JP2007272187A - Cleaning device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device which cleans an image carrier with a cleaning blade even when a small-particle-diameter spherical toner is used. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device 6 has: a first brush roller 6d which supplies fine powders scraped off an auxiliary cleaning substance molding 6b and a lubricant molding 6c to a surface of an image carrier 1; and a cleaning blade 6a so disposed that it comes into contact with the image carrier 1 on a downstream side of the first brush roller 6d in a moving direction of the image carrier 1, wherein in a portion where the cleaning blade 6a comes into contact with the image carrier 1, (1) fine powder of the auxiliary cleaning substance is stuck to a surface of the cleaning blade 6a, (2) a protective film by fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier 1, and (3) fine powder of the auxiliary cleaning substance has a larger specific gravity than a toner used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device provided in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile using an electrophotographic system, a process cartridge having the cleaning device, and an image forming apparatus having the process cartridge.

  An image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system includes an image carrier, and charges the surface of the image carrier by applying a charge, and then exposes the surface of the charged image carrier to expose an electrostatic latent image. The toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier to form a visible image, and the visible image formed on the surface of the image carrier is transferred to the surface of the transfer paper. Then, the visible image transferred on the surface of the transfer paper is fixed and discharged. In such an image forming apparatus, deposits containing untransferred toner or the like remain on the surface of the image carrier after the transfer of the visible image. In order not to adversely affect the formation, it is cleaned by a cleaning device and prepared for the next image forming process. As such a cleaning device, a cleaning brush formed of an elastic material such as rubber or a fiber made of synthetic resin is rubbed against the surface of the image carrier to remove deposits such as untransferred toner. It is generally known to remove. In particular, cleaning devices using cleaning blades are widely used in terms of stability of cleaning performance and cost.

  However, these cleaning blades have a problem that the cleaning performance is deteriorated because they are worn over time to cause chipping or deformation when sliding with the image carrier continues. Further, since the surface of the image carrier is also worn, there is a problem that the life of the image carrier is shortened.

  In recent years, in image forming apparatuses using electrophotography, there has been a strong demand for image quality, and in particular, in order to achieve high-definition color image formation, toner particle size reduction and spheroidization have been promoted. ing. When the toner particle size is reduced, the dot reproducibility is improved, and when the toner is made spherical, the developability and transferability can be improved. Such a toner having a reduced particle size or spheroid is very difficult to manufacture by a conventional kneading and pulverizing method, and thus is manufactured by a polymerization method such as a suspension polymerization method, an emulsion polymerization method, or a dispersion polymerization method. ing.

  However, when a toner having a spherical shape or a reduced particle size, that is, a so-called polymerized toner, is used for image formation, there are some problems in cleaning on the image carrier performed after image formation. As described above, the cleaning blade removes the toner while rubbing the body surface of the image carrier, but the edge portion of the cleaning blade is deformed by the frictional resistance of the surface of the image carrier, so the image carrier and the cleaning blade A minute space is created between the two. Smaller particle size toner is more likely to enter this space. The toner that has entered the minute space has a rolling friction force that is closer to a spherical shape, and therefore rolls in the space between the image carrier and the cleaning blade, which causes the cleaning failure. There was a problem of being connected to.

In order to solve such problems, an image forming apparatus having a mixed powder of a powder lubricant applied to a blade edge and an amorphous toner having an average particle size smaller than a spherical toner for image formation is proposed. (See Patent Document 1). However, in such an image forming apparatus, there is a problem that the merit of improving the image quality by the spherical toner is reduced by mixing the amorphous toner. In addition, since there is no means for depositing on the blade edge for a long period of time, there is a problem of lack of feasibility. Further, powder for blocking other than the toner blocked by the blade edge (for example, monodispersed silica having a specific gravity of 1.3 to 1.9 and a particle size of 80 to 300 nm, or amorphous or needle-shaped magnetic powder) ) Has been proposed (see Patent Document 2). However, there is a problem that the wear of the blade edge and the image carrier is promoted by depositing silica or magnetic powder on the blade edge. In addition, in order to deposit and hold such a powder for blocking, it is necessary to separately add components such as a power source, which leads to a problem of high costs.
JP 2000-267536 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-6710

  The present invention aims to solve this problem.

  That is, the present invention makes it possible to clean the untransferred toner on the surface of the image bearing member with the cleaning blade even when using a toner having a small particle diameter and a spherical shape, and lubrication supplied onto the image bearing member. The first object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device in which the powder of the agent is uniformly applied to the surface of the image carrier over a long period of time to reduce the friction coefficient of the surface of the image carrier, and the cleaning device is provided. A second object is to provide a process cartridge, and a third object is to provide an image forming apparatus having the process cartridge.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 rotates and contacts the tip of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product arranged adjacent to or apart from each other and the image carrier. Than the first brush roller, and a first brush roller configured to supply fine powder obtained by scraping the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding to the surface of the image carrier. A cleaning device having a cleaning blade disposed so as to contact the image carrier on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the image carrier,
In the portion where the cleaning blade contacts the image carrier,
(A) A nip is formed by the cleaning blade and the image carrier in a state in which the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is attached to and pressed against the surface of the cleaning blade,
(B) a protective film of fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier, and
(C) The cleaning device is characterized in that the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is larger than the specific gravity of the toner.

  The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are each a rod-shaped body molded by a molding means. To do.

  The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are adjacent to the first brush roller, respectively. It arrange | positions so that it may contact | connect.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are separated from each other and abut on the first brush roller. It is characterized by being arranged like this.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the fine powder obtained by scraping the cleaning auxiliary agent molding in contact with the tip of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the image carrier is supplied to the surface of the image carrier. The first brush roller, the cleaning blade arranged to contact the image carrier downstream of the first brush roller in the transfer direction of the image carrier, and the image carrier more than the cleaning blade. A second nozzle disposed on the downstream side in the transfer direction and contacting the tip of the lubricant molded product and the image carrier to scrape the lubricant molded product to supply fine powder to the surface of the image carrier; A cleaning device having a brush roller and a coating blade arranged to contact the image carrier downstream of the second brush roller in the transfer direction of the image carrier;
In the portion where the cleaning blade contacts the image carrier,
(A) A nip is formed by the cleaning blade and the image carrier in a state in which the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is attached to and pressed against the surface of the cleaning blade, and
(B) The cleaning aid fine powder is composed of a powder having a specific gravity greater than that of the toner,
In the portion where the coating blade contacts the image carrier,
(C) The cleaning device is characterized in that a protective film of fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier.

