JPS643267B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cleaning device for a copying machine or the like.

In a copying machine or other recording device that forms a latent image on the surface of an image carrier, visualizes the latent image with toner, and then transfers the toner image to a transfer sheet, the image after the transfer is It is unavoidable that toner remains on the surface of the image carrier, and if this is left unattended, the next transfer sheet will be contaminated, so the remaining toner on the surface of the image carrier is cleaned by a cleaning device. This type of cleaning device includes a cleaning member that comes into contact with the surface of the image carrier to remove residual toner from the surface, a casing that supports the cleaning member and receives the toner removed by the cleaning member, and a casing that supports the cleaning member and receives the toner removed by the cleaning member. a conveyance member for conveying the toner to the outside of the casing; a drive means for driving the conveyance member; a transmission means for transmitting the driving force of the drive means to the conveyance member; positioning means, so that the toner removed from the image carrier can be carried out of the casing. Moreover, the above-mentioned positioning means allows the casing to be accurately positioned and attached to the main body of a copying machine, etc., so that the casing installation operation is easy, especially when the casing is removably attached to the main body of a copying machine, etc. It's easy and convenient. However, this type of cleaning device has a large number of components, making the device complicated and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and provide a cleaning device with a simple structure. The present invention uses at least one of the casing positioning means as at least a part of the driving force transmission means for the toner conveying member, thereby reducing the number of components and simplifying the structure of the device. It is characterized by: Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the main parts of a copying machine, and numeral 1 in the figure is an image carrier configured as a photosensitive drum. When this photosensitive drum 1, which is rotatably supported by the copying machine main body, is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow A, the surface of the drum is charged by the charger 2, and this charged portion is shown in the figure as indicated by arrow B. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the drum when it is irradiated with light from an original document. When this latent image passes through the developing device 3, it is visualized by toner powder, and the thus formed toner image is transferred to the transfer sheet 4 fed in the direction of arrow C. After the transfer, the transfer sheet 4 is separated from the drum 1 and sent to a fixing device (not shown). Reference numerals 5 and 5a are chargers that are operated during the above-mentioned transfer and separation operations, respectively.

It is inevitable that a small amount of toner remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer has been completed as described above, and this residual toner is cleaned by the cleaning device 6 according to the present invention.

The cleaning device 6 has a casing 7 extending along the drum 1, in which:
A cleaning member configured as a blade 8 that scrapes off the toner by bringing its tip into contact with the surface of the rotating drum 1, a blade holder 9 that holds this blade, and the toner scraped off by the blade 8 is removed from the casing. A conveyance member that conveys the toner and a seal member 8a that is fixed to the casing and prevents the toner from leaking out of the casing are provided. It is made up of. The casing 7 and the above elements 8, 8a, 9, 10 installed therein form one unit 11.
has been achieved.

The blade 8 is made of an elastic material, such as rubber, and has an elongated shape that can come into contact with the drum 1 over substantially its entire width. Also blade holder 9
are the holder body 9a and this holder body 9a.
and a presser member 9b that presses and fixes the blade 8 on the holder body, and the presser member 9b is removably fixed to the holder main body with a screw. The blade 8 can be replaced by removing the holding member 9b from the holder main body 9a. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first support shaft 12 and a second support shaft 12a that protrude concentrically are attached to both ends of the blade holder 9, and these support shafts 12, 12a
are supported in bearing holes formed in each end wall of the casing 7, that is, the first casing end wall 13 and the second casing end wall 13a (as described later, the first support shaft is directly Specifically, it is supported in a bearing hole of a first positioning pin which will be described later).
In this case, the spindle springs 15, 15a are inserted into the spindle holes 14, 14a formed at each end of the blade holder 9, and the spindle pins 16, 16a protruding from the spindles 12, 12a are inserted. , and fit into the elongated holes 17 and 17a for the spindle formed in the blade holder 9, respectively, so that the spindle pins 16 and 16a come into contact with one end of each of the elongated holes 17 and 17a for the spindle due to the action of the springs 15 and 15a. It is advantageous to do so. By doing this, when removing the blade holder 9 from the casing 7, move the support pins 16, 16a inward (arrow D
direction), compressing the spindle springs 15, 15a and pulling the spindles 12, 12a into the holder 9, each of the spindles 12, 12a can be disengaged from the casing 7. Further, the screw 10 for conveying toner extends over the entire length of the casing 7 in the longitudinal direction, and furthermore, the screw 10 for conveying toner extends over the entire length of the casing 7 in the longitudinal direction.
It extends into a toner conduit 18 secured to 3a. This toner conduit 18 serves as a conveyance path for conveying toner into a toner collection container 19, which will be described later. The screw 10 is rotatably driven by a drive means (motor), which will be described later, and a drive force transmission means constructed according to the present invention, so that the toner can be conveyed to the toner collection container 19. Further, the sealing member 8a is attached to the drum 1.
The drum extends parallel to the drum over almost its entire length, and its tip is in contact with the drum surface. This sealing member 8a is also desirably made of an elastic material, for example rubber. A guide plate 20 guides the toner scraped off by the blade 8 toward the screw 10.

