Cleaning apparatus and image forming apparatus

Abstract

A cleaning apparatus 10 includes a housing 35, a cleaning member 11 that cleans a surface of a cleaning-target member 31, a seal-member 32 configured that contacts with the surface of the cleaning member 11, a conveying-member 33 that removes foreign-matter, an agitating-member 34 that agitates the removed foreign-matter, and a contact-preventing member 36 that prevents the agitating-member 34 from contacting the surface of the cleaning member 11 between the cleaning-target member 31 and the seal-member 32, wherein the agitating-member 34 includes a securing portion 340 fixed to the housing 35, a first-agitating portion 341 extending from the securing portion 340 via a first-bent portion 34c, and a second-agitating portion 342 extending from a tip of a first-agitating portion 341 via a second-bent portion 34d, and a bending-angle of the second-bent portion 34d changes by the agitating-member 34 coming in contact with and moving in conjunction with the conveying-member 33.

Description

CLEANING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cleaning apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

[0002] As an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is known in which a toner image is formed on a surface of an image bearer and the toner image on the image bearer is transferred onto a recording medium such as a sheet of paper.

[0003] In such an image forming apparatus, a cleaning apparatus configured to clean a surface of the image bearer is mounted in order to remove foreign matter such as toner remaining on the surface of the image bearer after the transferring of the image.

[0004] The cleaning apparatus includes, for example, a cleaning member that removes foreign matter from the surface of the image bearer, a conveying member that conveys the foreign matter removed from the surface of the image bearer to a collection container or the like, and a seal member that prevents the removed foreign matter from leaking from the cleaning apparatus.

[0005] In addition, in order to suppress a decrease in flowability arising from aggregation of toner or the like contained in the collected foreign matter, some cleaning apparatuses include an agitating member that agitates the foreign matter. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 7465437) discloses a configuration of a cleaning apparatus including a swing member that swings in conjunction with the rotational driving of a conveying screw to loosen toner in the cleaning apparatus.

[0006] It is also important to note that an agitation range of the agitating member that agitates the foreign matter in the cleaning apparatus can be widened to the vicinity of the surface of a cleaning target member such as the image bearer when the agitating member is disposed closer to the surface of the cleaning target member, and thus it is possible to effectively suppress a decrease in flowability of the foreign matter due to aggregation of the toner or the like.

[0007] However, on the other hand, as the agitating member approaches the surface of the cleaning target member, the agitating member may come into contact with the surface of the cleaning target member and damage the cleaning target member.

[0008] An objective of the present disclosure is to enable effective agitation of foreign matter while preventing contact of an agitating member with a surface of a cleaning target member.

[0009] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cleaning apparatus including: a housing; a cleaning member configured to clean a moving surface of a cleaning target member by contacting the surface; a seal member configured to contact the surface of the cleaning target member at a location upstream relative to where the cleaning member contacts the surface of the cleaning target member in a surface movement direction of the cleaning target member; a conveying member configured to convey foreign matter removed from the surface of the cleaning target member by the cleaning member; an agitating member configured to agitate the removed foreign matter; and a contact-preventing member configured to prevent the agitating member from contacting the surface of the cleaning target member between the cleaning member and seal member, wherein the agitating member includes: a securing portion secured to the housing, a first agitating portion extending from the securing portion via a first bent portion, and a second agitating portion extending from a tip of the first agitating portion in an extending direction thereof via a second bent portion, and wherein a bending angle of the second bent portion changes by the agitating member coming into contact with and moving in conjunction with the conveying member.Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to effectively agitate foreign matter while preventing contact of the agitating member with the surface of the cleaning target member.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a belt cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 3 is perspective view of an agitating member according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the agitating member and a conveying screw arranged side by side according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 5 illustrates one state of operation of the agitating member according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 6 illustrates another state of operation of the agitating member according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a contact-preventing member according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a belt cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a contact-preventing member according to the another embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a belt cleaning apparatus according to a comparative example.

[0012] The present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings for describing the present disclosure, the same reference numerals are given to elements such as members and components having the same function or shape as long as they are distinguishable, and once described, the redundant description thereof will be omitted.

[0013] <Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus> First, the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0014] An image forming apparatus 1000 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms an image using toner as a developer. The term "image forming apparatus" according to the present disclosure includes a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a printing machine, and a multifunction peripheral combining two or more of these. In addition, the term "image formation" in the following description includes forming an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure, or forming an image having no meaning such as a pattern.

[0015] As illustrated in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an image forming part 100, a fixing part 200, a sheet feeding part 300, and a sheet ejection part 400.

