JPH09152823A - Cleaning device for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attach/detach a cleaning device in a state where a cleaning equipment and materials are separated enough from the surface of an object by providing a part to be supported poisoned below the aperture of a casing. SOLUTION: The lower end part of the casing 34 constitutes the part 39 to be supported which is engaged with a supporting shaft 38 fixed on a copying machine side, the part 39 has an engagement groove 40 opened downward, and is constituted in nearly C-shaped. The part 39 is provided on one end of the longitudinal direction of the device 23. The device 23 can be attached by engaging the engagement groove 40 of the part 39 with the fitting groove part of shaft 38 and pushing the groove 40 to a specified position. At this time, the shaft 38 provided on the copying machine side guides the part 39 to the specified position. In this case, since the position of a pressure lever 46 and a pressure leaf spring 45 are not controlled, and are free, the attachment of the device 23 is not disturbed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a surface of an object on which a toner image which is rotationally driven inside the image forming apparatus and transferred onto a sheet is formed. The present invention relates to a cleaning device of an image forming apparatus to be cleaned.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is an image forming apparatus such as a color copying machine in which a color image is transferred onto a sheet by using an intermediate transfer member such as a transfer belt. This reads an original image by an exposure unit and separates the image into four colors of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to a single color of these is formed on the photosensitive drum, and the toner of this color visualizes the image on the photosensitive drum. Further, this toner image is transferred to a transfer belt which is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum and is rotationally driven. The same process is repeated for each of the four colors to form a full-color toner image on the transfer belt. After that, the paper is conveyed between the transfer belt and the transfer roller provided opposite to the transfer belt,
Transfer the toner image onto the paper.

In such a color copying machine, a cleaning device for the transfer belt is provided in order to remove the toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt after transferring the toner image on the paper. This cleaning device includes, for example, a cleaning blade whose front end is abutted so as to face the direction of rotation of the transfer belt, a casing for collecting the toner scraped off by the cleaning blade, and a toner scraped off by the cleaning blade. And an auxiliary blade for guiding the inside of the casing. The cleaning blade and the auxiliary blade are provided so as to face each other with an opening for collecting toner provided on the side surface of the casing, and are pressed against the surface of the transfer belt.
However, the cleaning blade and the auxiliary blade are separated from the transfer belt surface until the first color is transferred from the photosensitive drum to the transfer belt and the full-color toner image is transferred from the transfer belt to the paper. There is a need.

[0004]

Such a transfer belt cleaning device is provided with a guide rail for attaching and detaching it to and from the image forming apparatus, and by utilizing this guide rail, the guide rail is moved forward and backward. It is generally installed and removed. However, the toner collecting opening of the cleaning device is often provided on the side surface due to its structure, and there is a risk that toner will be scattered from the inside of the casing when the cleaning device is attached or detached. If the guide rail has rattling, the cleaning blade of the cleaning device, the auxiliary blade, or part of the casing may come into contact with the transfer belt and be damaged.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, which has a simple structure and can be easily attached and detached, and which can prevent toner from scattering and damage to the apparatus.

[0006]

A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a casing, a cleaning member, a supported portion, and a drive mechanism. The casing has an opening for collecting the toner separated from the surface of the object. The cleaning member is attached to the opening edge of the casing and can be pressed against the surface of the object. The supported portion is provided below the opening of the casing, guided by a support shaft provided in the image forming apparatus to guide the casing to a predetermined position, and supported by the support shaft to swing the casing. The drive mechanism swings the casing to bring the cleaning member into pressure contact with and away from the surface of the object.

In such an image forming apparatus cleaning device, the supported portion provided below the opening is guided by the support shaft provided in the image forming apparatus to guide the casing to a predetermined position. It can be mounted in place. The supported portion is supported by a support shaft to swing the casing. Therefore, when the cleaning member is brought into pressure contact with or separated from the surface of the object, the support shaft around which the casing rotates also serves as a guide member at the time of mounting, so that the cleaning device can be attached and detached with a simple structure. Further, since it is possible to rotate the opening of the casing so as to face upward and attach and detach it, it is possible to prevent toner from scattering.

