JP2002341694A - Device for applying lubricant, process cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent cleaning failure, melt sticking, increase in the torque for driving a drum and to improve the picture quality during forming images by applying a proper amount of a lubricant on a photoreceptor drum 1. SOLUTION: In the device 20 for applying a lubricant to form a coating film of a lubricant 21 on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 1 by applying the lubricant 21, the amount of the lubricant 21 applied on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 1 is varied according to the environment in which the device is used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lubricant application device for applying a lubricant to an image carrier, a process cartridge having the application device, and an image forming apparatus having the lubricant application device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a general electrophotographic laser printer, a laser beam modulated in accordance with image data is radiated onto a photosensitive drum as an image carrier, which is uniformly charged by a charging means. Obtain an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is reversely developed at a developing site of the photosensitive drum by a developing unit such as a developing device disposed opposite to the photosensitive drum, and is visualized as a toner image. You.

[0003] This toner image is electrostatically transferred to a transfer material by a transfer means, and then permanently fixed by a fixing means. Further, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum without being transferred after the transfer is removed by a cleaning unit, and is prepared for the next image forming step.

In a recent laser printer, a process which is removable to an image forming apparatus which does not require maintenance such as a photosensitive drum which is difficult for a user to replace, a consumable part such as a developer, and a processing of a waste toner. Many use the cartridge system. For example, various types of process cartridges have been proposed, such as a developing cartridge in which a container containing a toner and a developing unit are integrated, and a drum cartridge in which a photosensitive drum, a charging unit, and a cleaning unit are integrated.

[0005] A warning of the life of these process cartridges is notified according to the degree of wear, and the user can replace them separately. In addition, it is designed to optimize for each life. Therefore, there is an advantage that a good image can be obtained stably without any trouble until the life of the cartridge, and the user can easily perform replacement when the life expires.

On the other hand, as the above-described cleaning method, cleaning using an elastic blade made of polyurethane or the like has been often adopted because of its good cleaning performance. The cleaning properties of the cleaning blade differ depending on the physical properties of the cleaning blade, the manner of contact with the photoconductor drum, the surface properties of the photoconductor drum, and the physical properties of the toner. is there.

The cleaning performance of the cleaning blade and the friction of the photosensitive drum depend on the actual operating environment,
Particularly, it depends on fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and it is difficult to clean the photosensitive drum using only the cleaning blade in consideration of the durability life. Therefore, there is a cleaning device provided with a cleaning brush which rotates while being in contact with the photosensitive drum as a cleaning auxiliary means.

Usually, the cleaning brush is disposed upstream of the cleaning blade in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum.
It is used for scraping and collecting residual toner on the photosensitive drum after transfer or for facilitating cleaning of a cleaning blade. For this reason, in some cases, a cleaning brush is grounded or a bias is applied to weaken the adhesion of the transfer residual toner to the photosensitive drum.

In recent years, there has been a demand for improved image quality. Reducing the particle size of the toner is an effective means. In addition, as a method for efficiently producing a fine particle toner having a narrow particle size distribution as compared with the conventional mechanical pulverization and classification method, a spherical particle toner having a nearly spherical shape produced by a polymerization method has been adopted in recent years.

However, in the case of the toner having a small particle diameter, the transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum after the above-described transfer is firmly attached between the photosensitive drums, and it is difficult to sufficiently clean the toner. In particular, spherical toners produced by a polymerization method or the like have poor cleaning properties because they easily pass through the cleaning blade, and are a serious problem in using fine particle toners.

Therefore, various proposals have been made to solve these problems. For example, the contact pressure of the cleaning blade on the photosensitive drum is increased. As a more reliable cleaning method, it has been proposed to supply a substance that reduces the friction coefficient of the photosensitive drum to the surface. For example, a solid lubricant made of zinc stearate or the like is applied through a brush. By forming a film of a lubricant on the surface of the photosensitive drum to reduce the friction coefficient, the frictional force with the toner is reduced, and the cleaning performance is obtained.

