JPS58176672A - Cleaner of image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the size of a cleaner by storing an inflow waste toner positively in the cleaner by means of a screw conveyor to store the toner therein with high density. CONSTITUTION:The waste toner dropped from a photoreceptor by a scraper sheet 3 is forcibly guided and conveyed successively in an arrow direction up to the right end by means of a screw conveyor 7. The open end of the screw conveyor and a cap 8 are held open on the right end; therefore, the waste toner arriving at said part is changed in direction like an arrow in said part and is advanced into the hollow part in the screw conveyor. When the amt. of the waste toner advanced into the hollow part attains a prescribed amt., a detection means 72 operates to announce the same at every operation. The operator removes the cap 8 and discards the waste toner in the screw conveyor or exchanges the screw conveyor itself.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a gluing IJ-ning device for an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine.

Ti! of an electrostatic copying machine, etc. that makes a copy by transferring a toner image formed on the surface of a moving image carrier onto a transfer paper! +i 1
In the 1+ forming device, it is necessary to remove residual toner that remains on the surface of the photoconductor even after the transfer process is completed so that it does not interfere with the next copying operation. A cleaning device is provided to remove residual toner.

Various types of cleaning devices have already been proposed, particularly those that use powdered developer, in which a cleaning blade made of an elastic material such as rubber is used to scrape off residual toner on the surface of the image carrier. A commonly used device is one in which the used toner is collected by a scooping sheet located below the blade and introduced into a container that collects the used toner. FIGS. 1A and B and FIG. 2 schematically show such a known cleaning device for an electrostatic copying machine. A cleaning device 20 is disposed adjacent to the cylindrical photoreceptor 1 rotating in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the cleaning blade 2 inserted into the casing 4 of this cleaning device is The cleaning blade is pressed against the photoconductor 1 to scrape off residual toner adhering to its surface.A scooping sheet 6 made of a flexible material such as a thin film made of a bottle is placed below the photoconductor. The scraped toner is placed on the scooping sheet 6, reaches the inside of the casing, and is further stored in a used toner container 5 detachably housed inside the casing.

Although this cleaning device has a simple structure and is excellent in scraping off residual toner, there is a problem in this point because the waste toner is only stored in a single container 5. I had no choice but to do so. In other words, the amount of waste toner stored in the container 5 is rarely stored in fractions throughout the container due to the difference in the size of the transfer paper and the difference in the transfer pattern. As shown in the figure, stale toner particles tend to accumulate locally, and since they are fine particles and have low fluidity in their natural state, once they are locally accumulated, they accumulate further.
There is a tilt that promotes localized accumulation.

Some 1-ax toner waste containers are equipped with a 10-stage toner storage/discharge system, but this does not work properly because the toner itself has the above-mentioned 1 stage. The amount of waste toner stored sometimes does not reach even half of the predetermined amount. In order to eliminate such mistakes and basically reduce the number of times waste toner is discarded, it would be advisable to increase the size of the container and therefore the cleaning device. There is no question that it is undesirable because it increases the cost.

As a means to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, for example, as shown in Fig. 2, a casing is installed in the waste toner storage section of a cleaning scissors 2D equipped with a cleaning plate '2, a scooping sheet 6, etc. 4. A screw conveyor 6 is disposed along the longitudinal direction, and the toner guided through the scoop sheet is electronically fed by the screw conveyor in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, into a waste toner container (not shown). Some proposals have also been made to accommodate this.

Such a product is suitable for liJ in a container as described above.
) The capacity of the container is not wasted due to uneven toner accumulation, but it requires a drive source to drive the screw conveyor, which complicates the structure, and requires a separate waste toner container. This did not necessarily prevent the cleaning device itself or the entire object from increasing in size.

This invention has been made in view of the drawbacks of the known cleaning devices as described above, and by making the screw conveyor itself function as a waste toner storage container, it is possible to downsize the cleaning device μ as a whole, and also to reduce the size of the cleaning device μ as a whole. Nevertheless, we have developed an electrostatic first copy cleaning device that can accommodate a relatively large amount of waste toner and thereby prevent an increase in the number of times waste toner is thrown away. The purpose is to provide

The following is a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, particularly FIGS. 3 and 4. Congratulations on JL.

