JPS6326679A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To absorb variance of a driving amount, so that a pressure force at the time when an elastic cleaning roller is pressed against an image carrying body becomes constant, by energizing a projecting part of a rotary supporting shaft of the roller with a spring and containing it in a clearance part which has been provided on the inside of an oscillating member for oscillating the roller. CONSTITUTION:An adjusting spring 94 and 95 which have been provided in a clearance part 97 of an oscillating member 91 energize with a spring a projecting part 96 which has been fixed to the vicinity of the tip part of an oscillating supporting shaft 86 of a cleaning roller 84, a rotational operation of the oscillating member 91 is transferred to a rotational operation of the oscillating supporting shaft 86 through the projecting part 96, and the roller 84 is abutted against an image carrying body 40. In this state, in case the roller 84 abuts on the image carrying body and works by a press-contacting force which has exceeded a desirable pressure force, an additional portion of the pressure force from an abutting part of the clearance part 97 of the oscillating member 91 works on the adjusting spring 94 and 95 and compresses them, and it does not occur that the roller 84 is pressed against the image carrying body 40 by a pressure force which has exceeded a load force of the spring 94 and 95. Also, even in case a moving extent of a reciprocating motion of a working shaft 90A is the minimum value of variance, the press-contacting force of the roller 84 does not become under the load force of the spring 94 and 95.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, and more particularly to a cleaning device for cleaning toner remaining on an image carrier.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, in image forming apparatuses such as transfer-type electrophotographic copying machines, a rotating drum-type image carrier having a photoconductive photosensitive layer on the outer circumferential surface is used, and while the image carrier is rotated, static electricity is applied to the photosensitive layer. An electrostatic latent image is formed and developed with toner, and the resulting toner image is transferred onto recording paper. After the transfer is completed, the residual toner on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier is removed and cleaned by a cleaning device, and an electrostatic latent image is formed again, and a new image is transferred.

In particular, in a color image forming apparatus that forms a color image by combining monochrome images, a plurality of developing units loaded with toner of each color are arranged around the periphery of the image carrier, and one part of the image carrier is A latent image corresponding to each color formed with each rotation is developed in a non-contact manner, and a multicolor toner image is formed by multiple rotations of the image carrier.

After this toner image is transferred to recording paper, which is a transfer target, the residual toner is peeled off and removed by the action of a cleaning device, as in a general image forming apparatus. As is well known, the cleaning action is performed by the pressure (including contact) action of a blade member or other cleaning member against the image forming surface, so it cannot be performed during the formation of the toner image or before transfer. Therefore, during that time, the cleaning member is kept at a position apart from the image carrier, and just before the leading edge of the transferred toner image reaches the cleaning device, the blade member starts pressing, and the toner is removed. Immediately after the trailing edge of the image passes, the pressure contact is released.

An example of a cleaning device that is controlled to be activated and deactivated in connection with the image forming process as described above is a blade cleaning method.

In the blade cleaning method, toner adhering to the circumferential surface of the image carrier is forcibly removed by the edge of a blade member that presses against the circumferential surface of the image carrier. Although this cleaning method has a simple structure and a high cleaning effect, the peeled toner falls in the form of powder or lumps along the circumferential surface of the image carrier and scatters, causing damage to the recording paper, etc. There are problems such as staining the paper.

Further, as a method for solving the above-mentioned problems, there is a cleaning means consisting of a blade member and a toner receiving member. In this method, the toner is scraped off by a blade member and collected by a toner receiving member to prevent scattering. Although this means cleans the image bearing member well, when the cleaning means is deactivated, toner is often deposited on the image bearing member between the blade member and the image bearing member and between the blade member and the toner receiving member. will adhere, resulting in poor cleaning.

