JPS59218478A - Cleaning device of electrophotographic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a toner from dropping from both end parts of a device and prevent the film forming of an image carrier by arranging an oscillating member having an oscillating body near a carrying member to tear down the accumulated toner. CONSTITUTION:A recovering blade 33 is arranged between a photosensitive body 17 and an auger 32, and an oscillating member 34 is arranged between a main blade 30 and the auger 32 freely swingable in the direction of an arrow B. A supporting piece 37 of a holder 35 in this oscillating member 34 is brought into contact with the shaft part 32a of the auger 32 and a blade part 32b alternately by the rotation of the auger 32 and is reciprocated, and the holder 35 is turned in the direction of the arrow B to give oscillation to a spring 38, and the toner recovered and accumulated by the main blade 30 is torn down, and the toner is recovered into a toner box 31 by the auger 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] In an electrophotographic apparatus, a toner image formed on the surface of an image carrier (hereinafter also referred to as a photoconductor) is transferred onto a transfer paper, and then the toner image is transferred by a fixing device. It is configured to be fused and fixed onto the transfer paper. After the toner image is transferred, a small amount of toner remains on the surface of the photoconductor without being transferred, and this residual toner must be completely removed from the surface of the photoconductor to avoid adversely affecting the next copy. It is necessary. For this reason, electrophotographic apparatuses are generally provided with a cleaning device that removes residual toner from the surface of the photoreceptor. In particular, a cleaning device using a blade shown in FIG. 1 uses a blade 1 to peel off residual toner particles from the surface of a photoreceptor 2, and this peeled off residual toner T passes through a collection blade 3 to a spiral auger for toner collection. 4, and is configured to be transported by this auger 4 to an external toner box (not shown).

However, in this type of cleaning device, the fluidity of the toner changes significantly due to changes in the environment, etc., and a large amount of toner T accumulates between the collection blade 3 and the spiral auger 4, and this accumulated toner T is transferred to the blade. There is a problem in that when the blade 3 contacts and separates from the photoreceptor 2, the blade 3 wraps around the back surface of the blade 3 and adversely affects subsequent copying. In addition, the accumulated toner T overflows from both ends of the cleaning device, spills into the device, contaminates the inside of the device, and constantly accumulates on the surface of the photoreceptor 2, which the toner T comes into contact with.
There were many problems such as film forming.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and is intended to prevent toner from falling from both ends of the device, prevent the toner from flowing to the back of the collection blade, and prevent black streak images caused by this. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus that can prevent a static elimination lamp, a charging device, etc. from being contaminated by toner, and can also prevent film forming of an image bearing member.

[Summary of the Invention] This invention is characterized in that a vibrating member having a vibrating body is disposed in the vicinity of the conveying member so as to be able to swing freely, and the toner that has been peeled off and accumulated by the cleaning member is scraped away. It is.

[Embodiment for New Year's Day] This invention will be described with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view showing an embodiment of an electrophotographic apparatus to which the cleaning device of the present invention is applied. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a document table fixed to the main body 11 of the apparatus, and an exposure device 12 is provided below the document table. In this structure, a lamp 13 and a first mirror 14 move together to sequentially illuminate the surface of the document placed on the document table 10 while optically operating (scanning) it. Furthermore, a second mirror 16 is provided for reflecting the reflected light from the first mirror 14 and making it enter a lens 15 provided beyond the first mirror 14. This second mirror 16 can be moved while keeping the optical path length from the first mirror 14 to the lens 15 constant. Further, a fixed mirror 18 is provided to irradiate the light transmitted through the lens 15 onto the surface of a photoreceptor 17 provided approximately at the center of the apparatus main body 11, and the image of the original irradiated by the lamp 13 is provided. is formed into an image on the surface of the photoreceptor 17 by the exposure device 12. Further, a charging device 19 is provided near the photoreceptor 17, and the surface of the photoreceptor 17 charged by the charging device 19 is arranged so that an electrostatic latent image is formed by illumination during image formation. It has become. Then, toner (developer) is applied to this electrostatic latent image by a developing device 20 to make it visible. Further, a paper feeding device 23 consisting of a cassette 21 storing paper P, a conveyance roller 22, etc. is provided on the side of the device main body 11, and the paper P sent out by this comes into contact with a pair of registration rollers 24. After being aligned and aligned, it is conveyed to the circumferential side of the developed image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 17. Then, the developer constituting the developed image is transferred onto the transported paper P by the transfer device M25, then fixed by the fixing device 26, and taken out to the tray 27. .

