JP2009217033A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain stable image forming for a long period by removing residues remaining on the surface of an image holding member after the transfer of a toner image by means of a cleaning device and then appropriately applying a lubricant supplied from a lubricant supply means to the surface of the image holding member in a uniform film on the surface of the image holding member by means of a leveling member. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus is configured to remove residues remaining on the surface of the image holding member 10 after transfer by means of the cleaning device 20, then supply the lubricant to the surface of the image holding member by means of the lubricant supply means 30, and apply the lubricant to the surface of the image holding member by means of the leveling member 50. The lubricant supply means has a lubricant supply member 31 for scraping the lubricant from a solid lubricant 32 and supplying it to the surface of the image holding member. Between the lubricant supply member and the leveling member, a discharge device 40 is provided to discharge the surface of the image holding member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine of these, and after a toner image is transferred from an image holding member that holds and moves the toner image, the surface of the image holding member is transferred. The remaining residue is removed by a cleaning device, and then the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image holding member by the lubricant supply means, and the leveling member is placed on the surface of the image holding member thus supplied with the lubricant. In the image forming apparatus in which the lubricant is applied to the surface of the image holding member by pressure contact, in particular, the lubricant is appropriately supplied to the surface of the image holding member by the above-described lubricant supply means. The lubricant supplied to is applied to the surface of the image holding member in an appropriate uniform film shape by the above-mentioned leveling member, and is characterized in that stable image formation can be performed over a long period of time. That.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine of these, an image holding member that holds and moves a toner image, for example, a photoconductor on which a toner image is formed, and toner formed on the photoconductor In an intermediate transfer member to which an image is transferred, after a toner image is transferred from such an image holding member to a transfer member such as a recording medium or an intermediate transfer member, a cleaning member such as a cleaning blade is provided on the surface of the image holding member. In order to remove the residue such as toner remaining on the surface of the image holding member.

  Here, the cleaning member is pressed against the surface of the image holding member after the toner image is transferred as described above, and the operation of removing the residual toner and the like remaining on the surface of the image holding member is lengthened. If it continues, there are problems such that the cleaning member is worn and the cleaning performance is deteriorated, and the surface of the image holding member is worn and the life of the image holding member is shortened.

  For this reason, conventionally, a lubricant such as metal soap is supplied from a lubricant supply means to the surface of an image holding member on which a toner image is transferred to a recording medium or the like, and the surface of the image holding member and the cleaning member are supplied by this lubricant. The surface of the image holding member is improved, and the toner image formed on the surface of the image holding member is appropriately transferred to the transfer member. Has been done.

  Conventionally, in supplying a lubricant from a lubricant supply means to the surface of an image holding member having a toner image transferred to a transfer member as described above, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a solid lubricant is used. The brush roll is scraped off by a brush roll, the toner image is transferred to the surface of the image holding member after the toner image is transferred, and the scraped lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image holding member, and then the image is held. It has been proposed that the lubricant supplied to the surface of the member is pressed by a cleaning member to apply the lubricant to the surface of the image holding member in a film form.

  However, when the cleaning member removes residual toner or the like remaining on the surface of the image holding member, the lubricant is applied by bringing the brush roll into contact with the surface of the image holding member. The toner remaining on the surface of the image holding member adheres to the brush roll and gradually accumulates, thereby gradually reducing the ability of the brush roll to scrape off the lubricant from the solid lubricant, thereby maintaining the image. There was a problem that the lubricant could not be properly applied to the surface of the member.

  Conventionally, as described above, in order to suppress the residue such as toner remaining on the surface of the image holding member from adhering to the brush roll as described above, as shown in Patent Documents 2 to 4, the image holding member is used. The toner remaining on the surface of the toner is removed by the cleaning member, and then the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image holding member by bringing the brush roll into contact therewith. The end of the support member is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the image holding member, and the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image holding member is pressed by the leveling member to apply the lubricant to the surface of the image holding member in a film form. Something like this has also been proposed.

  Here, when the end of the leveling member is pressed against the surface of the image holding member and the lubricant is applied to the surface of the image holding member, the end of the leveling member with respect to the surface of the image holding member If the pressure contact force is weak, the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image holding member is not sufficiently formed into a film, and particularly in the case of a lubricant having a large particle size, the end of the leveling member is in a state where the lubricant is in the form of particles. To go through.

  When the lubricant passes through the end of the leveling member in the state of particles in this way, the lubricant adheres to the charging roller etc. that contacts the surface of the image holding member, and the surface of the image holding member is appropriately There is a problem that charging cannot be performed, or this lubricant is mixed in the developing device and toner charging failure occurs, resulting in various defects in the formed image.

