The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer using a solid exposure head.
Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic system, a system that forms an electrostatic latent image on a surface of a photosensitive member using an exposure head including an LED array and a lens array and causes a toner to adhere to the electrostatic latent image to develop a toner image has been widely used.
In the above-described image forming apparatus, a light emergent surface of the exposure head is provided at a position close to a surface of a photosensitive drum. A toner supplied from a development apparatus flows in the vicinity of the surface of the photosensitive drum, and thus, there is a case where the toner adheres to the light emergent surface of the exposure head so that an emitted light quantity decreases.
Therefore, a configuration including a cleaning member that cleans the light emergent surface of the exposure head has been disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-173811 discloses a configuration in which a guide groove is formed in an exposure head along an axial direction of a photosensitive drum, and a hook portion provided in a cleaning member is engaged with the guide groove, so that the cleaning member abuts on a light emergent surface of the exposure head and can be guided along the guide groove.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-91191 discloses a configuration in which a flexible cleaning blade provided at a free end of a rod-like member is brought into contact with a light emergent surface to remove foreign matter adhering to the light emergent surface.
However, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-173811, it is necessary to insert the cleaning member such that the hook portion of the cleaning member engaged with the guide groove of the exposure head does not fall off from the guide groove, and it is difficult to stably guide the cleaning member with respect to the exposure head. In addition, when an operator applies an unexpected force to the cleaning member during cleaning, the hook portion is likely to be disengaged from the guide groove, and there is a possibility that the cleaning member is not able to clean the light emergent surface of the exposure head.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-91191, the cleaning blade comes into contact with the light emergent surface when a user operates the rod-like member. A distance between the cleaning blade and the light emergent surface in a light emitting direction changes depending on the user's operation method, and there is a possibility that the foreign matter adhering to the light emergent surface cannot be sufficiently removed depending on the distance.
A representative configuration of the present invention includes: a rotating photosensitive member; an optical print head including a plurality of light emitting portions provided along a rotational axis direction of the photosensitive member and configured to emit light to expose the photosensitive member, a substrate on which the plurality of light emitting portions is provided, a lens configured to condense the light emitted by the plurality of light emitting portions on the photosensitive member, and a holder configured to hold the substrate and the lens; a cleaning rod configured to abut on the lens and clean the lens; and a guiding member configured to guide the cleaning rod along the rotational axis direction and restrict movement of the cleaning rod in an optical axis direction orthogonal to both the rotational axis direction and a width direction of the substrate orthogonal to the rotational axis direction, the guiding member being separate from the holder.
Further, another configuration of the present invention includes: a photosensitive member; an optical print head including a plurality of light emitting portions configured to emit light to expose the photosensitive member, a substrate including a light emitting chip on which the plurality of light emitting portions is mounted, and a lens array configured to condense beams of the light emitted by the plurality of light emitting portions onto a surface of the photosensitive member; a housing configured to accommodate the photosensitive member and the optical print head inside; and a cleaning rod configured to be inserted into the housing, the cleaning rod including a rod-like member, a first cleaning portion provided on the rod-like member and configured to clean a surface of the lens array by rubbing the surface of the lens array, and a second cleaning portion provided on the rod-like member and configured to clean the surface of the lens array by rubbing the surface of the lens array. In this configuration, the first cleaning portion and the second cleaning portion are provided at different positions of the rod-like member in a longitudinal direction, the first cleaning portion protrudes from the rod-like member toward the lens array by a first protrusion amount in an optical axis direction of the light emitted from the plurality of light emitting portions when the cleaning rod is inserted into the housing, the second cleaning portion protrudes from the rod-like member toward the lens array by a second protrusion amount in the optical axis direction, and the first protrusion amount is longer than the second protrusion amount.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with examples in detail with reference to the drawings. However, dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of constituent parts described in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited thereto.
First, a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 will be described.
The image forming apparatus 1 illustrated in
The image forming portions 102Y, 102M, 102C, and 102K include photosensitive drums (photosensitive members) 103Y, 103M, 103C, and 103K (hereinafter, also collectively referred to simply as “photosensitive drum 103”), respectively. These photosensitive drums are arranged apart from each other.
