JPH07117802B2 - Cleaning unit in image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning unit used in an image forming apparatus.

(Prior Art) In an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine adopting an electrophotographic system, each member involved in the electrophotographic process is unitized in order to simplify handling or assembling. It is installed so that it can be replaced as needed.

On the other hand, in this type of device, as seen in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-102258, the recording paper supplied from the upper part of the device body is ejected from the lower front side, so that the installation space of the device is reduced. Has been made smaller, and by disposing the photoconductor drum at the back side of the paper transport path, it is possible to discharge the recording surface downward, that is, face-down discharge. In addition, since the electrophotographic process units can be vertically arranged along the paper transport path, the depth and width can be reduced accordingly, and the apparatus can be further downsized.

However, on the other hand, in the case of such a configuration, the cleaning unit, which must be vertically arranged immediately below the photosensitive drum, is removed for maintenance or replacement of the unit in the image forming apparatus, and the cleaning unit is installed at an appropriate place. When the sheet is placed on the sheet, depending on how the sheet is placed, the unit may lie down and the collected toner may leak out of the unit and contaminate the surroundings.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to be able to mount the apparatus vertically in a device and to stabilize it when detached. It is to provide a new cleaning unit that can be mounted on the.

(Means for Solving the Problems) That is, according to the present invention, as a cleaning unit in an image forming apparatus for achieving such a problem, an upper portion of a cleaning unit that is removably arranged immediately below a photoconductor is used to remove residual toner. Stable placement and storage capacity of discharged toner by not forming a scraping section and forming a storage section with a triangular cross section for storing the toner scraped at the bottom and forming the bottom surface as a mounting surface. It is intended to improve.

(Example) Then, the Example illustrated below is described.

Each of the drawings shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which an outer case indicated by reference numeral 1 is formed as a vertically long substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and inside thereof, a registration roller pair 2.2 and a discharge roller pair are provided near the front surface. A pair of paper rollers 3.3 are arranged above and below, respectively, and the recording paper drawn from the upper part of the outer case 1 is discharged to the lower front side.

A front cover 6 that opens and closes on the front side of the exterior case 1 with the paper transport path 4 as a boundary is attached so as to open and close with a fulcrum pin 7 provided at the lower end of the front surface of the exterior case 1 as a fulcrum. 1, a unit including a cleaning unit 11, an eraser 12, a charger 13, an optical writing unit 14, and a developing unit 15, which are involved in a series of electrophotographic processes, is detachably disposed so as to surround the photosensitive drum 10. .

It should be noted that reference numerals 17 and 18 in the figure respectively denote a transfer charger and a fixing unit arranged on the front cover 6 side.

By the way, the above cleaning unit 11 is mounted on the lower side of the transfer charger 17, that is, vertically below the photoconductor drum 10, so that when the cleaning unit 11 is removed and placed on another place,
Its outer shape is formed to have a large trapezoidal bottom so that it does not fall.

That is, the cleaning unit 11 in this embodiment
As shown in FIG. 3, the unit is formed in a trapezoidal shape as a unit supporting the photoconductor drum 10 on the upper part, and in particular, the front is made vertical so as not to come into contact with the transfer charger 8, and the rear contains a large amount of discharged toner. It is formed as an accommodating portion 11a having a right-angled triangular cross section that is projected so that it can be seated better by providing seats 11b made of elastic material at the four corners of its bottom surface, while a handle 11c is provided at the top for attachment and detachment It is designed to improve the convenience of transfer.

In the embodiment configured as described above, the cleaning unit 11 has now reached the specified usage limit, or the remaining capacity of the collected toner has run out,
When it becomes necessary to replace 11, the front cover 6 is opened, the used cleaning unit 11 is removed, and a new cleaning unit 11 is mounted here.

At this time, when the removed cleaning unit 11 is placed in a proper place as it is, this unit 11 holds a large amount of toner stored in the rear of the inside, and stably holds it vertically with its wide bottom face down. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an accident in which the surroundings are contaminated by the discharged toner due to the fall.

(Effect) As described above, according to the present invention, since the cleaning unit is detachably arranged below the photoconductor arranged along the vertically oriented paper conveyance path, the fixing unit and the paper discharge unit are provided. By utilizing the space necessary for disposing the mechanism as the disposing space for the cleaning unit, the depth of this type of vertical image forming apparatus can be made shallow and the apparatus can be made more compact. Not only can it be done, but the scraped toner can be stored as it is by utilizing its own weight.

Moreover, since the upper portion of this cleaning unit serves as a scraping portion for the residual toner and the lower portion serves as a storage portion having a triangular cross section for storing the scraped toner, the bottom surface thereof is formed as a mounting surface. Even if you remove the used cleaning unit and put it in an appropriate place,
Not only is it possible to maintain a stable vertical posture and prevent contamination of the surroundings due to leakage of discharged toner, but also the trapezoidal bottom serves as a storage unit for discharged toner. A large amount of discharged toner can be stored,
The replacement frequency can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention showing a detachable state of a cleaning unit, FIG. 2 is a view showing a schematic configuration of the same apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cleaning unit. . 1 ... Exterior case, 4 ... Paper transport path 10 ... Photosensitive drum, 11 ... Cleaning unit 11a ... Toner container

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a vertically oriented paper conveying path for discharging recording paper supplied from the upper part of an outer case to the lower part of the front surface of the outer case along the front surface of the photosensitive member. Immediately below the cleaning unit, which is removably arranged, serves as a scraping section for residual toner, and a lower section serves as a storage section with a triangular cross section for storing scraped toner. A cleaning unit in an image forming apparatus, which is formed as a surface.