JPH079168Y2 - Cleaning device for electrophotographic machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a cleaning device for an electrophotographic machine, and more particularly to a cleaning device having an improved toner recovery tank.

(Prior Art) FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an electrophotographic machine, in which 1 is a photoconductor. A charger 2, an exposure unit 3 and a developing unit 4 are arranged below the photoconductor 1. A transfer device 5 is arranged above the photoconductor 1.

In the electrophotographic machine having the above-described structure, the photoconductor 1 rotates in the direction of the arrow and is uniformly charged by the charger 2, and the exposure of the exposure device 3 forms a latent image of the original image by the charge.
Toner is attached to the photoreceptor 1 on which the latent image is formed by the developing device 4 to form a toner image, and the toner image is electrostatically transferred to the transfer paper 6 by the transfer device 5. The toner image is heated and fixed on the transfer paper 6 by a fixing roller or the like, so that the original image is copied onto the transfer paper 6.

By the way, the residual toner adhering to the surface of the photoconductor 1 is removed by a cleaning device. That is, the conventional cleaning device 7 includes a housing 8 for introducing toner, and the cleaning blade 9 is fixed to the wall surface near the opening 8a of the housing 8. An outlet 8b is provided at the bottom of the housing 8, and a toner recovery tank 10 is located below the outlet 8b. The toner recovery tank 10 is composed of a cylindrical body that opens on the outlet 8b side, and has a housing 8
Is elastically supported by a coil spring 11 on the side surface of the. A sensor 12 including a limit switch for detecting toner recovery is arranged below the toner recovery tank 10, and the sensor 12 has a lever 12a.

Now, when the photoconductor 1 with the residual toner is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the edge portion of the tip of the cleaning blade 9 is brought into sliding contact with the surface of the photoconductor 1.
It is scraped off from the surface and enters the housing 8 through the opening 8a. Therefore, the scraped toner falls into the toner collecting tank 10 through the outlet 8b and is collected.

When the toner is collected in the toner collecting tank 10, the toner collecting tank 10 is gradually lowered against the elastic force of the coil spring 11 as the collected amount is increased, and the lever 12 is held at a predetermined collecting amount.
Press a down. Therefore, since the detection signal is output from the sensor 12, it can be known that the toner is collected in the toner collecting tank 10 by a predetermined amount.

The bottom wall of the toner recovery tank 10 may be supported by an elastic member such as a coil spring.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in the conventional cleaning device 7, since the toner recovery tank 10 is simply formed in a cylindrical shape, the total length of the housing 8 and the toner recovery tank 10 is the same. It becomes a big length dimension. Therefore, when the conventional cleaning device 7 is packed, the packing size becomes large and bulky, and there is a problem in terms of transport efficiency. Further, since the toner recovery tank 10 is supported by the coil spring 11, the number of parts is increased and the assembling work is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a cleaning device for an electrophotographic machine which can reduce the packaging size and has a small number of parts.

(Means for Solving Problems) A cleaning device for an electrophotographic machine, comprising a cleaning blade for scraping off toner, a toner introducing section for introducing the scraped toner, and a toner collecting section for collecting the toner, The toner introducing unit and the toner collecting unit form an integral box body, and the box body has the cleaning blade at one end of the opening of the box body so as to guide the scraped toner into the box body, In addition, the box body is characterized by having an expandable and contractible bellows structure.

(Operation) During transportation, the toner collecting tank having a bellows structure is contracted to reduce the overall length of the cleaning device and packed, and when used, the toner collecting tank is automatically extended by the weight of the collected toner.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the cleaning device according to the present invention when it is used.