The image forming portions 102Y, 102M, 102C, and 102K include charging devices 104Y, 104M, 104C, and 104K (hereinafter, also collectively referred to simply as “charging device 104”) charging the photosensitive drums 103Y, 103M, 103C, and 103K, respectively.
In addition, the image forming portions 102Y, 102M, 102C, and 102K include exposure units 500Y, 500M, 500C, and 500K (hereinafter, also collectively referred to simply as “exposure unit 500”) including light emitting diode (hereinafter described as LEDs) as exposure light sources that emit light to expose the photosensitive drums 103Y, 103M, 103C, and 103K.
Further, the image forming portions 102Y, 102M, 102C, and 102K include development devices 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K (hereinafter, also collectively referred to simply as “development device 106”) each developing an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 103 with a toner and developing a toner image of each color on the photosensitive drum 103. Note that Y, M, C, and K attached to the reference numerals indicate toner colors.
The image forming apparatus 1 illustrated in
The image forming apparatus 1 includes an intermediate transfer belt 107 to which the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 103 is transferred, and primary transfer rollers 108 (Y, M, C, and K) each sequentially transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 103 to the intermediate transfer belt. The intermediate transfer belt 107 is disposed above the image forming portion 102. Note that a direct transfer system in which direct transfer from the photosensitive drum 103 to a sheet may be used instead of an intermediate transfer system using the intermediate transfer belt 107.
In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a secondary transfer roller 109 that transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 107 to a recording material S conveyed from a sheet feeding portion 101, and a fixing device 100 that fixes the secondarily transferred image to the recording material S.
Toners remain on surfaces of the photosensitive drums 103Y, 103M, 103C, and 103K after primary transfer. These residual toners are removed by drum cleaning devices (first cleaning devices) 8Y, 8M, 8C, and 8K (hereinafter, also collectively referred to simply as “drum cleaning device 8”), and are collected into a collected toner container 5.
In addition, a toner remains on a surface of the intermediate transfer belt 107 after the secondary transfer. This residual toner is removed by a belt cleaning device (second cleaning device) 7 and collected into the collected toner container 5.
Next, an image formation process of the image forming apparatus 1 will be briefly described. The charging device 104Y charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 103Y. The exposure unit 500Y exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 103Y charged by the charging device 104Y to light. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 103Y. Next, the development device 106Y develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 103Y with a yellow toner. A toner image of yellow developed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 103Y is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 107 by the primary transfer roller 108Y. Toner images of magenta, cyan, and black are also transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 107 in similar image formation processes.
The toner image of each color transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 107 is conveyed to a secondary transfer portion T2 by the intermediate transfer belt 107. A transfer bias for transferring the toner image to the recording material S is applied to the secondary transfer roller 109 disposed in the secondary transfer portion T2. The toner image conveyed to the secondary transfer portion T2 is transferred to the recording material S conveyed from the sheet feeding portion (sheet feeding cassette) 101 by the transfer bias of the secondary transfer roller 109.
The recording material S is stored in a form of being stacked in the sheet feeding portion 101, and is fed to a conveyance path 20 according to an image formation timing. In a sheet feeding method, a leading end of the recording material S is first flipped up by friction of a sheet feeding roller 80, and only one sheet of the recording material S is conveyed to the conveyance path 20 by a pair of sheet separation conveying rollers 9a and 9b configured to prevent double feeding of the recording material S. Thereafter, the recording material S pulled out by a pair of conveying rollers 10a and 10b is conveyed to a pair of registration rollers 11a and 11b through the conveyance path 20, and is temporarily stopped. Note that skew feeding correction and timing correction are performed at the pair of registration rollers 11a and 11b, and then conveyance to the secondary transfer portion T2 is performed.
The recording material S to which the toner image has been transferred in the secondary transfer portion T2 is conveyed to the fixing device 100. The fixing device 100 fixes the toner image on the recording material S by heat and pressure. The recording material S subjected to the fixing processing by the fixing device 100 is discharged to a sheet discharging portion 111.
