JPH10301460A - Cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recover toner removed from the surface of a photoreceptor into a waste-toner storage part by a simple structure even in the case gravity cannot be used for carrying the waste toner. SOLUTION: In this cleaner which removes residual toner on the surface of the photoreceptor 8 by a cleaning blade 10 and recovers the removed toner into the waste-toner storage part 13 by a waste-toner carrying means, a waste- toner scrape-out member, as the waste-toner carrying means, which rotates is provided near the cleaning blade 10, and a platelike carrying member 15 is also provided for carrying the toner toward the waste-toner storage part 13 while reciprocating in response to the rotation of the waste-toner scrape-out member.

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 image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and more particularly to a method for removing residual toner removed from a surface of a photoreceptor by a toner removing member such as a cleaning blade by gravity. The present invention relates to a type of cleaning device that cannot be collected by a cleaning device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, after a surface of a photoreceptor is uniformly charged by a charging device, the surface is exposed to light corresponding to an image to be output by an exposure device. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor. This electrostatic latent image is developed with toner in a developing device, and a toner image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor. This toner image is transferred onto a sheet supplied from a sheet feed tray by a transfer device. The sheet to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the surface of the photoconductor by the separation device, and then fixed by the fixing device. After the transfer, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor is removed by a cleaning blade of a cleaning device. The toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor is collected in a waste toner container provided inside the cleaning device.

In the above-described image forming apparatus, when the cleaning device is disposed beside or below the photoreceptor, the toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor is removed.
The waste toner can be collected in the waste toner storage unit provided behind the cleaning blade by using gravity.

However, for example, when the cleaning device is disposed above the photoreceptor, the toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor cannot be collected in the waste toner container using gravity. In addition, it is necessary to provide some waste toner conveying means and collect the toner removed from the surface of the photoconductor in the waste toner container.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-133089 discloses that toner removed from the surface of a photoreceptor is collected in a waste toner container using a rotary wing having a cross-shaped cross section. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-372982 describes that the toner is collected in a waste toner storage section by using a transport roll having a regular triangular cross section.

[0006] However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 9, JP-A-4-372982, the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-372982 scoops and transports waste toner only by the rotating force of a rotating blade or a transporting roll, and therefore the transporting power in the horizontal direction is insufficient. In addition, it is necessary to provide the waste toner storage unit near the cleaning blade, and it is necessary to provide the bottom surface of the waste toner storage unit sufficiently below, so that there is a problem that the arrangement of the cleaning device is restricted.

As a solution to such a problem, as described in JP-A-6-258994,
As a waste toner conveying means, there is provided a toner collecting roller whose surface is covered with a rubber magnet,
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2208, a device provided with a fur brush and a magnet roller is known as waste toner conveying means.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-258.
According to the apparatuses described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 994 and No. 6-282208, the conveying force in the horizontal direction can be improved, but when these additional waste toner conveying means are provided, the apparatus becomes large. There is a problem of becoming. Further, when a brush is used, there is a problem in that toner is blown out due to high-speed rotation of the brush. Further, when a magnet is used, there is a problem that it can be applied only to an apparatus using a magnetic toner.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to recover toner removed from the surface of a photoreceptor to a waste toner storage section with a simple configuration even when gravity cannot be used to transport waste toner.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the toner remaining on the surface of a photoreceptor is removed by a toner removing member, and the toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor by the toner removing member is removed by a waste toner conveying means. In the cleaning device for collecting the waste toner in a waste toner accommodating portion provided behind the toner removing member, a waste toner scraping member that performs a rotational movement near the toner removing member is provided as the waste toner conveying means, and the waste toner is removed. A transport member is provided which reciprocates in conjunction with the rotational movement of the toner scraping member and transports the removed toner toward the waste toner container.

[0011]

The toner removed by the cleaning blade from the surface of the photoconductor by the rotation of the waste toner scraping member is conveyed in the direction of the waste toner storage unit, and interlocked with the rotational movement of the waste toner scraping member. The toner is also conveyed in the direction of the waste toner storage section by the reciprocating conveying member.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The transport member may be a plate-like transport member having a surface extending substantially horizontally.

Further, a convex portion may be formed on the lower surface of the plate-shaped conveying member, and a hole may be formed to penetrate in a vertical direction.

Further, the plate-shaped transport member may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the waste toner container.

[0015]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an image forming unit to which the cleaning device of the present invention is applied. The image forming unit is provided detachably with respect to the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a main part of a cleaning device of the image forming unit shown in FIG.

A toner housing 2 is provided below the image forming unit 1.
Are provided with two continuous toner storage sections 2a and 2b. The toner accommodating sections 2a and 2b are provided with stirring members 3a and 3b that rotate inside the toner accommodating sections 2a and 2b to agitate the toner and send the agitated toner toward the developing region. Further, a part of the toner housing 2 protrudes upward to form an auxiliary toner accommodating portion 2c.

