Transfer Roller Cleaning via Electrostatic Brush and Dual Blade Scraping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses face difficulties in fully removing film forming substances like wax from the recovery roller and transfer-conveyance belt, leading to surface soiling of recording media due to the strong adhesion of these substances, which complicates the cleaning process and affects image quality.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus is designed with a cleaning unit that includes a brush roller, a rotatable member, a first blade member, and a second blade member, where the brush roller is electroconductive and attracts toner electrostatically, and the blade members scrape deposited matter from the rotatable member, with the second blade member positioned downstream to effectively remove film forming substances by adjusting contact pressure and angle to enhance cleaning performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a scraping member contacts the transfer-conveyance belt to remove film forming substances, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the transfer-conveyance belt may be damaged due to excessive contact pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a recovery roller as an intermediary component between the brush roller and the transfer-conveyance belt. The brush roller transfers toner to the recovery roller, which then transports it to the scraping member. This intermediary system allows the scraping member to operate at lower contact pressure on the transfer-conveyance belt while still achieving effective cleaning through the accumulated toner on the recovery roller surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system is divided into multiple functional segments: a brush roller for initial toner collection, a recovery roller for toner accumulation and transport, and a scraping member for final removal. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally, with the scraping member focusing on removing film forming substances from the recovery roller rather than directly contacting the transfer-conveyance belt at high pressure.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If contact pressure between scraping member and transfer-conveyance belt is minimized to prevent damage, then belt integrity is preserved, but film forming substances cannot be fully removed
Solution Approach 1:
The brush roller performs preliminary action by collecting and concentrating film forming substances and toner onto the recovery roller before the scraping member acts. This preliminary concentration of contaminants on the recovery roller surface allows the low-pressure scraping member to effectively remove them without needing high contact pressure on the transfer-conveyance belt.
3Quantity of substance
If film forming substances accumulate on the recovery roller, then cleaning capacity increases, but surface soiling of recording medium occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The scraping member is specifically designed to extract and remove accumulated film forming substances from the recovery roller surface. By continuously removing these contaminants, the system prevents their transfer to the recording medium while maintaining the recovery roller's ability to collect and concentrate toner for efficient cleaning.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively removes both toner and film forming substances from the transfer rotatable member, preventing surface soiling of recording media and ensuring reliable operation by optimizing the contact pressure and angle of the scraper to enhance cleaning efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a brush roller, a rotatable member, a first blade member and a second blade member, and said brush roller is electroconductive and contactable with said transfer rotatable member while rotating to electrostatically attract the toner from said transfer rotatable member
Implementation Method 2
said rotatable member is supplied with a voltage of the same polarity as a regular charge polarity of the toner and is contacted with said brush roller in a contact position to electrostatically attract the toner from said brush roller
Implementation Method 3
said first blade member contacts said rotatable member in a cleaning portion to scrape a deposited matter from said rotatable member with rotation of said rotatable member, and wherein said second blade member is disposed downstream of the cleaning portion and upstream of the contact portion with respect to a rotational moving direction of said rotatable member and scrape the deposited matter from said rotatable member
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a cleaning unit for a transfer roller. A cleaning unit includes a brush roller, a rotatable member, a first blade and a second blade. The brush roller is electroconductive and contactable with the transfer roller while rotating to electrostatically attract the toner from the transfer roller. The rotatable member is supplied with a voltage of the regular charge polarity of the toner and is contacted with the brush roller in a contact position to electrostatically attract the toner from the brush roller. The first blade contacts the rotatable member in a cleaning portion to scrape a deposited matter from the rotatable member. The second blade is disposed downstream of the cleaning portion and upstream of the contact portion and scrape the deposited matter from the rotatable member with the rotation of the rotatable member.