The cleaning member can be constructed so that its tip end faces the direction of rotation of the surface of the object, and can be composed of a cleaning blade made of synthetic resin or metal. When the surface of the object is driven in the direction of moving downward from above with respect to the opening of the casing, the cleaning member can be attached to one side edge located below the opening of the casing.

Further, a cleaning member is attached to one side edge located above the opening of the casing so that the surface of the object moves from the lower side to the upper side with respect to the opening of the casing. An auxiliary cleaning member may be further provided on the other side edge located below the opening. The toner scraped off by the cleaning member is guided to the inside of the casing by the auxiliary cleaning member, so that the toner can be prevented from scattering to the outside. As the auxiliary cleaning member, an auxiliary cleaning blade made of synthetic resin or metal can be used.

This cleaning device can be used for a photoconductor drum, and an intermediate transfer member for transferring a toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum and transferring the toner image onto a conveyed sheet. It can also be used for belts. In this case, the intermediate transfer belt may be stretched between the driving roller and the driven roller. Further, the casing may be biased so that the tip of the cleaning member is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the object.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows a copying machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The copy machine 1 has a document table 2 on the upper surface of which a document is placed. Further, a document retainer for covering the document table 2 is attached to the upper surface of the copying machine 1 so as to be openable and closable, and an operation including an input key portion such as a ten-key pad and a print key, a display portion including a liquid crystal display element, an LED, and the like. Panels are arranged.

An exposure unit 3 for reading a document placed on a document table 2 is provided above the copying machine 1. The exposure unit 3 is composed of a light source, a mirror, a lens unit and the like. The original image from the exposure unit 3 is the color CCD 4
Scanned and stored as a two-dimensional image. An image forming unit 5 for forming a toner image of a read original is provided at the center of the copying machine 1. The image forming section 5 has a photosensitive drum 6 on the surface of which an electrostatic latent image is formed. Around the photosensitive drum 6, a charging device 7, an optical system 8 for irradiating light for forming an electrostatic latent image, developing devices 9, 10, 11, 12, a transfer device 13, a cleaning device 14 and the like are arranged. Has been done. Developer 9, 10, 11, 1
2 is filled with magenta, cyan, yellow, and black toners, respectively, and visualizes toner images corresponding to the respective colors on the photosensitive drum.

The cleaning device 14 is provided with a cleaning member such as a cleaning roller, a cleaning blade, or a fur brush. When these are pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum 6, the toner on the photosensitive drum 6 is removed. It is configured to do. The transfer device 13 includes a driving roller 15, driven rollers 16 and 17, and an auxiliary roller 1.
8 and 19, a bias roller 20, a transfer belt 21 stretched over these rollers, a secondary transfer roller 22 arranged to face the transfer belt 21, a cleaning device 23 and the like. The transfer belt 21 is rotationally driven by the drive roller 15 at substantially the same speed as the surface of the photosensitive drum 6.
The transfer belt 21 is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 6 between the auxiliary roller 19 and the bias roller 20. The bias roller 20 is disposed inside the transfer belt 21, and removes toner attached to the surface of the photoconductor drum 6 by being charged with a high voltage charge.
Transfer to The driven roller 16 and the secondary transfer roller 22 are arranged so as to be in contact with each other via the transfer belt 21 and the conveyed paper, and the secondary transfer roller 2
When the high-voltage electric charge is applied to 2, the transfer belt 21
Transfer the upper toner to the paper.

A paper feed unit 24 is provided below the copying machine 1. The paper feeding unit 24 is arranged in the lower part of the copying machine 1 so as to be vertically arranged, and the papers stored in the paper feeding cassettes 25 to 28 are arranged in the image forming unit 5.
And a paper feed / conveyance path 29 for conveying the sheet. A sheet of paper is provided on the downstream side of the image forming unit 5 in the sheet conveying direction as shown in FIG.
A paper discharge conveyance path 30 for conveying to the left side, a fixing device 31 for melting and fixing the toner image on the paper, a discharge roller 32 for discharging the fixed paper, and a paper discharge for receiving the discharged paper. A tray 33 is provided.

