JP2004133263A - Cleaning device, process cartridge, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device whose waste toner feeding performance is improved by storing waste toner even in a vertical direction, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The waste toner enters from a drum side, and is fed in the direction of a cleaning container by the rotation of an eccentric waste toner feeding shaft and is scraped off by a scrape-off member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

【００４０】
以上の様に、偏心させた丸棒に掻き落とし部材を当接させることで、従来のＴｙｐｅ１　に比べて廃トナーの貯留高さを飛躍的に向上させることができた。これにより、廃トナー貯留室Ｗ１，Ｗ２を簡素な形状Ｗ４に置き換えられることが可能となり、より省スペース化を実現させることが可能である。
【００４１】
【発明の効果】
以上説明したように本出願に係る発明によると，以下のような効果がある。
【００４２】
請求項１に記載の発明によれば廃トナー搬送手段を柱状搬送部材とし、その回転中心と、断面中心を偏心させることで廃トナーを圧縮、搬送可能とし、廃トナーの搬送能力が大幅に改善され、鉛直方向に廃トナーを押し上げることができる。即ち廃トナー容器の設計上の制約を受けることが少なくなり、より小型な画像形成装置を提供することが可能となる。
【００４３】
請求項２に記載の発明によれば柱状搬送部材の断面形状搬送部材の断面形状が角部をＲ形状で略円形状にすることで、急激なトルク変動が発生することなく廃トナーを搬送でき、より画質を向上させることが可能となる。
【００４４】
請求項３に記載の発明によれば前記搬送部材に付着した廃トナーを掻き落とす掻取り部材を有することで搬送部材に付着した廃トナーを確実に掻き落とし、廃トナー搬送性の向上が狙える。
【００４５】
請求項４に記載の発明によれば前記掻き取り部材を弾性体とすることで、搬送部材と掻き取り部材は常に密着し、廃トナー搬送中の廃トナーの逆流を防止することが出来る。
【００４６】
請求項５に記載の発明によれば前記掻き取り部材は搬送部材回転中の偏心運動に追従し、常に搬送部材長手方向に直行する断面で搬送部材と順方向当接又はカウンター当接していることで、偏心した搬送部材の動きに追従し、廃トナーを効率よく圧縮、搬送することが出来る。即ち従来のクリーニング容器よりも小型化することが出来る。
【００４７】
請求項６に記載の発明によれば前記掻き取り部材は廃トナー収納容器から電子写真感光体への廃トナーの移動を阻止する逆流防止弁とすることでクリーニング装置の着脱時におけるトナー飛散を防止することが出来る。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明を実施するための本体の主要部正面断面図である。
【図２】本発明を実施するための搬送部材の斜視図である。
【図３】本発明を実施するための搬送部材の図である。
【図４】検証実験に用いた搬送部材の概略図である。
【図５】従来例。
【符号の説明】
Ｄｙ，Ｄｍ，Ｄｃ，Ｄｋ…現像手段
Ｐ…転写材
１…感光体ドラム
２…帯電手段
３…スキャナー部　　３ａ…ポリゴンミラー　　３ｂ…スキャナーモーター
３ｃ…結像レンズ　　３ｄ…反射ミラー
４…中間転写体
５…搬送手段　　５ａ…カセット　　５ｂ…給紙ローラ　　５ｃ１…給送ローラ
５ｃ２…リタードローラ　　５ｅ…レジストローラ　　５ｆ…排出ローラ
５ｇ…給紙ガイド
６…転写ローラ
７…定着部　　７ａ…定着ローラ　　７ｂ…加圧ローラ
８…排出部
９ａ…クリーニング装置の容器　　９ｂ…クリーニングブレード　　９ｃ…クリーニング容器
９ｃ‘…クリーニング容器
１０…軸芯、
１２…現像ローラ
１５ａ…搬送部材、１５ｂ…回転軸
１９…トナー供給ローラ[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor, a process cartridge having a process unit acting on the electrophotographic photoreceptor, and an image forming apparatus having the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art An electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium through an electrophotographic process, and includes, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, an LED printer, a laser beam printer, and the like). ), An electrophotographic facsimile machine, an electrophotographic word processor, and the like.
