JPH10198243A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the wear of the edge of both end parts of a blade and to prevent abnormal noise and turning-up from occurring by setting the shape of a blade holder so that both end surface parts of the cleansing blade fitting surface thereof in a longitudinal direction run off in a direction where they go away from a body to be made to abut further than the central surface part. SOLUTION: The cleaning blade 14 is adhered and fixed to the blade fitting surface 13A of the blade holder 13. Then, the abutting pressure of both end parts 14b of the tip edge part 14a of the blade 14 in the longitudinal direction abutting on the body to be made to abut constituted of a photoreceptor with respect to the body to be made to abut is set to be smaller than that of the other tip edge part 14a. Therefore, the shape of the holder 13 is set so that both end surface parts 13a of the blade fitting surface 13A thereof in the longitudinal direction run off in the direction where they go away from the surface of the body to be made to abut further than the central surface part 13b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a cleaning blade for cleaning an abutted member by contacting a leading edge extending in a longitudinal direction with the abutted member,
The present invention relates to a cleaning device in which a blade base end opposite to a leading edge in a width direction of the cleaning blade is fixed to a blade holder over a longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus configured as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or a composite machine thereof, the use of a cleaning device of the above type is well known in the art. For example, a latent image carrier and an intermediate transfer member are used. Such a cleaning device is employed in order to remove the toner or the like adhered to the abutted member and clean the surface thereof.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional cleaning device for cleaning toner adhered to a photoconductor, which is an example of a latent image carrier. The cleaning device 10 is disposed to face the photoreceptor 1, and a casing 2 is provided with a blade holder 3 and a cleaning blade 4 fixed to the holder.

[0004] An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 1 that is driven to rotate, the latent image is visualized as a toner image, and the toner image is transferred to a transfer material. Indicates that the toner remains adhered. The toner T is cleaned by the cleaning device 10.

[0005] The cleaning blade 4 is made of a soft elastic material such as polyurethane rubber, for example. By contacting the surface, the surface of the photoreceptor 1 is cleaned. In the case where the object to be contacted by the cleaning blade is such a photoreceptor, the residual toner T after transfer adhered to the surface is removed by the cleaning blade 4 and the surface of the photoreceptor is cleaned. It is.

The blade holder 3 is made of a plate-like rigid body made of a sheet metal or a synthetic resin molded product. The cleaning blade 4 has a blade base end 4B opposite to the leading edge 4a in the width direction fixed to the blade holder 3 over the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade. The cleaning blade 4 is attached to the blade holder 3 by an adhesive means such as a double-sided tape or hot melt.
Fixed to

The cleaning blade 4 is elastically deformed such that the leading edge 4a on the free end side is pressed against the photoreceptor 1 and elastically bent, for example, by about δ = 0.5 to 2 mm. As a result, the cleaning blade 4 is pressed against the photoreceptor 1 to obtain a contact pressure necessary for cleaning, and the cleaning blade is pressed against the entire length of the photoreceptor 1 in the axial direction to uniformly clean the surface of the photoreceptor.

In an image forming apparatus using this type of cleaning device, the toner image formed on the photoreceptor is usually located at the center of the document rather than at the periphery thereof. The amount of toner input to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade 4 is reduced. In particular, the tendency becomes remarkable when both ends of the cleaning blade are outside the image forming area, or when small-sized images are continuously formed. In these cases, the contact force of the edge portions on both ends of the cleaning blade and the frictional force associated with the sliding thereof are higher than those of other portions.

On the other hand, since both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade are free, the force withstanding the pushing-up force due to the sliding of the edge portion is smaller than that of the other portions whose periphery is restricted. . For this reason, both ends of the cleaning blade are easily deformed and easily vibrated.

For the reasons described above, the amount of wear at the edges at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade increases,
The blade life is shortened, and unusual noise due to chatter vibration and blade scraping occur. In particular, when the amount of abrasion at the edge portion is excessively advanced, the toner stopping power is reduced, resulting in poor cleaning.