A developing housing 4 is integrally formed adjacent to the toner housing 2, and a partition 5 between the toner housing 2 and the developing housing 4 is provided with the toner in the toner housing 2 inside the developing housing 4. An opening 5a for feeding is formed. Inside the developing housing 4, a toner conveying member 6 and a developing roll 7 are provided adjacent to each other. The upper part of the developing housing 4 is open, and a drum-shaped photoconductor 8 rotating clockwise in FIG. 1 is arranged above the developing roll 7 in a state of being close to the developing roll 7. When the image forming unit 1 is pulled out of the main body of the image forming apparatus, the front surface of the photoconductor 8 is covered with a reversible protective cover 9, and when the image forming unit 1 is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus. , Is retracted from the front surface of the photoconductor 8 by driving means (not shown).

A cleaning blade 10 is provided above the photosensitive member 8 in a state of being pressed against the surface of the photosensitive member 8. Further, on the downstream side of the cleaning blade 10,
The charging roll 11 is provided in a state of being pressed against the surface of the photoconductor 8.

A cleaner housing 12 is disposed above the toner housing 2, and the cleaning blade 10 and the charging roll 11 are attached to a part of the cleaner housing 12.

Photoconductor 8 inside cleaner housing 12
Above the photosensitive member 8 by the cleaning blade 10.
A waste toner transport mechanism 14 is provided for collecting the toner removed from the surface of the cleaning blade 18 into a waste toner storage unit 13 provided behind the cleaning blade 18.

The waste toner transport mechanism 14 includes a plate-like transport member 15 provided inside the cleaner housing 12 so as to be movable in a substantially horizontal direction, and a crank drive mechanism 16 for reciprocating the plate-like transport member 15. I have.

FIG. 3A is a bottom view of the plate-like transport member 15, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the plate-like transport member 15.
The plate-shaped transport member 15 is arranged in a long plate shape along the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor 8 above the cleaning blade 10. The plate-shaped transport member 15 has a plurality of elongated holes 17 aligned in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of rib-shaped protrusions 18 formed in parallel with the longitudinal direction. Plate-shaped conveying member 1
The one end of the long side of 5 extends to the waste toner accommodating section 13 and is slidably supported by a rib 19 formed integrally with the cleaner housing 12. Plate-shaped conveying member 1
As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3 (b), a plurality of engaging portions 20 each having an engaging groove 20a are formed at the other longitudinal end portion of FIG. In the engagement grooves 20a of these engagement portions 20,
A crank portion 21a of the crankshaft 21 as shown in FIG. 4 is rotatably fitted. As shown in FIG. 2, both ends of the crankshaft 21 are rotatably supported on both side plates of the cleaner housing 12 via bearings 22 and 23. One end of the crankshaft 21 penetrates through a side plate of the cleaner housing 12 and is led out to the outside.
The drive gear 24 is connected.

Next, the basic operation of the image forming unit to which the above-described cleaning device of the present invention is applied will be described. After the surface of the photoconductor 8 is uniformly charged by the charging roll 11, the surface is exposed to laser light L from an exposure device (not shown), and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 8. On the other hand, the toner container 2 of the toner housing 2
a, 2b are stirred by the stirring members 3a, 3b, and then pass through the opening 5a.
Is sent inside. The toner in the developing housing 4 is conveyed by the toner conveying member 6 in the direction of the developing roll 7,
The electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 8 is developed by the toner attached around the developing roll 7 to form a toner image. This toner image is transferred onto a sheet sent from a sheet tray (not shown). After the transfer, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 8 is removed by the cleaning blade 10. The toner removed by the cleaning blade 10 accumulates on the cleaning blade 10.

On the other hand, a drive gear 24 connected to the crankshaft 21 meshes with a gear that is rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown), and the crankshaft 21 rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. As a result, the toner accumulated on the cleaning blade 10 by the crank portion 21 a of the crank shaft 21
Is raked out. That is, the crankshaft 21 functions as a waste toner scraping member.

The crank portion 21a of the crank shaft 21
, The engagement groove 20 a of the engagement portion 20 is rotatably fitted, so that the end of the plate-shaped conveyance member 15 on the photoconductor 8 side is rotated by the rotation of the crankshaft 21. Performs a circular motion about the rotation axis of. Further, since the end of the plate-shaped conveyance member 15 on the opposite side to the photoconductor 8 is merely placed on the rib 19, the end of the plate-shaped conveyance member 15 on the side of the photoconductor 8 is left and right in FIG. Reciprocating linearly in the direction. Therefore, as a whole, the plate-shaped conveying member 15
As shown by arrows 15a and 15b, the toner moves on the cleaning blade 10 so as to move toward the waste toner accommodating section 13 as indicated by an arrow B. Since a plurality of rib-shaped projections 18 are formed on the lower surface of the plate-shaped conveyance member 15, the toner is scraped off by the projections 18 and is efficiently conveyed. Also, since a number of long holes 17 are formed in the plate-shaped transport member 15,
The frictional force between the toner and the plate-like transport member 15 increases, and the toner is transported more efficiently. Further, a part of the toner passes through the long hole 17 of the plate-shaped conveying member 15 and moves to the upper side of the plate-shaped conveying member 15, and moves toward the waste toner storage unit 13 along the upper surface of the plate-shaped conveying member 15. Moving.

