JPH0592834A - Transport roller cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate contamination attached to the surface of a transport roller effectively by providing a cleaning sheet stopping means close to the transport roller to be capable of protruding and retracting corresponding to a cleaning sheet stopping hole. CONSTITUTION:A cleaning sheet stopping means is provided on the upstream part of a sheet transport and sheet returning passage. A cleaning means is composed of hooks 41, 41 provided on both side parts of the sheet transport passage, and a solenoid 42 for moving these. A cleaning sheet is formed rectangular preliminarily, and stopping holes are provided at both end parts on the back in the transport direction A. A sensor to detect the stopping hole 41 in the cleaning sheet is provided on the further upstream part of the cleaning sheet stopping means. The cleaning sheet can thus be stopped for cleaning, thereby contamination attached to the surface of a transport roller can be eliminated effectively and securely.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carrying roller cleaning device provided in a paper carrying path of a copying machine or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an apparatus for conveying sheets, such as an electrophotographic copying machine, the sheet conveying path has been complicated by adopting a multi-stage sheet feeding structure or a front loading structure for space saving. ..

When the paper transport path becomes complicated, the number of transport rollers for transporting the paper has increased.

On the other hand, as various functions have been improved, toner, oil, paper dust, etc. have increased in the machine, and the conveying rollers are also contaminated by these, and the conveying function may be deteriorated due to the contamination.

In such a case, it is necessary to clean the conveying roller to remove stains due to the toner, oil, paper dust, etc. adhering to the roller. Conventionally, a serviceman has carried out cleaning of the transport roller at the time of maintenance.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-180637 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-188674 disclose a structure in which a cleaning member is provided near the roller and the roller and the cleaning member are brought into contact with each other to clean the roller. Has been done.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-230441 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-247240, dedicated cleaning paper formed in a predetermined size is fed from a paper feeding unit into a paper feeding path, A configuration is shown in which the rollers are cleaned while being transported by the transportation rollers.

[0008]

However, when cleaning by a service person, if the number of transport rollers is large, it takes time and labor, which causes a reduction in work efficiency.

Further, in the case where the cleaning members are provided in the vicinity of the rollers, there are disadvantages that the cleaning members have to be provided as many as the number of rollers, the cost increases and the cleaning members cannot be easily replaced.

Further, in the case of cleaning using a dedicated cleaning paper formed in a predetermined size, since the cleaning paper is simply passed, the paper dust and the like lightly attached to the roller surface can be removed, but the roller surface can be removed. There is a drawback that the adhered toner and oil cannot be removed.

[0011]

The present invention has been made to solve the above drawbacks and is characterized by the following constitution.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveying roller cleaning device for cleaning a conveying roller provided in a sheet conveying path, which is formed in a rectangular shape in advance, and at least one locking hole is provided at each of both sides rearward in the conveying direction. And a cleaning sheet locking means provided at least in the vicinity of the most upstream part of the paper transport path in the vicinity of the transport roller so as to be retractable from the paper transport path in correspondence with the locking hole of the cleaning sheet. A sensor provided in the paper transport path for detecting the locking hole of the cleaning sheet, and the cleaning sheet locking means projecting into the paper transport path based on a signal from the sensor to lock the cleaning sheet. And perform cleaning,
Cleaning control means for storing the cleaning sheet locking means after the cleaning is completed and discharging the cleaning sheet to the outside of the machine.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the locking hole is formed so that its widthwise dimension becomes narrower toward the rear of the cleaning sheet.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, only the portion of the cleaning sheet corresponding to the conveying roller is formed of a cleaning material.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the cleaning sheet is formed of a plurality of cleaning materials according to the conveyance roller to be cleaned.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning can be stopped by stopping the cleaning sheet on the conveying roller portion, so that the dirt adhering to the surface of the conveying roller can be efficiently and surely removed.

Further, since the cleaning sheet after cleaning can be discharged to the outside of the machine, the cleaning work can be smoothly performed without the trouble of exchanging the cleaning sheet.

According to the second aspect, even if the cleaning sheet is displaced in the sheet conveying path, the cleaning sheet can be reliably locked.

According to the third aspect, the cost of the cleaning sheet can be reduced. According to claim 4,
It is possible to perform cleaning according to the transport roller, and more effective cleaning can be performed.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine provided with a conveying roller cleaning device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a locked state of the cleaning sheet. 3 is a top view of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine of this embodiment is
A desk portion 38 is provided below the copying machine body 1 as a sheet feeding device, a sorter 19 is provided on the paper discharge side of the copying machine body 1, and an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) is provided on the copying machine body 1.
3). The desk 38 is provided with a double-sided synthesis unit 21, a first rotary cassette unit 26, a second rotary cassette unit 27, and a third rotary cassette 25 in order from the top. The first and second rotary cassette units 26 and 27 have a rotatable rotary cassette 32 in an outer box 31.