The casing 7, which forms a unit together with the above elements, is supported by a support member 21 in this example, and the right end (first end) 22 of this support member in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first bracket 24 is connected via two pivot pins 23.
The first bracket 24 is fixed to one side plate 25 of the main body of the copying machine.
A long hole 26 is formed in the other end (second end portion) 22a of the support member 21, and a guide pin 27 is loosely engaged with the long hole 26. The elongated hole 26 is present in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the drum 1, and the guide pin 27 is supported immovably by a second bracket 24a fixed to the other second body side plate 25a of the copying machine body. has been done. With this configuration, the support member 21 can rotate around the pivot pin 23 by an amount corresponding to the length of the elongated hole 26 in the directions of arrows E and E', that is, in the direction away from or approaching the drum 1. . A positioning roller 29 is supported on the second main body side plate 25a via a leaf spring 28, and the roller 29 is inserted into a notch 30 formed in the second end 22a of the support member 21 while receiving the action of the leaf spring 28. The support member 21 is thereby held in a predetermined position, ie in a position extending parallel to the drum 1.

The support member 21 has an end wall 31 on its first end 22 side, that is, on the end side supported by the two pivot pins 23.
However, the other end side, that is, the second end side 22a
is open, and through this open end the casing 7 can pass through other elements 8, 8a, attached to it.
9, 10, and 20 can be put in and taken out. A guide rail 32 is fixed to the support member 21 and extends in the longitudinal direction of the support member 21.
The upper end of the casing 7 is placed on this rail 32, which serves to guide the casing 7 when it is taken in and taken out.

As mentioned above, the casing 7 can be taken in and out of the copying machine main body, so when the casing 7 is housed in the support member 21, the casing 7 is placed in a predetermined position relative to the support member 21 (therefore, the copying machine main body). need to be positioned. For this purpose, the cleaning device according to the present invention is provided with positioning means for positioning the casing 7 with respect to the main body of the copying machine. In this example, three positioning means are provided, and the first positioning means is
A first positioning pin 33 protruding from the right end wall (first end wall) 13 in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the casing, and a first positioning pin 33 formed on the support member 21 and into which the pin 33 fits. 1 positioning hole 36 (in the illustrated example, the pin 33 is fitted into the hole 36 via a pusher). The second positioning means includes a second positioning pin 34 also attached to the first end wall 13 of the casing 7, and a second positioning pin 34 formed on the support member 21, into which this pin 34 can be rotatably fitted via a bushing. It is composed of a positioning hole 37. Similarly, the third positioning means is the casing 7
A third positioning pin 35 protruding from the other end wall (second end wall) 13a and a knob member 38 to be described later.
The third positioning hole 39 is formed in the third positioning hole 39 and the pin 35 is fitted into the third positioning hole 39. In this case, the first positioning pin 33 in this example is fixed to the first end wall 13 of the casing 7 concentrically with the two support shafts 12, 12a of the blade holder 9, and as described above, the first positioning pin 33 is fixed to the first end wall 13 of the casing 7. is supported in a hole formed in the first positioning pin. Also, the second positioning pin 3
4 is the first end wall 1 of the casing 7 according to the invention.
3 so as to be immovable in the axial direction but rotatable, the function of which will be described later. On the other hand, as described above, the third positioning pin 35
The third positioning hole 39 that fits into the knob member 38
The knob member 38 is slidably fitted in a hole 41 formed in a knob support plate 40 that supports the knob member in the direction of arrow F. In that case, a compression spring 42 is interposed between the flange formed at one end of the knob member and the knob support plate 40, and normally this spring 42 causes the knob member 38 to
receives a pressing action to the right in FIG.
However, by pulling the knob portion 38a of the knob member to the left in FIG. 2, the pin 35 can be disengaged from the hole 39 of the knob member 38.
The holes 41 formed in the knob support plate 40 are accurately positioned and arranged.

Knob support plate 4 that supports the above-mentioned knob member 38
0 can be fixedly placed on the copier body,
In this example, this knob support member 4 is shown in FIG.
0 is integrally attached to a drum positioning member 44 that is removably screwed onto the core shaft 43 of the drum 1. This drum positioning member 44 has an appropriate number of arms 45, and pins 46 protruding from the tips of these arms 45 are fitted into positioning holes in the second body side plate 25a, thereby positioning the drum 1 in a predetermined position. positioned in position.