[0016] (Image Forming Part) In the image forming part 100, four image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk, an exposure device 6, and a transferring device 8 are arranged.

[0017] Each of the four image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk has basically the same configuration. In detail, each of the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk includes a photoconductor 2, a charging member 3, a developing device 4, and a photoconductor cleaning device 5.

[0018] The photoconductor 2 is an electrostatic latent image bearer that carries electrostatic latent images and also is an example of an image bearer that carries toner images. The photoconductor 2 may be a drum-shaped member as illustrated in FIG. 1, or an endless belt member that is wound around a plurality of rollers and driven to be rotated.

[0019] The charging member 3 is a member that applies a voltage to the surface of the photoconductor 2 to uniformly charge the surface. As the charging member 3, for example, a conductive or semiconductive charging roller or the like is used. The charging member 3 is not particularly limited as long as charging member 3 can charge the surface of the photoconductor 2, and may be a contact type charging member such as a magnetic brush, a fur brush, a film, or a rubber blade, or may be a non-contact type charging member using corona discharge.

[0020] The developing device 4 is a device for supplying toner, as a developer, to the surface of the photoconductor 2. In this case, each developing device 4 corresponding to one of the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk contains a toner of different color such as yellow, magenta, cyan, or black.

[0021] The photoconductor cleaning device 5 is a cleaning apparatus that cleans the photoconductor 2 by removing foreign matter such as residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 2. The photoconductor cleaning device 5 includes a cleaning blade that, for example, comes in contact with a surface of the photoconductor 2, thereby functioning as a cleaning member that removes foreign matter from the surface of the photoconductor 2. The cleaning member may be a brush roller that rotates while contacting the surface of the photoconductor 2.

[0022] The exposure device 6 is a device that irradiates the surface of the photoconductor 2 with laser light using an optical system to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 2. Examples of the optical system included in the exposure device 6 include a copying optical system, a rod lens array system, a laser optical system, a liquid crystal shutter optical system, an LED optical system, and the like.

[0023] The transferring device 8 is a device for transferring the toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductors 2 onto a sheet as a recording medium. In this case, the transferring device 8 includes an intermediate transfer belt 11, primary transfer rollers 12, a secondary transfer roller 13, a belt cleaning apparatus 10, and the like.

[0024] The intermediate transfer belt 11 is an example of an image bearer that carries the transferred toner image. The intermediate transfer belt 11 is an endless belt member, and is stretched and supported by a plurality of rollers including the primary transfer rollers 12. Further, one of the plurality of rollers supporting the intermediate transfer belt 11 rotates as a driving roller, so that the intermediate transfer belt 11 rotates in an arrow A direction as illustrated in FIG. 1. The belt member constituting the intermediate transfer belt 11 may have a single-layer structure or a multi-layer structure. In the case of the multi-layer structure, a base layer made of a fluororesin, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), or a polyimide resin with low elongation is preferably covered with a coating layer made of a material with good smoothness such as a fluororesin. In the case of the single-layer structure, a belt member made of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polycarbonate (PC), polyimide, or the like is preferable.

[0025] The primary transfer rollers 12, four in total, are provided inside the intermediate transfer belt 11 and are arranged so as to contact the photoconductors 2 via the intermediate transfer belt 11. As a result, a primary transfer nip is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 11 and each photoconductor 2, where the intermediate transfer belt 11 and each photoconductor 2 are in contact with each other. The primary transfer roller 12 is not limited to being in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 11 at the position of the primary transfer nip. The primary transfer roller 12 may instead be in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 11 at a position offset downstream, in the surface movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 11, from the primary transfer nip by a predetermined distance (for example, from 4 mm to 5 mm).

[0026] The secondary transfer roller 13 is disposed so as to face one of the plurality of rollers supporting the intermediate transfer belt 11. A secondary transfer nip, at which the secondary transfer roller 13 and the intermediate transfer belt 11 contact each other, is formed between the secondary transfer roller 13 and the intermediate transfer belt 11 by the secondary transfer roller 13 coming into contact with an opposing roller via the intermediate transfer belt 11.

[0027] The belt cleaning apparatus 10 is a cleaning apparatus that cleans the intermediate transfer belt 11 by removing foreign matter such as residual toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. The belt cleaning apparatus 10 is disposed at a location within a region between a downstream-side of the secondary transfer nip (secondary transfer roller 13) in the surface movement direction (arrow A direction) and an upstream-side of an uppermost one of the primary transfer nips (primary transfer rollers 12) in the surface movement direction (arrow A direction) of the intermediate transfer belt 11. The configuration of the belt cleaning apparatus 10 will be described in detail later.

