JPH09114342A - Cleaning device for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device for an image forming device capable of completely cleaning an image carrier over a long term. SOLUTION: This cleaning device for an image forming device is provided with a fur brush 7a rotatably arranged to abut on the image carrier 1. It is provided with a cleaning roll 7d press-contacted with the image carrier 1 with pressure such as >=0.3g/mm and <=3g/mm on a downstream side in the advancing direction of the image carrier 1 from the fur brush 7a and formed by foaming an elastic material so that its rubber hardness may be >=20 deg. and <=60 deg..

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a laser printer, and more specifically, to a toner remaining on an image carrier such as a photoconductor. The present invention relates to a cleaning device that removes.

Conventionally, this type of electrophotographic image forming apparatus exposes the image bearing member such as, for example, a photosensitive drum, charging means for charging the image bearing member to a uniform potential, and the image bearing member. And an exposure unit for forming a latent image, a developing unit for developing the latent image to form a toner image, and a transfer unit for transferring the toner image onto a transfer material such as a recording sheet. In the image forming apparatus, the charging means charges the image carrier to a uniform charging potential, the exposing means forms a latent image on the image carrier, and the developing means develops the latent image to carry the image. The toner image is formed on the body, and the toner image is transferred onto the transfer material by the transfer means to form an image on the transfer material.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of image forming apparatus, a cleaning device for removing stains such as residual toner from the image carrier after transfer is used.

For example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 1-142972, a fur brush which is in contact with the image carrier and is rotatably arranged and to which a voltage is applied, and downstream of the fur brush in the traveling direction of the image carrier. There is disclosed a cleaning device having a conductive soft roll disposed on the side in contact with the image bearing member and a metal plate blade disposed in contact with the conductive soft roll.

In the cleaning device, the fur brush removes residual toner and the like on the image carrier by electrostatic attraction, and at the same time, talc that cannot be removed by the fur brush, toner external additive, and paper. Small-diameter dirt such as powder is removed by the conductive soft roll. Therefore, in an image forming apparatus using the above cleaning device, so-called filming in which talc or the like is deformed and adheres to the surface of the image carrier is less likely to occur, and image defects such as image deletion due to poor charging occur. It's getting harder.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned cleaning device, dirt only adheres to the surface of the conductive soft roll. Further, in the above-mentioned cleaning device, the dirt adhering to the surface of the conductive soft roll is scraped off by the metal plate blade to collect the dirt from the surface.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned cleaning device, unless the dirt adhered to the surface of the conductive soft roll is completely cleaned every one rotation, when the surface comes into contact with the image carrier again, the surface of the conductive soft roll is not cleaned. The remaining stains are redeposited on the image carrier, and the stains are fixed on the surface of the image carrier within a relatively short period of time. As a result, in the image forming apparatus using the cleaning device, filming occurs within a relatively short period of time and the image carrier must be replaced.

Further, in the above-mentioned cleaning device, the dirt adhered to the surface of the conductive soft roll is collected by cutting it off with the metal plate blade, so that the surface of the conductive soft roll is constantly worn, and it is relatively short. In the space, the cleaning ability of the conductive soft roll deteriorates, and the dirt on the surface of the image carrier cannot be removed sufficiently, and the dirt adheres to the surface of the image carrier. As a result, in the image forming apparatus using the cleaning device, filming occurs within a relatively short period of time and the image carrier must be replaced.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to develop a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus which can sufficiently clean the image bearing member for a long period of time.

[0010]

That is, the first invention of the present application is a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus having a fur brush which is rotatably arranged in contact with an image carrier, and is more advantageous than the fur brush. 0.3 g / mm or more and 3 g or more on the image carrier at the downstream side in the traveling direction of the image carrier.
A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, which has a cleaning roll formed by pressing under a pressing pressure of / mm or less to foam an elastic material and having a rubber hardness of 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less. In the following description, the cleaning roll will be referred to as a first cleaning roll.

