JP2013080057A - Developing device, cleaning device, image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seal member that reduces toner leakage and has high durability so as to improve durability of a developing device or a cleaning device.SOLUTION: A non-contact part W1 that does not contact a developer carrier 53 is provided with a seal member 562 that has a slit part 50 formed by cutting a surface in a direction intersecting with a direction of rotation of the developer carrier. The slit part 50 does not connect one end 562a with the other end 562b of the seal member 562 in the axial direction of the developer carrier 53.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic printer or an electrophotographic copying machine that forms an image on a recording medium. The present invention also relates to a developing device and a cleaning device.

  In general, in an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium using electrophotographic technology, a photosensitive drum as an image carrier is charged by a charging unit, and an electrostatic latent image is selectively exposed on a charged surface. Form. Next, the toner as the developer is triboelectrically charged and then supplied from the developing device to the electrostatic latent image surface to form a toner image. Thereafter, the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum is transferred to a recording medium such as paper and fixed on the recording medium by heat and pressure. After the transfer, the photosensitive drum undergoes a process of scraping off residual transfer toner with a cleaning blade in contact with the surface and preparing for the next image formation.

  The developing device includes black toner for forming a monochrome image and toners for each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black for forming a color image. The toner is supplied from the developing device to the electrostatic latent image surface with a rotating body called a developing roller facing the electrostatic latent image surface.

  Here, in order to prevent the toner from leaking from the gap between the opening of the developing device frame and the developing roller, the end of the developing roller is in contact with the peripheral surface of the developing roller, and the developing roller and the developing roller A seal member (hereinafter referred to as an end seal) that closes the space between the frame of the apparatus is used. The end seal is attached to the frame of the developing device via an adhesive member such as a double-sided tape or an adhesive. As this adhesive, a liquid elastomer that is easily solidified is often used. For example, in Patent Document 1, after sticking the bottom surface of the end seal to the frame with a double-sided tape, an elastomer is injected into the gap between the side surface of the end seal and the frame of the developing device to fill the gap. Is described so as not to leak out of the developing device.

  On the other hand, after the toner image (developer image) is transferred to the recording medium, the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum is cleaned by a cleaning device. The cleaned toner is called recovered toner and is stored in a recovered toner container provided in the cleaning device.

  Here, in order to prevent the developer from leaking from the gap between the frame of the cleaning device containing the collected toner and the photosensitive drum, the seal member is used as in the developing device. That is, a seal member made of felt or the like (hereinafter referred to as an end seal) is in contact with the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum at the end of the photoconductor drum and closes the space between the photoconductor drum and the frame of the cleaning device. Is used. The end seal is attached to the frame via a double-sided tape or an adhesive.

JP-A-4-9869

  In recent years, as the life of image forming apparatuses has been extended, higher durability has been required for end seals. Further, for the purpose of increasing the definition of the image forming apparatus, the toner particle size has been reduced and the end seal has been required to have higher sealing performance.

  When the image forming apparatus repeatedly forms a large number of images, a gap may be generated between the end seal and the apparatus frame to which the end seal is attached due to physical impact during image formation. There is sex. As will be described in detail later in the embodiment, when the frame and the end seal are separated from each other and a gap is formed between the frame and the end seal, the developer (toner) leaks from the gap to the outside of the frame. There is a possibility.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a highly durable end seal that reduces toner leakage and to enhance the durability of a developing device or a cleaning device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a typical configuration of the present invention is a developing device that develops a latent image, a frame, and a developer carrying for carrying a developer that is rotatably provided on the frame. A sealing member having a body, a contact portion that is provided on the frame body and that is in contact with an end portion in the axial direction of the developer carrier, and a non-contact portion that is not in contact with the developer carrier, A seal member having a notch in which the surface of the seal member is cut in a direction intersecting with the rotation direction of the developer carrying member, wherein the notch is the seal in the axial direction. The developing device is characterized in that it does not connect one end and the other end of the member.

  To achieve the above object, another configuration of the present application is that a cleaning device that removes the developer adhered to the image carrier is provided with a frame and the frame so as to be rotatable to form a developer image. And a seal member provided on the frame and having an abutting portion that abuts against an end of the image carrier in the axial direction and a non-abutting portion that does not abut against the image carrier. A sealing member having a notch in which the surface of the seal member is cut in a direction intersecting with the rotation direction of the image carrier in the non-contact portion, and the notch is in the axial direction. The cleaning device is characterized in that it does not connect one end and the other end of the seal member.

  The present invention provides a highly durable end seal that reduces toner leakage, and can enhance the durability of the developing device or the cleaning device.

