JP2001005359A - Cleaner for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain the satisfactory lubricity of an image carrier and maintain image formation of satisfactory quality for a long period, by making the amount of infiltration of a solid lubricant into a brush roller which is greater in an axial-end non-image area than in a middle image-area. SOLUTION: A solid lubricant is formed in a rod-like block so that its height is a1>a2 where a1 is portions of the vicinities of both ends, non-image areas, and a2 is a portion of a middle image-area. This formation always enables application of sufficient lubricant to the ends of the solid lubricant as well and to provide a stable image. Also, the length of the face of the solid lubricant, on which the brush roller abuts, in the direction of the rotation of the brush roller may be set longer in the end non-image areas than that in a middle image-area. Furthermore, the hardness of the solid lubricant in a part opposite the end non-image area of the brush roller may be set greater than that of the solid lubricant which is opposite the middle image-area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer, and more particularly to a cleaning apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above-described known image forming apparatus, it is necessary to sufficiently remove residual toner remaining on an image carrier every time an image is formed in order to obtain a high quality image. This is a mandatory requirement.

For this reason, in the image forming apparatus, after the transfer step, in order to remove the residual toner on the image carrier, the residual toner is removed by an appropriate cleaning means such as a cleaning blade or a fur brush. It is normal that there is.

A known cleaning device will be briefly described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view of the cleaning device, which extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and has an arrow R1.
A cleaning device 910 is disposed in the vicinity of the cylindrical image carrier 901 that rotates in the direction. The cleaning device 910 is provided in the cleaning device downstream of a transfer portion (not shown) in the rotational direction of the image carrier. A brush roller 903 that is grounded and rotates in the direction of arrow R2, and a cleaning blade 902 is disposed downstream of the brush roller 903 in contact with the image carrier 901.

When the residual toner remaining on the image carrier without contributing to the transfer at the transfer portion reaches the brush roller 903 of the cleaning device, the brush roller 903 is removed.
The remaining toner on the image carrier is cleaned by the rubbing action due to the rotation of and the electrostatic attraction force, and the remaining toner is removed by the cleaning blade 902.

The brush roller 90 is removed from the image carrier.
The toner adhering to 3 is impacted by the scraper 907 and the bristles of the brush roller, and is separated from the brush roller by the elastic force due to the bending of the bristles, and reaches the transport screw 905 extending in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface through the rake sheet 904. Then, it reaches a conveying screw 917 via a conveying path 918 provided at the end thereof, from which the waste toner storing section 9
09.

A small amount of toner remaining on the image carrier 901 even after passing through the brush roller 903 is removed by the cleaning blade 902 and is transferred to the waste toner storage section 909 via the conveying screw 905 and the like together with the toner discharged from the brush roller 903. Collected.

As described above, the cleaning device using both the cleaning blade and the brush roller can set the contact pressure of the blade to the image carrier lower than that of the cleaning device having only the cleaning blade. It is possible to reduce the wear and damage of the photosensitive layer on the surface of the image bearing member and extend the life thereof.

In such a cleaning device, in the illustrated device, a solid lubricant 906 is further provided in contact with the brush roller 903. As the solid lubricant 906, as shown in FIG. 10, a solid lubricant having a length enough to cover the entire length of the brush roller 903 and having a rectangular cross section is generally used.

The lubricant 906 in contact with the rotation of the brush roller 903 contacts the brush roller 903 and causes the lubricant to adhere to the surface thereof.
Since a lubricant layer is formed by applying a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier, high releasability of the surface of the image carrier can be maintained.
The service life of the cleaning blade, the image carrier, and the like can be expected to be further extended.

However, in the above-described cleaning apparatus, as the solid lubricant is worn by the progress of the image forming operation, the contact between the solid lubricant and the brush roller becomes difficult in the non-image area, and the image carrier is hardened. It has been found that the lubricating action deteriorates. This will be described below.

Basically, this is a state in which the solid lubricant is scraped off by the brush roller as the work proceeds, and the brush roller side of the solid lubricant is worn in an arc shape, and the brush roller tip does not contact the solid lubricant. It comes from becoming.

Even in such a state, in the image area, the toner adhering to the brush roller is not completely removed by the scraper, but is always adhering to the tip of the brush roller. The lubricant acts between the lubricant and the lubricant to reduce the wear of the solid lubricant.