The cleaning device 23 provided in the transfer device 13 has a structure as shown in FIGS. The cleaning device 23 has a casing 34 having an opening 35 on its side surface. A main blade 36 made of a hard synthetic resin is attached to the side edge located above the opening 35. A lower blade 37 made of a soft synthetic resin is attached to the side edge located below the opening 35. The lower end portion of the casing 34 constitutes a supported portion 39 that engages with a support shaft 38 fixed to the copying machine 1 side.

The supported portion 39 has the engaging groove 4 opened downward.
0, and is configured in a substantially C shape. Further, the supported portion 39 is provided at one end in the length direction of the cleaning device 13, as shown in FIG. Engagement groove 4 of supported portion 39
The width of 0 is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the support shaft 38 and larger than the outer diameter of the fitting groove portion 41 provided in the support shaft 38.

A mounting plate 42 is provided at the other lengthwise end of the cleaning device 23. The mounting plate 42 is provided with mounting holes 43 corresponding to the ends of the support shaft 39. Inside the cleaning member 23, a spiral 44 which is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) is incorporated. On the copying machine 1 side, a pressing lever 46 to which a pressing leaf spring 45 for pressing the casing 34 of the cleaning device 23 is attached is provided. The pressing lever 46 is
It is attached to a rotating shaft 47 that is rotatably attached to the copying machine 1, and can swing in accordance with the rotation of the rotating shaft 47. In addition, the pressing lever 4 is provided near the rotation shaft 47.
A position regulating plate 48 for regulating the moving position of 6 is attached. The position regulating plate 48 is attached to a sliding shaft 49 that is slidable in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2, and regulates the position of the pressing lever 46 according to the sliding position of the sliding shaft 49. There can be a regulation position and a release position for releasing the position regulation.

A solenoid mounting plate 50 is mounted on the copying machine 1 on the other side in the length direction of the cleaning device 23. A solenoid 52 is attached to the solenoid mounting plate 50 so that the plunger 51 moves inward when a signal is input. The plunger 51 has a solenoid lever 53.
Is attached. The solenoid lever 53 is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft 47, and the plunger 51 of the solenoid 52 moves to rotate the rotary shaft 47.

When the cleaning device 23 is mounted on the copying machine 1, the sliding shaft 49 is slid to move the position regulating plate 48 to the regulation releasing position. In this state, the pressing lever 46 can rotate regardless of the position regulating plate 48, and the pressing plate spring 45 can be retracted to the position where the plunger 51 of the solenoid 52 is most projected. The cleaning device 23 can be mounted by fitting the engagement groove 40 of the support portion 39 into the fitting groove portion 41 of the support shaft 38 and pushing the engagement groove 40 to a predetermined position. At this time, the support shaft 3 provided on the copying machine 1 side
8 guides the supported portion 39 to a predetermined position.
At this time, the pressing lever 46 and the pressing plate spring 45 are in a free state without being regulated in position, so that there is no obstacle when the cleaning device 23 is attached. After that, the sliding shaft 49 is moved to bring the position regulating plate 48 to the regulating position.

When the toner image is being transferred from the photosensitive drum 6 in the transfer device 13, the solenoid 52 is turned off so that the position of the plunger 51 is at the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. As a result, the pressing lever 46 and the pressing leaf spring 45 are moved to the retracted position via the plunger 51, the solenoid lever 53, and the rotating shaft 47. At this time, the cleaning device 23 rotates in the lower left direction in FIG. 2 due to its own weight, and the main blade 36 and the lower blade 37 are separated from the transfer belt 21.

After the sheet is conveyed between the secondary transfer roller 22 and the driven roller 16 and the toner image on the transfer belt 21 is transferred onto the sheet, or simultaneously with the transfer, a signal is sent to the solenoid 52. Enter. As a result, the plunger 51 moves to the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 4, and at the same time, the pressing lever 46 and the pressing spring 45 move to the position where they press the casing 34 of the cleaning device 23.