The above ADF 3 is provided on the original platen glass 2 of the main body 1 of the copying machine. ADF 3 document placing table 3a
Conveyance direction switches 5a and 5b for detecting the size of the document in the conveyance direction and guides 4 for restricting both sides of the document in the width direction are provided on the top. The guide 4 is provided with a width direction switch (not shown) for detecting the size of the document in the width direction.

A plurality of reflecting mirrors 6a and a lens 6b are provided below the original platen glass 2 to perform a basic operation of guiding the reflected light from the original document to the photosensitive drum 7, and to enlarge and enlarge the image in the same size. An optical system 6 is arranged to enable variable magnification copying such as reduction.

Around the photosensitive drum 7, a cleaner 8,
A charge removing charger 9, a charging charger 10, a developing device 11 having a toner for color copying, and a developing device 12 having a black toner are arranged. Below the photoconductor drum 7, a transfer charger 13 and a peeling charger 14 are provided. It is arranged. A conveying belt 17 and a fixing device 18 are provided in the sheet conveying direction of the photosensitive drum 7.

The paper that has passed through the fixing device 18 is basically discharged onto the paper discharge tray 19a ... After passing through the sorter 19, but in the case of double-sided copying or synthetic copying, the double-sided synthetic unit from the paper return path 20. In the case of double-sided copying, in the case of double-sided copying, the sheet is fed to the paper feeding / conveying path 22 through the first conveying path 21a, the intermediate tray 21c, and the delivery roller 21d in the double-sided combining unit 21, while in the case of composite copying , The second transport path 21b and the first transport path 21 in the double-sided synthesis unit 21
The sheet is fed to the sheet feeding / conveying path 22 via a, the intermediate tray 21c and the feeding roller 21d. The end portion of the paper feed / transport path 22 reaches the paper top roller 15 near the photosensitive drum 7.

Further, a plurality of sheet feeding means are connected to the sheet feeding / transporting path 22, and the sheets are appropriately fed from these sheet feeding means. Specifically, in order to convey the sheet to the paper top roller 15 of the copying machine main body 1, the manual feed unit 30, the first fixed cassette 29 capable of accommodating 500 sheets, and the sheet accommodating 250 sheets in the order of the shortest sheet conveying path. Possible second fixed cassette 28, double-sided synthesis unit 21, first
A rotary cassette unit 26, a second rotary cassette unit 27, and a third fixed cassette 25 capable of storing 250 sheets are provided. Each of the above fixed cassettes 29, 2
The rotary cassette units 8 and 25 and the rotary cassette units 26 and 27 are detachably attached to the copying machine.

Further, the copying machine main body 1 has an operation panel (not shown). This operation panel is provided with a copy button for instructing the start of the copying operation, a ten-key for setting the number of copies, a copy number display section, a cassette operation section, a magnification setting key, and a paper transport means cleaning mode selection key. There is.

Further, a cleaning sheet locking means is provided on the upstream side of the transport roller 25a of the third fixed cassette 25 portion of the paper feed transport path 22 and on the upstream side of the transport roller 20a of the paper return path 20. (Figs. 2 and 3).

The cleaning sheet locking means is composed of hooks 41, 41 provided on both sides of the sheet conveying path and a solenoid 42 for moving the hooks 41, 41.

Since the hooks 41, 41 are integrally formed by the shafts, when the solenoid 42 is turned on, the hooks 41, 41 are projected to the position A, that is, in the sheet conveying path. When the solenoid is OFF, the hook 41 is B
It is in a state of being stored in a position, that is, a position where it does not project in the paper transport path.

The cleaning sheet 101 used in the present invention is formed in advance in a rectangular shape capable of cleaning, for example, the transport roller 25a to the paper top roller 15, and is locked to both rear side portions of the sheet 101 in the transport direction. Holes 102, 102 are provided. The size of the sheet may be set as needed within the size that can fit in the paper feed cassette.

The locking holes 102 are provided on at least both sides.
Although they are provided one by one, the number may be further increased if necessary.

Further, the shape of the locking hole is not limited to a circular shape. For example, when the locking hole is formed in the shape of an inverted triangle in which the width dimension is widened in the front direction of the sheet conveying direction and narrowed toward the rear side, the deviation of the sheet or the like occurs. Even if it occurs, the seat can be reliably locked.

A sensor 40 for detecting the locking hole 41 of the cleaning sheet 101 is provided on the upstream side of the cleaning sheet locking means. As the sensor 40, a transmissive or reflective optical sensor or the like is used.

The cleaning sheet locking means (41,
42) and the sheet detection sensor 40 are the cleaning sheet 1
One sheet may be provided in each of the sheet-cleanable ranges, and the sheet size may be set in consideration of the size of the apparatus.

