JP3412965B2 - Cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device for removing a toner remaining on an image carrier after transferring a toner image on the image carrier to a transfer material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus constructed as an electronic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile or a composite machine thereof, a toner image is formed on an image carrier, the toner image is transferred to a transfer material, and the toner is transferred. The toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier after the transfer of the image is cleaned and removed by the cleaning device. Such a cleaning device has a cleaning member that comes into contact with the surface of the image bearing member to remove the toner remaining on the surface, and the toner removed by the cleaning member is received in the cleaning case. Further, the seal member is brought into contact with the surface of the image bearing member for the purpose of preventing the toner, which is removed from the surface of the image bearing member by the cleaning member and floating in the cleaning case, from scattering to the outside.

In the cleaning apparatus as described above, it is also known in the prior art to separate the cleaning member and the seal portion from the surface of the image carrier at a time other than the time when the cleaning member cleans the surface of the image carrier. The cleaning member and the seal member are swingably supported with respect to the cleaning case, and they are swung to be brought into contact with and separated from the surface of the image carrier. At that time, the cleaning member and the seal member may be configured to be brought into contact with and separated from the surface of the image carrier by separate driving devices. However, in this case, two driving devices are required, and the cost of the cleaning device is increased. Rises.

Therefore, if interlocking means for swinging the seal member in conjunction with swinging of the cleaning member is provided, the contacting and separating operations with respect to the image carrier can be performed while interlocking the two, so that the cleaning member is driven. It is sufficient to provide only the driving device, and there is an advantage that the cost of the cleaning device can be reduced.

By the way, the cleaning member presses the surface of the image bearing member to remove the residual toner on the surface of the image bearing member to clean the surface.
Its shape and characteristics change slightly over time. Further, the characteristics of the cleaning member also fluctuate due to environmental changes. Therefore, after assembling a new cleaning member so as to come into contact with the image bearing member in a predetermined positional relationship, the mounting posture of the cleaning member fluctuates due to the above-described shape change and characteristic change during its actual use. To do. The cleaning member swings within a slight angle range from the initial mounting angle state with respect to the cleaning case while being in contact with the surface of the image carrier.

Therefore, as described above, when the cleaning member and the seal member are configured to interlock with each other by the interlocking means, the cleaning member remains in contact with the image carrier.
As described above, when rocking a small angle, the seal member also rocks, and the pressure with which the seal member contacts the surface of the image carrier changes. That is, the pressure contact force of the seal member with respect to the surface of the image carrier may increase or decrease with the change of the cleaning member with time or the environment. However, if the pressure contact force becomes too strong, the seal member may become too weak. It is inevitable that the toner itself scrapes off the residual toner on the surface of the image carrier and the toner scatters out of the cleaning device. Further, if the pressure contact force of the seal member with respect to the image bearing member becomes too weak, the effect of preventing toner from scattering in the cleaning case decreases, and the toner may scatter outside the cleaning case.

By providing the interlocking means for interlocking the cleaning member and the seal member in this way, the number of drive devices can be reduced, but the contact pressure of the seal member with respect to the image carrier fluctuates. That is a problem.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-mentioned novel recognition, and an object of the present invention is to interlock a cleaning member and a sealing member so that they are provided on the surface of an image carrier. When the cleaning member is in contact with the surface of the image carrier, the pressure at which the seal member contacts the image carrier is substantially reduced even if the cleaning member swings in a slight angle range. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus that does not change.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a cleaning device for removing a toner remaining on a carrier after transferring a toner image on the image carrier to a transfer material. A cleaning case that receives the toner removed from the image carrier, a residual toner that contacts the surface of the image carrier to remove residual toner, and a position that contacts the surface of the image carrier and a position that is separated from the surface. And a cleaning member that is swingably supported between the cleaning case and the cleaning member that contacts the surface of the image carrier at a position upstream of the position where the cleaning member contacts the image carrier in the moving direction of the image carrier. The toner in the cleaning case is prevented from scattering to the outside, and is supported by the cleaning case so as to be swingable between a position in contact with the surface of the image carrier and a position separated from the surface. The seal member, a drive device for swinging the cleaning member, and swinging the seal member in association with swinging of the cleaning member. A seal support member swingably supported by the cleaning case, comprising interlocking means for inhibiting the swing of the seal member which is in contact with the surface of the image carrier at a predetermined pressure when the angle range is swung. The seal member is fixed, is swingably supported by the cleaning case, and the cleaning member is supported by a swing support member driven by the drive device. A spring that urges the seal support member to rotate away from the body surface, a base end portion of which is pivotally attached to the cleaning case, and a front end surface of which acts as the spring. A cam member that pressurizes the seal supporting member against the surface of the image bearing member against the pressure, and one end of the cam supporting member is pivotally attached to the swing supporting member and the other end is pivotally attached to the cam member. When the swing support member is rotated to a position for separating the cleaning member from the surface of the image carrier, the movement is transmitted to the cam member, and the tip end surface of the cam member is separated from the seal support member. An intermediate link that rotates to a position, the cleaning member swings in a minute angle range while being in contact with the surface of the image carrier, and the movement is transmitted to the cam member via the swing support member and the intermediate link. When the cam member swings, the tip end surface of the cam member is formed so that the tip end surface of the cam member is kept in contact with the seal support member and the seal support member is not substantially rocked. Being cleaned Suggest a device.