As an improved method of cleaning means using a blade member, there is provided a first cleaning means and a second cleaning means, and a second cleaning means is provided.
The cleaning means is the first one in the moving direction of the image carrier.
The second cleaning means is formed of a cleaning roller downstream of the second cleaning means, and even if toner may adhere to the image carrier when the first cleaning means consisting of a blade member or the like is deactivated, the second cleaning means It is something that we try to remove by some means. The toner that adheres to the cleaning roller, which is the second cleaning means, is
The scraping is done by the action of another roller that comes into contact with and follows the roller, or by a scraper or the like.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the cleaning device constituted by the first and second cleaning means as described above, when first considering the cleaning means PA2, when the cleaning roller is brought into pressure contact with the image bearing member, the cleaning roller is pressed against the image bearing member. If the amount of movement of the roller for pressure contact is too large, an excessive pressing force will be applied to the image carrier during pressure contact, which will not only have a negative effect on the image carrier but also affect the smooth rotation of the cleaning roller. impedes the cleaning function and reduces the cleaning function.

Moreover, if the movement 'Msfn of the roller is too small, it becomes impossible to secure a preferable nip width, and cleaning 8! reduce ability.

Therefore, if the cleaning roller is pressed against the image carrier with too much or too little pressure, in any case, cleaning the cleaning roller 8! This has the disadvantage that it reduces the performance and makes it impossible to obtain sufficient leaning performance.

The purpose of the present invention is as mentioned above! In view of the prior art, when the cleaning roller is brought into pressure contact with the image carrier, a clearance is provided in the swinging member of the cleaning unit, and an IlIg spring is installed inside to add an adjustment function, and the drive in the swinging drive part of the cleaning unit is adjusted. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus that can improve and maintain the cleaning ability of the cleaning roller against the image bearing member by absorbing variations in the amount and keeping the pressing force of the cleaning roller in pressure contact with the image bearing member constant. The goal is to provide the following.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above object has first and second cleaning means disposed close to an image carrier of an image forming apparatus and controlled to be activated and deactivated in conjunction with an image forming process; In a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus in which the cleaning means is disposed downstream of the first cleaning means in the traveling direction of the image carrier, an elastic cleaning roller constituting the second cleaning means is attached to the image carrier. 11 gaps are provided inside the swinging member which is allowed to swing freely in contact with and away from the cleaning roller, and a protrusion of the rotational shaft of the cleaning roller is housed within the 11 gaps and is biased by a spring. This is achieved by a cleaning device that

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the cleaning device according to the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9 will be described in detail.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the aspects of this embodiment.

The general functions of a color image forming apparatus equipped with a cleaning device according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 18, A is a reading unit, B is a writing unit, C is an image forming section, and D is a feeding section.

In reading unit A, 1 is a platen glass, and an original 2 is placed on this platen glass 1. Hara m2
is illuminated by fluorescent lamps 5 and 6 provided on a carriage 4 moving on a slide rail 3. The movable mirror unit 8 is provided with mirrors 9a and 9b, which move on the slide rail 3, and in combination with the first mirror 7 provided on the carriage 4, capture the optical image of the document 2 on the platen glass 1 into the lens reading unit. 20.

The carriage horn 4 and the movable mirror unit 8 are connected to a pulley 11. which is driven by a stepping motor 10 via a wire 15. According to Section 2.13.14, ■ and MV respectively.
are driven in the same direction at a speed of Standard white plates 16 and 17 are provided on the back side of both ends of the platen glass 1, and the original w4
The configuration is such that a standard white signal can be obtained before the start of the reading scan and/or after the end of the scan.

The lens reading unit 20 includes a lens 21 and a prism 2.
2. First reading board 24, red channel (hereinafter referred to as R)
-ah) CC [25th, 2nd reading board 26
, cyan channel (hereinafter referred to as C-ah) CCD2
It consists of 7#- et al. first mirror 7, mirror 9a,
The original light image transmitted by the mirror 9b is focused by the lens 21, and! h R provided on the s1 reading board 24
The images are formed on the light receiving surfaces of the -ch CCD 25 and the C -cl+ CCD 27 provided on the second reading board 26, respectively.

As for the fluorescent lamps 5 and 6, commercially available warm white fluorescent lamps are used to prevent emphasis or attenuation of specific colors based on the light source when reading color originals, and 40°C fluorescent lamps are used to prevent flickering.
K If z high frequency? Lighted up with RI source! The wall is kept warm by a heater using a POSISTOR to keep it at a constant temperature or to increase the ohm.