  The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 5, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are each rod-shaped bodies formed by a forming means. To do.

  The invention described in claim 7 is the invention described in claim 5 or 6, wherein the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding are respectively the first brush roller and the second brush. It arrange | positions so that it may contact | abut to a roller, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The invention described in claim 8 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cleaning auxiliary agent molding is (A) melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, It is composed of at least one solid lubricant selected from aluminum oxide and boron nitride.

  The invention described in claim 9 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cleaning auxiliary agent molding is (A) melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, It is composed of a mixture of at least one solid lubricant selected from aluminum oxide and boron nitride, and (B) thermoplastic resin particles.

  The invention described in claim 10 is the invention described in claim 9, wherein at least one solid lubricant selected from the melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride is used. The blending ratio with respect to the thermoplastic resin particles is 50 to 90%.

  The invention described in claim 11 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the lubricant molding is composed of a fatty acid metal salt or a fatty acid amide. It is what.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, an image carrier that carries a latent image, a cartridge case that rotatably holds the image carrier, and a surface of the image carrier that is held by the cartridge case remain. A process cartridge having at least a cleaning device for removing developer, wherein the cleaning device includes the cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 11. It is.

  The invention described in claim 13 is the invention described in claim 12, wherein the cleaning blade is supported in a counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, the cartridge case is in contact with the image carrier downstream of the cleaning blade in the transfer direction of the image carrier. It has the charging device arrange | positioned in this.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge according to any one of the twelfth to fourteenth aspects, an exposure apparatus that exposes a surface of the image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image, and the static Image forming comprising: a developing device that develops an electrostatic latent image with a developer containing toner to form a visible image; and a transfer device that transfers the visible image to a recording medium. Device.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention described in the fifteenth aspect, the volume average particle size of the toner used in the developing device is 3 to 8 μm, and the toner used in the developing device is The ratio (Dv / Dn) of the volume average particle diameter (Dv) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40.

  The invention described in claim 17 is the invention described in claim 15 or 16, wherein the toner used in the developing device has an average circularity of 0.93 to 1.00. It is.

  The invention described in claim 18 is the invention described in any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the process cartridge is located at a position downstream of the transfer device in the moving direction of the image carrier. Further, the image bearing member is disposed at a position upstream of the exposure apparatus in the moving direction of the image carrier.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning auxiliary agent formed in contact with the front end of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded article and the lubricant molded article, which are arranged adjacent to or apart from each other, and the image carrier while rotating. A first brush roller configured to supply a fine powder obtained by scraping the molded product and the lubricant molded product to the surface of the image carrier, and the transfer of the image carrier more than the first brush roller. A cleaning blade disposed so as to abut on the image carrier on the downstream side in the direction, in which the cleaning blade abuts on the image carrier, A nip is formed by the cleaning blade and the image carrier in a state where the powder adheres to and is pressed against the surface of the cleaning blade, and A protective film made of fine powder of the agent is formed on the surface of the image carrier, and (c) the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is made of a material having a specific gravity larger than the specific gravity of the toner. Even when spherical toner is used, the cleaning blade can clean the untransferred toner on the surface of the image carrier, and the lubricant powder supplied onto the image carrier can be used for a long period of time. It is possible to provide a cleaning device in which the coefficient of friction of the surface of the image bearing member is lowered by uniformly applying to the surface of the body without waste.

  According to the invention described in claims 2 and 6, since the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are respectively rod-shaped bodies formed by a molding means, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and The installation space for the lubricant molding can be reduced, and the operation of incorporating the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding into the cleaning device is facilitated.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are arranged adjacent to each other so as to contact the first brush roller. The installation space for the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding can be further reduced, and the operation of incorporating the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding into the cleaning device is further facilitated.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are arranged so as to be separated from each other and contact the first brush roller, A uniform fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding can be continuously cut out from the auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding, and therefore a stable cleaning process can be maintained for a long time.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the fine powder obtained by scraping the cleaning auxiliary agent molding in contact with the tip of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the image carrier is supplied to the surface of the image carrier. A first brush roller configured to perform cleaning, a cleaning blade disposed to contact the image carrier downstream of the first brush roller in the transfer direction of the image carrier, and the image carrier than the cleaning blade. Arranged on the downstream side of the moving direction of the body, contacting the tip of the lubricant molding and the image carrier, scraping off the lubricant molding and supplying fine powder to the surface of the image carrier. A cleaning device having two brush rollers, and a coating blade disposed so as to contact the image carrier downstream of the second brush roller in the moving direction of the image carrier. In the portion where the blade comes into contact with the image carrier, (a) the cleaning blade and the image carrier are in contact with each other while the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is attached to the surface of the cleaning blade and is in pressure contact therewith. And (b) the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is configured to be larger than the specific gravity of the toner, and (c) the lubricant in the portion where the coating blade contacts the image carrier. Since the protective film is formed on the surface of the image carrier, a non-transferred image on the surface of the image carrier by the cleaning blade even when a spherical toner having a small particle size is used. The toner can be cleaned and the lubricant powder supplied onto the image carrier can be uniformly applied to the surface of the image carrier for a long time without waste. It is possible to provide a cleaning device to lower the coefficient of friction of the surface of the carrier. In addition, the lubricant can be applied after the untransferred toner is sufficiently cleaned by the cleaning device. For this reason, the lubricant supplied onto the image carrier can be uniformly applied to the surface of the image carrier over a long period of time. Can be applied.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are arranged to contact the first brush roller and the second brush roller, respectively. Therefore, uniform fine powders of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding can be continuously cut out from the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding, so that a stable cleaning process can be maintained for a long time. .

