JPH073423Y2 - Cleaning blade - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a cleaning blade for removing toner remaining on the peripheral surface of a photosensitive drum of an electrophotographic copying machine or the like.

[Conventional technology]

An electrophotographic copying machine is provided with a photosensitive drum with a photoconductor surface layer, the outer peripheral surface of this photosensitive drum is uniformly charged, and then the outer peripheral surface is exposed through a copied image of a copying object. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the outer peripheral surface, toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image, and the toner image is transferred to a copy paper or the like to perform copying. After the copying, the toner remains on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum, so that it becomes necessary to remove the residual charged toner, and this removal is performed by a cleaning blade. This cleaning blade is shown in FIG. In the figure,
Reference numeral 1 denotes a cleaning blade, and a thick plate-shaped soft urethane resin blade member 3 is attached to the tip of the metal plate-shaped holding material 2 in the lengthwise direction, and the tip portion of the plate-shaped holding material 2 is attached. It is configured to be embedded in the blade member 3. As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning blade 1 has its upper end side at the front end face of the toner collecting box 4 (photosensitive drum 6).
The blade side of the blade member 3 is fixed to the upper side edge portion 5 of the toner collecting opening 5a formed in the arrangement side surface), and in this state, the blade side of the blade member 3 is pressed against the photosensitive drum 6 rotating in the arrow direction, The edge portion 7 is brought into sliding contact with the photosensitive drum 6 to remove residual toner (not shown) on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 4 from the toner recovery box 4.
Scrape to the bottom of the. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the opening upper side edge portion 5 of the toner recovery box 4 to which the cleaning blade 1 of this kind is attached has a concave portion 8 at the center of the outer surface thereof, and the convex portions at the left and right ends thereof. 9 (thus, the accuracy of only the convex portions 9 on both the left and right sides is sufficient without increasing the accuracy of the entire outer surface), and the left and right end portions of the plate-shaped holding material 2 of the cleaning blade 1 are bolted. It is supposed to be fixed. Therefore, when the cleaning blade 1 is directly attached to the toner collecting box 4, a gap is formed between the plate-shaped holding material 2 of the cleaning blade 1 and the opening upper side edge portion 5 of the toner collecting box 4, and the toner collecting box is provided from the gap. 4. The toner leaks to the outside of No. 4. Therefore, generally, as shown in FIG. 10, a toner collecting opening 5a is formed in the front end surface (side surface on which the photosensitive drum is disposed) so as to extend in the left-right direction, and both left and right ends of the upper side edge portion 5 of the opening 5a are formed. Of the toner recovery box 4 having the convex portion 9 formed on the concave portion 8 of the opening upper side edge portion 5
The plate-shaped sealing material 10 is adhered to the surface of the sealing material 10 with an adhesive, and the plate-shaped holding material 2 of the cleaning blade 1 is positioned on the surface of the sealing material 10. Both left and right ends of the material 2 are fixed to the convex portions 9 of the opening upper side edge portion 5 by bolting.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

Such a cleaning blade 1 has a blade member 3 in order to uniformly remove the residual toner on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum.
The edge portion 7 is required to be in sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 6 in a uniform state. However, as mentioned above,
When the sealing material 10 is adhered to the concave portion 8 of the opening upper side edge portion 5 of the toner recovery box 4 with an adhesive, the dimensional accuracy of the surface of the sealing material 10 deteriorates due to the nonuniformity of the thickness of the adhesive layer.
Therefore, as the sealing material 10, a sponge having a large elastic deformation is used, and the thickness of the sealing material 10 is made larger than that of the concave portion 8 of the opening upper side edge portion 5 of the toner recovery box 4 to hold the cleaning blade 1 in the plate shape. A gap is eliminated between the material 2 and the upper edge portion 5 of the opening of the toner recovery box 4. Since the thickness of the seal member 10 is increased in this way, when the cleaning blade 1 is attached to the opening upper side edge portion 5 of the toner recovery box 4, a difference occurs in the tightening amount of the left and right bolts, and the edge portion 7 of the blade member 3 is different. There is a problem that the state of sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum becomes uneven. In addition, since the sealing material 10 is a separate body from the cleaning blade 1, the number of parts is increased, and the number of steps for attaching the cleaning blade 1 to the toner recovery box 4 is increased, resulting in a troublesome attachment work. .

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has excellent dimensional accuracy, the edge portion of the blade member can be slidably contacted with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum in a uniform state, the number of parts is small, and the mounting work is easy. The purpose of the invention is to provide a cleaning blade.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the cleaning blade of the present invention has a toner collecting box having a front end face with a toner collecting opening extending in the left-right direction and convex portions formed at the left and right ends of the opening edge. A cleaning blade fixed to the convex portions on both the left and right sides, and a plate-shaped holding member having left and right ends on one end side fixed to the convex portions on the left and right sides,
A plate-shaped blade member fixedly formed on the other end side of the plate-shaped holding material is provided, and the end portion of the blade member faces the convex portions on the left and right sides in a state of being in close contact with the plate-shaped holding material. An extending portion extending integrally is formed integrally, and a portion corresponding to the convex portions on both the left and right sides of the extending portion is formed in a seal portion having a protrusion extending leftward and rightward on the surface, and the protrusion of the seal portion is formed. The strips are configured to be in close contact with the opening edge portions of the toner recovery box corresponding to the convex portions on the left and right sides.

