Patent ID: 7917049

Claim:
A variable interference cleaning blade method for maintaining minimum cleaning blade alignment and load against a surface to be cleaned, comprising; providing a surface to be cleaned; providing at least one cleaning blade mounted within a blade holder and positioned for cleaning said surface; providing a first blade positioning mechanism drivingly connected to one end of said cleaning blade holder for moving said cleaning blade; providing a first stepper motor drivingly connected to said first blade positioning mechanism for rotating said first blade positioning mechanism; providing a sensor positioned downstream of said cleaning blade for sensing a cleaning defect; providing a controller for receiving signals from said sensor and in turn sending a signal to actuate said first stepper motor to thereby move said cleaning blade against said surface to increase cleaner blade interference against said surface until feedback from said sensor indicates that the cleaning defect has been eliminated and thereafter maintaining the cleaning blade load above the minimum for cleaning; and optimizing cleaning blade life by keeping the cleaning blade load at the minimum load for cleaning by providing a toner patch on at least one side of said surface to be cleaned for toner cleaning evaluation.