A second invention of the present application is a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, which has a fur brush rotatably arranged in contact with the image carrier, in a traveling direction of the image carrier rather than the fur brush. The cleaning roller, which is pressed against the image carrier on the downstream side, is arranged in pressure contact with the cleaning roller made of an elastic material, and the second cleaning roller, is made of a material harder than the cleaning roller, and has a plurality of grooves on the circumferential surface. It is a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus having a recovery roll on which is formed. In the following description, the cleaning roll will be referred to as a second cleaning roll, and the recovery roll will be referred to as a first recovery roll.

Next, a third invention of the present application is a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, which has a fur brush rotatably arranged in contact with the image carrier, and the image carrier advances more than the fur brush. A cleaning roll pressed against the image bearing member on the downstream side in the direction, and a recovery roll arranged in pressure contact with the cleaning roll,
Moreover, it is a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus in which the recovery roll is arranged so as to contact the fur brush. In the following description, the cleaning roll will be referred to as a third cleaning roll, and the recovery roll will be referred to as a second recovery roll.

Further, a fourth invention of the present application is a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus based on the third invention, wherein the cleaning roll is made of a semiconductive material and the recovery roll is made of a conductive material. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus in which a voltage having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of toner is applied to the fur brush.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the first aspect of the present invention, the first cleaning roll may be formed by foaming an elastic material so that its rubber hardness is 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less. It can be formed by foaming silicone rubber or urethane rubber. The diameter of cells formed by foaming is preferably about 50 to 300 μm so that small-sized dirt such as talc can be accommodated. When silicone rubber or urethane rubber is used as the elastic material of the first cleaning roll, foaming in nitrogen gas can form the first cleaning roll having open cells.

The above rubber hardness values are Asker-C hardness (JIS K6301, spring type hardness test C type).
It is the value measured in.

The first cleaning roll is 0.3
It may be arranged so as to be pressed against the image carrier with a pressing pressure of g / mm or more and 3 g / mm or less. And
The numerical value of the pressing pressure is, for example, when springs having the same tensile force are provided at both ends of the cleaning roll, the tensile force of the spring is W [g], and the length of the contact portion between the image carrier and the cleaning roll. Is 1 [mm], 2 W / l
It can be obtained by [g / mm].

In the cleaning device of the first invention of the present application, the fur brush is disposed in contact with the image carrier, and the elastic material is foamed so that its rubber hardness is 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less. Cleaning roll.
By pressing the image carrier with a pressing pressure of 3 g / mm or more and 3 g / mm or less, the fur brush mechanically removes the residual toner and the like on the image carrier, and the cleaning roll also stains of small diameter such as talc. Can be removed by rubbing.

Further, in the cleaning device of the first invention of the present application, the cleaning roll has a large number of cells, and the dirt removed from the image carrier can be held in the cells. Therefore, in the above-mentioned cleaning device, even if the cleaning roll having the stain adheres to the image carrier, it is difficult for the stain to reattach.

In the second aspect of the invention, the second cleaning roll may be made of an elastic material, for example, foamed silicone rubber or urethane rubber.

The first recovery roll may be made of a harder material than the second cleaning roll and may have a plurality of grooves formed on its peripheral surface. For example, the second cleaning roll may be made of silicon. When rubber or urethane rubber is used, it may be formed of metal or plastic.

Each groove formed in the first recovery roll is
Even if it is formed parallel to the rotation axis of the first recovery roll,
It may be formed in a spiral shape on the peripheral surface of the first recovery roll. When forming the spiral shape on the peripheral surface of the first recovery roll, the winding direction of each groove may be one direction or bidirectional. Further, the groove can be formed in a spiral shape to narrow the interval between adjacent grooves while maintaining the strength of the first recovery roll itself, rather than being formed in parallel with the rotation axis of the first recovery roll. It is possible to increase the number of times of contact of the groove per one rotation of the first recovery roll. Further, in the groove, the number of times of contact of the groove per one rotation of the first recovery roll can be increased while maintaining the strength of the first recovery roll itself when the spiral winding direction is bidirectional rather than single direction. .

The shape of each groove may be U-shaped or V-shaped, for example. When foamed silicone rubber or urethane rubber is used as the second cleaning roll, the depth is 0.1 to 1 mm and the width is 1 to 1.
If the grooves are formed with a distance of 5 mm and a distance of 1 to 5 mm, not only the surface of the cleaning roll is simply rubbed, but also the dirt accumulated in the cells can be efficiently collected while the cells are crushed by the grooves.

