JPH04159574A - laser scanner device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device, and in particular, the present invention relates to a lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device. The present invention relates to a lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device that can easily remove toner and dust and improve the image quality of a printer.

[Prior art]

Generally, a laser scanner device of a laser printer has an elongated opening formed in the laser beam exit portion of its case in the scanning direction of the laser beam, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-82009. A lens member that transmits laser light is disposed in the opening, and a photosensitive drum that forms an electrostatic latent image upon receiving the laser light transmitted through the lens member is disposed below the opening. Usually, the lens member is mounted close to the photosensitive drum in order to enhance the effect of correcting variations in the scanning direction of the laser beam.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional laser scanner device, when an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum is developed with toner supplied from a developing cylinder, scattered toner and the like adhere to the lower surface of the lens member through the opening. However, when a laser printer is used for a long period of time, toner accumulates on the lower surface of the lens member, causing a problem in that the image quality of the printer deteriorates.

Therefore, the printer casing must be opened and the bottom surface of the lens member must be cleaned from the opening by the user or service personnel using a soft cloth, or the opening area where the lens member is placed is small and the lens Cleaning must be done without damaging the lens member or applying large force to the lens member to prevent the lens member from shifting its mounting position, making cleaning work extremely troublesome and making it impossible to completely remove toner, etc. I could not do it.

An object of the present invention is to provide a lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device that can easily and reliably clean the lower surface of a lens member and improve the image quality of a printer.

[Means to solve the problem]

A lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a laser scanner device, and includes an opening formed elongately in the laser beam exit portion of the case in the scanning direction of the laser beam; A laser scanner device comprising an elongated lens member arranged therein, a slide support mechanism that supports the lens member slidably in its length direction so that the lens member can be pulled out toward one end thereof, and the opening. The cleaning member is sandwiched between the lens member and the opening edge wall of the case so as to contact the lower surface of the lens member outside the one end of the lens member.

A lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device according to a second aspect of the present invention is a laser scanner device for a laser printer, and includes an opening formed elongated in the laser beam exit portion of the case in the scanning direction of the laser beam; In a laser scanner device comprising an elongated lens member disposed in an opening, the lens member is sandwiched between the lens member and an opening edge wall of a case so as to contact a lower surface of the lens member outside one end of the opening. and a guide portion provided on the opening edge wall of the case so as to slidably guide the cleaning member to the outside of the other end of the opening along the lower surface of the lens.

[Effect]

In the lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device according to the first aspect, the lens member is supported by a slide support mechanism so as to be slidable in its length direction and can be pulled out toward one end thereof, and the lens member is The cleaning member is sandwiched between the lens member and the opening edge wall of the case of the laser scanner device so as to contact the lower surface of the lens member at the outside of the one end side of the opening provided in the cleaning member. When the lens member is pulled out toward one end, the entire lower surface of the lens member comes into sliding contact with the cleaning member, and the cleaning member removes toner and dust attached to the lower surface of the lens member. Next, when the lens member is pushed toward the other end and attached to the slide support mechanism, the entire lower surface of the lens member is cleaned by the cleaning member in the same manner as described above.

In this way, by simply sliding the lens member through the slide support mechanism, toner and dust attached to the lower surface of the lens member can be reliably removed, which greatly simplifies the task of cleaning the lower surface of the lens member. , it is possible to improve the image quality of the printer.

In the lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device according to the second aspect, the case of the lens member and the laser scanner device is arranged such that the cleaning member contacts the lower surface of the lens member outside one end of the opening in which the lens member is disposed. The opening edge wall of the case is provided with a guide portion that slidably guides the cleaning member along the lower surface of the lens to outside the other end of the opening. By sliding the cleaning member along the lower surface of the lens between one end and the other end of the lens member via this guide, toner and dust attached to the lower surface of the lens member are removed.

In this way, by simply sliding the cleaning member through the guide part, toner and dust attached to the bottom surface of the lens member can be reliably removed, which greatly simplifies the cleaning work of the bottom surface of the lens member and makes it easier for printers to clean the bottom surface of the lens member. It is possible to improve the image quality of images.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device according to the first aspect, there is provided a slide support mechanism that slidably supports the lens member, and a slide support mechanism that supports the lens member and the case so as to contact the lower surface of the lens member outside one end of the opening. a cleaning member sandwiched between the opening edge wall and the opening edge wall;
By sliding the lens member through the slide support mechanism, toner and dust adhering to the lower surface of the lens member can be reliably removed, which greatly simplifies the cleaning work of the lower surface of the lens member and improves the image quality of the printer. Quality can be improved.