On the other hand, when the pressure contact force of the end of the leveling member to the surface of the image holding member is increased so that the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image holding member is sufficiently coated, torque for driving the image holding member Increases the wear of the end of the leveling member and the surface of the image holding member, and the leveling member is gradually deformed to increase permanent distortion, which makes it impossible to form a stable image. there were.
JP 2003-57996 A JP 2006-251751 A JP 2006-259450 A JP 2007-79468 A

  In the present invention, after the toner image is transferred from the image holding member that holds and moves the toner image, the residue remaining on the surface of the image holding member is removed by a cleaning device, and then the surface of the image holding member The lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image holding member by supplying the lubricant to the surface of the image holding member to which the lubricant is supplied in this manner, and the lubricant is applied to the surface of the image holding member. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems in the forming apparatus.

  That is, in the present invention, in the image forming apparatus as described above, the lubricant is appropriately supplied to the surface of the image holding member by the lubricant supply means, and the lubricant supplied in this manner is the above-described lubricant. It is an object of the present invention to apply a uniform film to the surface of the image holding member by the leveling member so that stable image formation can be performed over a long period of time.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problems, a cleaning device that removes residues remaining on the surface of an image holding member after the toner image is transferred from an image holding member that holds and moves the toner image. And a lubricant supply means for supplying a lubricant to the surface of the image holding member at a position downstream of the cleaning device in the moving direction of the image holding member, and the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image holding member In the image forming apparatus provided with a leveling member for applying the toner onto the surface of the image holding member, the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image holding member by scraping the lubricant from the solid lubricant to the lubricant supplying means. A supply member is provided, and a static eliminator that neutralizes the surface of the image holding member is provided between the lubricant supply member and the leveling member.

Here, as the lubricant supply member that scrapes off the lubricant from the solid lubricant and supplies it to the surface of the image holding member, a rotating brush member or a foaming roller can be used. In order to properly apply the agent to the surface of the image holding member, it is preferable to reduce the particle size of the lubricant that is scraped from the solid lubricant and supplied to the surface of the image holding member. For this reason, while using the rotating brush member for the lubricant supply member, the brush member has a fiber thickness in the range of 10 to 20 μm and a fiber density of 3.0 × 10 ^{8 to} 1.5 × 10 ^9. It is preferable to use conductive fibers in the range of / m ² .

  As the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image holding member, for example, fatty acid metal salts such as zinc stearate, magnesium stearate, lithium stearate, etc. can be used. It is preferable to use zinc stearate having a low resistance.

  In the present invention, in order to appropriately supply the lubricant from the lubricant supply member to the surface of the image holding member, an overcoat layer having irregularities is provided on the surface of the image holding member. It is preferable to provide such an overcoat layer having irregularities, and fine particles such as silica can be added to the overcoat layer.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the leveling member is grounded to suppress frictional charging of the leveling member due to contact with the image holding member.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the surface of the image holding member is moved by the above-described lubricant supplying means at a position downstream of the cleaning device for removing the residue remaining on the surface of the image holding member. Since the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image holding member, the toner remaining on the surface of the image holding member is prevented from being removed by the cleaning device and attached to the lubricant supply means. The lubricant is appropriately supplied to the surface of the image holding member.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the lubricant is scraped from the solid lubricant by the lubricant supply member and supplied to the surface of the image holding member, the lubricant is caused by friction between the solid lubricant and the lubricant supply member. The supply member and the scraped lubricant are frictionally charged, and the thus charged lubricant is appropriately supplied to the surface of the image holding member before the charge is removed.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the static eliminator that neutralizes the surface of the image holding member is provided between the lubricant supply member and the leveling member, the image supplied with the lubricant as described above is provided. When the holding member is neutralized by the static eliminator and the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image holding member is applied to the surface of the image holding member by the leveling member, the image holding member and the leveling member are Even if frictionally charged, an increase in potential difference between the image holding member and the leveling member is suppressed.

