JP2002132107A - Cleaning device, process cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device which is capable of efficiently housing waste toners into a waste toner housing section and maintaining stable cleaning performance by preventing the coarsening of waste toner particles within the waste toner housing section. SOLUTION: This cleaning device has a cleaning container 100, a cleaning blade (cleaning member) 103, the waste toner housing section 105 disposed on the side distant from the photosensitive drum (image carrying member) 1 of the cleaning container 100 and a waste toner transporting member 106 disposed within the cleaning container 100. A projection 100b is formed in a supporting section 100a formed in the cleaning container 100. Since the waste toner transporting member 106 and the supporting section 100a eventually come into linear contact with each other across the projection 100b, the friction force that the waste toner (t) receives in a sliding portion is kept low and the heat generation in the sliding portion is suppressed. Even if the waste toner (t) exists on the sliding surface, the coarsening of the waste toner (t) particles does not occur and the stable cleaning performance is maintained to the life of the process cartridge 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device, a process cartridge having the same, and an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic system, a latent image is formed on the surface of an image carrier by selectively exposing the image carrier uniformly charged by a charging means. Then, after the latent image is visualized as a toner image by a developer (toner) supplied from a developing unit, the toner image is transferred to a recording medium, and the toner image is fixed to the recording medium by heat, pressure, or the like. Image recording.

The developer remaining on the image carrier after the transfer of the toner image is removed by a cleaning means such as a cleaning blade and stored in a cleaning container as a residual developer (waste toner). The next development can be performed with no waste toner remaining on the body surface.

A process cartridge in which the image bearing member, charging means, developing means, cleaning means and the like are integrally formed and which is detachably attached to an image forming apparatus main body has been put to practical use as a process cartridge. In this case, by replacing the process cartridge by the user himself, the consumables such as the image carrier and the developer can be replaced without requiring maintenance by a service person.

Here, in the cleaning means,
The cleaning container has a capacity capable of storing waste toner generated during the life of the image carrier or until the toner stored in the developing unit is exhausted. In order to efficiently store the waste toner, a waste toner conveying means such as a rotating member is provided near the image carrier and the cleaning means.

Hereinafter, a conventional cleaning device for an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a process cartridge provided with a conventional cleaning device, and FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the process cartridge.

As shown, a cleaning blade 1 is provided in a cleaning container 100 of a process cartridge 7.
03 from the waste toner transport unit 111 at the top to the waste toner storage unit 1
05 to transport waste toner t
06 is provided. Here, the waste toner storage unit 105
Is provided on the side far from the photosensitive drum 1, and a rotation shaft 107 whose rotation center is parallel to the rotation shaft of the photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably provided in the toner storage unit 105.

Incidentally, the waste toner feeding member 106
Is composed of a toner feeding portion 106a and a support portion 106b. The toner feeding portion 106a is a plate-like member extending in parallel with the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 1, and is provided above the cleaning blade 103. Recovered waste toner t
From the waste toner transport unit 111 to the waste toner storage unit 105 side.

The support section 106b is provided with the toner feeding section 10
6a is a plate-like member that supports both ends of the rotating shaft 107.
Is rotatably supported by the shaft 107a (see FIG. 9). The support portion 106b is provided in the waste toner container 1
05 is slidably supported by a waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100a provided integrally with the cleaning container 100.

When the rotating shaft 107 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 8 (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 8) by a driving means (not shown), the waste toner feeding member 106 reciprocates to discharge the waste toner t. The toner is scraped from the waste toner transport unit 111 to the waste toner storage unit 105 side. At this time, the waste toner feeding member 10
6 to the photosensitive drum 1 from the waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100a.
The toner feeding portion 106a provided on the side performs a reciprocating motion close to clockwise rotation as indicated by an arrow in FIG. Thus, when the waste toner t is scraped from the waste toner transport unit 111 to the waste toner storage unit 105, the toner feeding unit 10
6a passes through the lower side of the waste toner transport unit 111, and when moving from the waste toner storage unit 105 side to the upper side of the cleaning blade 103, the toner feed unit 106a passes over the upper side of the waste toner transport unit 111. The toner t is supplied to the waste toner transport unit 11 above the cleaning blade 103.
It is scraped out from one side and stored in the waste toner storage unit 105.

