JPS58198075A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the cleaning performance by disposing an elastic member mounted tightly to a pivotally supporting part between a blade holder and an arm member and between the arm member and a casing member and pressing the blade to the surface of a photoreceptor with stable pressure. CONSTITUTION:The basic end part 16a of an arm member 16 is pivotally mounted on the side wall of a casing 2 and its free end 16b is coupled with the pivotal supporting part of the holder 15 holding the cleaning blade 3 so as to be freely rockingly. Pins 17, 18 constituting the pivotal supporting part are formed by uniting a screw part with a prism part respectively, the screw part of the pin 17 is screwed into the arm member 16 and the gap between one prism part and the square hole 21 of the holder 15 is filled with rubber 22 to provide righting moment in accordance with the status of rubber 22a. The pivotal supporting part between the arm member 16 and casing 2 is formed in the same manner and the blade 3 is press-contacted against the surface of a photoreceptor 5 by the righting moment of the rubber 22. Consequently, the backlash of a link mechanism is removed and the generation of oscillation is prevented, displaying always fine cleaning performance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cleaning device that uses a cleaning blade to wipe the surface of an electrostatic latent image carrier incorporated in an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrostatic recording device, or the like.

Such a cleaning device will be explained using an electrophotographic copying machine as an example. Generally, an electrophotographic copying machine includes a charging section, an exposure section, a developing section, a transfer section, and a cleaning device arranged around a photoreceptor that rotates in one direction. That is, a light image corresponding to the original image is projected onto the surface of the photoreceptor uniformly charged by the charging section through the exposure section, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image. This electrostatic latent image is made visible by the adhesion of a powder developer called toner in a developing section, and this visible image is transferred onto transfer paper in a transfer section.

In this transfer, most of the developer attached to the surface of the photoreceptor is transferred to the transfer paper, but generally a small amount of developer still remains on the surface of the photoreceptor. Therefore, a cleaning device must be provided downstream of the transfer section to wipe away the residual developer and prepare the photoreceptor for reuse. In Figure 1,
An example of a J-ning device is shown. In this figure, the symbol 1
indicates a cleaning device. Cleaning device 1
The device includes a casing 2, a cleaning blade 3 built into the casing 2, a holding and pressing mechanism for the cleaning blade 3, a discharge coil 4 for collecting developer, and the like. The casing 2 has an opening that opens toward the photoreceptor 25, and this opening is connected to the photoreceptor 250.
It is selectively located at a distance from or close to the surface. The cleaning blade 3 is an elastic plate-shaped member such as urethane rubber, and one edge thereof is pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor 25 during cleaning. The cleaning blade 3 is attached to a supporter 5 via an adhesive or the like, and the supporter 5 is fixed to a blade holder 7 via a screw 6. The blade holder 7 has an abbreviated shape, and one end 7a fixes the supporter 5, and the other end 7b is pivotally supported via a pin 8 to one end 9a of the arm member 9. ing. A torsion spring 10 is wound around the outer periphery of a pin 8 that swingably connects the blade holder end 7b and the arm member end 9a to each other, and both ends 10a and 10b of the torsion spring 10 are the ends of the blade holder. The blade holder 7 is rotated around the pin 8 in such a direction that the edge of the cleaning blade 3 is always pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor 25. I'm pushing hard to do that. The arm member 9 has an abbreviated shape and is pivotally supported on the side wall of the casing 2 via a pin 11 in the center. One end of a coil spring 12 is seated on the other end 9b of the arm member 9. The other end of the coil spring 12 is
The arm member 9 is fixed to a corner of the casing 2, and has the habit of constantly rotating clockwise in the drawings around a pin 11. This rotational behavior is such that the edge of the cleaning blade 3 is further pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor 25. That is, this cleaning device is of a link type, and has two pivot points, and in order to perform smooth link movement, ball bearings are installed on the parts that slide on the fingers 8 and 11. Sintered bearings, sliding bearings, etc. are used.

The discharge coil 4 is located at the bottom of the casing 2, and
- The developer which is rotated by a driving means (not shown) and which is wiped and fallen by the cleaning blade 3 is removed from the casing 2.
It is designed to be discharged and collected outside.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned system in which the pivot support using a bearing and a pin and the spring are interposed between the blade holder and the arm member and between the arm member and the casing, respectively,
Self-excited vibrations may be induced in the above-mentioned link mechanism due to play that inevitably occurs in the pivot portion and play in the spring mounting portion.

When vibration occurs in the link mechanism, there is a problem in that the pressing force of the edge of the cleaning blade 3 against the surface of the photoreceptor z5 fluctuates, resulting in poor cleaning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that always performs good cleaning.

The purpose of this is to provide a cleaning blade that is pressed against the electrostatic latent image carrier in order to remove residual developer after transfer, a blade holder that holds the cleaning blade, and a blade holder that can swing freely. An arm member that pivots, a casing that swingably supports the arm member, and an arm member that is interposed between the blade holder and the arm member and between the arm member and the casing, and is always provided. In the cleaning device, the cleaning device includes an elastic member that biases the cleaning blade in a direction to press the cleaning blade against the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier. This is achieved by a cleaning device characterized in that it has an elastic member made of rubber that is tightly attached to the branch.

