Cleaning apparatus for electrophotography

Claim 2

A cleaning apparatus for removing residual toner from a rotatable charge image retentive member, comprising an elastic cleaning blade for scraping residual toner from a recording region of said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade having a resilient leg portion and an elastically deformable cleaning edge projecting outward from said leg portion and toward said charge image retentive member, said cleaning edge being operative to be brought into contact with said charge image retentive member, and an elastic supporting member for supporting said leg portion at a downstream position relative to the rotational direction of said charge image retentive member, said leg portion being caused to curve away from said charge image retentive member while maintaining said cleaning edge in contact with said charge image retentive member when a frictional force is applied to said cleaning edge by the rotation of said charge image retentive member.

Claim 3

The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein said leg portion and said cleaning edge are integral portions of said elastic cleaning blade and are made from a rubbery elastic material.

Claim 4

The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein said supporting member is made of a resilient sheet metal.

Claim 5

The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein said elastic cleaning blade is made from a rubbery elastic material, said leg portion and said cleaning edge are integral portions of said elastic cleaning blade, said supporting member is made from a resilient sheet metal, and a portion of said supporting member is within said elastic cleaning blade.

Claim 6

The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cleaning edge is substantially triangular in cross-section.

Claim 7

The cleaning apparatus of claim 5 wherein an angle in the range of about 50° to 110° is formed between an upper portion of said cleaning edge and said charge image retentive member, and an angle in the range of about 7° and 45° is formed between a lower portion of said cleaning edge and said charge image retentive member.

Claim 8

The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein said leg portion extends substantially parallel to a moving direction of said charge image retentive member.

Claim 9

A cleaning apparatus for removing residual toner from a rotatable charge image retentive member, comprising an elastic cleaning blade for scraping residual toner from a recording region of said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade including a resilient leg portion and an elastically deformable cleaning edge, said cleaning edge projection outwardly from said leg portion and toward said charge image retentive member, said cleaning edge being operative to be brought into contact with said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade being supported at a position located downstream relative to the rotational direction of said charge image retentive member, said leg portion being cause to curve away from said charge image retentive member while said cleaning edge is maintained in contact with said charge image retentive member when a frictional force is applied to said cleaning edge by the rotation of said charge image retentive member.

Claim 10

A cleaning apparatus for removing residual toner from a rotatable charge image retentive member, comprising an elastic cleaning blade for scraping residual toner from a recording region of said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade including a resilient leg portion and an elastically deformable cleaning edge, said cleaning edge projection outwardly from said leg portion and toward said charge image retentive member, said cleaning edge being operative to be brought into contact with said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade being supported at a position located downstream relative to the rotational direction of said charge image retentive member, said leg portion being cause to curve away from said charge image retentive member while said cleaning edge is maintained in contact with said charge image retentive member when a frictional force is applied to said cleaning edge by the rotation of said charge image retentive member.

Claim 11

The cleaning apparatus of claim 8 wherein said leg portion and said cleaning edge are integral portions of said elastic cleaning blade.

Claim 12

The cleaning apparatus of claim 8 wherein said elastic cleaning blade is made from a rubbery elastic material, and said leg portion and cleaning edge are integral portions of said elastic cleaning blade.

Claim 13

The cleaning apparatus of claim 8 wherein said cleaning edge is substantially triangular in cross-section.

Claim 14

The cleaning apparatus of claim 8 wherein an angle in the range of about 50° to 110° is formed between an upper portion of said cleaning edge and said charge image retentive member, and an angle in the range of about 7° and 45° is formed between a lower portion of said cleaning edge and said charge image retentive member.

Claim 15

The cleaning apparatus of claim 8 wherein said leg portion extends substantially parallel to a moving direction of said charge image retentive member.

Claim 16

In combination, a rotatable charge image retentive member, and an elastic cleaning blade for scraping residual toner from a recording region of said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade having a resilient leg portion and an elastically deformable cleaning edge projecting outwardly from said leg portion and toward said charge image retentive member, said cleaning edge being operative to be brought in contact with said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade being supported at a position downstream relative to the rotational direction of said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade being aligned relative to said charge image retentive member so that said leg portion is caused to curve away from said charge image retentive member while said cleaning edge is maintained in contact with said charge image retentive member when a frictional force is applied to said cleaning edge by the rotation of said charge image retentive member.

Claim 17

In combination, a rotatable charge image retentive member, and an elastic cleaning blade for scraping residual toner from a recording region of said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade having a resilient leg portion and an elastically deformable cleaning edge projecting outwardly from said leg portion and toward said charge image retentive member, said cleaning edge being operative to be brought in contact with said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade being supported at a position downstream relative to the rotational direction of said charge image retentive member, said elastic cleaning blade being aligned relative to said charge image retentive member so that said leg portion is caused to curve away from said charge image retentive member while said cleaning edge is maintained in contact with said charge image retentive member when a frictional force is applied to said cleaning edge by the rotation of said charge image retentive member.

Claim 18

The combination of claim 14 further comprising an elastic supporting member for supporting said cleaning blade at said downstream position.

Claim 19

The cleaning apparatus of claim 15 wherein said charge image retentive member is a photoconductive belt.

Claim 20

The cleaning apparatus of claim 14 wherein said leg portion and said cleaning edge are integral portions of said elastic cleaning blade and are made from a rubbery elastic material.

Claim 21

The cleaning apparatus of claim 15 wherein said supporting member is made from a resilient sheet metal.

Claim 22

The cleaning apparatus of claim 15 wherein said elastic cleaning blade is made from a rubbery elastic material, said leg portion and said cleaning edge are integral portions of said elastic cleaning blade, said supporting member is made from a resilient sheet metal, and a portion of said support member is within said elastic cleaning blade.

Claim 23

The cleaning apparatus of claim 14 wherein said cleaning edge is substantially triangular in cross-section.

Claim 24

The cleaning apparatus of claim 14 wherein an angle in the range of about 50° to 110° is formed between an upper portion of said cleaning edge and said charge image retentive member, and an angle in the range of about 7° and 45° is formed between a lower portion of said cleaning edge and said charge image retentive member.

Claim 25

The cleaning apparatus of claim 14 wherein said leg portion extends substantially parallel to a moving direction of said charge image retentive member.