[0010]

Further, it is advantageous that the tip end surface of the cam member is formed in an arc shape centered on the swing axis of the cam member.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an image forming apparatus equipped with a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, the overall configuration and operation will be clarified.

The image forming apparatus 1 shown here has a document reading section 4, a system control section 3 and a printer section 2. The system control section 3 controls the document reading section 4 and the printer section 2 in an integrated manner. .

The photoconductor 5 provided in the printer unit 2 is rotationally driven counterclockwise in the figure by a drive motor (not shown). During this rotation, the surface of the photoconductor 5 is uniformly charged by the action of the charging charger 6 which is an example of a charging device. Next, in the exposure unit 7, a laser beam 9 emitted from the laser beam writing system 8 performs optical writing scanning, so that a predetermined electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor 5. It is also possible to form the light image from the original directly on the photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image.

The electrostatic latent image is first converted into a black toner image by a black developing device B of a rotary developing device 13 having a black developing device B, a yellow developing device Y, a magenta developing device M and a cyan developing device C. To be visualized. An intermediate transfer belt 14, which is an example of the configuration of an image carrier, is configured to be rotationally driven in the clockwise direction in the figure, and the black toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14 in the primary transfer area 11. Primary transfer is performed by the action of the transfer charger 15. The intermediate transfer belt 14 is wound around rollers 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and driven to rotate.

After the above-mentioned formation of the electrostatic latent image, another color-separated electrostatic latent image is successively formed on the photoconductor 5 which continues to rotate. Each time the electrostatic latent image is formed, another developing device Y of the rotary developing device 13,
By M and C, yellow, magenta, and cyan toner images are sequentially formed. Then, the toner images of the respective colors are sequentially superposed and secondarily transferred onto the initially transferred black toner image, so that a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 14. After the toner images of the respective colors on the photoconductor 5 are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14, the toner remaining on the photoconductor 5 is cleaned and removed from the photoconductor 5 by the cleaning device 31.

On the other hand, from the paper feed tray 16, a transfer paper 17 which is an example of the transfer material is rotated by the rotation of the paper feed roller 19.
It is sent toward the registration roller pair 18 via the conveyance roller pair 20. The transfer paper 17 whose front end has reached the registration roller pair 18 is secondarily transferred by the rotation of the registration roller pair 18 between the front end of the full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the front end of the transfer paper 17. It is directed towards its transcribed region 12 so as to opportunistically associate with it. On the transfer paper 17 sent toward the secondary transfer area 12, the full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14 is
Secondary transfer is performed by the action of the transfer charger 21. After this transfer, the transfer paper 17 is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14 by the action of the separation charger 22.

The conveyor belt 23 includes a pair of rollers 23A,
It is hung between 23B and is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction in the figure. The transfer paper 17 separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14 is sent toward the fixing roller pair 24 of the fixing device by the rotation of the transport belt 23.

The fixing roller pair 24 is a heat fixing roller 24A.
The heat fixing roller 24A among them is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, and the pressure roller 24B is also driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow. While the transfer paper 17 passes between these rotating rollers, the transfer toner image on the transfer paper is fixed. After this fixing, the transfer sheet is conveyed toward the sheet discharge tray 27 by the rotation of the pair of conveying rollers 25 and the pair of discharging and conveying rollers 26,
The full-color copy paper is stored in the tray 27.

