JPH10307504A - Fixing roller cleaner and fixing roller cleaning member therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of parts used in a fixing roller cleaner and simplify the cleaner by reducing the component parts of the fixing roller cleaning member and the number of waste parts, and detecting the replacement timing of the fixing roller cleaning member and whether or not the fixing roller cleaning member is mounted with the same detection mechanism. SOLUTION: This fixing roller cleaner is provided with a long cleaning web 2, a first shaft 4 supporting the longitudinal end of the cleaning web 2, and winding and retaining a prescribed amount of the cleaning web 2 previously, a second shaft 3 which supports the longitudinal direction of the other end of the cleaning web 2 and conducts winding of the cleaning web 2 retained by the first shaft 4, and a fixing roller cleaning member 1 for cleaning a fixing roller surface with the cleaning web 2 being brought into contact with a fixing roller 12, and a cleaning web detection means 8 for detecting the presence of the cleaning web 2, whereby the cleaning web detection means 8 involves an actuator 9 supported so as to be capable of being brought into contact with the back surface of the cleaning web 2, and the cleaning web 2 involves an opening part 15 to be detected which is in a winding termination area and at a position corresponds to a contact position with the actuator 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fixing roller cleaning device and a fixing roller cleaning member used therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a fixing device in which a toner image formed on a sheet is heated and pressed by a heat roller and a pressure roller to fix the toner image on the sheet, a part of the toner image is fixed to the heat roller during the fixing process. A cleaning device for the heat roller is provided to prevent the toner from adhering to the surface and being re-fixed in the steps subsequent to the next page to cause erroneous printing.

Hereinafter, the structure of a conventional fixing roller cleaning device will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of the fixing roller cleaning device, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a detection mechanism. The fixing roller cleaning device includes a fixing roller cleaning member 1 that is detachably installed so that the fixing roller cleaning device can be replaced when it is consumed, a driving motor 6 and a power transmission unit 7 that convey the fixing roller cleaning member 1 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Further, a detection mechanism 8 for detecting the replacement time of the fixing roller cleaning member 1 and an optical sensor 14 for detecting whether or not the fixing roller cleaning member 1 is mounted are provided.

A fixing roller cleaning member 1 supports a long cleaning web 2, a driven shaft 4 which supports one end of the cleaning web 2 in the longitudinal direction, and has a predetermined amount of the cleaning web wound and held in advance, and a cleaning web 2. It comprises a drive shaft 3 supporting the other end in the longitudinal direction and winding the cleaning web 2 held by the driven shaft 4, and a detection rod 5 fixed to a winding end region of the cleaning web 2. .

[0005] Both ends of the cleaning web 2 are adhered to a drive shaft 3 and a driven shaft 4, respectively.
, That is, the detection rod 5 is adhered to the driven shaft 4 end. The detection mechanism 8 includes an actuator 9, a sensor 10, and a spring 11.

Next, the operation of the fixing roller cleaning device having the above configuration will be described. In the fixing roller cleaning member 1 immediately after the replacement, most of the cleaning web 2 is wound around the driven shaft 4 side, but the power of the driving motor 6 is transmitted via the power transmission unit 7 and the driving shaft 3 rotates. As a result, it is wound up on the drive shaft 3 side. The cleaning web 2 is arranged so as to always contact the surface of the heat roller 12 during printing, and wipes off the toner 13 attached to the surface of the heat roller 12 rotating in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure.

To prevent the wiped toner 13 from adhering again from the cleaning web 2 to the surface of the heat roller 12, the drive shaft 3 is rotated, and the cleaning web is sequentially wound around the drive shaft 3. Since the cleaning web 2 is a consumable item, the fixing roller cleaning member 1 needs to be replaced periodically, and as a detecting means, the actuator 9 is arranged on the trajectory of the cleaning web to be conveyed. Normally, the actuator 9 is at the position A by the action of the spring 11 as shown in FIG. 4A, and in this case, the sensor 10 is turned off. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the actuator 9 is moved from the position A by the action of the external force F or the like and is at the position B, the sensor 10 is turned on.

Accordingly, the detection rod 5 is conveyed together with the end of the cleaning web 2, and the sensor 9 is turned on / off by moving the actuator 9 from the position A to the position B.
Is switched, and the replacement time of the fixing roller cleaning member 1 is detected. In addition, a set of optical sensors 14 is provided in a direction perpendicular to the cleaning web 2 to detect the presence or absence of the fixing roller cleaning member 1, and the fixing roller cleaning member 1 is mounted according to the presence or absence of light transmission. Is being detected.

[0009]

However, in the configuration of the conventional fixing roller cleaning device, the number of components to be discarded is increased because there are many components of the fixing roller cleaning member to be replaced as consumables. Also, since a detection mechanism for detecting the replacement time of the fixing roller cleaning member and a mechanism for detecting the presence or absence of the fixing roller cleaning member are separately provided, the components of the fixing roller cleaning device are provided. Increases the complexity of the apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to reduce the number of components to be discarded by reducing the number of components of the fixing roller cleaning member, and to detect the replacement time of the fixing roller cleaning member and check whether the fixing roller cleaning member is mounted. By performing the detection of the presence or absence with the same detection mechanism, the number of components of the fixing roller cleaning device can be reduced and the device can be simplified.