[0003]
By the way, such an image forming apparatus adopts a process cartridge system in which an electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge, and this cartridge is detachably mountable to the image forming apparatus main body. According to this process cartridge system, the maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by the user himself without the use of a service person, so that the operability can be significantly improved. For this reason, this process cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.
[0004]
In the toner scraping mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2686572 as a conventional waste toner conveying means, since the conveying roller has a regular polygonal cross section, the torque of the conveying roller fluctuates rapidly, and the speed of the photosensitive drum becomes uneven. There were problems such as connection.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Incidentally, the process cartridge is provided with a waste toner accommodating frame for accommodating waste toner collected from the electrophotographic photosensitive member by the cleaning blade, and the waste toner accommodated in the waste toner container is conveyed to the back by a rotating member. However, with the rotation of the rotating member, a part of the waste toner moves to the opening again to the upstream side. The transfer efficiency of the waste toner in the waste toner storage frame is low, which makes it difficult to store the waste toner vertically upward, and there is a problem that the shape of the waste toner storage container is subject to many restrictions in design. Was.
[0006]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus capable of improving the transportability of waste toner in a waste toner storage frame.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a first invention according to the present application is directed to a cleaning member for removing a developer remaining on an electrophotographic photoreceptor, and a waste toner storage container for storing waste toner removed by the cleaning member. And a cleaning device having a conveying unit for conveying the waste toner, wherein the conveying unit is a columnar conveying member that is disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member and is rotatable, and has a columnar shape with respect to the rotation center of the conveying unit. A cleaning device in an image forming apparatus, wherein a center of a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of a conveying member is eccentric.
[0008]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning member for removing a developer remaining on an electrophotographic photoreceptor in a process cartridge detachable from an image forming apparatus main body, and a waste member for storing waste toner removed by the cleaning member. A toner storage container, and a transport unit for transporting the waste toner, wherein the transport unit is disposed substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member,
A ninth invention according to the present application is a process cartridge characterized by being a rotatable columnar conveying member, wherein a center of a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the columnar conveying member is eccentric with respect to a rotation center of the conveying means. An image forming apparatus comprising a process cartridge having a photographic photosensitive member and a process means acting on the photographic photosensitive member is detachably mounted in a main body.
An image forming apparatus, wherein the process cartridge is constituted by the process cartridge according to claim 7.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[Overall description of image forming apparatus]
First, the overall configuration of the color image forming apparatus will be schematically described with reference to FIG.
[0010]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of a laser printer, which is an embodiment of a color image forming apparatus.
[0011]
The color laser printer holds an image forming unit including a photosensitive drum 1 that rotates at a constant speed, a plurality of developing units D, and a color image developed and multiplex-transferred in the image forming unit and transported from a paper feeding unit. And an intermediate transfer member 4 for further transferring the image to the transfer material P fed by the means 5. The transfer material P on which the color image has been transferred from the intermediate transfer member 4 is then conveyed to the fixing section 7 to transfer the color image. The toner is fixed on the transfer material P and is discharged to a discharge portion 8 on the upper surface of the apparatus by a discharge roller 5f.
[0012]
Next, the configuration of each section of the image forming apparatus will be sequentially described in detail.
[0013]
(Charging means)
The charging means 2 uses a contact charging method, in which a conductive roller is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 1 and a voltage is applied to the conductive roller to uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. It is to let.
[0014]
(Exposure means)
Exposure to the photosensitive drum 1 is performed from the scanner unit 3. That is, when an image signal is given to the laser diode, the laser diode irradiates the polygon mirror 3a with image light corresponding to the image signal.
[0015]
The polygon mirror 3a is rotated at a high speed by a scanner motor 3b, and the image light reflected by the polygon mirror 3a selectively exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 rotating at a constant speed via an imaging lens and a reflection mirror 3d. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1.