The casing 7 is positioned at a predetermined position and supported at three points by the three positioning pins 33, 34, 35 and the positioning holes 36, 37, 39 into which these pins fit. The blade 8 and the sealing member 8a arranged in a shape are also positioned at a predetermined position and abut against the drum 1 with a predetermined pressure.

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned rotatable second positioning pin 34 is provided with a toner conveying screw 10.
One end of the screw 10 is fixedly locked, and the screw 10 is located concentrically with the second positioning pin 34. Furthermore, according to the present invention, a first gear 47 for rotationally driving the second positioning pin 34 is fixed to the second positioning pin 34 (FIG. 2), and a second gear 48 that meshes with the first gear 47 (FIGS. 5 and 5) 7) is attached to a gear shaft 49 rotatably supported by the first bracket 24 and the first main body side plate 25. in this case,
In this example, the second gear 48 is supported by a gear shaft 49 such that it cannot rotate but can slide in the axial direction, and is inserted between the second gear 48 and the first bracket 24. It is pressed to the left in FIG. 5 by a compression spring 50, and is held in the position shown in FIG. 5 by a stopper (not shown). A first sprocket 51 is secured to the outer end of the gear shaft 49 and is drivingly connected to a drive motor (not shown) via a drive chain 52.
In addition, in FIG. 5, the end region of the gear shaft 49 is shown shifted downward in the figure for ease of understanding.

With the above-described configuration, each component in the cleaning device 6 is held at a predetermined position,
As explained above, when the photosensitive drum part that has completed the transfer reaches the position of the blade 8, the drum 1
The residual toner is scraped off by the blade 8 that is pressed against the guide plate 20, and the scraped toner powder is
is guided to the screw 10 by. At this time, the screw 10 is rotationally driven by a drive motor (drive means) via the drive chain 52, the first sprocket 51, the gear shaft 49, the two mutually meshed gears 47, 48, and the second positioning pin 34. Therefore, the toner that has fallen onto the screw 10 is conveyed from the casing 7 through the toner conduit 18 to the toner collection container 19 by the rotation of this screw.

As mentioned above, the screw 10 is fixedly engaged with the second locating pin 34 of the second locating means, and this pin 34 is operatively connected to the driving means so that the driving force from the driving means (motor) is operatively connected to the driving means. Second
Since the signal is transmitted to the screw via the positioning pin 34, the second positioning pin 34
not only has the function of positioning the casing 7 on the copying machine body, but also has the function of a transmission means for transmitting the driving force from the driving means to the screw 10. Therefore, there is no need to provide a rotating shaft as a transmission means other than the second positioning pin, and the configuration of the device is simplified.

In this example, as an additional structure of the cleaning device, as shown in FIG.
A support plate 53 is fixedly arranged at the bottom of the support plate 5.
A magnet 54 is fixedly supported on 3. When a two-component developer (toner and carrier) is used in the developing device 3, this magnet 54 attracts the carrier attached to the surface of the photoreceptor drum 1 and prevents the drum from being scratched by the carrier. It is for the purpose of A charger (not shown) can be provided in the space below the magnet 54 to remove static electricity from the drum. However, if a corona charger is used as a transfer sheet separation device as in the copying machine shown in the figure, this charger will remove the charge from the drum. Since the magnet 54 also has a static eliminating function, there is no need to provide a charger in the space below the magnet 54. In view of this point, in the illustrated configuration, this space is used as the toner receiver 55. During the cleaning operation and toner collection operation,
The seal member 8a comes into contact with the drum to prevent the scraped toner from leaking out of the casing, and also prevents the toner from leaking out of the casing even if the carrier adheres to the drum surface during development.
This carrier is removed by the magnet 54 and is prevented from being pressed against the drum by the blade and seal member and causing damage to the drum.

The drum portion that has passed through the cleaning device operating as described above is again neutralized by the static eliminating charger 56, completing one copying cycle.

