Electrophotography – Cleaning of imaging surface – Fibrous brush
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-09
2002-12-10
Ngo, Hoang (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Cleaning of imaging surface
Fibrous brush
C399S358000, C015S256500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06493535
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for conducting cleaning by using a brush, and an image forming apparatus having the cleaning apparatus, such as a copying machine, a printer and a facsimile machine.
2. Related Background Art
Among image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, in particular, a full-color image forming apparatus employs a recording material bearing member formed of a dielectric film or the like for bearing and conveying a recording material. In the image forming apparatus of this type, in the case where a surface of the recording material bearing member is stained by splashed toner or the like within an apparatus, in order to prevent a back surface of the recording material from being stained, a cleaning device for a recording material bearing member is frequently employed.
Incidentally, as the above-described cleaning apparatus, there has been known a fur brush cleaner essentially consisting of one fur brush
51
and a housing
53
as shown in FIG.
8
. In order to effectively collect toner removed by the fur brush
51
, the cleaner is equipped with a scraper
54
as a flicking member substantially opposite to a side of the fur brush
51
which is in contact with a recording material bearing member
5
f.
The toner removed from the recording material bearing member
5
f
is carried to the opposite side in accordance with the rotation of the fur brush
51
, the fur brush
51
is patted by the scraper
54
, and the toner is removed from the fur brush
51
.
Also, as shown in
FIG. 9
, there has been known a fur brush cleaner having two fur brushes
51
a
and
51
b
that rotate in counter directions, respectively, and scrapers
54
a
and
54
b
as a flicking member at the respective fur brushes
51
a
and
51
b.
However, in the conventional fur brush cleaner shown in
FIG. 8
, because the toner removed by the fur brush
51
is splashed in a tangent direction (a direction indicated by an arrow in
FIG. 8
) of a portion which is in contact with the recording material bearing member
5
f
by a centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the fur brush
51
before the toner is carried to the scraper
54
, most of the toner is collected on a portion A in FIG.
8
and caused to be fixed onto a wall of the housing
53
. In particular, if the peripheral speed of the fur brush
51
is increased in order to improve the cleaning capability of the fur brush cleaner, the above phenomenon becomes remarkable, thereby resulting in a case where even if the volume of the housing
53
for containing the toner is enlarged, the cleaner does not effectively function, and the cleaner must be cleaned at an early stage to remove the toner that dropped down from the portion A.
Also, in the conventional fur brush shown in
FIG. 9
, if the rotating directions of the respective fur brushes
51
a
and
51
b
are set as shown in
FIG. 9
, the possibility that the above-mentioned problem occurs becomes low because counter fur brushes
51
b
and
51
a
are situated in the tangent direction of contact portions of the respective fur brushes
51
a
and
51
b
with the recording material bearing member
5
f
. However, after the removed toner has been carried to the respective scrapers
54
a
and
54
b
, when the fur brushes
51
a
and
51
b
are patted by the scrapers
54
a
and
54
b
, the toner is splashed in the tangent directions (directions indicated by arrows in
FIG. 9
) of portions of the fur brushes
51
a
and
51
b
which are in contact with the scrapers
54
a
and
54
b
. Therefore, most of the toner is collected on portions B in FIG.
9
and is caused to be fixed, and the same problem as that with the fur brush cleaner shown in
FIG. 8
occurs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made under the above circumstances, and therefore one object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus which is capable of appropriating a direction along which the toner removed by a first brush and a second brush from an image bearing member is splashed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus which is capable of appropriating a direction along which the toner removed by a first brush and a second brush from a recording material bearing member is splashed.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of appropriating a direction along which the toner removed by a first brush and a second brush from an image bearing member is splashed.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of appropriating a direction along which the toner removed by a first brush and a second brush from a recording material bearing member is splashed.
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent by reading the following detailed explanation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5669041 (1997-09-01), Thayer et al.
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