The image signals output from the R-ch CCD 25 and the C-ch CCD 27 are subjected to signal processing in a signal processing section. In the signal processing section, color signals separated according to the toner color (described later) are output, and the writing unit)
It is input to B.

In the writing unit) B, a laser beam generated by a semiconductor laser is rotated and scanned by a polygon mirror 32 rotated by a drive motor 30, passes through an Fθ lens 36, and has an optical path bent by a reflecting mirror 37 to a photosensitive drum serving as an image carrier. One beam is projected onto the surface of 40 to form a bright line.

When scanning starts, the beam is detected by the index sensor, and the S! of the beam is detected by the rJSl color signal. The feathers are started. The modulated beam scans over the image carrier 40, which has been uniformly charged in advance by an electric device 41. A latent image corresponding to the first color is formed on the surface of the image carrier by the main scanning by the laser beam and the sub-scanning by the rotation of the image carrier 40. This latent image is formed by, for example, a developing device 43 loaded with red toner. The red toner image is then developed and a red toner image is formed on the surface of the image carrier. The obtained toner image, while being held on the surface of the image carrier, passes under the cleaning device i70, which is separated and retracted from the surface of the image carrier, and enters the next copy cycle. The image carrier 40 is uniformly charged by a charger 41.

Next, the second color signal output from the signal processing section is input to the writing section B, and is written on the surface of the image carrier in the same manner as the first color signal, forming a latent image. It is formed. The latent image is developed by a developer 44 loaded with toner of fi2 color, for example, blue. This blue toner image is formed on top of the already formed red toner image on the surface of the image carrier.

A developing device 45 has black toner, and forms a black toner image on the surface of the image carrier based on a control signal generated by a signal processing section. AC and DC biases are applied to the sleeves of these developing units 43, 44, and 45, and noyanming development is performed using a two-component developer.8 Development is performed without contact with the grounded image carrier 40. .

The superimposed image of the toner image based on the color signal of ff11, the toner image based on the second color signal, and the toner image developed using the toner image developed in this way is formed at the transfer pole 51.
The image is transferred onto the recording paper 61, which is a transfer body, fed by the feed belt 62 and feed roller 63 of the paper feed section.

The transfer paper onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the image carrier by the separation pole 52, and is further conveyed to the fixing device 53 where it is fixed and a color hard copy is obtained.

A cleaning device 70 equipped with a cleaning means according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 acts on the image carrier 40 which has completed the transfer in this way to remove unnecessary toner remaining on the peripheral surface. ing.

The cleaning device 70 includes a first cleaning device 75 which is a main cleaning device for the image carrier 40 and a second cleaning device 80 which is an auxiliary cleaning device. An operating state in which both of them are in contact with the image carrier 40 or one of them is in contact with the image carrier 40, and a state in which both the first cleaning means 75 and the second cleaning means 80 are out of contact with the image carrier 40. It is controlled to a deactivated state.

The first cleaning means 75 includes a blade 71 and a urethane-based or chloroprene-based cleaning device disposed upstream of the blade 71 in the rotational direction (indicated by arrow γ) of the image carrier 40 and rotatably supported. The toner receiver made of a sponge-like roller such as the above has a member 72, and the plate 71 and the toner receiver are simultaneously attached to the image carrier 4.
The toner receiver member 72 is controlled to contact and release from the sponge roller at different timings, but may be controlled to contact and release the contact at different timings. It is preferable to have a scraper or the like, and it may be made of a sheet-like member that is placed in a non-contact state on the image carrier 40 at all times.
Further, the toner receiver of the member 7Z is formed by forming a roller into a chargeable metal roller, and then attaching a pole to the circumferential surface of the image carrier 40 (counterclockwise rotation at a position with a slight gap). It is also preferable to configure it so that a predetermined applied voltage can be applied.

The second cleaning means 80 according to the present invention cleans the image carrier 40
A cleaning roller 84, a toner scraping plate 85,
Swing shaft 86, drive member 90, buffer member 92, guide plate 1
00 etc.

The cleaning roller (hereinafter referred to as roller) 84 is
A sponge-like roller made of urethane or chloroprene, which is driven to rotate in the opposite direction to the image carrier 40 and at the same time presses against the image carrier 40 with a predetermined nip width to remove residual toner, etc. do.