  According to the invention described in claim 8, the cleaning aid molded product is (A) at least one solid selected from melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride. Since it is composed of a lubricant, a nip is efficiently formed by the cleaning blade and the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent. Therefore, the running cost can be suppressed with a small amount of material, and the cleaning blade The frictional force acting on the toner can be reduced and the wear of the edge of the cleaning blade can be suppressed. Can be possible.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the cleaning aid molded product is (A) at least one solid selected from melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride. Since it is composed of a mixture of a lubricant and (B) thermoplastic resin particles, the thermoplastic resin particles serve as a binder by compression molding and improve the strength of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding. The amount of the solid lubricant scraped off by the brush roller can be arbitrarily adjusted, so that the solid lubricant is uniformly supplied onto the image carrier to reduce uneven wear between the cleaning blade and the image carrier. This makes it possible to maintain a stable cleaning process for a long period of time, and also makes it easier to control the supply amount of the cleaning aid molding. It can reduce the burden at the time of system design.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, at least one solid lubricant selected from the melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride is blended with the thermoplastic resin particles. Since the rate is 50 to 90%, it is possible to efficiently obtain the effect of the invention according to claim 9 without impairing the effect of the invention according to claim 8.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, since the lubricant molding is composed of a fatty acid metal salt or a fatty acid amide, wear of the cleaning blade and the image carrier can be minimized. .

  According to the invention described in claim 12, the cartridge case for rotatably holding the image carrier and the cleaning for removing the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier held by the cartridge case. In the process cartridge having at least the apparatus, the cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is used as the cleaning apparatus. In addition, it is possible to clean the untransferred toner on the surface of the image carrier by using a cleaning blade, and the lubricant powder supplied onto the image carrier can be used on the surface of the image carrier for a long period of time. It is possible to provide a process cartridge in which the coefficient of friction on the surface of the image carrier is lowered by applying uniformly. In addition, parts replacement work and the like are facilitated, and therefore the part replacement time can be shortened.

  According to the invention described in claim 13, since the cleaning blade is supported in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier, the cleaning performance by the cleaning blade is improved and the particle size is small. The spherical toner can be cleaned. Further, since the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is efficiently dammed at the contact portion between the cleaning blade and the image carrier, a nip of the cleaning blade and the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent can be quickly formed.

  According to the invention described in claim 14, the cartridge case has the charging device arranged so as to contact the image carrier downstream of the cleaning blade in the transfer direction of the image carrier. Therefore, simplification and miniaturization in the image forming apparatus can be achieved.

  According to the invention described in claim 15, the process cartridge according to any one of claims 12 to 14, an exposure apparatus that exposes the surface of the image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image, An image forming apparatus having at least developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image with a developer containing toner to form a visible image and transfer means for transferring the visible image to a recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to clean the untransferred toner on the surface of the image carrier with the cleaning blade even when using a toner having a small particle diameter and a spherical shape, and the lubricant powder supplied onto the image carrier Can be applied uniformly on the surface of the image carrier over a long period of time to reduce the coefficient of friction of the surface of the image carrier, thereby obtaining a high-quality image with good dot reproducibility. Image forming device It can be provided.

  According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the volume average particle size of the toner used in the developing unit is 3 to 8 μm, and the volume average particle size (Dv) and the number average particle of the toner used in the developing unit are Since the ratio (Dv / Dn) to the diameter (Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40, the toner can be densely attached to the latent image and the toner charge amount distribution becomes uniform. The transfer rate is also increased, so that a higher quality image can be obtained.

  In the invention described in claim 17, since the average circularity of the toner used in the developing means is 0.93 to 1.00, the toner can be finely packed, so that a higher quality image can be obtained. Obtainable.

  The invention described in claim 18 is the invention described in any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the process cartridge is located at a position downstream of the transfer device in the moving direction of the image carrier. In addition, since it is disposed at a position upstream of the exposure apparatus in the moving direction of the image carrier, the cleanability of the untransferred toner is improved, so that a higher quality image can be obtained.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of an image forming apparatus showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of an image forming apparatus showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of the contact portion between the cleaning blade and the image carrier at the moment when the cleaning device is operating in the image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a counter method which is a contact condition of the cleaning blade. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a trailing method that is a contact condition of the cleaning blade.

  1 and 2, 6 is a cleaning device. The cleaning device 6 is in contact with the tip of the cleaning agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c, which are arranged adjacent to or apart from each other, and the image carrier 1 while rotating, and the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and A first brush roller 6d that supplies fine powder obtained by scraping the lubricant molded product 6c to the surface of the image carrier 1, and the image carrier 1 more than the first brush roller 6d. The cleaning blade 6a is disposed so as to contact the image carrier 1 on the downstream side in the transition direction. In the portion where the cleaning blade 6a abuts on the image carrier 1, as shown in FIG. 4, (a) the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is attached to the surface of the cleaning blade 6a and is in pressure contact therewith. Then, a nip is formed by the cleaning blade 6a and the image carrier 1, (b) a protective film B made of fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier 1, and (c) The fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is configured to have a larger specific gravity than the toner.

  In this way, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c arranged adjacent to or apart from each other are rotated and contacted with the tip of the image forming member 1 and the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b. The first brush roller 6d that supplies fine powder obtained by scraping the lubricant molded product 6c to the surface of the image carrier 1, and the image carrier 1 more than the first brush roller 6d. A cleaning device having a cleaning blade 6a disposed so as to abut on the image carrier 1 on the downstream side in the transition direction, wherein the cleaning blade 6a abuts on the image carrier 1 at (a) In the state where the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is attached to the surface of the cleaning blade 6a and pressed, the cleaning blade 6a and the image carrier 1 (B) a protective film B made of fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier 1, and (c) the fine powder of the cleaning aid is more than the specific gravity of the toner. When the toner is composed of a large toner, it is possible to clean the untransferred toner on the surface of the image carrier 1 by the cleaning blade 6a even when a spherical toner having a small particle diameter is used. Therefore, it is possible to provide a cleaning device in which the lubricant powder supplied onto the surface of the image carrier 1 is uniformly applied to the surface of the image carrier 1 without waste over a long period of time, thereby reducing the friction coefficient of the surface of the image carrier 1.

