Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Tadashi Yamashita

Mitsuo Hasebe

Toyoo Okamoto

Hideo Yamazaki

Minoru Umahashi

An apparatus for cleaning a photosensitive member of an electrostatic copying machine which includes neutralizing means electrically connected to the ground and disposed for contact with the surface of a photosensitive member in a region located between a transfer station where a toner image formed on photosensitive member is transferred onto a transfer sheet and a cleaning station where any residual toner remaining on the photosensitive member after the transfer step is removed. In this manner, the photosensitive member is neutralized after the transfer step before the residual toner is removed therefrom.

Apparatus for cleaning photosensitive member of electrostatic copying

An image transfer unit provided with cleaning means for use in an electrophotographic copying machine comprising an electrically conductive transfer roller disposed in abutting relationship with a photosensitive member, an electrically conductive, rotatable cleaning means disposed in abutting relationship with the transfer roller, and electrical bias means connected with the cleaning means and having a switchable polarity. During a transfer step, a bias voltage of opposite polarity to that of the toner is applied to the transfer roller through the cleaning means. At this time, toner attaching to the transfer roller is electrostatically transferred onto the cleaning means. During a cleaning step, a bias voltage of the same polarity as the toner is applied to the cleaning means, whereby the toner attaching thereto is transferred back to the photosensitive member through the transfer roller. The toner which is transferred back to the photosensitive member is removed by separate cleaning means.

Cleaning means for image transfer unit in electrophotographic copying

The charging device for automatic copying apparatus comprises charging wires supplied with a charge voltage at all times and a plurality of lamps disposed in the rearward position of the charging device. As turning on of the lamps can prevent the photoconductor from charging by the charging wires, a charged zone corresponding to the effective image region can be produced on the photoconductor by controlling turning on and off of the lamps.

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Yokohama, Japan

Tadashi Yamashita