Now, the copying operation and cleaning operation are performed as described above, but when the transfer sheet 4 is not separated from the drum 1 during the copying operation and the transfer sheet jams in the cleaning device, or when the blade 8 is replaced with a new one. When replacing the drum with a new one, it is necessary to separate the cleaning device 6 from the drum 1. In such a case, in this example, the positioning roller 29 is disengaged from the notch 30 formed in the second end 22a of the support member, and the knob 38a of the knob member 38 is pulled to the left in FIG. The third positioning pin 35 of the casing 7 and the knob member 3 are
It engages and disengages from the third positioning hole 39 of No.8. Thereby, the support member 21 can be rotated together with the casing 7 around the pivot pin 23 in the direction of arrow E, and the casing 7 can be moved in a direction away from the drum 1. The state at this time is schematically shown in FIG. 6 by a chain line. In this way, the cleaning device 6
Since a sufficient gap is formed between the transfer sheet and the drum 1, the jammed transfer sheet can be inspected and removed. If it is still difficult to take out the transfer sheet due to the casing getting in the way, or when replacing the blade 8, move the unit casing 7 in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 2, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. Just pull it out. In this case, the casing 7 is attached to the knob support plate 4
Since the toner collection container 19 can be moved to the right in FIG. Never. Thus, the first and second positioning pins 33 and 34 of the casing 7 are disengaged from the respective positioning holes 36 and 37, and the casing 7 is pulled out from the copying machine main body while being guided by the guide rail 32. When replacing the blade, remove the holder 9 from the casing 7 by retracting the spindles 12, 12a of the blade holder 9 as described above, and then remove the holding member 9b of the holder 9 from the holder main body 9a. and remove the blade.

As described above, the toner collection container 19 is evacuated and the casing is pulled out, but if the toner in the casing is conveyed by the screw at this time as well, the toner is passed through the toner conduit 18 to the container 1.
9 will be discharged outside the machine and pollute the surrounding area. In the illustrated configuration of the cleaning device, such inconveniences are reliably prevented.
That is, as described above, the supporting member 2 is attached to the casing 7.
When screw 1 is rotated in the direction of arrow E, screw 1
The first gear 47 fixed to the second positioning pin 34 that drives the casing 7 also moves,
This is because the first gear 47 engages and disengages from the stationary second gear 48, so that even if the second gear 48 is driven, the drive of the screw 10 is reliably and automatically blocked. In this way, toner is prevented from scattering outside the machine.

After completing the predetermined work, the cleaning device can be set in the predetermined state by performing the reverse operation of the above operation. That is, the casing is inserted into the support member, the first and second positioning pins 33 and 34 are fitted into the respective positioning holes 36 and 37, and the support member 2
1 around the pivot pin 23 in the direction of arrow E',
The third positioning pin 35 is fitted into the third positioning hole 33 . Thus, the casing can be easily positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the copying machine main body by the three positioning means. In this operation, the first gear 4
7 and the second gear 48 may not mesh properly, but in such cases, the teeth of the second gear 48
is pushed onto the gear shaft 49 to the right in FIG. 5 by the first gear 48 against the action of the spring 50. Then, with the start of the copying operation, the gear shaft 4
9 starts to rotate, the second gear 48, which was in contact with the first gear 47 while being pressed to the left in FIG. The predetermined meshing condition is automatically brought about, and the second gear 48 returns to the position shown.

When the support member 21 is rotated to a predetermined position again, the positioning rollers 29 engage with the notches 30 and the support member 21 is positioned. At this time, the micro switch 57 disposed on the second bracket 24a
Turned on. If the support member does not reach the specified position,
Therefore, even if the print button (not shown) of the copying machine is pressed while the switch 57 is not turned on, the copying machine will not start operating.

When the support member 21 is rotated, the carrier adsorption magnet 54 and the toner receiver 55 are also rotated, so there is no risk that these will interfere with the removal work of the jammed transfer sheet, and the rotation of the casing will also be prevented. When the sealing member 8a separates from the drum 1 during the movement, toner may fall from the casing, but this toner is caught by the toner receiver and does not scatter outside the machine.

Also, to remove drum 1 from the copying machine main body,
Screw 44a of drum positioning member 44 (Fig. 6)
It is necessary to screw out the member 44 from the drum 1 and disengage it from the drum, but if this member 44 is removed from the drum in this way, the knob member 38 will always be in the third position.
The blade 8 is disengaged from the positioning pin 35 and the state in which the blade 8 is strongly pressed against the drum 1 is released. Therefore, for example, even if the drum 1 is pulled out without remembering to rotate the support member 21 in the direction of the arrow E (in a direction perpendicular to the paper plane of FIG. 1), the drum surface may be scratched by the blade 8. There is no risk of damage or damage to the blade. That is, by arranging the grip member on the drum positioning member 44, a safety means is configured to prevent damage to the drum and the blade.

Now, as mentioned above, the blade 8 is in pressure contact with the surface of the drum to remove residual toner, but if this blade is in pressure contact with the stationary drum 1 for a long time, not only will the blade be permanently deformed;
The drum surface may also be deformed and the quality of the drum surface may be altered. Therefore, it is preferable that the blade 8 comes into contact with the drum 1 only when necessary, and that the blade 8 and the drum be separated from each other when the copying machine is not used for a long time. The illustrated cleaning device is constructed in such a way that this requirement can also be met with a simple construction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, a drive pin 58 is provided at one end of the blade holder 9 in a protruding position away from the first support shaft 12.
The blade holder 9 is rotated around its support shafts 12, 12a, and the blade 8
is brought into contact with and separated from the drum 1.

