JP6958009B2 - Cleaning equipment and image forming equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning device and an image forming device.

Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a cleaning blade or the like is slidably contacted on the surface of an image carrier (for example, a photoconductor drum) on which a toner image is formed, so that the toner image adheres to the surface of the image carrier. A technique for removing (cleaning) deposits such as residual toner that has been formed is known.
Further, when cleaning the image carrier with a cleaning blade or the like, a technique of applying a lubricant and adhering the toner to the image carrier is used in order to reduce the adhesive force of the toner to the image carrier and improve the cleaning performance. Has been done.

For the application of the lubricant, for example, a solid lubricant and a brush that rotates while abutting on the surface of the image carrier and the solid lubricant are used. The brush uniformly applies the lubricant scraped from the solid lubricant by rotating to the surface of the image carrier.
Further, the brush has a function of cleaning the surface of the image carrier by rubbing the surface of the image carrier. As a result, the amount of residual toner reaching the cleaning blade can be reduced, and the cleaning performance of the cleaning blade can be further improved.

However, depending on the usage environment and usage history of the image forming apparatus, the brush bristles on the brush surface may cause so-called bristles due to the deposits such as toner and lubricant adhering to the brush. As a result, the rubbing force on the image carrier is reduced at the location where the brush has fallen, and the toner removing force and the lubricant applying force become uneven. As a result, the cleaning performance by the cleaning blade is lowered, and the amount of wear of the image carrier is increased.
In order to deal with such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a pressing member is brought into contact with a brush to cause hair fall even in a portion where hair fall does not occur. As a result, the difference in the scraping force on the image carrier depending on the presence or absence of bristles of the brush bristles is reduced, and uneven removal of toner and uneven application of lubricant are suppressed.

JP-A-2007-271944

However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, unevenness of bristles is suppressed, but since the brush as a whole is configured to cause bristles, the scraping force of the brush as a whole on the image carrier is reduced, and the image is rather imaged. Durability deterioration of the carrier accelerates.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device and an image forming device capable of suppressing a decrease in cleaning performance of an image carrier due to the usage history of the image forming device.

In order to solve the above problem, the cleaning device according to claim 1 is used.
It has a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the image carrier that supports the toner image to be transferred to the paper, rotates while contacting the image carrier, and supplies a lubricant to the image carrier or supports the image. A brush that cleans and removes toner on the body,
A brush repair mechanism that comes into contact with the brush and recovers the scraping force of the brush against the image carrier.
Equipped with a,
The brush repair mechanism
A rotating member arranged along the direction of the rotation axis of the brush, having a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the brush, and rotating while in contact with the brush.
Needle-shaped protrusions arranged on the surface of the rotating member and having a higher rigidity than the brush,
The rotating member is provided with a torque applying portion that applies torque in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotating shaft of the brush.
When the needle-shaped protrusion comes into contact with the brush, the scraping force of the brush is restored.
It is characterized by that.

The invention according to claim 2 is the cleaning device according to claim 1.
The brush repair mechanism is characterized in that the scraping force is restored by shearing a part of the brush.

The invention according to claim 3 is the cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2.
The brush repair mechanism is configured to function when the scraping force of the brush against the image carrier falls below a predetermined value, and stops functioning when the scraping force of the brush recovers and exceeds a predetermined value. It is a feature.

The invention according to claim 4 is the cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The needle-shaped protrusion is characterized in that its height increases as it goes in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotation axis of the rotating member.

The invention according to claim 5 is the cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
It is provided with an operation unit for instructing the user to change the rotational torque applied to the rotating member.
The torque applying unit is characterized in that the rotational torque applied to the rotating member is changed in response to an instruction from the user by the operating unit.

The invention according to claim 6 is the cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
It is equipped with an acquisition unit that acquires predetermined environmental information that affects the image formation operation.
The torque applying unit is characterized in that the rotational torque applied to the rotating member is changed according to the environmental information acquired by the acquiring unit.