[0011]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional cleaning device, the cleaning container 1
00 and a waste toner feeding member supporting portion 10 provided integrally with
0a and the support portion 106b of the waste toner feed member 106 continue to slide on each other, so that the waste toner t gradually increases, and the waste toner feed member support portion 100a and the support portion of the waste toner feed member 106 If the waste toner t is interposed on the sliding surface with the roller 106b, the waste toner t receives a frictional force in the sliding portion and generates heat in the sliding portion, so that the waste toner t is melted and coarsened.

When the user removes the process cartridge 7 from the main body of the image forming apparatus and then inserts the process cartridge 7 into the main body of the image forming apparatus again, the process cartridge 7 is tilted and accumulated in the waste toner accommodating portion 105. When the waste toner t containing the coarse particles returns to the cleaning blade 103 side again, the coarse particles of the waste toner
Between the cleaning blade 103 and the photosensitive drum 1, the waste toner t is not cleaned by the cleaning blade 103 and the photosensitive drum 1
However, there is a problem that a so-called cleaning failure which remains on the surface is caused.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. An object of the present invention is to efficiently store waste toner in a waste toner storage unit and reduce the size of the waste toner in the waste toner storage unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus that can prevent the cleaning performance and maintain stable cleaning performance.

[0014]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning member for removing toner on an image carrier, and a container for containing the toner removed by the cleaning member. And a transport member that transports the toner removed by the cleaning member to the storage container, wherein the transport member is rotatably supported at a downstream end in a toner transport direction, and the downstream end is A cleaning device slidably supported by a support portion formed in the storage container on the upstream side in the toner transport direction, wherein the sliding portion includes a projection on at least one of the support portion and the transport member. It is characterized by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a process cartridge is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body and includes at least the image carrier and the cleaning device according to the first aspect. And

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including the cleaning device according to the first aspect.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which the process cartridge according to the second aspect is removably mounted.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in the sliding portion between the waste toner conveying member in the cleaning container and the supporting portion formed in the cleaning container, the waste toner conveying member and the supporting portion are in line contact with each other via the projection. As a result, the frictional force applied to the waste toner at the sliding portion is suppressed, and the heat generated at the sliding portion is suppressed. Even if the waste toner is present on the sliding surface, the waste toner is coarsened. And stable cleaning performance is maintained until the life of the process cartridge.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, the short direction of the process cartridge refers to the direction in which the process cartridge is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, and coincides with the transport direction of the recording medium. Further, the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge is a direction (substantially orthogonal) that intersects with the direction in which the process cartridge is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, and intersects (substantially orthogonal) the recording medium conveyance direction. Further, the upper surface of the process cartridge is a surface located above when the process cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, and the lower surface is a surface located below.

First Embodiment First, the overall configuration of a multicolor image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the overall configuration of a multicolor image forming apparatus (full color laser beam printer).

The multicolor image forming apparatus P shown in FIG. 1 has four photosensitive drums 1 (1a, 1b, 1) arranged in a vertical direction.
c, 1d), and the photosensitive drum 1 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by driving means (not shown). A charging device 2 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is arranged around the photosensitive drum 1 in order according to the rotation direction.
(2a, 2b, 2c, 2d), a scanner unit 3 (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) for irradiating a laser beam based on image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1;
Developing device 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) for attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image and developing it as a toner image, photosensitive drum 1
An electrostatic transfer device 5 for transferring the upper toner image onto the transfer material S,
A cleaning device 6 (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) for removing the transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer is provided.

Here, the photosensitive drum 1, the charging device 2, the developing device 4, and the cleaning device 6 are integrally formed as a cartridge, and the process cartridge 7 (7a, 7b, 7c, 7) is formed.
d).