The toner scraping plate (hereinafter referred to as scraper) 85 is
It is made of a thin plate with spring properties such as a phosphor bronze plate or a stainless steel plate, and is pressed against the row 284, and scrapes off toner etc. adhering to the circumferential surface of the roller 84 as the row 284 rotates. .

The swinging support shaft 86 is made of metal, and together with the roller 84 and the scraper 85 constitutes a unit to be described later, and is a support shaft when the unit is allowed to swing toward and away from the image carrier 40. , is rotatably mounted on a frame 74 of the cleaning device 70.

As shown in FIG.
5, a swinging support shaft 86, a substantially U-shaped support 82 for unitizing these, and the like.

Holes are formed in the vertical side walls on both sides of the support body 82 to fix supporting members that support the roller 84 and the swinging shaft 86, and the front face portion holds the scraper 85. It has a mounting portion to which the support plate 81 is fixed.

The roller 84 is rotatably supported by a pair of rotary support members with respect to the support body 82, and a gear G5 for transmitting rotational force is fixed to one outer end of one vertical side wall of the support body 82. Rotate the row 284.

The swing support shaft 86 is fixedly supported by a pair of fixed support members to the support body 82, and like the roller 84 described above, there is a support member at one outer end of one vertical side wall of the support body 82.
A protrusion 96 is provided for transmitting the driving force that urges the cleaning unit 83 to swing.

The scraper 85 is fixed and held by a support plate 81, and the support plate 81 is attached to the support body 82. The scraper 85 is pressed against the roller 84 over the entire length in the longitudinal direction. As the roller 84 rotates, toner and the like on the circumferential surface are scraped off and removed.

The cleaning unit 83 has a swinging support shaft 86 protruding from both sides, and the vicinity of both ends of the swinging support shaft 86 are mounted on the frame 74 of the cleaning means 70 so that a film can be deposited thereon. The vicinity of the dynamic support portion is also formed to be separable from the frame body 74 and is held down by screws or the like, so that the unit 83 can be easily separated from the frame body 74 if necessary.

The row 284 of the cleaning unit 83 is constantly rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown) regardless of whether the roller 84 is in pressure contact with the image carrier 40 due to the swinging of the unit 83 or not. In FIG. 3, the rotational force from a drive source (not shown) is transmitted to the gear G3 by a bell) Bl, and is fixed to the support shaft 88 of the roller 84 via the gear G4 loosely fitted to the swing support shaft 86. The roller 64 is always rotated in a direction opposite to the u-rotation direction of the image carrier 40. Since the roller 84 is constantly rotating, the scraper 85 acts to constantly scrape off toner and the like on the circumferential surface of the roller 84. A gear G4 fitted onto the swing support shaft 86 and a gear G fixed to the support shaft of the roller 84.
5, the support shaft 86 and the roller 84 constitute a cleaning unit 83 together with the support body 82, and the swing support shaft 86
, the distance between the axes of the gears G4 and G5 is constant, and the roller 84 is driven to rotate regardless of whether the roller 84 is in pressure contact or non-pressure contact.

As shown in FIG. 5, the drive unit that swings and urges the cleaning unit 83 of the second cleaning means 80 is as shown in FIG.
It consists of a driving means and a buffering means.

The driving means is Kaku! lIg material90. It consists of a rocking member 91, a protrusion 96, and adjustment springs 94 and 95, and the am means consists of a buffer member 92 and a spring 93.

wA! ! The lJ member 90 is composed of a solenoid, and the reciprocating motion of its operating shaft 90A is transmitted to the swing member 91 as a swing biasing force.

The swinging member 91 is fitted near the tip of the swinging support shaft 86 and has a substantially disc shape. The tip of the shaft 90A is loosely attached. Near the center of the swinging member 91, in addition to a hole into which the swinging support shaft 86 is inserted, a pair of notches are provided with the axis as a point of symmetry. The notch allows the protrusion 96 fixed near the tip of the swinging support shaft 86 to be inserted into the swinging member 91, and the protrusion 96 at a slight angle.
is a clearance portion 97 provided so as to be rotatable together with the swing support shaft 86.