The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 is
An image forming part that forms a toner image on paper,
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cleaning device and an image forming device capable of suppressing a decrease in cleaning performance of an image carrier due to the usage history of the image forming device.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the main functional structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the image forming part. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the brush repair mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram of improvement of the scraping force of a brush bristles. It is a block diagram which shows the main functional structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the brush repair mechanism in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the main functional structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the brush repair mechanism which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of the brush repair mechanism. It is a figure explaining the deterioration of the cleaning performance due to the durability of a brush.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the first embodiment according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment of the present invention, a color image forming apparatus will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to, for example, a monochrome image forming apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an automatic document conveying unit 2, a scanner unit 3, an image forming unit 4, a paper feeding unit 5, a storage unit 6, an operation display unit 7, and an operation display unit 7. It is configured to include a temperature / humidity detection unit 8 and a control unit 10.

The automatic document transporting unit 2 includes a mounting tray on which the document D is placed, a mechanism for transporting the document D, a transport roller, and the like, and transports the document D to a predetermined transport path.
The scanner unit 3 is configured to include an optical system such as a light source and a reflecting mirror, irradiates a document D transported along a predetermined transport path or a document D placed on a platen glass with a light source, and receives reflected light. .. Further, the scanner unit 3 converts the received reflected light into an electric signal and outputs it to the control unit 10.

The image forming unit 4 includes a yellow image forming unit Y, a magenta image forming unit M, a cyan image forming unit C, a black image forming unit K, and a fixing device F.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image forming unit 4.
As shown in FIG. 3, each image processing unit is charged with a drum-shaped photoconductor drum 41 (image carrier) that is rotationally driven in the a direction in the drawing and a charge that uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor drum 41. Toner is applied to the device 42, the exposure device 43 that exposes the surface of the photoconductor drum 41 charged by the charging device 42 to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image formed by the exposure device 43. The developing device 44 that visualizes the image using the containing developer, the transfer device 45 that transfers the toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 41 to paper, and the toner on the photoconductor drum 41 that has passed through the transfer region. A cleaning device 46 for removing is provided, and the toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 41 is primarily transferred to an intermediate transfer belt 451 that moves in the b direction in the drawing.
The toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 451 is transferred to the recording material by the secondary transfer roller 48, then transferred to the fixing device F, and fixed on the recording material.

The photoconductor drum 41 is made of an organic photoconductor in which a photosensitive layer made of a resin containing an organic photoconductor is formed on the outer peripheral surface of a drum-shaped metal substrate, and the resin constituting the photosensitive layer is, for example, polycarbonate. Examples thereof include resins, silicone resins, polystyrene resins, acrylic resins, methacrylic resins, epoxy resins, polyurethane resins, vinyl chloride resins and melamine resins.

A Corotron charger is used as the charging device 42, and the photoconductor drum 41 is charged to a constant potential. The charging roller is preferable in that the photoconductor drum 41 can be uniformly charged to a constant potential, but a charging roller, a scorotron charger, or the like can also be used as the charging device 42.
After charging by the charging device 42, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 41 by an exposure device 43 such as a laser.

The developing apparatus 44 includes a developing sleeve 441 arranged so as to face the photoconductor drum 41 via a developing region. For example, a DC development bias having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the charging device 42 or a development bias in which a DC voltage having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the charging device 42 is superimposed on the AC voltage is applied to the developing sleeve 441. As a result, reverse development is performed in which toner is adhered to the electrostatic latent image formed by the exposure apparatus 43.
The toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 41 by the developing device 44 is carried to the transfer device 45 formed between the developing device 44 and the intermediate transfer belt 451. In the transfer device 45, a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the transfer roller 452, and the toner image on the photoconductor drum 41 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 451.

The toner remaining on the photoconductor drum 41 without being transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 451 by the transfer device 45 is recovered by the cleaning device 46.
The cleaning device 46 includes a brush 461, a solid lubricant 462, a brush repair mechanism 463, and a cleaning blade 464.

The brush 461 has brush bristles 461b made of, for example, polyester or nylon on its surface, and is installed so as to abut against both the solid lubricant 462 and the photoconductor drum 41. The brush 461 has a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the photoconductor drum 41, and the direction (c) in which the surface of the brush 461 travels in the same direction as the surface of the photoconductor drum 41 at the contact point with the photoconductor drum 41. Direction: Rotate in the with direction). At this time, the brush 461 supplies the lubricant particles carved from the solid lubricant 462 to the photoconductor drum 41, spreads and coats the lubricant particles on the photoconductor drum 41 by the contact pressure, and remains on the photoconductor drum 41. It also plays a role in removing the generated toner.