It is a figure of a notch of an end seal of a developing device of Example 1 to which the present invention is applicable. 1 is an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applicable. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a developing device to which the present invention can be applied. It is a figure of the opening part of the image development apparatus which can apply this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the edge part seal of the developing device which can apply this invention. It is explanatory drawing regarding the notch position in the case of examination. It is explanatory drawing when force is applied to the end seal. It is explanatory drawing regarding the cutting depth in the case of examination. It is a figure of another end seal notch of Example 1 to which the present invention is applicable. It is a cross-sectional enlarged view of a cleaning device to which the present invention is applicable. It is a figure of the opening part of the cleaning apparatus which can apply this invention. It is a figure of the edge part seal of the cleaning apparatus of Example 2 which can apply this invention.

<Example 1>
In the following, the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail with reference to FIG.

  However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment should be appropriately changed according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions. It is not intended that the scope of the present invention be limited to the following embodiments. In this embodiment, a monochrome laser printer is used as an example of the simplest image forming apparatus. However, a tandem type or rotary type color laser printer can be used.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This image forming apparatus A is an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process. The image forming apparatus A serves as a recording medium based on an electrical image signal input from a host device (not shown) such as an image reader (original image reading device) or a personal computer to a controller unit (control means: CPU) (not shown). An image is formed on the sheet-like recording medium P.

  The controller unit exchanges various types of electrical information with the host device and the operation unit of the image forming apparatus, and comprehensively controls the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus A according to a predetermined control program.

  The image forming apparatus A of this embodiment has a photosensitive drum 1 as an image carrier that carries an electrostatic latent image on its surface. Further, it has a charging roller 2, an image exposure means 3, a developing device 5, a transfer means 6, a fixing unit 8, a cleaning means and the like as process means acting on the photosensitive drum 1.

  In this embodiment, the cleaning means includes a cleaning blade 71 and a developer container 72. The cleaning blade 71 is a blade that comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 1 and scrapes off the toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 1. The developer container 72 is a container for storing the toner removed from the photosensitive drum 1 by the cleaning blade 71.

  The cleaning blade 71, the developer container 72, the photosensitive drum 1 and the charging drum 2 are integrated to form the cleaning device 7.

  Further, in this embodiment, the cleaning device 7 and the developing device 5 are combined to form a process cartridge B, which can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus A.

  An image forming operation of the image forming apparatus A will be described. When an image formation start signal is input, a controller unit (not shown) drives a main motor (not shown). As a result, the photosensitive drum 1 is driven in the direction of the arrow R1 at a predetermined process speed. As the photosensitive drum 1 is driven, the charging roller 2 as a charging unit starts to rotate, and a predetermined charging bias is applied to charge the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 1 to a predetermined dark potential. The charging roller 2 is a conductive rubber roller that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1.

  Laser light L modulated in accordance with the image signal is output from the image exposure means 3, and the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is scanned and exposed at the exposure site E via the reflection mirror 4. The potential of the exposed portion becomes a predetermined bright potential, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum. The image exposure means 3 uses a laser scanner unit.

  The developing device 5 is a means for visualizing the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 as a developer image (toner image). In the state where the developing roller 53 provided in the developing means 5 as a developer carrying member is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1, the drive is transmitted to the developing roller 53 and rotated at a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow R4. At the same time, a predetermined DC voltage is applied as a developing bias. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image (developer image) by the developing device 5. As the developing roller 53, a conductive rubber roller was used.

  The developing device 5 includes a developer container 52 that stores a negatively charged black nonmagnetic toner as the developer T. The developer container 52 supports a stirring blade 51 for stirring the toner T and a developer application roller (hereinafter referred to as an application roller) 54 that contacts the development roller 53 and supplies the toner. Further, the developer container 52 supports a regulating blade 55 that regulates the thickness of the toner layer by rubbing the toner layer on the developing roller 53 with the tip. The application roller 54 is a developer supply member, and is formed by a urethane sponge roller in this embodiment. The regulating blade 55 is a developer layer thickness regulating member and is made of phosphor bronze.

  The application roller 54 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow R5. Toner is applied on the circumference of the rotating developing roller 53 by the rotating application roller 54. Then, the applied toner is coated by the regulation blade 55. The toner that has not been used for developing the electrostatic latent image is conveyed back into the developer container 52 by the subsequent rotation of the developing roller 53. Then, it is removed from the surface of the developing roller 53 by the application roller 54, and the toner is applied to the surface of the developing roller 53 again by the application roller 54. This operation is repeated to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1.

  In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing roller 53 are shifted from the separated state to the contact state at the start of the image forming operation by a contact / separation mechanism (not shown). Further, after the image forming operation is completed, the contact state is shifted to the separated state. Further, the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing roller 53 start to rotate when the image forming operation starts, and stop after the image forming operation ends. These operations are the triggers for forming a gap between the developer container 52 and the end seal 562.

  The developer container 52 is a frame of the developing device 5 and is a horizontally long container that is long in the longitudinal direction (axial direction) of the developing roller 53. In the following description, the longitudinal direction of the developing roller 53 is sometimes simply referred to as the longitudinal direction, and the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction may be referred to as the short direction. The longitudinal direction is a direction parallel to the axis of the developing roller 53 and is also substantially parallel to the axis of the photosensitive drum 1.

