1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to improvements in cleaning apparatus of the type used, for example, in electrostatic document printers or copiers to remove residual toner, carrier, dust, lint, paper fibers, and the like, from a moving surface, typically in the form of an endless web. More particularly, it relates to a bracket/backup shoe assembly for precisely and repeatedly positioning a customer-replaceable cleaning cartridge adjacent to a moving web that is to be continuously cleaned by such cartridge.
2. Description Relative to the Prior Art
Many electrophotographic printers/copiers use endless webs for recording and/or transferring images, as well as for conveying image-receiving sheets (typically sheets of paper) between image-transfer and other image-processing stations within the instrument. To assure high quality results, it is necessary to maintain the surfaces of such webs free of particulate contaminates (toner, dust lint paper fibers, etc) that may ultimately transfer to the image-receiver sheet or otherwise degrade the quality of images produced thereon. Heretofore, a variety of web-cleaning devices have been devised and used to satisfy this need. One such device is generally referred to as a “blade cleaner” and, as its name suggests, it comprises one or more elongated flexible blades having an edge positioned to contact a moving web to either scrape or wipe particles from the web, depending on the angle of contact between the blade and the web surface. Different types of blade cleaners, both scrapers and wipers, are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,485 in which cleaning blades serve to remove particulate material from an endless elastic belt used to convey copy sheets in an electrostatic copier.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,483, a blade-type cleaning station is disclosed for use in a table-top electrostatic printer. Here, a pair of spaced, parallel cleaning blades set to operate in a wiping mode, serves to remove or scavenge residual toner from an endless photoconductive image-recording belt following transfer of a toner image to a copy sheet. As the image-recording belt moves along its endless path, scavenged toner falls into a sump from which it is continuously removed by a rotatably driven auger. The rotating auger, which is located in the bottom of the sump, serves to transport the scavenged toner to a remote receptacle that can be readily removed from the machine and emptied by the operator. In this disclosure, the cleaning station is rigidly mounted on the printer's base frame. To gain access to the cleaning station for servicing, and the like, the entire print engine, including the image-recording belt, is mounted on a pivoting frame for movement towards and away from the cleaning station. As it moves towards the cleaning station, the print engine's image-recording belt pressingly engages the respective edges of the cleaning blades and is thereby positioned to be cleaned by the blades as the belt advances along its endless path. Upon being moved away from the cleaning station, sufficient space is eventually provided to enable the machine operator or service personnel to service the cleaning station, e.g., to vacuum scavenged toner from that portion of the sump directly beneath the cleaning blades, or to replace the cleaning blades themselves.
While the cleaning station disclosed in the above-noted patent affords certain advantages not found in prior devices, it may still be viewed as problematic in certain respects. For example, the rotating auger system used to transport scavenged particles from the blade cleaner to a remote receptacle for removal is a relatively complex and costly component of the machine, one that is subject to eventually fail. Further, since the cleaning station is fixed within the machine frame, service access can only be effected by pivoting the relatively heavy print engine through a large arc away from the cleaning station. This, of course, necessitates a relatively formidable and complex mounting mechanism, one that is capable of handling and counter-balancing the relatively heavy weight of the print engine. Ideally, the print engine should remain stationary, and the cleaning station, like most other image-processing stations, should be movable relative to it. Further, once the print engine has been pivoted to its service position to gain access to the scavenged particle sump for vacuuming, blade replacement, etc., the entire sump is exposed to ambient air, and any air currents in the vicinity of the open sump, as occurs during movement of the print engine, can have the effect of blowing toner, dust, etc. throughout the instrument. Ideally, the scavenged particle sump should be easily removed from the vicinity of the machine frame while scavenged particles are confined therein. Once removed, the sump can then be discarded and replaced with a new sump, or it may be cleaned at a location safely spaced from the machine and then replaced. Further, since there is no hard back-up for the web to resist the pressure applied on the web applied by the cleaning blades, the web is likely to stretch over time, thereby changing the dynamics at the blade edge/web interface.