As the material of the solid lubricant 462, a material that can be applied to the surface of the photoconductor drum 41 and can reduce the surface energy thereof to reduce the adhesive force between the toner and the photoconductor drum 41 is selected. Examples thereof include fatty acid metal salts, fluororesins, and the like, and these can be used alone or in combination of two or more. In particular, fatty acid metal salts are preferable. As the fatty acid metal salt, as the fatty acid, a linear hydrocarbon is preferable, for example, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and the like are preferable, and stearic acid is more preferable. Examples of the metal include lithium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, zinc, cadmium, aluminum, cerium, titanium, iron and the like. Among these, zinc stearate, magnesium stearate, aluminum stearate, iron stearate and the like are preferable, and zinc stearate is most preferable. The material is melted and molded, or the particles of the material are compression-molded to form a shape that can be scraped off with a brush 461, and used as a solid lubricant 462. In this embodiment, zinc stearate is used as the solid lubricant 462.

In the rotation direction of the brush 461, the brush repair mechanism 463 is arranged on the upstream side of the contact point between the brush 461 and the photoconductor drum 41.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the brush repair mechanism 463 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4A, the brush repair mechanism 463 includes a repair roller 463a, a rotating shaft 463b, a spring 463c, a support member 463d, and a torque applying portion 453e (see FIG. 2).

A rotating shaft 463b coaxial with the rotating shaft of the brush 461 is inserted into the repair roller 463a, and the repair roller 463a is brought into contact with the brush 461 by the urging force of the spring 463c via the support member 463d. Further, the repair roller 463a is rotated by the torque applying portion 453e in a direction in which the surface of the repair roller 463a travels in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the surface of the brush 461 (direction of d: counter direction) at the contact point with the brush 461. , Rotational torque is applied.

Further, the repair roller 463a has a needle-shaped protrusion n on its surface. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the brush 461 and the repair roller 463a as viewed from the axial direction.
The needle-shaped protrusion n is composed of a member having a higher rigidity than the brush 461, and is configured so that the protrusion height becomes higher toward the upstream side in the rotation direction of the repair roller 463a with respect to the contact point with the brush 461 in FIG. There is.
The needle-shaped protrusion n, which will be described in detail later, restores the scraping force of the brush 461 to the photoconductor drum 41 by shearing the brush bristles 461b by coming into contact with the brush 461.

One end of the rotating shaft 463b is subjected to D-cut processing for connecting with the torque applying portion 463e, and is arranged inside the repair roller 463a, and the end portion is supported by the support member 463d.
One end of the support member 463d is fixed to the housing of the image forming apparatus 1 by a fixed shaft, and the other end is urged by a spring 463c in a direction approaching the repair roller 463a.

In the rotation direction a of the photoconductor drum 41, the cleaning blade 464 is in contact with the photoconductor drum 41 on the downstream side of the brush 461. The cleaning blade 464 removes the toner remaining on the photoconductor drum 41 without being collected by the brush 461. As the cleaning blade 464, for example, a flat plate-shaped blade made of an elastic body can be used.
As described above, the photoconductor drum 41 whose surface toner has been recovered by the cleaning device 46 is charged again by the charging device 42, and the next electrostatic latent image is formed to repeat the formation of the toner image.

The paper feed unit 5 is configured to include a plurality of paper feed trays 51 to 53, and each of the paper feed trays 51 to 53 accommodates a plurality of different types of paper P. The paper feeding unit 5 feeds the paper P accommodated by the predetermined transport path to the image forming unit 4.

The storage unit 6 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor memory, and the like, and stores data such as program data and various setting data in a readable and writable manner from the control unit 10. Further, the speed correction coefficient and the like of the rotation speed of the lubricant coating brush 471 according to the printing conditions described later are stored.

The operation display unit 7 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touch panel, and has a display unit 71 and an operation unit 72.
The display unit 71 displays various operation screens, operation status of each function, and the like according to the display control signal input from the control unit 10. In addition, it accepts a touch operation by the user and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 10.
The operation unit 72 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a start key, receives various input operations by the user, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 10. The user can operate the operation display unit 7 to perform image formation-related settings such as image quality setting, magnification setting, application setting, output setting, and paper setting, paper transport instruction, and stop operation of the device.

