JPH0119159Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus, and particularly to a type of cleaning device that uses a blade as a cleaning means.

As schematically shown in FIG. 1, this type of cleaning device is disposed with the tip of a blade 2 in pressure contact with the outer circumferential surface of a photosensitive drum 1, and rotates in the direction of arrow A of the drum 1. Therefore, the developing powder usually called toner (hereinafter simply referred to as toner) remaining on the surface of the drum 1 is scraped off from the drum surface by a blade 2. Reference numeral 3 in the figure indicates a film-like elastic member, and the blade 2
The blade 2 is provided below with its tip in contact with the surface of the drum 1, and works to prevent the toner scraped off by the blade 2 from leaking to the outside of the cleaning device. In such a cleaning device, when the drum 1 or the cleaning device is pulled out from the main body of the electrophotographic device for inspection or repair, the blade 2 and the elastic member 3 are removed in order to prevent damage to the photoreceptor due to contact with the cleaning device. It is necessary to provide a mechanism for separating the drum from the surface of the drum 1. In the conventional apparatus, the entire cleaning apparatus is first moved in the direction of arrow B, and then it is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. However, since the cleaning device is usually disposed with the tip of the blade protruding forward beyond the tip of the elastic member, in this method, when the cleaning device is moved in the direction shown by arrow B, the blade 2 This has the disadvantage that the toner adhering to the lower surface of the leading end of the drum falls downward through the gap formed between the drum 1 and the member 3, contaminating other equipment in the electrophotographic apparatus with the toner. It was hot.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and convenient cleaning device that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description, the phrase "operating position" refers to a position where each member of the cleaning device is installed so that the blade and elastic member of the cleaning device come into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor and perform cleaning.

Cleaning device 10 as shown in FIG.
is a pair of opposing side plates 11, 12 and side plate 11,
It has a rail body 15 fixed to the upper bent portions 13 and 14 of 12. The side plates 11, 12 and the rail body 15 are firmly assembled by members such as stays (not shown). The rail body 15 has rail portions 15a extending in the longitudinal direction on both sides thereof,
15b, and the rail portion 15 is attached to a rail receiving portion (not shown) formed in the main body of the electrophotographic apparatus.
a, 15b in the longitudinal direction, that is, the drum 1 to be described later.
6 along the axial direction, and the cleaning device is installed at a predetermined position within the electrophotographic apparatus. FIGS. 3 to 7 show the installation position of the cleaning device installed in the main body of the electrophotographic apparatus in this manner. The cleaning device faces the drum 16 in the axial direction. The drum 16 is a cylindrical body having a photoreceptor on its outer circumferential surface capable of forming an electrostatic latent image, and when operated by an appropriate drive device, the drum 16 moves in the direction of arrow C.
The drum rotates in the direction indicated by , and its surface is sequentially subjected to the action of an image forming device, a transfer device, etc. of known configurations, which are arranged around the drum in the direction of rotation (not shown), and then transferred to a cleaning device. Moving.

Portions 17 and 18 of the side plates 11 and 12 facing the outer circumferential surface of the drum 16 are formed into arch-shaped recesses having approximately the same diameter as the circumference of the drum 16, and are spaced apart from each other by an appropriate gap so as not to come into contact with the surface of the drum. located.

Between the side plates 11 and 12, a movable plate 19,
21 are provided at positions close to the side plates 11 and 12, respectively, and are pivotable relative thereto. One movable plate 19 has a hollow cylindrical member 2 that protrudes outward (towards the side plate 11) at its lower part.
2 is fixed, and the member 22 is loosely fitted into a hole 23 formed in the side plate 11, so that it can pivot relative to the side plate 11. The other movable plate 21 is attached to be pivotable about a shaft 25 of a screw member 24, which will be described later. Movable plate 19, 2
The parts 26 and 27 facing the drum 16 of the drum 1 are similar to the parts 17 and 18 of the side plates 11 and 12.
It is formed into an arch-shaped concave portion having a diameter approximately the same as the circumference of No. 6. In addition, the movable plates 19 and 21 are connected to the side plates 11,
The stay 31, which is fixed to the movable plates 19 and 21, is constantly biased in the direction shown by the arrow D by the action of tension springs 28 and 29 provided across the movable plates 19 and 21, and the stay 31 is connected to the lock formed on the side plates 11 and 12. Part 32, 33
(See FIG. 2), further movement toward the drum 16 is inhibited.