The protrusion 96 is fixed near the shaft end of the swinging support shaft 86, and the swinging member 91 allows the drive member 9
The reciprocating movement of the operating shaft 90A of 0 is converted into a rotational movement, and this rotational movement acts on the protrusion 96 as a pressing force from the abutting portion in the play area of the swinging member 91, and the swinging This is transmitted as a rotational movement of the dynamic support shaft 86 and converted into a swinging movement of the cleaning unit 83.

The adjustment pins 94.95 are composed of coil springs, and are
The protrusion 96 in the JI section 97 is provided on a wall surface that comes into contact with the protrusion n96, and when the protrusion 96 receives a pressing force from the corresponding rear part, the protrusion n96 is interposed between the wall surface and the protrusion n96, and the protrusion 96 is biased by a spring. do.

The buffer member 92 is composed of an oil damper, and is provided opposite to the operating shaft 90A of the drive member 90.
It acts to smooth out the sudden movement of A during its reciprocating motion.

The spring 93 is composed of a coil spring, and one end of the spring 93 is connected to the buffer member 9.
2, and the other end is locked to the tip of the long arm of the swinging member 91, and the long arm of the swinging member 91 is connected to the operating shaft end of the buffer member 92 by a spring. energize.

A guide means for guiding toner and the like falling from the roller 84 of the cleaning unit 83 of the second cleaning means 80 to the toner collection row 2108 is composed of a guide plate 100 and a vibrating roller 101.

The guide plate 100 is made of a rigid thin plate, has a rectangular shape, and has vertical support arms on both sides thereof, and covers the entire upper part of the cleaning means 75 with a slight gap from the first cleaning hand a75. , the image carrier 40 side is inclined higher.

The double-light RAFIS of the vertical support arm is fixed to the frame 74 of the cleaning device 70 by a method such as riveting, and the two sides other than both side edges of the vertical support arm are made free ends to prevent vibration. This is a possible configuration.

The vibrating roller 101 is fitted into a cam pongee 107 that transmits a swing biasing force that presses the blade 71 of the cleaning means of the PIS 1 against and away from the image carrier 40,
The roller surface is brought into contact with the guide plate 100, and as the cam pongee 107 rotates, the uneven surface of the roller 0101 causes the guide plate 100 to vibrate.

The cleaning device 70 according to the present invention is constructed as described above, and its operation will be explained below.

Before the leading edge of the toner image that has been transferred to the recording paper reaches the position facing the blade 71 of the first cleaning means 75, the blade 71 is pressed against the image carrier 40, causing the residual toner to peel off and fall. begins,
The toner receiving member 72 conveys the toner that has fallen along the circumferential surface of the image carrier 40 and sends it to the toner collecting roller 108 .

The cleaning unit 83 of the second cleaning means 80 according to the present invention is operated immediately before the blade 71 of the first cleaning means 75 comes into pressure contact with the image carrier 40 and starts the cleaning action, and when the blade 1 of the first cleaning means 75 starts the cleaning action. Immediately after completing the process and releasing the pressure contact, the roller 8 of the cleaning unit 83 acts on the image carrier 40.
4 rotates in the opposite direction while being in pressure contact with the image carrier 40,
The residual toner attached to the image carrier 40 between the blade 71 and the image carrier 40 and between the blade 71 and the toner receiver member 72 is removed.

Image carrier 4 due to the swinging of the cleaning unit 83
The row 284 is always rotated in the opposite direction to the rotation of the image carrier 40, regardless of the pressing/separating operation of the roller 84 with respect to the roller 84. The pressure contact and scraping action are maintained to continue cleaning the surrounding surface.

Does the main motor (not shown) turn on when the main switch of the copying machine is turned on? 1, and the drive shaft 109 to which the gear G1 of FIG. 3 is fixed is driven to rotate.

The rotation of the tooth ITIGI is transmitted to the 'tIi wheel G3 by the belt B1, and the tooth is loosely fitted to the swing shaft 86 so as to be rotatable! The gear G5 is rotated in a direction opposite to that of the image carrier 40 via tlG4, and therefore the roller 84 to which the gear G5 is fixed is also rotated in the same direction as the teeth I'tLG5.