In the cross-referenced patent application noted above, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference, a customer-replaceable web-cleaning cartridge is disclosed that addresses some of the short-comings noted above. In the embodiment disclosed, an endless web to be cleaned is part of a conveyor system used to transport image-receiver sheets past one or more image-transfer stations in an electrophotographic printer. The web-cleaning cartridge comprises a pair of cleaning blades positioned to operate in a wiping mode to scavenge particles from the web surface, and a sump housing that serves both to support the cleaning blades and to collect and retain particles wiped from the web by the blades. Preferably, the cartridge blades are designed to cooperate with a hard backup “shoe” located on the opposite side of the web surface from that contacted by the blades to produce a uniform wiping pressure across the web width while minimizing any tendency for the web to stretch. It is also preferred that the cleaning cartridge be fabricated so as to be disposable after the sump housing has become filled with particles. Thereafter, the cartridge can be readily replaced with a new cartridge. This replaceability of the cartridge necessitates a reliable mechanism by which each new cartridge can be precisely positioned in contact with the web surface with the cleaning blades exerting a predetermined and uniform pressure on the web across its entire width. Further, such a mechanism should enable the cartridge to be easily moved between its operative position and a service position in which the cartridge blades, seals, lid, etc can be removed, serviced and, if necessary, replaced.
In view of the foregoing, an object of this invention is to provide an improved web-cleaning apparatus that overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art devices.
Another object of this invention is to provide a simple yet reliable apparatus for supporting a web-cleaning cartridge of the type described above for movement between an operative position in which the cartridge is supported with its cleaning blades in contact at uniform pressure with the web, and a service position in which the cartridge is sufficiently displaced from the web to enable cartridge servicing and/or replacement.
Another object of this invention is to provide a simple yet reliable apparatus by which one end of a web-cleaning cartridge can be pivoted away from pressing engagement with a hard backup member that pivotally supports the cartridge and into a service position in which the cartridge can be de-coupled from a supporting bracket.
As will become more apparent from the ensuing detailed description of preferred embodiments, these and other objects of the invention are realized, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, by the provision of a new and improved apparatus for cleaning particulate material from a moving web in an electrostatic printer/copier. Such apparatus comprises: (a) a web-cleaning cartridge having a web-cleaning component adapted to contact a surface of a moving web and to remove particles therefrom; and (b) a support bracket/backup shoe assembly for selectively positioning said web-cleaning cartridge in a web-cleaning position in which said web-cleaning component pressingly engages the web surface. The support bracket/backup shoe assembly comprises: (i) a bracket housing for releasably supporting the web-cleaning cartridge, and (ii) a backup shoe assembly having a hard surface adapted to contact the web surface opposite that contacted by the web-cleaning component and to resist the force exerted by the web-cleaning component of the cartridge. The backup shoe is mounted at a fixed location along the web path, and the bracket housing is pivotally mounted on the backup shoe for movement between an operative position in which the web-cleaning component exerts a substantially uniform pressure on the web, and a service position in which the web-cleaning cartridge is sufficiently spaced from the web to enable the removal of the web-cleaning cartridge from the bracket housing.
According to another aspect of the invention, apparatus is provided for releasably supporting a replaceable web-cleaning cartridge for movement between an operative position in which one or more web-cleaning elements of the cartridge contact a moving web surface and act to remove particulate material from such surface, and a service position in which the cartridge is sufficiently spaced from the web to facilitate service and/or replacement of the cartridge. Such apparatus comprises a bracket/backup shoe assembly including: (a) a bracket sub-assembly including a frame defining a cavity for releasably receiving and supporting the web-cleaning cartridge; (b) a backup shoe sub-assembly adapted to contact a web surface opposite that contacted by the cleaning element(s) of the web-cleaning cartridge to provide a resistance to pressure exerted on the web by the cleaning element(s); (c) a first mount for supporting the backup shoe sub-assembly at a fixed location adjacent the path of movement of the web; (d) a second mount for pivotally connecting an end of the bracket sub-assembly to the backup shoe sub-assembly to enable the cartridge to move between its operative and service positions; and (e) a latch for releasably latching the two sub-assemblies in a position in which the cartridge is in its operative position. Preferably, the pivotal mounting between the respective bracket and backup shoe sub-assemblies are effected by a slot/tab assembly which enables the cartridge-supporting bracket to be physically de-coupled from the shoe assembly, thereby facilitating cartridge service and/or replacement, or a replacement of the endless web.