In the case of a single color copy, the toner images of a plurality of colors are not superposed and transferred, but the single color toner images are transferred from the photoconductor 5 to the intermediate transfer belt 14, and the intermediate transfer belt 1 is further transferred.
The transfer toner image on the sheet 4 is transferred onto the transfer paper, and the monochromatic copy paper is ejected to the paper ejection tray 27.

In the image forming apparatus of this example,
Manual feeding from the manual feeding table 28 is also possible. When manually feeding, the manual feeding table 28 is laid down sideways, and the leading end side of the transfer sheet is inserted below the feeding roller 29 along the table surface. Then, the feeding roller 29 rotates, and the transfer sheet is sent toward the registration roller pair 18 via the pair of conveyance rollers 30.

A cleaning device 32 according to an embodiment of the present invention is arranged opposite to the intermediate transfer belt 14, and the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 14 after the toner image is secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 14 to the transfer paper 17. Are cleaned by the cleaning device 32. The cleaning device 32 will be described later in detail.

A document (not shown) is placed and set on the contact glass 140 installed on the upper part of the case of the document reading section 4, and an optical system including a document illumination lamp 141 and a first mirror 142, a second system and a second system. When the optical system including the third mirrors 143 and 144 is driven to move rightward in FIG. 1 at a speed ratio of 2: 1, the contact glass 14 is moved.
The original placed on 0 is read and scanned by these optical systems. Then, the scanning light image at this time is projected through the imaging lens 150 onto the reading element 145 composed of, for example, a CCD, and the image information of the document is read. Such image information is reproduced as a recorded image on the transfer paper 17 in the printer unit 2 as described above.

As described above, the illustrated image forming apparatus is
A cleaning device 32 is provided which removes the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 14 after the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14 which is an example of an image carrier is transferred to a transfer paper 17 which is an example of a transfer material. The details of the cleaning device 32 will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows the cleaning device 32 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of the cleaning device 3 shown here.
2 is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body 100 (FIG. 1). In this example, the intermediate transfer belt 14
Rollers 35 to 39 around which the belt is wound are integrated to form a belt unit, and the cleaning device 32 is detachably connected to the unit. The belt unit is pulled out in the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 100, that is, in the front direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIGS. 1 and 2, and the belt unit is pulled out.
It is possible to pull out the belt unit from the image forming apparatus main body 100 and then detach the cleaning device 32 from the unit. Cleaning device 32
The image forming apparatus main body 1 separately from the belt unit.
It may be configured to be detachably attached to 00.

FIG. 3 shows the cleaning device 3 separated from the belt unit extracted from the image forming apparatus main body 100.
It is a perspective view showing 2. This cleaning device 32
As described above, while being attached to the belt unit, it is pushed into the image forming apparatus main body 100 in the direction of arrow A, set in the predetermined position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and pulled out in the direction opposite to arrow A. And is removed from the image forming apparatus main body 100.

The cleaning device 3 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3
Reference numeral 2 denotes a cleaning case 40 that receives toner (not shown) removed from the intermediate transfer belt 14, and, as shown in FIG. 2, contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 to remove residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 14. It has a cleaning blade 41, which is an example of a cleaning member to be removed, and a seal member 42. Cleaning blade 41
Is made of, for example, an elastic material such as rubber or a relatively soft resin, and its leading edge portion is pressed against the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 to scrape and remove the toner remaining on the surface.

The toner thus removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 is received by the cleaning case 40 as shown in FIG. 2, and is cleaned by the toner conveying screw 43 provided at the bottom of the case 40 and driven to rotate. It is conveyed and discharged to the outside of the case 40, and is conveyed to a waste toner tank (not shown) through a conveyance pipe 44 connected to the cleaning case 40 as shown in FIG.