In the cleaning device of the second invention of the present application, the recovery roll, which is made of a material harder than the cleaning roll and has a plurality of grooves formed on the peripheral surface, is arranged in pressure contact with the cleaning roll. Because
Dirt adhering to the surface of the cleaning roll can be removed by rubbing with the groove of the recovery roll.

Further, in the cleaning device of the second invention of the present application, since the cleaning roll is rubbed with the groove formed in the recovery roll, the cleaning roll is not contacted only when the groove is in contact with the cleaning roll. Worn.

In the third invention, the third cleaning roll may be in pressure contact with the image carrier on the downstream side of the fur brush in the traveling direction of the image carrier,
For example, it may be formed by foaming an elastic material such as silicone rubber or urethane rubber.

The second recovery roll may be arranged in pressure contact with the third cleaning roll.
When silicon rubber or urethane rubber is used for the third cleaning roll, the third cleaning roll may be formed of a material such as metal or plastic that is harder than that, and a plurality of grooves may be formed on its peripheral surface. In addition, the depth of 0.1
In the case where a groove having a width of 1 mm and a width of 1 to 5 mm is formed, if the thickness of each brush fiber is set to about 30 μm, the tip of the brush enters the groove, and the second recovery roll is efficiently used. Can be cleaned.

In the cleaning device of the third invention of the present application, the cleaning roll is arranged in pressure contact with the image carrier, the recovery roll is arranged in pressure contact with the cleaning roll, and the fur brush is contacted with the recovery roll. By doing so, the dirt collected by the cleaning roll from the image bearing member is finally collected by the fur brush via the collecting roll. Therefore, in the above cleaning device,
The dirt collected by the cleaning roll from the image bearing member does not deposit on the cleaning roll and the collection roll, and the cleaning roll and the collection roll can always collect dirt with a collection capacity of a certain level or higher.

Further, in the cleaning device of the third invention of the present application, the dirt collected by the cleaning roll from the image bearing member is finally collected by the fur brush, so that only the dirt is collected from the fur brush. Thus, the dirt collected by the fur brush from the image carrier and the dirt collected by the cleaning roll from the image carrier can be collected.

In the fourth aspect of the present invention, the third cleaning roll may be formed of a semiconductive material, and may be formed by foaming an elastic material such as silicone rubber or urethane rubber. Also, semiconductivity means 10 ³ to 1
It means 0 ⁹ Ω · cm.

The second recovery roll may be formed of a conductive material, for example, a material such as metal or conductive plastic.

The voltage applied to the fur brush may have a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner.

In the cleaning device of the fourth invention of the present application, the cleaning roll is made of a semi-conductive material, the recovery roll is made of a conductive material, and a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the fur brush. Since the voltage is applied, an electrostatic attraction force is applied between the image carrier and the cleaning roll, an electrostatic attraction force is applied between the cleaning roll and the recovery roll, and further, the electrostatic attraction force between the recovery roll and the fur brush is applied. An electrostatic attraction force can be applied between them, and dirt on the image carrier is electrostatically attracted and finally adheres to the fur brush.

[0033]

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

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 shows an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which the cleaning device of Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. The image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum 1, a charging unit 2 arranged around the photosensitive drum 1, an exposing unit 3, a developing unit 4, a transferring unit 5, a peeling unit 6, and a fixing unit 7. .

The photoconductor drum 1 is an organic photoconductor formed by sequentially laminating a charge injection blocking layer, a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer on an aluminum pipe having an outer diameter of 84 mm and having a peripheral surface of 300 mm. It is rotated so as to move at a linear velocity of / s. The main component of the charge transport layer is polycarbonate.

The charging means 2 is composed of a scorotron, and charges the photoconductor 1 to -750V.

The exposure means 3 has a laser light emitting element which emits light according to image information and a polygon mirror 3a which reflects the laser light, and exposes the photosensitive member 1 charged to a uniform potential. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor 1. Then, the charging potential of the exposed portion of the photoconductor 1 is set to -100V.