Further, since the toner which is difficult to clean as described above has a strong adhesive force with the photosensitive drum, the toner is deposited on the photosensitive drum when the image forming operation is repeatedly performed. This phenomenon, that is, so-called fusion, is likely to occur. This fusion is generally caused by external additives such as silica externally added to the toner to stabilize the performance to be charged against fluctuations in environment and durability, and slip through the cleaning blade.
This forms a nucleus of fusion, onto which toner adheres.

This phenomenon is particularly remarkable in a low-temperature and low-humidity environment. However, by forming a film of the above-described lubricant on the surface of the photosensitive drum, the slipperiness of the surface of the photosensitive drum is improved, so that the outer surface of the cleaning blade can be removed. By suppressing the slipping of the additive, the occurrence of fusion can be suppressed.

Further, since the contact pressure of the cleaning blade is usually set high to clean the toner which is difficult to clean as described above, the frictional force with the photosensitive drum increases, causing damage and wear of the blade. It will be easier. In such a setting, what is called blade squeal and blade turn-up caused by irregular amplitude motion of the cleaning blade occurs, but the lubricant film, which is a substance that lowers the friction coefficient of the photosensitive drum, is exposed to light. By forming them on the surface of the body drum, these occurrences can be suppressed.

[0015]

However, according to the cleaning device for applying the solid lubricant to the surface of the photoreceptor drum as described above, particularly when the lubricant is excessively supplied in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, the photoreceptor may be damaged. The torque required for the motor that drives the drum may increase, causing the motor to step out.

The step-out of the drum motor is remarkable when the residual toner collected in the cleaning device is small at the initial stage of starting use of the photosensitive drum, for example, when the image formation with a low printing ratio is continuously performed. It is known to happen. Under such a situation in which motor out-of-synchronization occurs, cleaning unevenness due to chipping of the edge of the cleaning blade often occurs at the same time due to coating unevenness in a transition period when a lubricant film is formed.

Here, the problem to be solved will be described with reference to the drawings. 8 is an explanatory view of the movement of a conventional cleaning blade, FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a conventional method of fixing the cleaning blade, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the amount of penetration of the conventional cleaning blade.

As shown in FIG. 8, the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 is counter-contacted with the surface of the photosensitive drum 101, and the vicinity of the edge of the cleaning blade 102 installed on the holding bracket 103 is near the photosensitive drum 101.
With the movement of the surface, the surface is deformed in the moving direction of the surface (the direction of the arrow) by receiving a frictional force with the surface and a resistance force when scraping foreign substances such as toner and paper dust.

Here, if the lubricant is excessively supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 101, excess lubricant is deposited near the nip portion of the cleaning blade 102, or the above-described cleaning is caused due to unevenness of the surface film. The amount of deformation of the blade 102 further increases. As the amount of deformation of the cleaning blade 102 increases, the contact area between the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 and the cleaning blade 102 increases, and the frictional force acting between both increases, so that the torque required for driving the photosensitive drum 101 increases. Or cleaning blade
It is thought that it will be more susceptible to damage such as chipping.

As shown in FIG. 9, in a cleaning apparatus which is generally used, only the longitudinal ends of a holding member 103 of a cleaning blade 102 are fixed to an apparatus frame 105 with screws 104 or the like. With the movement of the cleaning blade 102, the amount of deformation of the cleaning blade 102 in the longitudinal central region, which is weaker than the longitudinal both end regions, increases, and the torque for driving the photosensitive drum 101 is particularly increased.

The deformation of the cleaning blade 102 due to the movement of the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 causes a large amount δ of the cleaning blade 102 to enter the photosensitive drum 101 shown in FIG. The amount of deformation tends to increase as θ increases.

On the other hand, when the supply of the lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 is reduced in order to prevent the drive torque of the photosensitive drum 101 from increasing as described above, as described above, especially in a low-temperature and low-humidity environment. Therefore, there is a problem that fusion is likely to occur. Further, in an image forming apparatus having a mode in which the image forming speed is reduced in order to improve the fixing property of special paper such as OHT (overhead transparency) and thick paper, supply of the lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 is extremely limited. If the number is too small, blade squeal will occur significantly.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of applying a proper amount of lubricant to a photosensitive drum to prevent poor cleaning.
An object of the present invention is to improve the image quality at the time of image formation without causing fusion or an increase in drum driving torque.

