Method for cleaning pickup and feed rolls

A method and apparatus for cleaning pickup and feed rolls of machines such as printers, copiers, facsimile machines and the like. The method utilizes a roll cleaner which includes an absorbent layer and cleaning solution provided within the absorbent layer. The roll cleaner is sufficiently thick to prevent the roll cleaner from feeding through the machine. The pickup and feed rolls will spin against the absorbent layer for cleaning. The roll cleaner may be stored in a resealable cellophane bag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus and method for 
cleaning the pickup and feed rolls of machines such as printers, copiers, 
facsimile machines and the like. 
2. Prior Art 
Through continued use, the pickup and feed rolls of printers, copy 
machines, facsimile machines and the like will become soiled and will 
require cleaning. If the cleaning is not done, the machine will often 
misfeed or jam, requiring more extensive servicing. In general, the 
current method of cleaning pickup and feed rolls is by hand, utilizing a 
rag and cleaning solution. This manual method has the disadvantage of 
requiring a certain amount of disassembly of the specific machine, as well 
as requiring the user to handle cleaning solutions. 
Several attempts have been made to design a roll cleaner to automatically 
clean the pickup and feed rolls of such machines. For example, U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,611,361 to Shinkai discloses a sheet for cleaning the surface of 
paper conveying rolls. The cleaning is performed by inserting the sheet 
into the facsimile apparatus. The sheet is divided into two halves which 
are conveyed through the conveying rolls. The front half of the sheet is 
impregnated with cleaning fluid and has sufficient compressibility so that 
when the impregnated sheet is clasped between the conveying rolls, the 
cleaning fluid is squeezed out onto the rolls. The rear half of the sheet 
is an absorbing sheet which absorbs the cleaning fluid which adheres to 
the surface of the rolls. 
Similar to the Shinkai patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,265 to Samagalsky 
discloses a prepackaged sheet for cleaning the rolls of a facsimile 
machine. The absorbent sheet is of a suitable size and weight for passing 
through the facsimile machine and is impregnated with a cleaning fluid, 
for example isopropyl alcohol. 
Both the Shinkai and the Samagalsky patents are specifically designed to 
feed through the machine being cleaned. This has the disadvantage of not 
necessarily providing a spinning action or relative movement between the 
roll being cleaned and the cleaning surface, resulting in ineffective 
cleaning. Additionally, the feeding of the cleaning sheet through the 
machine increases the likelihood of jamming of the machine by the cleaning 
sheet. 
The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned 
drawbacks of the prior art. A further object of the present invention is 
to provide an efficient and cost-effective roll cleaning method and 
apparatus for cleaning the pickup and feed rolls of machines such as 
printers, copiers, facsimile machines and the like. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a cleaner for cleaning pickup and feed rolls 
of printers, copiers, facsimile machines and the like. The roll cleaner 
includes an absorbent layer and cleaning solution impregnated in the 
absorbent layer. The roll cleaner has a thickness sufficient to prevent 
the roll cleaner from being fed through the machine, the rolls of which 
are being cleaned. 
A first embodiment of the roll cleaner includes a base member with an 
absorbent layer attached to the base member and cleaning solution 
impregnated in the absorbent layer. The base member is sufficiently thick 
to prevent the roll cleaner from being fed through the machine being 
cleaned. 
In the first embodiment of the present invention, the base member is in the 
form of a rigid stiffener board which may be formed of corrugated plastic. 
The rigid stiffener board may be at least 0.040" thick to effectively 
prevent feeding through the machine being cleaned. The base member and the 
absorbent layer of the present invention may be formed to have a length 
and width conforming to conventional paper size such as, for example, 
81/2".times.11" so as to fit easily within typical paper-holding trays for 
use. Additionally, a resealable cellophane bag can be utilized to enclose 
the roll cleaner before and after use. 
A second embodiment of the roll cleaner provides an absorbent layer 
sufficiently thick to prevent the roll cleaner from being fed through the 
machine being cleaned. In the second embodiment, the absorbent layer may 
have a thickness of at least 0.25". The absorbent layer of the second 
embodiment may also be formed of standard paper dimension, such as 
81/2".times.11". 
In operation, the roll cleaner of the present invention is placed adjacent 
the pickup and feed rolls of the machine to be cleaned. Subsequently, the 
pickup and feed rolls are caused to rotate, wherein the pickup and feed 
rolls slidably contact the absorbent layer. The spinning of the pickup and 
feed rolls against the absorbent layer and the impregnated cleaning 
solution will effectively clean the pickup and feed rolls. 
These and other objects of the present invention will be clarified in the 
description of the preferred embodiments in connection with the 
accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a roll cleaner 10 according to the present 
invention. The roll cleaner 10 includes a plastic stiffener forming a 
rigid base member 12. The base member 12 can also be effectively formed of 
stiff chipboard or other conventional material. 
An absorbent layer 14 is attached to the top surface of the base member 12 
in a conventional fashion, such as by use of an adhesive. The absorbent 
layer 14 can be, for example, made of nylon or TYVEK.RTM. material, 
produced by E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. Inc. The absorbent layer 14 is 
treated, or impregnated, with a roll cleaning solution. The roll cleaning 
solution may be a solvent such as FEDRON.TM., produced by Federal Mining & 
Manufacturing Co., trichloroethane xylene, alcohol or the like. 
The base member 12 and the absorbent layer 14 have a total thickness 
sufficient to prevent the roll cleaner 10 from being fed through a machine 
which is being cleaned. The base member 12 should have a thickness of at 
least 0.040" to independently prevent the roll cleaner 10 from being fed 
through a machine which is being cleaned. The base member 12 may be 
effectively made as a corrugated plastic stiffener sheet which is 
substantially 0.040" in thickness. 
The roll cleaner has a length and width dimension of the base member 12 and 
the absorbent layer 14 which conforms to a conventional paper size such 
as, for example, 81/2".times.11". This configuration will permit the roll 
cleaner 10 to be easily placed within a paper roll tray. 
FIG. 3 illustrates a resealable cellophane bag 16. The resealable 
cellophane bag 16 will enclose the roll cleaner 10 and maintain the 
cleaning solution moist within the absorbent layer 14. 
In operation, the roll cleaner 10 is removed from the cellophane bag 16 and 
placed in a paper-holding tray of the machine to be cleaned such that the 
roll cleaner 10 is adjacent the pickup and feed rolls of the machine to be 
cleaned. Subsequently, the pickup and feed rolls are caused to be rotated 
such that they slidably contact the absorbent layer 14. The spinning of 
the pickup and feed rolls against the absorbent layer 14 will cause 
effective cleaning of the pickup and feed rolls. Spinning of the pickup 
and feed rolls can be started by pressing an auto test button found on the 
machine. 
After the pickup and feed rolls have been cleaned, the roll cleaner 10 can 
be repackaged within the cellophane bag 16 for later use, wherein the 
process is repeated. 
Shown in FIG. 4 is a second embodiment of a roll cleaner 20 according to 
the present invention. The roll cleaner 20 eliminates the base member by 
forming an absorbent layer 22 which is sufficiently thick to prevent the 
roll cleaner 20 from being fed through the machine being cleaned. The 
absorbent layer 22 should be at least 0.25" thick. The absorbent layer 22 
is impregnated with an appropriate roll cleaning solution. The roll 
cleaner 20 may be packaged within the resealable cellophane bag 16 and 
dimensioned to fit within a conventional paper tray. The roll cleaner 20 
operates in the same manner as roll cleaner 10 described above. 
Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed 
herein, various modifications may be made to the present invention without 
departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The scope of the present 
invention is intended to be defined by the appended claims.