[0028] (Fixing part) The fixing part 200 is provided with a fixing device 20 that heats the sheet to fix the image on the sheet. The fixing device 20 includes a fixing roller 21 that is heated by a heat source such as a heater, and a pressure roller 22 pressed against the fixing roller 21 to form a fixing nip.

[0029] (Sheet Feeding Part) In the sheet feeding part 300, a paper sheet feeding cassette 14 for storing the sheet of paper P and a paper sheet feeding roller 15 for feeding the sheet of paper P from the paper sheet feeding cassette 14 are disposed. Here, the term "sheet" on which an image is formed is described as a "sheet of paper", but the "sheet" is not limited to a sheet of paper, and may be an OHP sheet, a fabric, a metal sheet, a plastic film, a prepreg sheet in which carbon fibers are impregnated with a resin in advance, or the like. The "sheet of paper" includes, in addition to plain paper, thick paper, postcards, envelopes, thin paper, coated paper (such as coated paper and art paper), tracing paper, and the like.

[0030] (Sheet Ejection Part) The sheet ejection part 400 is provided with a pair of sheet ejection rollers 17 that eject the sheet of paper P and a paper ejection tray 18 onto which the ejected sheet of paper P is placed.

[0031] <Image Forming Operation> Referring back to FIG. 1, an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0032] When an image formation instruction is issued, first, an image forming operation is started by each of the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk. Specifically, the photoconductors 2 in the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk start to rotate clockwise in FIG. 1, and the surfaces of the photoconductors 2 are charged to a uniform high potential by the charging members 3. Then, the exposure device 6 exposes the surface (charged surface) of each photoconductor 2 based on the image information of the document read by the document reading device or the image information instructed to be printed from the external terminal. As a result, the potential of the exposed portion is lowered, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of each of the photoconductors 2. Thereafter, toner is supplied from each developing device 4 to each photoconductor 2, whereby a toner image of each color is formed on each photoconductor 2.

[0033] The toner image formed on the respective photoconductors 2 reach their corresponding primary transfer nips (positions of the primary transfer rollers 12) as the photoconductors 2 rotate. A primary transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner charge is applied to each primary transfer roller 12, thereby transferring the toner image on each photoconductor 2 onto the intermediate transfer belt 11, which rotates in synchronization with the photoconductors 2 so that the toner images are sequentially superimposed. Thus, a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 11. The image formation is not limited to the case where a full-color image is formed using the four image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk, and a single-color image may be formed using any one of the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk, or a two-color or three-color image may be formed using any two or three of the image forming units. After the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 11, the photoconductors 2 are cleaned by the photoconductor cleaning device 5, thereby removing foreign matter such as residual toner from the surfaces of the photoconductors 2.

[0034] The toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 11 is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip (position of the secondary transfer roller 13) with the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 11, and is transferred onto the sheet of paper P conveyed from the sheet feeding part 300. Specifically, when the sheet of paper P is fed from the paper sheet feeding cassette 14 by the paper sheet feeding roller 15, the sheet of paper P abuts against the timing roller pair 16, and the conveyance is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, the timing roller pair 16 starts rotating at a predetermined timing, so that the sheet of paper P is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip in synchronization with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 11. At this time, a secondary transfer bias having a polarity opposite to the toner charge polarity of the toner image is applied to the secondary transfer roller 13, so that the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 11 to the sheet of paper P. In addition, after the toner image is transferred to the sheet of paper P, foreign matter such as residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 11 is removed by the belt cleaning apparatus 10.

[0035] Thereafter, the sheet of paper P is conveyed to the fixing part 200 and enters the fixing nip between the fixing roller 21 and the pressure roller 22. Accordingly, the sheet of paper P is heated and pressed by the fixing roller 21 and the pressure roller 22, and thus the toner image that is on the sheet of paper P is fixed to the sheet of paper P. Then, the sheet of paper P is conveyed to the sheet ejection part 400 and ejection onto the paper ejection tray 18 by the sheet ejection rollers 17. In this way, a series of image forming operations is completed.

[0036] <Problems in Belt Cleaning Apparatus> Here, the problems in the belt cleaning apparatus will be described with reference to a comparative example different from the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a belt cleaning apparatus according to a comparative example.

[0038] As illustrated in FIG. 10, a belt cleaning apparatus 90 according to the comparative example includes a cleaning blade 91 configured to remove foreign matter such as residual toner from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11, a seal member 92 configured to prevent the removed foreign matter from leaking from the cleaning apparatus 90, a conveying screw 93 configured to convey the foreign matter in the cleaning apparatus 90 toward a collection container, an agitating member 94 configured to agitate the foreign matter in the cleaning apparatus 90, and the like.