The seal member 42 is made of, for example, a thin elastic sheet made of resin, and the base end portion thereof is adhered and fixed to a seal support member 45 described later, and its tip end portion abuts on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14. ing. At that time, the seal member 4
2, the cleaning blade 41 has the intermediate transfer belt 14
Contacting the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 at a position on the upstream side in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 14 than the position contacting
By the cleaning blade 41, the intermediate transfer belt 14
The toner that is scraped off and floats in the cleaning case 40 is prevented from scattering to the outside.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the cleaning case 40, the cleaning blade 41 and the seal member 42.
Extends in parallel with the intermediate transfer belt 14 in the width direction thereof, and the toner conveying screw 43 shown in FIG. 2 also extends over the entire length of the cleaning case 40 in the longitudinal direction.

By the way, as described above, the intermediate transfer belt 1
Toner images of different colors are sequentially transferred and superposed on the surface of the photosensitive member 5 from the photoconductor 5. When such a toner image passes through the cleaning blade 41 and the seal member 42 of the cleaning device 32, these toner images are intermediate. If it is in contact with the surface of the transfer belt 14, the toner on the intermediate transfer belt 14 will be disturbed. After the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14 is transferred onto the transfer paper 17, the cleaning blade 41 and the seal member 42 are applied to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 only when the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 is cleaned. It is necessary to bring them into contact with each other and separate them from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 at other times. Further, if the cleaning blade and the seal member are constantly in pressure contact with the surface of the image bearing member, they are deteriorated at an early stage. There is also a cleaning device which is separated from the surface of the carrier.

For this reason, the cleaning blade 41 has the intermediate transfer belt 14 as shown by the solid line in FIG.
Is supported by the cleaning case 40 so as to be swingable between a position abutting on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 and a position separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 as shown by a chain line in FIG. Similarly, the seal member 42 swings between a position in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 as shown by a solid line in FIG. 2 and a position as separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 as shown in a chain line. It is supported with respect to the cleaning case 40 as possible. In this way, the cleaning blade 41 and the seal member 42 can be brought into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 only when necessary.

In this example, as described above, the sealing member 42
Is fixed to a plate-shaped seal support member 45 extending in parallel with the plate-shaped seal support member 45. Each end of the seal support member 45 in the longitudinal direction is, as shown in FIG. It is swingably supported by 40.
The cleaning blade 41 is integrally attached to a holder 48 whose base end extends parallel to the blade 41, and the holder 48 is detachably fixed to a swing support member 49 with a screw (FIG. 3). ing.

Each longitudinal end portion of the swing support member 49 is formed as an ear portion 50, 51 which rises with respect to an intermediate plate-like portion, and each ear portion 50, 51 is swing supported. Member 49
Concentric pins 52 and 53 projecting outward in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning case 40 are integrally attached, and the pins 52 and 53 are rotatably fitted in the support holes formed at the longitudinal ends of the cleaning case 40. ing. In this example, as will be described later with reference to FIG.
4 and a cover member 55 detachably fixed to the back side thereof
Of the pins 52 and 53 described above, the pin 52 on the front side fits into the support hole formed on the case body 54, and the pin 53 on the back side rotates into the support hole formed in the case member 55. It fits freely. In this way, the swing support member 49 is swingably supported by the cleaning case 40.

Here, the back side is the side that is the back side when the cleaning device 32 is pushed into the image forming apparatus main body 100 and set, and the front side is
Similarly, when the cleaning device is set with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 100, it is the front side,
The side on which the operator usually operates is the front side of the image forming apparatus main body.

Here, the illustrated cleaning device 32
Has a solenoid, which is an example of a driving device for swinging the cleaning blade 41, as described below, supports the cleaning blade 41 via the holder 48 as described above, and cleans the cleaning case 40. The swing support member 49, which is swingably supported by, is driven by the solenoid.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning case 4
A notch 56 is formed at the center of the 0 in the longitudinal direction, and a tongue portion 57 formed at the center of the swing support member 49 in the longitudinal direction is inserted into the notch 56. FIG. 5 shows a state of the tongue portion 57 that has entered the notch 56 and the elements in the vicinity thereof, as viewed from below in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view thereof. The main body of the solenoid 58 described above is fixed to the lower surface of the case body 54 of the cleaning case 40, and a pressing member 60 is pivotally mounted via a pivot pin 59 so as to be swingable around the axis of the pin 59. Has been done. The first free end 61 of the pressure member 60 is connected to the plunger 63 of the solenoid 58.
And its second free end, the pressure portion 62, is
The tongue 57 is pressed against the tongue 57 via the buffer member 64 attached to the tongue 57. In the state shown in FIG. 5, the third portion of the pressing member 60 is
The free end portion 65 of the above is pressed against the cleaning case 40 via an elastic sheet 66 attached to the cleaning case 40.