The temperature / humidity detection unit 8 (acquisition unit) detects the temperature and humidity inside the machine of the image forming apparatus 1, and the control unit 10 acquires the detection result by the temperature / humidity detection unit 8.

The control unit 10 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The CPU expands various programs stored in the ROM into the RAM, and cooperates with the expanded various programs to perform the automatic document transfer unit 2, The operation of each part of the image forming apparatus 1 such as the scanner unit 3, the image forming unit 4, the feeding unit 5, the storage unit 6, the operation display unit 7, and the temperature / humidity detecting unit 8 is comprehensively controlled (see FIG. 2). For example, the control unit 10 inputs an electric signal from the scanner unit 3 to perform various image processing, and outputs the image data Dy, Dm, Dc, and Dk of each color of YMCK generated by the image processing to the image forming unit 4. .. Further, the control unit 10 controls the operation of the image forming unit 4 to form an image on the recording material.

Next, the operation of the cleaning device 46 according to the first embodiment will be described.
As described above, the brush 461 applies a lubricant on the photoconductor drum 41 and cleans and removes the residual toner on the photoconductor drum 41, but the scraping force of the brush 461 on the surface of the photoconductor drum 41 gradually increases with use. As a result, the cleaning performance and the lubricant application performance are deteriorated.

This will be described with reference to FIG.
As the brush bristles 461b on the surface of the brush 461 are used, the outer diameter of the brush 461 becomes smaller as shown in FIG. 11 (A). This is because toner or the like adheres to the brush bristles 461b on the surface of the brush 461, causing the brush bristles 461b to fall down.
As a result, the scraping force against the photoconductor drum 41 is reduced, and as shown in FIG. 11B, the recovery rate of the residual toner on the photoconductor drum 41 by the brush 461 is reduced.
When the recovery rate of residual toner decreases, the amount of wear of the photoconductor drum 41 increases linearly as shown by the broken line in FIG. 11 (C), whereas the amount of wear of the photoconductor drum 41 increases linearly as shown by the solid line. 41 Surface depletion accelerates.

In response to such a problem, the cleaning device according to the first embodiment recovers the scraping force of the brush 461 by shearing the brush bristles 461b on the surface of the brush 461 by the brush repair mechanism 463.
As shown in FIG. 4, the repair roller 463a is given a rotational torque so as to rotate in the direction of d by the torque applying portion 453e, but the brush 461 rotating in the counter direction of the repair roller 463a is strongly pressed. If so, the needle-shaped protrusion n does not bite into the brush bristles 461b on the surface of the brush 461 in order to maintain the stopped state at the position shown in FIG. 4 without rotating.

On the other hand, when the bristles 461b fall down due to the use of the brush 461, the contact force of the brush 461 with respect to the repair roller 463a decreases. As a result, the repair roller 463a can rotate in the direction of d, and the rotation causes the needle-shaped protrusion n on the surface of the repair roller 463a to rotate while biting into the brush bristles 461b on the surface of the brush 461.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of the tip shape of the brush bristles 461b. As shown in FIG. 5A, in the case of the straight-haired brush bristles 461b, the fibers of the brush bristles 461b are opened by the needle-shaped protrusions n biting into the brush bristles 461b, and the scraping force against the photoconductor drum 41 is improved. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, in the case of the loop-shaped brush bristles 461b, a part of the fibers of the brush bristles 461b is frayed due to the needle-shaped protrusion n biting into the brush bristles 461b, and the scraping force is increased due to the increase in the outer diameter. improves.
That is, in either case, the scraping force is improved by shearing a part of the fibers of the brush bristles 461b.

When the brush bristles 461b are sheared by the needle-shaped protrusions n and the scraping force of the brush 461 is improved, the contact force of the brush 461 with respect to the repair roller 463a is increased, so that the rotation of the repair roller 463a is stopped and the state returns to the state of FIG. .. After that, the scraping force of the brush 461 is maintained by repeating the above operation every time the scraping force of the brush 461 decreases.

As described above, the cleaning device 46 according to the first embodiment has a brush repair mechanism 463 that comes into contact with the brush 461 and recovers the scraping force of the brush 461 against the photoconductor drum 41. As a result, the brush 461, which has fallen due to use, can obtain sufficient cleaning performance again.

