applied to an electrostatic copying machine in which the support unit frame is moved in the left-right direction and is detachably attached to the working position in the housing.

To further explain with reference to FIG. 6, in such a case, instead of the driven portion 142 provided on the swinging member 140, the swinging member 140 is provided with a contacting portion 160 protruding rearward (contacting). Similar to the driven portion 140, the portion 160 is provided on the vertical rear substrate 74 together with the elongated hole 138 (not shown in FIG. 6) formed in the connecting member 136 so as to be movable. Instead of the cam means, the contact portion 16 is provided on the inner surface of the vertical rear substrate 74.
It is possible to provide an abutted member 162 with which 0 can abut (note that in FIG. 6, the same members as the members shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 have the same numbers). Further, although not shown, a support receiving portion is defined on the inner surface (rear surface) of the vertical front substrate and the inner surface (front surface) of the vertical rear substrate in association with the horizontal movement of the support unit frame 84. An outer surface (front surface) of the front wall of the support unit frame 84 on which the support member is mounted
Also, on the outer surface (rear surface) of the rear wall, a support piece that is received by the support receiving portion is provided, respectively. Other configurations may be substantially the same as the specific examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.

In the modified example as described above, the support unit frame 84 is indicated by an arrow.
When it is moved to a predetermined position beyond the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the direction indicated by 164, the contact portion 1 provided on the swinging member 140.
When 60 abuts on the abutted member 162 provided on the vertical rear substrate 74 and further moves in the direction indicated by the arrow 164 from this position, as with the above-described specific example, the support unit frame 84 moves along with it. First, the swinging member 140 is swung against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 144 (since the abutting portion 160 abuts the abutted member 162 and its movement is blocked, the swinging member 140 is a support unit frame). Relative to the movement of 84), which causes the seal member 104 along with the seal support member 116 to pivot as desired. Then, when the supporting unit frame 84 is further moved, the contact portion 160 of the swinging member 140 then acts on the connecting member 136 and the connecting member 136 is rotated along with the swinging of the swinging member 140, as in the specific example described above. Is also turned. When the connecting member 136 is swung, the blade holding member 108 and the cleaning blade 100 are swung via the support shaft 106 as required. Therefore, when the support unit frame 84 is detachably attached to the working position (a part of which is shown by a solid line in FIG. 6), the cleaning blade 100 and the seal member 104 are respectively attached in substantially the same manner as the above-described specific example. Positioned in the working position and the first position. That is, the swinging member 14
When 0 is swiveled as desired, the seal support member 116 is moved to the second position.
Is rotated from the angular position (the position corresponding to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5) to the first angular position (the position corresponding to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5), and the sealing member 104 moves to the second position. From the position (the position corresponding to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5) to the first position (the position corresponding to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5). When the connecting member 136 is swung as required, the blade holding member 108 is moved from the second angular position (the position corresponding to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5) to the first position via the support shaft 106. The cleaning blade 100 is rotated to an angular position (a position corresponding to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5).
Is positioned from the non-acting position (the position corresponding to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) to the working position (the position corresponding to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5) (for these, refer to FIG. 5) I want to be). Thus, also in this modified example, when the support unit frame 84 is detachably attached, the receiving opening of the toner removing device 18 is opened, and the toner particles removed from the surface of the photoconductor by the action of the cleaning blade 100 receive the above-mentioned receiving particles. The toner passes through the opening and is guided to the seal member 104 to be stored in the toner storage unit 102.