The movable plates 19 and 21 are connected by a stay 31 and a member 34 whose ends are fixed to them, and operate as one unit. As shown in FIG. 6, the member 34 has an arch-shaped recess 3 whose ends are fixed to the lower parts of the movable plates 19 and 21 and whose upper and drum sides are open.
form 5. On the other hand, on the drum 16 side portion of the member 35, a film-like elastic member 36 made of a material such as polyethylene terephthalate (trade name: Mylar) and having a thickness of about 0.1 mm is attached from the end of the member 34. As seen in Figure 6, it is glued so that it extends approximately 28mm toward the upper left. The elastic member 36 is provided so as to extend over the entire length of the movable plates 19 to 21 (see FIG. 2), and as will be described later, when the elastic member 36 is in the operating position, the drum 16
contact with the photoreceptor over the entire length in the axial direction. Although not shown, suitable sponge bodies are bonded to the parts 26 and 27 of the movable plates 19 and 21 to prevent the removed toner from leaking to the outside of the cleaning device through the gaps created between the movable plates 19 and the elastic member 36. has been done.

The screw member 24 has a structure in which a spiral member is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of a shaft 25, and is provided so as to extend in the longitudinal direction within a space defined by a member 34 and an elastic member 36. The end is member 22
extend through the inside. The shaft 25 has its end connected to the side plate 1.
2 and an end wall 37 of the member 22, and rotates while being connected to a drive device (not shown) to move the toner accumulated in the space to the side of the member 22 and to the lower part of the member 22. The liquid is discharged from a provided discharge port 38 into a suitable container (not shown).

A blade member 41 is provided above the screw member 24 . The blade member 41 is the side plate 1
1 and 12, and a plate-shaped blade 43 made of rubber, such as urethane rubber, fixed to the shaft 42. The shaft 42 passes through elongated holes 61 and 62 formed in the movable plates 19 and 21 in a free state without contacting the movable plates so as not to impede the pivoting of the movable plates.
1 and 12 and protrudes to the outside. Further, the tip of the blade 43 is connected to the drum 1 in the operating position.
It contacts the photoreceptor No. 6 over the entire length in the axial direction.

A link mechanism is provided to move the blade 43 and the elastic member 36 in the direction toward and away from the surface of the drum 16. The link mechanisms are provided on the sides of the side plates 11 and 12, but since they have the same configuration, only the side of the side plate 11 will be described for the sake of brevity. The link mechanism is a blade member 41
L-shaped lever 4 whose bent portion is fixed to the shaft 42 of
It has 4. An operating portion 45 for operating the lever is formed at one end of the lever 44, and a pin 46 is provided at the other end to protrude toward the side plate 11 side. The pin 46 passes through a sector-shaped elongated hole 47 formed in the side plate 11 and further passes through an elongated hole 48 formed in the movable plate 19, and can move within these holes 47, 48. The elongated hole 48 is longer than the elongated hole 47 in the longitudinal direction,
That is, the movable length of the pin 46 is formed to be short. On the other hand, one end of a swing link 50 is pivotally connected to the pin 46. The other end of the swing link 50 is connected to the side plate 11
A lever 51 is pivotably mounted on a pivot shaft 53 in the longitudinal direction of a lever 51 which is rotatably provided on a pivot shaft 49, and when the lever 44 is pivoted, the kinetic force is transmitted to the lever 51 to is moved around axis 49. Free end of lever 51 and side plate 1
A tension spring 52 is provided across the spring 5 .
2, the lever 51 is constantly biased so as to pivot in the direction of arrow E. Therefore, looking at Figure 3,
When the pin 46 is located on the left side with respect to the line connecting the pivot 53 and the shaft 46 (dead center), the lever 44 is biased in the direction shown by arrow F, and conversely, when it is located on the right side, it is biased in the direction shown by arrow G. Be biased. Note that the spring 52 used has a larger tensile force than the spring 28.