[0039] The cleaning blade 91 is in contact with the surface (outer peripheral surface) of the intermediate transfer belt 11 such that a tip 91a thereof faces in a direction (counter direction) opposite to the surface movement direction (arrow A direction) of the intermediate transfer belt 11. In contrast to this, the seal member 92 is disposed such that the a tip 92a thereof faces intermediate transfer belt 11 in the surface movement direction of the and comes into contact with the surface (outer peripheral surface) of the intermediate transfer belt 11 on the upstream side of the cleaning blade 91 in the surface movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 11. The conveying screw 93 is accommodated in a housing 95 of the belt cleaning apparatus 90, and conveys the foreign matter in the axial direction by being rotationally driven. The agitating member 94 is configured to be displaced between a position indicated by a solid line and a position indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 10 by coming into contact with the conveying screw 93 that is driven to be rotated.

[0040] As described above, in the comparative example, since the agitating member 94 is displaced in accordance with the rotational driving of the conveying screw 93, the foreign matter in the housing 95 is agitated by the displacing agitating member 94, and aggregation of the toner or the like contained in the foreign matter is suppressed. This can suppress a decrease in flowability of the foreign matter arising from aggregation.

[0041] However, when the type of the cleaning target member to be cleaned is changed or the arrangement of the cleaning blade is changed according to the technical specification of the belt cleaning apparatus, it may be difficult to effectively agitate the foreign matter remaining near the surface of the cleaning target member. In particular, when a sheet of paper containing a large amount of paper dust is used as the recording medium, the amount of paper dust adhering to the intermediate transfer belt increases. As a result, the amount of paper dust collected from the intermediate transfer belt into the belt cleaning apparatus also increases, and the flowability of foreign matter in the belt cleaning apparatus tends to decrease. Therefore, if the foreign matter cannot be effectively agitated, there is a risk of overflow of the foreign matter from the belt cleaning apparatus.

[0042] To address the problem of the decrease in flowability, there is a known measure to widen the agitation range by the agitating member so that the foreign matter can be effectively agitated. For example, if the tip of the agitating member is extended to the vicinity of the surface of the cleaning target member, the foreign matter near the surface can be effectively agitated, and the flowability of the foreign matter can be improved. However, if the tip of the agitating member is extended to the vicinity of the surface of the cleaning target member, the agitating member may come into contact with the surface of the cleaning target member and damage the cleaning target member. For example, in the comparative example illustrated in FIG. 10, since the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 is exposed to the inside of the belt cleaning apparatus 90 between the cleaning blade 91 and the seal member 92, when a tip 94a of the agitating member 94 is extended, the tip 94a of the agitating member 94 may come into contact with the exposed surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 and damage the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11.

[0043] Therefore, in the present disclosure, in order to prevent the cleaning target member from being damaged and to effectively agitate the foreign matter, a belt cleaning apparatus having the following configuration is proposed. Hereinafter, the characteristic portions of the present disclosure will be described by using a belt cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure as an example.

[0044] <Configuration of Belt Cleaning Apparatus> FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a belt cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] First, the basic configuration of the belt cleaning apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0046] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the belt cleaning apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cleaning blade 31 configured to remove foreign matter such as residual toner from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11, a seal member 32 configured to prevent foreign matter that from leaking from the belt cleaning apparatus 10 that removed the foreign matter, a conveying screw 33 configured to convey the foreign matter in the belt cleaning apparatus 10 toward a collection container, an agitating member 34 configured to agitate the foreign matter in the belt cleaning apparatus 10, and a housing 35 configured to accommodate the conveying screw 33, as in the comparative example.

[0047] The cleaning blade 31 is an example of a cleaning member that contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 so as to clean the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. In this case, the cleaning blade 31 is formed in a blade shape made of urethane or the like, but the material and shape of the cleaning blade 31 can be changed as appropriate. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the cleaning blade 31 is held by a cleaning blade holder 37 so that a tip 31a thereof faces in the direction opposite (counter direction) to the surface movement direction (arrow A direction) of the intermediate transfer belt 11. A cleaning backup roller 40 configured to support the tip 31a of the cleaning blade 31 is disposed on the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 11 at a position facing the tip 31a of the cleaning blade 31. The cleaning backup roller 40 supports the tip 31a of the cleaning blade 31 via the intermediate transfer belt 11, so that the tip 31a of the cleaning blade 31 stably contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. In this state, when the intermediate transfer belt 11 moves (rotates) in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, foreign matter such as residual toner adhering to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 is blocked and removed by the cleaning blade 31.