On the other hand, when the support unit frame 84 is moved from the operating position in the direction indicated by the arrow 166, like the specific example described above,
Torsion coil spring 144 as the support unit frame 84 moves
First, the swinging member 140 is swung by the action (the abutting state of the abutting portion 160 of the swinging member 140 and the abutted portion 162 is maintained during the swiveling).
At the same time, the seal member 104 is swung as required. Then, when the support unit frame 84 is further moved, the contact portion 160 of the swinging member 140 then acts on the connecting member 136, and the connecting member is rotated along with the swinging of the swinging member 140, as in the specific example described above.
136 is also turned. When the connecting member 136 is swung, the support shaft
The blade holding member 108 and the cleaning blade 100 are swung via the 106 as required. Therefore, when the support unit frame 84 is moved from the above operating position to, for example, the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6, the abutting portion 160 provided on the swinging member 140 is abutted on the vertical rear substrate 74. The connecting member 136 and the swinging member 140 are positioned at a predetermined angular position (a position corresponding to the angular position shown in FIG. 2) by separating from the contact member 162 and contacting the connecting member 136 with the contact pin 146 ( That is, the state becomes substantially the same as the state shown in FIG. When the connecting member 136 is positioned at the angular position, the blade holding member 108 is moved through the support shaft 106 to move to the first position.
Of the cleaning blade 100 from the working position of the cleaning blade 100 to the non-working position of the cleaning blade 100. When the swing member 140 is positioned at the angular position, the seal support member 116 is swung from the first angular position to the second angular position, and the seal member 104 moves from the first position to the second position. It is located in the position of. Thus, when the support unit frame 84 is disengaged from the housing 2, substantially the same as the above-described specific example,
The cleaning blade 100, the seal member 104, and the seal support member 116 cooperate with each other to substantially close the receiving opening of the toner removing device 18 and prevent scattering of toner particles that occurs when tilted. . As described above, also in this modification, the same effect as that of the above-described specific example is achieved.

Although the specific examples of the electrostatic copying machine configured according to the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific examples, and various modifications and corrections can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Is.

For example, in a specific example, the cleaning blade 100
Is in the non-acting position and the seal member 104 is in the second position, the tip of the cleaning blade 100 and the seal support member 116 and the tip of the seal member 104 are overlapped with each other. Alternatively, the tip of the cleaning blade 100 and the tip of the seal member 104 may be simply superposed.

Further, for example, in the specific example, when the cleaning blade 100 is in the non-acting position and the seal member 104 is in the second position, the cleaning blade 100 is located closer to the rotary drum 6 than the seal member 104 and is superposed on each other. Although it is a configuration that can be confined, on the contrary, the seal member 10
The same effect can be achieved even if the cleaning blade 100 is located closer to the rotary drum 6 than the cleaning blade 100 and is superposed on each other.

Further, for example, in the specific example, the cleaning blade 100 and the seal member 104 are the connecting member 136, the swing member 140, and the driven portion 142 (or the contact portion 16) provided on the swing member 140.
Although the configuration is such that the cleaning blade 100 and the seal member 104 are swung in relation to each other by the action of 0), the cleaning blade 100 and the seal member 104 may be swung separately.

<Effects of the Invention> The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, and when the support unit frame having the support base having the photoconductor on the surface and the toner removing device is detached from the housing, the toner is not supplied. The cleaning blade and the seal member, which constitute the removing device, cooperate with each other to provide a holding means for holding the receiving opening of the toner containing portion in a closed state, and the support unit frame is detachably attached to the working position in the housing. In this case, since the cleaning blade and the seal member are provided with an operating means for operating from the closed position to a position in contact with or close to the surface of the photoconductor, when the supporting unit frame is removed from the housing, the receiving opening of the toner accommodating portion Is automatically closed by the action of the holding means by the cooperation of the cleaning blade and the sealing member. Therefore, even if the support unit frame is tilted, the toner particles in the toner storage portion do not leak to the outside of the toner removing device, so that the toner particles can be prevented from scattering in the air or on the floor. Further, when the supporting unit frame is mounted in the operating position in the housing, the cleaning blade and the seal member are automatically operated by the operating means to positions in contact with or close to the surface of the photoconductor, so that mounting work is extremely difficult. It will be easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a specific example of an electrostatic copying machine constructed in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the support unit frame in the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1 as viewed from the back side. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the rear part of the support unit frame of FIG. 2 and its vicinity in a partial cross section. FIGS. 4-A and 4-B are views for explaining the movements of the connecting member and the swinging member arranged in the support unit frame shown in FIG. 2, respectively. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the toner removing device mounted on the supporting unit frame of FIG. 2 and its vicinity. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a rear portion of a supporting unit frame and its vicinity in a modification in a partial cross section. 2 Copier housing 6 Rotating drum 10 Charging corona discharger 12 Optical system 14 Developing device 16 Transfer corona discharger 18 Toner remover 84 Support unit frame 100 ...... Cleaning blade 102 …… Toner storage unit 104 …… Seal member