The movements and functions of each part of the cleaning device in such a configuration will be explained next.

3 and 6 show each member of the cleaning device in its operating position. In this state, the lever 44 and shaft 46 are biased in the direction of arrow F by the action of the spring 52, so that the tip of the blade 43 comes into pressure contact with the surface of the drum 16, cleaning the surface. On the other hand, the movable plate 19 has a spring 28
The elastic member 36 fixed thereto comes into contact with the surface of the drum 16.

To separate the blade 43 and the elastic member 36 from the surface of the drum 16, manually release the lever 44.
pivot in the direction of arrow G. This pivots the blade 43 away from the surface of the drum, simultaneously moving the pin 46 along the slot 47. Immediately after the pin 46 starts moving, it moves freely within the elongated hole 48, so the movable plate 19 does not pivot, and only the blade 43 pivots and moves away from the drum surface.
The pin then contacts the right end (as viewed in FIG. 6) of the hole 48 in the movable plate 19, from which point the movable plate 19 is moved in the direction opposite to arrow D against the action of the spring 28. It is preferable that the pin 46 starts moving the movable plate 19 after the tip of the blade 43 has moved inward (inward as seen in FIG. 6) from the tip of the elastic member 36. Fourth
The figure shows a state in which the pin 46 thus moved is positioned on a line, and the spring 52 acts to bias the lever 44 in the direction of arrow G from this position. 5 and 7 show the position where the pin 46 is in contact with the right end of the elongated hole 47 of the side plate 11. In this position, the lever 44 and the movable plate 19 are fixed by the action of the spring 52, that is, the blade 43 and the movable plate 19 are fixed. The elastic member 36 is fixed in a state separated from the surface of the drum 16. In this state, the cleaning device is pulled out from the main body of the electrophotographic apparatus.

Further, when setting the blade and the elastic member to the operating position, it can be done simply by moving the lever 44 in the direction of arrow F, in the opposite direction to the above-described operation.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the blade and the elastic member can be brought into contact with and separated from the drum extremely easily by operating a single lever, and furthermore, even when the blade and the elastic member are separated from each other, toner does not leak into the electrophotographic device. It has the advantage of not being

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a conventional cleaning device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cleaning device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 7 show respective parts of the device shown in FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the device shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 11, 12... side plate, 19, 21... movable plate,
28, 52... tension spring, 36... elastic member,
43... Blade, 44, 51... Lever, 50
……Link.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus of the type that removes powder remaining on the outer circumferential surface of a rotating photosensitive drum using a blade pressed against the outer circumferential surface; A movable plate is provided to be freely pivotable relative to the side plate, and a blade is provided to be freely pivotable relative to the side plate and comes into contact with and away from the outer peripheral surface of the drum. a first spring means that presses the blade against the outer circumferential surface of the drum when it comes into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the drum; a second spring means for biasing the movable plate in a direction in which the member comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum; A cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus, comprising a release means for pivoting the blade and the movable member in a direction to separate the member from the outer peripheral surface of the drum. (2) The cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to the above item (1), wherein the release means starts pivoting the movable member later than the blade. (3) In the cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to the above item (1) or 2, the release means includes a first lever fixed to a pivot of the blade and pivoted together with the blade; a pin that is fixed to the first lever and moves the movable member by coming into contact with the movable member during pivoting of the lever; a first elongated hole provided in the side plate that regulates the movement range of the pin; a swing link having one end pivotally connected to the pin; and a second lever having the other end pivotally connected to the middle portion and one end pivotally connected to the side plate; 2. A cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus, characterized in that the spring comprises a tension spring having both ends fixed to the free end of the second lever and the side plate. (4) In the cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to item (3) above, the pin is inserted into a second elongated hole formed in the movable plate and extending in the direction of movement of the pin. A cleaning device for an electrophotographic device, characterized by: