JPH0580596A - Image forming apparatus and process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Cleaning of a photoconductor provided in an unused image forming apparatus and a process cartridge, and a member provided around the photoconductor for performing an image forming process, for example, a charging roller and a cleaning device. Since the blades are in contact with each other, the plasticizer may seep out from the members that come into contact with the photoreceptor over time, and the photoreceptor may be contaminated, or the photoreceptor may be damaged by the contact between the photoreceptor and the surrounding members during transportation. There is. [Structure] A separation sheet 4 is wrapped around substantially the entire circumference of a photoreceptor 1 of an unused image forming apparatus and a process cartridge, and a charging roller 2 and a cleaning blade 5 are attached to the photoreceptor 1.
Direct contact with the photosensitive drum 1
Prevent hitting. When the separation sheet 4 is pulled from the lead-out portion 4a at the beginning of use, it comes off.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge using an electrostatic transfer process such as an electrostatic copying machine and a printer, and more particularly to an image carrier (photoreceptor) thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic side views of an image forming apparatus. In FIG. 7, the process cartridge 20 includes the photoconductor 1, the charging roller 2, the developing device 3, the cleaning device 8, the pre-exposure lamp 18 and the like shown in FIG. The process cartridge 20 is a replacement part due to its life. Also, when the process cartridge 20 is not provided,
The photoconductor 1, the charging roller 2, the developing device 3, the cleaning device 8, the pre-exposure lamp 18 and the like are arranged in the main body of the apparatus at positions where the same function is achieved. When the process cartridge 20 is provided, the exterior cover 21 of the apparatus main body is provided with an opening 29, and the opening / closing cover 23 that opens and closes the opening 29 has a hinge 22.
Is pivotally attached to the edge of the opening 29 of the exterior cover 21. The process cartridge 20 is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body by opening the opening / closing cover 23. At that time, the guide member provided in the process cartridge 20 is fitted into the guide 24 provided in the apparatus main body. In FIG. 8, a conductive charging roller 2 is pressed against a cylindrical photosensitive member 1 having an axis line in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and rotating in the direction of the arrow A in the figure by a suitable means such as a spring, and a power source (not shown) is provided. The surface of the photoconductor 1 is uniformly charged by applying a voltage (in some cases, corona charging).

On this charged surface, the laser scanner 25 shown in FIG.
The image information 14 of the laser light (which may be reflected light from the original) is image-modulated by to form an electrostatic latent image, and when the latent image reaches the position of the developing device 3, A developer is supplied to visualize the latent image.

When the visualized developer image reaches a transfer portion equipped with a transfer roller 15 which is in contact with the photosensitive member 1,
In synchronism with this, the registration roller 27 that is sent out from the paper feed cassette 26 and provided in the middle of the transport path 16 is provided.
The transfer material S, which has been waiting in a pair, arrives at the transfer portion from the transport path 16, and at this position, the developer image on the side of the photoconductor 1 is transferred to the transfer material S.
Transfer to.

After the transfer, the transfer material S separated from the photoconductor 1 is conveyed to the fixing device 28 via the conveyance path 17, fixed and discharged, and the residual developer and residual charge on the photoconductor 1 are cleaned by the cleaning device 8. After being removed by the pre-exposure lamp 18, the photoconductor 1 is ready for the next image formation.

[0006]

In such an apparatus, a contact charging member such as the charging roller 2 described above or a corona charger is used to charge the photosensitive member 1. In this case, since the charging member is constantly in pressure contact with the photoconductor 1, there is a problem such as contamination of the photoconductor 1 due to leaching of the plasticizer from the member material.

Further, in the above-mentioned apparatus, since the cleaning blade 5 of the cleaning device 8 is always in contact with the photoconductor 1, there is a problem of contamination of the photoconductor 1 due to the leaching of the plasticizer from the cleaning blade 5.

It has been found that these problems of photoconductor contamination become more prominent than when they are left as new products for a long period of time after shipment until they reach the user's hands, rather than contamination caused by the use of the apparatus. ..

