Electrophotography – Internal machine environment – Particle or contaminant control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-25
2001-01-23
Pendegrass, Joan (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Internal machine environment
Particle or contaminant control
C399S102000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06178301
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process cartridge using an electrophotographic method or an electrostatic recording method and an image forming apparatus using the process cartridge.
2. Description of Related Art
To form images, image forming apparatuses using an electrophotographic method or an electrostatic recording method form, by selective exposure, latent images on an image carrier, uniformly charged, serving as an electrophotographic photosensitive body by a charging means, visualize the latent images by a developing means, and transfer the developed images onto a recording medium. After the developed images are transferred, remaining developer (hereinafter referred to as “waste toners”) left on the image carrier is cleaned by a cleaning means and reused for image formation upon being charged uniformly.
A process cartridge has been practically used recently in which process means, such as charging means, developing means, cleaning means, a cleaning container, and so on, are made in a united structure. A user can replace the parts, such as the developers, the image carrier, and so on with those by placing the process cartridge in the apparatus body, thereby rendering the maintenance easier.
Since the image carrier generally has extended the life time of the carrier, recently favored usage, which renders the maintenance easier and corresponds to life times of the essential parts is done by designing a developing means, having some limitation for supplying capability, into an independent cartridge and by designing the remaining process means, such as an image carrier, a charger, a cleaning means, and so on, into a drum cartridge, in a united body.
FIG. 4
shows an example of a conventional process cartridge. The process cartridge
100
shown in
FIG. 4
is the above drum cartridge, which includes an image carrier
101
, a cleaner blade
102
serving as a cleaning means, and a cleaning container
104
accumulating the waste toners.
The cleaner blade
102
has an elastic contact portion
102
a
supported by a support member
102
b
in contact with the image carrier
101
and removes the waste toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier
101
. A sealing member
103
made of a material such as mortoprain, sponge, felt, or the like is provided on the opposite ends of the cleaner blade
102
to prevent the waste toner from leaking out of the cleaning container
104
. The cleaning container
104
has a volume capable of adequately containing waste toner occurring at the cleaner blade
102
within the life time of the image carrier
101
, and can be removed at the time of replacement of the drum cartridge.
Particularly, in a case of a development method using a jumping development or magnetic brush development, it is important to position a developer carrier (development sleeve) for developing images with high accuracy at a prescribed distance with respect to the image carrier
101
. Therefore, a contacting roller
105
or the like as a distance ensuring means manufactured with high accuracy is generally placed on each end of the image carrier to ensure the proper distance between the image carrier
101
and the development sleeve (not shown).
In such a case, if the contacting surface
101
a
of the contacting roller
105
on the image carrier
101
becomes dirty with scattered toner, the toner may adhere to the contacting surface
1
O
1
a
, and the prescribed distance may not be kept, disadvantageously. Therefore, the placement of a cleaning member
106
, as a part separated from the sealing member
103
provided on the opposite ends of the cleaner blade
102
, has been implemented recently for cleaning the contacting surface
101
a
of the contacting roller
105
.
Where the sealing member
103
and the cleaning member
106
are separated members, as shown in the apparatus in
FIG. 4
, however, developers may accumulate on unclean areas particularly in the process cartridge having a longer life time because the space between those members
103
,
106
cannot be cleaned, and the accumulated developers may drop into the apparatus body to disadvantageously make the apparatus inside dirty.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cleaning apparatus, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus reducing the uncleanness inside the apparatus by proposing a cleaning method for the surface of the image carrier having no unclean area.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above problems, a representative structure of the cleaning apparatus, according to the invention, includes a cleaning member for removing a remaining developer left on the image carrier, and a sealing member disposed on each opposite end of the cleaning means for preventing the developer removed by the cleaning means from leaking out, the sealing member cleaning a surface to which a distance-ensuring means, for maintaining a prescribed distance between the image carrier and another electrophotographic process means, extends and contacting the image carrier.
Since the sealing member that is provided on each opposite end of the cleaning means is extended to a surface on the image carrier contacting the distance-ensuring means for cleaning the surface, the process cartridge can eliminate an area at which scattered toner arrives, so that the process cartridge can reduce the uncleanness inside the apparatus. Because the members are made in a united body, the number of parts is reduced, and the manufacturing process and the cost of parts of the cleaning apparatus can be reduced, so that the productivity can be improved.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5740500 (1998-04-01), Hashimoto
patent: 5774765 (1998-06-01), Hirota et al.
patent: 1-177065 (1989-07-01), None
patent: 4-174885 (1992-06-01), None
patent: 7-334056 (1996-12-01), None
patent: 10-222036 (1998-08-01), None
Kojima Hisayoshi
Mori Tomonori
Murayama Kazunari
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Pendegrass Joan
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