In order to obtain the above operation, the drive pin 58
A hole 61 of the slider 60 passes through an arc-shaped elongated hole 59 (FIGS. 1 and 2) formed in the first end wall 13 of the casing 7, and has a sliding direction in the direction of arrow I (FIG. 7). is fitted. As clearly shown in FIG. 7, this slider 60 has an elongated hole 62 formed at one end, and a pin 63 fixed to the first bracket 24 is loosely engaged with the elongated hole 62 of the slider. A first lever 65 is pivotally attached to the other end of the slider 60 via a support pin 64.
The first bracket 24 and the first main body side plate 25
A second lever 67 is further fixed to a drive shaft 66 which is rotatably supported on the drive shaft 66 . A projecting pin 69 is provided in a substantially intermediate region of the second lever 67 to engage one end of a tension spring 68, and the other end of the tension spring 68 is engaged with a so-called spring clutch 70. This locking position will be described later. A tension spring 71 for the lever is engaged with the lower end of the second lever 67, and this spring 71 gives the second lever 67 a clockwise rotation behavior in FIG. The other end of the spring 71 is connected to the first end of the third bracket 73, which will be described later.
It is locked to a stud 91. That is, the other end of the lever spring 71 is attached to the first body side plate 25 with two screws 7.
The first stud 91 of the third bracket 73 is fixed to the first stud 91 by the third bracket 73. The lower part of the second lever 67 fits into a notch 74 (this may be a long hole) formed in the third bracket 73, and a stopper part 75a at one end of this notch 74.
It is possible to come into contact with. The tension force of the lever spring 71 is set smaller than that of the tension spring 68.

As clearly shown in FIG. 5, the spring clutch 70 includes a fixed shaft 75 fixed to the first main body side plate 25, a second sprocket 76 and a boss-shaped disc 77 rotatably supported by the fixed shaft 75. , a coil spring 78 , and a sleeve 79 fitted around the coil spring 78 .
8 is wound so as to surround both the boss portions of the second sprocket 76 and the middle plate 77. In this case, one end of the coil spring 78 is connected to the sleeve 79.
It is locked to. The flange portion of the sleeve 79 has two notches 80 and 81 located at an angle of 180°.
(FIG. 7) is formed, and in this notch is a clutch lever 8 rotatably supported on the drive shaft 66.
Two tip claws 82a can be engaged. The other end of the clutch lever 83 is connected to the solenoid 8 via the pin 83.
4, the clutch lever 82 rotates around the shaft 66 in accordance with the energization and deenergization of the solenoid, and its tip claw engages and disengages the notch 80 or 81 of the sleeve 79. It's getting old. In this case, the tip claw 82 of the clutch lever 82
When a is engaged and disengaged from the notches 80 and 81, the coil spring 78 engages the second sprocket 76 and the disc 77.
The rotation of the second sprocket 76 is transmitted to the disk 77 via the coil spring 78 by tightly wrapping it around the boss portion of the second sprocket 76 . However, when the tip claw 82a of the clutch lever engages with the notch 80 or 81, the sleeve 79 is prevented from rotating, and if the second sprocket 79 is rotating at this time, this causes the coil spring 78 to loosen its winding. receives an external force in the direction. Therefore, the rotation of the second sprocket 76 is no longer transmitted to the disk 77, and even if the second sprocket rotates, the disk 77 remains stationary. The second sprocket 76 is drivingly connected to a third sprocket 86 via a transmission chain 85.
The sprocket 86 is the first sprocket 5 mentioned above.
1 and is fixed to a drive shaft 49 integrally. The tension spring 68 has one end locked in the intermediate region of the second lever 67, and the other end locked in a stud 87 projecting from the disc 77 of the clutch.

When the above-described copying operation is performed and therefore it is necessary to press the blade 8 against the surface of the drum 1, the tip pawl of the clutch lever 82 engages with one notch 80 of the sleeve 79, and at this time the disc The stud 87 is located on the right side of the figure as shown by the solid line in FIG. However, since the distal end pawl of the clutch lever engages with the notch 80, the disc 77 is stopped at the position shown. Therefore, the second lever 67 is subjected to the tensile action of the tension spring 68 and comes into contact with the stop portion 75a of the third bracket 73 and is stopped at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. The slider 60 connected to the blade holder 9 is also located at the left stationary end in FIG. 7 together with the drive pin 58 of the blade holder 9. This allows blade 8
is kept in contact with the drum 1 at a predetermined pressure (that is, a predetermined biting amount), and can perform a predetermined cleaning action. In addition, the above-mentioned stop part 7
The pressure of the blade 8 against the drum is determined by the position of the blade 5a.