According to the present invention, elastic members made of rubber are tightly attached to the pivot parts of the link mechanism, so there is no backlash in the bearings or play in the springs, and the edge of the cleaning blade is prevented by friction and loss. is always pressed against the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier with a stable pressure contact force, and can exhibit good leaning performance.

Below, the illustrated embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the cleaning device of the present invention, and members that are the same as or equivalent to those of the prior art are given the same reference numerals and explanations will be omitted. The present invention is characterized by a link mechanism and a cleaning blade pressurizing mechanism.

That is, the link mechanism consists of the blade holder 15 and the arm member 16, and the cleaning blade pressurizing mechanism consists of the bins 17 and 18 that constitute the pivot parts of the link mechanism.
and elastic members 19 and 20. Specifically, the blade holder 15 has a substantially similar shape to the blade holder 7 shown in FIG. 1, and differs only in the pivot portion. The conventional blade holder 7 has a circular hole (8) in its pivot portion that engages with the outer periphery of the cylindrical bottle 8, but the blade holder 15 of this device has a square hole in its pivot portion. 21 is drilled. Base end 16 of arm member 16
a is pivoted to the side wall of the casing 2 and has a free end 16
b is pivotally connected to the pivot portion of the blade holder 15. 3 and 4 show an enlarged view of the pivot portion of the blade holder 15 and the toe arm member 16.

A threaded hole is formed in the pivot portion of the arm member 16, and the threaded portion of the pin 17 is screwed into the threaded hole. The pin 17 is integrally formed with the threaded portion and a prismatic portion with a square cross section, and the prismatic portion protrudes into the arm member machining 6 and faces the square hole 21. In this case, the size of the square hole 21 and the square column part (17) is set such that the ratio of the length of the negative side is approximately 3:l. Rubber 22 having an appropriate spring constant is filled into the gap between the square hole 21 and the square column part (17). rubber 22
(d) shall refer to an elastic body including natural rubber, artificial rubber, or (d) synthetic resin.The method for attaching the rubber 22 is as follows.
Any method that does not create a gap, such as casting, press-fitting, or bonding with an adhesive, may be used. Figure 3 shows the installed position; in this position, the rubber 2
2 is equivalent to the state when there is no internal stress and the spring is at its free length. Figure 4 shows the position during cleaning.
In this position, the rubber 22a is deformed and stress is generated inside, urging the blade holder 15 in the direction of the arrow, that is, in the direction of restoring the attachment to the original position. Similar development occurs at the pivot points between the arm member 16 and the casing 2 (see Figure 2), and the edge of the cleaning blade 3 is exposed to light by the restoring action of the rubber at these two pivot points. It is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the body 5.

With the above-mentioned configuration 1, there is no backlash in the link mechanism or play in the spring mounting part, and in addition, the vibration damping effect of the rubber itself prevents vibration, and the cleaning action is always stable, resulting in good performance. can be maintained.

Furthermore, since the spring can be omitted, the device can be made smaller, which can greatly contribute to cost reduction.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the invention. In this case, the pivot portion of the link mechanism is different from the previous embodiment, in that the hole 21A formed in the blade holder 15 forms a hexagon, and the corresponding pin 17A has a hexagonal cross section. Therefore, the rubber 22A forms a hexagonal annular cross section on both the inner and outer circumferences. The functions and effects in this case are the same as those in the previous embodiment.

8- In the above explanation, the electrostatic latent image carrier is exemplified as a photoreceptor, but of course it may be a dielectric body incorporated in an electrostatic recording device, and it may be in the form of a belt instead of a drum. No problem. Further, the pivot portion of the link mechanism is not limited to a polygonal shape, and may be any shape as long as the rubber and the bottle or the rubber and the hole into which the rubber is inserted do not slip against each other.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional cleaning device, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a cleaning device of the present invention, FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the pivot portion of the link mechanism, and FIG.
The figure shows another embodiment of the invention. 1...Cleaning device, 2...Casing, 3.
...Cleaning blade, 7.15...Blade holder, 9.16...Arm member, 17, 18...
Bin, 19, 20°22, 22A...Elastic member. 2 bacterial infections

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cleaning blade that is pressed against the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier to remove residual developer after transfer, a blade holder that holds the cleaning blade, and an arm member that swingably supports the blade holder. A cleaning blade is interposed between a casing that swingably supports the arm member, the blade holder and the arm member, and between the arm member and the casing, so that a cleaning blade is always kept in an electrostatic latent state. Cleaning i! is equipped with an elastic member that urges the surface of the image carrier into pressure contact with the surface of the image carrier. A cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member made of rubber tightly attached to a pivot between a blade holder and an arm member and/or between the arm member and a casing member.