JPH0521086Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Application of the Invention) The present invention relates to a fixing device used in image forming devices such as copying machines and printers. The present invention relates to a cleaning member used for cleaning.

(Background of the invention) Generally, in the fusing devices of copiers, printers, etc. that use toner, the toner adhering to the surface of the fusing roller may stain the transfer paper, so the surface of the fusing roller is coated with felt, etc. Usually, cleaning is carried out by bringing a cleaning pad made of this material into contact with the cleaning pad.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a conventional fixing device equipped with such a cleaning structure. In the figure, 1 is a fixing roller, which is usually made of aluminum, iron, etc. Si rubber,
A resin layer 6 of PTFE, PFA, etc. with good mold releasability is formed. Inside this fixing roller 1,
A heater 5 is inserted, and a temperature control device (not shown) controls the heater 5 on and off according to the temperature detected by the temperature detection sensor 4, and controls the surface temperature of the fixing roller 1 to a predetermined temperature. It's becoming like that.

2 is a pressure roller, and a core metal 1 made of stainless steel, etc.
A Si sponge rubber layer 11 and an elastic layer 8 made of a Si rubber layer are formed on the outer periphery of the silicon rubber layer 2.

3 is the above-mentioned pair of fixing roller 1 and pressure roller 2
This is an entrance guide for introducing the transfer paper into the nip portion of the transfer paper, and as shown in the figure, the transfer paper (paper sheet) 10 with toner 9 on its surface is guided and introduced between the pair of rollers. Further, reference numeral 25 denotes a separation claw, the tip of which is engaged with the surface of the fixing roller 1 so as to separate the transfer paper 10 from the fixing roller 1 after the toner has been fixed.

The fixing device configured as described above has a transfer paper 1 introduced between a pair of rollers from above an entrance guide 3.
0 toner 9 is fixed on the transfer paper by the sandwiching pressure and heat of both rollers.

In order to clean the surface of the fixing roller 1 mentioned above in the above fixing device, in this example, a cleaning pad 13 having a dimension extending beyond the maximum paper width in the generatrix direction is pressed against the upper position of the fixing roller 1. It is composed of In other words, the cleaning pad 13 is supported by the holder 15, and the holder 15 is fitted into an opening formed in the upper frame plate 16 of the casing of the fixing device, thereby allowing the surface of the fixing roller to come into contact with the cleaning pad. It is configured to provide a contact state.
Reference numeral 14 is a handle of the holder 15, and the cleaning pad 13 is usually impregnated with a heat-resistant release agent such as silicone oil to prevent toner offset to the fixing roller. .

By the way, the cleaning pad 13 gradually becomes dirty with continued use, so it needs to be replaced at appropriate intervals.
Toner or paper dust may remain slightly offset on the fixing roller between the cleaning pad and the fixing roller (hereinafter referred to as offset toner etc. 17).

The offset toner 17 remaining on the fixing roller is usually removed by the cleaning pad 1.
When replacing item 3, it is normal to use other cleaning tools (for example, cotton swabs, rags, or other special cleaning tools), but if you are a professional inspection worker, there is no need to worry about this. Even if the cleaning pad is replaced with a new one, there is a large risk that the user will forget to clean the surface of the fixing roller, even if the cleaning pad is replaced with a new one. As a result, the offset toner cannot be removed sufficiently, resulting in the problem that the offset toner is deposited on the next transfer paper and smudges the image during fixation during subsequent image forming operations. Furthermore, if offset toner is left unattended and it solidifies, in severe cases there is a risk of damaging the fixing roller due to roller rotation during image forming operations, and in this case, the fixing roller itself may need to be replaced. It becomes a big problem.

(Purpose of the invention) The present invention has been made from the above-mentioned viewpoints, and its purpose is to solve the above-mentioned problems with the conventional fixing device, and to make it easier for the operator to replace the cleaning pad of the fixing device. On the other hand, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning member for a fixing device having a structure devised to call attention to always cleaning the fixing roller.

(Summary of the invention) The cleaning member used in the fixing device according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above object, is characterized by being a cleaning member used for cleaning the surface of the fixing roller of the fixing device. The cleaning member is removably integrated with the cleaning pad for preventing toner offset, which is used in constant contact with the fixing roller.

In this way, the cleaning member used for rare tasks such as regular inspections of the fixing device is always prepared together with the replacement cleaning pad that is required for this task. This eliminates the problem of forgetting to prepare the cleaning member, which is a cleaning tool, and the cleaning member is detached from the cleaning pad when replacing the cleaning pad.
This has the effect of calling attention to the use of this cleaning member (that is, cleaning the fixing roller).

Therefore, in order to better alert people to this problem, it is necessary to make it impossible to assemble the cleaning pad into the fixing device predetermined position unless the cleaning member is removed. For this purpose, for example, in the integrated state before detachment, the size of the cleaning pad may be larger than the fitting size of the assembled fitting portion.

(Embodiments of the invention) The invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

The embodiment shown in FIG.
8 is integrated with the cleaning pad 15, and these can be relatively easily separated at the cutting line 22 by bending a pre-formed cut groove without using a cutting tool or the like. It is designed to be detachable.

