JPS6012572A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To absorb a minute vibration to obstruct the damage of a photosensitive body, the welding of a developer, filming, etc. by placing an elastic vibration-proof material at a suitable place. CONSTITUTION:A blade holding member 7a attached to a cleaning device body is constituted of an elastic vibration-proof material, and also the elastic vibration-proof materials 7b, 7c are interposed between a cleaner supporting shaft 8 and the cleaning device body, and between the cleaning device body and a cleaner fixing shaft 6, respectively. In this way, a vibration transferred to a cleaning device 3 from various vibration systems in an image forming device can be absorbed mainly by the vibration-proof materials 7b, 7c, and a vibration caused by a magnetic roller 4, a screw conveyor 5, etc. can be absorbed mainly by the vibration-proof material 7a, and the vibratory contact to a photosensitive body 1 of the cleaning blade 3 is eliminated effectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cleaning device used in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers.

In an image forming apparatus configured to continuously run a photoreceptor formed into a cylindrical shape, an endless belt shape, etc., and repeatedly form a latent image, develop an image, and transfer the image on its surface, the image forming action of the next step is performed. In order to perform the transfer smoothly, it is essential to provide a cleaning device to reliably remove residual developer that did not contribute to the transfer during the transfer in the previous step. Fur brushes, fiber brushes, cleaning blades, etc. have traditionally been used for cleaning, and recently cleaning blades have been gaining popularity due to their reliability in removing residual developer and their relatively simple construction. There is.

However, since the cleaning blade is configured to scrape off residual developer by pressing the edge of an elastic member such as rubber against the surface of the photoreceptor as it travels, it can cause uneven rotation of the photoreceptor, damage to the optical system, or the document table. Vibrations in various parts of the image forming apparatus, such as movement and uneven pitch of the drive chain, are transmitted to the cleaning blade via the cleaning device, and as a result, the mechanical contact force of the blade against the photoreceptor changes due to the influence of vibration. This may have an uneven effect on the blade's ability to scrape off the residual developer, resulting in image deterioration, or may be made of materials with relatively low hardness such as selenium, selenium-tellurium, selenium-arsenic alloys, and organic semiconductors. In the case of a photoconductive layer on the surface of a photoconductor, the blade may damage the photoconductor surface, residual developer may stick to it, and phenomena such as developer fusion and filming may occur, which may adversely affect the life of the photoconductor. There was a risk of inconveniences such as being exposed to food.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned current situation, and the present invention has been developed by disposing an elastic material that absorbs vibrations at appropriate places around the cleaning device and cleaning blade of the image forming apparatus, thereby reducing vibrations generated from various parts inside the image forming apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device that eliminates the above-mentioned defects by configuring the cleaning device so that the vibrations caused by the cleaning blade do not reach the contact portion between the cleaning blade and the photoreceptor.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus embodying the present invention, in which a cleaning device 2 is disposed close to a cylindrical photoreceptor 1 that rotates in the direction of arrow A in the figure. It is.

Although not shown, there are of course a charger, an exposure lens system, a developer, a transfer charger, a separation means, etc. arranged around the photoconductor, but these are not included in the present invention. Since they are not directly related, explanations about them will be omitted.

A cleaning blade 3 is disposed in the cleaning device 2 so that one edge of the cleaning blade 3 comes into pressure contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 1. The residual developer (on the surface of the photoconductor rotating in the direction of arrow A) is scraped off by the blade 6 and peeled off from the photoconductor, and then transferred to the magnetic roller 4 in the cleaning device 6.
This collected developer is then transported by a screw conveyor 5 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface,
It is assumed that the water is stored in a reservoir (not shown). Normally, such a leaning device is held in position by the cleaner support shaft 8 and the cleaner fixing shaft 6, but the magnetic roller 4
, uneven rotation of the drive system of the screw conveyor 5, movement of the optical system or document table, uneven pitch of the chain that drives the photoreceptor, etc., may cause minute vibrations to the cleaning device 2 itself or the cleaning blade, causing the blade to Since the contact pressure on the surface of the photoreceptor is changed, the above-mentioned disadvantages occur.

Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the blade holding member 7a attached to the cleaning device main body is made of an elastic vibration damping material, and the blade presser member 7a is made of an elastic vibration damping material, and the blade presser member 7a is made of an elastic vibration isolating material. Elastic vibration isolators 7b and 7c are interposed between the cleaner fixed shafts 6, respectively.

With this configuration, vibrations transmitted to the cleaning device 6 from various vibration systems within the image forming apparatus are mainly transmitted to the vibration isolating members 7b and 7c, and also to the magnetic rollers 4 and 6.
Vibrations caused by the screw conveyor 5 and the like can be mainly absorbed by the vibration isolating material 7a, and vibrational contact of the cleaning blade 5 with the photoreceptor can be effectively eliminated.

As an elastic vibration damper, natural rubber with sulfur as a vulcanizing agent, S
BR, nitrile rubber, styrene rubber, dioxy rubber, butyl rubber using phenolic resin as a vulcanizing agent, zinc white, chloroprene rubber using magnesium oxide as a vulcanizing agent, Hypalon, silicone rubber using an organic peroxide as a vulcanizing agent, E
PR, fluoride rubber using polyamine as a vulcanizing agent, acrylic rubber 5- Various vulcanized rubbers or foams such as urethane foam, latex foam, polystyrene foam, polyethylene foam, polypropylene foam, polyvinyl chloride foam, etc. The following materials may be used.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the present invention is applied to a cleaning blade 6 supported by a blade holder rotating shaft 10. A vibration isolating material 7b is arranged around the periphery of the support shaft 8, and between the blade holder rotation shaft 10 and the blade holder rotating shaft 8, vibration isolating materials 7d and 7a are arranged. The blade 3 is configured to be held between the vibration isolating material 7e superimposed on the blade O. With this configuration, the vibrations of the cleaning device B can be absorbed by the vibration isolators 7d and 7a, and the vibrations from the photoreceptor can be absorbed by the blade filter itself by the vibration isolators 7a and 7e. .

FIGS. 5 and 4 show still another embodiment of the present invention, and particularly show the structure of the support portion of the cleaning blade. The illustrated one supports a butt node 6 on a blade holder 9 and also supports it with a vibration isolating material 7a.
Furthermore, in the blade shown in Figure 4, a vibration isolating material 7f is surrounded inside the blade, and in the blade shown in Figure 4, the blade material is A vibration isolating material 7g is sandwiched between the vibration isolating materials 7f, similar to the one shown in the second figure.

7g, etc., the blade itself has the function of absorbing vibrations from the photosensitive drum. This will be easily understood. Figure 5 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. 3 and 4, only the portion where the blade is attached to the blade holder is shown. In this embodiment, one end of the blade holder 9 ((an elastic vibration-proofing moon 7h is fixed),
Attach the blade holder to this and blade holder cover 11
supports the blade. It will be readily understood that a device having such a configuration has a vibration absorbing effect similar to those of each of the embodiments described above.

Note that in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 and below, the configuration of only the part of the cleaning device that supports the blade is shown; however, similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. It goes without saying that the structure can be constructed so as to cooperate with a structure including vibration isolating materials corresponding to symbols 7b and 7c.

As explained above, the present invention is constructed by disposing elastic vibration isolators at appropriate locations in the cleaning device including the cleaning blade, so that it absorbs minute vibrations generated in various parts of the image forming device, thereby reducing the vibration of the blade. It effectively prevents damage to the photoreceptor, developer fusion, filming, etc. due to load fluctuations on the photoreceptor surface, and has the effect of stably obtaining high-quality images over a long period of time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a photoreceptor and a cleaning device of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 5 each show an embodiment of the present invention, particularly a portion supporting a blade. 1. Photoreceptor, 2. Cleaning device, 3. Cleaning blade, 4. Magnetic roller, 5. Screw conveyor, 6. Cleaner fixed shaft, 7a to 7h.・・・
Elastic vibration isolator, 9...Blade holder, 11...Blade holder 9-

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus including a cleaning blade that comes into contact with a surface of a traveling image carrier, wherein the cleaning blade is mounted on the cleaning device via an elastic vibration isolator.