JPS60250379A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a toner from being scattered from an opening of a housing by stopping a blade member for carrying a residual toner scraped down from an image carrier, to a toner-containing chamber of the rear part of the housing, at a position for shielding the toner-containing chamber, when a device is not operated. CONSTITUTION:A toner scraped down onto a toner guide surface 8 from a photosensitive drum 1 is carried to a toner-containing chamber 5 by an intermittent rotation of blade members 15, 16, and when a copying operation is ended, an operation of this cleaning device is also stopped. The stop of this operation is executed irrespective of a rotational position of the blade members 15, 16, and the blade members 15, 16 rotate by a return force of a coil spring 24, and stop the rotation in a state that they have been made to abut on a projection 6. That is to say, by whatever timing they stop, one of the blade members 15, 16 abuts on the projection 6, and the other is opposed to the guide surface 8, therefore, the toner-containing chamber 5 is shielded from the outside by the blade members 15, 16, and the toner is the toner-containing chamber 5 is not scattered.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cleaning device for removing residual toner from an image carrier surface in a copying machine, a printer, or the like.

Prior Art Conventionally, in this type of cleaning device in which residual toner is scraped off from the image carrier surface using a cleaning blade, the scraped toner is simply stored in the housing of the cleaning device. be.

Therefore, if the opening of the housing is opened by removing the image carrier or cleaning device from the machine body during maintenance or inspection, there is a risk that the toner once stored in the housing may scatter to the outside from this opening. ing.

Furthermore, if the cleaning device is integrated into a unit with the image carrier, the developing device, etc., there will be no problem if the unit taken out from the main body of the machine is stored and handled in a horizontal state. However, if the housing opening is unavoidably tilted downward or installed vertically, the toner inside the housing may blow out from the small gap in the opening or condense and solidify at the edge of the blade. This is not preferable because it causes poor cleaning.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to reliably shield the toner storage chamber when a special maintenance/inspection device is not in operation, and to prevent the disadvantages such as toner scattering from the housing opening, condensation and solidification at the blowout and the edge of the blade. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can solve the problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the second object, the cleaning device according to the present invention removes the residual toner scraped off from the image carrier surface by a blade, and removes the residual toner from the rear of the housing by rotating a blade member installed in the housing. When the toner is conveyed to the storage chamber and the device is switched to non-operation, the blade member stops rotating at a position where it blocks the toner storage chamber.

Figures 1 to 7 show an embodiment of the cleaning device according to the present invention, and this cleaning device includes a photoreceptor drum (1
), a developing device, a transfer charger, etc. (not shown), and are integrated into a unit, and can be attached to and detached from the main body of the copying machine as a single unit.

Specifically, in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the housing interior (inner part) is integrally molded from resin except for the side plates, and the opening (3) facing the photoreceptor drum (1) is made of resin. have,
The rear part has a toner storage chamber (5) which is divided into two halves from the front part by a partition plate (4).

The cleaning blade (10) is made of urethane foam, etc., and is attached to the upper part of the opening (3), with the tip of the cleaning blade (10) facing the surface of the photosensitive drum (1) in the direction of rotation shown by the arrow (a). in contact with the direction. Seal plate (
11) is made of mylar or the like, and is installed at the bottom of the opening (3), and its tip touches the surface of the photoreceptor drum (1) in the opposite direction following the rotational direction, or has a very slight contact with the surface of the photoreceptor drum (1). They face each other with a gap.

The blade members (15) and (16) are made of a material with elasticity and excellent wear resistance, such as polyurethane rubber, and the support member (
17) at a rotationally symmetrical position of 180°, and can be rotated in the direction of arrow (b) by a rotational drive means (20) described below.

A projection (6) is provided on the ceiling of the housing (2). The tip of this protrusion (6) is a feather member (] 5)
, (] 6), and is located within the rotation locus (indicated by a dashed line), and extends in an inclined state along the rotation direction. Hence, the vane member (15).

