JPH063402Y2 - Cleaning device in image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a cleaning device in an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic photocopier.

[Conventional technology]

As a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic photocopier, for example, a cleaning device for an electrostatic photocopier shown in FIG. 5 is known.

In FIG. 5, 31 is a photosensitive drum and 32 is a photosensitive drum.
In the case body of the cleaning device provided in the vicinity of 31, the main blade 33 for removing the residual toner on the photoconductor drum 31 contacts the photoconductor surface of the photoconductor drum 31 with its tip end, Is attached to a holder 34 provided on the upper part of the. Reference numeral 35 denotes a recovery blade attached to the outer surface of the lower portion of the case main body 32, which is made of a slightly flexible material such as polyurethane rubber, and has a tip portion that is a photosensitive drum.
It is in contact with the photosensitive surface of 31.

36 is a blade holder to which the recovery blade 35 is adhered and fixed, and the recovery blade 35 and the blade holder 36.
However, it is attached to the case main body 32 with a set screw 38 through a long hole 37 provided in them. Reference numeral 39 denotes a toner accommodating portion provided below the case main body 32, and 40 denotes a screw for removing the toner in the accommodating portion 39.

In the above configuration, the residual toner on the photoconductor drum 31 is removed by the main blade 33, the removed toner is received by the recovery blade 35, enters the accommodation portion 39, and is discharged to the outside of the case body 32 by the screw 40. It is a thing.

And when transporting an electrostatic photocopier,
If the collecting blade 35 is kept in contact with the same position on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 31 for a long period of time, the photosensitive film of the photosensitive drum 31 may crack due to aging, or the photosensitive film may crystallize and adversely affect the image. Alternatively, the tip of the recovery blade 35 may be deformed, and it may partly separate from the photoconductor drum 31, and the toner removed from the photoconductor drum 31 may leak outside the case body 32.

Therefore, in the conventional cleaning device, during transportation, the set screw 38 is loosened, the recovery blade 35 is moved together with the blade holder 36 by the long hole 37, and the recovery blade 35 is separated from the photosensitive drum 31. It is fixed with a set screw 38. Then, before use, the recovery blade 35 is moved to a predetermined position together with the blade holder 36, and the tip of the recovery blade 35 is brought into contact with the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 31.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The recovery blade 35 of the conventional cleaning device described above is provided with a set screw 38 in both cases where the tip is brought into contact with the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 31 by moving it to a predetermined position and when it is separated from the photosensitive drum 31. Since it is necessary to perform the rotating operation of, there is a problem that a lot of trouble is required. Also, when the recovery blade 35 is set in place, the set screw 38
When the tightening of the collecting blade 35 is insufficient, the collecting blade 35 gradually moves together with the blade holder 36, and the tip of the collecting blade 35 is separated from the photoconductor drum 31.
Toner removed from 31 may leak outside the case body 32.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can reliably set a photosensitive drum at a predetermined position by a simple operation.

[Means for solving problems]

In the cleaning device of the present invention, an opening is provided in the lower portion of the case body, and in this opening, the blade holder having the recovery blade is arranged between the opposite side plates of the case body, and A guide part for guiding the other is formed on either one of the facing surfaces of the blade holder, and serves as a guide for attaching the blade holder to the case body, and each end of the blade holder and the both side plates face each other. The locking protrusion provided on one of the surfaces and the locking recess provided on the other are locked to each other so that the blade holder is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position of the case body. To do.

[Action]

In the cleaning device of the present invention, the recovery blade is attached to the case body by inserting both ends of the blade holder having the recovery blade into the guide groove of the case body and moving the guide blade along the guide groove. Guides the blade holder to a predetermined position, locks the locking projection and the locking recess with each other, and fixes the blade holder to the predetermined position of the case main body, thereby bringing the recovery blade to the predetermined position of the case main body. That is, the tip end is positioned and fixed at a position where it contacts the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum.