According to the lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device according to the second aspect, the lens member and the opening edge wall of the case of the laser scanner device are connected so that the cleaning member contacts the lower surface of the lens member outside one end of the opening member. A guide part is provided between the lens and the opening edge wall of the case to slidably guide the cleaning member along the lower surface of the lens to outside the other end of the opening, so that the cleaning member can be slid through the guide part. By simply doing this, toner and dust attached to the lower surface of the lens member can be reliably removed, the cleaning work for the lower surface of the lens member can be significantly simplified, and the image quality of the printer can be improved.

〔Example〕

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

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device of an electrophotographic laser printer.

First, laser printers will be briefly explained.

As shown in FIG. 1, the laser printer 1 includes a printer casing 4 consisting of an upper casing 2 and a lower casing 3, a laser scanner device 5 provided in the upper casing 2, and a laser scanner device 5 detachably provided in the lower casing 4. A process cartridge 6, a transfer/separation device 9 equipped with a transfer charger 7, a static elimination needle 8, etc., a fixing device 12 equipped with a heating roller 1O, a pressure roller 11, etc., a paper feed roller 13,
Registration roller 14, conveyance roller 15, and paper ejection roller 1
6 and the like, and a lens cleaning device 18.

The upper casing 2 of the printer casing 4 has a hinge 19
The right side wall 2a of the upper casing 2 can be opened and closed between the closed position shown in FIG. 1 and the open position shown in FIG.
An operating opening 20 cut out from the lower end is formed in the middle of the lower end of the lower casing 3 in the front-rear direction, and the right side wall of the lower casing 3 corresponding to the operating opening 20 is 2 is formed in an upwardly convex shape so as to engage with the operation opening 20 when it is in the closed position.

The laser scanner device 5 includes a case 21 integrally formed with the upper casing 2, a semiconductor laser 22 disposed inside the case 21, a hexahedral mirror 23, an imaging lens 24, a reflection mirror 25, and a front end of the case 21. It is comprised of a synthetic resin lens member 27 disposed at a laser beam exit portion 26 formed in a downwardly protruding shape.

The process car 1-ridge 6 is detachably installed in the lower casing 3, and consumable parts such as a photosensitive drum 28, a primary charger 29, a developing cylinder 30, and an exposure lamp 31 are integrally assembled inside the ridge 6. By replacing the process cartridge 6 with a new process cartridge 6 during regular maintenance of the laser printer 1, consumable parts such as the photosensitive drum 28 can be replaced all at once. Note that numerals 32, 33, and 34 are a paper feed cassette, a recording paper, and a paper discharge tray, respectively.

Next, the operation of the laser printer 1 will be briefly explained.

Laser light 35, which is controlled by a laser driver (not shown) and is emitted from the semiconductor laser 22 and enters the hexahedral mirror 23, is deflected by a predetermined angle for each mirror surface of the hexahedral mirror 23, which rotates at a constant high speed. As a result, main scanning is performed over a predetermined angular range, and then reflected vertically downward by the reflecting mirror 25 via the imaging lens 24, and then the lens member 27 and the laser beam exit portion 26 are elongated in the scanning direction of the laser beam 35. The laser beam 35 enters the photosensitive drum 28 through an opening 37 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) formed in a bottom wall 36 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) to be elongated in the scanning direction of the laser beam 35.

The laser beam 35 incident on the photosensitive drum 28 is sub-scanned by the photosensitive drum 28 rotating at a constant speed to form an electrostatic latent image on the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 28 . In addition, the laser beam 35
Although variations occur in the main scanning direction due to variations in the surface precision of the hexahedral mirror 23, the variations in the scanning direction are corrected by the lens member 27 when the light passes through the lens member 27. A laser beam exit portion 26 is formed in a downwardly protruding shape, and a lens member 27 is provided at the laser beam exit portion 26 and disposed near the photosensitive drum 28, so that correction can be performed using the lens member 27.