[0024]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a typical configuration of the present invention is a lubricant coating apparatus which applies a lubricant to the surface of an image carrier and forms a film of the lubricant. Wherein the amount of the lubricant applied to the surface of the image carrier is changed according to the environment in which the apparatus is used.

[0025]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a cleaning device according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a relationship between the environment of the image forming apparatus and the penetration amount of a coating brush into a solid lubricant. FIG.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is connected to a host such as a personal computer or a workstation (not shown), and receives image data via a video interface in response to a print request from the host. A toner image of each color is sequentially formed by image data decomposed into four colors of yellow Y, cyan C, magenta M, and black K based on the image data, and the toner images are superimposed on an intermediate transfer body, and a transfer material such as paper is formed. To obtain a full-color image.

(Structure and Operation of Image Forming Apparatus) In FIG. 1, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 as an image carrier having a surface coated with a lubricant by a lubricant applying apparatus 20 is used as a contact charging means. By applying a DC bias with an AC bias superimposed on the core of the charging roller 2, the charging roller 2 is uniformly charged as a dark portion potential. Next, scanning exposure is performed at a resolution of 600 dpi by the laser beam 3 that is ON / OFF controlled in accordance with the image data of the first color (Y), and a first electrostatic latent image is formed as a light portion potential. .

The electrostatic latent image thus formed is developed and visualized by the rotary developing device 4.
The developing device 4 includes a first developing unit 4a containing Y toner as the first color toner, a second developing unit 4b containing C toner as the second color toner, and an M toner as the third color toner. The third developing unit 4c included therein, and the fourth developing unit 4 including K toner as the fourth color toner
d is integrated.

During image formation of each color, the photosensitive drum 1 is rotated to the position facing the photosensitive drum 1 (in the direction of arrow B), and is regulated to a predetermined layer thickness by an elastic blade which is a toner layer regulating member (not shown). The sleeve carrying the toner is driven to rotate, and development is performed by applying a DC bias with a predetermined AC bias superimposed on the core of the sleeve. Further, each developing means 4a, 4b, 4c of YMCK,
Reference numerals 4d denote a single developing cartridge, which can be replaced separately depending on the degree of consumption.

First, the first electrostatic latent image is developed and visualized by the first developing device 4a containing Y toner as the first color toner. The developing method can be used irrespective of contact / non-contact, and the developer can be used irrespective of one component or two components.
In the embodiment, a jumping development method using a non-magnetic one-component toner that combines image exposure and reversal development is used.

The visualized toner image of the first color is
At a first transfer portion 6a which is a nip portion with the intermediate transfer member 5, electrostatic transfer (primary transfer) is performed on a surface of the intermediate transfer member 5 formed of a conductive elastic layer and a surface layer having releasability on a cylinder. You.

The intermediate transfer member 5 has a peripheral length longer than the maximum length of the transfer material that can pass through, and is pressed against the photosensitive drum 1 with a predetermined pressing force.
The photosensitive drum 1 is rotationally driven in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 1 (each direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 and the same direction at the contact portion) with a peripheral speed substantially equal to the week speed of the photosensitive drum 1.

Then, the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 as described above is applied to the cylinder portion of the intermediate transfer body 5 by the high voltage power supply 7 with a voltage (primary transfer) having a polarity opposite to the charged polarity of the toner. By applying a bias, electrostatic transfer (primary transfer) is performed on the surface of the intermediate transfer member 5.

Incidentally, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the primary transfer is removed by the cleaning device 8 to prepare for the next latent image formation. The details of the cleaning of the residual toner will be described later.

Subsequently, the same process is repeated, and in each case, the second color toner image developed with the M toner, the third color toner image developed with the C toner, and the fourth color toner image developed with the K toner Are sequentially transferred and laminated on the surface of the intermediate transfer member 5 to form a color toner image.