As illustrated in
A drum unit 518, which is an example of a replaceable replacement unit, is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. The drum unit 518 is a cartridge to be replaced by an operator such as a user or a maintenance person. The drum unit 518 (Y, M, C, or K) of the present embodiment includes the photosensitive drum 103 (Y, M, C, or K) rotatably supported with respect to a frame of the drum unit 518.
In addition, the developing unit 641 separate from the drum unit 518 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. The developing unit 641 of the present embodiment is a cartridge in which the development device 106 and a toner accommodating portion illustrated in
As illustrated in
An opening is formed in the front plate 642 such that the drum unit 518 and the developing unit 641 can be inserted and removed from the front side of the image forming apparatus 1. The drum unit 518 and the developing unit 641 are mounted at predetermined positions (mounting positions) of the body of the image forming apparatus 1 through the opening.
Next, a method for inserting and removing the drum unit 518 and the developing unit 641, which are parts that need to be periodically replaced, to and from the image forming apparatus 1 will be described in more detail.
In the following description, the front plate 642 side is defined as the front side, and the rear plate 643 side is defined as the rear side. In addition, when the photosensitive drum 103K on which an electrostatic latent image relating to a black toner image is formed is used as a reference, a side where the photosensitive drum 103Y on which an electrostatic latent image relating to a yellow toner image is formed is disposed is defined as the left side. When the photosensitive drum 103Y on which the electrostatic latent image relating to the yellow toner image is formed is used as the reference, a side where the photosensitive drum 103K on which the electrostatic latent image relating to the black toner image is formed is disposed is defined as the right side. Further, a direction that is perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction defined here and directed upward in the vertical direction is defined as an upward direction, and a direction that is perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction defined here and directed downward in the vertical direction is defined as a downward direction. The defined front direction F, rear direction B, right direction R, left direction L, upward direction U, and downward direction D are illustrated in
In addition, one end side in a rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 103 described in the following description means the front side defined here, and the other end side means the rear side defined here. One end side and the other end side in the front-rear direction also correspond to the front side and the rear side defined here. One end side in the left-right direction means the right side defined here, and the other end side means the left side defined here.
Here, in the present embodiment, a toner (developer) accommodated in a toner container (developing container) is a two-component developer in which a negatively charged nonmagnetic toner and a magnetic carrier are mixed. The nonmagnetic toner contains a colorant, a wax component, and the like in a resin such as polyester or styrene, and is pulverized or polymerized to form powder. In the present embodiment, the nonmagnetic toner having an average particle diameter of 5 μm is used. The magnetic carrier is obtained by applying a resin coating to a surface layer of a core including ferrite particles or resin particles obtained by kneading magnetic powder.
Next, an optical print head (exposure head) 105 included in the exposure unit 500 will be described. Here, an example of an exposure system adopted in an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic system is a laser beam scanning exposure system in which scanning with an irradiation beam of a semiconductor laser is performed using a rotating polygon mirror to expose a photosensitive drum through an f-θ lens. The “optical print head 105” described in the present embodiment is used for an LED exposure system in which the photosensitive drum 103 is exposed to light using light emitting elements such as LEDs arranged along the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 103, and is not used for the laser beam scanning exposure system described above.
The optical print head 105 described in the present embodiment is provided on the lower side in the vertical direction with respect to the rotational axis of the photosensitive drum 103, and exposes the photosensitive drum 103 from below by a light beam emitted from an LED 503 of the optical print head 105.
As illustrated in
Next, the substrate 502 held by the holding member 505 will be described.
An LED chip 639 is mounted on the substrate 502. As illustrated in
The body of the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a substrate (not illustrated) including a controller and a connector. The other end of the FFC is connected to the connector. That is, the FFC electrically connects the substrate of the body of the image forming apparatus 1 and the substrate 502 of the optical print head 105. A control signal (drive signal) is input to the substrate 502 from the controller of the body of the image forming apparatus 1 via the FFC and the FFC connector 504. The LED chip 639 is driven by the control signal input to the substrate 502.