The gear G4 that is loosely fitted on the swing support shaft 86 and the tooth $G5 that is fixed to the support shaft of the roller 84 are such that the swing support shaft 86 and the roller 84 are connected to the support body 82.
together with the cleaning unit 83,
The distance between the axes of the gear G4 and the gear G5 is always constant,
The image carrier 4 of the roller 84 is caused by the swinging motion of the cleaning unit 83 about the 41-axis pivot shaft 86.
0, the rotational driving force of the gear G1 is transmitted to the roller 284, and when the main motor (not shown) rotates, the roller 84 also continues to rotate in synchronization with the rotation of the main motor (not shown). .

The scraper 85 that comes into pressure contact with the roller 84 and scrapes the toner on its circumferential surface scrapes the toner on the circumferential surface of the roller 84 because the roller 84 continues to rotate in synchronization with the rotation of the main motor (not shown) as described above. , the roller 84 continues to perform a continuous scraping operation to keep the roller 84 clean at all times.

The swinging motion of the cleaning unit 83 of the cleaning means 80 in the tlS2 is achieved by using the drive member 90 as a drive source and reciprocating the operating shaft 90A of the drive member 90 via the swing member 91. * Obtained by converting into 86 rotational movements. When the roller 84 presses against and separates from the image carrier 40 by this swinging motion, the shock caused by the press-contact and separation is alleviated by the impact action of the buffer member 92 at 41.

6A and 6B show the cleaning unit 83.
The operation of the swinging member 91, which is engaged with a protrusion 96 provided near the shaft end of the swing support shaft 86 and is interlocked with the operation of the drive member 90, is controlled by the rotation of the row 284. The image bearing member 40 is expressed and illustrated in a state in which it is in contact with the image carrier 40 and in a state in which it is separated from the image carrier 40.・FIG. 6A shows that when a driving member 90 composed of a solenoid attracts an operating shaft 90A to which 11 long arms of the swinging member 91 are attached, the swinging member 91 moves around the swinging support shaft 86. rotationally biased to
The roller 84 of the cleaning means 83 is brought into pressure contact with the image carrier 40. Due to the action of the spring 93 that is locked to the tip of the long arm of the swinging member 91, the long arm is biased and brought into contact with the operating shaft end of the buffer member 92 made of oil pumper. It acts to reduce the impact of the roller 84 when pressed.

In FIG. 6B, when the operating shaft 90A of the driving member 90 is pushed out together with the long arm of the swinging member 91 loosely attached to the tip thereof, the swinging member 91 rotates around the swinging support shaft 86. The roller 84 of the cleaning unit 83 is urged away from the image carrier 40 . The operating shaft end of the buffer member 92 is located opposite to the operating shaft end of the drive member 90, and the long arm of the swinging member 91 is biased against the operating shaft end of the buffer member 92 by the spring 93. The actuating shaft 90A of the driving member 90 is in contact with the actuating member 90 to alleviate the sudden actuating state when the actuating shaft 90A of the driving member 90 is pushed out. Therefore, the rotational movement of the swinging member 91 about the swinging support shaft 86 and the rotational movement of the roller 84 on the image carrier 4
The movement away from 0 is performed slowly.

Adjustment springs 94 and 9 within the play space 97 of the swinging member 91
5 acts to keep the pressing force of the roller 84 against the image carrier 40 constant.

In FIG. 5, the drive member 90 is actuated and its operating shaft 90
When A is sucked, the long arm of the swinging member 91 loosely attached to the operating shaft 90A rotates around the swinging support shaft 86.

Play of swing member 91 F+! Adjustment springs 94 and 95 provided at the abutting portion of the projection 96 in the first part 97
6 is biased by a spring, the rotational movement of the swinging member 91 is transmitted to the rotational movement of the swinging support shaft 86 via the protrusion 96, and the roller 84 is rotated to the image carrier 40. They are forced into pressure contact. That is, the reciprocating motion of the operating shaft 90A of the driving member 90 is converted into a swinging motion about the swinging shaft 86 of the cleaning unit 83. The amount of reciprocating movement of the operating shaft 90A of the driving member 90 varies, and this variation is converted into variation in the pressing force of the roller 84 against the image carrier 40.