The developing means 4 has a developing roll 4a arranged so as to face the photoconductor 1, and a developing bias of -550V is applied to the developing roll 4a. And
Toner is attached to the portion of the photoconductor 1 exposed by the exposure unit 3 to form a toner image T. The average particle diameter of the toner is 9 μm.

The transfer means 5 is composed of a corotron arranged so as to face the photoconductor 1, and charges the paper P conveyed between the photoconductor 1 and the photoconductor 1 with a charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner. The charge of the opposite polarity and the charge of the toner image T are attracted to each other and the toner image T on the photoconductor 1 is attached.
Are transferred to the paper P.

The peeling means 6 is composed of a corotron arranged so as to face the photoconductor 1, and neutralizes the electric charge injected into the paper P by the transfer means 5 or the like, so that the paper P is electrostatically charged to the photoconductor. It is intended to prevent adsorption to No. 1.

The fixing means 8 heats and presses the paper P on which the toner image T is transferred to fix the toner image T on the paper P.

Then, the image forming apparatus forms an image on the paper P by the electrophotographic method. Specifically, in the image forming apparatus, first, the charging unit 2 charges the photoconductor 1 to a uniform potential, and the exposure unit 3 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 1.
The developing unit 4 develops the latent image to form a toner image T on the photoconductor 1. Next, the image forming apparatus supplies the paper P between the photoconductor 1 and the transfer unit 5 at the timing when the toner image T rotates between the photoconductor 1 and the transfer unit 5. At the same time, by attaching an electric charge to the paper P, the toner image T on the photoconductor 1 is attracted to the paper P side,
An image is formed on the paper P.

Further, in this embodiment, the cleaning device 7 is arranged so as to face the photoconductor 1 between the peeling means 6 and the two charging hands.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning device 7 is rotatably arranged in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 and has a fur brush 7a to which a voltage of + 200V is applied.
And a bias roll 7 which is placed in contact with the fur brush 7a and to which a +600 V bias voltage is applied.
b, a scraper 7c arranged in pressure contact with the bias roll 7b, a cleaning roll 7d in pressure contact with the photoconductor drum 1 downstream of the fur brush 7a in the rotational direction of the photoconductor drum 1, and the cleaning. It has a recovery roll 7e arranged in pressure contact with the roll 7d.

The fur brush 7a is formed by brushing a large number of brush fibers around the rotating shaft of the brush at a density of 60,000 / inch to have a diameter of 19 μm. In addition, the above-mentioned brush fiber is Bertron (trade name: manufactured by Kanebo)
With a diameter of 30 μm and 10 denier,
It has a resistance value of 3 × 10 ³ Ω · cm. The fur brush 7a is rotated in the opposite direction to the photosensitive drum 1 in a state where the fur brush 7a has a speed difference with the moving speed of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The fur brush 7a is arranged so as to come into contact with the photoconductor 1 at a depth of 1 mm.

The bias roll 7b is formed by forming stainless steel into a cylindrical shape, and the surface of which is anodized.

The cleaning roll 7d comprises a cleaning rotary shaft 7f and a urethane foam rubber layer 7g arranged around the cleaning rotary shaft 7f. The urethane foam rubber layer is formed by foaming with nitrogen gas and has a rubber hardness of 50.
°, resistance value 1 × 10 ⁵ Ω · cm, diameter of each cell 50 to 3
00 μm. In addition, the cleaning roll 7d
Is pressed against the photoreceptor 1 with a pressing pressure of 1 g / mm.

As shown in FIG. 3, the recovery roll 7e is made of plastic in a cylindrical shape and has a large number of grooves 7h formed on its peripheral surface. Each groove 7h
Has a U-shape with a width of 1 mm and a depth of 1.5 mm, and has a spiral shape with a space of 2 in one direction on the peripheral surface of the recovery roll 7e.
mm.