The LED chip 639 mounted on the substrate 502 will be described in more detail. As illustrated in
The LED chips 639-1 to 639-29 are alternately disposed in two rows along the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 103. That is, as illustrated in
Note that the light emitting element (exposure light source) is a semiconductor LED which is a light emitting diode in the present embodiment, but may be, for example, an organic light emitting diode (OLED). This OLED is also called organic electro-luminescence (EL), and is a current-driven light emitting element. The OLEDs are disposed on a line along a main scanning direction (axial direction of the photosensitive drum 103) on a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, for example, and are electrically connected in parallel by power supply wiring similarly provided along the main scanning direction.
Next, the lens array 506 which is a lens assembly will be described.
A dotted line Z illustrated in
An attachment position of the lens array 506 with respect to the lens attachment portion 701 (see
The optical print head 105 is provided inside the image forming apparatus to be movable between an exposure position of exposing the photosensitive drum 103 and a retracted position farther away from the photosensitive drum 103 than the exposure position. The optical print head 105 exposes the photosensitive drum 103 at the exposure position. The optical print head 105 is moved between the exposure position and the retracted position by the moving mechanism (not illustrated).
The holding member 505 of the optical print head 105 is provided with a positioning pin 507 and a positioning pin 508. The positioning pin 507 is provided on the holding member 505 on one side (at an end on the front side of the lens array 506) in the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 103. The positioning pin 508 is provided on the holding member 505 on the other side (at an end on the rear side of the lens array 506) in the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 103.
The positioning pins 507 and 508 project from both sides of the holding member 505 in the optical axis direction of the lens array 506. As the positioning pin 507 and the positioning pin 508 butt against the drum unit 518, a gap is formed between the lens array 506 and the photosensitive drum 103. The position (exposure position) of the optical print head 105 with respect to the photosensitive drum 103 is set in this manner.
In the image forming apparatus 1, the optical print head (exposure head) 105 is provided between the charging device 104 and the development device 106. When foreign matter such as a toner adheres to the light emergent surface of the lens array 506 provided in the optical print head 105, there is a possibility that light emitted from the light emitting element is partially shielded, which causes degradation in image quality of an output image. Therefore, it is desirable that the light emergent surface of the optical print head 105 be periodically cleaned.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes a cleaning rod 801 as a cleaning member that cleans the lens array 506 of the optical print head 105. A configuration of the cleaning rod 801 will be described with reference to
The cleaning rod 801 cleans the lens array 506 of the optical print head 105. The cleaning rod 801 has an elongated rod shape as a whole, and has a shape extending in the longitudinal direction along the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 103. The cleaning rod 801 includes a cleaning portion 803, a grip portion 802, a protruding portion 806, an elastic portion 805, and a guide member 807.
The grip portion 802 is provided at the other end (a rear end) of the cleaning rod 801 in the longitudinal direction, and is a portion gripped by the operator during cleaning.
The cleaning portion 803 is provided at one end (distal end) of the cleaning rod 801 in the longitudinal direction, and abuts on the lens array 506 and cleans the lens array 506. Although details will be described later, the cleaning portion 803 is provided on the lower side of the cleaning rod 801. The cleaning rod 801 moves the cleaning portion 803 in the longitudinal direction to clean the lens array 506. A pressing member 804 configured to fix the cleaning portion 803 is provided on the distal end side of the cleaning rod 801 in the longitudinal direction.
The cleaning rod 801 is provided with the elastic portion 805 on one side in the width direction. In the elastic portion 805, a rigidity in the width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is different from a rigidity in the optical axis direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the width direction, and the rigidity in the width direction is lower than the rigidity in the optical axis direction. More specifically, a cross section of the elastic portion 805 when seen from the longitudinal direction is a rectangle (rectangle having a short side in the width direction and a long side in the optical axis direction), and the elastic portion 805 has a thickness t1 in the width direction (first direction) being thinner than a thickness t2 in the optical axis direction (second direction). With this configuration, the elastic portion 805 has the rigidity in the width direction being lower than the rigidity in the optical axis direction.
