JP2000352914A - Cleaning device, processing cartridge, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device which can surely prevent recovered toner from leaking out without strongly pressing an end part seal to a photoreceptor. SOLUTION: In the cleaning device in which the end part seal 27 to prevent a toner recovered by a cleaning blade (cleaning means) 28 disposed at a cleaning container 11 from leaking from the side of the cleaning container 11 is disposed, an end part sealing member 27 is constituted in a two-layer structure by sticking an electrostatic flocked member 27a, to which fluff is fixed by using the static electricity of high voltage, to an elastic member 27b.

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.

Here, an image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic copying machine for forming an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming method, an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, etc.), a facsimile machine, a word processor. Etc. are included.

[0003] The process cartridge means a charging unit and a cleaning unit and a photosensitive drum or a unit formed integrally with the cleaning unit and the photosensitive drum so as to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image forming system, a photosensitive drum and process means acting on the photosensitive drum are integrally formed into a cartridge to form a process cartridge, and this process cartridge is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus. A removable cartridge system is employed. According to this process cartridge system, maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by the user himself without relying on a service person, so that operability can be remarkably improved. For this reason, this cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.

When the life of the electrophotographic photosensitive member is prolonged and the number of printable sheets increases, the developing means which limits the supply capacity is an independent developing unit, and the developing unit and the process means such as a photosensitive drum, a charging means and Separate the process cartridge from the integrated cleaning means to facilitate maintenance of attaching and detaching the developing unit and the process cartridge to and from the apparatus body, and use each of them in accordance with the life of the main components. It is becoming.

[0006] In the process cartridge, waste developer (waste toner) generated by cleaning is stored in a cleaning container having a sufficient volume corresponding to the life of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and the stored waste developer is stored. The agent is removed when replacing the process cartridge.

As the cleaning device, a device having a structure in which the edge of a cleaning blade made of an elastic member such as urethane rubber is pressed against the photosensitive drum to scrape off the residual toner on the photosensitive drum is small and advantageous in terms of cost. Because of its excellent toner removal function, it has been widely used. In this cleaning device, the opening of a casing having a generally rectangular opening is opposed to the photosensitive drum, and a cleaning blade is disposed at one edge of the opening so that the edge thereof is pressed against the photosensitive drum. Then, the residual toner that arrives at the cleaning position after the transfer is scraped off.

In the structure of such a cleaning device, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 (only one is shown in the drawing), the cleaning blade 28 is located at an extended portion of the edge of the cleaning blade 28 in the longitudinal direction. Cleaning container 1
At the edge of the opening 26, an end seal 30 for preventing leakage of the collected toner is provided, and the end seal 30 is brought into contact with the side surface of the cleaning blade 28 and the surface of the photosensitive drum. , The leakage of the toner from the side of the cleaning blade 28 is prevented. In addition, as the material of the end seal 30, urethane foam, nonwoven fabric, or the like is generally used.

[0009]

However, if the life of the photosensitive drum is prolonged and it is possible to use the photosensitive drum for a long time, the contact of the end seal 30 with the photosensitive drum becomes long, and the contact of the end seal 30 becomes long. Since the contact force is reduced or the surface property of the end seal 30 is rough, the amount of the collected toner entering the end seal 30 is large, and the collected toner accumulated in the cleaning device is in the path shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. There was a case where it leaked out through C.

By the way, it is conceivable to strongly press the end seal on the photosensitive drum in order to enhance the sealing function. However, in this case, the rotational torque of the photosensitive drum increases,
The contact pressure of the end seal to the photosensitive drum is likely to deteriorate. Particularly, in a high-humidity environment, the end seal presses the toner on the photosensitive drum to cause fusion of the toner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a purpose thereof is to provide a cleaning apparatus and a process cartridge which can surely prevent leakage of collected toner without strongly pressing an end seal against a photosensitive member. And an image forming apparatus.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printer having an end for preventing toner collected by cleaning means provided in a cleaning container from leaking from a side of the cleaning container. In the cleaning device provided with a unit seal, the end seal member is configured to have a two-layer structure by bonding an electrostatic flocking member to which fluff is fixed using high-voltage static electricity and an elastic member. And

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the fuzz length of the electrostatic flocking member is 0.3 m.
m to 3 mm.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or the second aspect of the present invention, the fuzz of the electrostatic flocking member is made of a synthetic fiber.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the invention, the surface of the electrostatic flocking member is subjected to a silicone treatment.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an end seal for preventing the toner collected by the cleaning means provided in the cleaning container from leaking from the side of the cleaning container. And a process cartridge including a cleaning device having a two-layer structure in which an electrostatic flocking member to which fluff is fixed using high-voltage static electricity is bonded to an elastic member.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an end seal for preventing the toner collected by the cleaning means provided on the cleaning container from leaking from the side of the cleaning container. A process cartridge having a cleaning device configured as a two-layered structure by bonding an electrostatic flocking member to which fluff is fixed using high-voltage static electricity and an elastic member is detachably mounted on the apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus is configured.