The photosensitive drum 1 has a diameter of, for example, 3 mm.
An organic photoconductor layer (OPC photoconductor) is applied on the outer peripheral surface of a 0 mm aluminum cylinder. The photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably supported at both ends by a support member, and is driven to rotate counterclockwise by transmitting a driving force from a drive motor (not shown) to one end.

The charging device 2 may be of a contact charging type. The charging member is formed of a conductive roller formed in a roller shape, and the conductive roller is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and a charging bias voltage is applied to the conductive roller.
The surface of the photosensitive drum 1 can be uniformly charged.

The scanner unit 3 is arranged in a substantially horizontal direction of the photosensitive drum 1, and is a polygon mirror 9 in which image light corresponding to an image signal is rotated at a high speed by a scanner motor (not shown) by a laser diode (not shown).
(9a, 9b, 9c, 9d). Then, the image light reflected by the polygon mirror 9 is
The surface of the charged photosensitive drum 1 is selectively exposed through (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d) to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1.

Further, the developing device 4 (4a, 4b, 4)
c, 4d) are each composed of a developing unit which stores toner of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan and black.

By the way, all the photosensitive drums 1a, 1b,
1c and 1d, an electrostatic transfer belt 11 circulating and moving so as to be opposed to and in contact with the electrostatic transfer belt 11 is provided.
Is made of a film-like member having a volume resistivity of 10 ¹¹ to 10 ¹⁴ Ω · cm and a thickness of about 150 μm. This electrostatic transfer belt 11 has four rollers in the vertical direction,
The transfer material S is supported by 14a, 14b and 15 and circulates so that the transfer material S is electrostatically attracted to the outer peripheral surface on the left side of FIG. As a result, the transfer material S is transported to the transfer position by the electrostatic transfer belt 11, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred.

The transfer roller 12 (12a, 12b, 12c, 1) is located at a position in contact with the inside of the electrostatic transfer belt 11 and opposed to the four photosensitive drums 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d.
2d) are arranged in parallel, and a positive charge is applied from these transfer rollers 12 to the transfer material S via the electrostatic transfer belt 11, and the transfer material S in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 by an electric field due to the charge. The negative toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the photosensitive drum 1.

Here, the electrostatic transfer belt 11 has a circumference of about 7
It is composed of a belt having a thickness of 00 mm and a thickness of 150 μm, and is wound around four rollers of a driving roller 13, driven rollers 14a and 14b, and a tension roller 15, and rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. As a result, the electrostatic transfer belt 11 circulates and the transfer material S is moved from the driven roller 14a side to the drive roller 1
While being transported to the third side, the toner image is transferred.

The paper feed unit 16 feeds the transfer material S to the image forming unit. A plurality of transfer materials S are stored in a paper feed cassette 17. At the time of image formation, a paper feed roller (half moon roller) 18 and a registration roller pair 19 are driven and rotated in accordance with the image forming operation to separate and feed the transfer materials S in the paper feed cassette 17 one by one. After the leading end of the belt abuts against the registration roller pair 19 and temporarily stops, a loop is formed, and the rotation of the electrostatic transfer belt 11 and the image writing position are synchronized to be fed to the electrostatic transfer belt 11 by the registration roller pair 19. To go.

The fixing unit 20 fixes the toner images of a plurality of colors transferred to the transfer material S onto the transfer material S. The fixing unit 20 is pressed against the rotating heating roller 21a to apply heat and pressure to the transfer material S. And a pressure roller 21b. That is, the transfer material S to which the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 has been transferred is conveyed by the heating roller 21a and the pressure roller 21b when passing through the fixing unit 20, and is given heat and pressure to form a plurality of colors. The toner image is fixed on the transfer material S.

In the image forming operation, the process cartridges 7 (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) are sequentially driven in accordance with the printing timing, and the photosensitive drums 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d are rotated counterclockwise in accordance with the driving. Is driven to rotate. Then, the scanner units 3 (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) corresponding to the respective process cartridges 7 are sequentially driven. By this driving, the charging roller 2 applies a uniform electric charge to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and the scanner unit 3
Exposing the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 in accordance with the image signal to form an electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1. And
A developing roller in the developing device 4 transfers (transfers) the toner to a low potential portion of the electrostatic latent image to form (develop) a toner image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1.