[0048] The seal member 32 is disposed so as to contact the surface (outer peripheral surface) of the intermediate transfer belt 11 at a location upstream relative to where the cleaning blade 31 contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 in the surface movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 11. The seal member 32 is fixed to the housing 35 so that the tip 32a thereof faces the intermediate transfer belt 11 in the surface movement direction. In this way, the seal member 32 is in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 at a position upstream relative to the contact position of the cleaning blade 31, thereby preventing the foreign matter blocked by the cleaning blade 31 from leaking from the housing 35. Although a sheet-shaped member is used as the seal member 32 in this example, the seal member 32 may be a member other than a sheet-shaped member.

[0049] The conveying screw 33 is an example of a conveying member that conveys the foreign matter removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 to a collection container or the like. Here, as the conveying screw 33, a screw in which a spiral-shaped blade part 331 is provided on an outer peripheral surface of a rotation shaft 330 is used. The conveying member may have a shape other than the screw. When the conveying screw 33 rotates, the foreign matter in the housing 35 is conveyed in the axial direction by the rotating blade part 331, and the foreign matter is collected in the collection container through the conveyance path in the image forming apparatus main body.

[0050] The agitating member 34 is a member that agitates the foreign matter in the housing 35 to improve the flowability of the foreign matter. In this case, the agitating member 34 is formed by bending an elastically deformable thin sheet-shaped member. The agitating member 34 is attached such that a rear end 34b-side portion of the agitating member 34 is sandwiched and fixed between the cleaning blade holder 37 and the housing 35, and a tip 34a-side portion of the agitating member 34 is a free end that can be displaced. Specifically, the agitating member 34 includes: a securing portion 340 on a rear end 36b-side that is sandwiched and fixed between the cleaning blade holder 37 and the housing 35; a first agitating portion 341 that extends from a tip of the securing portion 340, via a first bent portion 34c, in a direction towards the rotation shaft 330 of the conveying screw 33, or in a direction away from the intermediate transfer belt 11; and a second agitating portion 342 that extends from a tip of the first agitating portion 341 via a second bent portion 34d in an extending direction thereof away from the rotation shaft 330 of the conveying screw 33, or in a direction towards the intermediate transfer belt 11. The first agitating portion 341 and the second agitating portion 342 are configured to be swingable about the first bent portion 34c, which is a first bent portion from the securing portion 340, and the second bent portion 34d, which is a second bent portion, respectively.

[0051] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an agitating member according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the first agitating portion 341 and the second agitating portion 342 have a plurality of projecting parts 345 that are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the agitating member 34. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 4, in a state in which the agitating member 34 and the conveying screw 33 are assembled, the plurality of projecting parts 345 are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other in the axial direction of the conveying screw 33 (foreign matter conveyance direction). Therefore, when the conveying screw 33 is driven to be rotated, the plurality of projecting parts 345 alternately come into contact with the rotation shaft 330 and the blade part 331 of the conveying screw 33. That is, when the conveying screw 33 is rotationally driven, the rotation shaft 330 and the blade part 331 are alternately arranged to face each projecting part 345, and thus each projecting part 345 (first agitating portion 341 illustrated in FIG. 2) is switched between a state of being in contact with the rotation shaft 330 (a state indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2) and a state of being in contact with the blade part 331 (a state indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 2). As a result, the agitating member 34 is repeatedly displaced or deformed between the state illustrated by the solid line and the state illustrated by the dotted line in FIG. 2, and the foreign matter in the housing 35 is agitated by the agitating member 34. The agitating member 34 is not limited to the case where the agitating member 34 is displaced or deformed in conjunction with the rotational driving of the conveying screw 33, and may be configured to be displaced or deformed by a dedicated driving source.

[0053] Here, in the belt cleaning apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to prevent the agitating member 34 from contacting the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11, a contact-preventing member 36 is provided that prevents the agitating member 34 from contacting the intermediate transfer belt 11 (see FIG. 2).

[0054] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the contact-preventing member 36 is fixed with its rear end 36b-side portion sandwiched between the cleaning blade holder 37 and the housing 35, and is attached so as to extend toward the seal member 32. A tip 36a of the contact-preventing member 36 is a free end that can be displaced.