The cleaning rod 801 is provided with the protruding portion 806 protruding to the one side in the width direction. The protruding portion 806 protrudes outward in the width direction with respect to a second guiding member 808 (see
The protruding portion 806 is provided in the elastic portion 805, and moves in the width direction when the elastic portion 805 is elastically deformed in the width direction. In other words, the protruding portion 806 is provided to be movable in the width direction.
The protruding portion 806 is provided in the vicinity (immediately behind in the longitudinal direction) of the cleaning portion 803, and here, the protruding portion 806 is provided immediately behind in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion 803.
Further, the cleaning rod 801 includes the guide member 807 that restricts a position of the elastic portion 805 in the optical axis direction (second direction). The guide member 807 restricts deformation of the elastic portion 805, caused by an unexpected external force in the optical axis direction, within a predetermined range. A material of the guide member 807 is a metal material, for example, sheet metal made of a metal material.
Next, a guide configuration of the cleaning rod 801 will be described with reference to
The image forming apparatus 1 includes the frame 800 (see
The second guiding member 808 is provided on an extension line of the longitudinal direction of the lens array 506. The second guiding member 808 is provided on the front side in the longitudinal direction of the lens array 506 separately from the optical print head 105. The second guiding member 808 guides the cleaning rod 801 between the photosensitive drum 103 and the optical print head 105.
As illustrated in
The second guiding member 808 includes the first restricting portion 810 that restricts a position of the cleaning rod 801 in the width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. The first restricting portions 810 are provided to face each other on both sides in the width direction. The position of the cleaning rod 801 in the width direction is restricted between the first restricting portions 810 and 810 provided to face each other on both the sides in the width direction.
The second guiding member 808 includes the second restricting portion 813 that restricts a position of the cleaning rod 801 in the optical axis direction. The second restricting portion 813 is provided so as to face the placement portion 814 in the optical axis direction.
The second restricting portion 813 is provided on the back side of the first restricting portion 810 in the longitudinal direction, and an end 813a of the second restricting portion 813 on the front side in the longitudinal direction is located on the back side in the longitudinal direction of an end 810a of the first restricting portion 810 on the front side in the longitudinal direction. The second restricting portion 813 restricts the position in the optical axis direction of the cleaning rod 801 restricted in the width direction by the first restricting portion 810. As a result, the operability of inserting the cleaning rod 801 into the second guiding member 808 is improved.
A width h1 of the cleaning rod 801 including the protruding portion 806 in the width direction is wider than a width h2 of the second guiding member 808 in the width direction on the inner side of the first restricting portions 810 and 810 (see
Although not illustrated, the second guiding member 808 includes a stopper (not illustrated) configured to stop the inserted cleaning rod 801 at a predetermined position. As a result, when being inserted into the second guiding member 808, the cleaning rod 801 is stopped at the predetermined position by the stopper.
As described above, the first guiding member 809 is provided on the back side of the second guiding member 808 in the longitudinal direction. The first guiding member 809 is provided separately from the optical print head 105 on the outer side in the width direction (first direction) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the optical print head 105. The first guiding member 809 guides the cleaning rod 801 guided between the photosensitive drum 103 and the optical print head 105 along the longitudinal direction of the optical print head 105.
As illustrated in
When the protruding portion 806 of the cleaning rod 801 abuts, the first guide portion 812 guides the cleaning portion 803 in the direction of approaching the light emergent surface of the lens array 506, and causes the cleaning portion 803 to abut on the light emergent surface of the lens array 506.
The second guide portion 811 is provided on the back side of the first guide portion 812 in the longitudinal direction. The second guide portion 811 is provided in the longitudinal direction along the lens array 506. When the protruding portion 806 of the cleaning rod 801 abuts, the second guide portion 811 restricts the position in the optical axis direction of the cleaning portion 803 abutting on the light emergent surface of the lens array 506 over the longitudinal direction of the lens array 506.
The first guide portion 812 and the second guide portion 811 are provided on the outer side of the optical print head 105 in the width direction, and do not hinder the movement of the optical print head 105 moving between the exposure position and the retracted position along the optical axis direction. In addition, the protruding portion 806 of the cleaning rod 801 protrudes outward in the width direction with respect to the optical print head 105 and is provided at the position where abutment on the first guiding member 809 is possible (see
Next, an operation during cleaning of the lens array 506 using the cleaning rod 801 will be described.