On the other hand, in the non-image area, there is no toner as described above which should act as a lubricant.
Since the amount is extremely small, the abrasion due to the rubbing of the solid lubricant with the brush roller is larger than the image area. For this reason, both ends of the solid lubricant opposed to the non-image area have a greater amount of wear than the image area, and the ends of the brush roller tend to be in early contact with the solid lubricant at both ends.

It is well known that a part of the toner scraped off from the image carrier by the cleaning blade is interposed between the surface of the image carrier and the cleaning blade to exert a lubricating action therebetween. However, since the lubricating toner is not supplied in the non-image area, the cleaning blade comes into direct contact with the image carrier, and the abrasion of the image carrier is promoted to increase the surface roughness. The frictional resistance of the part increases.

For this reason, in the non-image area, the friction between the image carrier and the cleaning blade increases due to the insufficient application of the solid lubricant and the increase in the frictional resistance of the surface of the image carrier as described above. There is a risk that the image quality may be degraded due to damage, toner slip-through, etc., or the blade may be turned up or the cleaning may not be performed due to the turning-up of the blade.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to cope with the above situation, and has an image forming apparatus including a cleaning blade and a brush roller, wherein a solid lubricant is disposed on the brush roller. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device for a device, in which a good lubricating property of an image carrier is always maintained even outside a maximum image area and a high quality image can be formed for a long period of time. is there.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a rotating cylindrical brush roller which comes into contact with a moving image carrier, and has a predetermined penetration amount into the brush roller. In the cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, the solid lubricant having a fixed arrangement is provided, the amount of the solid lubricant entering the brush roller is determined by using a central image in a non-image area at an axial end. The cleaning device (1), which is larger than the area, or a rotating cylindrical brush roller that contacts a moving image carrier, and is disposed with a predetermined penetration amount into the brush roller. A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus having a solid lubricant in a fixed arrangement, wherein the surface of the solid lubricant with which the brush roller is in contact is viewed in the rotation direction of the brush roller. A cleaning device (2) characterized in that the length is formed larger in the end non-image area than in the central image area, or a rotating cylindrical brush roller abutting on a moving image carrier; A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a solid lubricant disposed in the brush roller with a predetermined amount of penetration; and a solid lubricant in a portion opposed to an end non-image area of the brush roller. A cleaning device (3) whose hardness is formed larger than that of the solid lubricant opposed to the central image area, or a rotating cylindrical brush roller abutting on a moving image carrier; A cleaning device for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a solid lubricant disposed in the brush roller with a predetermined penetration amount in a fixed arrangement. Contact with the surface of the solid lubricant has a cleaning device, characterized in that the end opposite the non-image area is formed in a concave shape as viewed from the brush roller (4).

With this configuration, in the above-described cleaning apparatus for an image forming apparatus, a sufficient amount of lubricant can always be applied to the edge of the solid lubricant, and a stable image can be provided.

[0020]

FIG. 1 is a three-sided view of a solid lubricant according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a brush roller described later abuts along its longitudinal direction. The height (length in the vertical direction in the figure) of this solid lubricant is a1 in the vicinity of both ends and in the non-image area, and a2 in the central image area, and is formed in a bar-like block formed in a1> a2. .

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional side view of a cleaning device of a color image forming apparatus incorporating the above-mentioned solid lubricant. Intermediate transfer member 111 extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface
It is assumed that the cleaning device frame 110 is arranged in parallel in the vicinity of the image bearing member 101 that comes into contact with the image carrier 101, and is rotating and running in the directions of arrows R3 and R1, respectively.

An elastic cleaning blade 102, which is integrally supported on a sheet metal 122, is attached to the frame 110, and the free edge of the blade abuts on the image carrier 101 and the residual toner on the surface thereof. Shall be cleaned. In the illustrated device, the cleaning blade 1
02, the angle between the tangent to the image carrier and the blade at the point where the tip blade edge contacts the image carrier and the angle between the blade and the blade were 30 degrees, and the blade tip entered the image carrier without deformation. In this case, the virtual amount of penetration is 1.3 mm, and the contact pressure (linear pressure) of the blade against the image carrier is 25 g / cm.

A brush roller 103 made of a conductive material and grounded is provided on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the image carrier 101. Further, it is attached to a frame 127 attached to the frame 110, and the length of the free portion is 3
The scraper 107 made of a mylar sheet having a thickness of 75 μm and a thickness of 75 μm enters the brush roller 103 at an amount of 1.7.
mm.

On the brush roller 103, a solid lubricant 106 as shown in FIG. 1 is provided on a frame 136 attached to the frame 110. One end is in contact with the brush roller 103.