  The cleaning device 6 of the present invention conveys a cleaning blade 6a, a cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b, a lubricant molded product 6c, a cleaning brush 6d, a pressure spring 6e, and excess toner or paper dust that has been cleaned. However, a toner recovery coil 6f that recovers the toner is provided. The cleaning blade 6 a and the cleaning brush 6 d are installed so as to contact the image carrier 1. The cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c are arranged so as to contact the cleaning brush 6d, and when the cleaning brush 6d rotates, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricating agent are lubricated. The agent molded product 6 c is scraped off and supplied onto the image carrier 1. In addition, the initial cleaning performance can be stabilized by preliminarily depositing fine powders of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding 6b and the lubricant molding 6c on the cleaning brush 6d.

  Next, the characteristic behavior of the cleaning device of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, in the initial stage of the operation of the image forming apparatus, the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent supplied onto the image carrier 1 enters the contact portion between the cleaning blade 6 a and the image carrier 1. To do. Therefore, the fine powder of the cleaning aid adheres to the entrance side surface of the cleaning blade 6a. Next, the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent that has newly entered is pressed into contact with the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent adhering to the cleaning blade 6a and the image carrier 1 to form a layer A of the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent. Thus, the image carrier 1 is nipped with the fine powder of the cleaning aid. During these behaviors, the untransferred toner also enters the contact portion, but the toner reservoir C is formed while taking the behavior of the toner in the figure by the layer A of the fine powder of the cleaning aid. Here, by setting the specific gravity of the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent to be larger than that of the toner, the newly supplied fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent passes through the toner reservoir C even after the toner reservoir C is formed, and is cleaned. The layer A is reached by the fine powder of the auxiliary agent, and the nip with the image carrier 1 is reinforced. Among these behaviors, the lubricant is attached to the image carrier 1 and selected on the surface of the image carrier 1 by selecting a material that is easy to slip through the nip of the cleaning blade 6a and the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent. Since the protective film B is formed with the fine powder of the lubricant, it is possible to reduce wear on the image carrier 1 due to the fine powder of the cleaning blade 6a and the cleaning aid.

  Next, components in the cleaning device will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The cleaning blade 6a is made of an elastic member such as a urethane elastomer, a silicone elastomer, or a fluorine elastomer. Among these, the urethane elastomer is excellent in terms of wear resistance, high mechanical strength, and the like. In general, the cleaning blade 6a is formed by forming an elastic member into a sheet shape by centrifugal molding, and then cutting it into a blade shape. The cleaning blade 6a is supported by being stuck to the support member 6i. The support member 6i is preferably made of a material selected from metals, plastics, and ceramics, but is not limited thereto. A steel plate such as SUS having high mechanical strength, an aluminum plate, or a copper plate such as phosphor bronze can also be used. The cleaning blade 6a made of such a material can press the support member 6i with a spring or fix the support member 6i to the case of the cleaning device 6 to bend the elastic member so that an image can be obtained with a predetermined contact pressure. It contacts the surface of the carrier 1. Here, the counter method and the trailing method, which are the contact conditions of the cleaning blade 6a, are defined with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows a representative example of the counter method, and FIG. 4 shows a representative example of the trailing method. In the figure, when the contact angle is expressed as β, the case where β exceeds 0 ° and less than 90 ° is called a counter method, and the case where β exceeds 90 ° and less than 180 ° is called a trailing method. When carrying out the present invention, a counter system with a high cleaning property by the cleaning blade 6a is preferable.

  In the present invention, each of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c is a rod-shaped body molded by molding means. The cleaning auxiliary agent molded product (rod-like body) 6b is, for example, compression-molded fine powder of a cleaning auxiliary agent, and the lubricant molded product (rod-like body) 6c is, for example, a molten fatty acid metal salt or fatty acid An amide is cast-molded. In this way, when the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c are respectively rod-shaped bodies formed by the molding means, the installation of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c is performed. The space can be reduced, and the operation of incorporating the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c into the cleaning device 6 is facilitated.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c are arranged adjacent to each other and in contact with the first brush roller 6d. Has been. As described above, when the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c are arranged adjacent to each other and in contact with the first brush roller 6d, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product is obtained. The installation space for 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c can be further reduced, and the operation of incorporating the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c into the cleaning device 6 is further facilitated.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c are arranged so as to be apart from each other and contact the first brush roller 6d. ing. As described above, when the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c are arranged so as to be apart from each other and contact the first brush roller 6d, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b. In addition, uniform fine powders of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c can be continuously cut out from the lubricant molded product 6c, and therefore a stable cleaning process can be maintained for a long period of time.

  In FIG. 3, 6 is a cleaning device. The cleaning device 6 is in contact with the tip of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6 b and the image carrier 1 to supply fine powder obtained by scraping the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6 b to the surface of the image carrier 1. The first brush roller 6d, the cleaning blade 6a disposed so as to contact the image carrier 1 on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the image carrier 1 with respect to the first brush roller 6d, and more than the cleaning blade 6a. The image carrier 1 is disposed downstream in the moving direction, contacts the tip of the lubricant molded product 6c and the image carrier 1 and scrapes the lubricant molded product 6c to remove fine powder from the image carrier. A second brush roller 6g that is supplied to the surface of the first image sensor, and a second brush roller 6g that is disposed downstream of the second brush roller 6g in the moving direction of the image carrier 1 so as to contact the image carrier 1. Coating braid It has a 6h. As shown in FIG. 4, in the portion where the cleaning blade 6a contacts the image carrier 1, (a) a state where the fine powder of the cleaning aid is attached to and pressed against the surface of the cleaning blade 6a. A nip is formed by the cleaning blade 6a and the image carrier 1, and (b) the fine powder of the cleaning aid is configured to have a larger specific gravity than the toner, and the coating blade 6h In the portion in contact with the image carrier 1, (c) a protective film B made of fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier 1.

