JPS63249883A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To store a large quantity of recovered toner by supporting as one body a containing vessel of a toner recovered by a cleaning means, from a cleaning device. CONSTITUTION:A containing vessel 30 is supported so as to be separable with a fitting screw 31 to the back of its side wall, from a cleaning device 10. A toner which has been dropped down by cleaning means 11, 13 is carried to its bottom part and accumulated without leaking from the cleaning device 10 by counterclockwise rotational motion of a toner receiving roller 15 provided on the upstream in the rotational direction (indicated with an arrow B) of a photosensitive drum 41 further from the cleaning blade 11, and thereafter, carried to the upper part through the inside of a carrying pipe 33 by a driving force generated by rotation of a carrying coil 32, dropped down to the inside of the containing vessel 30 and stored. In such a way, the capacity of the containing vessel 30 for collecting the toner is made large in size, and also, jobs of jam processing and other maintenance are facilitated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, which is provided with a storage container for toner collected from the circumferential surface of a photosensitive drum.

[Background of the invention]

After the image has been transferred onto the pine photographic material, the residual toner on the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum is peeled off and cleaned by a cleaning device for the next toner image formation, and then deposited on the bottom of the cleaning device container. The toner is sent via a conveying means to a toner storage container prepared separately from the cleaning device and collected.

This toner storage container is usually installed on the front panel of the image forming apparatus main body, but there are also cases where it is installed integrally with the bottom of the cleaning device container or installed using the space inside the photoreceptor drum. It will be done.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, when it is installed on the front panel, it is made smaller so as not to interfere with work such as jam removal, so the amount of toner that can be stored is small, and whether or not the toner can be stored must be monitored by a detection means. Furthermore, even when the cleaning device is installed at the bottom of the container, it cannot be made large in size to avoid the space required for the separating claws, which has the same disadvantage as described above.

- When installed inside the photoreceptor drum, there is an advantage of being able to store a large amount of toner, but the toner transport system requires many joints, and when it is attached and detached, toner leaks and contaminates the inside of the device and interferes with its operation. There are drawbacks that can cause problems.

The present invention solves and improves this point, and as a result, a cleaning device equipped with a toner storage container that does not interfere with work such as jam removal and can store a large amount of collected toner with a relatively simple conveyance path configuration. The purpose is to provide

[Means for solving the problem, α]

The above object is to provide an image forming r&fc It cleaning device having a cleaning means disposed facing a photoreceptor drum and operated in connection with the image forming process of the photoreceptor drum, in which the cleaning device is provided with the cleaning device. This is achieved by a cleaning device characterized in that a storage container for toner collected by means is integrally supported.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 shows a full diagram of a cleaning device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the main part indicated by arrow A.

10 is a cleaning device; 20 is the cleaning device l;
i! A cleaning device 10 supports the cleaning device 10, and a storage container 30 stores the toner conveyed from the cleaning device 10.

The cleaning device 10 includes a cleaning blade 11 and a cleaning row 513 as cleaning means for the photoreceptor drum 41, and has the function of urging the cleaning blade 11 and the cleaning row 513 clockwise or counterclockwise using the pongee 12 or the shaft 14 as a fulcrum, respectively, by a drive mechanism. .

The cleaning garage 20 has the cleaning equipment r
A channel-shaped frame member formed with a pair of upper and lower bent portions 21 for inserting, engaging and supporting the f110, and sliding walls 23 and 24 having elongated holes 25 on the front and rear sides, respectively.
are arranged symmetrically.

The cleaning tray 20 is installed in the horizontal direction by sliding the sliding walls 23 and 24 on the inner surface of the fixed substrate through a total of six guide screws 42 attached to the inner surfaces of the front and rear fixed substrates of the image forming apparatus. said creating device fi supported so as to be slidable;
Each of the cleaning means lQ is configured to be movable in the direction of the photosensitive drum 41.

The storage container 30 is a sealed rectangular parallelepiped container with a depth corresponding to the cleaning device 10, and the cleaning device ffi! 10 is separably supported by four mounting screws 31 on the back side of its side wall.

An end of a conveyance pipe 33 containing a conveyance coil 32 made of a flexible spiral member connected to the bottom of the cleaning device IO is press-fitted into the upper front surface of the storage container 30.
Fixed.