Thereafter, the transfer belt 9 separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer member 5 is pressed against the surface of the intermediate transfer member 5 with a predetermined pressing force and is driven to rotate. The transfer belt 9 is
The transfer roller 9a is supported by the transfer roller 9a and the tension roller 9b, and a voltage (secondary transfer bias) having a polarity opposite to the charge polarity of the toner is applied to the transfer roller 9a by the high-voltage power supply 10, thereby forming the second transfer portion. The color toner image laminated on the surface of the intermediate transfer member 5 is collectively transferred (secondarily transferred) to the surface of the transfer material P conveyed at a predetermined timing to the transfer material 6b, and the transfer material P is conveyed to the fixing device 11. After the image is fixed as a permanent image, the image is discharged out of the apparatus to obtain a desired color print image.

Further, the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 5 after the completion of the secondary transfer is removed by the intermediate transfer body cleaning device 12 which comes into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer body 5 at a predetermined timing.

(Detailed Description of Photosensitive Drum) The photosensitive drum 1 is formed by laminating a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer on an aluminum cylindrical conductive substrate having an outer diameter of φ60 mm. Organic photoreceptor. An undercoat layer was provided on a core metal made of aluminum, a charge generation layer made of a phthalocyanine compound was formed thereon, and a charge transport layer in which a hydrazone compound was dispersed in polycarbonate as a binder was further formed thereon. The photosensitive drum 1 has a length of about 120 mm /
It rotates at a peripheral speed of sec.

(Detailed Description of Toner) Next, the toner will be described in detail. The toner used in this embodiment is a substantially spherical one-component non-magnetic toner having a particle size of 5 to 8 μm. In the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, spherical toner having good transferability is used because the image is transferred twice, that is, primary transfer and secondary transfer.

The toner used in the present embodiment is manufactured by a polymerization method. The toner has a substantially spherical shape due to the manufacturing method, the core contains an ester wax, the resin layer on the core contains styrene-bryl acrylate, The shell consists of styrene-polyester. Silica, strontium titanate, and the like are externally added to stabilize the performance to be charged against environmental changes.

(Detailed Description of Cleaning Device) Next, the cleaning device 8 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the cleaning device 8 has a cleaning blade 8a which is an elastic blade, a toner collecting sheet 8b, and a waste toner collecting container 8c.

The cleaning blade 8a includes a holding plate 8
f, which is made of polyurethane rubber integrally held at the tip of the tip, and is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 under the conditions of a predetermined penetration amount δ and a set angle θ. The holding plate 8f of the cleaning blade 8a is fixed to a frame that also serves as a waste toner collecting container by tightening both ends of the holding plate 8f with screws 8d.

In this embodiment, as a result of finding the optimum condition by repeating trial and error, the rubber hardness is 68 ° (JIS-JIS).
A), the contact pressure against the photosensitive drum 1 is set to about 70 g / cm at θ = 32 ° and δ = 1.45 mm.

(Detailed Description of Lubricant Coating Apparatus) Next, a description will be given of a lubricant coating apparatus 20, which is a lubricant film forming means for forming a film of a lubricant on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. FIG. The lubricant application device 20 fixes a holder 22 to which a solid lubricant 21 made of zinc stearate and having a pencil hardness of B is fixed to a lubricant application container 24, and the solid lubricant 21 has a predetermined amount of bite into the application brush 25. (Intrusion amount) Contact so as to be αmm.

Here, the application brush 25 is made of conductive fibers.
Plant it on a base cloth and wrap it around a φ6mm cored bar
It has a brush shape of φ16 mm. In this embodiment
Uses rayon conductive yarn as the conductive fiber,
The degree is about 200k / inch ^TwoAbut so that
I have.

The application brush 25 is disposed so as to have a constant penetration amount into the photosensitive drum 1 when the lubricant applying device 20 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1. A lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 via the brush 25. In the present embodiment, the application brush 25
Is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 with an intrusion amount of 1 mm, and moves for 30 r in the direction of arrow D which is the same rotation direction as the photosensitive drum 1
The initial setting is such that the image forming apparatus is driven to rotate at the time of image formation at a speed of pm.

When the life of the lubricant coating device 20 is set to be long and stable performance is required for a long period of time, the brush fibers may be clogged and the hairs may fall on the coating brush 25 to reduce the performance. PET to prevent
By providing a scraper or a doctor roller made of a (polyethylene terephthalate) sheet, the life of the apparatus can be extended.