Control of feeding, stopping, cleaning, and sheet discharge of the cleaning sheet of the transport roller cleaning device having the above-mentioned configuration is controlled by a cleaning control means (not shown) provided in the main body of the copying machine. ..

The operation of the transport roller cleaning device will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the cleaning mode is selected during the simulation mode after the power is turned on.

Subsequently, the cleaning sheet is set in the third fixed cassette 25.

Thereafter, when the cleaning start key on the operation panel is operated (for example, a print switch), the cleaning control means causes the rollers 25a, 27a, 2 in the sheet conveying path 22 to reach the feeding roller 25b and the transfer portion.
6a, 21d, 28a, 15 are operated to feed the cleaning sheet 101.

The sensor 40 is the cleaning sheet 101.
When the locking hole 102 of the cleaning sheet 1 is detected, the solenoid 42 is turned on based on the detection signal, and the hooks 41, 41 are inserted and locked in the locking hole 102 of the sheet to clean the cleaning sheet 1.
01 stops.

Here, the timer T is started and counts a preset time. At this time, since each roller continues to rotate, the cleaning sheet 101 cleans the roller surface.

When the timer T finishes counting the predetermined time, the solenoid 42 is turned off and the hook 41 is moved to the outside of the conveying path (position B).

Subsequently, the cleaning sheet 101 is conveyed through the sheet conveying path 22, the transfer section 13, the conveying path 17, and the fixing section 18 and is discharged to the outside of the machine. In this state, the cleaning mode is released.

Here, the cleaning of the sheet conveying path 22 has been described, but the rollers (20
a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e, 20f) is also cleaned by the same operation as the above flow.

The difference from the cleaning of the sheet conveying path 22 is that the locking position of the cleaning sheet 101 is the roller 20.
Since it is only part a, the description of the roller cleaning in the paper return path 20 is omitted.

Cleaning of the transport rollers in the paper transport path 22 and the paper return path 20 may be performed separately or may be performed two at a time.
It is also possible to feed a single cleaning sheet into the machine and perform the respective cleaning simultaneously.

The cleaning sheet 101 of the present invention may be entirely formed of a cleaning material, or only the portion corresponding to the roller at the time of cleaning may be formed of a cleaning material (FIG. 7).

Further, areas of different materials are provided in one cleaning sheet so that cleaning can be effectively performed by the roller portion that is heavily soiled by oil and toner and the roller portion that is heavily soiled by paper dust. You can do it (Fig. 9).

[0050]

According to the transport roller cleaning device of the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning sheet can be stopped and cleaned, so that the dirt adhering to the surface of the transport roller can be efficiently and surely removed.

Further, since the cleaning sheet after cleaning can be discharged to the outside of the machine, the cleaning work can be smoothly performed without the trouble of exchanging the cleaning sheet.

According to the carrying roller cleaning device of the second aspect, even if the cleaning sheet is further displaced in the paper carrying path, it can be reliably stopped.

According to the conveying roller cleaning device of the third aspect, the cost of the cleaning sheet can be further reduced.

According to the transport roller cleaning device of the fourth aspect, it is possible to further perform cleaning according to the transport roller, and more effective cleaning can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine provided with a conveyance roller cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a locked state of a cleaning sheet in a sheet conveyance path.

FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a cleaning operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the locking hole of the cleaning sheet.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a hook locking state of the cleaning sheet of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the cleaning sheet.

8 is a view showing a hook locking state of the cleaning sheet of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing still another example of the cleaning sheet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 40 Sensor 41 Hook 42 Solenoid 101 Cleaning Sheet 102 Locking Hole

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transport roller cleaning device for cleaning a transport roller provided in a paper transport path, wherein the transport roller cleaning device is preliminarily formed in a rectangular shape, and at least one locking hole is provided at each of both sides rearward in the transport direction. A cleaning sheet; a cleaning sheet locking means provided at least near the upstreammost transport roller in the paper transport path so as to be retractable from the paper transport path in correspondence with the locking hole of the cleaning sheet; A sensor provided in the path for detecting the locking hole of the cleaning sheet, and based on a signal from the sensor, the cleaning sheet locking means is projected into the paper transport path to perform cleaning by cleaning the cleaning sheet. In addition, the cleaning sheet locking means is housed after the cleaning is completed and the cleaning is performed. Conveying roller cleaning apparatus characterized by comprising a cleaning control means for discharging the over preparative overboard, the. 2. The transport roller cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the locking hole is formed so that the dimension in the width direction becomes narrower toward the rear of the cleaning sheet. 3. The transport roller cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein only a portion of the cleaning sheet corresponding to the transport roller is formed of a cleaning material. 4. The transport roller cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning sheet is formed of a plurality of cleaning materials according to the transport rollers to be cleaned.