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A copying machine housing, a support base having a photoconductor on its surface, a toner image forming means for forming a toner image on the photoconductor of the support base, and a toner image forming means formed on the photoconductor. A transfer means for transferring the toner image to the copy paper and a toner removing device for removing the toner particles remaining on the photoconductor after the transfer are provided, and at least the supporting substrate and the toner removing device function in the housing. In a electrostatic copying machine mounted on a support unit frame that is detachably mounted at a position, the toner removing device includes a cleaning blade that acts on the surface of the photoconductor to remove toner particles remaining on the surface. A toner accommodating portion for accommodating the toner particles removed by the cleaning blade, and a toner accommodating portion for guiding the toner particles removed by the cleaning blade to the toner accommodating portion In the case of the cleaning blade and the seal, including a seal member, the cleaning blade is disposed in a receiving opening of the toner containing portion formed at a portion facing the photoconductor, and the cleaning blade is provided on the surface of the photoconductor. The seal member is configured to be operable in an acting position where it acts and a non-acting position where it separates from the photoconductor, and the seal member has a first position in contact with or close to the surface of the photoconductor and a second position retracted from the photoconductor. Operatively positioned to position the cleaning blade in the non-acting position and the sealing member in the second position when the support unit frame is disengaged from the housing. Holding means for cooperating with a sealing member to hold the receiving opening in a substantially closed state, and the support unit frame in the housing. An operating means for operating the cleaning blade from the non-acting position to the using position and detachably operating the sealing member from the second position to the first position when the cleaning blade is detachably attached to the operating position. Electrostatic copying machine characterized by. 2. The support unit frame is moved in the front-rear direction with respect to the housing and is detachably mounted in the working position, and the cleaning blade is rotatable about a first rotation center axis extending in the front-rear direction. Is attached to the blade holding member attached to the second holding member, and the sealing member is located below the first pivot axis and extends in the front-rear direction.
Is attached to a seal support member that is attached so as to be rotatable about the center axis of rotation, and the actuating means is attached to the blade holding member, a connecting member having an elongated hole, and attached to the seal support member. The supporting unit frame includes a swinging member having a driven portion engaged with the elongated hole of the connecting member, and cam means disposed in the housing and capable of acting on the driven portion of the swinging member. Is moved in the front-rear direction and is detachably attached to the working position in the housing,
By the action of the cam means and the driven portion, the seal supporting member is swung about the second swivel center axis and the blade holding member is swung about the first swivel center axis, and the seal member is rotated. 2. An electrostatographic reproduction according to claim 1, wherein is rotated from the second position to the first position and the cleaning blade is rotated from the non-acting position to the working position. Machine. 3. The holding means is interposed between the supporting unit frame and the swinging member, and is provided in the supporting unit frame and a biasing means for biasing the sealing member toward the second position. The electrostatic copying machine according to claim 2, further comprising: a blocking unit that acts on the member to block the swinging motion of the cleaning blade beyond the non-acting position. 4. The support unit frame is moved in the left-right direction with respect to the housing to be removably attached to the working position, and the cleaning blade extends in the front-rear direction.
Is mounted on a blade holding member that is mounted so as to be rotatable about the center axis of rotation of the
Is attached to a seal support member which is located below the turning center axis of the blade and which is turnable about a second turning center axis extending in the front-rear direction, and the actuating means is attached to the blade holding member. A connecting member having an elongated hole, a swing member having an abutting portion mounted on the seal support member and engaged with the elongated hole of the connecting member, and the swing member disposed in the housing. When the supporting unit frame is moved in the left-right direction and is removably attached to the working position in the housing, the corresponding contact portion Abutting against the member, the seal support member is pivoted about the second pivot axis and the blade holding member is pivoted about the first pivot axis, thus the seal member Is rotated from the position Positioned position, also the cleaning blade is located at the position for the acting pivoted out non operative position, the electrostatic copying machine in the range the first claim of the claims. 5. The holding means is provided between the supporting unit frame and the swinging member, and is provided in the supporting unit frame and a biasing means for biasing the sealing member toward the second position. 5. An electrostatic copying machine according to claim 4, further comprising: a blocking unit that acts on the rocking member to block the swinging motion of the sealing member beyond the second position.