The invention and its various advantages will be better understood from the ensuing detailed description of preferred embodiments, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters denote like parts.
The invention and its objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings, in which:
While the present invention will be hereinafter described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.
Referring now to
The above-noted toner images and toned process control patches are then transferred to an intermediate image-transfer member 108 at a transfer nip 109. Any residual toner on the image-recording member 103 is removed by a cleaning brush 104 prior to recycling the image-recording member through the image-forming process. The image-transfer member may comprise, for example, an electrically-conductive drum 141 having a compliant blanket 143 with a relatively hard overcoat 142. The conductive drum is electrically biased by a power supply 150. The toner images transferred onto intermediate image-transfer member are then re-transferred to an image-receiver sheet S at a transfer nip 110 formed by a relatively small transfer roller 121 and an endless sheet-transport web 116 made of a dielectric material such as a polymer compound. Residual toner on member 108 is removed by a cleaning brush 111.
The image-receiver sheets S are presented to the endless sheet-transport web 116 at a feed station 112. Web 116 is trained around a pair of rollers 113 and 114, and a motor M serves to drive roller 113 in the direction indicated by the arrow. Motor M also serves to rotatably drive the image-recording and image-transfer drums. The image-receiver sheets (e.g., paper or plastic) attach to web 116 at a corona charging station 124 which operates to charge the top surface of the sheet so that it becomes electrostatically attracted to the web. The grounded rollers 113 and 114 serve to charge to the rear side of the web. Toner images are electrostatically attracted, and thereby transferred, to the image-receiver sheets by a suitable electrical bias applied to transfer roller 121 by power supply 152. A corona charger 126 serves to detack the image-receiver sheets as they wrap around transport roll 114, thereby freeing the sheets for further transport to a toner fusing station, not shown. Note, being outside the image frame areas on the image-recording drum, any toned process-control patches transferred to the image-transfer member 108 will re-transfer directly to the transport web in the region between successive image-receiver sheets. These toned patches must be removed from the web before receiving a new image-transfer sheet. Otherwise, the toner from these patches will transfer to the rear side of the image-receiver sheets.
Now in accordance with the present invention, a web-cleaning apparatus 130 is provided for removing not only the random toner particles, dust, paper debris, etc., that may accumulate on the outer surface sheet of the transport web 116 during repeated use of the printing machine described above, but also any relatively heavy deposits of toner that may be transferred to the web as the result of forming the aforementioned process-control patches on the image-recording drum, paper jams, misregistration of the toner image with the image-receiver sheets, etc. Referring to
As better described in the aforementioned cross-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,134, issued on Sep. 17, 2002, in the names of Ziegelmuller et al., the contents of which being hereby incorporated by reference herein, the CRCC comprises two or more cleaning blades 12, 14 (shown in
Referring to
In addition to the above-described features, the cartridge-supporting bracket assembly BA further comprises a T-shaped mounting feature 58 (shown best in
Referring to
Back-up shoe assembly SA further comprises a front mounting bracket 72 with features to allow precise positioning of the CRCC with respect to the shoe and a latching function with respect to the bracket assembly BA, and a rear bracket portion 74 having a slot feature that provides precise positioning of the cleaner with respect to the shoe.
The shoe assembly is designed to generate a uniform gap X between the top surface 50A of the sump bracket and the bottom-most part of the shoe, as shown in FIG. 8. By reducing variability in the gap, any variability in blade engagement can be reduced. Both the front and rear mounting brackets 72, 74 provide mounting interfaces for the bracket assembly BA. As noted above, the front mounting bracket 72 supports a latch keeper 77 that is engaged by a hook on the tension latch of the latch assembly to maintain the web-cleaning cartridge in an operative position relative to the backup shoe and the intervening web.
While the invention has been described in detail with reference to a presently preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that variations can be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Reference is made to the commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 6,453,134, issued on Sep. 17, 2002, in the names of Ziegelmuller et al., entitled “WEB-CLEANING APPARATUS FOR ELECTROSTATIC PRINTER/COPIER.”
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4866483 | Davis et al. | Sep 1989 | A |
5426485 | Fujita et al. | Jun 1995 | A |
6453134 | Ziegelmuller et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20040076446 A1 | Apr 2004 | US |