In order to prevent such a problem, there has been proposed a technique for forcibly sending toner to a blade edge portion after a job is completed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-2263).
No. 0). In addition, a technique has been proposed in which the amount of protrusion of the cleaning blade at both ends in the longitudinal direction from the blade holder is made longer than that at the center, thereby lowering the blade contact pressure at both ends and reducing the frictional resistance. (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-74836). However, in the former technique, the consumption of toner increases, which leads to an increase in running cost, and in the latter technique, the cleaning blade is attached to the holder due to a longer protruding amount of the blade at both ends. Strength decreases,
The blade may be easily peeled off from the holder.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus which eliminates the above-mentioned conventional disadvantages.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cleaning apparatus as set forth at the beginning, in which, among the leading edge portions abutting against the abutted member, the edge portions at both longitudinal ends of the cleaning blade. In order to make the contact pressure against the contact body smaller than the contact pressure of the other leading edge portion against the contacted body, of the cleaning blade mounting surfaces of the blade holder, the surfaces at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction are blades. A cleaning device is characterized in that the shape of the blade holder is set such that the blade holder is designed to escape in a direction away from the abutted body from a surface at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the holder (claim 1).

In this case, in the configuration according to the first aspect, the shape of the blade holder is such that the surfaces at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder are substantially parallel to the surface at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder. It is advantageous that the surface at both ends of the blade holder in the longitudinal direction and the surface at the central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction are connected via a gently inclined cleaning blade mounting surface of the blade holder. is there.

[0015] Further, in the configuration according to the first aspect of the present invention, the surfaces at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction are located at a fixed angle with respect to the surface at the central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction. It is advantageous if the surfaces at both ends and the surface in the central part in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder are connected via inclined cleaning blade mounting surfaces of the blade holder.

Similarly, in the structure of the first aspect, the surfaces at both ends of the blade holder in the longitudinal direction gradually escape from the surface at the central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction toward the end portions in the blade holder longitudinal direction. Advantageously, it is formed as an increasing amount of inclined surface.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show embodiments of a cleaning device according to the present invention. The basic structure of the cleaning device shown in these drawings is the same as that of the conventional cleaning device shown in FIG. . That is, in the cleaning device of any of the embodiments, as described later, the tip edge portion 14a extending in the longitudinal direction abuts on the photoreceptor, which is an example of the abutted member, and thus remains on the abutted member. A cleaning blade for scraping off the adhered toner and cleaning the surface thereof;
The base end of the blade opposite to the leading edge 14 a in the width direction is fixed to the blade holders 13, 23, 33 over the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 14. The cleaning blade 14 extends in the axial direction of the photoconductor shown in FIG. 5, and the direction is the longitudinal direction, and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is the width direction of the cleaning blade 14. The same applies to the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the blade holder. Hereinafter, the details of each embodiment will be clarified.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the blade holder 13 has a blade mounting surface 13A extending in the longitudinal direction and a plate portion 13B extending in the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. I have.

The blade holder 13 is made of sheet metal or an integrally molded product of a synthetic resin or the like, and is held in the casing 2 shown in FIG. A cleaning blade 14 is adhered and fixed to the blade mounting surface 13A of the blade holder 13 using a double-sided tape or the like as in the related art.

In the cleaning device of this embodiment, the mounting margin L1 for fixing the cleaning blade 14 to the blade holder 13 is constant over the length of the blade. In FIG. 1, reference numeral L2 denotes a blade free length which is a portion where the cleaning blade is not attached to the blade holder, and this free length is also constant over the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 14.

In the cleaning device of this embodiment, of the front edge 14a which comes into contact with the abutting member made of a photosensitive member, both ends 14b in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 14 (only one side is shown) abut on the abutting member. The pressure of the cleaning blade mounting surface 13 of the blade holder 13 is set so that the pressure is smaller than the contact pressure of the other leading edge portion against the contacted body.
A, surface 13a at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction
(Only one side is shown), the shape of the blade holder is set so that it escapes in the direction away from the surface of the abutted body made of the photoconductor from the surface 13b at the central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction.

In the cleaning device of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the blade holder 13 has two surfaces 13A at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder among the cleaning blade mounting surfaces 13A of the blade holder.
The shape of the blade holder 13 is set so that a is positioned substantially parallel to the surface 13b at the center of the blade holder, and the surfaces 1 at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction are set.
The surface 3b of the blade holder 3a and the surface 13b at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder are connected via a cleaning blade mounting surface 13c of the blade holder that is gently inclined.

The blade holder 13 thus configured
The cleaning blade 14 is fixedly mounted on the blade mounting surface 13A so that the mounting margin L1 in the width direction is constant over the longitudinal direction of the blade. FIG.
Is a step amount between the surface 13b and the surface 13a,
The amount of escape of the surface 13a from the surface 13b in the direction away from the abutted body. Β is the blade holder 13
Is the amount of clearance in the same direction at the edge of the cleaning blade 14 attached to the cleaning blade 14.