[0016]
(Developing device)
The developing device includes a developing rotary 11 that can be indexed and rotated about a shaft core 10 as shown in FIG. 1, and four developing units mounted on the rotary and provided with a developing roller 12 and a toner supply roller 19. Have. At the time of developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, one of predetermined developing units Dy, Dc, Dm, and Dk of a color to be attached to the electrostatic latent image is arranged at a developing position. That is, a gear (not shown) on the outer periphery of the developing rotary 11 and a motor gear (not shown) provided at an output shaft end of the stepping motor (not shown) mesh with each other, and a predetermined developing cartridge is rotated by the rotation of the stepping motor M0. The indexing rotation of the developing rotary 11 stops at the developing position facing the photosensitive drum 1, and the developing roller 12 of the developing means is positioned so as to face the photosensitive drum 1 with a small gap (about 300 μm). After that, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 is developed.
[0017]
(Intermediate transfer body)
The intermediate transfer member 4 is a belt device in which an endless dielectric belt is wound around a pulley. In the color image forming operation, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 visualized by each developing unit is printed four times (Y, M, C, and Bk), the image is rotated in a clockwise direction as indicated by an arrow in FIG. The intermediate transfer member 4 simultaneously transfers the toner images of the respective colors on the intermediate transfer member 4 to the transfer material P by nipping and transporting the transfer material P with the transfer roller 6 to which a voltage is applied.
[0018]
[Cleaning means]
The cleaning unit cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 with a cleaning blade 9b after the toner visualized on the photosensitive drum 1 by the developing unit is transferred to the intermediate transfer body 4. The cleaned waste toner T 'is stored in the cleaning container W4. The amount of waste toner stored in the cleaning container W4 does not fill the cleaning container 9c earlier than the life of the photosensitive drum 1, and therefore, the cleaning unit C is simultaneously replaced when the life of the photosensitive drum 1 is replaced.
[0019]
(Paper feed unit)
The transporting means 5 starting from the paper feeding unit feeds the transfer material P to the image forming unit, and includes a cassette 5a containing a plurality of transfer materials P, a paper feed roller 5b, a feed roller 5c1, and a double feed prevention device. It mainly comprises a retard roller 5c2, a paper feed guide 5g, and a registration roller 5e.
[0020]
During the image forming operation, the paper feed roller 5b is driven and rotated in accordance with the image forming operation, separates and feeds the transfer material P in the paper feed cassette 5a one by one, and is guided and fed by the paper feed guide 5g. It reaches the registration roller 5e via the roller 5c1.
During the image forming operation, the registration roller 5e performs a non-rotating operation for keeping the transfer material P stationary and waiting and a rotating operation for transporting the transfer material P toward the intermediate transfer body 4 in a predetermined sequence, and is the next step. The image is aligned with the transfer material during the transfer step.
[0021]
(Transfer section)
The transfer section is composed of a transfer roller 6 that can swing, and the transfer roller 6 has a metal shaft wound around a medium-resistance foamed elastic material, and is movable up and down in the figure and driven.
[0022]
While forming the four-color toner image on the intermediate transfer member 4, that is, while the intermediate transfer member 4 rotates a plurality of times, the transfer roller 6 is positioned below as shown by a solid line in the drawing so as not to disturb the image. It is separated from the intermediate transfer member 4.
[0023]
After the formation of the four-color toner image on the intermediate transfer member 4, the transfer roller 6 is moved by a cam member (not shown) to an upper position indicated by a thin line in FIG. That is, the transfer member P is pressed against the intermediate transfer member 4 with a predetermined pressure. At this time, a bias is applied to the transfer roller 6 at the same time, and the toner image on the intermediate transfer member 4 is transferred to the transfer material P.
[0024]
Here, since the intermediate transfer member 4 and the transfer roller 6 are driven respectively, the transfer material P sandwiched between them is conveyed at a predetermined speed to the left in the figure at the same time as the transfer process is performed, and is transferred to the next process. Is sent to the fixing unit 7.