Further, the pressure member 60 and the cleaning case 4
At 0, each end of the first pressure spring 67 made of a tension spring is locked. As a result, a moment is applied to the pressure member 60 in a direction in which the third free end portion 65 of the pressure member 60 is in pressure contact with the elastic sheet 66, and the pressure member 60 is
It is stopped by being received by the cleaning case 40 via the elastic sheet 66. Further, between the tongue portion 57 of the swing support member 49 and the cleaning case 40, each end portion of the second pressure spring 68 constituted by a tension spring is locked, and thereby the tongue portion 57 and the tongue portion 57 are applied. The pressure member 62 of the pressure member 60 is in pressure contact with the cushioning member 64.

In FIG. 5, the cleaning blade 41 is shown in FIG.
The solid line indicates the state of the solenoid 58 and the pressing member 60 when they are in pressure contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14. At this time, the plunger 63 of the solenoid 58 is shown.
The pressure member 60 is held at the position shown in FIG. 5, and the swing support member 49 is also held at the position shown in FIG. 2, and the cleaning blade 41 is pressed against the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 as described above. The residual toner on the surface is removed.

When the cleaning blade 41 is to be separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14, the solenoid 58 is urged by the command, and the plunger 63 is pulled in by this command and is held at the pulled-in position. This causes the pressure member 60 to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5 around the pivot pin 59 and occupy the position shown by the chain line in FIG. As a result, the pressing portion 62 of the pressing member 60 is
2 presses the tongue 57 via the cushioning member 64 to move the swing support member 49 against the action of the second pressure spring 68 around the axes of the pins 52 and 53 (FIG. 3). It is rotated in the direction indicated by arrow B. FIG. 6 shows the situation at this time. By rotating the swing support member 49 in this manner, the cleaning blade 41 fixedly supported by the swing support member 49 is rotated to the position shown by the chain line in FIG. 2 and separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14.

When the cleaning blade 41 should be brought into pressure contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14, the command causes the solenoid 58 to be re-energized and its plunger 6
3 projects into the position shown in FIG. 5 and is held in this position. As a result, the pressure member 60 is pulled by the first pressure spring 67 and returns to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, and the swing support member 49 is pulled by the second pressure spring 68.
It rotates around the pins 52 and 53 in the direction opposite to the arrow B in. As a result, the cleaning blade 41 is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14, and the residual toner on the surface can be removed.

As described above, the solenoid 58 constitutes an example of a drive device for swinging the cleaning blade 41.

When the cleaning blade 41 is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14, the solenoid 5 is operated as described above.
The pressing member 60 is actuated by the urging force of 8, and at this time, the pressing member 60 applies a shocking external force to the tongue 57. When the impact force is large, a large impact force is applied to the cleaning blade 41 fixed to the swing support member 49, the toner adhered to the cleaning blade 41 is scattered, and the toner adheres to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14. May occur. In this way, toner is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 1.
When the toner image is attached to No. 4, when the toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 14 next time, the toner image has a background stain. The cushioning member 64 is attached to the tongue 57 as described above for the purpose of mitigating such an impact.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cushioning member 64 includes a sheet-like elastic member 69 adhered to the tongue portion 57 with a double-sided adhesive tape, and a rigid plate 70 integrally laminated on the surface thereof. The rigid plate 70 is made of, for example, a thin metal plate or a hard synthetic resin plate. The rigid plate 70 and the elastic body 69 can be obtained by punching a material in which these are integrally laminated.

When the pressure member 60 impacts the tongue 57, the pressure member 62 strikes the rigid plate 70 of the buffer member 64. At this time, since the surface areas of the rigid plate 70 and the elastic body 69 are formed to be much larger than the area where the pressurizing portion 62 contacts the rigid plate 70, the pressurizing portion 62 adds the surface area to the rigid plate 70. The external force is largely dispersed, and the dispersed force is applied to the elastic body 69. In this way, the elastic body 69 receives an external force on a large surface, so that the impact force can be effectively mitigated. Further, the external force from the pressurizing portion 62 is applied to the rigid plate 70 having a large area, so that the force can be effectively dispersed and transmitted to the elastic body 69,
Moreover, since the external force is not directly applied to the elastic body 69, it is possible to prevent the elastic body 69 from being permanently deformed early, and it is possible to maintain the cushioning function for a long period of time.