When the leading edge of the toner image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1a at the most upstream position is rotated and conveyed to the point facing the electrostatic transfer belt 11, the transfer material S
Registration roller pair 19 so that the printing start positions of
Starts rotating and feeds the transfer material S to the electrostatic transfer belt 11.

The transfer material S is sandwiched between the electrostatic attraction roller 22 and the electrostatic transfer belt 11 and
Is applied to the electrostatic transfer belt 11 and the electrostatic attraction roller 22 by applying a voltage between the electrostatic transfer belt 11 and the electrostatic attraction roller 22 to induce electric charges on the transfer material S, which is a dielectric, and the dielectric layer of the electrostatic transfer belt 11, The transfer material S is electrostatically attracted to the outer periphery of the electrostatic transfer belt 11. Thereby, the transfer material S is transferred to the electrostatic transfer belt 11.
And is conveyed to the most downstream transfer section.

While being conveyed in this manner, the toner image on each photosensitive drum 1 is sequentially transferred onto the transfer material S by the electric field formed between each photosensitive drum 1 and the transfer roller 12.

The transfer material S onto which the four color toner images have been transferred as described above is separated from the electrostatic transfer belt 11 by the curvature of the drive roller 13 and is carried into the fixing unit 20. Then, after the transfer material S has been subjected to the thermal fixing of the toner image by the fixing unit 20, the transfer material S is discharged out of the main body by the discharge roller pair 23 from the discharge unit 24 with the image face down.

Next, the configuration of the waste toner conveying member, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
2 is a sectional view of the process cartridge, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the process cartridge with a part thereof cut away, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion A in FIG.

Waste toner t adheres to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 as transfer residual toner even after transfer. The cleaning container 100 is provided with an opening 101 at a portion facing the photosensitive drum 1, and a cleaning sheet (thickness) is provided upstream of the opening 101 with respect to the rotation direction (counterclockwise) of the photosensitive drum 1. A polyethylene terephthalate sheet (30 μm to 100 μm) 102 is attached with a double-sided tape or the like, and the squeeze sheet 102 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 in the forward direction.

Further, a cleaning blade 103 is provided on the downstream side with respect to the rotation direction (counterclockwise) of the photosensitive drum 1, and this cleaning blade 103 contacts the photosensitive drum 1 in the counter direction. . Thus, the waste toner t slips through the squeeze sheet 102, is scraped off by the cleaning blade 103, and is stored in the cleaning container 100. Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is in a state where the toner t has not adhered again, and the next image forming process can be performed.

As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, the arrangement of each part related to cleaning of the photosensitive drum 1 is as follows.

That is, the cleaning blade 103 is in contact with the upper part of the photosensitive drum 1, and the waste toner t scraped off by the cleaning blade 103 is transferred to the waste toner transport unit 111 provided above the cleaning blade 103. Will be collected. The toner container 104 is located at a position substantially horizontal to the cleaning blade 103.
A waste toner storage unit 105 is provided above the cleaning blade 103, and the waste toner t collected above the cleaning blade 103 is sequentially stored in the waste toner storage unit 105.

Then, in the cleaning container 100,
Waste toner transport section 11 above cleaning blade 103
A waste toner feeding member 106 for transporting the waste toner t from 1 to the waste toner storage unit 105 is provided. Further, a crank shaft 108 parallel to the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably provided in the waste toner storage unit 105.

The waste toner feeding member 106 provided in the waste toner storage portion 105 is
6a and a support portion 106b. Here, the toner feeding section 106 a is composed of a plurality of rod-shaped members arranged in the cleaning container 100 at intervals in the cleaning container 100 in parallel with the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 1. The function of scraping the toner t toward the waste toner storage unit 105 is achieved.