When the copying machine is turned off, or when the copying machine is on standby for a relatively long time, that is, when the blade 8 should not be in pressure contact with the drum, the solenoid 84 is energized, and the clutch lever 82 is activated. Axis 66 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
, and its tip claw is engaged and disengaged from the notch 80. Therefore, the rotation of the second sprocket 76 is transmitted to the disk 77, and the disk 77 starts rotating clockwise in FIG. Subsequently, the solenoid 84 is deenergized, and when the disc 77 rotates 1/2, that is, 180 degrees, the tip pawl 82a of the clutch lever 82 engages with the other notch 81 of the sleeve 79. The disc 77 is thus brought to rest with its stud 87 in the left position shown in phantom in FIG. Therefore, the second lever 67 is not subjected to the tensile action of the tension spring 68, but is instead subjected to a weak tensile action of the lever spring 71, and is rotated to the position shown by the chain line in FIG.
Therefore, the slider 60 moves together with the drive pin 58 of the blade holder to the right end position, which is indicated schematically by the dashed line in FIG. During this movement, the blade holder 9 rotates around its support shafts 12, 12a in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
The tip of the blade is spaced apart from the drum 1 (i.e. the blade is positioned as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1). When the blade is brought into pressure contact with the drum again, the solenoid is temporarily energized, and the disk 77 is pressed again by 1/2.
By rotating, the second lever 67, slider 60, and drive pin 58 may be brought into the state shown by solid lines in FIG. 7. In this way, the blade can be brought into pressure contact with the drum only when necessary. Note that when the casing 7 is taken out, the drive pin 58 of the blade holder 9 is connected to the slider 60.
Of course, the blade 8 is engaged and disengaged from the hole 61 of the drum, and the one shown at 88 in FIG. Yes, while the blade is away from the drum, this switch 88
The copying machine is configured so that it does not operate due to

The operation for attaching and detaching the casing 7 from the support member 21 has been described above. In this case, when the casing is reinstalled, each component is automatically positioned by the positioning means, and in principle there is no need to readjust the position of each component. However, when the blade 8 is replaced, it is necessary to adjust the position of the blade, and the illustrated configuration allows this readjustment to be easily performed. As mentioned above, the pressing force of the blade 8 against the drum 1 is determined by the position of the stop portion 75a of the third bracket 73.
Therefore, in order to adjust the position of the blade, it is necessary to hold this stop portion 75a in a predetermined position. For this purpose, an elongated plate-shaped spacer 89 is arranged in the portion of the third bracket 73 in which the notch 74 is formed, and this spacer 89 has a second
A long hole 90 is provided so as not to obstruct the rotation of the lever 67.
(Fig. 5) Or a notch is formed. The spacer is supported so as not to fall off from the third bracket and to be slidable in the direction of the arrow with respect to the third bracket.

To position the blade 8 relative to the surface of the drum 1, first apply a slight force to the second lever 67 in the clockwise direction in FIG. (The drum is naturally stationary at this time.) In order to achieve this, by loosening the fixing screw 72 of the third bracket 73, the third bracket 73 and the spacer 89 are prevented from hitting the second lever 67, and the third bracket 73 and the spacer 89 are secured to the tip of the second lever 67. Place the other end of the stopped lever spring 71 on the first side of the bracket.
It is engaged and disengaged from the stud 91, and the other end is connected to the second bracket 73, which also projects from the third bracket 73.
It locks onto the stud 92. This brings the blade into the state shown by the dotted line in FIG. Next, the right end of the third bracket 73 is brought into contact with the rising portion 89a formed at the right end of the spacer 89 in FIG. 7 as shown in FIG. (shown as viewed from the back of Figure 7). At this time, the stop portion 75a of the bracket 73 and the end portion 93 of the elongated hole of the spacer 89 are positioned with a predetermined distance J between them. Then, in this state, the elongated hole end 9 of the spacer 89 is
3 is brought into contact with the second lever 67 as shown in FIG. Thus, a predetermined distance J is provided between the stop portion 75a and the second lever 67. Next, slide only the spacer 89 to the left (to the right in FIG. 7) as shown in FIG. 3. Fix it to the bracket 73. If you rotate drum 1 in this state,
When the second lever 67 is rotated to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 7, the blade 8 is pressed against the drum with a predetermined pressure, and a predetermined penetration amount is obtained. According to the above blade position adjustment method, the drum 1 of the blade 8
The amount of biting in can be adjusted by the spacer 89, and this biting amount can be enlarged and adjusted with the second lever 67, so the operation is simple and accurate.