Although this development cannot be seen only by visual inspection,
When developed, a large amount of toner adheres to that portion and appears as black streaks.

Further, a device arranged around the photosensitive member 1, that is, a charging device (corona charging device or charging roller 2),
The developing device 3 and the cleaning device 8 may damage the photoconductor 1 due to an impact when the image forming apparatus is moved, and the damage causes deterioration of the image.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is provided between the photoconductor and the devices around it while the image forming apparatus and the process cartridge are newly manufactured and used. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge in which the separation sheet is sandwiched to prevent the charged surface of the photoconductor from being contaminated and damaged, so that a high-quality image can always be stably obtained. ..

[0012]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is characterized in that a separation sheet is inserted between a photoconductor and a device around the photoconductor when the photoconductor is not in use to prevent a contact between the photoconductor and the peripheral device. It is what In this case, the separation sheet does not have oil permeability and does not adhere to the photoreceptor,
A smooth polyethylene terephthalate or polyester is preferred.

With such a structure, contamination and scratches on the photoconductor can be effectively prevented, and a high-quality image can be stably obtained from the beginning of use.

The first aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus in which a separation sheet is detachably provided between an unused image bearing member and a member disposed around the image bearing member for performing an image forming process. Is.

The second aspect of the present invention is a process cartridge in which a separation sheet is detachably provided between an unused image carrier and a member arranged around the image carrier for performing an image forming process. is there.

The third invention of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the first invention, which has a device for housing the separation sheet in the cleaning device.

The fourth invention of the present invention is the process cartridge according to the second invention, which has a device for housing the separation sheet in the cleaning device.

[0018]

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

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 illustrates the present invention as shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment applied to an image forming apparatus including a rotating cylindrical photoconductor as shown in FIG. 8, which is an example of a case where the image forming apparatus is separately carried or a process cartridge is provided in the image forming apparatus. However, the same applies to the case where the apparatus main body is provided with a photoconductor and a charging roller arranged around the photoconductor, a developing device, a cleaning device, etc. without the process cartridge. At the beginning of assembly of the apparatus, a separation sheet 4 such as polyethylene terephthalate or polyester, which has no oil permeability around the photoconductor 1 and does not adhere to the photoconductor 1, is sprinkled.

Examples of the separating sheet include Lumirror (trade name) manufactured by Toray. Further, by making the separation sheet 4 black, the effect of preventing light transmission can be obtained.
The separation sheet 4 is wound around almost the entire circumference of the photoconductor 1 (including the case of the entire circumference), and the one end 4a is separated from the photoconductor 1 to expose it. Then, in the case of the process cartridge 20, the one end 4a is put out to the outside of the process cartridge 20 as an outlet. As a result, the charging roller 2, the developing device 3, and the cleaning device 8 are separated from each other via the separation sheet 4 and the photoconductor 1
To face.

In order to prevent the cleaning blade 5 from turning over to the tip position 6 of the cleaning blade 5 provided in the cleaning device 8 at the beginning of use, a fine particle lubricant, preferably PVdF (polyvinylidene fluoride) such as Penn is used.
Apply a kainer (trade name) manufactured by Walt. When the user pulls one end 4a of the separation sheet 4 to remove the separation sheet 4 from the photoconductor 1 when the device is used, the charging roller 2 and the cleaning blade 5 directly contact the photoconductor 1 to make the device usable. Become. The separation sheet 4 can be pulled out in a direction opposite to that shown in FIG. 1 (the end 4b side is pulled out and pulled) if a kiner is applied on the photoconductor 1 in advance.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 2 shows another embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus equipped with the same process cartridge as that of Embodiment 1 described above. Are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted unless necessary.

A winding shaft 7 is rotatably supported on both end walls of the cleaning device 8 (parallel to the paper surface of FIG. 2).
One end of the winding shaft 7 projects out of the cleaning device 8, and a winding gear 9 shown in FIG. 3 is fixed to the end of the shaft. Further, one end of the rack 10 is pivotally attached to the apparatus main body by a pin shaft 10a, and the other end of the tension spring 11 locked to the other end of the rack 10 is locked to a non-moving portion of the apparatus main body.
As a result, when the process cartridge 20 is not inserted into the apparatus body, the rack 10 is moved in the direction in which the guide 24 of the apparatus body and the rack 10 intersect at the largest angle.
Is facing toward the left, and the guide 24 is located at the upper left relative to the left downward direction.