  In this way, the fine powder obtained by scraping the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b in contact with the tip of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the image carrier 1 is supplied to the surface of the image carrier 1. The first brush roller 6d, the cleaning blade 6a disposed so as to contact the image carrier 1 on the downstream side in the moving direction of the image carrier 1 with respect to the first brush roller 6d, and the cleaning blade 6a with respect to the cleaning blade 6a. The surface of the image carrier 1 is disposed on the downstream side in the moving direction of the image carrier 1 and contacts the tip of the lubricant molded product 6c and the image carrier 1 to scrape off the lubricant molded product 6c. A second brush roller 6g supplied to the image carrier, and a coating blade disposed so as to abut on the image carrier 1 on the downstream side of the image carrier 1 in the transition direction with respect to the second brush roller 6g. Had 6h In the leaning device, in the part where the cleaning blade 6a contacts the image carrier 1, (a) in a state where the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is attached to the surface of the cleaning blade 6a and pressed. A nip is formed by the cleaning blade 6a and the image carrier 1, and (b) the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is configured to be larger than the specific gravity of the toner, and the coating blade 6h is the image carrier. In the portion in contact with the body 1, (c) when the protective film B made of the fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier 1, a toner having a small particle diameter and a spherical shape is used. In this case, the cleaning blade 6a can clean the untransferred toner on the surface of the image carrier 1 and the lubrication supplied onto the image carrier 1 It is possible to provide a cleaning device 6 to lower the coefficient of friction of the surface of the image carrier 1 by the powder was uniformly applied without waste on the surface of the image bearing member 1 for a long period. In addition, the lubricant can be applied after the untransferred toner is sufficiently cleaned by the cleaning device 6. For this reason, the lubricant supplied onto the image carrier 1 is further applied to the surface of the image carrier 1 over a long period of time. It can be applied uniformly without waste.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c contact the first brush roller 6d and the second brush roller 6g, respectively. It is arranged to touch. In this way, when the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c are disposed so as to contact the first brush roller 6d and the second brush roller 6g, respectively, the cleaning Uniform fine powders of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c can be continuously cut out from the auxiliary agent molded product 6b and the lubricant molded product 6c, so that a stable cleaning process can be maintained for a long period of time. .

  The fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b is made of a substance having a specific gravity larger than that of the toner and promoting a lubricating action.

  In the present invention, the cleaning aid molded product 6b is preferably composed of at least one lubricating material selected from melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and silicon nitride. ing. As described above, when the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b is composed of at least one lubricating material selected from melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and silicon nitride, The nip is efficiently formed by the cleaning blade 6a and the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding 6b. Therefore, the running cost can be suppressed with a small amount of material, and the friction acting on the cleaning blade 6a can be suppressed. The force is reduced, the wear of the edge of the cleaning blade can be suppressed, and even when a toner having a small particle size and a spherical shape is used as the toner constituting the developer, the cleaning by the cleaning blade 6a can be stably performed for a long period of time. be able to.

  In the present invention, the cleaning aid molded product 6b is preferably at least one solid lubricant selected from (A) melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride. It may be composed of a mixture of an agent and (B) thermoplastic resin particles. Thus, the cleaning aid molded product 6b comprises (A) at least one solid lubricant selected from (A) melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride, and (B). When composed of a mixture of thermoplastic resin particles, the thermoplastic resin particles serve as a binder by compression molding, improve the strength of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b, and are scraped off by a brush roller. Since the amount of the solid lubricant to be adjusted can be arbitrarily adjusted, the solid lubricant is uniformly supplied onto the image carrier 1 to reduce uneven wear between the cleaning blade 6 a and the image carrier 1. A stable cleaning process can be maintained over a period of time, and the supply amount of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b can be easily controlled. It can reduce the burden at the time of Temu design.

  The blending ratio of the at least one solid lubricant selected from the melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride with respect to the thermoplastic resin particles is preferably 50 to 90%. . Thus, the compounding ratio with respect to the said thermoplastic resin particle of the at least 1 sort (s) of solid lubricant chosen from the said melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride is 50 to 90%. If there is, the effect of the invention of claim 8, namely, "the thermoplastic resin particles serve as a binder by compression molding, improve the strength of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b, Since the amount of the solid lubricant to be scraped off can be arbitrarily adjusted, the solid lubricant is uniformly supplied onto the image carrier 1 to reduce uneven wear between the cleaning blade 6 a and the image carrier 1. A stable cleaning process can be maintained for a long time, and the supply amount of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding 6b can be easily controlled. The effect of the invention according to claim 9, that is, “the thermoplastic resin particles serve as a binder by compression molding, without impairing the effect of stem design” can be reduced. Since the strength of the agent molded product 6b can be improved and the amount of the solid lubricant scraped off by the brush roller can be arbitrarily adjusted, the solid lubricant is uniformly supplied onto the image carrier 1, and the cleaning blade 6a By reducing uneven wear between the image carrier 1 and the image carrier 1, it is possible to maintain a stable cleaning process for a long period of time, and further, it becomes easy to control the supply amount of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b, thereby reducing the burden of system design. An effect can be obtained efficiently.

  The cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b in the present invention is a rod-like body formed by a forming unit. The cleaning auxiliary agent molded product 6b formed into a rod-shaped body is preferable in terms of reducing the installation space and simplifying the supply means. The molding means for forming the rod-shaped body includes molding means such as compression molding of a fine powder of a cleaning auxiliary agent and casting molding of a molten lubricant, but differs depending on the characteristics of the main components constituting the rod-shaped body.

  The lubricant is preferably composed of a fatty acid metal salt or a fatty acid amide. As such fatty acid metal salts and fatty acid amides, fatty acid metal salts in which metals such as lead, zinc, copper, and iron are bonded to linear hydrocarbons such as myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid, There are fatty acid amides with amide groups attached. Among them, zinc stearate is particularly effective among the fatty acid metal salts because it has a high effect of reducing the friction coefficient of the image carrier 1. Thus, when the lubricant molded product 6c is composed of a fatty acid metal salt or a fatty acid amide, the wear of the cleaning blade 6a and the image carrier 1 can be minimized. These fatty acid metal salts or fatty acid amides are cast-molded into a lubricant molded product 6c formed into a rod-shaped body.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a process cartridge 8 of the present invention includes an image carrier 1 that carries a latent image, a cartridge case 7 that rotatably holds the image carrier 1, and a cartridge case 7. 12. A process cartridge 8 having at least a cleaning device 6 for removing the developer remaining on the surface of the held image carrier 1, wherein the cleaning device 6 is defined in any one of claims 1 to 11. It has the cleaning device 6 described.