When the roller 84 comes into contact with the image carrier 40 and acts with an excessive pressing force that exceeds a preferable pressing force, the adjusting spring is applied as an increase in the pressing force from the contact portion of the clearance 97 of the swinging member 91. 94 and 95. The adjustment spring 94 has already been
An additional pressing force is applied to the row 284 which is biased by springs 94 and 95 and is in pressure contact with the image carrier 40, but the loading force of the springs 94 and 95 increases the pressing force of the roller 84 when the roller 84 is in excessive pressure contact. Since the rollers 94 and 95 are compressed and the roller 84 is small compared to the image carrier 40
The springs 94 and 95 are not pressed against each other by a pressing force exceeding the load force of the springs 94 and 95.

Said? W! such that the roller 84, which is biased by the l4fflI springs 94 and 95, starts pressing against the image carrier 40 when the amount of movement of the operating shaft 90A of the driving member 90 is equal to or less than the minimum amount of movement. 4gi, so the operating shaft 90A
Even when the amount of reciprocating movement of the rollers 94 and 9 is the minimum value of the variation, the pressing force of the roller 84 against the image carrier 40 is the same as that of the springs 94 and 9.
The load force cannot be less than 5.

Cleaning unit 8 of second cleaning means 80
The toner scraped off from the roller 84 of No. 3 is removed from the guide plate 10.
0, moves along the slope of the guide plate 100, and is guided to the toner collection row 2108.

In FIG. 5, forward and reverse rotation of the DC motor 104 is transmitted to the worm wheel 105 by a worm provided on the main shaft of the motor 104, and a half-rotation gear 106 meshing with the worm wheel 105 is used to rotate the first worm. This is transmitted to the cam pongee 10 which swings the blade 71 of the cleaning means.

The vibration flow 101 fitted to the cam support 107 vibrates the guide plate 100 with its roller surface in contact with the rotation of the cam pongee 107. The toner that has fallen onto the guide plate 100 is moved along the slope by the vibrations mentioned above and is guided to the toner collecting roller 108.

As described above, the sequence of color image formation in a color image forming apparatus equipped with a cleaning device according to the present invention can be explained by the time chart of f@9[. In the first rotation, the image carrier 40 starts image exposure based on the color signal of the Pt 51, and undergoes a process of development I delayed by the time X. In the second rotation, the image carrier 40 receives the second Image exposure starts using a color signal, and development (2) is delayed by a time Y.Furthermore, in the third rotation, image exposure is started using a black signal, and development (2) is performed after a time Z (time Z) to form a color toner image. It is supposed to be done.

In Uni, the times x, y, and z are the time required for a certain position of the image carrier 40 (the leading edge of the image in the figure) to reach the position receiving each development process from the image exposure position, or the time within that time, and are the same. (In theory, n is the time required to reach the transfer pole 51 from the image exposure position or the time less than that, and n is the time required to reach the cleaning device W170 from the image exposure position or the time less than that. Also, i is the original It is the time required for the entire image surface of 1 to pass through a fixed point such as the image exposure or development processing position, and the actions of image exposure, development processing, transfer, cleaning, etc. occur slightly before and after the above time l, as shown by the broken line. During your free time,
It is now activated.

Next, the operation of the cleaning device of the present invention during image forming operation will be described below. First, the image carrier 40 starts rotating, and the tip of the image area formed by the color signal of f51 of the first #it1 image is moved by the blade 7 until just before the toner receiver reaches the position opposite the member 72.
1 is operating on the image carrier 40, and the image carrier 40 is being cleaned. Immediately after the blade 71, which is the first cleaning means, is deactivated, the tip of the image area becomes the cleaning roller 8 of the 2217th cleaning means 83.
Just before reaching the opposite position of 4, the roller 84
is actuated and deactivated on the image carrier 40, and the blade 71
Residual toner adhering to the image carrier 40 between the blade 71 and the image carrier 40 and between the blade 71 and the toner receiver member 72 is removed by the roller 84.