An elastic member such as a rubber sheet may be used as the elastic body 69. When a foamed body is used as the elastic body 69, the cushioning member 64 receives an impact force from the pressing member 60 and the foamed body is formed. When the elastic body 69 made of the elastic material is totally compressed and deformed in the large area, the air, which has been staying in the foam body until then, escapes from the foam body little by little through the narrow side edge portion of the elastic body 69. When the air flows out in this way, a damping action on the pressure member 60 is obtained, and an even greater cushioning function can be guaranteed. By covering the surface of the elastic body 69 with the rigid plate 70, the escape portion of the air in the elastic body 69 is narrowed and the air escapes to the outside over time, so that a large damping effect is obtained. .

Further, the pressing portion 62 of the pressing member 60 has the rigid plate 7
When 0 is started to be pressurized, almost the central portion of the cushioning member 64 is pressurized as indicated by the arrow P in FIG. However, the swing support member 49 to which an external force is applied includes the pins 52,
It rotates around 53, and the pressure member 60 also rotates the pivot pin 5
Since it rotates around 9, the buffer member 64 and the pressurizing portion 62
The position of the relative contact portion with and sequentially changes as shown by the arrow Q in FIG. 6, and finally the pressurizing portion 62 pressurizes the end region of the buffer member 64. In this way, the pressure unit 62 is
Initially, the substantially central portion of the cushioning member 64 is pressed, so that the force is evenly distributed and transmitted to the entire elastic body 69, and then the contact portion approaches the end portion of the cushioning member 64.
Local external force will be applied to 9. That is, when the elastic body 69 starts to receive a large shocking external force from the pressing portion 62, the amount of compressive deformation is kept small, and then the amount of compressive deformation increases by receiving a local external force. In this way, the elastic body 69 receives the dispersed force at the beginning of receiving the pressing force, the amount of compressive deformation thereof decreases, and the impact force is effectively relieved. Elastic body 69
If a large amount of material is immediately compressed and deformed when an impact force is applied, its impact mitigation function deteriorates. When the impact force is first applied, the amount of compressive deformation of the elastic body 69 is suppressed to obtain a high cushioning function. Next, the impact force gradually weakens, and as the external force approaches the static force, the amount of compressive deformation of the elastic body 69 is increased, the impact force is relaxed, and an effective cushioning function is obtained throughout the entire process. Of.

By the way, as described above, the seal member 42 is also supported by the cleaning case 40 so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14. At that time, the cleaning device 32 shown in the figure cleans. It has an interlocking unit that swings the seal member 42 in synchronization with the swinging of the blade 41, and a specific example thereof will be described below.

In FIG. 4, the cover member 55 is separated from the case body 54 of the cleaning case 40, and the cover member 5 is removed.
5 is a perspective view showing a state of the interlocking means provided inside 5, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are explanatory views for explaining the operation of the interlocking means.

The interlocking means shown here is the tension spring 71.
, A cam member 72, and an intermediate link 73.
As described above, the seal support member 45 to which the seal member 42 is fixed is swingably supported by the cleaning case 40 via the bearing members 46 and 47 as shown in FIG. , The free end side of the seal support member 45 opposite to the swing center side, and the cleaning case 40.
Each end of the pin 74 is locked to the pin 74 protruding from the case body 54. As a result, the spring 71 urges the seal support member 45 to rotate in a direction in which the seal member 42 separates from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 (FIG. 2).

The cam member 72 has a base end portion rotatably fitted to the pin 74, and the base end portion is pivotally attached to the cleaning case 40. The tip side of the cam member 72 constitutes a cam surface, and the tip surface 75 thereof resists the action of the spring 71 as shown in FIG.
Press the free end side of. Thereby, the seal member 42
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, the front end portion thereof contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14. FIG. 7 shows the state at this time.