[Action]

That is, in this cleaning blade, as in the conventional example, a sealing material such as a plate-shaped sponge is attached between the opening edge portion of the toner recovery box and the plate-shaped holding material of the cleaning blade by using an adhesive. Instead, the end portion of the blade member, integrally formed with an extending portion extending between the left and right convex portions in a state of being in close contact with the plate-shaped holding material,
The portion corresponding to the above-mentioned left and right convex portions of this extended portion is formed in a seal portion having a protrusion extending left and right on the surface, and the protrusion of the seal portion is provided between the left and right convex portions. It is configured to be closely attached to the opening edge portion of the corresponding toner recovery box. As described above, since the seal portion is formed with the ridge extending in the left-right direction on the surface thereof, sufficient sealing can be performed by bringing the ridge into close contact with the opening edge portion, and the seal member is Since it is integrally formed from a hard material such as a blade member, it is excellent in dimensional accuracy, which allows the above-mentioned sufficient sealing to be performed with little tightening margin. for that reason,
When attaching the cleaning blade to the opening edge of the toner recovery box, there is no difference in the tightening amount at the left and right ends of the plate-shaped holding material, and the sliding contact accuracy (sliding contact between the edge of the blade member and the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum) The uniformity of contact can be greatly improved, and as a result, the toner on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum can be removed in a uniform state. In addition, since the seal portion is formed integrally with the blade member, the time and effort for bonding with an adhesive can be omitted, and as a result, the number of parts is reduced and the mounting work is facilitated.

Next, this invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.

〔Example〕

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. That is, in the drawing, 11 is a cleaning blade, which is a plate-like holding member having a V-shaped cross section (having a thickness of 1.2 mm,
A blade member (JIS-A hardness, 60 to 85) 13 made of plate-like thermosetting polyurethane is fixedly formed on the tip side of the length [perpendicular to the paper surface] is set to 300 mm) 12 At the same time, on the lower surface of the plate-like holding material 12, a seal portion 14 having a slightly corrugated surface is integrally extended from the end surface of the blade member 13. Therefore, the seal portion 14 is made of the same material as the blade member 13. The thickness of the sawtooth-shaped thick portion formed on the surface of the seal portion 14 is such that, at the time of manufacture, the edge portion 15 (upper side) of the toner collecting opening 15a of the toner collecting box 4a (the tenth side).
It is set to be 0.1 mm larger than the set value of the gap between the plate-shaped holding material 12 and the opening upper side edge portion 5 of the conventional example shown in the figure, whereby the toner recovery box 4a is set.
At the time of attachment to the outer edge of the opening edge portion 15, the saw-toothed tip portion is in close contact with the outer surface of the opening edge portion 15. [See FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b)]. On the other hand, fixed portions 16 having a width of 10 mm are provided at both ends of the plate-like holding material 12, and the seal portions 14 are not extended at those portions. As a result, the left and right width of the seal portion 14 is formed so as to fit in the recess 17 (corresponding to the recess 8 of the conventional example shown in FIG. 10) provided on the outer surface of the opening edge portion 15.

In this structure, the seal portion 14 is connected to the toner recovery box 4a.
In a state where the fixing portion 16 of the plate-shaped holding material 12 is positioned in the concave portion 17 provided on the outer surface side of the opening edge portion 15, the convex portions at both ends of the opening edge portion 15 (not shown in the drawing but hidden, It is fixed by bolts 18 to the projection 9 of the conventional example shown in the figure). Then, the toner recovery box 4a to which the cleaning blade 11 is attached is placed in a predetermined device (not shown) so that the edge portion 19 of the cleaning blade 11 makes sliding contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum (see FIG. 8). By attaching and rotating the photosensitive drum, the material toner on the surface is removed. As a result, the toner scraped off from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum enters the toner collecting box 4a, and a part of the toner falls directly to the bottom of the toner collecting box 4a.
The remaining toner scatters in the toner recovery box 4a and tries to enter the gap between the plate-shaped holding material 12 of the cleaning blade 11 and the opening edge portion 15. However, the scattered toner collides with the saw-toothed seal portion 14 provided in the gap and is then rebounded and dropped to the bottom of the toner recovery box 4a. Further, since the serrated shape of the seal portion 14 is formed in multiple stages, even if it passes through the first serrated ridge, it is repelled to the next ridge so that all toner is repelled. Collected at the bottom of the toner recovery box 4a. Therefore, it is possible to completely prevent the toner from passing through the gap between the plate-shaped holding material 12 and the opening edge portion 15 and leaking to the outside of the toner recovery box 4a. Furthermore, this seal part 14
Has almost no interference, and the blade member 13
Since it is integrally formed of the same hard material as that, it has excellent dimensional accuracy, and since there is no difference in the tightening amount of the left and right bolts 18, warpage in the left and right directions is less likely to occur. . Therefore, the plate-shaped holding material 12
Also, the blade member 13 is less likely to warp in the left-right direction, and is formed as a cleaning blade having high flatness. Therefore, the edge portion 19 of the cleaning blade 11 slides evenly on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum, and the toner adhering to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum can be removed evenly. Further, since the seal portion 14 is integrally formed with the blade member 13 and the plate-shaped holding material 12 by integral molding, there is no need to attach it with an adhesive, and the cleaning blade 11 can be attached to the toner recovery box 4a. Will be easier.

