Cleaning device and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11148443-B2
Application number	US-202016885347-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 take-up control unit and a web end determination unit. The take-up control unit controls the solenoid such that the web is taken up by rotatably driving the take-up roller in a state where the web is pressed to the conveyance roller. The web end determination unit determines whether or not an end of the web is exposed on a support roller by a take-up operation of the take-up roller. The web end determination unit determines that the end of the web is exposed on the support roller when a detection result of a detection unit is not changed in spite of a fact that supplying of electricity to the solenoid is performed.

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 configured 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 solenoid configured to be operated with supplying of electricity to the solenoid and configured to rotatably drive the take-up roller;
a displacement member configured to be displaced by an operation of the solenoid and having a detection piece fixedly mounted on the displacement member;
a detection unit configured to detect the detection piece when the detection piece is disposed in a predetermined detection region corresponding to a displacement of the displacement member; and
a controller configured to control cleaning of the conveyance roller by the web, wherein
the controller includes:
a take-up control unit configured to control an operation of the solenoid such that a take-up operation where the web is taken up by rotatably driving the take-up roller is performed in a state where the web is pressed to the conveyance roller by the pressing roller; and
a web end determination unit configured to determine whether or not an end of the web is exposed on the support roller by the take-up operation of the take-up roller based on a state of supplying electricity to the solenoid and a detection result of the detection unit, and
the web end determination unit is configured to determine that the end of the web is exposed on the support roller when the detection result of the detection unit is not changed in spite of a fact that supplying of electricity to the solenoid is performed.

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the take-up roller includes a drive input portion to which a rotational drive force is inputted,
the displacement member is formed of a rotary member on which a detection piece is fixedly mounted and which is rotatably mounted on the apparatus body, and
the solenoid is configured to rotate the rotary member with supplying of electricity to the solenoid, and configured to output a rotational force of the rotary member as the rotational drive force to the drive input portion.

3. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller further includes an operation number determination unit configured to monitor a number of times of operation corresponding to supplying of electricity to the solenoid, and configured to determine whether or not a cumulative value of the number of times of operation has reached a predetermined threshold value, and
the web end determination unit is configured to perform web end determination processing for determining whether or not the end of the web is exposed on the support roller when the cumulative value of the number of times of operation has reached the threshold value.

4. The cleaning device according to claim 3 , wherein the controller further includes an information generation unit configured to generate information indicating respective determination results of the web end determination unit and the operation number determination unit,
the information generation unit configured to generate web exchange request information for notifying a fact that an exchange of the web is necessary when the web end determination unit determines that the end of the web is exposed on the support roller, and
the information generation unit configured to generate web remaining amount warning information for notifying a fact that a remaining amount of a rolled body formed of the web supported on the support roller has reached a predetermined warning remaining amount when the operation number determination unit determines that a cumulative value of the number of times of operation has reached the threshold value.

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

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

Classifications

• 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

• G03G21/169

  for the cleaning unit · CPC title

• G03G15/2025

  with special means for lubricating and/or cleaning the fixing unit, e.g. applying offset preventing fluid · CPC title

• B41P2235/24

  using rolls of cleaning cloth · CPC title