In the cleaning device 7, dirt such as residual toner on the photoconductor 1 is cleaned by the fur brush 7a by mechanical rubbing force and electrostatic attraction force.
A cleaning roller 7d cleans small-sized dirt such as talc on the photoconductor 1 by mechanical rubbing force. Further, in the cleaning device 7, since small-sized dirt such as talc is contained in each cell of the cleaning roll 7d, the width 1 of the recovery roll 7e does not adhere to the photoreceptor 1 again.
The cells are efficiently crushed by being crushed by the groove 7h of mm. Next, the cleaning device 7
Then, since the dirt is collected from the cleaning roll 7d by the plurality of grooves 7h arranged at intervals in the collecting roll 7e, the cleaning roll 7d is hardly worn. Further, in the cleaning device 7, the dirt collected by the fur brush 7a is collected by the bias roll 7b by a mechanical rubbing force and an electrostatic attraction force, and is further dropped into the cleaning device 7 by the blade 7c. .

Then, in this embodiment, 10,000 images were formed using the image forming apparatus. As a result, in the above-described image forming apparatus, the photoconductor 1 is formed even after forming 10,000 images.
Filming does not occur in the
It was found that the photoreceptor 1 can be sufficiently cleaned for a long period of time without the cleaning roll 7d being worn and the performance being deteriorated. Further, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, even after forming 10,000 images, white spots on which the toner is fixed are not formed on the surface of the photoconductor 1, and the image running does not occur.

Embodiment 2 In the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the recovery roll 7e of the cleaning device 7 is replaced and the recovery roll 7e is disposed in contact with the fur brush 7a. Except for this, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recovery roll 7e is made of aluminum in the shape of a cylinder and has a large number of grooves 7h formed on its peripheral surface. Each groove 7h
Is a U-shape having a width of 1 mm and a depth of 1.5 mm, and is formed in a bidirectional spiral shape (so-called knurled shape) on the peripheral surface of the recovery roll 7e. It is 2 mm.

The cleaning device 7 cleans dirt such as residual toner on the photoconductor 1 with the fur brush 7a by mechanical rubbing force and electrostatic attraction force.
A cleaning roller 7d cleans small-sized dirt such as talc on the photoconductor 1 by mechanical rubbing force. Further, in the cleaning device 7, since small-sized dirt such as talc is contained in each cell of the cleaning roll 7d, the width 1 of the recovery roll 7e does not adhere to the photoreceptor 1 again.
The cells are efficiently collected by being crushed by the mm grooves. Next, in the cleaning device 7, a plurality of grooves 7 arranged at intervals on the recovery roll 7e.
Since the dirt is collected from the cleaning roll 7d at h, the cleaning roll 7d is hard to wear. Furthermore,
In the cleaning device 7, the dirt collected by the fur brush 7a is collected by the bias roll 7b by a mechanical rubbing force and an electrostatic suction force, and is further dropped into the cleaning device 7 by the blade 7c.

The cleaning device 7 is composed of a semi-conductive cleaning roll 7d having Bertron (trade name: manufactured by Kanebo) and a conductive recovery roll 7e made of aluminum.
Since e is brought into contact with the fur brush 7a, the cleaning roll 7d is provided between the photoconductor 1 and the cleaning roll 7d.
And the recovery roll 7e, and between the recovery roll 7e and the fur brush 7a, not only mechanical rubbing force but also electrostatic attraction force acts. Therefore, in the cleaning device 7, the cleaning roll 7d cleans the dirt on the photoconductor 1 by the mechanical rubbing force and the electrostatic suction force, and the dirt attached to the cleaning roll 7d is mechanically cleaned. Since the fur brush 7a collects by the rubbing force and the electrostatic suction force through the collection roll 7e, dirt does not accumulate on the cleaning roll 7d and the collection roll 7e. Further, in the cleaning device 7, the dirt attached to the fur brush 7a is collected by the bias roll 7b by a mechanical rubbing force and an electrostatic attraction force, and is further dropped into the cleaning device 7 by the blade 7c. . Furthermore,
In the cleaning device 7, the collecting roll 7e has a width of 1 m.
Since the dirt adhering to the groove 7h of m is collected by the brush fiber having a diameter of 30 μm, the tip of the brush fiber does not enter the groove 7h and the dirt is not accumulated in the groove 7h. .