When the image area on which the untransferred toner image is formed passes through a position facing the cleaning device @ 70, the blade 7
1 and the cleaning roller 84 are deactivated from the image carrier 40, so the cleaning device i! 70 does not disturb the untransferred toner image.

Immediately before the leading edge of the image area that has been transferred reaches a position opposite to the roller 84, the toner receiver moves to the blade 7.
1 and the cleaning roller 84 operate on the image carrier 40 . The operation of the roller 84 is similar to that of the blade 7.
Immediately after the point on the image carrier 40 where the pressure contact 1 starts to come into contact with the image carrier 40 passes the roller 84, the pressure 12 is released. The blade 71 operates until just before the rear end of the image area reaches a position where the cleaning roller 84 faces the image carrier 4o, and then is deactivated. The cleaning roller 84 is activated at the same time as the blade 71 is deactivated, and similarly to the above, the cleaning roller 84 is activated when the point where the blade 71 is deactivated with respect to the image carrier 40 passes through the roller 84. Deactivated.

Therefore, residual toner adhering to the image area after transfer is
It is removed by the first cleaning means 75. At that time, the blade 71 is activated and deactivated.
A small amount of residual toner remaining on the downstream side of the toner 1 is also removed by the second cleaning means 83.

As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described with respect to a color copying machine that forms an original image in three colors, but the cleaning device of the present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus that can form an original image in a single color or two or more colors. Of course, it can be applied to.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained in the embodiments, the cleaning device of the present invention is provided with a second cleaning means downstream of the first cleaning means in the moving direction of the image carrier, and a first cleaning means. Even if toner remains on the image carrier when the image carrier is activated and deactivated, a cleaning unit that includes a cleaning roller and a scraper that scrapes the toner on the roller acts on the image carrier. , the roller of the unit rotates in the opposite direction to the image carrier and presses against it to remove residual toner.

When the cleaning roller of the cleaning unit is brought into pressure contact with the image carrier, the adjustment spring of the clearance provided in the swinging member of the cleaning unit adjusts to 98! The cleaning roller is brought into pressure contact with the cable against the image carrier with a constant pressure.

Therefore, the cleaning device according to the present invention increases and maintains the toner removal ability of the cleaning roller of the second cleaning means, and eliminates the cleaning failure of the image carrier as in the conventional case. It is possible to prevent staining of the vessel and deterioration of the ability to form the image.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Pt41 is a sectional view of the cleaning device of the present invention, the second
The figure is Pt51 diagram 0, A, B, C%D%E1F,
13 is an explanatory diagram showing a gear train that transmits the driving force of the cleaning device, an explanatory diagram of the driving means for transmitting the driving force, and FIGS. 6A and ff1f3B are the cleaning roller of the second cleaning means. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the action of the buffer member in each state when it is pressed against and separated from the image carrier, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of position 8 of the swinging member of the blade of the first cleaning means, Pt58
The figure is an explanatory diagram of a color copying machine for explaining the present invention in detail. Figure A9 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the color copying machine. 40... Image carrier 41... Band WL
Container 70...Cleaning device 71...Blade 72
... Toner receiver is a member 75 ... First cleaning means 80 ... Second cleaning means 81 ... Support plate 82 ... Support body 83 ... Cleaning unit 84 ... Cleaning roller 85 ...・
Scraper 86... Swing shaft 9o.
...Driving! lJ member 91... swinging member
92...Buffer member 94, 95...'I4 node spring
96...Protrusion 97-0. clearance area
100... Guide plate 101... Vibrating roller
107°°°force 4 axes 108...toner collection roller

Claims (1)

[Claims] The image forming apparatus has first and second cleaning means disposed close to the image carrier and controlled to be activated and deactivated in conjunction with the image forming process, and the second cleaning means is configured to clean the image. In a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, which is disposed downstream of a first cleaning device in the direction of movement of the carrier, an elastic cleaning roller constituting the second cleaning device is pressed against and separated from the image carrier. A cleaning device characterized in that a swinging member that is allowed to swing freely has a clearance part provided therein, and a protrusion of the rotational shaft of the cleaning roller is housed within the clearance part and is biased by a spring.