Next, in order to understand the present invention, the previously described toner collection container 19 and its related configuration will be explained.

In FIG. 2 and FIGS. 10 and 11, the toner collection container 19 has a container main body 100, and a cylindrical lid 101 covered with an upper opening of the main body,
A seal 103 made of a flexible material such as sponge is adhered to a cutout opening 102 formed in the lid 101. And this sticker 1
03 has a circular hole 104 and a notch 105 continuous to the circular hole (see FIG. 12).
A toner conduit 18 protruding from the above-mentioned casing projects into the circular hole 104, and the toner is conveyed from the conduit 18 into the container body. Reference numeral 106 denotes a leaf spring provided around the lid 101. Two support pins 107 are fixed to this leaf spring at opposing positions, and the inwardly protruding ends of these support pins are attached to the peripheral wall of the lid 101. It penetrates through and engages an annular groove 108 formed in the neck of the container body 100. In this case, the tip of the support pin is pressed against the groove 108 by the action of the leaf spring 106, whereby the container body 100 and the lid 101 are held integrally.

A support plate 109 is fixed to the second main body side plate 25a, and a rotating member 111 is pivotally attached to this support plate 109 via a pivot 110. It can be rotated in the direction shown. A member 112 supporting the container is pivotally attached to the rotating member 111 by a pin 111a provided integrally therewith, and this supporting member 112 has two sets of arms 114 and 115 projecting in a fork shape from a base 113 thereof. have. A notch 116 is formed in each of the upper arm pairs 114, and the outer ends of the above-mentioned support pins 107 are placed in the notches, whereby the container 19 is supported by the support member 112. The lower arm pair 115 is the container body 10
It serves to hold down the body of the container and help hold the container body.

A projecting pin 117 that passes through the rotating member is protruded from the upper part of the base 113 of the support member 112, and a relatively weak tension spring 118 is stretched between the projecting pin 117 and the rotating member 111. , whereby the container 17 is attached to the pin 1 together with the support member 112.
A slight rotational habit is given around 11a in the clockwise direction in FIG. In this case, when there is no or little toner in the container 19, the container 19 and the support member 112 are slightly inclined as shown schematically by the chain line in FIG. 2, and are held in the state shown by the chain line by a stopper, not shown. Ru.

Furthermore, an actuating member 119 is fixed to the lower arm 115 of the support member 112 and extends in the direction of the rotating member 111.
Actuator 1 of switch 120 located at
21.

The screw 10, which is disposed within the toner conduit 18 and driven to rotate as described above, sequentially moves into the casing 7.
The toner inside is transported into the container 19. When there is a small amount of toner in the container, the container 19 is in the chain line position (FIG. 2), and the actuating member 119 does not actuate the actuator 121 of the switch 120. When the amount of toner in the container 19 becomes large or full, the weight of the toner causes the container 1 to
9 rotates slightly counterclockwise in FIG. 2 around pin 111a against the action of spring 118 to reach the position shown by the solid line in FIG. At this time, the operating member 119 operates the actuator 121, and the switch 120 is turned on. It is thus detected that the container 19 is full of toner, and the signal generated thereby can be used to, for example, prevent the copying machine from starting or to illuminate an indicator lamp (not shown). can do. When the container 19 is replaced with an empty one, the switch 120 is turned off again and a predetermined copying operation can be started. As described above, the amount of toner in the container can be detected by only slightly rotating the container 19, and the container 19 hardly moves in the vertical direction. Therefore, virtually no gap is formed between the toner conduit 18 and the hole 104 of the seal 103, and leakage of toner can be advantageously prevented (this advantage is due to the fact that the This can be better understood by comparing the case where the container is moved downward due to a change in the weight of the toner.In this case, as the container moves downward, the toner conduit hits the upper end of the sealing hole, and the toner conduit and the seal are separated. A gradually larger gap is formed at the lower end of the hole, from which the toner leaks.)

As described above, when pulling out the casing 7 from the support member 21, the rotating member 111 may be rotated in the direction of the arrow K in FIG. In this way, the casing 7 is not obstructed by the container 19. Even when the upper rotating member 111 rotates, the tip of the toner conduit 18 is aligned with the notch 105 of the seal 103.
Since the toner conduit 18 can enter the toner conduit 18, there is no risk that rotation of the container will be hindered by the toner conduit 18.