The support section 106b is connected to the toner feeding section 10
6a is constituted by two rod-shaped members arranged at both ends, and one end in the short direction is extended to the toner feed portion 106a closest to the photosensitive drum 1, and the other end in the short direction is a crankshaft 108. Are rotatably supported by the crank portion 108a. The support portion 106b is disposed in the waste toner container 1
05 is slidably supported by a waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100a provided integrally with the cleaning container 100. Further, the waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100
By setting the uppermost end of “a” above the cleaning blade 103, the waste toner feeding member 106 is prevented from contacting the cleaning blade 103.

When the crankshaft 108 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 by a driving means (not shown), the waste toner feeding member 106 reciprocates. At this time, the waste toner feed member supporting portion 100 of the waste toner feed member 106
a, a toner feeding section 106 provided on the photosensitive drum 1 side;
a performs a reciprocating motion close to clockwise rotation as shown in FIG. As a result, when the toner t is scraped from the waste toner transport unit 111 above the cleaning blade 103 to the waste toner storage unit 105, the toner feed unit 106a passes under the waste toner transport unit 111, and the waste toner storage unit 1
When moving from the side of the cleaning blade 103 to the upper side of the cleaning blade 103, the toner feeding section 106a
11 passes on the upper surface side. The waste toner t is sequentially scraped from the upper side of the cleaning blade 103 and stored in the waste toner storage unit 105 by the plurality of toner feeding units 106a performing the same operation.

As shown in detail in FIG. 4, a projection 100b protruding toward the waste toner feeding member 106 is formed on the waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100a which is a sliding portion with the waste toner feeding member 106. As a result, the waste toner t is conveyed to the waste toner storage unit 105 without becoming coarse particles in the sliding portion between the waste toner feed member 106 and the waste toner feed member supporting portion 100a.

Here, the projection 100b is smaller than the thrust width of the waste toner feeding member 106, and has a width of, for example, about 2 mm. The width of the projection 100b is, for example, 0.5 mm
If it is smaller than this, the strength of the projection 100b becomes extremely weak, so that the projection 100b is worn away before the process cartridge 7 reaches the end of its life. Conversely, if the width is greater than, for example, 4 mm, the protrusion 100
Since the waste toner t receives a frictional force at the sliding portion between b and the waste toner sending member 106 and generates heat at the sliding portion, the waste toner t is melted and coarsened. Therefore, the protrusion 100b
Is preferably 0.5 to 4 mm.

As described above, in this embodiment, in the sliding portion between the waste toner conveying member 106 in the cleaning container 100 and the waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100a formed in the cleaning container 100, the waste toner conveying member 106
And the waste toner feed member supporting portion 100a are in line contact with each other via the protrusion 100b, so that the frictional force applied to the waste toner t at the sliding portion is suppressed, and the heat generation at the sliding portion is suppressed. Even if the waste toner t is interposed on the surface, the waste toner t does not become coarse and the cleaning performance is kept stable until the life of the process cartridge 7.

In the above description, an example in which the protrusion is provided on the support portion has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration in which the protrusion is provided on at least one of the waste toner conveying member and the support portion in the sliding portion is also easy. . It is preferable from the viewpoint of molding that a projection is provided only on the support portion.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the process cartridge according to the present embodiment, FIG.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail view of a portion B in FIG. 6.

In this embodiment, another form of the waste toner feeding member 106 for transporting the waste toner t from the waste toner transport section 111 provided above the cleaning blade 103 to the waste toner storage section 105 will be described.

In the cleaning container 100, there is provided a waste toner feed member 106 for transporting the waste toner t from the waste toner transport section 111 above the cleaning blade 103 to the waste toner storage section 105. Further, a crank shaft 108 parallel to the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably provided in the waste toner storage unit 105.

The waste toner feed member 106 is composed of a toner feed portion 106a and a support portion 106b. The toner feed portion 106a is spaced apart from the cleaning container 100 in parallel with the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 1. It is composed of a plurality of rod-shaped members, which serve to scrape the waste toner t collected on the upper portion of the cleaning blade 103 to the waste toner storage unit 105 side.