  The inside of the developer container 52 serves as a developer storage unit that stores the developer (toner). The developer container 52 has an opening O1 formed along the longitudinal direction at a lower portion thereof. The developing roller 53 is located in the opening O1. The developer container 52 rotatably supports the developing roller 53 via bearing members (not shown) attached to both sides in the longitudinal direction.

  The regulating blade 55 is disposed in the developer container 52 by fixing its base to the upper edge of the opening O1.

  The toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto a recording medium P such as paper at the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 1 and the transfer roller 6. At that time, the recording medium P is synchronized with the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the paper feed roller (not shown) and the conveying roller (not shown) at the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 1 and the transfer roller 6. To be fed. The transfer roller 6 is a means for transferring the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 to the recording medium P. In the process in which the recording medium P is nipped and conveyed through the transfer nip portion, a transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the transfer roller 6, and the surface of the toner image recording medium P on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is sequentially electrostatically charged. It will be transcribed.

  Next, the recording medium P is separated from the surface of the belt 61, introduced into the fixing unit 8, and heated and pressurized at the fixing nip portion. As a result, the toner image is fixed on the recording medium P. Then, the recording medium P exits the fixing unit 8 and is discharged as an image formed product to a discharge unit (not shown).

  On the other hand, the cleaning device 7 is a device that removes transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after transferring the toner from the photosensitive drum 1 to the recording medium P. The cleaning device 7 is generally provided with a cleaning blade 71 made of a flexible material such as urethane rubber. After the toner image is transferred to the recording medium P, the transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 is removed from the photosensitive drum 1 by the cleaning blade 71 in contact with the photosensitive drum 1. The removed toner is stored in the developer container 72.

  The developer container 72 is a horizontally long container that is long in the axial direction (longitudinal direction) of the photosensitive drum 1, and forms a part of the frame body 7 a of the drum cleaning device 7. The interior of the developer container 72 serves as a developer container that stores developer (toner). The developer container 72 has an opening O2 extending in the longitudinal direction. The photosensitive drum 1 is located in the opening O2 and is disposed in parallel with the longitudinal direction. Bearing members (not shown) are attached to both sides in the longitudinal direction of the frame body 7a of the cleaning device 7, and the frame body 7a supports the photosensitive drum 1 rotatably through the bearing members.

  The base of the cleaning blade 71 is fixed to the upper edge of the opening O2 formed in the developer container 72.

  Next, the entire seal member provided in the developing device will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3 in which the developing device 5 is enlarged and FIG. 4 in which the periphery of the opening O1 of the developing device 5 is enlarged. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3 viewed from the direction of the arrow D1. Members that are not necessary for the explanation are omitted so that the positional relationship between the members can be understood.

  The developing device 5 is provided with a seal member for the purpose of suppressing the leakage of toner from the developing device 5 to the outside. A blade back seal 563, which is one of the seal members, is placed on the upper portion of the opening O1 of the developer container 52 for the purpose of filling a gap between the restriction blade 55 and the frame (developer container 52) of the developing device 5. It is provided so as to be located on the back side of the blade 55. In this example, as the blade back seal 563, a urethane sponge sheet was attached using a double-sided adhesive tape.

  A blowout prevention sheet 561, which is one of the seal members, is placed in the developer container 52 in order to prevent the developer from blowing out from a gap that extends between the lower portion of the developing roller 53 and the opening O1 over the entire area in the longitudinal direction. Affixed. The blowout prevention sheet 561 uses a flexible material such as a polyester film. The blowout prevention sheet 561 is attached to the lower part of the opening O1 of the developer container 52, and one end of the short side direction is a free end. A part of the free end is in contact with the peripheral surface of the developing roller 53 over the entire length. The reason why one end of the blowout prevention sheet 561 is a free end is that the toner is not restricted on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 53 and the toner sealing property is maintained on the downstream side in the rotation direction. is there. In addition, the other end of the blowout prevention sheet 561 in the short direction is directly attached to the developer container 52 via a double-sided tape or the like and serves as a fixed end.

  The end seals 562, which are one of the seal members, are attached to the developer container 52 and are positioned on both sides of the opening O1 in the longitudinal direction. Two end seals 562 provided on both sides of the opening O1 of the developing container 52 are in contact with one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the developing roller 53, respectively. The end seal 562 fills a gap formed between the developing roller 53 and the developer container 52 and suppresses the toner carried on the developing roller 53 from leaking out of the developing device 5.

  The end seal 562 is arranged in contact with the blade back seal 563. Further, the blowout prevention sheet 561 extends in the longitudinal direction to a position where it overlaps with the end seal 562 so that the toner contained in the developer container 52 does not leak from the opening O1.