〔Example〕

The first to third embodiments of the cleaning device of the present invention will be described.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, 1 is a photosensitive drum, 2 is a case body of a cleaning device provided near the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and both ends of a box-shaped accommodating portion 3 for accommodating collected toner. From each of the side plate 4a to the photosensitive drum 1 side,
4b is extended, and the lower end side between the side plates 4a and 4b has an opening 5. 6a and 6b are guide grooves as guide portions provided on the inner surfaces of the lower end portions of the side plates 4a and 4b, and 7a and 7b are guide grooves 6a and 6b.
Locking recesses composed of through holes provided in each of the above, reference numeral 8 is a holder attached between the upper portions of the side plates 4a and 4b, the tip of which is brought into contact with the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 1, A main blade 9 for removing residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1 is attached.

10 is a blade holder with an inverted concave cross section, both ends of which are guide grooves.
It has a size and shape suitable for 6a and 6b. 11
Reference numerals a and 11b denote support walls provided at both ends of the blade holder 10. These are cut at both ends by a pair of cuts 12, and only one end is integrally formed with the blade holder 10 in a tongue shape, which facilitates elastic deformation. It is configured like this. 13a and 13b are the support walls 11
a, 11b with locking projections provided on the outer surface of each, these are locked in the locking recesses 7a, 7b, and the upper end of the blade holder 10 abuts the upper ends of the guide grooves 6a, 6b, Blade holder
10 is attached to the side plates 4a and 4b almost immovably. 14
Is a recovery blade attached to the blade holder 10 by adhesion or the like, and is formed of a sheet of polyurethane rubber or the like, and its tip portion is in contact with the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 1. 15
Is a sponge for sealing fixed to the containing portion 3, and is configured to seal between the containing portion 3 and the blade holder 10 so that toner does not come out of the case body 2.

Reference numeral 16 is a toner collecting roller 16 axially supported by the side plates 4a and 4b.
This is made of sponge, and the residual toner removed from the photosensitive drum 1 by the main blade 9 adheres to it.
The toner adhering to the collecting roller 16 is collected in the collecting port 17 of the containing portion 3.
It is scraped off into the accommodation section 3 by the scraping plate 18 provided on the. 19
Is a guide plate provided at the recovery port 17 of the accommodating section 3, by which the toner separated from the recovery roller 16 is put into the accommodating section 3. 20 is a charger.

In the above configuration, the recovery blade 14 is separated from the case body 2 together with the blade holder 10 during transportation or the like. The recovery blade 14 is attached to the case main body 2 by inserting both ends of the blade holder 10 into the guide grooves 6a and 6b from the lower end side of the case main body 2, respectively.
A guide is made to the upper predetermined position along. Then, when the upper surface of the blade holder 10 comes into contact with the upper ends of the guide grooves 6a, 6b, the locking projections 13a, 13b are locked in the locking recesses 7a, 7b,
The blade holder 10 is fixed at a predetermined position on the side plates 4a and 4b,
Moreover, the recovery blade 14 is fixed at a position where its tip comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1. When the recovery blade 14 is separated from the case body 2 for maintenance or the like, for example, the support walls 11a and 11b are elastically deformed to separate the locking projections 13a and 13b from the locking recesses 7a and 7b, and the blade The holder 10 is moved downward and separated.

In this embodiment, the blade holder 10 is hollow with a concave cross-section, and support walls 11a and 11b are provided at both ends thereof, and the support walls 11a and 11b are shaped like tongues by the cuts 12, so that they are supported. The walls 11a and 11b can be easily elastically deformed, and the blade holder 10 can be more smoothly attached to and detached from the guide grooves 6a and 6b of the side plates 4a and 4b. The collecting blade 14 can be arbitrarily attached to the blade holder 10 with an adhesive or the like, or can be attached to the blade holder 10 with a screw via a pressing member as in the conventional example.

It should be noted that the entire supporting walls 11a and 11b may be provided integrally with the blade holder 10 without providing the cut 12, or the blade holder 10 may be solid and the locking projections 13 may be provided on both end surfaces thereof.
It is also possible to provide a, 13b, also in these cases, the side plate 4a,
The blade holder 10 can be attached and detached by elastic deformation of 4b. Further, in the above embodiment, the blade holder 10 is provided with a guide groove.
6a, 6b is abutted, and the locking projections 13a, 13b are locked to the locking recesses 7a, 7b respectively and fixed to the side plates 4a, 4b, but the locking projections 13a, 13b are With a spherical shape or the like, by contacting almost the entire circumference or a plurality of locations with the peripheral edges of the locking recesses 7a, 7b, the blade holder 10 can be formed only by the locking recesses 7a, 7b and the locking projections 13a, 13b. It is also possible to fix it to the side plates 4a, 4b. The locking recesses 7a and 7b may be holes having a bottom.