[0055] As described above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contact-preventing member 36 is provided so as to extend towards the seal member 32 from a location where the contact-preventing member 36 is sandwiched between the cleaning blade holder 37 and the housing 35. Accordingly, the contact-preventing member 36 is disposed so as to be interposed between the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 and the agitating member 34 in a region between the cleaning blade 31 and the seal member 32. For this reason, as illustrated by the dotted line in FIG. 2, when the agitating member 34 is displaced in the direction towards the intermediate transfer belt 11, the tip 34a of the agitating member 34 presses against the contact-preventing member 36, so that contact of the agitating member 34 with the intermediate transfer belt 11 is prevented.

[0056] As described above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, even if the agitating member 34 is displaced in conjunction with the rotational driving of the conveying screw 33, the agitating member 34 can be prevented from coming into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11, and thus the intermediate transfer belt 11 can be prevented from being damaged due to contact of the agitating member 34 with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the functionality of the intermediate transfer belt 11 can be well maintained. Further, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, since contacting of the agitating member 34 with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 can be prevented, the tip 34a of the agitating member 34 can be brought close to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. As a result, the foreign matter remaining near the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 can be effectively agitated. Therefore, the flowability of the foreign matter can be improved, and the foreign matter can be smoothly conveyed to the collection container. Further, even in the case of using a sheet of paper containing a large amount of paper dust, the paper dust collected from the intermediate transfer belt 11 can be smoothly conveyed, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of image defects arising from foreign matter such as paper dust overflowing from the belt cleaning apparatus 10 and adhering to members in the image forming apparatus.

[0057] Here, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the agitating member 34 is interlocked with the rotational driving of the conveying screw 33, the tip 34a of the agitating member 34 comes into contact with the contact-preventing member 36, and thus the first agitating portion 341 and the second agitating portion 342 swing about the first bent portion 34c and the second bent portion 34d, respectively. Therefore, the bending angle of the first bent portion 34c and the bending angle of the second bent portion 34d are changed.

[0058] At this time, particularly, the bending angle θ of the second bent portion 34d (angle θ on the contact-preventing member 36-side formed between the first agitating portion 341 and the second agitating portion 342 illustrated in FIG. 2) changes between an acute angle θ1 (0° < θ1 < 90°) in the state illustrated in FIG. 5 and an obtuse angle θ2 (90° < θ2 < 180°) in the state illustrated in FIG. 6, and thus the tip 34a of the agitating member 34 is greatly displaced.

[0059] As described above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the bending angle θ of the second bent portion 34d is greatly changed, the agitation range by the agitating member 34 is widened, and thus the foreign matter can be effectively agitated. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the flowability of the foreign matter in the belt cleaning apparatus 10 can be improved, and the foreign matter can be smoothly conveyed to the collection container.

[0060] The magnitude of the bending angle θ in the second bent portion 34d can be set as desired. Therefore, the bending angle θ1 in the state of FIG. 5 is not limited to an acute angle, and may be an angle set as desired within a range of 60° or more and 100° or less including the acute angle and the obtuse angle, for example. In addition, the larger the bending angle θ of the second bent portion 34d is changed, the larger the agitation range is, which is preferable. For example, the angle difference between the bending angle θ1 in the state of FIG. 5 and the bending angle θ2 in the state of FIG. 6 is preferably 40° or more. The bending angle θ of the second bent portion 34d is not limited to the case where the bending angle θ changes between an acute angle and an obtuse angle, and may be a case where the bending angle θ changes between a relatively small obtuse angle and a relatively large obtuse angle.

[0061] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the contact-preventing member 36 is formed of a thin sheet-shaped member that is elastically deformable, when the tip 34a of the agitating member 34 comes into contact with the contact-preventing member 36, the contact-preventing member 36 deflects in a direction towards the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 2. In this case, compared to the case where the contact-preventing member 36 is not deflected, the tip 34a of the agitating member 34 can be brought closer to the intermediate transfer belt 11, and thus foreign matter near the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 can be effectively agitated. Further, since the foreign matter is also agitated by the deflecting of the contact-preventing member 36, aggregation of the toner or the like contained in the foreign matter can be effectively suppressed.