In the illustrated apparatus, zinc stearate (JIS: pencil hardness 2B) is used as the solid lubricant, and its height (the distance between the contact surface with the brush roller and the end surface on the supported side) is used. ) Is a2 = 9.0 mm at the center and 10 mm inward from both ends, a1 = 11.0 mm
Was formed in a substantially inverted convex shape.

As shown in FIG. 3, such a solid lubricant 106 is provided on the brush roller 103 such that the leading end of the solid lubricant 106 enters the roller 103, and the center of the solid lubricant is applied to the brush roller. The position was set such that the penetration amount δ2 = 1.8 mm and the penetration amount δ1 = 3.8 mm at both end portions.

Examples of the solid lubricant other than those described above include iron stearate, copper stearate, magnesium palmitate, calcium palmitate, manganese oleate,
Relatively higher fatty acids such as lead oleate can also be used.

The brush roller 103 is formed by spirally winding a 7 mm wide band-shaped brush material on which a conductive fiber is implanted on a metal core having a diameter of 6 mm. The conductive fiber was made by kneading rayon with conductive carbon, stretching it to form a 3-denier strip, and planting it at a density of 200 K / in 2. After winding such a band-shaped brush material around a cored bar, the flocking portion was finished so as to have an outer diameter of 16 mm. The effective length of the brush was 315 mm.

The electric resistance of the brush roller 103 is about 10 M
Ω / 100V. The resistance was measured by measuring the penetration of the brush into the aluminum plate by 1.0 mm (contact nip width: about 7.5 m).
m), a voltage of DC 100 V was applied while rotating at 32 rpm, and the current was measured at that time.

The brush roller 193 is connected to the image carrier 10.
The brush roller was set in contact with No. 1 at an intrusion amount of 1.0 mm, and the rotation speed of the brush roller was set to 32 rpm in the direction of arrow R2 in FIG.

In the image carrier 101, a charge generation layer made of a phthalocyanine compound having a thickness of 0.2 μm is formed on an aluminum core having an outer diameter of 60 mm, and a hydrazone compound is dispersed on a polycarbonate having a thickness of 15 μm as a binder. The charge transport layer was formed, and a surface release layer having a thickness of 4 μm was formed thereon by dipping. The surface release layer is made of acrylic having ultraviolet curability as a binder and has a particle diameter of about 0.3 as a fluororesin.
It was constituted by dispersing 25% of Teflon (trade name) of μm.

By providing the charge transport layer and the surface release layer as described above, it becomes possible to add a large amount of fluorine particles to the surface layer, thereby improving the smoothness of the surface of the image carrier. It has become possible to reduce frictional resistance.

The above-described cleaning apparatus of the color image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2 having the solid lubricant as shown in FIG. 1 and the cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. Table 1 shows the results of the experiment. First, an image forming mode of the color image forming apparatus will be briefly described.

The image carrier 101 is 120 m in the direction of arrow R1.
It is rotated at a process speed of m / sec, and its surface potential is charged to -700 V as a dark portion potential by a charging means (not shown), an image signal is projected on this surface, and that portion is attenuated to a bright potential of -100 V. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed.

Toner is supplied to this latent image from a developing means (not shown) and is visualized to form a toner image. Since the illustrated device is a color device, the developing means is composed of four developing devices each containing a yellow toner, a magenta toner, a cyan toner, and a black toner, and the developing is performed sequentially by each color toner. . Each toner is prepared by kneading, pulverizing and classifying a pigment and a charge control material of each color into a styrene-acryl copolymer as a binder to obtain an average particle size of 7.
A colored powder having a thickness of 5 μm to which silicon oxide was adhered to stabilize charging characteristics was used.

Next, a color image forming process using these toners will be described. When a latent image is formed on the charged image carrier 101 as described above, an image signal corresponding to a yellow image is projected on the latent image, and then a yellow toner is supplied from a developing device containing the yellow toner. Thus, a yellow image is formed.

An intermediate transfer member 103, which rotates synchronously in the direction of arrow R3, is arranged on the image carrier 101 to form a primary transfer portion. When the yellow toner image reaches the transfer portion, the primary transfer portion is formed. A transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the intermediate transfer member, and the yellow toner image on the image carrier is transferred (transferred) to the intermediate transfer member. Next, the residual toner not contributing to the transfer is cleaned by the above-described cleaning device.