[0025]
(Fixing section)
The fixing unit 7 transfers the toner image formed by the developing unit onto the transfer material P via the intermediate transfer member 4, and fixes the transferred toner image. The fixing unit 7 includes a fixing roller 7a for applying heat to the transfer material P and a pressure roller 7b for pressing the transfer material P against the fixing roller 7a. Each of the rollers 7a and 7b is a hollow roller, and is internally provided. Each of them has a heater and is driven to rotate, and is configured to convey the transfer material P at the same time.
[0026]
That is, the transfer material P holding the toner image is transported by the fixing roller 7a and the pressure roller 7b, and the toner is fixed to the transfer material P by applying heat and pressure.
[0027]
[Explanation of waste toner transport unit]
The waste toner conveying member 15a is a rotatable columnar conveying member, and is disposed in the cleaning container so as to be rotatable substantially in parallel with the photosensitive drum axis.
[0028]
The rotation center 15b of the transport member does not coincide with the centroid of the waste toner transport member 15a. Therefore, the transport member rotates eccentrically. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner compresses the waste toner by the eccentricity of the waste toner transport member in the order of FIGS. Can be efficiently transported to the cleaning container 9c. In this embodiment, an ABS resin is used as the material of the transport member 31a. However, as another example, a plastic material such as a PS resin or a metal member can obtain the same effect.
[0029]
The cross-sectional shape of the conveying member is circular, but is not limited to this. The cross-sectional shape may be a substantially circular elliptical shape, or may be a cross-sectional shape having sides. Is more effective in scraping off the waste toner adhering to the conveying member.
Further, by applying a rounded shape to the corner, when the rotation load of the transport member increases in the latter half of the endurance, a sharp change in the rotation load can be suppressed as compared with the case where the corner has the corner.
[0030]
The scraping member 30 is formed of an elastic member, follows the eccentric movement, and is always in contact with the transport member in the forward direction or the counter direction.
[0031]
In this way, the waste toner on the conveying member is removed, and the backflow prevention valve prevents the toner in the waste toner chamber from flowing back to the cleaning blade 9b. Further, the scraping member repeats reciprocating motion due to the eccentric motion, and can simultaneously carry waste toner.
[0032]
In this embodiment, the scraping member 30 is made of PET resin and has a thickness of 25 to 100 μm. As another material, an elastic body such as PPS, elastomer, rubber, and spring material may be used.
[0033]
The scraping member can be omitted when a certain level of conveying force is sufficient, for example, when the waste toner storage chamber is disposed below the waste toner conveying member in the vertical direction, or when the cleaning container has a sufficient capacity. is there. However, as compared with the case where the scraping member is provided, the conveying capacity and the waste toner storage height are reduced.
[0034]
Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (type 2), the scraping member 30 may be brought into contact in the forward direction for reasons such as ease of assembling. Lower. The form of the scraping member may be appropriately selected in consideration of these.
[0035]
Further, it is necessary to select a value for conveying the waste toner while compressing the waste toner, as the distance f at the lowest point between the conveying roller and the bottom of the container shown in FIG. 3-1. In this embodiment, f = 0.6.
[0036]
The following experiments were performed to verify the present invention.
[0037]
Polymerized toner was used as the toner used in the experiment, ABS was used as the waste toner conveying member, and PET (38 μm) was used as the scraping member.
[0038]
Table 1 below shows the results, and FIG. 4 shows a comparison diagram of the storage height.
[0039]
[Table 1]

[0040]
As described above, by contacting the scraping member with the eccentric round bar, the storage height of the waste toner can be dramatically improved as compared with the conventional Type 1. Thereby, the waste toner storage chambers W1 and W2 can be replaced with the simple shape W4, and more space saving can be realized.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the invention of the present application, the following effects can be obtained.