The 31st page I shows an embodiment of the cleaning device according to the present invention, and is a sectional view of the device viewed in its longitudinal direction.

The cleaning device 20 includes a casing 4 having a cleaning blade 2 and a scooping sheet 3, and there is no particular difference in their construction and operation from those shown in FIGS. 1A and 2.

A hollow screw conveyor 7 is disposed in the lower space within the casing where the waste toner guided by the scooping sheet 3 is stored. One end of the screw conveyor is open, and a lllll1171 is slid on the other end, and this shaft 71 is pivotally connected to the casing and protrudes further outward, and the screw conveyor is arranged on this protrusion. The screw conveyor 7 is
rotates.

At the open end of the screw conveyor 7 (the right end in FIG. 3), the casing 4 also has an opening, and this opening is covered with a cap 8.

As shown in the figure, the cap 8 has a shape in which a recess 81 is formed in the center of a substantially hemispherical member, and when the cap is installed in the opening of the casing, the recess 8
1 is close to the hollow part of the screw conveyor 7, and the annular projecting part around the recess 81 is formed so as to surround the open end of the screw conveyor.

Further, a toner amount detection means 72 is disposed at the bottom of the hollow part of the screw conveyor 7, and furthermore, although not shown, the screw conveyor 7 and the driving means for driving it can be engaged and disengaged at will. 8 can be pulled out and the screw conveyor can be taken out from the opening of the casing 4.

Since this invention is generally configured as described above,
The waste toner that has fallen through the scooping sheet 6 is forcibly guided by the screw conveyor 7 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 until it reaches the right end in the figure.

At the right end, the open end of the screw conveyor and the cap 8
Because of the above-mentioned relationship, the waste toner that reaches this portion further changes its direction as indicated by the arrow in the figure and enters the hollow portion inside the screw conveyor.

When the amount of waste toner that has entered the hollow portion reaches a predetermined amount, the detection means 72 is activated and suggests to the operator to discard the waste toner, so the cap 8 is removed and the screw conveyor 7 is removed. Either the toner is removed from the casing, the toner is discarded, and then reinstalled, or the screw conveyor is replaced with a new one.

As is clear from the above description, in the present invention, a screw conveyor is used to efficiently feed inflowing live toner, and waste toner that has not been fed is stored inside the screw conveyor itself. Therefore, the waste toner storage section does not require an excessive volume unlike the above-mentioned known ones, and also does not require a separate storage section for this purpose, so it is possible to downsize the waste toner storage section. .

Furthermore, since the waste toner is forcibly accommodated in the hollow part inside the screw conveyor, a large amount of folded toner can be accommodated in the accommodation part of the small container by containing the waste toner in a compressed state. Since it is a holder, it is possible to reduce the number of times waste toner is disposed of even though it is small overall.

Although the screw conveyor shown in Fig. 5 is entirely formed in one piece, the end wall portion on the side where the shaft 71 is disposed is made detachable from the cylindrical portion provided with the threads. This configuration is advantageous when one screw conveyor is used repeatedly, since the waste toner inside can be easily taken out.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the screw conveyor, in which a threaded portion is formed on the inner wall of the internal hollow part of the screw conveyor 7 in the opposite direction to the threaded portion formed on the outer periphery. It is.

By forming the screw conveyor in this way, the waste toner that has entered the hollow part is not only pushed by the waste toner that is tightened afterwards, but is also forcibly transferred inside the hollow part, making the waste toner more efficient. It is possible to transfer the waste toner well and to accommodate a larger amount of waste toner in the internal hollow part in a pressure-moving manner.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1A and 1B and FIG. 2 are schematic side sectional views showing a known cleaning device, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view in the handle direction showing a cleaning device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view showing another embodiment of the screw conveyor. 1... Photoreceptor 2... Cleaning blade 6.
...Scooping sheet 4...Casing 5...Waste toner storage container 6.7...Screw conveyor 8e...Cap

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A cleaning member disposed close to the image bearing member and provided with a cleaning member for scraping off and removing residual toner by pressing against the surface of the photoreceptor, and a space for storing the scraped toner. In the toner storage space, a hollow screw conveyor with one end open and a member disposed near the open end of the screw conveyor to push the toner transferred by the screw conveyor from the open end to the inner narrow hollow part. A cleaning device W for an image forming apparatus is provided.