[0011]

The object of the present invention is to provide an elongate cleaning web, a first shaft which supports one end of the cleaning web in the longitudinal direction and has a predetermined amount of the cleaning web wound and held in advance, and A second shaft for supporting the other end in the longitudinal direction of the web and for winding the cleaning web held by the first shaft; and contacting the cleaning web with a fixing roller to reduce the surface of the fixing roller. In a fixing roller cleaning device including a fixing roller cleaning member for cleaning and a cleaning web detecting unit for detecting the presence or absence of the cleaning web, the cleaning web detecting unit is supported so as to be in contact with a back surface of the cleaning web. The cleaning web has an opening for detection at a position corresponding to a contact position of the actuator in a winding end region of the cleaning web. It is achieved by Rukoto.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a main part of the fixing roller cleaning device, and FIG. 2 is a control flowchart thereof. In FIG. 1, a fixing roller cleaning device includes a fixing roller cleaning member 1 that is detachably mounted so that the fixing roller cleaning device can be replaced when the fixing roller is worn out, a driving motor 6 for transporting the fixing roller cleaning member 1 in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. A transmission unit 7 and a detection mechanism 8 for detecting the time to replace the fixing roller cleaning member 1 are provided.

The fixing roller cleaning member 1 includes a long cleaning web 2, a driven shaft 4 supporting one end in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning web 2, and having a predetermined amount of the cleaning web wound thereon in advance, and a cleaning web 2. The drive shaft 3 supports the other end in the longitudinal direction and winds up the cleaning web 2 held by the driven shaft 4. The detection mechanism 8 includes an actuator 9, a sensor 10, and a spring 11. An opening 15 such as a through hole is provided in the winding end region of the cleaning web 2.

The actuator 9 is arranged so as to be in contact with the back surface of the cleaning web 2. Since the cleaning web 2 exerts an external force on the actuator 9, when the cleaning web 2 is on the actuator 9, FIG. B shown in
Position (the sensor 10 is ON) and there is no cleaning web 2 on the actuator 9, ie, the fixing roller cleaning member 1
When is not mounted, or when the opening 15 is present on the actuator 9, it is at the position A shown in FIG. 4 by the action of the spring 11 (the sensor 10 is OFF).

The operation of the fixing roller cleaning device will be described with reference to FIG. When printing is started, the driving motor 6 starts driving at a minimum speed at which the toner 13 wiped off by the cleaning web does not adhere to the surface of the heat roller 12 again (hereinafter, referred to as the following).
It is called "normal drive". ) At the same time, detection is performed by the detection mechanism 8. If there is a cleaning web on the actuator 9, the routine denoted by reference numeral 20 branches to the ON side, and the drive motor 6 continues to be driven by the normal drive. If there is no cleaning web 2 on the actuator 9, the routine 20
Is branched to the OFF side, and the rotation speed of the drive motor 6 rotates at a higher speed than during normal drive.

Thereafter, detection is performed again by the detection mechanism 8, and when the cleaning web 2 is on the actuator 9,
The routine 21 branches to the ON side, detects that the cleaning web 2 is at the end, and reports the replacement time of the fixing roller cleaning member 1. If there is no cleaning web on the actuator 9, the routine 21 branches to the OFF side and reports that the fixing roller cleaning member 1 is not mounted.

According to the present embodiment, the replacement time of the fixing roller cleaning member 1 can be detected by the opening 15 provided at the end of the cleaning web 2, so that the detection rod as in the conventional configuration is not required, and the consumable is used. The number of parts of the fixing roller cleaning member 1 to be replaced can be reduced. Further, the same detection mechanism 8 can detect the end of the cleaning web 2 that indicates the replacement time of the fixing roller cleaning member 1 and detect whether or not the fixing roller cleaning member 1 is attached. .

[0018]

According to the present invention, the number of components to be discarded can be reduced because the number of components of consumables can be reduced. Further, by detecting the replacement time of the fixing roller cleaning member and detecting whether or not the fixing roller cleaning member is attached with the same detection mechanism, the number of parts of the fixing roller cleaning device can be reduced, and the apparatus can be simplified. Can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of a conventional fixing roller cleaning device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a detection mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fixing roller cleaning member, 2 ... Cleaning web, 3 ... Drive shaft, 4 ... Driven shaft, 6 ... Drive motor, 7 ... Power transmission part, 8 ... Detection mechanism, 9 ... Actuator, 10 ...
Sensor, 11: spring, 12: heat roller, 15: opening.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tsukasa Onose 1060 Takeda, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture Inside Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Shirata 1060 Takeda, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] An elongated cleaning web, a first shaft supporting one end in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning web, and having a predetermined amount of the cleaning web wound thereon in advance, and supporting the other end in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning web. A fixing roller cleaning member having a second shaft for winding the cleaning web held by the first shaft, and contacting the cleaning web with a fixing roller to clean the surface of the fixing roller; A fixing roller cleaning device comprising: a cleaning web detecting unit configured to detect presence / absence of the cleaning web; wherein the cleaning web detecting unit includes an actuator supported to be in contact with a back surface of the cleaning web; Has an opening for detection at a position corresponding to a contact position of the actuator in a winding end region thereof. La cleaning device. 2. A long cleaning web, a first shaft that supports one end of the cleaning web in the longitudinal direction, and has a predetermined amount of the cleaning web wound and held in advance, and supports the other end of the cleaning web in the longitudinal direction. A fixing shaft cleaning member having a second shaft for winding the cleaning web held by the first shaft, wherein the cleaning web has an opening for detection in a winding end region thereof. A fixing roller cleaning member, characterized in that: