JPH0143731Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention applies to electrophotographic printing machines such as laser beam printers and copying machines that employ an electrophotographic method, and more specifically, to The present invention relates to an improvement in a cleaner that removes toner floating in a charging device, removes ozone generated in a charging device, and further cleans and removes toner remaining on the surface of a photosensitive drum.

[Background of the idea]

One of the requirements for maintaining high quality images on paper printed by an electrophotographic printing machine is to keep the surface of the photoreceptor always clean.

Here, the overall configuration of an electrophotographic printing machine that has been widely used in the past will be explained based on FIG. 3 is an exposure device that forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum 1; 4 is an exposure device 3;
A developing device 5 develops the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 by the developing device 4; a transfer device 7 transfers the image on the photosensitive drum 1 developed by the developing device 4 onto a sheet of paper 6;
1 shows a cleaning device that cleans and removes toner that has not been completely transferred to the paper 6 and remains on the photosensitive drum 1 by the rotating action of a cleaning brush 7a and the suction action of a blower (not shown).

The general structure of an electrophotographic printing machine that has been widely used in the past is as described above, but when operating this type of printing machine, the charger wire shown by reference numeral 2a in FIG. Therefore, if printing is continued for a long time in this state, so-called overlap or streak-like residual printing may appear on the paper 6.

In order to prevent the above-mentioned problems, conventionally, an opening 2c is provided in a part of the charger housing shown by the reference numeral 2b in FIG. An opening 7d is also provided in the middle of the charger 2, and both the openings 2c and 7d are connected with a hose 8 so that the toner floating in the charger 2 can be removed by suction.

However, as described above, the vacuum pipe 7c that constitutes a part of the cleaning device 7 (the cleaning device 7 that cleans and removes toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1) is branched, and the toner floating in the charger 2 is separated. In this type of printing machine that removes toner by suction, it is not possible to secure a sufficient suction air volume in the cleaning device 7, which not only reduces the cleaning function of the cleaning device 7, but also reduces the suction of toner. The conduit becomes complicated, leading to higher product costs in terms of both material costs and workability.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed to solve the problems of the conventional technology described above, and its purpose is to improve the cleaning function of equipment, improve product reliability, and reduce costs. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved electrophotographic printing machine that can simultaneously measure

[Summary of the idea]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electrophotographic printing machine that is located on the outer periphery of a freely rotatable photosensitive drum and is equipped with a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a cleaning device. The present invention is characterized in that an air guide is disposed between a cleaner housing that blows and suctions remaining toner and a charger housing, and forms an air passage between the two housings.

That is, the present invention focuses on the suction of the cleaner housing in an electrophotographic printing machine, and devises the relationship between the two housings so that the air introduced into the cleaning device passes through the charger housing beforehand. It is.

[Example of idea]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of an electrophotographic printing machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a main part of the present invention. 1 is a partial perspective view of FIG. 1. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the same reference numerals as in the conventional electrophotographic printing machine shown in FIG. A charger that uniformly charges the surface; 2a is a charger wire; 2b is a charger housing; 3 is an exposure light that forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum 1; 4 is a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 by exposure 3; A developing machine for developing a latent image, 5 is a developing machine 4.
The image on the photosensitive drum 1 developed by
A cleaning device 7 cleans and removes toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 that has not been completely transferred to the paper 6 by the rotating action of a cleaning brush 7a and the suction action of a blower (not shown).
b indicates a cleaner housing, and 7c indicates a vacuum pipe. Reference numeral 9 designates an air guide. In the illustrated embodiment, one end of the air guide 9 is attached in contact with the edge of the cleaner housing 7b, as shown in FIG. The end is attached in contact with the edge of the charger housing 2b, and by maintaining a constant distance between the air guide 9 and the photosensitive drum 1, air can be distributed between the two housings 7b and 2b. Passage 1
0 is formed.

The present invention has the above-mentioned configuration. Next, the operation of the illustrated embodiment will be explained. During operation of the printing press, when a blower (not shown) is started at the same time as the cleaning brush 7a rotates, the air is introduced into the cleaning device 7. Before that, the air passes through the charger housing 2b and sucks the toner floating in the charger 2, and then passes through the air passage 10 formed between the air guide 9 and the photosensitive drum 1. The air introduced into the cleaning device 7 cooperates with the rotating action of the cleaning brush 7a to prevent the air from being completely transferred onto the paper 6 and onto the photosensitive drum 1. Clean and remove any remaining toner. Therefore, in the present invention, an air guide 9 is disposed between the cleaner housing 7b and the charger housing 2b, and forms an air passage 10 between the two housings 7b and 2b. Therefore, the suction air volume in the cleaning device 7 portion can be ensured sufficiently compared to the conventional printing machine shown in Fig. 4, and the cleaning function in the cleaning device 7 portion can be improved. As shown, openings 2c and 7 are formed in a part of the charger housing 2b and in the middle of the vacuum pipe 7c, respectively.
d and connecting both the openings 2c and 7d with a hose 8 to remove the toner floating in the charger 2 by suction, the toner suction pipe is simplified and materials are saved. It can simultaneously save labor and contribute to reducing product costs.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a modification of the air guide indicated by the reference numeral 9 in FIG.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air guide 9 is made of a material having an arc-shaped cross section. However, as shown in FIG. By providing one or more holes 9a, the amount of air introduced into the cleaning device 7 can be increased, and the efficiency of cleaning and removing toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum can be further improved.

Further, in the above embodiment, explanation has been given of the removal of toner floating in the charger 2 and the cleaning and removal of toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. However, according to the present invention, not only the above-mentioned toner but also the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 can be cleaned and removed. , Ozone generated within the charger 2 can also be effectively removed.

[Effect of idea]

As is clear from the above description of the illustrated embodiments, the present invention provides improvements that can simultaneously improve the cleaning function of equipment, improve product reliability, and furthermore reduce costs. You can get an electrophotographic printing machine with

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of an electrophotographic printing machine according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of its overall configuration, and FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of FIG. 1, which is the main part of the present invention. 3 are perspective views showing a modified example of the air guide indicated by the reference numeral 9 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the overall configuration of a conventional electrophotographic printing machine. 1 is a photosensitive drum, 2 is a charger, 2a is a charger wire, 2b is a charger housing, 3 is an exposure device, 4 is a developing device, 5 is a transfer device, 6 is paper, 7 is a cleaning device, 7a is a cleaning blank, 7b is a cleaner housing, 7c is a vacuum pipe, 9 is an air guide, 9a is an air intake hole, and 10 is an air passage.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. In an electrophotographic printing machine that is located on the outer periphery of a freely rotatable photosensitive drum and is equipped with a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a cleaning device, residual on the surface of the photosensitive drum An electrophotographic printing machine characterized in that an air guide is disposed between a cleaner housing that blows and sucks toner and a charger housing, and that forms an air passage between the two housings. 2. An electrophotographic printing machine in which an air intake hole is formed in an air guide located between a cleaner housing and a charger housing in the invention described in claim 1 of the utility model registration.