FIG. 3 shows the process cartridge 2 shown in FIG.
It shows a state in which the front end portion of 0 is slightly inserted into the entrance portion of the guide 24 provided in the main body device so as to raise the front end portion, and the rack 10 and the hoisting gear 9 engage with each other.

When the process cartridge 20 is inserted into the guide 24, the hoisting gear 9 engages with the rack 10 and advances, and the rack 10 is pushed down counterclockwise about the pin shaft 10a, and the tip of the rack 10 does not move. Contact the member 12. The winding gear 9 rolls by meshing with the rack 10 as it advances, and the winding shaft 7 rotates, so that the separation sheet 4 is wound up and the surface of the photosensitive member 1 appears, so that the charging roller 2 and the cleaning blade 5 come into direct contact with each other. Become. Process cartridge 20 is guide 2
4, the rack 10 and the hoisting gear 9 are disengaged from each other as shown in FIG. 4, and the hoisting gear 9 is disengaged from the left end of the rack 10 as shown in FIG. The rack 10 is rotated counterclockwise about the pin shaft 10a by the spring force of the tension spring 11 to be restored. When removing the process cartridge 20, the winding gear 9 passes under the rack 10 and can be taken out by pulling it straight in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

In this apparatus, when the process cartridge 20 is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus, the sheet 4 is automatically wound into the cleaning device 8. Incidentally, a kiner is applied to the tip position 6 of the cleaning blade 5 in advance. [Third Embodiment] FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In this apparatus, the process cartridge 2 is used.
A drive gear 13 that meshes with the hoisting gear 9 when 0 is mounted on the apparatus body is provided on the apparatus body. Therefore, when the apparatus main body is started at the beginning of use after mounting the new process cartridge 20, the drive gear 13 rotates, and the winding gear 9 rotates in conjunction with each other to automatically wind the sheet 4.

According to the second and third embodiments, it is not necessary to manually remove the separation sheet from the photoconductor, and it is not necessary to treat the separated separation sheet as dust.

In the embodiment, the process cartridge and the image forming apparatus provided with the process cartridge are described. However, when the process cartridge is not provided, the separation sheet is wound around the photoconductor in the same manner, but the mouth portion thereof is usually vertically movable. Since it has a transport path, it is on the transport path side. In this case, the transfer roller 15 and the photosensitive member can be separated by a separation sheet, which is preferable.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the image forming apparatus or the process cartridge of the image forming apparatus including the process cartridge, the photosensitive member and the surrounding devices are used until these are used for the first time. Since it is configured so that it cannot be contacted by the separation sheet, the photoconductor is not contaminated by the plasticizer of the charging member or the cleaning member even after being left for a long time, and even when the device is moved, it is not affected by the impact. Since it is hard to be scratched, a good quality image is guaranteed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus including a cylindrical image carrier and a charging roller that is in contact with the image carrier.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a main body device side of another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a main body device side of another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a main body apparatus side of another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a main part showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view schematically showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus.

8 is a side view showing the inside of the process cartridge of FIG. 7. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 photoconductor 2 charging roller 3 developing device 4 separation sheet 5 cleaning blade 6 tip position 7 winding shaft 8 cleaning device 9 winding shaft 10 rack 11 tension spring 12 main body immovable member 13 drive gear 14 image information

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising a separation sheet detachably provided between an unused image carrier and a member disposed around the image carrier for performing an image forming process. 2. A process cartridge which is detachably provided between an unused image carrier and a member arranged around the image carrier for performing an image forming step. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a device for accommodating the separation sheet in a cleaning device. 4. The process cartridge according to claim 2, further comprising a device for accommodating the separation sheet in a cleaning device.