[0062] However, on the other hand, when the contact-preventing member 36 is largely deflected toward the intermediate transfer belt 11, the contact-preventing member 36 may come into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the contact-preventing member 36 is deflected toward the intermediate transfer belt 11, the contact-preventing member 36 is brought into contact with the cleaning blade 31 and the seal member 32 as illustrated in FIG. 6. Accordingly, the contact-preventing member 36 is supported by the cleaning blade 31 and the seal member 32, and thus the contact-preventing member 36 is prevented from contacting the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11, thereby preventing the intermediate transfer belt 11 from being damaged due to contact of the contact-preventing member 36 with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. Although the contact-preventing member 36 is brought into contact with both the cleaning blade 31 and the seal member 32 in this example, the contact-preventing member 36 may be brought into contact with only one of the cleaning blade 31 and the seal member 32 as long as the contact of the contact-preventing member 36 with the intermediate transfer belt 11 can be prevented.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 7, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contact-preventing member 36 is configured to have a plurality of projecting parts 365 spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal direction thereof. These projecting parts 365 are arranged at intervals in the axial direction of the conveying screw 33 (foreign matter conveyance direction) and are arranged so as to face the respective projecting parts 345 of the agitating member 34, similarly to the projecting parts 345 of the agitating member 34 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Therefore, when the agitating member 34 is displaced towards the intermediate transfer belt 11, the respective projecting parts 345 of the agitating member 34 come into contact with the respective projecting parts 365 of the contact-preventing member 36, thereby preventing the agitating member 34 (respective projecting parts 345) from coming into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 11.

[0064] Further, as illustrated in FIG. 7, since there is a gap between the adjacent projecting parts 365, the foreign matter on the cleaning blade 31-side can be moved to the conveying screw 33-side through the gap. Therefore, the foreign matter removed by the cleaning blade 31 can be smoothly conveyed by the conveying screw 33, and aggregation of the foreign matter caused by foreign matter staying on the cleaning blade 31-side can be effectively prevented. In addition, the interval between the adjacent projecting parts 365 is preferably greater than or equal to 1 mm in order to ensure smooth conveyance of the foreign matter from the cleaning blade 31 to the conveying screw 33. The contact-preventing member 36 is not limited to the shape having the plurality of projecting parts 365 as illustrated in FIG. 7, and may have other shapes.

[0065] <Configuration of Another Embodiment> Next, a configuration of another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the following description, mainly portions different from the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure will be described, and description of the same portions will be omitted as appropriate.

[0066] FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a belt cleaning apparatus according to the another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 8, in the another embodiment of the present disclosure, the contact-preventing member 36 has a bent tip part 361 that is bent in a direction away from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. The other components of the configuration are the same as those of the above-described embodiment.

[0068] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a contact-preventing member according to the another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0069] As illustrated in FIG. 9, the contact-preventing member 36 has the plurality of projecting parts 365 arranged in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the bent tip part 361 is provided on the tip 36a-side of each projecting part 365. Here, the bent tip part 361 is provided in all the projecting parts 365, but the bent tip part 361 may instead be provided in only some of the projecting parts 365.

[0070] Thus, in the another embodiment of the present disclosure, by providing the contact-preventing member 36 with a bent tip part 361 that is bent in a direction away from the surface of the contact the intermediate transfer belt 11, the range in which the foreign matter can be agitated by the contact-preventing member 36 can be widened. That is, when the conveying screw 33 is rotated, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the contact-preventing member 36 is repeatedly displaced and deformed by the contact of the agitating member 34, and thus the foreign matter in the belt cleaning apparatus 10 gets agitated by the behavior of the bent tip part 361 resulting from the displacement and deformation. This widens the agitation range, and thus aggregation of the toner and the like contained in the foreign matter can be more effectively suppressed.

[0071] Further, by providing the contact-preventing member 36 with the bent tip part 361, it is possible to prevent erroneous assembly in which the tip positions of the seal member 32 and the contact-preventing member 36 get reversed. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the tip 36a of the contact-preventing member 36 is usually disposed on an upper side of the tip 32a of the seal member 32 in FIG. 8 (the side opposite to the intermediate transfer belt 11-side), but the free ends of the tip 36a of the contact-preventing member 36 and the tip 32a of the seal member 32 are disposed at positions close to each other, so that when assembling the contact-preventing member 36 and the seal member 32, there are instances of erroneous assembly in which the tip 32a of the seal member 32 is mistakenly disposed on the upper side of the tip 36a of the contact-preventing member 36. However, as in the another embodiment of the present disclosure, since the bent tip part 361 bent in a direction away from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 is provided on the tip 36a-side of the contact-preventing member 36, even if the tip 32a of the seal member 32 is to be disposed above the tip 36a of the contact-preventing member 36, the tip 32a of the seal member 32 and the bent tip part 361 of the contact-preventing member 36 would interfere with each other, making it possible to prevent erroneous assembly in which the tip 32a of the seal member 32 is disposed above. This makes it possible to avoid problems, such as a sealing failure, arising from to the seal member 32 not being disposed in a correct position.