The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 28 is developed with toner supplied from a developing cylinder 30, and this visible image is transferred to a recording paper 33 that is conveyed in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 28. 7, the toner on the photosensitive drum 28 is moved and attached to the recording paper 33 and transferred, and then the recording paper 33 is transferred to the charge eliminating needle 8.
is separated from the photosensitive drum 28 and conveyed to the fixing device 12.

In the fixing device 12, a heating roller 10 and a pressure roller 1
1, the toner is welded and fixed on the recording paper 33, and then transported onto the paper ejection tray 34 via the transport roller 15 and the paper ejection roller 16.

Next, the lens cleaning device 18 will be explained.

The lens cleaning device 18 supports the lens member 27 so as to be slidable in its length direction, and also protects the lower surface 27 of the lens member 27 from being scattered when the laser printer 1 is operated.
This is to remove toner and dust attached to a.
A slide support mechanism 40 that supports the lens member 27 in a slidable manner in its length direction and a lower surface 27a of the lens member 27.
It is configured as a cleaning member 41 for cleaning.

To explain the slide support mechanism 40, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, opening edge walls 36a and 36b on the front and rear sides of the opening 37 of the bottom wall 36 of the laser beam exit section 26
A standing wall 42 is formed extending from the right side wall 38 side to the left side wall 39 side of the case 21, respectively, and a guide groove 42a is formed in the middle step of the inner end surface of each standing wall 42 in the left-right direction.

On the other hand, guided parts 43 that can be engaged with the guide grooves 42a are formed in the left-right direction at the front and rear ends of the lens member 27, respectively, and the laser beam exit part 26 is formed at the right end of the lens member 27. Opening edge wall 3 on the right side of the opening 37 in the bottom wall 36
An engaging portion 45 that can be engaged with a retaining hole 44 formed in the lens member 6c is formed, and an L-shaped grip portion 46 is formed at the left end portion of the lens member 27.

The lens member 27 engages its front and rear guided portions 43 with the front and rear guide grooves 42a, respectively, and extends from the left side wall 39 side of the laser beam exit portion 26 to the position where the engaging portion 45 engages with the engaging hole 44. It is slid and installed, and is supported by the guide groove 42a by the front and rear guided parts 43. In this way, when the lens member 27 is attached to the guide groove 42a, the grip portion 46
protrudes leftward from the case 21 and faces the opening 20 of the upper casing 2 .

The width of the cleaning member 41 in the front-rear direction is equal to that of the lens member 2.
The lens member 41 is made of a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped synthetic foam resin member that is wider than the width of the lower surface 27a of the bottom wall 36 in the front-rear direction. When installed in the guide groove 42a, the cleaning member 41 is sandwiched between the opening edge wall 36d and the lens member 27 so as to contact the lower surface 27a of the lens member 27. Note that the cleaning member 41 is impregnated with silicone oil.

The operation of the lens cleaning device 18 configured as described above will be explained.

When removing toner and dust attached to the lower surface 27a of the lens member 27, as shown in FIG. , and pull it out to the left until the engaging portion 45 of the lens member 27 contacts the cleaning member 41. At this time, since the entire area of the lower surface 27a of the lens member 27 comes into sliding contact with the cleaning member 41, toner and dust attached to the lower surface 27a of the lens member 27 are removed by the cleaning member 41. Next, the lens member 27
Slide the lens member 27 to the right to a position where the engaging portion 45 engages with the engaging hole 44a, and attach the lens member 27 to the guide groove 42a. At this time as well, the lower surface 2 of the lens member 27 is
7a is cleaned by the cleaning member 41. In this way, when the cleaning of the lower surface 27a of the lens member 27 is completed, the upper casing 2 is brought to the closed position.

By simply sliding the lens member 27 via the slide support mechanism 40 in this way, the lower surface 27 of the lens member 27 can be
Since toner, dust, etc. attached to the lens member 27a can be reliably removed, the cleaning work of the lower surface 27a of the lens member 27 can be significantly simplified, and the image quality of the printer 1 can be improved.