In the same manner, a magenta toner image, a cyan toner image, and a black toner image formed on the image carrier 101 are sequentially laminated on the intermediate transfer member 111. Thereafter, a transfer belt (not shown) separated from the intermediate transfer member abuts on the transfer member 111 and runs in synchronization therewith, and is supplied to the transfer belt in time with the layered toner image of each color toner. The transfer is collectively transferred to the transfer material by a transfer bias applied to the transfer belt. Thereafter, the transfer material carrying the toner image is conveyed to a fixing device (not shown), and the toner image is fixed to the transfer material and then discharged outside the apparatus.

[0039]

As can be seen from Table 1, in the known cleaning apparatus, under a low-temperature and low-humidity environment, about 23,000 sheets, defective cleaning due to toner slip-through began to occur, and the poor cleaning worsened as the paper passed.
When 25,000 sheets were passed, the cleaning blade was observed.
"Chip" having a width of 30 .mu.m and a width of 10 to 120 .mu.m was particularly concentrated on a non-image portion, and toner was scattered around the "chip", and traces of adhering toner were observed.

On the other hand, in a high temperature and high humidity environment, 26000
A wide band-like cleaning defect, which is considered to be caused by blade turn-up, occurred on about a sheet. Further, after passing several tens of sheets, the drive torque of the image carrier was significantly increased by turning up the blade, and the drive gear on the apparatus side was damaged.

On the other hand, in the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, no cleaning failure and no blade turning occur up to 30,000 sheets under both environments.
Even in a low-humidity environment, the frequency of occurrence of “chips” of the blade is low, and the generated “chips” are 3 to 7 μm in depth and 5 to 20 in width.
With a thickness of about μm, no trace of toner slipping through which had an adverse effect on image quality was found.

Table 2 shows the results of observing the brush roller and the fixed lubricant of the cleaning device shown in FIG. 2 in comparison with those of the known device shown in FIG.

[0044]

As can be seen from the above table, in the known apparatus, both ends corresponding to the non-image area become large especially at high temperature and high humidity. As a result, the amount of penetration into the brush substantially disappears, and the lubricating action of the lubricant cannot be obtained.

On the other hand, in the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the penetration amount of the solid lubricant is set to 0.1 even at both ends corresponding to the non-image area, even in consideration of the diameter reduction due to the fall of the brush. It can be seen that the lubricating effect is maintained by the presence of about 6 mm.

FIG. 4 is a three side view of the solid lubricant 206 showing the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the solid lubricant has a uniform length over the entire length between the surface that contacts the brush roller and the surface that contacts the support member provided on the cleaning device frame, On the other two surfaces, the thickness b2 of the central image area is smaller than the thickness b1 of the portions near both ends, and is formed substantially in an H shape as a whole when viewed from above.

The solid lubricant 206 thus formed is
As a brush roller of a cleaning device similar to that shown in FIG. 2 described above, the brush roller is disposed in contact with the brush roller at the same position as the solid lubricant 106 in FIG. At this time, the other two solid lubricants 206 whose thickness changes.
The lubricant 2 in such a direction that the surface does not face the brush roller.
06 is arranged.

In the case shown, the solid lubricant 206 is made of zinc stearate (pencil hardness: 2B) and has a length of 31%.
5 mm, height 9.0 mm, penetration amount δ into brush roller
Was arranged so that δ = 1.4 mm. The thickness is b2 = 6.0 mm at the center and b1 = 12.0 mm at both ends.
Met.

When the penetration amount is 1.4 mm as described above,
Theoretically, the contact width h is about 9 mm. In the case of the solid lubricant having this configuration, the width of the solid lubricant is smaller at the center than the contact width h. Thereby, when the brush roller rotates relative to the solid lubricant, the brush roller collides with the upstream side surface of the solid lubricant material, and at this time, the toner adhering to the brush roller surface is repelled by the impact, and then the solid lubricant is solidified. Since the original opposing contact surface of the lubricant is rubbed, the solid lubricant can be more efficiently applied to the brush roller surface.

On the other hand, in the non-image area, since the collected toner does not adhere, the brush roller directly rubs the surface of the solid lubricant, so that the solid lubricant is significantly worn. This aspect will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C. FIGS. 5A to 5C show the state in which the brush roller contacts the solid lubricant viewed from the axial direction of the brush. In the abutment area, the upstream side of the brush roller in the rotation direction of the brush roller is worn first by rubbing, and the solid lubricant adhered to the brush roller at this time exerts a lubricating action on the downstream side to suppress the wear of the lubricant. Is done.