[0042]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the waste toner conveying means is a columnar conveying member, and the center of rotation and the center of the cross section are eccentric, so that the waste toner can be compressed and conveyed, thereby greatly improving the waste toner conveying ability. As a result, the waste toner can be pushed up in the vertical direction. That is, the restriction on the design of the waste toner container is reduced, and a smaller image forming apparatus can be provided.
[0043]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of the columnar conveying member is such that the cross-sectional shape of the conveying member is substantially circular with a rounded corner so that waste toner can be conveyed without a sudden torque fluctuation. It is possible to further improve the image quality.
[0044]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the provision of the scraping member for scraping off the waste toner adhered to the conveying member ensures that the waste toner adhered to the conveying member is scraped off, thereby improving the waste toner conveying property.
[0045]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the scraping member is made of an elastic body, the conveying member and the scraping member are always in close contact with each other, and the backflow of the waste toner during the conveyance of the waste toner can be prevented.
[0046]
According to the invention described in claim 5, the scraping member follows the eccentric movement during the rotation of the conveying member, and always comes into contact with the conveying member in the forward direction or the counter abutment at a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the conveying member. Accordingly, the waste toner can be efficiently compressed and transported by following the eccentric movement of the transporting member. That is, the size can be reduced as compared with the conventional cleaning container.
[0047]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the scraping member is a check valve for preventing movement of the waste toner from the waste toner container to the electrophotographic photosensitive member, thereby preventing toner scattering when the cleaning device is attached or detached. You can do it.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a main part of a main body for carrying out the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a conveying member for carrying out the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view of a conveying member for carrying out the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a transport member used for a verification experiment.
FIG. 5 is a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
Dy, Dm, Dc, Dk developing means P transfer material 1 photoreceptor drum 2 charging means 3 scanner unit 3a polygon mirror 3b scanner motor 3c imaging lens 3d reflecting mirror 4 intermediate transfer body 5 ... Conveying means 5a ... Cassette 5b ... Paper supply roller 5c1 ... Feed roller 5c2 ... Retard roller 5e ... Registration roller 5f ... Discharge roller 5g ... Paper supply guide 6 ... Transfer roller 7 ... Fixing section 7a ... Fixing roller 7b ... Pressure roller 8 Discharge unit 9a Cleaning container 9b Cleaning blade 9c Cleaning container 9c 'Cleaning container 10 Shaft core
12: developing roller 15a: conveying member, 15b: rotating shaft 19: toner supply roller

Claims (9)

A cleaning member that removes the developer remaining on the electrophotographic photosensitive member; a waste toner storage container that stores the waste toner removed by the cleaning member; and a transport unit that transports the waste toner. Is disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member,
A rotatable columnar transport member,
A cleaning device in an image forming apparatus, wherein a center of a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of a columnar conveying member is eccentric with respect to a rotation center of a conveying unit. 2. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the columnar conveying member is configured such that a corner portion is substantially circular with an R shape. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a scraping member configured to scrape waste toner attached to the transport member. The cleaning device according to claim 3, wherein the scraping member is an elastic body. 5. The scraping member according to claim 4, wherein the scraping member follows an eccentric motion during rotation of the conveying member, and is always in forward contact or counter contact with the conveying member in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the conveying member. Cleaning device. The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the scraping member is a check valve that prevents movement of the waste toner from the waste toner storage container to the electrophotographic photosensitive member. In a process cartridge detachable from the image forming apparatus main body,
A cleaning member for removing the developer remaining on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, a waste toner storage container for storing the waste toner removed by the cleaning member, and a conveyance unit for conveying the waste toner, wherein the conveyance unit includes It is disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member,
A rotatable columnar transport member,
A process cartridge wherein a center of a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of a columnar conveying member is eccentric with respect to a rotation center of a conveying unit. A process cartridge comprising the cleaning means according to any one of claims 2 to 6 integrally. In an image forming apparatus, a process cartridge having an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member is detachably mounted in a main body.
An image forming apparatus, wherein the process cartridge is constituted by the process cartridge according to claim 7.

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