[0018]

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

First, the overall structure of the image forming apparatus A will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus A according to the present invention.

The image forming apparatus A according to the present embodiment is a four-color full-color laser beam printer, and includes a drum-type electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter, referred to as a photosensitive drum) 1 as a first image carrier. I have. The photosensitive drum 1 is driven by a driving unit (not shown) in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 (counterclockwise).
Is driven to rotate. Around the photosensitive drum 1, a charging device 2 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 in order according to the rotation direction, and a laser beam is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 1 by irradiating a laser beam based on image information. An exposure device 3 for forming an image; a developing device 4 for attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image to develop the electrostatic latent image as a toner image; a second image on which a toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is primarily transferred A transfer device 5 as a carrier, a cleaning device 6 for removing transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the primary transfer, and the like are provided.

Here, the photosensitive drum 1, the charging device 2 and the cleaning device 6 are integrally formed as a cartridge to constitute a process cartridge B. The process cartridge B is detachably mountable to the main body of the image forming apparatus A. It is configured.

Further, the image forming apparatus A feeds and conveys a recording medium S as a third image carrier toward the transfer apparatus 5 and conveys the same to the recording medium S after the secondary transfer. A fixing device 8 for fixing the toner image is provided.

Next, the photosensitive drum 1, the charging device 2, the exposure device 3, the developing device 4, the transfer device 5, the cleaning device 6,
The feeding / conveying device 7 and the fixing device 8 will be described in detail below.

The photosensitive drum 1 is formed by applying an organic photoconductor layer (OPC photosensitive member) to an outer peripheral surface of an aluminum cylinder having a diameter of about 47 mm, and both ends thereof are rotatably supported by support members (not shown). ing. The photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure by receiving a driving force from a driving motor (not shown) at one end thereof.

The charging device 2 is described in, for example,
A so-called contact charging type as shown in JP-A-149669 can be used. The charging device 2 is formed of a conductive roller formed in a roller shape, and the conductive roller 2 is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1.
By applying a charging bias voltage to the conductive roller 2 from a power supply (not shown), the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged.

The exposure device 3 has a polygon mirror 3a, and the polygon mirror 3a is irradiated with image light corresponding to an image signal by a laser diode (not shown). The polygon mirror 3a is rotated at a high speed by a scanner motor (not shown), and selectively exposes the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 1 to the reflected image light via an imaging lens 3b, a reflection mirror 3c, and the like. 1 to form an electrostatic latent image.

The developing device 4 includes a rotating member 4a rotatable around an axis 4d and four developing devices mounted on the rotating member 4a, that is, toners of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively. The stored developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4
C, 4Bk. When the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 is developed, predetermined developing units (4Y, 4M, 4C, 4Bk) for the colors to be attached to the electrostatic latent image are arranged at the developing position. That is, predetermined developing devices (4Y, 4M, 4C, 4Bk)
Stops at the developing position facing the photosensitive drum 1 by the indexing rotation of the rotating body 4a, and then the developing device (4Y, 4M, 4
C, 4Bk) is positioned so as to face the photosensitive drum 1 with a small gap (about 300 μm), and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 is developed. This development is performed as follows.

That is, the developing device (4) corresponding to the color to be developed
Y, 4M, 4C, and 4Bk) are fed into the application roller 4a by a feed mechanism, and the thinner layer of the toner is applied to the outer periphery of the rotating developing sleeve 4b by the rotating application roller 4a and the toner regulating blade 4c. The toner is charged (frictionally charged). This developing sleeve 4
By applying a developing bias between b and the photosensitive drum 1 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image. Further, the developing sleeve 4b of each of the developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4Bk.
Is connected to a high-voltage power supply for each color (not shown) provided in the image forming apparatus A when each of the developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4Bk is arranged at the developing position, and selectively supplies a voltage for each color development. Is applied. Each of the developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4C, 4
Bk is configured to be individually detachable from the rotating body 4a.