(Consideration on Durability of Apparatus) As shown in FIG. 3, by changing the environment in which the above-mentioned image forming apparatus is placed and the penetration amount αmm of the application brush 25 into the solid lubricant 21, Conduct a durability experiment that repeats image formation,
1. Poor cleaning; 2. blade squeal; Fusion,
4. A comparison was made as to whether or not motor out-of-step for driving the photosensitive drum occurred. Also, the shaving amount (maximum shaving depth) of the solid lubricant 21 in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment at each setting and the driving torque (maximum driving torque) of the motor for driving the photosensitive drum 1
kgf · cm was also measured.

According to the results shown in FIG. 3, in the high-temperature and high-humidity environment (environment HH: temperature 30 ° C./humidity 80%), the penetration amount α of the application brush 25 into the solid lubricant 21 is set to 1.0 to 1.5 mm. By doing so, good results can be obtained. Similarly, normal temperature and normal humidity environment (environment NN: temperature 23 ° C / humidity 50%)
In the low temperature and low humidity environment (environment LL: temperature 15 ° C./humidity 10%), the intrusion amount α = 1.0 to 2.0 mm.
Good results can be obtained by setting the distance to 5 to 2.5 mm.

As described above, the brush for applying to the solid lubricant 21 which does not cause any problem in all of the above items 1 to 4
It can be seen that the appropriate range of the 25 penetration amount αmm differs depending on the environment.

From the results shown in FIG. 3, there is a correlation between the penetration amount α and the shaving amount of the solid lubricant 21, and furthermore, a correlation between the shaving amount and the shaft torque of the motor for driving the photosensitive drum 1. You can see that there is. That is, it can be seen that, particularly in the environment HH, if a relatively large amount of the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, the motor for driving the photosensitive drum 1 easily loses synchronism.

In addition, the cleaning failure in the environment LL and the environment NN when the solid lubricant 21 is not applied is due to the above-mentioned slip-through, and the cleaning failure in the environment HH of α = 2.5 mm means that the cleaning blade is partially removed. This is due to lack of information.

On the other hand, if α = 1.5 mm, no problem occurs in all of the above items 1 to 4 from the environment LL to the environment HH, but it is difficult to set the pinpoint in view of the precision of the parts and the variation in the lot. It is.

(Configuration of Cleaning Blade)
In the present embodiment, the cleaning blade 8a has the following configuration. When the environment in which the image forming apparatus is used is from the environment LL to the environment NN, the penetration amount α _{L of the} application brush 25 is set.
= Set in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 mm, in the case of environmental HH environmental NN is set to a range of alpha _H = 1.0 to 1.5 mm. With this configuration, it is possible to eliminate defects in all of the above items 1 to 4, and to provide the cleaning device 8 with high reliability.

Specifically, the lubricant applying device 20 is configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body, and the lubricant applying device 20 is set to the penetration amounts α _L and α _H of the two types of application brushes 25 described above.
Are prepared in advance, and a configuration is used in which the user selectively uses them according to the usage environment. If a maintenance contract such as that implemented by a copying machine is concluded and a service engineer can respond, it is possible to check the usage environment on behalf of the user and select one of them for installation.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the application amount of the lubricant applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is changed according to the environment in which the apparatus is used. 25, the lubricant attached to the application brush 25 is applied to the photosensitive drum 1.

Therefore, particularly in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, the problem of excessively applying the lubricant to the photosensitive drum 1 is eliminated, and by applying an appropriate amount of the lubricant to the photosensitive drum 1, cleaning failure is prevented. Therefore, the image quality at the time of image formation can be improved without causing fusion, increase in drum driving torque, and the like.

The amount of penetration α, the selection of the hardness of the solid lubricant 21, the rotation speed of the coating brush 25, the timing of separating the coating device from the photosensitive drum 1, etc. The amount of the lubricant applied to the surface of the photoconductor drum may be appropriately set in accordance with the actual conditions of the environment such as the material of the photoconductor drum, the solid lubricant, and the cleaning unit.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the environment division of the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the cleaning device of the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a control flowchart of the second embodiment. In the description of the second embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the user or the service person determines the use environment, and the amount of the lubricant applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is varied. A control unit (not shown) in the forming apparatus determines the environment and controls the application amount.