  To describe the end seal 562 in more detail, reference is made to FIG. FIG. 5 is a view of the end seal 562 viewed obliquely from above. The material of the end seal 562 is divided into three layers: a felt flocking material layer 5621 in which felt is flocked, a sponge foam material layer 5622 made of sponge, and a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5623 made of double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive seal. The double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5623 is attached to the contact surface with the developing device frame. Both the felt hair transplant material layer 5621 and the sponge foam material layer 5622 have flexibility and stretchability. The thicknesses of the felt flocking material layer 5621 were 700 μm, the sponge foam material layer 5622 was 2000 μm, and the double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5623 was 100 μm.

  In this embodiment, the end seal 562 is provided with a notch (notch) 50 for the purpose of improving the effect of suppressing toner leakage. The operation of the cut portion 50 will be described in detail later.

  Finally, the injection seal 564 will be described. Generally, the end seal is directly brought into close contact with the frame (developer container) of the developing device and the blade back seal so that the toner does not leak out from the developing device. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the injection seal 564 is injected into the boundary between the developer container 52 and the blade back seal 563 and the end seal 562 (region C shown in FIG. The sealing property is improved. In this embodiment, after the end seal 562 and the blade back seal 563 are attached to predetermined positions of the developer container 52, a liquid elastomer that is easily solidified is injected as an injection seal 564.

  However, even if the injection seal 564 is provided in the region C, the injection seal 564 cracks as the image forming operation is repeated, and the toner may leak from the gap due to the crack. In addition to the above-described case where the injection seal 564 itself is cracked, the end seal 562 and the injection seal 564 may be separated, or the injection seal 564 and the developer container 52 may be separated. A gap is created. At this time, the developer container 52 and the end seal 562 are separated from each other, so that the toner may leak from the developer container 52.

  The above phenomenon occurs because the end seal 562 is pulled when the photosensitive drum 1 contacts the developing roller 53 by the contact / separation mechanism described above or when the developing roller 53 starts to rotate. .

  The direction of the force with which the end seal is pulled (hereinafter referred to as the pulling force) is divided into several cases. This division will be described with reference to FIG. 7 in which the developing roller 53 and the end seal 562 are enlarged.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the pulling force F <b> 1 applied to the end seal 562 at the beginning of the rotation of the developing roller 53 is generated in the same direction as R <b> 4 that is the rotation direction of the developing roller 53. The pulling force F1 is caused by a friction force generated between the developing roller 53 and the end seal 562.

  On the other hand, the tensile force applied to the end seal 562 when the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing roller 53 come into contact with each other occurs in different directions depending on the direction in which the photosensitive drum 1 presses the developing roller 53. For example, as shown in FIG. 7C, when the photosensitive drum 1 presses the developing roller 53 in the pressing direction S1, that is, the photosensitive drum 1 presses the developing roller 53 obliquely against the end seal 562. In such a case, a tensile force F2 is generated in one direction.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7D, when the photosensitive drum 1 presses the developing roller 53 in the direction perpendicular to the end seal 562 (pressing direction S2), the pulling force F2 and the pulling force F2 are applied. Both tensile forces F3 in the opposite direction are generated.

  Here, among the above-described pulling forces, the pulling force F <b> 1 generated when the developing roller 53 starts rotating has a particularly large influence on the end seal 562. Therefore, in the following examination, first, consider the case where the pulling force F1 is applied at the beginning of the rotation of the developing roller 53, that is, the case of FIG. A case where other tensile forces are applied will be explained separately.

  In order to prevent the toner from leaking from the boundary portion between the end seal 562 and the developer container 52, that is, the region C shown in FIG. 3 by the tensile force F1, the tensile force F1 may not be propagated to the region C. is necessary.

  According to the study by the inventors, in order not to apply the tensile force F1 to the region C that is the boundary portion between the end seal 562 and the developer container 52, as shown in FIG. It was effective to provide 50). When the tensile force F1 is applied to the end seal 562, it is possible to prevent the cut of the cut portion 50 from being opened and to propagate the tensile force F1 to the region C (see FIG. 3). As a result, it is possible to prevent a gap from being formed between the end seal 562 and the developer container 52.

  Based on the above, a study for selecting the optimum configuration of the notch 50 has been conducted, and the results will be described below.

(Examination of notch position)
Table 1 listed below shows the results of examining the relationship between the position where the cut portion is to be inserted and the presence or absence of a gap generated in the end seal in the region C (see FIG. 3).

  Here, as a study example, three types of cut patterns shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C were used. In FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 6C, a cut portion is formed by cutting the surface of the end seal 562 in a direction that intersects the rotation direction of the developing roller 53. The positions where the cut portions are formed are different.

  In the notch pattern (6a) shown in FIG. 6A, the developing roller 53 is rotated upstream of the contact nip portion (contact portion) N of the end seal 562 that contacts the end portion of the developing roller 53. The cut portion 501 is provided in the upstream non-contact portion W1 that is positioned and does not contact the developing roller 53.