As the number of sheets passed increases, "FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5B, the wear gradually spreads to the central portion (as viewed in the rotational direction of the lubricant) of the solid lubricant, and when the number of sheets passed further increases, the state becomes as shown in FIG. Since the problematic wear of the solid lubricant is suppressed, the lubricant can be stably applied for a longer period of time.

A cleaning device using a solid lubricant having such a configuration is incorporated in a color image forming apparatus, and a paper-passing experiment of 30,000 A3-size sheets is performed in a low-temperature, low-humidity, high-temperature, high-temperature mode. Table 3 shows the results obtained in a humid environment.

[0054]

According to this cleaning apparatus, no abnormality such as poor cleaning or turning up of the blade occurred at all in up to 30,000 sheets in both environments. Further, even under a low temperature and low humidity environment, almost no chipping of the blade was observed. Further, when the brush roller and the solid lubricant of this cleaning device were observed, as shown in the above table, the wear amount of the solid lubricant at both ends corresponding to the non-image area was smaller than that at the center. That is, about 0.5 mm of the solid lubricant enters the brush roller, indicating that the application effect is maintained, and the lubricant supply in the non-image area is maintained to the end, and is good for a long time. It was confirmed that clean cleaning could be performed.

FIG. 6 is a three side view of a solid lubricant according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated solid lubricant 306 is
The height (the distance between the surface in contact with the brush roller and the surface to be supported on the cleaning device side) and the length of the surface in contact with the brush roller are uniform throughout, and are closer to both ends than the central portion 306a. It is assumed that the portion 306b is formed of a higher hardness material. It is assumed that such a solid lubricant is used by being mounted on a cleaning device similar to that shown in FIG.

The central portion 306a of the solid lubricant 306 is
A length 295 mm, a height 9.0 mm, a depth (length in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface) 6.0 mm, a zinc stearate block of JIS pencil hardness: 3B, and a length 10 mm, a height 9.0 mm, and a depth 6 at both ends thereof. The end block 306b of 0.0 mm, JIS pencil hardness: F was attached.

Table 4 shows the relationship between the amount of wear caused by the brush roller used as an example and the hardness of the solid lubricant. The amount of abrasion was measured by injecting a predetermined amount of a solid lubricant brush roller, rotating the brush at 32 rpm for a certain period of time, and then measuring the amount of abrasion using a contact-type surface roughness meter.

[0059] As can be seen, when the hardness is high, the wear amount is small, and when the hardness is F compared to the hardness 3B, the wear amount is 1 /.
It is about 3 to 1/4.

The solid lubricant as described above was replaced with the aforementioned “FIG. 2”
A3 size paper was tested by passing through 30,000 sheets of A3 size paper in a low-temperature / low-humidity and high-temperature / high-humidity environment by attaching it to a brush roller of a cleaning device as shown in FIG. In both environments, no cleaning failure, blade turn-up, etc. occurred to the end.

Further, the brush roller and the solid lubricant used were observed. As is clear from Table 5 below, the abrasion loss at the portion corresponding to the non-image area was smaller than that at the center, and the penetration was complete. It was also found that the amount δ substantially remained and the lubricant application effect was maintained.

As described above, it is possible to always supply the lubricant to the brush roller with the solid lubricant having the structure as shown in FIG. did it.

FIG. 7 is a three side view of a solid lubricant according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The solid lubricant 406 has a central portion formed in a quadrangular prism shape, and two triangular prism portions are arranged at both ends such that the respective top sides thereof are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lubricant main body. And are integrally formed as a whole. Therefore, the central portion on the side that comes into contact with the brush roller is formed between the top sides and is substantially concave.

The brush roller is operated by contacting the brush roller of the cleaning device shown in FIG. 2 with an appropriate amount of penetration. Since the solid lubricant 406 is formed as described above, the contact pressure of the lubricant at the center of the contact width of the lubricant in the rotation direction of the brush roller is reduced at both ends, and the wear is reduced. The amount can be reduced. In addition, the reduction of the contact pressure prevents the brush roller from falling down in the corresponding portion, thereby reducing the reduction in diameter due to use. This makes it possible to apply the lubricant stably for a long period of time even in a non-image area where toner is not supplied.