In the present embodiment, a not-shown detecting means for visually recognizing the temperature and the humidity is provided at a position where the temperature is hardly influenced by the fixing device 11 and the electric components in the image forming apparatus. The output information from the detection means is read by the control means, and the environment in which the image forming apparatus is used in a predetermined environment category (environment L, environment N, environment H) as shown in FIG. 4 is identified. As shown in FIG. 4, environment L indicates a low-temperature and low-humidity environment, environment N indicates a normal-temperature or normal-humidity environment, and environment H indicates a high-temperature or high-humidity environment.

Referring to FIG. 5, a lubricant coating device 30 as a lubricant film forming means for forming a film of a lubricant on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 will be described. The lubricant application device 30 in the present embodiment includes a solid lubricant 31 in a lubricant application container 34.
And an application brush 35 for applying the solid lubricant 31 to the photosensitive drum 1, a holder 32 for fixing the solid lubricant 31, and a holder 32 attached to the holder 32 for urging the solid lubricant 31 toward the application brush 35. And a guide 33 for ensuring that the pressure spring 36 urges the holder 32 toward the solid lubricant 31.

The lubricant applying device 30 includes a holder 32 to which a solid lubricant 31 made of zinc stearate and having a pencil hardness of B is fixed.
And the solid lubricant 31 is brought into contact with the application brush 35 at a predetermined penetration amount αmm by a predetermined pressure in the direction of arrow C by the urging force of the pressure spring 36. .

Further, the lubricant coating device 30 itself is configured so as to be capable of controlling the photosensitive drum 1 so as to be able to contact and separate from the photosensitive drum 1 by a mechanism using a solenoid or the like (not shown), as shown by an arrow E. The environment is identified from the output information from the temperature / humidity sensor as the detecting means, and the application amount of the solid lubricant 31 is controlled by controlling the contact and separation at a predetermined timing.

Here, a holder to which the solid lubricant 31 is fixed
The position 32 can be moved in multiple stages by rotating an eccentric cam (not shown) by an actuator. The configuration is such that the setting of the penetration amount α of the application brush 35 can be changed.

In the present embodiment, the setting which can obtain a good result in the first embodiment, for example, α = 1.0 to 1.5 mm in the environment H, α = 1 in the environment N In the environment L (see FIG. 4), α is set to 2.0 to 2.5 mm.

Next, the control by the control means will be described in detail with reference to FIG. First, when there is a print request from the host to the control unit of the image forming apparatus main body in the standby state of the process S1 (judgment S2), output information from the temperature / humidity sensor (not shown) is obtained before the image forming operation starts. Is read (process S3).

The temperature and humidity ranges shown in FIG. 4 are identified (processing S
4) Then, the actuator is operated so that the penetration amount α corresponding to each environment is set, and the penetration amount of the application brush 35 into the photosensitive drum 1 is set (process S5). Thereafter, a predetermined image forming operation is started (process S6), and when printing is completed (judgment S7), the control means of the image forming apparatus returns to the standby state again.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the control means for controlling the amount of the solid lubricant 31 to be applied is provided, and the control means controls the amount of the lubricant to be applied as the temperature or the humidity increases. Reduce the amount.

Therefore, it is possible to select the amount of the lubricant to be applied to the photosensitive drum 1 without bothering the user.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a process cartridge according to the third embodiment. In the description of the third embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, the photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller 2 as a process means acting on the photosensitive drum 1, a cleaning device 8, and a lubricant coating device 30 for forming a lubricant coating film are provided. The process cartridge 40 is integrally formed, and is configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus.

In the present embodiment, the brush 45 serving as an application brush for applying the solid lubricant 31 of the lubricant application device for forming a lubricant application film on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 also has a function as a cleaning brush. ing. The brush 45 is a coating brush and has the same configuration as the coating brush 25 of the first embodiment, and the core bar 8h is grounded.