Further, the supporting portion 106b is
6a is constituted by two rod-shaped members arranged at both ends, and one end in the short direction is extended to the toner feed portion 106a closest to the photosensitive drum 1, and the other end in the short direction is a crankshaft 108. Are rotatably supported by the crank portion 108a. The support portion 106b is disposed in the waste toner container 1
05 is slidably supported by a waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100a provided integrally with the cleaning container 100.

When the crankshaft 108 is driven to rotate by driving means (not shown), the waste toner feeding member 10 is rotated.
6 reciprocates. At this time, the waste toner feeding member 10
6 to the photosensitive drum 1 from the waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100a.
The toner feeding section 106a provided on the side performs a reciprocating motion close to clockwise rotation. Thus, when the toner t is scraped out from the waste toner transport unit 111 above the cleaning blade 103 to the waste toner storage unit 105, the toner feeding unit 1
06a passes on the lower surface side of the waste toner transport unit 111, and when moving from the waste toner storage unit 105 side to the upper side of the cleaning blade 103, the toner feed unit 106a passes on the upper surface side of the waste toner transport unit 111. The waste toner t is sequentially scraped from the upper side of the cleaning blade 103 and stored in the waste toner storage unit 105 by the plurality of toner feeding units 106 a performing the same operation.

Thus, the waste toner feeding member supporting portion 100a
The supporting portion 10 of the waste toner feeding member 106 which is a sliding portion between
Reference numeral 6b extends in the reciprocating direction, and since a protrusion 106c projecting toward the waste toner feed member support portion 100a is formed on this support portion as shown in detail in FIG. The waste toner t is conveyed to the waste toner accommodating section 105 without becoming coarse particles in the sliding portion with the toner feeding member supporting section 100a.

As described above, in the present embodiment,
In the sliding portion between the waste toner transport member 106 in the cleaning container 100 and the waste toner transport member support portion 100a formed in the cleaning container 100, the waste toner transport member 106 and the waste toner transport member support portion 100a are connected to the protrusion 10
6c, the frictional force applied to the waste toner t at the sliding portion is reduced and the heat generated at the sliding portion is suppressed. The waste toner t is not coarsened, and stable cleaning performance is maintained until the life of the process cartridge 7.

[0059]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in the sliding portion between the waste toner conveying member in the cleaning container and the support portion formed in the cleaning container,
Since the waste toner conveying member and the support come into line contact with each other via the projection, the frictional force applied to the waste toner at the sliding portion is suppressed, and the heat generated at the sliding portion is suppressed. Even if toner is interposed, the waste toner is not coarsened and the effect of maintaining stable cleaning performance until the life of the process cartridge can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the overall configuration of a multicolor image forming apparatus (full color laser beam printer) according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the process cartridge according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the process cartridge according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a process cartridge according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially broken perspective view of a process cartridge according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail view of a portion B in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge provided with a conventional cleaning device.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view in which a part of a process cartridge provided with a conventional cleaning device is cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photosensitive drum (image carrier) 7 process cartridge 100 cleaning container 100 a waste toner transport member support (support) 100 b protrusion 101 opening 103 cleaning blade (cleaning member) 105 waste toner storage 106 waste toner transport member 106 a toner feed Unit 106b Supporting unit 106c Projection 108 Crankshaft P Multicolor image forming apparatus (image forming apparatus) t Waste toner

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yasushi Yoshino 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term within Canon Inc. (reference) 2H034 BF00 CA01 CA04

Claims (4)

[Claims] A cleaning member that removes toner on the image carrier; a storage container that stores the toner removed by the cleaning member; and a transport member that transports the toner removed by the cleaning member to the storage container. Wherein the transport member is rotatably supported at a downstream end in the toner transport direction, and slides on a support portion formed in the container at an upstream side in the toner transport direction from the downstream end. A cleaning device movably supported, wherein the sliding portion includes a projection on at least one of the support portion and the transport member. 2. A process cartridge which is detachable from an image forming apparatus main body and has at least the image carrier and the cleaning device according to claim 1. 3. An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1. 4. An image forming apparatus comprising the process cartridge according to claim 2 removably mounted therein.