The transfer device 5 serving as a second image carrier transfers a plurality of toner images, which are primarily transferred from the photosensitive drum 1 and sequentially superimposed, collectively on the recording medium S in a secondary manner. Is an intermediate transfer belt 5a running in the direction of arrow R5.
It has. In the present embodiment, the intermediate transfer belt 5a
Is a belt having a circumference of about 440 mm, and is stretched over three rollers of a driving roller 5b, a secondary transfer facing roller 5c, and a driven roller 5d. Then, the intermediate transfer belt 5a travels in the direction of arrow R5 by the rotation of the drive roller 5b.

Further, a pressing roller 5j is provided which can move to a position where the intermediate transfer belt 5a is pressed against the photosensitive drum 1 near the driven roller 5d and a position where the intermediate transfer belt 5a is separated from the photosensitive drum 1.

Further, at a predetermined position outside the intermediate transfer belt 5a, there is provided a cleaning unit 5e capable of coming into contact with and separating from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 5a. The transfer residual toner remaining on the recording medium S is removed. The cleaning unit 5e contacts the charging roller 5f with the intermediate transfer belt 5a to give the toner a charge opposite to that at the time of transfer. Then, the toner having the opposite charge is electrostatically attached to the photosensitive drum 1, and the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer is collected by the cleaning device 6. The method of cleaning the intermediate transfer belt 5a is not limited to electrostatic cleaning, but may be a mechanical method using a blade, a fur brush, or the like, or a method using both of them.

After the toner developed on the photosensitive drum 1 by the developing device 4 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5a, the cleaning device 6 is a so-called transfer residual toner that remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 without being primary-transferred. Is to be removed. In the cleaning device 6, the transfer residual toner is accumulated in the cleaning container 11 (see FIG. 2).

The feeding / conveying device 7 feeds the recording medium S to the image forming section. The feeding / conveying device 7 accommodates a plurality of recording media S and is loaded in a lower portion of the image forming apparatus A. It has. At the time of image formation, the pickup member 7e and the transport roller 7b are driven and rotated according to the image forming operation, and the recording medium S in the paper feed cassette 7a is separated and transported one by one, and the recording medium S is guided by the guide plate 7c. The sheet is fed to the intermediate transfer belt 5a through the registration roller 7d.

The fixing device 8 fixes a plurality of toner images secondary-transferred onto the recording medium S. As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing device 8 includes a rotating driving roller 8a and a driving roller 8a.
a and a fixing roller 8b which is pressed against and applies heat and pressure to the recording medium S. That is, the intermediate transfer belt 5
The recording medium S that has passed through the secondary transfer roller 5n that collectively transfers the toner on the recording medium S is conveyed by the driving roller 8a when passing through the fixing device 8, and heat and pressure are applied by the fixing roller 8b. Thereby, the toner images of a plurality of colors are fixed on the surface of the recording medium S. Then, the recording medium S on which the toner image has been fixed is discharged to the outside by the paper discharging device.

When the process cartridge B is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus A, a movable body 50 for guiding the process cartridge B into the main body of the image forming apparatus A is movably provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus A. Have been. And
After the process cartridge B is loaded into the drawn-out movable body 50, the movable body 50 is moved in the direction of the inside of the main body of the image forming apparatus A, whereby the process cartridge B is positioned and mounted in the apparatus main body to form an image. It becomes a state.

Next, the structure of the process cartridge B will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the process cartridge B, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the process cartridge B with the photosensitive drum 1 removed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge B includes a charging device (charging roller) around the photosensitive drum 1.
2 and a cleaning device 6 are arranged, and these are integrated by a frame. The frame of the process cartridge B includes a cleaning container 11 that supports the photosensitive drum 1 and the charging device 2 and a rear container 12 that is joined to the rear end of the cleaning container 11 by ultrasonic waves.

As shown in FIG. 3, a cleaning blade 28 is attached to the cleaning container opening 26 facing the photosensitive drum 1.
The toner scraped off by 8 is guided into the cleaning container 11 by the squeeze sheet 29.

At both ends of the cleaning blade 28 and at the edges of the opening 26 of the cleaning container 11, end seals 27 for preventing leakage of the collected toner are provided.
Are arranged in accordance with the shape of the cleaning blade 28, and this end seal 27 is attached to the cleaning blade 2.
By arranging the cleaning blade 28 in contact with the side surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, leakage of toner from the side of the cleaning blade 28 can be prevented.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the end seal 27 is formed by laminating an electrostatic flocking member 27a to which fluff is fixed using high-voltage static electricity and an elastic member 27b.
It is configured as a layered structure. In addition, the electrostatic flocking member 27a
Has a hair length of 0.3 to 3 mm.