The solid lubricant 406 has a length of 315 m.
m, height 9.0 mm, depth 6.0 mm, using a zinc stearate block of JIS pencil hardness: 2B, and cutting 10 mm at both ends into a triangular prism shape as described above so that the central part has no convex part. processed. This is shown in FIG.
Was mounted on the brush roller portion of the cleaning device as shown in (1) so that the amount of penetration into the brush roller was 1.6 mm.

Using this apparatus, A3 size paper 300
A paper passing test was performed on the 00 sheets in a low-temperature and low-humidity environment and a high-temperature and high-humidity environment. As a result, no cleaning failure or blade turn-up occurred to the end in any environment.
Also, under the low-temperature and low-humidity environment, almost no chipping of the cleaning blade was observed.

Further, the brush roller and the solid lubricant were each observed. The outer diameter of the brush roller was 15.0 mm at the center portion as the image area, and 1 mm at both ends as the non-image area.
At 5.3 mm, it was confirmed that reduction in outer diameter due to hair fall was suppressed. Also, the amount of wear of the solid lubricant (the amount of reduction at the end from the tip of the triangular prism) was smaller in the non-image area, and the effect of reducing the contact pressure was observed.

As described above, by using the solid lubricant according to the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively prevent shortage of the solid lubricant to be supplied to the non-image area due to use.
Good image formation could always be performed stably under a wide range of environments.

As shown in FIG. 8, both ends formed as a solid lubricant in a triangular prism shape as shown in FIG. 8 may be formed in a concave shape when viewed from the brush roller side, but may be viewed in the rotation direction of the brush roller. It was confirmed that the contact pressure at the central portion of the solid lubricant could be reduced, and the same operation and effect as those of the above-described embodiment were obtained.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus for an image forming apparatus comprising a brush roller which rotates in contact with an image carrier, and wherein a solid lubricant is disposed in contact with the brush roller. In the above, the contact pressure in the non-image area on the surface where the fixed lubricant contacts the brush roller is configured to be smaller than the contact pressure in the image area. The application to the roller is always sufficiently performed, and has a remarkable effect in obtaining a high-quality image stably over a long period of time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a three side view of a solid lubricant according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a cleaning device using a brush roller to which the solid lubricant is applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an attachment portion to a brush roller.

FIG. 4 is a three-sided view of a solid lubricant according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a side sectional view showing an initial state in a case where the solid lubricant comes into contact with the brush roller and wear progresses.

FIG. 5B is a side sectional view showing a state during the endurance when the solid lubricant comes into contact with the brush roller according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5c is a side sectional view showing a state in which the solid lubricant comes into contact with the brush roller and durability is further advanced;

FIG. 6 is a three-sided view of a solid lubricant according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a three side view of a solid lubricant according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a three-sided view of a solid lubricant according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side sectional view of a known cleaning device including a brush roller and a solid lubricant abutting the brush roller.

FIG. 10 is a three-sided view of a solid lubricant used in the same device.

[Explanation of symbols]

106, 206, 306, 406, 506, 906
Solid lubricant 101 Image carrier 102 Cleaning blade 103 Brush roller 105, 117 Transport screw 107 Scraper 110 Container 111 Intermediate transfer member 118 Transport path

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a rotating cylindrical brush roller in contact with a moving image carrier; and a fixedly disposed solid lubricant disposed with a predetermined amount of penetration into the brush roller. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein an amount of the solid lubricant penetrating the brush roller is larger in a non-image region at an axial end portion than in a central image region. 2. A cleaning apparatus for an image forming apparatus comprising: a rotating cylindrical brush roller in contact with a moving image carrier; and a fixedly arranged solid lubricant disposed on the brush roller with a predetermined penetration amount. In the apparatus, the length of the surface of the solid lubricant that is in contact with the brush roller, as viewed in the rotation direction of the brush roller, may be formed larger in the end non-image area than in the central image area. A cleaning device characterized by the following. 3. A cleaning apparatus for an image forming apparatus comprising: a rotating cylindrical brush roller in contact with a moving image carrier; and a fixedly arranged solid lubricant disposed on the brush roller with a predetermined penetration amount. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a hardness of a portion of the solid lubricant opposed to an end non-image region of the brush roller is formed to be larger than that of a solid lubricant opposed to a central image region. 4. An image forming apparatus comprising: a rotating cylindrical brush roller abutting on a rotating cylindrical image carrier; and a fixedly disposed solid lubricant disposed on the brush roller with a predetermined penetration amount. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein an end of the surface of the solid lubricant that is in contact with the brush roller, which faces the non-image area, is formed in a concave shape as viewed from the brush roller.