Cleaning device and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11148442-B2
Application number	US-202016885329-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 28, 2020
Priority date	May 30, 2019
Publication date	Oct 19, 2021
Grant date	Oct 19, 2021

Abstract

A cleaning device includes a controller configured to control cleaning of a conveyance roller by a web. The controller includes a separation and contact control unit, a conveyance roller rotation control unit, and a take-up control unit. The separation and contact control unit is configured to control a separation and contact mechanism so as to allow the web to be pressed to the conveyance roller when the conveyance roller is in a non-conveyable state. The conveyance roller rotation control unit rotates the conveyance roller in a state where the web is pressed to the conveyance roller. The take-up control unit is configured to allow the take-up roller to perform a take-up operation of taking up the web by rotatably driving the take-up roller plural times at a predetermined time interval within a cleaning time set in advance in a state where the conveyance roller is being rotated.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cleaning device capable of cleaning a surface of a conveyance roller that is rotatably supported on an apparatus body of an image forming apparatus and is configured to convey a sheet, the cleaning device comprising:
a strip-shaped web configured to clean the surface of the conveyance roller by being brought into contact with the surface of the conveyance roller;
a support roller configured to support a rolled body formed of the web;
a take-up roller configured to be rotatably driven and to take up the web while pulling out the web from the support roller;
a pressing roller configured to be brought into contact with the web between the support roller and the take-up roller, and configured to press the web to the conveyance roller;
a separation and contact mechanism configured to separate the web from the conveyance roller and to bring the web into contact with the conveyance roller by changing a position of the pressing roller with respect to the conveyance roller; and
a controller configured to control cleaning of the conveyance roller by the web, wherein
the controller includes:
a conveyance state determination unit configured to determine whether the conveyance roller is in either a sheet conveyable state or a sheet non-conveyable state;
a separation and contact control unit configured to control the separation and contact mechanism so as to allow the web to be pressed to the conveyance roller by the pressing roller when the conveyance roller is in the sheet non-conveyable state;
a conveyance roller rotation control unit configured to rotate the conveyance roller in a state where the web is pressed to the conveyance roller; and
a take-up control unit configured to allow the take-up roller to perform a take-up operation of taking up the web by rotatably driving the take-up roller plural times at a predetermined time interval within a cleaning time set in advance in a state where the conveyance roller is being rotated.

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the take-up control unit is configured to perform:
monitoring processing for monitoring a cumulative value of a number of times of the take-up operation;
operation number setting processing for setting a number of times of the take-up operation performed within the cleaning time corresponding to the cumulative value such that a total take-up amount of the web taken up by the take-up roller due to the take-up operation performed plural times becomes constant within a predetermined allowable range; and
take-up processing for allowing the take-up roller to perform the take-up operation the number of times set by the operation number setting processing within the cleaning time.

3. The cleaning device according to claim 2 , wherein
the take-up control unit is configured to allow the take-up roller to perform the take-up operations the plural time at equal time intervals in the take-up processing.

4. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyance roller rotation control unit is configured to continue the rotation of the conveyance roller within a predetermined rotation continuation time from a point of time of the end of the cleaning time, and
the separation and contact control unit is configured to control the separation and contact mechanism so as to separate the web from the conveyance roller within the rotation continuation time.

5. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
an apparatus body;
a conveyance roller configured to be rotatably supported on the apparatus body and to convey a sheet;
an image forming unit configured to form an image on the sheet; and
the cleaning device according to claim 1 configured to clean the conveyance roller.

Assignees

• Kyocera Document Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Watanabe Takeshi
• Tamai Hiroatsu
• Satake Kenichi
• Sakane Hiroki
• Usui Masato
• Yuasa Yuzuru
• Tamekuni Yusuke
• Michishita Yasuhiro
• Ohata Shinobu
• Miyakoshi Naoto
• Yamasaki Shunsuke

Classifications

• B41J29/17 Primary

  Cleaning arrangements · CPC title

• G03G21/169

  for the cleaning unit · CPC title

• B65H2301/531

  Cleaning parts of handling machine · CPC title

• B41F35/00

  Cleaning arrangements or devices {(in manifolding apparatus or the like B41L41/00)} · CPC title

• B41P2235/24

  using rolls of cleaning cloth · CPC title