  In the notch pattern (6b) shown in FIG. 6B, the notch 502 is provided in the abutting nip N of the end seal 562 that abuts against the end of the developing roller 53. In the notch pattern (6c) shown in FIG. 6C, the downstream non-contact portion W2 that is located downstream of the contact nip portion N in the rotation direction of the developing roller 53 and does not contact the developing roller 53. The notch part 503 was provided in.

  In the area C, regarding the evaluation of the presence or absence of a gap generated in the seal member 562, the end seal 562 with a cut portion is actually attached to the image forming apparatus, and after passing a predetermined number of sheets, the image forming apparatus is checked in kind. did. In Table 1, o indicates that no gap is generated in the region C, and x indicates that a gap is generated. As a result of the examination, the notch pattern (6a) (see FIG. 6A) in which the notch 501 is provided in the upstream non-contact portion W1 of the end seal 562 is most effective.

  In summary, the position where the cut portion is formed in the rotation direction of the developing roller 53 is preferably on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 53.

  The mechanism for this result will be described with reference to FIG. The end seal 562 shown in FIG. 7 is provided with a cut portion 501 and a cut portion 503 in the upstream non-contact portion W1 and the downstream non-contact portion W2, respectively, for explanation. FIG. 7A shows a case where no tensile force is applied to the end seal 562. In a state where no tensile force is applied, the notches 501 and 503 remain closed as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the pulling force F1 is applied by the rotation of the developing roller 53, as shown in FIG. 7B, a difference in opening method occurs depending on the position of the cut portion.

  The contact nip portion N between the developing roller 53 and the end seal 562 is considered to be a region where the tensile force F1 directly acts. When the tensile force F1 is applied, the end seal 562 is extended in the upstream non-contact portion W1 on the starting side of the tensile force F1, and the cut end of the cut portion 501 formed in the upstream non-contact portion W1 open. On the other hand, in the downstream non-contact portion W2 at the end point of the pulling force F1, the shape of the cut portion 503 hardly changes. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the tensile force F1 from propagating to the region C in FIG. 3 by providing a notch in the region where the end seal 562 is extended, in other words, by providing a portion for releasing the tensile force F1. it is conceivable that.

  In general, the dynamic friction force is smaller than the static friction force. Therefore, the frictional force generated between the developing roller 53 and the end seal 562 is greatest when the developing roller 53 starts to rotate, and decreases when the rotation of the developing roller 53 becomes constant. That is, the magnitude of the pulling force F1 is greatest when the developing roller 53 starts to rotate, and decreases when the rotation of the developing roller 53 becomes constant. Therefore, once the developing roller 53 starts to rotate, the cut end of the cut portion 501 is widened once. Thereafter, when the rotation of the developing roller 53 becomes constant, the shape of the cut portion 501 returns to the state before the tensile force F1 is applied due to the stretchability of the felt flocking material layer 5621 and the sponge foam material layer 5622 of the end seal 562. .

  In this way, when the printing operation is repeatedly performed, the tensile force F1 that is repeatedly generated can be released each time.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7C and FIG. 7D, a tensile force may be applied to the end seal 562 also when the photosensitive drum 1 presses the developing roller 53. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7C, the tensile force F2 may be applied in the same direction as the tensile force F1, or the tensile force may be applied in the opposite direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 7D, it is possible that both the tensile force F2 in the same direction as the tensile force F1 and the tensile force F3 opposite to the tensile force F1 are applied. When a pulling force F3 opposite to the pulling force F1 is applied, the end seal 562 is provided with a notch 503 in the W2 region located downstream of the abutting portion that abuts against the developing roller 53, whereby the end portion It is possible to suppress a gap from being formed between the seal 562 and the developing container 52. When both the tensile force F2 and the tensile force F3 are applied as shown in FIG. 7C, the cut portions are formed in the upstream non-contact portion W1 and the downstream non-contact portion W2 of the end seal 562, respectively. Inserting 501 and 503 is effective. A plurality of notches may be provided.

(Evaluation of depth at which cuts are formed)
Table 2 listed below compares the notch patterns shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, and the relationship between the depth of the notch formed in the end seal 562 and the presence or absence of a gap generated in the region C. It is the examination result shown about. The notch pattern shown in FIG. 8A is obtained by storing the depth of the notch 504 within the range of the felt flocking material layer 5621 which is the upper layer of the end seal 562. In the notch pattern shown in FIG. 8B, the notch 505 is formed up to the sponge foam material layer 5622 which is the lower layer of the end seal 562. In each case, the presence or absence of a gap generated in the region C was evaluated by the same method as the evaluation method in Table 1.