On the other hand, between the front and rear fixed substrates corresponding to the opposite side of the photoreceptor drum 41 with respect to the cleaning garage 20, a rotating shaft 44 with two cam plates 43 fixed in parallel in front and back at a predetermined interval is mounted on a bearing. , and the rotary shaft 44 has an operating lever 45 integrally fixed to the front surface of the front fixed base plate protruding therefrom.

When the operation lever 45 is rotated clockwise and occupies the position shown by the solid line, the cam plate 43 presses the elastic plate 26 attached to the outer surface of the side wall of the cleaning garage 20, so that the elastic plate Due to the reaction force of 26, the cleaning garage 20 is urged in the direction of the photoreceptor drum 41, and as a result, the cleaning device IO slides in the direction of the photoreceptor drum 41 by the length of the elongated hole 25, as described above. The cleaned cleaning means is moved to a position close to the circumferential surface of the drum.

Further, when the operating lever 45 is rotated counterclockwise to the position shown by the dashed line, the cam plate 43 retreats from the elastic plate 26 and releases its suppressing action, so that the cleaning garage 20 is moved to the left. This makes it possible to move the above-mentioned cleaning means away from the circumferential surface of the drum.

When the cleaning means of the cleaning device 110 is close to the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 41, when the above-described drive mechanism is operated in connection with the image forming process, the cleaning blade 11 moves in a clockwise direction with the support 12 as the fulcrum. The tip of the tip is pressed against the circumferential surface of the drum by the biasing force, and the remaining toner on the circumferential surface starts to be peeled off. When one image's worth of cleaning is completed, the biasing force is lost and the pressure contact with the circumferential surface of the drum is released.

Further, the cleaning roller 13 is biased in a counterclockwise direction using the pongee 14 as a fulcrum by the above-mentioned driving device only for a predetermined time period when the cleaning blade 11 is in pressure contact and when the pressure contact is released. The toner removed from the drum circumferential surface adhering to the surface of the drum when the cleaning blade 11 is brought into contact with or released from the pressure contact due to the cleaning action is removed. The toner receiver provided upstream in the direction (arrow B) is transported and accumulated at the bottom of the cleaning device W110 by the counterclockwise rotational movement of the roller 15 without leaking from the cleaning device W110, and is then subjected to the driving force caused by the rotation of the transport coil 32. It is transported upward through the transport pipe 33 and falls into the storage container 30 to be accommodated therein.

Note that when the inside of the storage container 30 is filled with collected toner, the cleaning device 10 is removed from the storage container 30 and the cleaning device 10 is removed from the storage container 30.
The storage container is separated and replaced with a new empty storage container, and then installed in the cleaning garage 20 again for use. On the other hand, the storage container 30 separated from the cleaning device W110 is discarded together with the toner therein, or is reused after only the toner is discarded.

In addition, to prevent the toner that has fallen into the storage 11ao from accumulating locally, the storage device jf as shown in FIG.
Power 42 that pushes inside the i30 from the outside to the left and right in the diagram
An inner box 41 is provided which is driven by the elasticity of a spring 43 that operates against the toner.
1 is placed in an appropriate rocking motion, the toner that has fallen into the inner box 41 is always deposited at a uniform height inside the inner box 41, and all of the toner is deposited in the inner box 41!
! ! It becomes possible to accommodate toner until the F product is reached. Furthermore, when the inner box 41 is filled with toner, by replacing it with a new inner box 41, the operator can remove the toner without being contaminated by toner.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the capacity of the storage container for collecting toner is increased, and furthermore, it can be connected to the cleaning device only by a fixed type joint, so the toner disposal cycle is simplified (and the risk of toner leakage is also extremely high). In addition, since the storage container is not placed in front of the cleaning device, it is useful for facilitating jam removal and other maintenance work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

#Si diagram is a front view of the cleaning device of the present invention. Figure 2 is a side view (partial cross section) of the main part indicated by arrow A/), and Figure 3 is a side view (partial cross section) of the main part.
The figure is a sectional view of main parts showing another embodiment.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus having a cleaning device disposed facing a photoconductor drum and operated in connection with an image forming process of the photoconductor drum, toner collected by the cleaning device is applied to the cleaning device. A cleaning device characterized by having a storage container installed in one piece.