As described above, the optical print head 105 is supported to be movable between the exposure position of exposing the photosensitive drum 103 and the retracted position of being retracted in the direction farther away from the photosensitive drum 103 than the exposure position. The optical print head 105 is moved between the exposure position and the retracted position along the optical axis direction by the moving mechanism (not illustrated).
The cleaning of the light emergent surface of the lens array 506 using the cleaning rod 801 is performed in a state where the optical print head 105 is moved to the retracted position farther away from the photosensitive drum 103 than the exposure position by the moving mechanism (not illustrated). That is, the retracted position referred to here means a cleaning position for cleaning the light emergent surface of the lens array 506. The operator grips and operates the grip portion 802 provided on the rear end side of the cleaning rod 801 to clean the light emergent surface of the lens array 506.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
According to the present embodiment, the cleaning rod 801 (cleaning portion 803) can be stably guided with respect to the optical print head 105 by the first guide portion (inclined portion) 812 of the first guiding member 809. The light emergent surface of the lens array 506 of the optical print head 105 can be reliably cleaned due to the second guide portion (restricting portion) 811 of the first guiding member 809.
In addition, since the positions of the cleaning rod 801 during insertion and during cleaning are restricted by the second guiding member 808 and the first guiding member 809, the cleaning portion 803 can be reliably cleaned without coming off from a lens surface even when the operator applies an unexpected force.
In addition, the space is saved by minimizing an opening of the first restricting portion 810, and the second guiding member 808 can be disposed for each color even when a distance between the photosensitive drums 103 of the respective colors is narrowed. In addition, it is possible to restrict deflection in the first direction when the operator inserts the cleaning rod 801.
In the present embodiment, as the cleaning portion 803 includes a cleaning member 803a (first cleaning portion) and a cleaning member 803b (second cleaning portion). Each of the cleaning member 803a and the cleaning member 803b is provided so as to protrude in a direction away from the cleaning rod 801 in a light emitting direction of the lens array 506 which is the optical axis direction. Each of the cleaning member 803a and the cleaning member 803b is a member having flexibility, and made of, for example, a material such as urethane rubber. The cleaning members 803a and 803b are provided at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning rod 801, and are provided so as to have different protrusion amounts in the optical axis direction. In the present embodiment, the cleaning member 803b is provided at a position closer to an end than the cleaning member 803a in the longitudinal direction, and the cleaning member 803a has a longer protrusion amount in the optical axis direction than the cleaning member 803b. Although details will be described later, each of the cleaning member 803a and the cleaning member 803b has a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and is deformed in the longitudinal direction when coming into contact with the light emergent surface of the lens array 506. In the present embodiment, a protrusion amount of the cleaning portion 803 indicates a portion where the cleaning portion 803 protrudes from the cleaning rod 801 in the optical axis direction and the cleaning portion 803 is exposed from the cleaning rod 801, and a portion where the cleaning portion 803 is deformable in the longitudinal direction. In the present embodiment, the cleaning portion 803 protruding from the cleaning rod 801 is defined as a protruding portion.
In
In
Since the plurality of cleaning members having different protrusion amounts is provided in the present embodiment as described above, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the lens array 506 can be effectively removed even when the distance between the cleaning rod 801 and the lens array 506 in the optical axis direction changes.
Although the two cleaning members having different protrusion amounts are provided on the cleaning rod in the present embodiment, three or more cleaning members may be provided not limited thereto. In addition, cleaning members having the same protrusion amount may be included when three or more cleaning members are provided although the two cleaning members having different protrusion amounts are provided in the present embodiment.
Although the two cleaning members having the same cross-sectional shape are used in the present embodiment, but a plurality of cleaning members respectively having different cross-sectional shapes may be used.
The image forming apparatus 1 including the cleaning rod 801 according to a second embodiment will be described. The same parts as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. A configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as that in the above-described first embodiment except for configurations of the cleaning rod 801 and the first guiding member 809, and thus, the description thereof is omitted here. In the present embodiment, a configuration of the cleaning rod, a guide configuration of the cleaning rod, and a cleaning operation, which are different from those in the first embodiment, will be described.