Further, one end of the intermediate link 73 is rotatably fitted to a pin 76 protruding from the ear portion 51 on the back side of the swing support member 49. In this way, the intermediate link 7
One end of 3 is pivotally attached to the swing support member 49 at a portion closer to the free end than the swing center (the portion of the pins 52 and 53). The other end of the intermediate link 73 is pivotally attached to the cam member 72 via a pin 77 protruding from the intermediate link 73. The other end of the intermediate link 73 is pivotally attached to a portion between the swing center of the cam member 72 (the portion of the pin 74) and the tip surface 75.

Cleaning blade 41 and seal member 4
When 2 is in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14, the elements of the interlocking means are positioned as shown in FIG. Here, as described above, the swing support member 49 is rotated around the pins 52 and 53 in the direction of arrow B (FIGS. 2 and 7) by the operation of the solenoid 58, and the cleaning blade 41 is moved to the intermediate transfer belt 14. When it is rotated to a position where it is separated from the surface, the movement of the cam member 7 via the intermediate link 73
2, the cam member 72, as shown in FIG.
The tip surface 75 pivots around the pin 74 to a position away from the seal support member 45. Therefore, the seal support member 45 is released from the restraint by the tip end surface 75 of the cam member 72, and is rotated by the action of the spring 71, whereby the seal member 42 is moved to the intermediate transfer belt 14 as shown by the chain line in FIG. Away from. Of course, at this time, the cleaning blade 41 is also separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14, and FIG. 8 shows the state at this time.

When the solenoid 58 is actuated again and the swing support member 49 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow B, the movement is transmitted to the cam member 72 via the intermediate link 73, and the movement is transmitted around the pin 74. The seal support member 45 is rotated and its tip surface 75 pressurizes the seal support member 45 against the action of the spring 71, whereby the seal support member 45 is rotated and the seal member 42 is rotated.
Presses against the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 as indicated by the solid line in FIG. At this time, the cleaning blade 41 also comes into pressure contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14. The cleaning blade 41 and the seal member 42 return to the state shown in FIG.

As described above, the interlocking means swings the seal member 42 in conjunction with the swing of the cleaning blade 41, and when the cleaning blade 41 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 14, the seal member 42 also moves. And the cleaning blade 41 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 1.
4, the seal member 42 also separates from the intermediate transfer belt 14. As a result, the cost of the cleaning device 32 can be reduced because it is only necessary to provide a drive device that drives the cleaning blade 41.

By the way, as described above, when the cleaning blade 41 is in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14, the cleaning blade 41 is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 14 due to changes in the environment, That is, it is generally inevitable that the angular orientation of the cleaning blade 41 changes. Intermediate transfer belt 14
The cleaning blade 41, which is still in contact with, swings in a minute angle range. When the cleaning blade 41 swings in this way, if the seal member 42 also swings in conjunction with this, the contact force of the seal member 42 with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 14 changes, and the pressure becomes too large. The seal member 42 scrapes off the residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 14, and if the pressure is too low, the toner in the cleaning case 40 may be scattered to the outside.

Therefore, the interlocking means of the present embodiment causes the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 to move when the cleaning blade 41 is in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 and is swung in a minute angle range due to a change in environment. It is configured to prohibit the swinging of the seal member 42 that is in contact with the predetermined pressure. As a result, even if the cleaning blade 41 swings at a small angle, the seal member 42 can always keep contacting the intermediate transfer belt 14 at a substantially constant pressure, and the pressure contact force of the seal member 42 against the intermediate transfer belt 14 can be maintained. It is possible to prevent problems such as too much or too small.

The above configuration will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the tip end surface 75 of the cam member 72 has a predetermined width in the swing direction, and in this example, the tip end surface 75 is the swing axis of the cam member 72, that is, the pin 74.
It is formed in an arc shape centered on the axis line of. The radius of the arc is R as shown in FIG.
Is entirely formed into an arc having a constant radius R.

Therefore, the cleaning blade 41 oscillates in a minute angle range while contacting the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14, and the movement is transmitted to the cam member 72 via the oscillating support member 49 and the intermediate link 73. Therefore, even if the cam member 72 swings around the central axis of the pin 74, the tip end surface 75 of the cam member 72 remains in contact with the portion of the seal supporting member 45 on the free end side, so that the seal supporting member 45 is held. There is substantially no rocking around its rocking center. Thus, the tip end surface 75 of the cam member 72 is formed so as not to swing the seal support member 45. If the shape is an arc shape as described above, the above-mentioned action can be more reliably obtained, but even if this is a shape other than the arc-shape, the above-described action can be obtained.