[Another example]

The lens cleaning device for a laser printer according to this embodiment is configured so that the lower surface of the lens member can be cleaned by moving the cleaning member along the lower surface of the lens member. Incidentally, members similar to those in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals and explanations thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, standing walls 50 are formed on the front and rear opening edge walls 36a and 36b of the opening 37, respectively, and the lower portions of the inner end surfaces of the front and rear standing walls 50 are provided with guide walls. Groove 50a
are formed in the left-right direction. Incidentally, the reference numeral 51 indicates an insertion hole formed in the opening edge wall 36d so as to be continuous with the opening 37, and the insertion hole 51 is similarly formed in the opening edge wall 36c.

A holding member 55 having a guided portion 53 that engages with the front and rear guide grooves 50a and a grip portion 54 inserted through the insertion hole 51 at the left end is provided on the opening edge wall portion 36d so as to be slidable in the guide groove 50a. A cleaning member 41 is fixed to the upper surface of the holding member 55, and the cleaning member 41 is provided between the lens member 56 and the opening edge wall portion 36d so as to contact the lower surface 56a of the lens member 56. Incidentally, engagement grooves 50b are formed in the middle portions of the inner end surfaces of the front and rear vertical walls 50 in the left-right direction, and engaged portions 57 are formed in the front and rear ends of the lens member 56, respectively. The member 56 is fixed to the vertical wall 50 by engaging the engaged portion 57 with the engagement groove 50b.

The operation of the lens cleaning device 18A configured in this way will be explained.

When removing L-ner and dust attached to the lower surface 56a of the lens member 56, open the upper casing 2, grasp the grip portion 54 of the holding member 55 protruding from the insertion hole 51, and hold the holding member 55. When the cleaning member 41 is slid in the left-right direction across the left and right insertion holes 51 via the guide groove 50a, the cleaning member 41 comes into sliding contact with the lower surface 56a of the lens member 56 to remove toner and dust.

By simply sliding the cleaning member 41 through the guide groove 50a, the lower surface 56a of the lens member 56 can be removed.
It is possible to reliably remove toner and dust attached to the
The cleaning work of the lower surface 56a of the lens member 56 can be significantly simplified, and the image quality of the printer 1 can be improved.

Note that the cleaning member 41 may be made of cotton or soft cloth instead of the synthetic foam resin member, and the cleaning member 41 may be impregnated with not only silicone oil but also alcohol, ether, or the like.

Furthermore, the lens members 27 and 56 may be made of glass.

In addition, it goes without saying that the lens cleaning devices 18 and 18A can be applied to various devices using laser scanner devices.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a laser printer, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the laser printer with the upper casing in the open position, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the laser printer shown in FIG. -■ line sectional view, Figure 4 is a view in the direction of the Figure 3 ■ arrow, Figure 5 is a Figure 3 ■-■ line sectional view, and Figure 6 is a view corresponding to Figure 3 of a lens cleaning device according to another embodiment. , Figure 7 shows the fourth part of the same device.
FIG. 8 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 5 of the same device. 1...Laser printer, 5...Laser scanner device, 18.18A...Lens cleaning device,
21...Case, 26...Laser light exit section, 2
7, 56... Lens member, 27a, 56a... Lower surface, 36d... Opening edge wall, 37... Opening, 40
...Slide support mechanism, 41...Cleaning member,
42a, 50a: Guide groove, 43, 53: Guided part.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A laser scanner device, which includes an elongated opening formed in the laser beam exit portion of its case in the scanning direction of the laser beam, and an elongated lens member disposed in the opening. In the scanner device, a slide support mechanism that supports the lens member slidably in the length direction thereof so that the lens member can be pulled out to the one end side; 1. A lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device, comprising: a cleaning member sandwiched between a lens member and an opening edge wall of a case so as to contact a lower surface thereof. (2) A laser scanner device for a laser printer,
In a laser scanner device including an elongated opening formed in the laser beam exit portion of the case in the scanning direction of the laser beam, and an elongated lens member disposed in the opening, the outside of one end of the opening a cleaning member sandwiched between the lens member and the opening edge wall of the case so as to contact the lower surface of the lens member, and the cleaning member being slidable along the lower surface of the lens to outside the other end of the opening. 1. A lens cleaning device for a laser scanner device, comprising: a guide portion provided on an opening edge wall of a case to guide the lens.