[0072] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the present disclosure is applicable to a belt cleaning apparatus 10 for cleaning the surface of an intermediate transfer belt 11, and also to a photoconductor cleaning device 5 for cleaning the surface of the photoconductors 2 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0073] The present disclosure is also applicable to a cleaning apparatus that cleans a surface of an image bearer that carries an image on the surface, such as the intermediate transfer belt 11 or the photoconductors 2, and a cleaning apparatus that cleans a surface of a cleaning target member other than the image bearer. By applying the present disclosure to the case of cleaning the surface of such a cleaning target, it is possible to effectively agitate foreign matter while preventing the surface of the cleaning target member from being damaged due to contact with the agitating member, as in the above embodiment.

[0074] Summarizing the aspects of the present disclosure described above, the present disclosure includes at least the following aspects.First Aspect

[0075] A cleaning apparatus including: a housing; a cleaning member configured to clean a moving surface of a cleaning target member by contacting the surface; a seal member configured to contact the surface of the cleaning target member at a location upstream relative to where the cleaning member contacts the surface of the cleaning target member in a surface movement direction of the cleaning target member; a conveying member configured to convey foreign matter removed from the surface of the cleaning target member by the cleaning member; an agitating member configured to agitate the removed foreign matter; and a contact-preventing member configured to prevent the agitating member from contacting the surface of the cleaning target member between the cleaning member and seal member, wherein the agitating member includes: a securing portion secured to the housing, a first agitating portion extending from the securing portion via a first bent portion, and a second agitating portion extending from a tip of the first agitating portion in an extending direction thereof via a second bent portion, and wherein a bending angle of the second bent portion changes by the agitating member coming into contact with and moving in conjunction with the conveying member.Second Aspect

[0076] The cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the bending angle of the second bent portion changes between an acute angle and an obtuse angle.Third Aspect

[0077] The cleaning apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein when the agitating member contacts the contact-preventing member, the contact-preventing member is configured to in turn contact the cleaning member so as not to contact the surface of the cleaning target member.Fourth Aspect

[0078] The cleaning apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein when the agitating member contacts the contact-preventing member, the contact-preventing member is configured to in turn contact the seal member so as not to contact the surface of the cleaning target member.Fifth Aspect

[0079] The cleaning apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein when the agitating member contacts the contact-preventing member, the contact-preventing member is configured to deflect in a direction towards the surface of the cleaning target member so as to approach the surface of the cleaning target member.Sixth Aspect

[0080] The cleaning apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the contact-preventing member includes a plurality of projecting parts spaced apart from each other in a foreign matter conveyance direction in which the foreign matter is conveyed by the conveying member.Seventh Aspect

[0081] The cleaning apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the contact-preventing member includes a bent tip part that is bent in a direction away from the surface of the cleaning target member.Eighth Aspect

[0082] An image forming apparatus including the cleaning apparatus of any one of the first to seventh aspects.

[0083] The present application is based on and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-194476, filed on November 6, 2024, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0084] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 7465437

Claims

1. A cleaning apparatus, comprising: a housing; a cleaning member configured to clean a moving surface of a cleaning target member by contacting the surface; a seal member configured to contact the surface of the cleaning target member at a location upstream relative to where the cleaning member contacts the surface of the cleaning target member in a surface movement direction of the cleaning target member; a conveying member configured to convey foreign matter removed from the surface of the cleaning target member by the cleaning member; an agitating member configured to agitate the removed foreign matter; and a contact-preventing member configured to prevent the agitating member from contacting the surface of the cleaning target member between the cleaning member and seal member, wherein the agitating member includes: a securing portion secured to the housing, a first agitating portion extending from the securing portion via a first bent portion, and a second agitating portion extending from a tip of the first agitating portion in an extending direction thereof via a second bent portion, and wherein a bending angle of the second bent portion changes by the agitating member coming into contact with and moving in conjunction with the conveying member.

2. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bending angle of the second bent portion changes between an acute angle and an obtuse angle.

3. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the agitating member contacts the contact-preventing member, the contact-preventing member is configured to in turn contact the cleaning member so as not to contact the surface of the cleaning target member.

4. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the agitating member contacts the contact-preventing member, the contact-preventing member is configured to in turn contact the seal member so as not to contact the surface of the cleaning target member.

5. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the agitating member contacts the contact-preventing member, the contact-preventing member is configured to deflect in a direction towards the surface of the cleaning target member so as to approach the surface of the cleaning target member.

6. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact-preventing member includes a plurality of projecting parts spaced apart from each other in a foreign matter conveyance direction in which the foreign matter is conveyed by the conveying member.

7. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact-preventing member includes a bent tip part that is bent in a direction away from the surface of the cleaning target member.

8. An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning apparatus of claim 1.

Images