US 5,264,904 AGranted

High reliability blade cleaner system

AssigneeXerox Corporation

InventorsAnthony E. Audi, Ronald E. Godlove, N. Kedarnath, Clark V. Lange, Nero R. Lindblad, Alvin J. Owens, Jr., Darryl L. Pozzanghera, Herbert C. Relyea, Bruce E. Thayer

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

patentgrep

Loading patent…

Abstract

An apparatus which cleans a moving imaging surface with a cleaning blade and automatically detects a failure of the cleaning blade. A failure sensing mechanism detects the cleaning blade failure and activates a blade indexing mechanism. The indexing mechanism removes the failed cleaning blade and positions a new cleaning blade in a wiping or doctoring mode frictional contact with the imaging surface for cleaning. A brush positioned upstream of the cleaning blade, in the direction of movement of the imaging surface, disturbs the particles thereon.

Claims12

Dependent claims

An apparatus for cleaning a moving imaging surface having particles thereon comprising:

a blade assembly, including a plurality of cleaning blades with one of the cleaning blades being in frictional contact with the imaging surface to remove particles therefrom;
means for detecting a failure of the cleaning blade in contact with the imaging surface to remove a selected quantity of particles therefrom, said detecting means including an address subsystem for defining a location of the imaging surface having a toner streak thereon;
and
means for indexing said blade assembly to position another one of the cleaning blades in frictional contact with the imaging surface and to space the first mentioned cleaning blade remotely from the imaging surface in response to said detecting means detecting the failure of the first mentioned cleaning blade.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.