FIG. 3 shows the flatness (the degree of warpage of the edge portion 19) when the cleaning blade 11 is attached to the opening edge portion 15 of the toner recovery box 4a. That is, the curve in this figure shows the position of the center of the edge portion 19 when the positions of the edges of the edge portion 19 of the cleaning blade 11 are taken as the reference point 0, and the length from the point on the straight line connecting the both edges. It shows with. It can be seen from the drawing that the flatness of the cleaning blade 11 is 0.05 mm with respect to the length of the cleaning blade 11 of 300 mm. The flatness of the conventional cleaning blade 1 having the same size as the cleaning blade 11 is
As shown in the figure, it was 0.12 mm. As a result, it can be seen that the cleaning blade 11 of the present invention has a flatness of less than half the warp as compared with the cleaning blade 1 of the conventional example. Therefore, as compared with the conventional cleaning blade 1, the cleaning blade 11 of the present invention can perform extremely good toner removal.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention. That is, in the cleaning blade 20, the serrated shape of the seal portion 21 is not a serrated shape similar to the waveform as in the above-described embodiment, but the tip is formed to be sharp, and the tip is toward the blade member 13a. It is formed to extend obliquely. Other parts are the same as those in the above embodiment.
With this configuration, the cleaning blade 20
Is attached to the opening edge portion 15 of the toner recovery box 4a and the photosensitive drum is rotated, the toner that has entered between the opening edge portion 15 and the plate-shaped holding material 12a is a space formed between the serrated protrusions. The portion is easily guided to the closed portion on the plate-shaped holding material 12a side, is bounced back at the back side of the space portion, and is dropped to the bottom portion of the toner recovery box 4a. for that reason,
A more reliable seal can be performed. Other functions and effects are similar to those of the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment, in which the sealing portion 23 of the cleaning blade 22 is composed of a quadrangular ridge 23b having a sawtooth shape protruding perpendicularly from the base 23a to the base 23a. . Other parts are the same as those in the above embodiment. With this configuration, the cleaning blade 22 can be easily manufactured. Other functions and effects are similar to those of the embodiment shown in FIG.

In the above embodiment, the seal portions 14, 21, 23 are formed in a saw-tooth shape composed of a plurality of ridges, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the seal portion is formed by one ridge. May be.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the cleaning blade of the present invention, sufficient sealing can be performed with almost no tightening margin. Therefore, when the cleaning blade is attached to the opening edge of the toner recovery box, the plate-like holding is performed. There is no difference in the tightening amount at the left and right ends of the material, and the sliding contact accuracy (smoothness of sliding contact) between the edge portion of the blade member and the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum can be greatly improved. The toner on the peripheral surface of the drum can be removed uniformly. Further, since the seal portion is integrally formed with the blade member, the time and effort of bonding with an adhesive can be omitted, and as a result,
The number of parts is reduced and the mounting work becomes easier.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 (a) is a partial front view showing a state in which it is attached to a toner recovery box, and FIG. 2 (b) is a view of FIG. 2 (a). A-A 'sectional view,
FIG. 3 is a curve diagram showing the flatness thereof, FIG. 4 is a curve diagram showing the flatness of a conventional cleaning blade, FIG. 5 is a side view of another embodiment, and FIG. 6 is still another embodiment. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional cleaning blade, FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of its use state, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an opening edge portion of a toner recovery box, and FIG. 10 is a conventional cleaning. It is a perspective view which shows the attachment method of a blade. 4a ... toner recovery box, 11 ... cleaning blade,
12 ... Plate-shaped holding material, 13 ... Blade member, 14 ... Seal part, 15
... Opening edge

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A toner recovery box having a toner recovery opening formed in a front end surface in a state of extending in the left-right direction and having projections formed at both left and right ends of the opening edge portion. A cleaning blade having a plate-shaped holding member whose left and right ends on one end side are fixed to the convex portions on the left and right sides, and a plate-shaped blade member fixedly formed on the other end side of the plate-shaped holding member. The blade member has an end portion integrally formed with an extended portion extending toward the left and right convex portions in a state of being in close contact with the plate-shaped holding member, and the left and right convex portions of the extended portion are integrally formed. A portion corresponding to the space is formed in the seal portion having a protrusion extending leftward and rightward on the surface, and the protrusion of the seal portion corresponds to the opening edge portion of the toner recovery box between the protrusions on the left and right sides. Characterized by being configured so that the Training blade.