Cleaning device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9405271-B2
Application number	US-201614994873-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 13, 2016
Priority date	Jan 23, 2014
Publication date	Aug 2, 2016
Grant date	Aug 2, 2016

Abstract

A cleaning device includes a cleaner, a plurality of cleaning sub-units, a sub-unit holder, a detachable transmission assembly, and a plurality of joint couplers. The cleaner scrapes off adhered material from a surface of a cleaning target while contacting the surface of the cleaning target. The cleaning sub-units each includes a holder to hold the cleaner and a drive-receive rotator to receive a driving force. The sub-unit holder holds the cleaning sub-units. The detachable transmission assembly includes a driving-force receive rotator to receive a driving force from an external unit and a plurality of drive transmission rotators to transmit the driving force received by the driving-force receive rotator to the drive-receive rotators of the cleaning sub-units. The joint couplers mounted on the drive-receive rotators and the drive transmission rotators couple the drive-receive rotators with the drive transmission rotators in a rotation axial direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning device, comprising:
a cleaner to scrape off adhered material from a surface of a cleaning target while contacting the surface of the cleaning target;
a plurality of cleaning sub-units each including a holder to hold the cleaner and a drive-receive rotator to receive a driving force;
a body that includes a sub-unit holder holding the plurality of cleaning sub-units;
a transmission assembly that is detachably attached to the body as a unit, the transmission assembly including a driving-force receive rotator to receive a driving force from an external unit and a plurality of drive transmission rotators to transmit the driving force received by the driving-force receive rotator to the drive-receive rotators of the plurality of cleaning sub-units; and
a plurality of joint couplers mounted on the drive-receive rotators and the plurality of drive transmission rotators to couple the drive-receive rotators with the plurality of drive transmission rotators in a rotation axial direction.

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission assembly is detachable from the body as a unit of the cleaning device in the rotational axial direction.

3. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of joint couplers is made of insulating material.

4. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein transmission assembly is detachable from the body as a unit in a direction in which the plurality of cleaning sub-units is pulled out from the sub-unit holder.

5. The cleaning device according to claim 4 , further comprising a support protruding from a surface of the edge of the body in the direction in which the plurality of cleaning sub-units is pulled out from the sub-unit holder,
wherein the transmission assembly is fixed on the support.

6. The cleaning device according to claim 5 , wherein a height of the support is greater than a value obtained by subtracting a depth of a recess of one of the plurality of joint couplers to receive another of the plurality of joint couplers from a total of a length from the surface of the edge to a leading edge of the one of the plurality of joint couplers mounted to the drive-receive rotators in the direction and a length from a back face of a body of the transmission assembly to a leading edge of the plurality of drive transmission rotators in the direction.

7. The cleaning device according to claim 5 , wherein the support includes at least three supports.

8. The cleaning device according to claim 5 , wherein the support has a cylindrical shape having a diameter of 5 mm or greater.

9. The cleaning device according to claim 5 , wherein the support includes free cutting steel.

10. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a drive shaft including:
an input coupling that receives the driving force from the external unit, and
an output coupling that transfer the driving force to the driving-force receive rotator of the transmission assembly; and
joint caps, to receive voltages, at a side of the plurality of cleaning sub-units which is opposite to a side at which the plurality of cleaning sub-units is pulled out from the sub-unit holder,
wherein the transmission assembly is detachable from the body in a direction in which the plurality of cleaning sub-units is pulled out from the sub-unit holder.

11. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
an image bearer to bear a toner image;
an image forming device to form a toner image on a surface of the image bearer; and
a cleaning device including:
a cleaner to scrape off toner from the surface of the image bearer,
a plurality of cleaning sub-units each including a holder to hold the cleaner and a drive-receive rotator to receive a driving force,
a body that includes a sub-unit holder holding the plurality of cleaning sub-units,
a transmission assembly that is detachably attached to the body as a unit, the transmission assembly including a driving-force receive rotator to receive a driving force from an external unit and a plurality of drive transmission rotators to transmit the driving force received by the driving-force receive rotator to the drive-receive rotators of the plurality of cleaning sub-units, and
a plurality of joint couplers mounted on the drive-receive rotators and the plurality of drive transmission rotators to couple the drive-receive rotators with the plurality of drive transmission rotators in a rotation axial direction.

Assignees

• Yogosawa Kazuki
• Sugiura Kenji
• Kumagai Naohiro
• Kogure Seiichi
• Fujita Junpei
• Wada Yuuji
• Mitani yusuke
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yogosawa Kazuki
• Sugiura Kenji
• Kumagai Naohiro
• Kogure Seiichi
• Fujita Junpei
• Wada Yuuji
• Mitani yusuke

Classifications

• G03G2221/1618

  for the cleaning unit · CPC title

• B41F23/002

  cleaning devices for sheets or webs · CPC title

• G03G21/169 Primary

  for the cleaning unit · CPC title

• G03G15/161 Primary

  with means for handling the intermediate support, e.g. heating, cleaning, coating with a transfer agent · CPC title

• G03G2215/1661

  of transfer belt · CPC title