  As described above, the image carrier 1 that carries the latent image, the cartridge case 7 that rotatably holds the image carrier 1, and the development remaining on the surface of the image carrier 1 held by the cartridge case 7. In the process cartridge 8 having at least the cleaning device 6 for removing the agent, if the cleaning device 6 according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is provided as the cleaning device 6, small particles Even when a spherical toner having a diameter is used, it is possible to clean the untransferred toner on the surface of the image carrier 1 by the cleaning blade 6a, and the lubricant powder supplied onto the image carrier 1 can be used. It is possible to provide the process cartridge 8 in which the coefficient of friction on the surface of the image carrier 1 is lowered by uniformly coating the surface of the image carrier 1 without waste over a long period of time. In addition, parts replacement work and the like are facilitated, and therefore the part replacement time can be shortened. In FIG. 1, 6f is a toner recovery coil, and 6i is a support member.

  The cleaning blade 6 a is supported in a counter direction (see FIG. 5) with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier 1. The cleaning blade 6a is attached to and supported by a support member 6i made of, for example, metal, plastic, ceramic or the like. The cleaning blade 6 a comes into contact with the surface of the image carrier 1 with a predetermined contact pressure and a biting amount by being pressed by a spring or fixed to the case of the cleaning device 6. As described above, when the cleaning blade 6a is supported in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier 1, the cleanability of the untransferred toner is further improved.

  The cartridge case 7 has a charging device arranged so as to abut on the image carrier 1 on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the image carrier 1 with respect to the cleaning blade 6a. As described above, when the cartridge case 7 has the charging device 2 disposed so as to contact the image carrier 1 on the downstream side of the cleaning direction of the image carrier 1 with respect to the cleaning blade 6a, the image forming apparatus Simplification and downsizing can be achieved.

  In the image forming apparatuses 10 to 30 of the present invention, the image carrier (photosensitive member) 1 is rotatably supported and rotated in the direction of the arrow. A charging device 2, an exposure device 3, a developing device 4, a transfer device 5, and a cleaning device 6 are arranged on the outer periphery of the image carrier 1 based on an electrophotographic system. Although there are four image carriers 1, the configuration of image forming components provided in the periphery is the same, and the color of the color material (toner) handled by the developing device 4 is different. Part of the image carrier 1 is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 5 b of the transfer device 5. Reference numeral 5a denotes a transfer roller. The image carrier 1 is obtained by providing an organic semiconductor layer as a photoconductive substance on the surface of an aluminum cylinder having a diameter of about 30 to 100 mm. An image carrier 1 having an amorphous silicon surface layer can also be employed. Although the drum-shaped image carrier 1 is used in FIGS. 1 to 3, a belt-like image carrier can also be used.

  The charging device 2 includes a charging roller 2a configured by covering a conductive cored bar with an elastic layer of medium resistance, a spring (not shown) for bringing the charging roller 2a into contact with the image carrier 1, and the like. . The charging roller 2a is connected to a power source (not shown) and is applied with a predetermined voltage. In addition, when the charging roller 2a is provided with spacer members at both ends, the spacer abuts against the image carrier 1 and can be arranged with a certain gap from the image carrier 1. Around the charging roller 2a where the charging roller 2a and the image carrier 1 are in contact with each other, a charging cleaning roller 2b for cleaning foreign matter adhering to the surface of the charging roller 2a is provided. Thereby, the life extension of the charging roller 2a can be realized.

  The exposure apparatus 3 irradiates the surface of the image carrier 1 uniformly charged as a latent image with optical information corresponding to color image formation by a known laser method. An exposure apparatus comprising an LED array and an image forming unit can also be employed.

  In the developing device 4, a developing sleeve 4 a provided with a magnetic field generating means is disposed at a position facing the image carrier 1. Below the developing sleeve 4a, there are provided two screws 4b for mixing toner introduced from a toner bottle (not shown) with the developer and pumping it up to the developing sleeve 4a while stirring. The developer composed of toner and magnetic carrier pumped up by the developing sleeve 4a is regulated to a predetermined developer layer thickness by the doctor blade 4c and is carried on the developing sleeve 4a. The developing sleeve 4 a carries and conveys the developer while moving in the direction of the arrow at a position facing the image carrier 1, and supplies toner to the latent image surface of the image carrier 1.

  The transfer device 5 includes a transfer roller 5a configured by covering a conductive metal core with a medium-resistance elastic layer, a resin film having a base thickness of 20 to 600 μm, or a heat-resistant and toner based on rubber. Is formed of an intermediate transfer belt 5b having a resistance value capable of electrostatic transfer, and the intermediate transfer belt 5b is movable in the direction of an arrow. Although not shown, a rotation roller, a tension roller, or the like is used. Supported and stretched. A transfer roller 5 a is disposed in the vicinity of the image carrier 1 inside the belt loop. Here, the transfer roller 5a is a roller type that applies a high voltage, but a charger that discharges from an electrode can also be adopted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the image forming apparatuses 10 to 30 of the present invention expose the process cartridge 8 according to any one of claims 12 to 14 and the surface of the image carrier 1. An exposure device 3 for forming an electrostatic latent image, a developing device 4 for developing the electrostatic latent image with a developer containing toner to form a visible image, and transferring the visible image to a recording medium. And at least a transfer device 5. Thus, the process cartridge 8 according to any one of claims 12 to 14, the exposure device 3 that exposes the surface of the image carrier 1 to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image. Having at least a developing device 4 that develops a visible image by developing the toner with a developer containing toner and a transfer device 5 that transfers the visible image to a recording medium. Even when spherical toner is used, it is possible to clean the untransferred toner on the surface of the image carrier 1 with a cleaning blade, and the lubricant powder supplied onto the image carrier 1 can be used for a long period of time. An image that can be uniformly applied to the surface of the body 1 to reduce the coefficient of friction of the surface of the image carrier 1, and therefore, a high-quality image with good dot reproducibility can be obtained. A forming apparatus can be provided.