The brush 45 has the same structure and also functions as a cleaning brush, and is disposed upstream of the cleaning blade 8a in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 1.
The brush 45 is rotatably disposed and contacts the photosensitive drum 1 with an intrusion amount of 1 mm, which is the same contact condition as in the first embodiment, and the brush 45 rotates in the same rotational direction D as the photosensitive drum 1 by 30 mm.
It is driven to rotate at a speed of rpm.

Since the photosensitive drum 1 and the brush 45 are rotating in the same direction, they move in opposite directions at contact portions with each other. In this contact area, the photosensitive drum 1 after the primary transfer
The residual toner is scraped off, or the adhesion of the transfer residual toner to the photosensitive drum 1 is weakened, so that the cleaning by the cleaning blade 8a is facilitated.

When the cleaning operation of the brush 45 is repeated, the brush fibers are clogged by the collected toner, and the cleaning performance is reduced. In order to prevent this, a scraper 8e, which is a member for scraping off the toner accumulated in the brush fibers, is provided.

In this embodiment, a flexible 0.1 mm thick PET sheet is used as the scraper 8e as a sheet metal 8g.
And has a free length of 3 mm. Further, the amount of the scraper 8e penetrating the brush 45 is set to β = 1.5 mm.

The process cartridge 40 includes an EEPROM.
A non-volatile readable and writable storage means R such as an OM is provided, and is electrically connected by a connector (not shown) of the apparatus main body, and can exchange information with a control means of the main body. That is, the information in the storage unit R, which is the storage unit, can be read and written by the control unit.

The increase in the driving torque of the drum motor for driving the photosensitive drum 1 even in the environment HH mainly depends on the photosensitive drum 1
Since it is easy to occur when an image is formed on several hundred sheets of transfer materials from the start of use of the image forming apparatus, the total number of times of image formation or the total rotation time is stored in the storage means R, and this information is stored. The amount of the lubricant applied may be controlled by the method described in the above-described embodiment based on the above. For example, 1 from the beginning
Control may be performed such that the application amount is suppressed up to 000 sheets, and thereafter the application amount is increased.

The photosensitive drum 1 and the lubricant application device 30
If the service life of the solid lubricant is long, the solid lubricant
The solid lubricant is moved by moving means such as an actuator so that the amount of shaving is corrected at a predetermined timing in consideration of shaving.
The holder 32 to which 31 is fixed may be moved. For example,
It is also possible to store the total rotation time of the application brush 35 in the storage means R and make correction so that a fixed amount of the solid lubricant 31 enters the brush 45 every predetermined time.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the lubricant application device of the above-described embodiment is provided as the process means acting on the photosensitive drum 1. By using a process cartridge, it is not necessary for the user to perform maintenance such as replacement of consumable parts such as the photosensitive drum 1 and solid lubricant, which are difficult to replace, and disposal of waste toner.

When the process cartridge system is adopted, the photosensitive drum 1 is selected according to the life of the cartridge, and the hardness of the solid lubricant and the surface properties of the photosensitive drum 1 are maintained until the life. The design is performed while optimizing the contact conditions and the like of the brush 45. Therefore, there is an advantage that a good image without any trouble can be always obtained until the life of the process cartridge, and the user can easily perform replacement when the life of the process cartridge expires.

(Other Embodiments) In the first and second embodiments described above, the penetration amount of the application brush 25 is set to 2
Although the preparation of the type is exemplified, the application brush is not limited to this. Considering that the image forming apparatus is usually used in an air-conditioned environment such as an office, that is, an environment from the environment LL to the environment NN, the application brush is considered. When 25 kinds of penetration amount α = α _L are set as one type, and when used in an environment from environment NN to environment HH, by changing to a solid lubricant of zinc stearate having a hard pencil hardness. It is also possible to suppress the amount of shaving of the solid lubricant and prevent the motor from stepping out due to an increase in the driving torque of the motor. Actually pencil hardness H
A similar durability test was conducted using solid lubricants of HB to HB.
As a result, the occurrence of motor step-out could be suppressed.

When the application brush is set in one type of the penetration amount α = α _L , and when the environment is used from the environment NN to the environment HH, the rotation speed of the application brush is changed to apply the solid lubricant. The above problem can also be prevented by controlling the amount and optimizing the amount of the lubricant film formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. For example, by setting the rotation speed to two-thirds, the application amount of the solid lubricant can be suppressed.