  As a result, when the lubricant charged as described above is guided to the leveling member, the lubricant is scattered from the image holding member by the electric field between the image holding member and the leveling member, or vice versa. Lubricant is strongly held by the image holding member, and excess lubricant is prevented from passing through the leveling member to cause uneven application of lubricant to the image holding member. It is applied to the surface of the image holding member appropriately in a uniform film shape, and stable image formation can be performed over a long period of time.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a rotating brush member is used as a lubricant supply member that scrapes off the lubricant from the solid lubricant and supplies the lubricant to the surface of the image holding member. Is 10 to 20 [mu] m and the fiber density is in the range of 3.0 * 10 < ⁸ > to 1.5 * 10 < ⁹ > fibers / m < ² >, the surface of the image holding member is scraped off from the solid lubricant. Even if the particle size of the lubricant supplied to the toner is reduced and the pressure contact force of the leveling member to the surface of the image holding member is weak, this lubricant is applied to the surface of the image holding member appropriately. become.

  Further, since the pressure contact force of the leveling member can be weakened in this way, the torque for driving the image holding member is increased, the wear of the end of the leveling member and the surface of the image holding member is increased, It is also possible to prevent the leveling member from being gradually deformed and to generate permanent distortion, thereby enabling stable image formation over a long period of time.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the leveling member is grounded, the leveling member is prevented from being frictionally charged by contact with the image holding member, and the lubricant is scattered from the image holding member. Or excessive application of the lubricant through the leveling member to cause uneven application of the lubricant to the image holding member.

  Next, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to those shown in the following embodiments, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  In the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an image holding member corresponding to four developing devices 11 containing toners of different colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The four photosensitive drums 10 are provided.

  Here, in this image forming apparatus, when full-color image formation is performed, the respective photosensitive drums 10 are rotated, and the surface of each photosensitive drum 10 is charged by the charging device 12 including a charging roller. Each of the photosensitive drums 10 charged in this way is exposed according to image data by the exposure device 13 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of each photosensitive drum 10.

  Then, toner of a predetermined color is supplied from each developing device 11 corresponding to each photosensitive drum 10 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed in this manner to the electrostatic latent image on each photosensitive drum 10 and developed. The toner images of the respective colors are formed on the surface of each photosensitive drum 10.

  Next, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photosensitive drums 10 are respectively transferred to the intermediate transfer body 15 in the form of an endless belt that is driven around the roller 14 and transferred in the form of a roller. A primary transfer is sequentially performed by the device 16 to form a full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer member 15.

  Residues such as toner remaining on the surface of each photoconductor drum 10 after transfer are respectively guided to the first cleaning device 20, and the cleaning blade 21 provided in the first cleaning device 20 is used as the photoconductor drum 10. The toner is removed from the surface of each photosensitive drum 10 by pressure contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 10.

  Next, a lubricant is supplied by the lubricant supply means 30 to the surface of each photoconductor drum 10 from which the residue such as toner has been removed in this manner, and the photoconductor drum 10 thus supplied with the lubricant is supplied. After the charges remaining on the surface were each discharged by the charge eliminating device 40, the ends of the leveling members 50 were brought into pressure contact with the surfaces of the respective photosensitive drums 10 and supplied to the surfaces of the respective photosensitive drums 10. A lubricant is applied to the surface of each photosensitive drum 10.

  On the other hand, the full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer member 15 as described above is guided to a position facing the secondary transfer device 17 formed into a roller shape by the intermediate transfer member 15, and the image forming apparatus. The sheet-like recording medium S accommodated in the lower part of the sheet is guided between the intermediate transfer member 15 and the secondary transfer device 17 by the feed roller 18 and formed on the intermediate transfer member 15 by the secondary transfer device 17. The resulting full-color toner image is secondarily transferred to the recording medium S.

  After that, the recording medium S to which the full-color toner image is transferred in this way is guided to the fixing device 19, and the transferred full-color toner image is fixed on the recording medium S. The fixed recording medium S is discharged.

  Further, the toner or the like remaining on the intermediate transfer body 15 without being transferred to the recording medium S is guided to the second cleaning device 60, and an elastic material such as polyurethane rubber provided in the second cleaning device 60 is used. A cleaning blade 61 formed in a plate shape is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer member 15, and residues such as toner remaining on the intermediate transfer member 15 are removed from the intermediate transfer member 15.

Here, when the lubricant is supplied by the lubricant supply means 30 to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 from which the residue such as toner has been removed by the first cleaning device 20 as described above, in this embodiment, in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the fiber thickness is in the range of 10 to 20 μm and the fiber density is in the range of 3.0 × 10 ^{8 to} 1.5 × 10 ⁹ fibers / m ^{2 on} the outer periphery of the roller 31a. The brush member 31 composed of the conductive fiber 31b is rotated, and the brush member 31 is rotated so as to contact the surface of the photosensitive drum 10, and the solid lubricant 32 is pressed against the brush member 31 by a spring. Pressing by means 33, the lubricant is scraped off from the solid lubricant 32 by the conductive fibers 31 b provided on the brush member 31.