  In the image forming apparatuses 10 to 30 of the present invention, the toner used in the developing device 4 has a volume average particle diameter of 3 to 8 μm, and the toner used in the developing apparatus 4 has a volume average particle diameter (Dv). The ratio (Dv / Dn) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40.

  When the toner having a small particle diameter is used in the developing device 4, the toner can be densely attached to the latent image. However, if the volume average particle size is less than 3 μm, when used as a two-component developer, the toner fuses to the surface of the magnetic carrier during long-term stirring in the developing device 4, so that the charging ability of the magnetic carrier is high. When used as a one-component developer, toner filming on the developing roller and toner fusion to a member such as a blade for thinning the toner are likely to occur. Conversely, if the volume average particle size of the toner exceeds 8 μm, it becomes difficult to obtain a high-resolution and high-quality image, and the toner particle size varies when the balance of the toner in the developer is performed. growing. Further, by narrowing the particle size distribution, the toner charge amount distribution becomes uniform, a high-quality image can be obtained, and the transfer rate can be increased. However, if (Dv / Dn) exceeds 1.40, the charge amount distribution becomes wider and the resolution is also lowered, which is not preferable. The closer (Dv / Dn) is to 1.00, the sharper the particle size distribution. With such a toner having a small particle size and a narrow particle size distribution, the toner charge amount distribution is uniform, a high-quality image with little background fogging can be obtained, and the electrostatic transfer method has a high transfer rate. can do.

  Therefore, the volume average particle size of the toner used in the developing device 4 is 3 to 8 μm, and the volume average particle size (Dv) and the number average particle size (Dn) of the toner used in the developing device 4 are When the ratio (Dv / Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40, the toner can be densely attached to the latent image, the toner charge amount distribution is uniform, and the transfer rate is increased. Therefore, a higher quality image can be obtained.

  The toner preferably has a circularity of 0.93 or more. Circularity SR = (peripheral length of a circle having the same area as the particle projection area / perimeter length of the particle projection image) × 100%. The closer the toner is to a true sphere, the closer to 100%. In the conventional image forming apparatus, when such toner is used, there is a case where the cleaning member such as a cleaning blade cannot sufficiently scrape off. This is because the toner easily rolls on the image carrier. In this case, as a countermeasure, it may be possible to contact the image carrier with a stronger force with a cleaning blade, but this affects the rotation or movement accuracy of the image carrier and causes banding. In contrast, by applying a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier to reduce the coefficient of friction on the surface of the image carrier, the burden of cleaning by the cleaning blade is reduced, and no banding occurs even if the cleaning blade abuts with a strong force. It becomes possible to perform cleaning.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the average circularity of the toner used in the developing device 4 is 0.93 to 1.00. As described above, when the average circularity of the toner used in the developing device 4 is 0.93 to 1.00, fine packing is possible, and thus a higher quality image can be obtained.

  In the present invention, in the invention described in any one of claims 15 to 17, the process cartridge 8 is located at a position downstream of the transfer device 5 in the moving direction of the image carrier 1, It is disposed at a position upstream of the exposure device 3 in the moving direction of the image carrier 1. Thus, in the invention described in any one of claims 15 to 17, the process cartridge 8 is located at a position downstream of the transfer device 5 in the moving direction of the image carrier 1, If the image carrier 1 is disposed at a position upstream of the exposure device 3 in the moving direction, the cleaning performance of the untransferred toner is improved, so that a higher quality image can be obtained.

Example 1
(A) A rod-like body obtained by compression molding fine particles made of melamine cyanurate (cleaning aid) having a specific gravity of 1.52 larger than the specific gravity of the toner and an average particle size of 3.3 μm, and molten zinc thearate (lubricant) Each of the rod-shaped bodies obtained by casting the agent) to form a cleaning auxiliary agent molding and a lubricant molding arranged adjacent to each other, and (b) a brush made of synthetic resin fiber, A fine powder obtained by scraping the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding by rotating and contacting the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the tip of the lubricant molding and the image carrier is obtained on the image carrier. A first brush roller supplied to the surface, and (c) a cleaning blade made of polyurethane (manufactured by Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.) is placed in front of the first brush roller. A cleaning blade arranged to abut in contact angle 16 ° to the image carrier on the downstream side of the transition direction of the image bearing member to form a cleaning unit. Next, this cleaning apparatus was incorporated into a known image forming apparatus to obtain an image forming apparatus (see FIG. 1).

(Example 2)
In (a), a rod-like body obtained by compression molding fine particles made of melamine cyanurate (cleaning aid) having a specific gravity of 1.52 larger than the specific gravity of the toner and an average particle size of 3.3 μm, and molten oleic acid A rod-like body obtained by casting and forming an amide (lubricant) was bonded to each other to obtain a cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and a lubricant molded product arranged adjacent to each other. Thus, an image forming apparatus (see FIG. 1) was obtained.

(Example 3)
In (a), a rod-like body obtained by compression molding a mixture of silicon nitride (cleaning aid) having a specific gravity of 3.2 and an average particle size of 2.0 μm and oleic acid amide (binder) with a super mixer, Except that the molten zinc stearate (lubricant) and the rod-shaped body obtained by casting are bonded together to form a cleaning auxiliary agent molding and a lubricant molding which are arranged adjacent to each other. In the same manner as in Example 1, an image forming apparatus (see FIG. 1) was obtained.

(Comparative Example 1)
(A) A rod-shaped body obtained by casting and forming molten zinc teatate (lubricant) is used as a lubricant molded product, and (b) a brush made of synthetic resin fiber is connected to the tip of the lubricant molded product and an image carrier. A brush roller configured to supply fine powder obtained by scraping the lubricant molded product by rotating to the body and supplying the surface to the surface of the image carrier, and (c) a cleaning blade made of polyurethane A cleaning device was formed as a cleaning blade (manufactured by Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.) arranged to contact the image carrier at a contact angle of 16 ° downstream of the brush roller in the transfer direction of the image carrier. . Next, this cleaning apparatus was incorporated into a known image forming apparatus to obtain an image forming apparatus.