Further, in the first embodiment described above, the lubricant application device 20 is configured so as to be able to be connected to and separated from the photosensitive drum 1 by a mechanism using a solenoid or the like.
Solid lubricant can be separated by a predetermined timing.
The configuration may be such that the application amount of 21 is controlled. These controls can be set and executed by the user selecting a use environment from the display panel of the image forming apparatus.

In the second embodiment described above, the lubricant application device 30 can be controlled so as to be able to contact and separate from the photosensitive drum 1 by a mechanism using a solenoid or the like, and the amount of lubricant applied is controlled. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lubricant application device 30 may be fixedly supported, and the solid lubricant 31 may be in contact with the application brush 35 of the holder 32 to control the amount of lubricant application. .

In the above-described embodiment, the spherical toner having a small particle diameter and high resolution and good transferability is described as a toner by a polymerization method. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The toner may be prepared by the mechanical pulverization and classification method described above, or may be subjected to a thermal or mechanical post-treatment to obtain a round toner. Further, it may be a magnetic toner.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the photosensitive drum 1 has the cleaning means for the elastic blade and the lubricant film is formed on the photosensitive drum 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which an elastic blade is disposed on a photoreceptor belt, an intermediate transfer body, a transfer roller, or the like of an image forming apparatus to apply a lubricant.

[0089]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a lubricant applying apparatus for applying a lubricant to the surface of an image carrier and forming a film by the lubricant, the lubricant is applied in accordance with the environment in which the apparatus is used. Since the amount of the lubricant applied to the surface of the image carrier is changed, poor cleaning, fusion, an increase in drum driving torque, etc. do not occur, and the image quality during image formation can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a cleaning device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating a relationship between an environment of the image forming apparatus and an amount of an applied brush penetrating a solid lubricant.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an environment division according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a cleaning device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of control according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a process cartridge according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the movement of a conventional cleaning blade.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a conventional cleaning blade fixing method.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a penetration amount of a conventional cleaning blade.

[Explanation of symbols]

 H ... environment HH ... environment L ... environment LL ... environment N ... environment NN ... environment P ... transfer material 1 ... photosensitive drum 2 ... charging roller 3 ... laser beam 4 ... developing device 4a ... first developing device 4b ... second developing Device 4c Third developing device 4d Fourth developing device 5 Intermediate transfer member 6a First transfer portion 6b Second transfer portion 7 High-voltage power supply 8 Cleaning device 8a Cleaning blade 8b Toner collection sheet 8c Waste toner collecting container 8d Screw 8e Scraper 8f Holding metal plate 8g Sheet metal 8h Core bar 9a Transfer belt 9a Transfer roller 9b Tension roller 10 High voltage power supply 11 Fixing device 12 Intermediate transfer body cleaning device 20 Lubricant application device 21… Solid lubricant 22… Holder 24… Lubricant application container 25… Application brush 30… Lubricant application device 31… Solid lubrication Agent 32 ... holder 33 ... Guide 34 ... lubricant coating container 35 ... application brush 36 ... urging spring 40 ... process cartridge 45 ... brush

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yuki Mori 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Canon Inc. (reference) 2H134 KG08 LA01 LA02

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A lubricant applying apparatus for applying a lubricant to the surface of an image carrier and forming a film of the lubricant, wherein the lubricant is applied to the surface of the image carrier according to an environment in which the apparatus is used. A lubricant application device, wherein an amount of the lubricant applied is changed. 2. The lubricant applying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solid lubricant is taken by a rotating application brush, and the lubricant attached to the application brush is applied to the image carrier. Characteristic lubricant application device. 3. The lubricant application device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit for controlling an application amount, wherein the control unit is configured to: A lubricant application device characterized by reducing the amount of lubricant applied. 4. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by transferring an image formed on an image carrier to a transfer material, comprising a lubricant applying device for applying a lubricant to a surface of the image carrier. An image forming apparatus, wherein the lubricant applying device is the lubricant applying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. A process cartridge comprising an image carrier and a process means acting on the image carrier, wherein the process means is a lubricant application according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A process cartridge comprising a device.