Then, in this embodiment, 10,000 images were formed using the image forming apparatus. As a result, in the above-described image forming apparatus, the photoconductor 1 is formed even after forming 10,000 images.
Filming does not occur, and the cleaning roll 7d is not worn and its performance is deteriorated.
Moreover, the cleaning roll 7d, the recovery roll 7e, and the fur brush 7a do not accumulate dirt, and the photoconductor 2
It was found that 1 can be cleaned sufficiently over a long period of time. Further, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, even after forming 10,000 images, white spots on which the toner is fixed are not formed on the surface of the photoconductor 1, and the image running does not occur.

Example 3 In this example, the image forming apparatus of Example 1 was used to conduct an experiment by adjusting the rubber hardness of the cleaning roll 7d and the pressure contact force of the cleaning roll 7d to the photoconductor 1. .
Specifically, the rubber hardness of the cleaning roll 7d is 1
Those of 5, 20, 40, 60 and 65 ° were used. Also,
The pressing force of the cleaning roll 7d to the photoconductor 1 is 0.
1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 g / mm
Set to.

As a result, the rubber hardness of the cleaning roller 7d is 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less, and the pressing force of the cleaning roller 7d to the photosensitive member 1 is 0.3 g / m.
In the image forming apparatus having m or more and 3 g / mm or less, it is possible to clean small-sized dirt such as talc on the photoconductor 1 with the cleaning roll 7d, and to remove talc and the like in each cell formed on the cleaning roll 7d. Since the dirt having a small diameter can be held and the dirt collected on the cleaning roll 7d does not redeposit on the photoconductor 1, filming occurs on the photoconductor 1 even after 10,000 images are formed. In this case, white spots on which the toner is fixed are not formed on the surface of the photoconductor 1, and the image run does not occur, so that the photoconductor 1 can be sufficiently cleaned for a long period of time. did it.

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus in which the rubber hardness of the cleaning roll 7d is less than 20 °, the cells are crushed when the cleaning roll 7d is brought into pressure contact with the photoconductor 1 and dirt adheres only to the surface of the cleaning roll 7d. Therefore, once the dirt collected on the cleaning roll 7d is redeposited on the photoconductor 1, filming occurs on the photoconductor 1 when 10,000 images are formed, and toner adheres to the surface of the photoconductor 1. White spots were formed, and image bleeding occurred.

Further, in the image forming apparatus in which the rubber hardness of the cleaning roll 7d exceeds 60 °, the cleaning roll 7d presses and fixes the dirt on the photoconductor 1, so that 10,000 images are formed. Occasionally, filming occurs on the photoconductor 1, white spots on which toner adheres are formed on the surface of the photoconductor 1, and image run-off occurs.

Next, the photoconductor 1 of the cleaning roll 7d
In the image forming apparatus having a pressure contacting force of less than 0.3 g / mm, the force of sliding on the photoconductor 1 is too weak to collect the dirt by the cleaning roll 7d, so that 10,000 images can be collected. When the toner image was formed, filming occurred on the photoconductor 1, white spots were formed on the surface of the photoconductor 1 with the toner adhered, and moreover, image run-off occurred.

Further, the photoconductor 1 of the cleaning roll 7d
In the image forming apparatus in which the pressing force against the photosensitive member 1 exceeds 3 g / mm, the cells are crushed when the cleaning roller 7d is pressed against the photosensitive member 1 and the dirt is pressed and fixed to the photosensitive member 1 by the cleaning roller 7d. As a result, filming occurs on the photoconductor 1 when 10,000 images are formed, white spots are formed on the surface of the photoconductor 1 with toner adhered, and image streaks occur. .

In these embodiments, the recovery roll 7
Although a spiral groove 7h was used as e, similar results were obtained by using a recovery roll 7e having a groove 7h formed in parallel with the rotation axis of the recovery roll 7e as shown in FIG. can get.

Comparative Example While removing the cleaning roll 7d and the recovery roll 7e from the cleaning device, the cleaning roll 7d
The image forming apparatus is the same as the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment except that the cleaning blade is disposed in contact with the photosensitive member 1 at the same position as d.

Then, in this embodiment, 10,000 images were formed using the image forming apparatus. As a result, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, after 10,000 images are formed, filming occurs on the photoconductor 1, white spots on which toner is fixed are formed on the surface of the photoconductor 1, and image streaks occur. There has occurred.