Further, the cleaning device 46 according to the first embodiment recovers the scraping force of the brush 461 by shearing the brush bristles 461b by the needle-shaped protrusions n on the surface of the repair roller 463a. Therefore, it is economical because it can be realized by a simple mechanism without replacing the existing brush 461.

Further, in the cleaning device 46 according to the first embodiment, when the brush 461 falls down and the contact force of the brush 461 with respect to the repair roller 463a weakens (when the scraping force falls below a predetermined value), the brush repair mechanism 463 Will demonstrate the function as. Then, when the scraping force of the brush 461 is restored and the contact force of the brush 461 with respect to the repair roller 463a is strengthened (when the scraping force exceeds a predetermined value), the function of the brush repair mechanism 463 is stopped again.
Therefore, since it functions only when the brush 461 needs to be repaired, the effect can be obtained without damaging the brush 461 more than necessary.

Further, in the cleaning device 46 according to the first embodiment, the brush repair mechanism 463 has a needle-shaped protrusion n having a higher rigidity than the brush bristles 461b on the surface, and a repair roller 463a that rotates in contact with the brush 461. Be prepared. Further, the needle-shaped protrusion n becomes higher in height toward the upstream side in the rotation direction with respect to the contact point with the brush 461. With such a configuration, the effect of shearing the brush bristles 461b can be enhanced.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. The image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment implements the brush recovery mode in response to an instruction from the user or environmental information when a cleaning defect occurs.
The same components as those of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram showing a main functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1.
The brush repair mechanism 463 according to the second embodiment includes a repair roller 463a, a rotating shaft 463b, a drive unit 463f, and a torque limiter 463g.

The structure of the repair roller 463a is the same as that of the first embodiment, and has a needle-shaped protrusion 463n on its surface.
The rotary shaft 463b is rotatably supported by a support member installed in the housing of the image forming apparatus 1.

The drive unit 463f is composed of a motor or the like, and rotates the repair roller 463a in the direction of d in FIG.
The torque limiter 463g cuts off the transmission of the rotational torque to the repair roller 463a when the rotational torque by the drive unit 463f exceeds the limit torque value. When the transmission of rotational torque is cut off by the torque limiter 463g, the repair roller 463a stops rotating. Since the torque limiter 463 g is a variable type, the limit torque value can be changed under the control of the control unit 10.
In the second embodiment, the torque applying unit is composed of the control unit 10, the driving unit 463f, and the torque limiter 463g.

Therefore, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment can select the brush recovery mode via the operation unit 72 when the user confirms an image streak or the like caused by a cleaning failure in the cleaning apparatus 46. be. In the brush recovery mode, the limit torque value of the torque limiter 463 g is made larger than that at the time of normal image formation. That is, by raising the upper limit of the rotational torque applied to the repair roller 463a, the repair roller 463a can rotate against the brush 461, and the repair force to the brush 461 is improved.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 when the brush recovery mode is executed.
When the image forming apparatus 1 starts printing, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the brush recovery mode is ON (step S701).
Here, the user can select the brush recovery mode on the operation display unit 7 at any timing during the printing operation or before the start of the printing operation. That is, the user who finds an image defect in the current print or the previous print can select the brush recovery mode via the operation unit 72 in order to eliminate the cleaning defect.

When the control unit 10 determines that the brush recovery mode is ON (step S701: Yes), the control unit 10 changes the limit torque value of the torque limiter 463 g to a large value (step S702). Here, it is assumed that the limit torque value is set to a standard value at the start of image formation, and the standard value and the limit torque value in the brush recovery mode are preset and stored by the storage unit 6. ..

Subsequently, the control unit 10 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (step S703). The predetermined time is a time sufficient for the brush repair mechanism 463 to recover the scraping force of the brush 461, and is set in advance and stored by the storage unit 6.
When the control unit 10 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (step S703: Yes), the control unit 10 returns the limit torque value to the standard value (step S704), and ends the control.
When the control unit 10 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S703: No), determines whether or not printing is completed (step S705), and determines that the printing is completed (step S705: Yes), the process proceeds to step S704. However, if it is determined that the process has not been completed (step S705: No), the process returns to step S703.

In step S701, when the control unit 10 determines that the brush recovery mode is not ON (step S701: No), it determines whether or not printing is completed (step S706). When the control unit 10 determines that printing is completed (step S706: Yes), the control ends, but when it determines that printing is not completed (step S706: No), the process returns to step S701.

As described above, the cleaning device 46 according to the second embodiment executes the brush recovery mode according to the instruction of the user via the operation unit 72. Therefore, since the brush repair mechanism 463 can be made to function at the discretion of the user who has confirmed the deterioration of the image quality, the scraping force of the brush 461 can be repaired at the optimum timing for the user.

In the above embodiment, the brush recovery mode is executed by manual selection by the user who discovers the image defect, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the brush recovery mode is automatically executed according to the environment during printing. It is also possible to do.
For example, the bristles of the brush bristles 461b of the brush 461 become more prominent at higher temperatures and higher humidity. Therefore, the brush recovery mode can be executed by automatically changing the limit torque value according to the temperature and humidity inside the image forming apparatus 1. The outside air temperature / humidity is detected by using the temperature / humidity detection unit 8 (see FIG. 6) that can detect the temperature / humidity inside the machine of the image forming apparatus 1, and the relationship between the temperature / humidity and the limit torque value is tabulated in advance. , It is stored by the storage unit 6, and the control unit 10 shall determine whether or not to implement the brush recovery mode with reference to the table.
As a result, the brush recovery mode can be automatically executed in a situation where the brush bristles 461b are likely to fall down, so that deterioration of image quality can be effectively suppressed.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment will be described. In the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment, the brush repair mechanism 463 functions according to the consumption of the lubricant. That is, with the use of the brush 461, the solid lubricant 462 becomes smaller. In the present embodiment, the scraping force of the brush 461 is improved by attaching a member capable of shearing the brush bristles 461b of the brush 461 as the solid lubricant 462 wears.
The same components as those of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram showing a main functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. Further, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the brush repair mechanism 463 according to the third embodiment.

The brush repair mechanism 463 according to the third embodiment includes a shear member 463h.
In the brush repair mechanism 463 shown in FIG. 9A, the shear member 463h1 is arranged on the axial side surface of the solid lubricant 462 and on the end opposite to the contact surface with the brush 461. The shear member 463h1 extends long in the axial direction of the brush 461 and has a protrusion-shaped protrusion p at the end on the side facing the brush 461.
The shear member 463h1 is composed of a member having a higher rigidity than the brush bristles 461b. When the solid lubricant 462 is gradually scraped by the rotation of the brush 461, the protrusion p comes into contact with the brush bristles 461b of the brush 461. When the brush 461 rotates in a state where the protrusion p and the brush bristles 461b are in contact with each other, the bristles 461b are sheared by the protrusion p as shown in FIG. 5, and the scraping force of the brush 461 is improved.

The brush repair mechanism 463 shown in FIG. 9B is a shearing member inside the solid lubricant 462 at the end opposite to the contact surface between the brush 461 and the solid lubricant 462 along the axial direction of the brush 461. 463h2 is arranged.
The shear member 463h2 is a needle-shaped member made of a member having a higher rigidity than the brush 461, like the needle-shaped protrusion n in the first embodiment. When the solid lubricant 462 is gradually scraped by the rotation of the brush 461, the shear member 463h2 comes into contact with the brush bristles 461b of the brush 461. When the brush 461 rotates in a state where the shear member 463h2 and the brush bristles 461b are in contact with each other, the brush bristles 461b are sheared by the shearing member 463h2 as shown in FIG. 5, and the scraping force of the brush 461 is improved.

In order to dispose the shear member 463h2 in FIG. 9 (B) inside the solid lubricant 462 as described above, the solid lubricant 462 is manufactured using the lubricant type m as shown in FIG. 9 (C). The solid lubricant 462 is produced by melting, and the heated lubricant is poured into the lubricant mold m and cooled to solidify. At this time, the metal shear member 463h2 is mixed with the lubricant and cooled while applying an electric field. The shear members 463h2 are aligned along the lines of electric force and are concentrated on the bottom surface of the lubricant type m due to their large specific gravity.
The shear member 463h2 may be made of a magnetic material. In this case, the lubricant is cooled while applying a magnetic field.