The cleaning pad 15 of this example is
4 and the felt 13 held by the cleaning member 18, which is similar to the structure described above as a conventional example, and the cleaning member 18 is similarly comprised of a holder 20 and a felt 13 held therein.
and a felt 19 held therein. It goes without saying that the cleaning member 18 of this example has a shape suitable for cleaning work when replacing the cleaning pad, and FIG. The situation is explained diagrammatically.

That is, the holder 20 of the cleaning member 18
The cleaning pad fitting opening 16a of the upper frame plate 16 of the fixing device can be inserted into the cleaning pad fitting opening 16a so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof.

As the felt material used in the cleaning member in this example, Nomex (trademark: manufactured by DuPont), Cornex (trademark: manufactured by Teijin), etc., which have excellent heat resistance, are preferably used.
In relation to the cleaning pad 13, it is preferable that the felt 19 of the cleaning member 18 has the same or even rougher fiber texture. This is because the toner remaining on the fixing roller is usually mixed with paper powder and has a coarse particle size, and coarse fibers make it easier to incorporate this into the interior and provide better cleaning performance. It is from. Furthermore, the surface of the felt 19 of the cleaning member is preferably fluffy from the viewpoint of cleaning performance, and contains high viscosity silicone oil so that the toner is adsorbed and cleaned by the viscosity of the silicone oil. You may let them.

3 to 5 show the relationship between the cleaning member 18 and the fixing device mounting fitting part of the cleaning pad 13 that is integrated with the cleaning member 18. Since the size of the cleaning pad is larger than the size of the opening 16a formed in the upper frame plate 16 of the fixing device (see FIG. 3), the cleaning pad cannot be replaced and installed in this state, and the cleaning pad cannot be replaced. When the member 18 is removed, it can be fitted into the opening 16a as shown in FIG. 4 or 5, so that when the cleaning member 18 is removed from the cleaning pad, the cleaning This has the effect that it is possible to sufficiently call attention to the necessity of a cleaning operation using the member.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cleaning member according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the cleaning pad 13 is made perpendicular to the felt 19 surface of the cleaning member 18. Both holders 15 and 20 are connected and integrated. In this way, the fixing roller can be cleaned by the cleaning member 18 prior to replacing the cleaning pad by using the cleaning pad before detachment as a long handle of the cleaning member 18, and the work can be done easily. This provides a convenient effect.

The operations after cutting along the cutting line 22 and the effects based on the material such as felt used are the same as in the above embodiment.

Note that the structures of the cut portions of the cleaning pad and cleaning member described in the above embodiments can be configured in various ways. For example, in addition to integrally molding both holders so that they can be broken off at the cut portions, it is also possible to use an adhesive mold. Any method such as bonding the two with tape may be used.
Furthermore, the configuration in which the cleaning pad cannot be fitted and assembled into a predetermined position before the cleaning member is detached is not limited to the case where assembly is impossible due to the length of the cleaning pad. Needless to say.

(Effects of the invention) As described above, when using the cleaning member according to the invention, the cleaning member used in rare operations on the fixing device is
Since this work is always prepared together with the replacement cleaning pad that is required, there is no problem of forgetting to prepare the cleaning member, which is a cleaning tool. Since it is necessary to remove the cleaning pad from the cleaning pad, there is an effect that caution is called for when using the cleaning member (ie, cleaning the fixing roller).

Therefore, the ultimate objective of the present invention is to ensure that the fixing roller of the fixing device can be cleaned reliably, extend the life of the fixing device, prevent image smudges, and furthermore prevent damage to the fixing roller. There is an effect achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a general configuration of a cleaning member for a fixing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a cleaning operation using a cleaning member detached from a cleaning pad, and FIG. Figure 4 shows the dimensions when the cleaning pad and cleaning member are integrated in relation to the cleaning pad assembly fitting part, and Figure 4 shows the cleaning pad and its fitting after the cleaning member has been removed. Perspective view showing the dimensional relationship of the joint, No. 5
The figure shows the state when they are fitted together. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the cleaning member according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the general configuration of the fixing device. 1... Fixing roller, 2... Pressure roller, 3...
Entrance guide, 4... Temperature detection sensor, 5... Heater, 6... Resin layer, 7... Core bar, 8... Elastic layer, 9... Toner image, 10... Transfer paper, 11...
... Sponge rubber layer, 12 ... Core metal, 13 ... Cleaning pad, 14 ... Handle, 15 ... Holder, 16 ... Upper frame plate, 16a ... Opening, 17 ...
Offset toner, 18...Cleaning member,
19...Felt, 20...Holder, 22...
Cutting line, 25...separation claw.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A cleaning member used to clean the surface of the fixing roller of a fixing device, the cleaning member being used to prevent toner offset and is used in constant contact with the fixing roller. A cleaning member used in a fixing device, characterized in that it is removably integrated into a cleaning pad. (2) The integrated product of the cleaning member and the cleaning pad is provided with dimensions larger than the dimensions of the cleaning pad fitting portion at a predetermined position of the fixing device. A cleaning member used in the fixing device described in (1).