Next, the configuration of the cleaning rod 801 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to
The cleaning rod 801 according to the present embodiment includes the cleaning portion 803, the grip portion 802, protruding portions 806a and 806b, elastic portions 805a and 805b, and the guide member 807. The cleaning portion 803 and the grip portion 802 are similar to those of the above-described embodiment, and thus, the description thereof is omitted here.
The cleaning rod 801 according to the present embodiment includes the elastic portions 805a and 805b on both sides in the width direction. The cleaning rod 801 is provided with the elastic portion 805a on one side in the width direction and the elastic portion 805b on the other side. In each of the elastic portions 805a and 805b, a rigidity in the width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is different from a rigidity in the optical axis direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the width direction, and the rigidity in the width direction is lower than the rigidity in the optical axis direction. More specifically, a cross section of each of the elastic portions 805a and 805b when seen from the longitudinal direction is a rectangle (rectangle having a short side in the width direction and a long side in the optical axis direction), and each of the elastic portions 805a and 805b has a thickness t1 in the width direction (first direction) being thinner than a thickness t2 in the optical axis direction (second direction). With this configuration, the rigidity of each of the elastic portions 805a and 805b in the width direction is lower than the rigidity in the optical axis direction.
The cleaning rod 801 according to the present embodiment includes the protruding portions 806a and 806b on both the sides in the width direction. The cleaning rod 801 is provided with the protruding portion 806a protruding to one side in the width direction and the protruding portion 806b protruding to the other side. The protruding portions 806a and 806b protrude outward in the width direction from the second guiding member 808 and are provided at positions where the protruding portions can abut on first guiding members 809a and 809b, respectively. Each of the protruding portions 806a and 806b is provided to be movable between the position protruding outward in the width direction with respect to the second guiding member 808 and a position retracted inward in the width direction of the second guiding member 808 from the protruding position. The protruding portions 806a and 806b are guided by the first guiding members 809a and 809b at the protruding positions. Since the second guiding member 808 is similar to that of the above-described embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here. The first guiding members 809a and 809b will be described later.
The protruding portions 806a and 806b are provided in the elastic portions 805a and 805b, respectively, and move in the width direction as the elastic portions 805a and 805b are elastically deformed in the width direction. In other words, the protruding portions 806a and 806b are provided to be movable in the width direction.
Further, the cleaning rod 801 includes the guide member 807 that restricts a position of each of the elastic portions 805a and 805b in the optical axis direction (second direction). The guide member 807 restricts deformation of each of the elastic portions 805a and 805b, caused by an unexpected external force in the optical axis direction, within a predetermined range. A material of the guide member 807 is a metal material, for example, sheet metal made of a metal material.
Next, the guide configuration of the cleaning rod 801 will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
Here, the second guiding member 808 illustrated in
A width of the cleaning rod 801 including the protruding portions 806a and 806b in the width direction is wider than a width of the second guiding member 808 in the width direction on the inner side of the first restricting portions 810 and 810. As described above, the protruding portions 806a and 806b are provided in the elastic portions 805a and 805b, respectively, and are movable (elastically deformable) in the width direction. When entering between the first restricting portions 810 and 810 of the second guiding member 808, the protruding portions 806a and 806b move to positions retracted inward in the width direction of the second guiding member 808 from positions protruding more than the width of the second guiding member 808 due to elastic deformation of the elastic portions 805a and 805b. Then, when passing through the second guiding member 808, the protruding portions 806a and 806b move from the retracted positions to the protruding positions by restoring forces of the elastic portions 805a and 805b, that is, return to positions where the protruding portions can abut on the first guiding members 809a and 809b, respectively, as the original positions.
The first guiding members 809a and 809b according to the present embodiment are provided on both sides in the width direction, respectively. The first guiding member 809a on one side in the width direction has a first guide portion 812a and a second guide portion 811a, and the first guiding member 809b on the other side has a first guide portion 812b and a second guide portion 811b. The first guiding members 809a and 809b are provided to face each other in the width direction, and are provided on both the sides with the optical print head 105 interposed therebetween.