The length of the shear member 463h2 is not uniform, and it is preferable that members having different lengths are mixed. That is, as shown in FIG. 9B, the number of shear members 463h2 that come into contact with the brush 461 increases as the solid lubricant 462 wears, and the brush bristles 461b are sheared by the shear members 463h2 with the use of the brush 461. Power rises.

As described above, the cleaning device 46 according to the third embodiment has a shear member 463h that functions with the use of the solid lubricant 462, and improves the scraping force of the brush 461 due to the shearing of the brush bristles 461b.
Therefore, the configuration other than the solid lubricant 462 can be realized by the existing configuration without providing a new member, which is space-saving and economical.

[Other Embodiments]
Although the above embodiment has been specifically described based on the embodiment of the present invention, the above embodiment is a preferable example of the present invention and is not limited thereto.

For example, in the above embodiment, the brush repair mechanism 463 functions for the brush 461 that applies the lubricant on the photoconductor drum 41, but is not limited thereto.
As shown in FIG. 10, a cleaning brush 465 having a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the photoconductor drum 41 and rotating while in contact with the photoconductor drum 41 is provided upstream of the cleaning blade 464, and the cleaning brush 465 is provided with a cleaning brush 465. On the other hand, it is also possible to make the brush repair mechanism 463 function. Thereby, the deterioration of the cleaning performance by the cleaning brush 465 can be suppressed. The cleaning brush 465 rotates in the counter direction (direction e) with respect to the photoconductor drum 41, and the brush repair mechanism 463 (in this case, the repair roller 463a) rotates in the counter direction (direction f) with respect to the cleaning brush 465. It is desirable to rotate to.
Further, in this case, it is preferable that the brush 461 and the solid lubricant 462 for applying the lubricant to the photoconductor drum 41 are provided downstream of the cleaning blade 464.

In addition, the detailed configuration of each device constituting the image forming apparatus and the detailed operation of each device can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 Image forming device 2 Automatic document transporting unit 3 Scanner unit 4 Image forming unit 41 Photoreceptor drum 42 Charging device 43 Exposure device 44 Developing device 45 Transfer device 46 Cleaning device 461 Brush 462 Solid lubricant 463 Brush repair mechanism 463a Repair roller (rotating member) )
463b Rotating shaft 463c Spring 463d Support member 463e Torque applying part 463f Drive part 463g Torque limiter 463h1, 463h2 Shear member (shear member, needle-shaped member)
464 Cleaning blade 465 Cleaning brush (brush)
5 Paper feed unit 6 Storage unit 7 Operation display unit 72 Operation unit 8 Temperature / humidity detection unit (acquisition unit)
10 Control unit n Needle-shaped protrusion p Protrusion part m Lubricant type

Claims (7)

It has a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the image carrier that supports the toner image to be transferred to the paper, rotates while contacting the image carrier, and supplies a lubricant to the image carrier or supports the image. A brush that cleans and removes toner on the body,
A brush repair mechanism that comes into contact with the brush and recovers the scraping force of the brush against the image carrier.
Equipped with a,
The brush repair mechanism
A rotating member arranged along the direction of the rotation axis of the brush, having a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the brush, and rotating while in contact with the brush.
Needle-shaped protrusions arranged on the surface of the rotating member and having a higher rigidity than the brush,
The rotating member is provided with a torque applying portion that applies torque in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotating shaft of the brush.
When the needle-shaped protrusion comes into contact with the brush, the scraping force of the brush is restored.
A cleaning device characterized by that. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the brush repair mechanism recovers the scraping force by shearing a part of the brush. The brush repair mechanism is configured to function when the scraping force of the brush against the image carrier falls below a predetermined value, and stops functioning when the scraping force of the brush recovers and exceeds a predetermined value. The cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the height of the needle-shaped protrusion increases as the height of the needle-shaped protrusion increases in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotation axis of the rotating member. It is provided with an operation unit for instructing the user to change the rotational torque applied to the rotating member.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the torque applying unit changes the rotational torque applied to the rotating member in response to an instruction from a user by the operating unit. It is equipped with an acquisition unit that acquires predetermined environmental information that affects the image formation operation.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the torque applying unit changes the rotational torque applied to the rotating member according to the environmental information acquired by the acquiring unit. .. An image forming part that forms a toner image on paper,
An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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