The tip of (16) is in contact with this protrusion (6) (see Figure 2), and while it is slightly bent (see Figure 3, the protrusion (6) also deforms slightly due to its own elasticity), it is able to overcome it with strength. Arrow (1
] ) direction.

Further, the tips of the blade members (15) and (16) are provided with projections (6).
) is formed with a semicircular cross section to eliminate unnecessary friction with the protrusion (6), and the surface of the protrusion (6) is also finished smooth for the same reason, and is coated with a material with a low coefficient of friction as necessary. Good too. Furthermore, the axial length of the projection (6) is made equal to or slightly longer than the length of the blade members (15), (16), and the blade members (J5), (], 6) are pressed against the projection (6). There is a gap at both ends to prevent damage when you are doing the job.

On the other hand, the seal plate (11
) is formed, and the upper surface of this protrusion (7) extends continuously from the seal plate (11) from the opening (3) toward the toner storage chamber (5). The toner guide surface (8) is an arcuate shape that slopes downward. This guide surface (8) faces the protrusion (6) at a rotation angle of 180°, and is located at the same level as the rotation locus of the tips of the H-shaped blade members (15) and (16) or very slightly outside. . Therefore, the tip of the blade member <15L (16) contacts the guide surface (8) with a slight pressure, but moves inward through a slight gap. When one blade member (15), (1, 6) is in pressure contact with the protrusion (6), the other blade member (16)
faces the guide surface (8), and in this rotational position the toner storage chamber (5) is shielded from the outside via the opening (3).

Next, the rotation drive means (20) will be explained with reference to FIG.

The support member (17) of the blade member (, 15), (16)
) is rotatably supported on a bearing (25) by a shaft part (18) provided at both ends, and a gear (21) loosely fitted in the shaft part (18).
meshes with a gear (23) fixed to the drive shaft (22). The drive shaft (22) receives rotational force from the same drive source as the photoreceptor drum (1), etc., and the gear (21) is rotated as shown by the arrow (b).
rotationally driven in the direction. A coil spring (24) is wound around the shaft (18), and one end (24a) of the coil spring (24) is connected to the gear (24).
1), and the other end (24b) is in contact with the protrusion (19) of the support member (17) from the direction of the arrow (l). Therefore, when the gear (21) rotates in the direction of arrow (b), the coil spring (24) tightens the shaft portion (18) and transmits the rotational force in the direction of arrow (b) to the support member (17).

Here, the operation of the cleaning device having the above configuration will be explained.

When the copying operation starts, the photoreceptor drum (1) moves in the direction of the arrow (
, ) direction, the well-known steps of charging one image exposure, development, and transfer are executed, and the residual toner after transfer is scraped off by the cleaning blade (1 (1)), and the toner guide surface (8) At the same time as the copying operation, the gear (2
1) is also rotationally driven in the direction of arrow (1)), and first, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the blade member (15) or (roller)
When the tip of the tip ((1, 5) in the figure) comes into pressure contact with the protrusion (6), the rotation of the support member (17) is restricted and the shaft (18) slides against the gear (21), so the gear does not move at the beginning of the pressure contact. (21)
The rotation of is stored as the spring force of the fill spring (24). When the spring force increases and the coil spring (24) sufficiently tightens the shaft (18), the gear (21) and the shaft (
18), the support member (17) rotates, and as shown in FIG. 3, the blade member (15) bends and the tip of the blade member (16) touches the toner guide surface (8). It moves in the direction of arrow (1), that is, inward, and conveys the toner that has fallen onto the toner guide surface (8) to the toner storage chamber (5).

Further, when the gear (21) rotates and the rotational force of the support member (17) transmitted via the coil spring (24) exceeds the frictional force between the blade member (15) and the protrusion (6), the blade member (
The tip of the coil spring (24) comes off the protrusion (6).
) The blade member (] 5)
, (16) suddenly rotates in the direction of arrow (b). With this, the blade member (j6) scrapes out the toner on the toner guide surface (8) into the toner storage chamber (5), and rotates the toner by 180°.
It rotates and comes into pressure contact with the protrusion (6).

