Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Toshio Hayashi

Osamu Haruyama

Takashi Yano

Susumu Tatsumi

Sakae Ota

Ichiro Fukushima

Tatsuo Tani Formerly Nishikawa

Kazuo Goto

An apparatus for cleaning an endless photosensitive surface includes a photoreceptor rotatable around a horizontal axis in an electrophotographic copying machine. A cleaning roller and an edge of a blade are maintained in frictional engagement with the upper run of the rotating surface and into the space between the roller and the blade, a cleaning liquid is continuously supplied onto the surface between the blade edge and the cleaning roller, thereby achieving an effective cleaning function. The liquid within the space tending to flow over the other edge of the blade remote from the photosensitive surface and to then drip on the cleaned surface, is effectively prevented in accordance with the invention.

Apparatus for cleaning a photosensitive member of an electrophotographic

A roller is rotatable so that its surface moves in a direction opposite to a photoconductive drum to remove excess liquid developer from the drum. Rolling contact bearings are mounted on opposite ends of a shaft supporting the roller and have a diameter which is slightly larger than that of the roller so that when the bearings are pressed against the drum a slight clearance is maintained between the surfaces of the drum and the roller. The bearings are sealed and filled with a lubricant which does not degrade the liquid developer if mixed therewith. A wiper contacts the roller to remove developer pricked up thereby from the drum. Wipers are further disposed in contact with the drum upstream of the bearings to remove developer from the drum in these areas prior to contact with the bearings.

Electrophotographic apparatus

A roller is disposed parallel and adjacent to a photoconductive drum with a small gap inbetween. The roller is made of an electrically conductive material and covered with an insulating coating of hard anodized aluminum. The roller is fixed to a shaft which is driven to rotate the roller in the same direction as the drum to remove excess developing liquid from the drum through viscous friction. Electrically conductive bearings are mounted on the ends of the shaft which have an outer diameter greater than the diameter of the roller. The bearings rotatably contact the surface of the drum to maintain the gap. Either insulating plastic bushings or layers of alumite are disposed between the ends of the shaft and the bearings to insulate the shaft from the bearings and thereby from the drum.

Excess developing liquid removing device for electrophotography

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Toshio Hayashi