Image forming apparatus and cleaning member for exposure head

• US 8,269,812 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2009
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakamoto, Tetsuya, Morimoto, Daiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Meier, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): BISHOP, JEREMY S
• Application Number:
  US12/541,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,131 Days
• Field of Search: 347/257, 399/98
• US Class Current: 347/257
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/26 for reproducing with unit magnification
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0056 arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/04045 for exposing image information provided otherwise than by directly projecting the original image onto the photoconductive recording material, e.g. digital copiers G03G15/041, G03G15/043 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/326 by application of light, e.g. using a LED array
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/00 Processes not provided for by group G03G2215/00, e.g. cleaning or residual charge elimination
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00543 Allowing easy access, e.g. for maintenance or in case of paper jam H04N1/00538 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00909 Cleaning arrangements or preventing or counter-acting contamination from dust or the like cleaning in general, prevention of fouling in general B08B
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0473 in subscanning direction, e.g. picture start or line-to-line synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/1215 Feeding using one or more cylindrical platens or rollers in the immediate vicinity of the main scanning line

Abstract

The image forming apparatus includes: an image carrier; an exposure head provided along a longitudinal direction of the image carrier, and exposing the image carrier; a housing holding the exposure head; an opening portion formed in the housing, and opening toward a position through which the image carrier and the exposure head face each other; a receiving portion provided in the housing; and a cleaning member having one and different ends, and including: a cleaning portion provided on a one end side where the one end is located, and cleaning a light-emitting face of the exposure head by moving while keeping in contact with the light-emitting face; and a guiding portion coming in contact with the receiving portion and guiding the cleaning portion toward a space between the image carrier and the exposure head when the cleaning portion is inserted into an interior of the housing through the opening portion.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

an image carrier;

an exposure head that is provided along a longitudinal direction of the image carrier, and exposes the image carrier;

a housing that holds the exposure head;

an opening portion that is formed in the housing,

wherein the exposure head and the image carrier face each other, and

the opening portion is provided at an end portion in a longitudinal direction of a space in which the exposure head and the image carrier face each other;

a receiving portion that is provided in the housing;

a cleaning member comprising;

a body portion;

a cleaning portion that cleans a light-emitting face of the exposure head by moving while keeping in contract with the light-emitting face;

a protection portion that is attached on a surface of the body portion in a way that the protection portion faces the image carrier;

and

a guiding portion that comes in contact with the receiving portion and guides the cleaning portion toward a space between the image carrier and the exposure head when the cleaning portion is inserted into an interior of the housing through the opening portion,

wherein the protection portion contacts with a base part of the image carrier when the cleaning portion cleans the light-emitting face of the exposure head.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the receiving portion includes a first receiving face that is a face facing toward the exposure head;

the guiding portion includes a first guiding face that is a face facing toward the image carrier; and

movement of a portion on the one end side of the cleaning member toward the image carrier is restricted by bringing the first guiding face of the guiding portion into contact with the first receiving face of the receiving portion.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the first guiding face of the guiding portion keeps in contact with the first receiving face of the receiving portion until the protection portion finishes passing by an end portion of the image carrier.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the receiving portion includes a second receiving face that is a face facing toward the image carrier;

the guiding portion includes a second guiding face that is a face facing toward the exposure head; and

the cleaning portion of the cleaning member is guided toward the space between the image carrier and the exposure head by bringing the second guiding face of the guiding portion into contact with the second receiving face of the receiving portion and restricting movement of a portion on the one end side of the cleaning member toward the image carrier.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion is formed in the opening portion.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the guiding portion guides an end portion of the cleaning member so that the end portion of the cleaning member may move toward the image carrier.

6. A cleaning member for an exposure head comprising:

a base that has one end and a different end, and is inserted from a one end side where the one end is located, through an opening formed in a which holds an exposure head facing an image carrier, toward a space between the image carrier and the exposure head,

wherein the opening is provided at an end portion in a longitudinal direction of the space;

a body portion;

a cleaning portion that cleans a light-emitting face of the exposure head by moving while keeping in contract with the light-emitting face;

a protection portion that is attached on a surface of the body portion in a way that the protection portion faces the image carrier;

and

a guiding portion that is provided to the base, and that guides the cleaning portion toward the space between the image carrier and the exposure head when the base is inserted through the opening,

wherein the protection portion contacts with a base part of the image carrier when the cleaning portion cleans the light-emitting face of the exposure head.

7. The cleaning member for the exposure head according to claim 6, wherein the guiding portion guides the cleaning portion so that the cleaning portion may come in contact with the light-emitting face of the exposure head after a portion on the one end side of the base passes by an end portion of the image carrier.

8. The cleaning member for the exposure head according to claim 7, wherein the guiding portion guides the base so that, while the portion on the one end side of the base passes by the end portion of the image carrier, a clearance may be maintained between the image carrier and the portion on the one end side of the base, and so that, after the portion on the one end side of the base passes by the end portion of the image carrier, the portion on the one end side of the base may move toward the image carrier.

10. The cleaning member for the exposure head according to claim 6, wherein:

the guiding portion guides an end portion of the base so that the end portion of the base may move toward the image carrier.