The gear (21) is subsequently driven to rotate, and the same operation is repeated thereafter.

That is, the toner scraped off the photoreceptor drum (1) onto the toner guide surface (8) is conveyed to the toner storage chamber (5) by the intermittent rotation of the blade member (15L (16)). At the end of the copying operation, the rotational driving force for the gear (21) is also cut off, and the operation of the cleaning device is also stopped.

This operation is stopped regardless of the rotational position of the blade members (15) and (16), but when the tips of the blade members ('15) and (16) come into pressure contact with the protrusion (6), Of course, when the blade member (IS), (16)
Even if the blade members (15) and (16) are stopped during rotation, the blade members (15) and (16
) is rotated by the restoring force of the coil spring (24) and becomes the protrusion (6).
Rotation stops when it is in pressure contact with. In other words, no matter when the operation is stopped, the blade member (15),
(16) is in pressure contact with the protrusion (6) and the other is opposed to the guide surface (8), so the toner storage chamber (5)
are shielded from the outside by the blade members (] S) and (] 6).

Therefore, the toner in the toner storage chamber (5) does not scatter through the gap between the opening (3) and the photosensitive drum (1). Furthermore, even when the opening (3) is turned downward after the cleaning device is removed from the copying machine together with the photoreceptor drum (1), etc., there is no problem of toner blowing out, and the toner is removed by the escaping part of the blade (10). It does not condense and solidify.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist.

For example, as shown in Figure 8, the protrusion (6) is manufactured separately from the zinc (2), and the coil is inserted into the hole (2') drilled in the heaven valve part of the housing (2). It is also possible to attach the protrusion (6) with the spring (9) and prevent it from being removed, and urge the protrusion (6) downward with the coil spring (9). In this case, the blade member (15) or (
When the tip of the protrusion (6) or the coil spring (
9) moves upward against the repelling force of the blade member (15) or C1.
6) passes while being bent, but at this time, the fill spring (
24), the spring force will be accumulated.

In short, in the present invention, it is sufficient that the blade members (15) and (16) are in positions that shield the toner storage chamber (5) when the cleaning device is inactive. Therefore, the object of the present invention can also be achieved even if the cleaning device is equipped with means for detecting that the cleaning device is inactive and moving the blade members (15) and (16) to the shielding position in response to this detection. It is possible.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the present invention provides a structure in which the blade member that conveys the residual toner scraped off from the image carrier to the toner storage chamber at the rear of the housing shields the toner storage chamber when the device is not in operation. In order to stop rotation at this position, the toner storage chamber is reliably shielded by the blade member when the device is not in operation, preventing toner from scattering or blowing out from the rear of the housing, and condensing at the edge of the blade. It is also possible to prevent problems such as solidification.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the cleaning device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are explanatory views of the operation of the blade member, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the rotational drive means, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the driving means, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the main parts of a modified example. (1)...Photosensitive drum, (2)...Housing, (3)...Opening, (5)...Toner storage chamber,
(6)...protrusion, (8)...toner guide surface,
(10)...Cleaning blade, (11)...
- Seal member, (15), (1,6)... vane member,
(20)...Rotation drive means, (21)...Gear, 24)...Coil spring. Patent applicant Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Two idiots Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 8 (lbJ

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A housing having an opening facing the image carrier surface and having a toner storage chamber at the rear thereof; a cleaning blade provided so that its tip is in pressure contact with the image carrier surface; toner storage from the opening; a toner guide surface that slopes downward toward the chamber; and a toner guide surface that is rotatably installed in the housing, and the tip moves inward along the toner guide surface by rotation of the toner guide surface.
a blade member that transports the residual toner scraped off from the image carrier surface onto the toner guide surface by the cleaning blade to the toner storage chamber and that shields the toner storage chamber at a certain rotational position; A cleaning device comprising: a means for stopping the blade member, which had been rotationally driven, at the shielding position when the blade member is switched.