FIGS. 13 to 16 show other configuration examples of the cleaning device, and these configurations will also be explained for better understanding of the present invention. In the configuration shown in FIG. 13, a shaft 18a is provided within the toner conduit 18.
In that case, this shaft 18a
One end of the screw 10 is locked to the end on the toner discharge port side of the shaft 18a, and the other end of the shaft 18a is connected to the second positioning pin 3.
It is fixed at 4. With this configuration, the shaft 18a is rotationally driven together with the screw 10 during operation,
As a result, the toner conveying force can be strengthened, and problems such as the screw 10 popping out from the toner conduit 18 can be prevented.

Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the knob member 38 is used to engage and disengage the third positioning pin from the hole.
However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the member having the third positioning hole 39 into which the third positioning pin 35 fits is a sleeve-shaped perforated member 1.
30, and a handle lever 131 is pivotally attached to the tip of this perforated member via a pivot pin 131b. If this handle lever 131 is bent as shown by the solid line, one flat side surface 131a at the tip of the handle lever 131 will be on the same side of the support plate 40 as the knob support plate shown in FIG. 2, or as shown in the figure. The pin 35 is in close contact with the flat surface 132a of the seat member 132 fixed to the support plate 40, and the pin 35 and the hole 39 are fitted together by the action of the spring 42. On the other hand, if the handle lever 131 is rotated clockwise about its pivot pin 131b as shown by the chain line, the tip surface 13 of the handle lever 131
1c is the surface 132a of the seat member 132 (or the support plate 4
0 surface) under the action of the spring 42, and at this time, the pivot pin 131b of the handle lever 131 moves outward, and the perforated member 130 moves to the left, and the pin 35 and the hole 39 are Can be disconnected. In this way, hold the handle lever in a stable state in two positions, and then press the third positioning pin 3.
5 and the third positioning hole 39 can be engaged and disengaged. Furthermore, when the lever 131 is in the position shown by the chain line, if this lever interferes with the closing movement of the door of the copying machine (not shown) and prevents the door from being closed, the casing will not be held in a predetermined position. Hazards such as starting the copier can be prevented (if the door is open, the operator would normally not be able to start the copier, or by closing the door. By providing a switch that is turned on when the door is turned on, it is possible to prevent the copying machine from operating with the door open).

Furthermore, in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, since the third positioning pin 35 is located at a position slightly off the center of gravity of the unit 11 consisting of the casing and other elements, there is a risk that the unit may be slightly twisted by its own weight. However, in the configuration shown in FIG. 15, since the third position pin 35 is arranged near the center of gravity of the unit, it is also possible to prevent the twisting phenomenon of the unit.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the surface cam 140 is brought into contact with the first positioning pin 33 fixed to the casing 7, and the casing 7 is pressed in the direction of the surface cam 140 by the spring 42 shown in FIG. During reciprocation of the surface cam 140 in the direction of the arrow, the entire unit, and thus the blades and seal members, slide a small distance on its axis against the face of the drum. This makes it possible to prevent the blade and the seal member from being locally worn out, making it possible to extend the life of the blade and the seal member.

As can be seen from the above description, according to the present invention,
At least one of the means for positioning the casing in the main body of the copying machine etc. constitutes at least a part of the driving force transmission means for the toner conveying member, so the structure of the device can be simplified and manufacturing costs can be reduced. It becomes possible to do so.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a copying machine equipped with a cleaning device according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a -
A line sectional view, Figure 3 is a - line sectional view of Figure 1,
Fig. 4 is a partially sectional plan view of the cleaning device, Fig. 5 is a partially sectional rear view of the same device, Fig. 6 is a schematic sectional view of the drum and cleaning device, and Fig. 7 shows the supporting member with chain lines for ease of understanding. The right side view of FIG. 5 is schematically shown, and some other members are omitted, and the state of the device is changed. FIGS. 8 and 9 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the blade adjustment state. FIG. A plan view of the toner collection container, FIG. 11 is a front view of the collection capacity, FIG. 12 is a developed view of the seal, FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the configuration of the toner conduit, and FIG. 14 is the third positioning pin. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a different arrangement of the third positioning pin from FIG. 1, and FIG. 16 is a partial view showing still another example of the configuration. be. 1... Image carrier, 6... Cleaning device,
7...Casing, 8...Cleaning member, 1
0... Conveying member, 34, 37... At least one positioning means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning member that comes into contact with the surface of the image carrier to remove residual toner from the surface, a casing that supports the cleaning member and receives the toner removed by the cleaning member, and removes the toner received by the casing from the casing. a conveying member for conveying the casing to the copying machine; a driving means for driving the conveying member; a transmitting means for transmitting the driving force of the driving means to the conveying member; and a plurality of positioning means for positioning the casing with respect to the main body of the copying machine. A cleaning device for a copying machine or the like, wherein at least one of the positioning means constitutes at least a part of the transmission means.