The cleaning device 20 includes a housing 21 for introducing toner, and the housing 21 has an opening 21a that opens on the side of the photoconductor 1. The lower part of the cleaning blade 22 is fixed to the wall surface near the opening 21a. The upper edge portion of the cleaning blade 22 is in contact with the surface of the photoconductor 1. The upper end of the toner collecting tank 23 is fitted and fixed to the lower part of the housing 21. The toner collecting tank 23 has a side wall 24 made of a plastic film, and the side wall 24 is formed in a bellows shape and has a structure capable of expanding and contracting. A bottom plate 25 is fitted and fixed to the lower portion of the side wall 24.

A sensor 12 including a limit switch for detecting toner recovery is arranged below the toner recovery tank 23.
12 has a lever 12a.

Now, after the photoconductor 1 rotates in the direction of the arrow and is charged by the charging device and exposed by the exposing device, toner is attached by the developing device and the toner image is transferred to the transfer paper. Therefore, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 1 after the transfer is scraped off from the surface of the photoconductor 1 by the edge portion of the cleaning blade 22. On the other hand, in the cleaning device of the present invention, the side wall 24 of the toner recovery tank 23 is contracted before the toner recovery. However, when the residual toner is scraped off as described above, the toner enters the housing 21 through the opening 21a, falls into the toner collecting tank 23, and is collected.
Is gradually expanded downward by the weight of the collected toner. Therefore, when a predetermined amount of toner is collected in the toner collecting tank 23 and the side wall 24 extends by a predetermined length, the toner collecting tank 23
Since the bottom plate 25 pushes down the lever 12a, it can be known from the detection signal of the sensor 12 that a predetermined amount of toner has been collected in the toner collection tank 23.

When the side wall 24 of the toner collecting tank 23 is formed in a bellows shape in this manner, the side wall 24 automatically extends in accordance with the amount of collected toner, so that an elastic member such as a coil spring is unnecessary.
Therefore, since the number of parts is small, the cleaning device can be assembled at low cost and with good workability.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a packing form of the cleaning device 20 of the present invention, in which the bellows-shaped side wall 24 is held in a contracted state. Therefore, the cleaning device 20 of the present invention can be packed in a small length dimension, and the packing dimension can be reduced to improve the transportation efficiency.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a cleaning device according to a modification of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the bellows-shaped side wall 24 of the toner recovery tank 23 is integrally formed with a bottom plate portion 25 'having a large thickness. Therefore, the cleaning device of the present invention can be assembled simply by fitting and fixing the upper end of the side wall 24 to the housing 21.

(Effect of the Invention) According to the present invention, since the toner collecting tank has the bellows structure that can be expanded and contracted, the packing size can be reduced to improve the transportation efficiency, and the toner remains without using the elastic member when collecting the toner. The number of parts can be reduced because the toner collection tank can be automatically expanded according to the amount of toner collected. Further, since the housing for guiding the cleaning blade and the toner into the toner collecting tank and the toner collecting tank are integrated, it is possible to prevent the toner from scattering from the cleaning blade housing and the gap between the housing and the toner collecting tank. . Therefore, it is possible to provide an electrophotographic cleaning device which is easy and inexpensive to assemble and which is free from toner scattering.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the cleaning device according to the present invention when it is used, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a packing form of the same device, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a cleaning device according to a modification of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional cleaning device together with an electrophotographic machine. 21 ... Housing, 22 ... Cleaning blade, 23 ... Toner collection tank, 24 ... Side wall, 25 ... Bottom plate.

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A cleaning blade for slidingly contacting a surface of a photoconductor to scrape off residual toner adhering to the surface,
In a cleaning device for an electrophotographic machine, comprising a toner introducing section for introducing the scraped toner and a toner collecting section for collecting the toner, the toner introducing section and the toner collecting section form an integral box body, The box body has the cleaning blade at one end of the opening of the box body so as to guide the scraped toner into the box body, and the box body has an expandable and contractible bellows structure. Cleaning equipment for electrophotographic machines. 2. The cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the box has a bellows structure which is vertically stretchable by the weight of the toner scraped off by the cleaning blade. A cleaning device for electrophotographic machines.