[0065]

As described above, in the cleaning device of the first invention of the present application, the fur brush is disposed in contact with the image bearing member, and the elastic material is foamed so that its rubber hardness is 20 ° or more and 60 °. Since the cleaning roll formed below is brought into pressure contact with the image carrier with a pressing pressure of 0.3 g / mm or more and 3 g / mm or less, it is necessary to keep the dirt removed from the image carrier in a large number of cells. The stains are unlikely to be redeposited on the image carrier. Therefore, in the above-mentioned cleaning device, the dirt collected on the cleaning roll is unlikely to reattach to the image carrier, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of filming on the image carrier due to the reattachment of the dirt. The carrier can be sufficiently cleaned over a long period of time.

Further, in the cleaning device of the second invention of the present application, since the groove is formed in the recovery roll and the recovery roll is brought into contact with the cleaning roll, abrasion of the cleaning roll is suppressed and the cleaning roll is concerned. The dirt can be collected from. Therefore, in the above cleaning device, it is possible to collect dirt from the cleaning roll while suppressing the deterioration of the cleaning capability of the cleaning roll due to abrasion, that is, while maintaining the cleaning capability of the cleaning roll. Can be thoroughly cleaned over a long period of time.

Next, in the cleaning device of the third invention of the present application, the cleaning roll is placed in pressure contact with the image carrier, the recovery roll is placed in pressure contact with the cleaning roll, and the fur brush is installed in the recovery roll. Since they are brought into contact with each other, it is possible to collect dirt from the cleaning roll with the collecting roll and collect dirt from the collecting roll with the fur brush. Therefore, in the above cleaning device,
Deterioration of the collection ability of the cleaning roll and the collection roll due to the accumulation of dirt hardly occurs, and the image bearing member can be sufficiently cleaned for a long period of time.

Further, in the cleaning device of the fourth invention of the present application, the cleaning roll is made of a semiconductive material,
Since the recovery roll is made of a conductive material and a voltage of the opposite polarity to the toner charging polarity is applied to the fur brush, dirt on the image carrier is electrostatically attracted and finally the fur brush is applied. Can be attached to. Therefore, the cleaning device can mechanically and electrostatically collect stains on the image bearing member, and further, deterioration of the collecting ability of the cleaning roll and the collecting roll due to the accumulation of stains is unlikely to occur. The image carrier can be sufficiently cleaned for a long period of time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a main part of the cleaning device used in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a recovery roll used in the cleaning device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a cleaning device used in a second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a perspective view of a recovery roll used in the cleaning device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a modified example of a recovery roll.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: photoconductor (image carrier), 7a: fur brush, 7d:
Cleaning roll, 7e: recovery roll.

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Yoji Sasakawa 2274 Hongo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture, inside Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, comprising a fur brush rotatably arranged in contact with the image carrier, wherein the image carrier is provided downstream of the fur brush in a traveling direction of the image carrier. An image formation characterized by having a cleaning roll formed by being pressed under a pressing pressure of 0.3 g / mm or more and 3 g / mm or less to foam an elastic material and have a rubber hardness of 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less. Cleaning device for the device. 2. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus having a fur brush rotatably arranged in contact with the image carrier, wherein the image carrier is provided downstream of the fur brush in the traveling direction of the image carrier. A cleaning roll made of an elastic material, which is pressed against the cleaning roll; and a recovery roll, which is arranged so as to be pressed against the cleaning roll, is made of a material harder than the cleaning roll and has a plurality of grooves formed on its peripheral surface. A cleaning device for a characteristic image forming apparatus. 3. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus having a fur brush rotatably arranged in contact with the image carrier, wherein the image carrier is provided downstream of the fur brush in the traveling direction of the image carrier. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning roll pressed against the cleaning roll; and a recovery roll disposed in pressure contact with the cleaning roll, and the recovery roll is disposed so as to contact the fur brush. Cleaning device. 4. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention, wherein the cleaning roll is made of a semi-conductive material, the recovery roll is made of a conductive material, and a fur brush is used. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that a voltage having a polarity opposite to a charging polarity of toner is applied.