As described above, by forming the end seal 27 into a two-layer structure by bonding the electrostatic flocking member 27a and the elastic member 27b, first, the contact pressure of the end seal 27 against the photosensitive drum 1 is reduced. Is determined mainly by the elastic pressure depending on the amount of crush of the elastic member 27b. End seal 27
Another factor that determines the contact pressure of the electrostatic flocking member 27a
The hair length is 0.3 mm to 3 mm, but the contribution ratio is low, and the hair length of the electrostatic flocking member 27a mainly functions to prevent leakage of the collected toner from the opening 26 of the cleaning container 11.

The bristle length of the electrostatic flocking member 27a is set to 0.3 mm or more in consideration of the thickness and shape of the tip rubber portion of the cleaning blade 28, the thickness of the elastic member 27b for determining the contact pressure with the photosensitive drum 1, and the like. What is necessary is just to select within the range of 3 mm. If a bristle length longer than this is selected, the hairs will fall under their own weight when fluffing and sticking by high-voltage static electricity, making it difficult to obtain high-density electrostatic flocking. Needless to say, if the length is too short, the sealing performance is inferior.

Conventionally, the function has been satisfied in that the reduction of the contact pressure of the end seal to the photosensitive drum directly leads to the reduction of the sealing performance. However, as in the present embodiment, the end seal 27 is replaced with an electrostatic flocking member. By bonding the elastic member 27a and the elastic member 27b to form a two-layer structure, the function of applying contact pressure and the function of preventing leakage of toner can be separated, and the long-term storage can be performed by the amount of crush of the elastic member 27b. End seal 2
The contact pressure for minimizing the decrease in the contact pressure of No. 7 can be set, and by providing the electrostatic flocking member 27a having a sealing function, the deterioration of the sealing property due to long-term storage and use can be suppressed.

When synthetic fibers such as nylon or regenerated fibers such as rayon are used as the material of the electrostatic flocking member 27a, the flocking density at the time of electrostatic flocking can be stably obtained, and toner leakage is prevented. The sealing performance is stabilized.

Further, the end seal 27 abuts against the photosensitive drum 1 as in the prior art, so that the rotation resistance of the photosensitive drum 1 is caused. By performing the lubrication process, the rotational torque when the electrostatic flocking member 27a rubs against the photosensitive drum 1 can be reduced, the rotational resistance of the photosensitive drum 1 can be reduced, and the toner leakage can be reliably prevented. Can be prevented.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the end seal for preventing the toner collected by the cleaning means provided in the cleaning container from leaking from the side of the cleaning container is provided. An electrostatic flocked member to which fluff is fixed using high-voltage static electricity is bonded to an elastic member to form a two-layer structure, so that leakage of collected toner can be ensured without strongly pressing the end seal against the photoreceptor. The effect that it can be prevented is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is a front view of the process cartridge according to the present invention with a photosensitive drum removed.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of an end seal portion of the process cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an end seal of the process cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of an end seal portion of a conventional process cartridge.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an end seal of a conventional process cartridge.

FIG. 8 is a partial front view of an end seal portion of a conventional process cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A image forming apparatus B process cartridge 1 photosensitive drum 6 cleaning device 11 cleaning container 27 end seal 27a electrostatic flocking member 27b elastic member 28 cleaning blade (cleaning means) 29 squeeze sheet (cleaning means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeo Miyabe 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tatsuya Suzuki 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F term (reference) 2H034 AA00 BF00

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning device provided with an end seal for preventing toner collected by a cleaning means disposed on a cleaning container from leaking from a side of the cleaning container, wherein the end seal member is provided with a high voltage. The electrostatic flocking member to which fluff is fixed by utilizing the static electricity
A cleaning device having a layer structure. 2. The hair length of the fuzz of the electrostatic flocking member is 0.3.
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device has a thickness of 3 mm to 3 mm. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the fuzz of the electrostatic flocking member is made of synthetic fiber. 4. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the electrostatic flocking member is subjected to a silicone treatment. 5. An end seal for preventing toner collected by a cleaning means disposed on a cleaning container from leaking from a side of the cleaning container, wherein the end seal member is provided with a high-voltage static electricity. A process cartridge, comprising: a cleaning device having a two-layer structure in which an electrostatic flocking member to which fluff is fixed and a resilient member are stuck together. 6. An end seal for preventing leakage of toner collected by a cleaning means disposed on a cleaning container from a side of the cleaning container, and the end seal member is provided with a high-voltage static electricity. A process cartridge having a cleaning device formed as a two-layer structure by bonding an electrostatic flocking member having fluff to the surface and an elastic member is detachably mounted in the apparatus main body. Image forming device.