Thus, even when toner is accumulated below the plate-like transport member 15, the plate-like transport member 15 can move along a predetermined trajectory without exerting an excessive force on the plate-like transport member 15. . As described above, by providing a large number of long holes 17 through which the waste toner can pass through the plate-shaped conveyance member 15, the back flow of the waste toner can be prevented, and a sufficient waste toner storage capacity can be secured. .

The plate-like transport member 15 may be provided with only one of the long hole 17 or the convex portion 18. In addition, slot 1
By selecting the arrangement, the shape, and the number of the protrusions 7 or the protrusions 18, the transfer force and the transfer direction can be controlled.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the waste toner conveying mechanism 14. Parts corresponding to the example shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the waste toner accommodating portion 13a is formed in a triangular shape, and the plate-shaped transport member 15c is formed in a substantially triangular shape according to the shape of the waste toner accommodating portion 13a.

The direction of the slot 17a is inclined with respect to the axial direction of the photosensitive member so that the toner is conveyed toward the wide portion (the right front side in FIG. 6) of the waste toner container 13a. I have. As described above, by selecting the shape of the plate-shaped conveyance member according to the shape of the waste toner storage unit, the waste toner can be uniformly stored in the waste toner storage unit.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing still another example of the waste toner transport mechanism 14. As shown in FIG. Parts corresponding to the example shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the plate-like transport member 15d is
It has a shape in which the center is higher in the moving direction of d. As described above, by raising the central portion of the plate-shaped conveyance member 15d, when the plate-shaped conveyance member 15d reciprocates, the lower surface of the plate-shaped conveyance member 15d is positioned below the plate-shaped conveyance member 15d. There is no collision with parts.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by providing the transport member which reciprocates in conjunction with the rotational movement of the waste toner scraping member.

(1) Since the transporting force in the horizontal direction is improved by the transporting member, the toner can be reliably stored in the waste toner storing section regardless of the installation position of the cleaning device. Therefore, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the cleaning device is increased.

(2) Since the waste toner carrying capacity is increased, the capacity of the waste toner storage unit can be increased, and the interval between replacement of the image forming unit having the built-in cleaning device can be extended.

(3) Since the conveying member is a plate-shaped conveying member and the space occupied by the moving trajectory of the conveying member is narrow, the height of the portion accommodating the conveying member can be reduced, and the apparatus can be downsized. be able to.

(4) Since the number of parts is small, downsizing and cost reduction can be achieved.

(5) By providing the plate-shaped conveying member with a projection or a hole, the toner conveying efficiency can be improved.

(6) Since the toner moves slowly,
There is no toner blowing like using a rotating brush.

(7) The present invention is applicable regardless of whether the toner is magnetic or non-magnetic.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming unit to which a cleaning device of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a main part of a cleaning device of the image forming unit shown in FIG.

3A is a bottom view of the plate-like transport member, and FIG.
It is sectional drawing of a plate-shaped conveyance member.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the crankshaft alone.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of a waste toner transport mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the waste toner transport mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing still another example of the waste toner transport mechanism.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... image forming unit, 2 ... toner housing, 2a,
2b: toner container, 2c: auxiliary toner container, 3a,
3b: stirring member, 4: developing housing, 5a: opening,
6: toner transport member, 7: developing roll, 8: photoconductor, 9
... Protective cover, 10 ... Cleaning blade, 11 ... Charge roll, 12 ... Cleaner housing, 13 ... Waste toner container, 14 ... Waste toner transport mechanism, 15, 15a, 15
b, 15c, 15d,..., a plate-shaped conveying member, 16,..
... engaging portion, 20a ... engaging groove, 21 ... crankshaft, 21a
... Crank part, 22, 23 ... Bearing, 24 ... Drive gear

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Matsui 2274 Hongo, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A toner removing member for removing toner remaining on the surface of a photoreceptor, and the toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor by the toner removing member is provided behind the toner removing member by waste toner conveying means. In the cleaning device for collecting the waste toner in the waste toner storage unit, a waste toner scraping member that performs a rotational movement near the toner removing member is provided as the waste toner conveying unit, and a rotation movement of the waste toner scraping member is provided. A cleaning device, comprising: a conveying member that reciprocates in conjunction with the conveying direction and conveys the removed toner toward the waste toner storage unit. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the transport member is a plate-like transport member having a surface that extends substantially horizontally. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the plate-shaped conveying member has a convex portion on a lower surface thereof. 4. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said plate-shaped conveying member further has a hole penetrating in a vertical direction. 5. The cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the plate-shaped conveyance member has a shape corresponding to a shape of the waste toner storage unit. 6. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the plate-like transport member has a shape in which a central portion is higher in a moving direction of the plate-like transport member.