As described above, the first guiding members 809a and 809b are provided on the back side of the second guiding member 808 in the longitudinal direction. The first guiding members 809a and 809b are provided separately from the optical print head 105 on the outer side in the width direction (first direction) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the optical print head 105. The first guiding members 809a and 809b guide the cleaning rod 801 guided between the photosensitive drum 103 and the optical print head 105 along the longitudinal direction of the optical print head 105.
As illustrated in
Next, an operation during cleaning of the lens array 506 using the cleaning rod 801 will be described.
The cleaning of the light emergent surface of the lens array 506 using the cleaning rod 801 is performed in a state where the optical print head 105 is moved to the retracted position farther away from the photosensitive drum 103 than the exposure position by the moving mechanism (not illustrated). That is, the retracted position referred to here means a cleaning position for cleaning the light emergent surface of the lens array 506. The operator grips and operates the grip portion 802 provided on the rear end side of the cleaning rod 801 to clean the light emergent surface of the lens array 506.
Since the cleaning portion 803 is similar to that of the above-described embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.
The second guiding member 808 is provided on an apparatus body front side of the optical print head 105. The second guiding member 808 has the first restricting portions 810 and 810 on both the sides in the first direction. When the cleaning rod 801 is inserted between the first restricting portions 810 and 810 of the second guiding member 808 by the operator, the protruding portions 806a and 806b protruding from the cleaning rod 801 in the first direction abut on the first restricting portions 810 and 810, respectively. At this time, in the first direction, the width of the cleaning rod 801 including the protruding portions 806a and 806b is wider than the width between the first restricting portions 810 and 810. Therefore, when the cleaning rod 801 is further inserted, the protruding portions 806a and 806b are retracted by elastic deformation of the elastic portions 805a and 805b in the first direction, and proceed while abutting on the first restricting portions 810 and 810. As a result, the operator can insert the cleaning rod 801 while restricting the position of the cleaning rod 801 in the first direction. When the restriction (abutment) by both the first restricting portions 810 and 810 is released after the distal end side of the cleaning rod 801 passes through the second guiding member 808, the protruding portions 806a and 806b return to the positions before the elastic deformation by the restoring forces of the elastic portions 805a and 805b in the first direction. That is, the protruding portions 806a and 806b returns to a position where the abutment on the first guide portions 812a and 812b and the second guide portions 811a and 811b of the first guiding members 809a and 809b is possible.
As illustrated in
According to the present embodiment, the cleaning rod 801 (cleaning portion 803) can be stably guided with respect to the optical print head 105 by the first guide portions 812a and 812b of the first guiding members 809a and 809b on both the sides in the width direction. The light emergent surface of the lens array 506 of the optical print head 105 can be reliably cleaned due to the second guide portions 811a and 811b of the first guiding members 809a and 809b on both the sides in the width direction.
In addition, an effect of restricting the position of the cleaning rod 801 by the second guiding member 808 and the first guiding members 809a and 809b on both the sides in the width direction is enhanced, and the cleaning portion 803 can be reliably cleaned without coming off from a lens surface even when the operator applies a larger force.
Although the four image forming portions are used in the above-described embodiments, the number of image forming portions to be used is not limited, and may be appropriately set as necessary.
Further, the printer has been exemplified as the image forming apparatus in the above-described embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, another image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine, or another image forming apparatus such as a multi-function peripheral combining these functions may be used. In addition, the image forming apparatus in which the intermediate transfer member is used, toner images of the respective colors are transferred onto the intermediate transfer member in a sequentially superimposed manner, and the toner images carried on the intermediate transfer member are collectively transferred to the recording material has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited thereto. An image forming apparatus may be configured to use a recording material carrying member to transfer toner images of respective colors onto a recording material carried on the recording material carrying member in a sequentially superimposed manner. Similar effects can be obtained by applying the present invention to these image forming apparatuses.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-064103, filed Apr. 11, 2023, No. 2023-079711, filed May 12, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2023-064103 | Apr 2023 | JP | national |
2023-079711 | May 2023 | JP | national |