Further, the locking recesses 7a, 7b are provided in the blade holder 10, the locking projections 13a, 13b can be provided in the side plates 4a, 4b, and the guide grooves 6a, 6b are provided at each end of the blade holder 10,
It is also possible to form protrusions on the side plates 4a, 4b that are guided by the guide grooves 6a, 6b.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of another embodiment, showing one side plate and omitting the other.

In this embodiment, the guide groove 26 of the side plate 24 is made longer than the side plates 4a and 4b in the embodiment shown in FIGS.
Locking recesses 27 and 28 are provided. Since the other structure is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the same reference numerals are given and detailed description thereof is omitted. Therefore, at the time of transportation or the like, by locking the locking projection 13a of the breaker holder 10 in the locking recess 28, the tip of the recovery blade 14 is separated from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1. And before use, blade holder
Move 10 along the guide groove 26, this time to the locking protrusion 13a.
Is locked in the locking recess 27 to fix the recovery blade 14 at a predetermined position. Therefore, the handling of the blade holder 10 and the recovery blade 14 at the time of transportation is much easier.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the guide grooves 6a, 6b, and 26 may be attached / detached to / from the blade holder 10 by slightly inclining the end portions into which the blade holder 10 is inserted so that the end portions of the guide grooves 6a, 6b, and 26 are slightly separated from the photosensitive drum 1. At this time, it is possible to reduce the friction between the recovery blade 14 and the photosensitive drum 1 with each other.

[Effect of device]

The cleaning device of the present invention is configured as described above, and is characterized by the device structure for the cleaning device case main body of the blade holder having the recovery blade mounted for accurate positioning of the recovery blade with respect to the case main body and the photoreceptor and its work. The end portions of the blade holder and the locking projections provided on either one of the opposite surfaces of the both side plates and the locking recesses provided on the other are locked to each other, and the blade holder is A point configured to be positioned and fixed at a predetermined position of the main body, a guide part for guiding the other side is formed on one of the opposite surfaces of the both side plates and the blade holder, and the blade holder is attached to the case main body. The two points that are used as the guides are the characteristic points in the configuration.

According to the present invention, due to the above-mentioned characteristic configuration, (1) the collecting blade can be easily placed at the correlation position with the photoconductor without requiring any skill to mount the blade holder.

(2) There is no need for special skill to fix the blade holder at that position, and the blade holder can be fixed without any work other than aligning the locking projection with the locking recess. It is a thing.

Further, since the mounting direction of the blade holder to the locking position of the above characteristic structure is regulated by the characteristic structure, the mounting work is extremely easy without requiring any skill, and the mounting work using only the characteristic structure 1 is possible. It exerts the action and effect of further promoting it.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a cutaway front view, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a case main body with a blade holder separated, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of essential parts, FIG. Is a perspective view of another embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional example. 1 ... Photosensitive drum, 2 ... Case body, 4a, 4b ... Side plate, 5
... openings, 6a, 6b ... guide grooves, 7a, 7b ... locking recesses, 9 ... main blades, 10 ... blade holders, 13a, 13b ... locking projections, 14 ... recovery blades.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A cleaning device for removing residual toner on the photoconductor is attached to a case body of a cleaning device provided near the photoconductor, and a recovery blade for receiving the toner removed by the cleaning device has a tip portion thereof. In a cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, which is attached to a case body in contact with a photosensitive surface of a photoconductor, an opening is provided in a lower portion of the case body, and in the opening, between opposite side plates of the case body, When the blade holder to which the recovery blade is attached is disposed, and a guide portion that guides the other side is formed on one of the opposite surfaces of the side plates and the blade holder, the blade holder is attached to the case body. Without a guide, a locking projection provided on either end of the blade holder and the facing surface of the both side plates, and a locking recess provided on the other There are locked to each other, the cleaning device in the image forming apparatus characterized by blade holder is configured to be positioned and fixed in a predetermined position of the case body.