At this time, the tips of the main blade 36 and the lower blade 37 are pressed against the transfer belt 21. As a result, the toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 21 is scraped off by the main blade 36 and collected in the opening 35. The toner collected in the opening 35 is
The lower blade 37 prevents leakage to the outside.

When the transfer belt 21 is not cleaned, the support shaft 38 located below the cleaning device 23 is rotated, so that the opening 35 is rotated so as to face the upper surface. Therefore, even if toner adheres to the inside of the tip of the main blade 36, the toner is collected inside the casing without scattering to the outside. Other Embodiments (A) A fur brush may be used instead of the main blade 36 and the lower blade 37. (B) The present invention can be applied to a normal copying machine using a transfer belt instead of the color copying machine. (C) It can be used as a cleaning device for a photoconductor. (D) When the rotation direction of the transfer belt 21 is opposite, the main blade 36 is opened instead of the lower blade 37.
Can be attached to the side edge located below. In this case, the blade on the side edge located above the opening 35 can be omitted.

[0024]

In the cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the casing can be swung by the supported portion located below the opening of the casing, and the cleaning member is sufficiently separated from the surface of the object. The cleaning device can be attached and detached with. Therefore,
The device can be prevented from being damaged. Further, since the supported portion is guided by the support shaft provided in the image forming apparatus to guide the casing to a predetermined position, it is possible to surely attach / detach with a simple configuration without providing a separate guide member. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional configuration diagram of a copying machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial side sectional view showing a main part thereof.

FIG. 3 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a partial side sectional view thereof.

[Description of Reference Signs] 1 Copier 5 Image forming unit 6 Photosensitive drum 13 Transfer device 15 Drive roller 16 Driven roller 17 Driven roller 18 Auxiliary roller 19 Auxiliary roller 20 Bias roller 21 Transfer belt 22 Secondary transfer roller 23 Cleaning device 34 Casing 35 Opening 36 Main Blade 37 Lower Blade 38 Support Shaft 39 Supported Portion 40 Engagement Groove 41 Fitting Groove 42 Mounting Plate 43 Mounting Hole 44 Spiral 45 Pressing Leaf Spring 46 Pressing Lever 47 Rotating Shaft 48 Position Restricting Plate 49 Sliding Shaft 50 Solenoid mounting plate 51 Plunger 52 Solenoid 53 Solenoid lever

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning device of an image forming apparatus, which cleans a surface of an object on which a toner image transferred on a paper is formed while being rotationally driven inside the image forming apparatus. A casing having an opening for collecting the toner separated from the surface of the object, a cleaning member provided at the opening edge of the casing and capable of being in pressure contact with the surface of the object, and provided below the opening of the casing, A supported portion which is guided by a support shaft provided in the image forming apparatus to guide the casing to a predetermined position and which is supported by the support shaft to swing the casing; and a cleaning member which swings the casing. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a drive mechanism that presses and separates the surface of the object from the surface of the object. 2. The cleaning member is attached such that its tip end faces the rotational direction of the surface of the object.
The cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is a cleaning blade made of synthetic resin or metal. 4. The cleaning member is attached to one side edge located below the opening of the casing,
The cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The cleaning member is attached to one side edge located above the opening of the casing,
An auxiliary cleaning member, which is attached to the other side edge of the casing facing the cleaning member and is located below the opening of the casing, and guides the toner scraped off by the cleaning member into the casing, is further provided. Item 4. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 3. 6. The cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the auxiliary cleaning member is an auxiliary cleaning blade made of synthetic resin or metal. 7. The cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is a photoconductor drum. 8. The object is an intermediate transfer belt which transfers a toner image formed on the surface of a photosensitive drum and transfers the toner image onto a sheet of paper being conveyed. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. 9. The cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the intermediate transfer belt is stretched between a driving roller and a driven roller. 10. The cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing is biased so that the tip of the cleaning member is in pressure contact with the surface of the object. 11. The cleaning device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is rotated about the support shaft so that the opening is located substantially above and is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus. .