  Thus, when the lubricant is scraped off from the solid lubricant 32 by the brush member 31 using the conductive fiber 31b having a thin fiber thickness and a high fiber density, the lubricant scraped off from the solid lubricant 32 is removed. The particle size becomes smaller.

  Further, when the solid lubricant 32 is pressed against the brush member 31 by the pressing means 33, the lubricant scraped off from the solid lubricant 32 by the brush member 31 is further reduced to a constant particle size. The pressing force of the solid lubricant 32 against the brush member 31 is preferably in the range of 2 to 6 N / m.

  When the lubricant is scraped off from the solid lubricant 32 by the conductive fibers 31b provided on the brush member 31 as described above, the scraped lubricant is frictionally charged, and the particle diameter thus frictionally charged is obtained. The small lubricant is electrically adsorbed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 where the electric charge remains, and is appropriately supplied from the brush member 31 to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10.

  In this case, the lubricant scraped by the conductive fibers 31b of the brush member 31 is triboelectrically charged with a polarity opposite to that of the photosensitive drum 10 in which the electric charge remains. It is preferable to appropriately select the type of the conductive fiber 31b used for the brush member 31 in consideration of the frictional charging series with the conductive fiber 31b.

Here, as the conductive fiber 31b in the brush member 31, for example, various conductive materials such as conductive nylon fiber, conductive rayon fiber, conductive acrylic fiber, conductive polyester fiber, conductive polyfluorinated polyethylene fiber, and the like. Synthetic fibers or the like can be used, and generally, the conductive fibers 31b having a resistance value in the range of 10 ⁶ to 10 ¹³ Ω are used. In the case where zinc stearate is used as the lubricant, if the conductive nylon fiber, the conductive rayon fiber, or the conductive acrylic fiber is used for the conductive fiber 31b in the brush member 31, the lubricant becomes (−). While the conductive fiber 31b is charged to (+), when a conductive polyester fiber or conductive polyfluorinated ethylene fiber is used, the lubricant is charged to (+) and the conductive fiber 31b is charged to (-). Become.

  Further, in order to appropriately supply the frictionally charged lubricant having a small particle diameter as described above from the brush member 31 to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10, a bias power source is supplied to the brush member 31. It is also possible to apply a bias voltage having the same polarity as that of the frictionally charged lubricant (not shown) and having a polarity opposite to the charged polarity of the photosensitive drum 10.

  Then, after supplying the lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 as described above, the charge remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is discharged by the static eliminator 40, and then the surface of the photosensitive drum 10. The lubricant supplied to the leveling member 50 is guided to the leveling member 50.

  Further, as the leveling member 50, an elastic material such as polyurethane rubber formed in a plate shape is held by the holding member 51, and the end of the leveling member 50 is in the same direction as the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 10. The leveling member 50 is grounded through the holding member 51 while being pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 toward the surface.

  Then, when the lubricant supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 that has been neutralized as described above is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 by the leveling member 50, the leveling of the photosensitive drum 10 and the photosensitive drum 10 is improved. Even if the friction member 50 is frictionally charged, since the photosensitive drum 10 is neutralized and the leveling member 50 is grounded through the holding member 51, the potential difference between the photosensitive drum 10 and the leveling member 50. Is suppressed from increasing. In particular, a photosensitive drum 10 having an overcoat layer having irregularities formed on the surface thereof by adding fine particles such as silica so that the lubricant is sufficiently retained on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is used. Even in this case, an increase in the potential difference between the photosensitive drum 10 and the leveling member 50 is suppressed.

  As a result, the charged lubricant is scattered from the photoconductor drum 10 by the electric field between the photoconductor drum 10 and the leveling member 50, or conversely, is strongly held on the surface of the photoconductor drum 10 to cause excessive lubrication. The lubricant is prevented from passing through the leveling member 50 and uneven application of the lubricant is prevented, and the lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 in a uniform film shape, so that stable image formation can be achieved over a long period of time. Can be done.

  In this embodiment, since the lubricant having a small particle diameter is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 as described above, the end portion of the leveling member 50 is disposed at the photosensitive drum 10 as described above. When the lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 by applying pressure to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10, a lubricant having a small particle diameter is sufficient even if the pressing force of the leveling member 50 against the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is not increased. And coated on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10.

  For this reason, a large torque is required to drive the photosensitive drum 10, wear of the end of the leveling member 50 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 increases, or permanent deformation occurs in the leveling member 50. And stable image formation can be performed over a long period of time.