  As described above, the lubricant applicator obtained in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 was attached to the lubricant applicator part of a digital copying machine (imagio Neo C 355, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) to obtain a simple evaluation device. Then, using this simple evaluation apparatus, the toner is 5% on A4 size paper as a polymerization toner (manufactured by Ricoh) having an average circularity of 0.972, a volume average particle diameter of 6.0 μm, and a specific gravity of 1.20. When a prescribed image of density was continuously output at 100,000 sheets, the toner ID (density) passing through the cleaning was evaluated over time (1000 sheets, 10,000 sheets, 100,000 sheets). The “cleaning slip toner ID (density)” is the X-Rite 938 which is the ID (density) of the toner adhering to the felt when the felt is pressed against the image carrier to output one 5% density prescribed image. 10 points were measured, and the average value and standard deviation of the measured values were calculated.

  The measurement results are shown in Table 1 below.

  Table 1 shows that the smaller the average value, the smaller the amount of toner that slips through and the better the cleaning property.

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the image forming apparatus which shows other one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the image forming apparatus which shows other one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of a contact portion between the cleaning blade and the image carrier at the moment when the cleaning device is operating in the image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the counter system which is the contact conditions of a cleaning blade. It is explanatory drawing explaining the trailing system which is the contact conditions of a cleaning blade.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image carrier 2 Charging device 2a Charging roller 2b Charging cleaning roller 3 Exposure device 4 Developing device 4a Development sleeve 4b Screw 4c Doctor blade 5 Transfer means (transfer device)
5a transfer roller 5b intermediate transfer belt 6 cleaning device 6a cleaning blade 6b cleaning auxiliary agent molding 6c lubricant molding 6d first brush roller 6e pressure spring 6f toner recovery coil 6g second brush roller 6h coating blade 6i support member 7 Cartridge case 8 Process cartridge 10, 20, 30 Image forming apparatus A Layer with fine powder of cleaning aid B Protective film with fine powder of lubricant C Toner reservoir

Claims (18)

Obtained by scraping the cleaning aid molding and the lubricant molding while rotating and contacting the tip of the cleaning aid molding and the lubricant molding arranged adjacent to or apart from each other and the image carrier. A first brush roller that supplies the fine powder to the surface of the image carrier, and abuts the image carrier downstream of the first brush roller in the moving direction of the image carrier. A cleaning device having a cleaning blade,
In the portion where the cleaning blade contacts the image carrier,
(A) A nip is formed by the cleaning blade and the image carrier in a state in which the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is attached to and pressed against the surface of the cleaning blade,
(B) a protective film of fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier, and
(C) A cleaning device, wherein the fine powder of the cleaning aid is made of a material having a specific gravity greater than that of the toner.   2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are each rod-shaped bodies formed by a forming unit.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are arranged adjacent to each other so as to contact the first brush roller. .   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the lubricant molded product are arranged so as to be separated from each other and contact the first brush roller. A first brush roller configured to supply fine powder obtained by scraping the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product in contact with the tip of the cleaning auxiliary agent molded product and the image carrier, to the surface of the image carrier; A cleaning blade disposed so as to be in contact with the image carrier on the downstream side in the transition direction of the image carrier with respect to one brush roller, and a lubricant disposed on the downstream side in the transition direction of the image carrier with respect to the cleaning blade. A second brush roller that contacts the tip of the molded product and the image carrier and scrapes the lubricant molded product to supply fine powder to the surface of the image carrier; and the second brush A cleaning device having a coating blade disposed so as to contact the image carrier downstream of the roller in the transfer direction of the image carrier;
In the portion where the cleaning blade contacts the image carrier,
(A) A nip is formed by the cleaning blade and the image carrier in a state in which the fine powder of the cleaning auxiliary agent is attached to and pressed against the surface of the cleaning blade, and
(B) The cleaning aid fine powder is composed of a powder having a specific gravity greater than that of the toner,
In the portion where the coating blade contacts the image carrier,
(C) A cleaning device in which a protective film of fine powder of the lubricant is formed on the surface of the image carrier.   6. The cleaning device according to claim 5, wherein each of the cleaning auxiliary agent molding and the lubricant molding is a rod-like body molded by a molding unit.   The said cleaning adjuvant molding and the said lubricant molding are arrange | positioned so that it may contact | abut to the said 1st brush roller and the said 2nd brush roller, respectively. Cleaning device.   The cleaning auxiliary agent molding is composed of (A) at least one solid lubricant selected from melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride. The cleaning device according to claim 1.   The above-mentioned cleaning auxiliary molding is (A) at least one solid lubricant selected from melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride, and (B) thermoplastic resin particles. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a mixture of   The blending ratio of the at least one solid lubricant selected from the melamine cyanurate, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride to the thermoplastic resin particles is 50 to 90%. The cleaning device according to claim 9.   The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the lubricant molding is composed of a fatty acid metal salt or a fatty acid amide.   An image carrier for carrying a latent image, a cartridge case for rotatably holding the image carrier, and a cleaning device for removing the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier held by the cartridge case; A process cartridge having at least a cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 as the cleaning device.   The process cartridge according to claim 12, wherein the cleaning blade is supported in a counter direction with respect to a rotation direction of the image carrier.   14. The process according to claim 12, wherein the cartridge case has a charging device disposed so as to abut on the image carrier downstream of the cleaning blade in the transfer direction of the image carrier. cartridge.   The process cartridge according to claim 12, an exposure device that exposes a surface of the image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is developed with a developer containing toner. An image forming apparatus comprising: a developing device that develops a visible image by development; and a transfer device that transfers the visible image to a recording medium.   The volume average particle size of the toner used in the developing device is 3 to 8 μm, and the ratio (Dv) of the volume average particle size (Dv) and the number average particle size (Dn) of the toner used in the developing device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein / Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein an average circularity of toner used in the developing device is 0.93 to 1.00.   The process cartridge is disposed at a position downstream of the transfer device in the moving direction of the image carrier and upstream of the exposure device in the moving direction of the image carrier. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

Images