  As a result of the evaluation, in the region C, both have sufficient effects in suppressing the occurrence of a gap in the end seal member. Accordingly, the slits are effective even when the felt hair implant layer 5621 or the sponge foaming agent layer is inserted to the depth. However, when the cut is made up to the sponge foam material layer 5622 (see FIG. 8B), when the pulling force F1 (see FIG. 7) is received, the cut of the cut portion 505 opens more widely. As a result, it was confirmed that the tensile force F1 is less likely to propagate to the region C (see FIG. 3). Therefore, it is more effective to cut up to the sponge foam material layer 5622 when dealing with a stronger impact or when dealing with a longer life printing operation.

(Evaluation of notch width)
Further, the inventors have examined appropriate conditions for the width of the cut portion formed in the end seal 562, and will be described below.

  In the above examination, when the end seal 562 is cut, the toner may be transmitted through the cut portion to cause toner leakage.

  As a result of investigations by the inventors, in order to prevent this phenomenon, it is effective that the notch formed in the end seal 562 does not connect the one end 562a and the other end 562b of the end seal 562. there were. This will be described in detail with reference to Table 3 listed below.

  Table 3 shows the results of examining whether or not toner leakage occurs through the cut portions in three types of cut patterns in which the widths of the cut portions formed in the end seal 562 are different.

  The notch pattern used for examination is shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 1 (b), and 1 (c). In the notch pattern (1a) shown in FIG. 1A, the notch 500 formed by cutting the surface of the end seal 562 extends in a direction intersecting the rotation direction of the developing roller, and the end seal in the longitudinal direction of the developing roller The one end 562a and the other end 562b are connected.

  In the cut pattern (1b) shown in FIG. 1 (b), the cut portion was formed only at the end portion of the end seal. That is, the end seal 562 includes, as the cut portion 50, one end side cut portion 50a provided at one end portion 562a of the end seal 562 and the other end side cut portion 50b provided at the other end portion 562b of the end seal. Have. Both the one end side cut portion 50 a and the other end side cut portion 50 b are cuts in which the surface of the end seal 562 is cut in a direction crossing the rotation direction of the developing roller 53. In this embodiment, the cut is formed substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the developing roller.

  The one-end-side cut portion 50a is formed by cutting the surface of the end-portion seal 562 halfway from the one-end portion 562a to the other-end portion 562b. The other end side cut portion 50b is formed by cutting the surface of the end seal 562 to the middle from the other end portion 562b to the one end portion 562a. That is, the one end side notch portion 50a and the other end side notch portion 50b which are notches are devised so as not to connect the one end portion 562a and the other end portion 562b of the seal member 562 in the longitudinal direction of the developing roller 53.

  In the cut pattern (1c) shown in FIG. 1 (c), the one end side cut portions 50a and the other end side cut portions 50b are alternately formed. That is, when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the developing roller 53, the one end side cut portion 50a and the other end side cut portion 50b are formed so as not to overlap each other. Thereby, even if each notch part is put over a wide area along the longitudinal direction of the developing roller 53 (even if the width of the notch part is increased), the notch part has one end 562a and the other end of the end seal. The part 562b is not connected.

  In view of the above examination results, in any of the cut patterns (1a), (1b), and (1c), the cut portion is provided in the upstream non-contact portion W1, and the depth thereof is the sponge foam material layer. 5622.

  The evaluation method for the cut patterns (1a), (1b), and (1c) is the same as the above test, and the image forming apparatus is actually mounted on the image forming apparatus with the processed end seal 562 and a predetermined number of sheets passed. The equipment was confirmed in-kind. ○ indicates that there is no toner leakage through the cut portion, and x indicates that there is toner leakage through the cut portion. As a result, the notch pattern (1b) (see FIG. 1 (b)) and the notch pattern (1c) (see FIG. 1 (c)) were able to prevent the leakage of toner transmitted through the notch. Note that the gap in the region C (see FIG. 3) did not occur in any cut pattern.

  Therefore, the toner leakage can be suppressed without any harmful effects by preventing the notch from being connected between the one end 562a and the other end 562b of the end seal 562. Since the cut pattern (1c) is cut in a wide area compared to the cut pattern (1b), when the end seal 562 receives a pulling force, the mouth of the cut portion opens more widely and pulls. It was confirmed that the transmission of force was suppressed. Therefore, compared with the cut pattern (1b), the cut pattern (1c) can suppress toner leakage over a longer period.

  Based on the above, in the present embodiment, the configuration of the cut pattern (1c) shown in FIG. 1 (c) was selected as the cut portion formed in the end seal 562. As a result, it was possible to provide a highly durable end seal that reduces toner leakage and to improve the durability of the developing device. Of course, the notch formed in the end seal 562 may not connect the one end 562a and the other end 562b of the end seal 562, even if the notch pattern (1b) shown in FIG. 1B is selected. good.