According to the above construction, the contact pressure of the leading edge of the cleaning blade 14 against the contacted body can be reduced at both longitudinal ends of the cleaning blade, so that the abrasion of the leading edge can be suppressed. Further, when the cleaning blade performs the cleaning operation, it is possible to prevent abnormal noise due to chatter vibration, blade scraping, and the like.

Further, according to the cleaning device of this embodiment, since the mounting margin L1 of the cleaning blade is constant over the entire length in the blade width direction, the blade mounting strength can be made constant in the blade width direction. Thus, it is possible to prevent the strength from being partially reduced. This can prevent the cleaning blade from peeling off from the blade holder.

In addition, regarding the shape of the blade holder 13, the surface 13c connecting the surface 13b and the surface 13a is:
Since the inclined surface is as gentle as possible and the step amount α is small, the cleaning blade 14 can be securely mounted without any gap on the mounting surface 13c. The mounting strength can be sufficiently maintained over the entire length of the cleaning blade. Thereby, the effect of preventing the cleaning blade from peeling from the holder can be further enhanced.

The relief amount β of the leading edge portion 14a is set to be smaller than the bending amount δ of the cleaning blade (see FIG. 5), so that the leading edge portion of the cleaning blade extends over the entire length of the photosensitive member 1 (FIG. 5). )
It is guaranteed to touch the surface. The amount of deflection δ here is the amount of deflection at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
The blade holder shown in FIG. 2 is made of the same material as the blade holder 13 shown in FIG. 2, and the cleaning blade 14 of this example is also provided on the blade mounting surface 23A of the blade holder 23 over the entire length of the cleaning blade. It is attached by an adhesive means such as a double-sided tape so that the attachment allowance L1 is constant. In the figure, L
2 is the free length of the cleaning blade 14, and L is the width of the cleaning blade.

In this example, of the cleaning blade mounting surfaces of the blade holder, the surfaces 23a at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction are located at a fixed angle A with respect to the surface 23b at the central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction. The surface 23a at both ends of the blade holder in the longitudinal direction and the surface 23b at the central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction are inclined so that the cleaning blade mounting surface 23 of the blade holder is inclined.
c. Also according to this configuration, the contact pressure of the edge of the side edge of the leading edge at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade with respect to the photoconductor 1 becomes smaller than that of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade. This is because the leading edge portions at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade are farther away from the surface of the photoconductor than the leading edge portion at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the blade. β is the escape amount in that case, and the escape amount β is
It is greatly enlarged with respect to the clearance amount α on the blade holder side. As a result, the relief amount α on the blade holder side can be set small, and the step difference between the surface 23b and the surface 23a becomes very small.
Thus, it is possible to smoothly and reliably attach the blade to the blade mounting surface 23A without causing any gaps or the like in FIG. As a result, there is no possibility that the blade is not properly mounted. Moreover, a sufficient escape amount β can be secured.

In FIG. 3, the blade holder 23
Although the blade 14 is mounted so that the base position b of the cleaning blade 14 coincides with the bending position a, the blade need not necessarily be mounted so as to match both positions.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
The blade holder 3 is made of the same material as the blade holder 13 shown in FIG. 2, and the cleaning blade 14 is attached to the blade mounting surface 33A of the blade holder 33 over the entire length in the blade longitudinal direction.
Is fixed by an adhesive means such as a double-sided tape so that the value is constant. In the figure, L2 is the cleaning blade 14
Free length.

In this example, of the blade mounting surface 33A, the surfaces 33a at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction are gradually covered from the surface 33b at the central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction toward the distal end in the blade holder longitudinal direction. It is formed as an inclined surface that increases the amount of escape from the contact body. With such a configuration, the edge portion 1 of the cleaning blade 14 is also provided.
4a, the contact pressure at both ends in the longitudinal direction, that is, the edge portion in the range of L3 is smaller than that of the other portions.
This is because the edge portion of the L3 portion is more escaping from the abutted body than the edge portions of the other portions. The maximum escape amount in this case is β. In the case of the present example, the point b2 is farthest from the abutted body with respect to the point b1 which is the inclination starting point among the edge portions in the L3 range. The escape amount is b from point b1
It gradually increases toward two points.

