Cleaning member

• US 7,248,812 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2005
• Issued: 07/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Tombs, Thomas N.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, SUSAN SHUK YIN
• Application Number:
  US11/037,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20050163527A1
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 399/98, 399/99, 399/357, 399/123
• US Class Current: 399/98
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/0058 using a roller or a polygonal rotating cleaning member; Details thereof, e.g. surface structure G03G21/0064 takes precedence

Abstract

A cleaning member for mounting around a support in an electrophotographic machine, the support being located peripherally adjacent at least one electrophotographic process device having a surface cleanable by the cleaning member, the cleaning member including a substrate supporting a cleaning agency. The cleaning member is activatable to clean via motion, which can include longitudinal movement and/or rotary movement around the support'"'"'s longitudinal axis. The cleaning agency can include one or more cleaning agents selected from the following categories: brush, pad, blade, woven material, fabric, cloth, rubber, sponge, and foam. A surface cleanable by the cleaning member can be located on one or more of the following: lens array of a LED writer, charger grid, corona wire, blade, erase lamp, developer pickup scavenger device, densitometer or electrometer sensor, or retractable rotatable process device adjacent the support.

Claims

1. A cleaning member, removably mountable on a support having a longitudinal axis, said support included in an electrophotographic machine, at least one electrophotographic process device adjacent said support, said cleaning member adapted to periodically clean a cleanable surface of said at least one electrophotographic process device, said cleaning member comprising:

a substrate selectively receivable on said support, said support being a roller of an imaging cylinder for an electrophotographic process device;

a cleaning agency supported on said substrate; and

said substrate being substantially tubular to mate with said roller, and when on said support, being movable relative to said longitudinal axis with motion so that said cleaning agency operatively contacts said cleanable surface to clean said cleanable surface.

2. Cleaning member of claim 1, wherein at least one electrophotographic process device is selected from the group of electrophotographic process devices including:

a LED writer, a primary corona charger, a pre-clean corona charger, a cleaning mechanism included in a cleaning station for cleaning said imaging cylinder, a developer pickup (DPU) scavenger device, a sensor included in a densitometer for measuring toner lay down on said imaging cylinder, and electrometer, and a pre-erase lamp for use in regenerating said imaging cylinder; and

wherein said cleanable surface is included in said selected at least one electrophotographic process device.

3. Cleaning member of claim 1, wherein said cleanable surface includes at least one of:

a lens surface included in an array of lenses incorporated in a LED writer, an exterior surface of a grid of a gridded corona charger, a surface of a corona wire of a non-gridded corona charger, a surface of a cleaning blade included in a cleaning station, an exterior surface of an erase lamp, a surface of a developer pickup (DPU) scavenger device, an exterior surface of a sensor included in a densitometer or electrometer, or a surface of a rotatable process device retractably adjacent said roller.

4. Cleaning member of claim 1, wherein said cleaning agency comprises at least one cleaning agent selected from the following groups of cleaning agent:

brush, pad, woven material, fabric, cloth, rubber, sponge, and foam.

5. Cleaning member of claim 4, wherein said cleaning agency includes a backing layer material, mounted in non-slip fashion, on said tubular substrate.

6. Cleaning member of claim 4, wherein said cleaning agency includes a brush formed by a plurality of fibers, said plurality of fibers including fibers made of a polymeric material, said polymeric material including an acrylic material, said plurality of fibers including the following types of fibers:

bristles, hairs, or filaments.

7. Cleaning member of claim 6, wherein said plurality of fibers have lengths in a range of approximately between 3 mm-30 mm.

8. Cleaning member of claim 4, wherein said at least one cleaning agent carries a cleaning aid, said cleaning aid comprising at least one of:

liquid or particulates.

9. Cleaning member of claim 1, wherein said cleaning agency comprises at least one strip of a cleaning agent running longitudinally on said substrate in a manner such that each of said at least one strip is adjacent a strip on said substrate that is free of any cleaning agent.

10. Cleaning member of claim 1, wherein, with said tubular substrate installed around at least a portion of the exterior surface of said roller, said tubular substrate has an inner circumference at least as great as an outer circumference of said exterior surface of said roller, such that any difference between said inner circumference of said tubular substrate and said outer circumference of said exterior surface is a pre-selected difference.

11. Cleaning member of claim 10, wherein said pre-selected difference is greater than about 1 mm.

12. Cleaning member of claim 10, wherein:

motion of said cleaning member includes a longitudinal movement and/or a rotary movement about said longitudinal axis.

13. Cleaning member of claim 12, wherein said roller remains stationary during said motion.

14. Cleaning member of claim 1, wherein said tubular substrate comprises at least one of the following materials:

paper, cardboard, plastic, synthetic polymer, rubber, filaments, fabric, or metal.

15. Cleaning member of claim 1, wherein, with said cleaning member in said electrophotographic machine, said tubular substrate grippingly surrounds the exterior surface of said support roller with a predetermined interference, and a rotary motion is imparted by a rotation of said support roller about said longitudinal axis.

16. Cleaning member of claim 15, wherein said exterior surface of said roller is formed by removal of at least one sleeve member from a mandrel included in said roller, said at least one sleeve member operationally included in said roller.