  As described above, when the developing roller 53 is obliquely pressed against the photosensitive drum 1, the end seal 562 may receive a pulling force F3 toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 53 (FIG. 7 (d)). In this case, it is effective to provide a notch in the downstream non-contact portion W2. Moreover, you may provide a cut | notch part in both the upstream non-contact part W1 and the downstream non-contact part W2. As an example, in FIG. 9, one end side cut portion 50a and the other end side cut portion 50b are provided in the upstream non-contact portion W1, and one end side cut portion 50c and the other end side are provided in the downstream non-contact portion W2. The structure in which the cut portion 50d is formed is shown.

  Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the injection seal 564 is injected into the boundary between the developer container 52 and the end seal 562, so that the frame (developer container 52) and the end seal of the developing device 5 are filled. The gap between 562 was closed. However, even when the injection seal 564 is not used, it is effective to form the above-described cut portion 50 in the end seal 562.

<Example 2>
Another example using the end seal of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the present invention is applied to the end seal 562 of the developing device 5, but in the second embodiment, the present invention is applied to the end seal 732 of the cleaning device 7. The configuration and image forming operation of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment are the same as those according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 10 in which the cleaning device 7 is enlarged and FIG. 11 in which the periphery of the opening O2 of the developer container 72 is enlarged, the entire seal member provided in the cleaning device will be described in detail. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of FIG. 10 viewed from the direction of arrow D2. Hereinafter, the general seal member 73 provided in the cleaning device 7 will be described in detail.

  The blade back seal 733, which is one of the seal members, is a member that fills a gap between the cleaning blade 71 and the frame body (developer container 72) of the cleaning device 7. The blade back seal 733 is provided above the opening O <b> 2 of the developer container 72 so as to be positioned behind the cleaning blade 71. In this example, a urethane sponge sheet was attached as the blade back seal 733 using a double-sided adhesive tape.

  A blowout prevention sheet 731, which is one of the seal members, is stuck to prevent the toner from being blown out through a gap that extends between the lower portion of the photosensitive drum 1 and the opening O <b> 2 over the entire area in the longitudinal direction. . The blowout prevention sheet 731 uses a flexible material such as a polyester film. The blowout prevention sheet 731 is attached to the lower part of the opening O2 of the developer container 72, and one end of the short side direction is a free end. A part of the free end is in contact with the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 1 over the entire length. One end of the blowout prevention sheet 731 is a free end in order to maintain toner sealing performance on the downstream side in the rotation direction without regulating the toner on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 1. is there. The other end of the blowout prevention sheet 731 is a fixed end by being directly attached to the developer container 72 via a double-sided tape or the like.

  The end seal 732 as one of the seal members is attached to the developer container 72 so as to be positioned at both ends of the opening O2 in the longitudinal direction. The end seal 732 abuts on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 to close the space between the developer container 72 and the photosensitive drum 1, and the toner leaks out of the developer container 72. suppress.

  The end seal 732 is arranged in contact with the blade back seal 733. Further, the blowout prevention sheet 731 extends in the longitudinal direction to a position overlapping with the end seal 732. As a result, the toner is prevented from leaking out of the collected developer container 72.

  The end seal 732 will be described in more detail. FIG. 12 is a view of the end seal 732 as viewed obliquely from above. The end seal 732 is divided into a felt flocking material layer 7321, a sponge foam material layer 7322, and a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 7323. The double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 7323 is attached to the contact surface with the cleaning device frame, and the felt hair transplant material layer 5621 and the sponge foam material layer 5622 are both flexible and stretchable. The thicknesses of the felt flocking material layer 7321 were 700 μm, the sponge foam material layer 7322 was 2000 μm, and the double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 7323 was 100 μm.

  Finally, the injection seal 734 will be described. In general, the end seal 732 is in direct contact with the developer container 72 and the blade back seal 733, thereby preventing the toner from leaking out of the developer container 72. In the present embodiment, the toner sealability by the end seal 732 is further improved by injecting the injection seal 734 at the boundary between the developer container 72 and the blade back seal 733 and the end seal 732. In this embodiment, after the end seal 732 and the blade back seal 733 are attached to predetermined positions of the developer container 72, a liquid elastomer that is easily solidified is injected as the injection seal 734.

  Regarding the cut into the end seal 732 used in the cleaning device 7, the same examination as in Example 1 was performed, and the cut as shown in FIG. 12 was selected and carried out. By forming notches 70 a and 70 b similar to the notches 50 a and 50 b in the end seal 562 in the end seal 732, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  That is, in this embodiment, the developing roller 53 in the first embodiment is replaced with the photosensitive drum 1, and the end seal 562 in the first embodiment is replaced with the end seal 732. The configuration of the end seal 732 and the configuration (shape, position, etc.) of the cut portion formed in the end seal 732 are appropriately determined according to the above-described first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, one end side cut portion 70a and the other end side cut portion 70b are provided at one end and the other end of the end seal 732 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 1, respectively. The one-end-side cut portion 70a is a cut obtained by cutting the surface of the end seal 732 halfway from one end portion to the other end portion. The other end side cut portion 70b is a cut obtained by cutting the surface of the end seal 732 halfway from the other end portion to one end portion. That is, the cut portion is formed so that one end portion and the other end portion of the end seal 732 are not connected in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 1.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, the position where the cut portion is formed in the rotation direction R <b> 1 of the photosensitive drum 1 is provided upstream of the contact portion between the photosensitive drum 1 and the end seal 732. It is effective if it is provided at the upstream non-contact portion W11. However, depending on the direction in which the photosensitive drum 1 is pressed from the developing roller 53, a cut portion is formed in the downstream non-contact portion W12 located on the downstream side of the contact portion of the end seal 732 that contacts the photosensitive drum 1. May be provided. Or you may provide a notch in both the upstream non-contact part W11 and the downstream non-contact part W12.