Note that a cleaning device 28 is installed near the photoreceptor 17.
A cleaning device 28 is provided to clean the photoreceptor 17 after the transfer. Furthermore, the dashed-dotted line in the figure indicates the conveyance path of the paper P. Furthermore, the device main body 11 also has an upper flap?
- The frame 11A and the lower frame 11B are pivotally supported at one end, and the other ends of both frames 11A, 11B are configured so that they can be opened at a desired angle, for example, 25 degrees. A photoreceptor 17 is mounted on the upper frame 11A.
, a cleaning device 28, a developing device 20, a document table 10, etc. are attached to the upper unit, and a cassette 21, a transfer device 25, a fixing device 26, a tray 27, etc. are attached to the lower frame 11B. The lower unit is configured such that it can be opened and closed approximately in the direction of arrow y (vertical direction in the drawing) based on the conveyance path of the copy paper P via an opening/closing device of the apparatus main body (not shown). Therefore, when copy paper P becomes jammed on the conveyance path, it can be easily taken out.

Next, while referring to FIGS. 3 to 8, the cleaning device 2
8 will be explained. This cleaning device 28 has a main blade 30 which is a cleaning member inside a casing 29, and a main blade 30 which is a cleaning member.
is placed in contact with the surface of the A spiral auger 32 serving as a conveying member for conveying collected toner to a toner box 31 is disposed below the main blade 30 . In addition, the photoconductor 17 and the auger 32
A recovery blade 33 is disposed between the main blade 30 and the auger 32, and a vibrating member 34 is disposed swingably in the direction of arrow B. The vibrating member 34 includes a holder 35 made of, for example, a metal material that is not deformed by the vibrating body 38.
5 has an n through hole 36 pivoted to the casing 29 at both ends.
and a holding piece 39 for tensioning a spring 38 serving as a vibrating body, and a supporting piece 37 that abuts against the auger 32 at one end. The spring 38 is connected to a line connecting the tip of the main blade 30 and the center of the auger 32 and the recovery blade 33.
is located between. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rotation of the auger 32 causes the support pieces 37 of the holder 35 to alternately contact the shaft portion 32a and the blade portion 32b of the auger 32 and reciprocate, thereby moving the holder 35 along the arrows. The main blade 30 is rotated in direction B to give vibration to the spring 38.
The auger 32 collects and scrapes the accumulated toner, and collects the toner into the toner box 31 using the auger 32. When the support piece 37 of the holder 35 comes to the shaft portion 32a of the auger 32 due to the weight of the vibrating member 34,
It is at the lowest position, and on the other hand, when it comes to the blade part 32b, it is at the highest position. The spring 38 is, for example, φ
The toner scraping effect is best when a spring material with a diameter of 3 to 51111 mm and piano wire is used, and the pitch of the spring is 1 il1 or more and 5 mm or less, and the spring material is more effective than the piano wire. Further, it is not preferable that the vibration range of the spring serving as the vibrating body is too large than the center of the spring.

For example, if the vibration member spring 38 is made of a spring material of φ3, if the vibration range when the holder 35 is fixed is φ10 or more from the center, it is not preferable because the toner will not be scraped off but will instead be scattered. .

It should be noted that the above embodiment is merely an example, and it goes without saying that each member can be replaced with another member having the same function. For example, in the above embodiment, the cleaning device is applied to an electrophotographic device in which the optical system moves, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the cleaning device can also be applied to an electrophotographic device in which the document table moves. Needless to say.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to prevent the toner from falling from both ends of the cleaning device, the toner from flowing around the back of the blade, or the resulting black streak image, static elimination lamp, charging device, etc. It is possible to prevent contamination by toner and film forming of the photoreceptor. In addition, the structure is extremely simple, inexpensive, and the drive mechanism is simple, which are excellent effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a conventional cleaning device, FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view showing an electrophotographic apparatus to which the cleaning device of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side view of the same, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vibrating member, FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the moving state of the vibrating member, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are support of the holder. It is an explanatory view showing the operating state of a piece and an auger. 1...Original table, 17...Photoconductor, 28...Cleaning device, 29...
・Casing, 30...Cleaning member, 31...
... Toner box, 32 ... Auger (conveying member), 33 ... Collection blade, 34 ...
...Vibration member, 35...Holder, 38.
...Spring (vibrating body). Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Procedural amendment February 10, 1980 Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office 1. Indication of the case 1988 Patent Application No. 93163 2
, Title of the invention Cleaning device for electrophotographic equipment 3 Relationship with the case of the person making the amendment Patent applicant 4 Patent agent 5 Date of the amendment order Initiator 6 Subject of the amendment Detailed description of the invention in the specification 7
, [Recovery blur, ge~ stated in page 3, line 19 of the statement of contents of the amendment

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] (1) In a cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus, in which residual toner is removed from the surface of an image carrier by a cleaning member, and the removed toner is transported to the outside by a spiral-shaped transport member. . A cleaning device, characterized in that a vibrating member having a vibrating body is swingably disposed near the conveying member. (2) The cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibrating member is in contact with a spiral conveying member and reciprocated by the conveying member. (3) The cleaning member is a cleaning device. 3. The cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is a blade, and a vibrating member is installed between the tip of the cleaning blade and the conveyance member.