When the cleaning blade 41 is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14, the tip surface 7 of the cam member 72 is used.
The large rotation of 5 moves away from the seal support member 45, and at this time, the seal member 42 can be separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14 without any trouble.

As described above, the intermediate transfer belt 14 is taken as an example of the image bearing member, and the cleaning device 3 remaining on the surface thereof.
Although the specific example of No. 2 has been described, the image carrier is a drum,
Further, the present invention can be applied to a cleaning device in which the image bearing member is a latent image bearing member such as a photoconductor and the residual toner on the image bearing member is removed. For example, the present invention can be applied to the cleaning device 31 for cleaning and removing the residual toner on the photoconductor 5 shown in FIG. At this time, in this example, the toner image on the image carrier composed of the photoconductor 5 is transferred to the transfer material composed of the intermediate transfer belt 14. Of course, the present invention can be applied to a cleaning device of an image forming apparatus that transfers a toner image on the photoconductor 5 to a final transfer material such as transfer paper.

[0063]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the seal member can be swung in conjunction with the swing of the cleaning member, so that the cost of the cleaning device can be reduced and the cleaning member can carry the image. When the seal member is swung by a small angle while being in contact with the body, the seal member is not substantially swung, and it is possible to prevent the contact pressure of the seal member with respect to the image carrier from fluctuating greatly. Moreover, such an action and effect can be achieved with a simple configuration.

[0064]

According to the structure described in claim 2, it is possible to more reliably achieve the above-described effects.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an internal structure of an image forming apparatus including a cleaning device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an enlarged view of the cleaning device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cleaning device alone.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the cleaning device with the cover member removed from the case body.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a solenoid and its related configuration.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state after the pressure member has pressed the tongue.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interlocking device and its operation.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view similar to FIG. 7, showing a state in which the cleaning blade and the seal member are separated from the intermediate transfer belt.

[Explanation of symbols]

32 cleaning device 40 cleaning case 42 Seal member 45 Seal support member 49 Swing support member 71 spring 72 Cam member 73 Intermediate link 75 Tip surface

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Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cleaning device for removing toner remaining on an image carrier after transferring a toner image on the image carrier to a transfer material, and a cleaning case for receiving the toner removed from the image carrier. A cleaning supported on a cleaning case so as to swing between a position in contact with the surface of the image carrier and a position separated from the surface while removing residual toner by contacting with the surface of the image carrier. The member and the cleaning member prevent the toner in the cleaning case from scattering to the outside by contacting the surface of the image carrier at a position upstream of the position where the cleaning member contacts the image carrier in the moving direction of the image carrier. , A seal member supported by a cleaning case so as to be swingable between a position in contact with the surface of the image carrier and a position separated from the surface, and the cleaning member is swung. When the cleaning member swings in a minute angle range while the cleaning member is in contact with the surface of the image carrier, the surface of the image carrier is moved in conjunction with the moving drive device and the swing of the cleaning member. And an interlocking device for prohibiting the swinging of the seal member abutting at a predetermined pressure, the seal member being fixed to a seal supporting member swingably supported by the cleaning case, and swinging on the cleaning case. The cleaning member is supported by an oscillating support member that is movably supported and driven by the drive device, and the interlocking device moves the seal support member in a direction in which the seal member is separated from the surface of the image carrier. The spring for urging the rotation and the base end portion are pivotally attached to the cleaning case, and the tip end face presses the seal supporting member against the action of the spring to form an image of the seal member. A cam member to be brought into contact with the surface of the holding body, one end of which is pivotally attached to the swing support member and the other end of which is pivotally attached to the cam member, and the swing support member carries an image bearing cleaning member. An intermediate link for transmitting the movement to the cam member when it is rotated to a position where it is separated from the body surface, and rotating the cam member to a position where its tip end surface is separated from the seal supporting member; Oscillates in a very small angle range while being in contact with the surface of the image carrier, and the movement is transmitted to the cam member via the oscillating support member and the intermediate link. A cleaning device in which a tip end surface of a cam member is formed so as to maintain a state of contact with the seal supporting member and not substantially swing the seal supporting member. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a tip end surface of the cam member is formed in an arc shape centered on a swing axis of the cam member.