  By implementing the above-described configuration, even if a tensile force F4 is applied to the end seal 732 as shown in FIG. 10, the boundary between the end seal 732 and the frame (developer container 72) of the cleaning device 7 It can suppress that a clearance gap produces in part C2 (refer to Drawing 10). As a result, the end seal 732 can prevent the toner from leaking out of the cleaning device 7 over a long period of time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS A Image forming apparatus B Process cartridge 1 Photosensitive drum 5 Developing device 7 Cleaning device 50 Notch part 50a One end side notch part 50b Other end side notch part 52 Developer container 53 Developing roller 562 End part seal 5621 Felt flocking material layer 5622 Sponge Foam material layer 72 Developer container 732 End seal 70a One end side cut portion 70b The other end side cut portion

Claims (16)

In a developing device for developing a latent image,
A frame,
A developer carrying member for carrying a developer, which is rotatably provided on the frame;
A seal member provided on the frame body, the seal member having an abutting portion that abuts against an end portion of the developer carrier in the axial direction and a non-abutment portion that does not abut against the developer carrier; In the contact portion, a seal member having a cut portion obtained by cutting the surface of the seal member in a direction intersecting with the rotation direction of the developer carrier;
With
The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the cut portion does not connect one end portion and the other end portion of the seal member in the axial direction.   As the cut portion, the seal member is formed by cutting the surface of the seal member halfway from the one end portion to the other end portion, and the surface of the seal member from the other end portion. The developing device according to claim 1, further comprising a notch portion on the other end side that is cut halfway to the one end portion.   3. The developing device according to claim 2, wherein, when viewed from the axial direction of the developer carrier, the positions of the one end side cut portion and the other end side cut portion do not overlap each other. As the non-contact portion, the seal member has an upstream non-contact portion located on the upstream side of the contact portion in the rotation direction,
The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the cut portion is formed in the upstream non-contact portion. As the non-contact portion, the seal member has a downstream non-contact portion positioned downstream of the contact portion in the rotation direction,
The developing device according to claim 4, wherein the cut portion is also formed in the downstream non-contact portion.   The seal member includes a lower layer made of sponge and a felt that is in contact with the developer carrying member, and an upper layer that overlaps the lower layer, and the depth of the cut portion extends from the upper layer to the lower layer. The developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein:   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the developing device is detachable from an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium. In the cleaning device for removing the developer adhering to the image carrier,
A frame,
An image carrier that is rotatably provided on the frame and on which a developer image is formed;
A seal member provided on the frame body, the seal member having an abutting portion that abuts against an end portion in an axial direction of the image carrier, and a non-abutting portion that does not abut against the image carrier. A sealing member having a notch formed by cutting the surface of the sealing member in a direction intersecting with the rotation direction of the image carrier;
With
The said notch part does not connect the one end part and the other end part of the said sealing member in the said axial direction, The cleaning apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   As the cut portion, the seal member is formed by cutting the surface of the seal member halfway from the one end portion to the other end portion, and the surface of the seal member from the other end portion. The cleaning device according to claim 8, further comprising: a cut portion on the other end side that is cut halfway to the one end portion.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when viewed from the axial direction of the image carrier, the position of the one-end-side cut portion and the other-end-side cut portion do not overlap. As the non-contact portion, the seal member has an upstream non-contact portion located on the upstream side of the contact portion in the rotation direction,
The cleaning device according to claim 8, wherein the cut portion is formed in the upstream non-contact portion. As the non-contact portion, the seal member has a downstream non-contact portion positioned downstream of the contact portion in the rotation direction,
The cleaning device according to claim 11, wherein the cut portion is also formed in the downstream non-contact portion.   The seal member is provided with a lower layer made of sponge and a felt contacting the image carrier, and has an upper layer overlapping the lower layer, and the depth of the cut portion extends from the upper layer to the lower layer. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 8 to 12,   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning apparatus is detachable from an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium. In an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
A developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An image carrier on which a latent image is formed;
An image forming apparatus comprising: In an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
A cleaning device according to any one of claims 8 to 14,
A developing device for forming a developer image on the image carrier;
An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images