In the case of this example, since there is no step at the boundary between the surface 33b and the surface 33a, the cleaning blade 14 is
The cleaning blade can be smoothly and reliably mounted along the both surfaces 33a and 33b without any gap, and the mounting failure of the cleaning blade does not occur. Also, as in the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the mounting margin L1 is
Is constant over the entire longitudinal direction of the blade, so that the mounting strength of the blade can be kept constant in that direction, and peeling of the blade from the blade holder can be prevented.

In any of the examples shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the clearance β at both ends of the blade is set smaller than the amount of bite of the other blade into the abutment body. Thus, the contact of the edge portions on both ends with the abutted body is guaranteed, and the cleaning function at this portion can be performed without any trouble. In this area, the contact pressure is smaller than that of the other areas, so the wear on the edges at both ends of the blade can be suppressed, and the noise and the scraping of the blade due to chatter vibration can be reduced. Can be prevented.

The present invention can be applied to a cleaning device for cleaning an abutted member such as a transfer belt, an intermediate transfer member, a transfer roller, and a charging roller, in addition to a latent image carrier such as a photosensitive member. it can. Among these, the intermediate transfer member performs a function of temporarily transferring an image on an image carrier such as a photosensitive member, and further transfers the transferred toner image to a transfer material.

[0037]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the contact pressure at the leading edge portions at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade can be made smaller than that at the other portions. Wear can be suppressed and
It is possible to effectively prevent the generation of abnormal noise and blade shading due to chatter vibration. In addition, since the cleaning blade mounting margin can be fixed, the mounting strength of the cleaning blade to the blade holder can be constant over the entire blade width direction, and a partial reduction in strength can be prevented. Peeling of the blade from the blade holder can be prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the boundary between the blade mounting surface at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder and the blade mounting surface at the central portion in the other blade longitudinal direction is a gentle slope. In addition, the cleaning blade can be securely attached to the blade holder without any gap, and the cleaning blade can be prevented from being improperly mounted, and the peeling of the cleaning blade can be effectively prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the mounting failure of the cleaning blade can be more reliably prevented.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the blade mounting surface at both ends of the blade holder is inclined with respect to the blade mounting surface at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the blade, the cleaning blade Can be securely attached to the blade holder without any gaps and the like, and the mounting failure of the cleaning blade can be eliminated, and peeling of the cleaning blade can be effectively prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a mounting portion of a cleaning blade provided in a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention to a blade holder.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an actual arrangement of the cleaning blade and the blade holder shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another example of a blade holder to which a cleaning blade is attached together with the cleaning blade.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing still another example of a blade holder to which a cleaning blade is attached, together with the cleaning blade.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a conventional cleaning device together with a photoconductor to be cleaned.

[Explanation of symbols]

 13 Blade Holder 14 Cleaning Blade 14a Tip Edge 14b End 13A Cleaning Blade Mounting Surface 13a Surface 13b Surface 13c Mounting Surface 23 Blade Holder 23a Surface 23b Surface 23c Mounting Surface 33 Blade Holder 33a Surface 33b Surface

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning blade for cleaning an abutted member by contacting a leading edge portion extending in a longitudinal direction with the abutted member, the cleaning blade being opposite to the leading edge portion in a width direction of the cleaning blade. In a cleaning device in which a base end portion of a blade is fixed to a blade holder in a longitudinal direction of a cleaning blade, of a leading edge portion abutting on the abutted member, both ends in a longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade are in contact with the abutted member. In order to make the contact pressure smaller than the contact pressure of the other leading edge portion with respect to the member to be contacted, of the cleaning blade mounting surfaces of the blade holder, the surfaces at both ends of the blade holder in the longitudinal direction are the central portions in the blade holder longitudinal direction. Shape of the blade holder so as to escape in the direction away from the abutted body from the surface of the blade holder. Cleaning apparatus, characterized in that was boss. 2. The shape of the blade holder is set such that surfaces at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction are substantially parallel to a surface at a central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction,
2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a surface between both ends of the blade holder in the longitudinal direction and a surface at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder are connected via a gently inclined cleaning blade mounting surface of the blade holder. apparatus. 3. A surface at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction is located at a fixed angle with respect to a surface at a central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction, and surfaces at both ends in the blade holder longitudinal direction and a central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the cleaning device is connected to the inclined surface of the blade holder via a cleaning blade mounting surface of the blade holder. 4. The surface at both ends of the blade holder in the longitudinal direction is formed as an inclined surface that gradually increases the amount of clearance from a surface at a central portion in the blade holder longitudinal direction toward an end in the blade holder longitudinal direction. Item 2. The cleaning device according to Item 1.