  Next, the image forming speed in a commercially available copying machine (manufactured by Konica Minolta: Bizhub C450) is modified to 55 sheets / minute of A4 paper, and as shown in FIG. Lubricant supply means 30 is provided on the downstream side of the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 10 relative to the first cleaning device 20 that removes residual toner and the like remaining on the surface, and is more sensitive than the lubricant supply means 30. The leveling member 50 is provided on the downstream side in the movement direction of the body drum 10, and the position at which the static eliminator 40 is further provided is the position A on the upstream side in the movement direction of the photosensitive drum 10 relative to the first cleaning device 20. B position between the cleaning device 20 and the lubricant supply means 30, C position between the lubricant supply means 30 and the leveling member 50, and D position between the leveling member 50 and the charging device 12. It was to be able to change to.

  Then, as shown in Table 1 below, in Examples 1 to 9, the position where the static eliminator is provided is compared with the C position between the lubricant supply means and the leveling member, as in the above embodiment. In Example 1, the position A was set, in Comparative Example 2, the position B was set, and in Comparative Examples 3 and 4, the position D was set.

  In addition, as the above-mentioned photoreceptor drum, using an overcoat layer provided on the surface thereof containing silica to form irregularities, and those not containing silica, as shown in Table 1 below, In Examples 8 and 9 and Comparative Example 4, a photosensitive drum containing silica and having irregularities formed thereon, and other than that, a photosensitive drum having no irregularities due to silica was used.

  In the lubricant supply means, a lubricant made of zinc stearate formed into a predetermined shape is used as the solid lubricant.

In the brush member, the conductive fiber has a Young's modulus in the range of 1200 to 1500 N / mm ² , and the fiber thickness is 10 μm, 15 μm, 20 μm, 25 μm, and 30 μm as shown in Table 1 below. The fiber density became 1.5 × 10 ⁸ fibers / m ² , 3.0 × 10 ⁸ fibers / m ² , 1.0 × 10 ⁹ fibers / m ² , and 1.5 × 10 ⁹ fibers / m ² . Using each conductive nylon fiber, each of these conductive nylon fibers was provided on a base fabric having a thickness of 0.5 mm so that the fiber length was 2.5 mm, and this was attached to the outer periphery of a metal roller having a diameter of 6 mm. The thing was used.

  Then, the solid lubricant is pressed against each brush member by a pressing means with a pressing force of 4 N / m.

  Further, as the leveling member, a polyurethane rubber having a hardness (JIS-A) of 67 degrees and a rebound resilience value of 50% and having a plate shape of 2 mm in thickness is used. The portion was protruded 8 mm from the holding member, and was in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum at a contact angle of 10 ° and a contact force of 20 N / m in the same direction as the direction of movement of the photosensitive drum.

  As shown in Table 1 below, in Example 9, the leveling member was grounded, while the others were not grounded.

  Then, using each of the image forming apparatuses of Examples 1 to 9 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 set to the conditions shown in Table 1 below, a printing durability test was performed, respectively, and voids and vertical streaks in the formed image were performed. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

  Here, with respect to the void, under the environmental conditions of a temperature of 30 ° C. and a humidity of 85% RH, the character images (total area ratio 20%) of each color in which the area ratio is 5% each are intermittently 100,000 sheets. After printing, a blue line image of 3 dots (width of about 70 μm) was printed using cyan and magenta toners, and the voids in the line image were examined.

  As for vertical stripe-shaped density unevenness, four character images (total area ratio of 20%) of each color with an area ratio of 5% are intermittently generated under environmental conditions of a temperature of 10 ° C. and a humidity of 15% RH. After printing 100,000 sheets, a halftone image was printed, and the vertical stripe-like density unevenness in the printed halftone image was examined.

  And for the evaluation of the above-mentioned voids and vertical stripe-shaped density unevenness, ◎ is a level that is not a problem at all, ◯ is a level that can be confirmed slightly but does not cause a problem in practice, and it can be confirmed on the image a little. △, and a level that can be clearly confirmed on the image and is not suitable for practical use is indicated by ×.

  As a result, as in the present invention, in Examples 1 to 9 in which the static eliminator is provided between the lubricant supply means and the leveling member, the comparative example in which the static eliminator is provided at a position different from the above position. Compared with those of 1 to 4, the occurrence of voids and vertical stripe-shaped density unevenness was greatly reduced, and good image formation was possible.

Moreover, when the thing of Examples 1-9 was compared, in the range whose fiber thickness is 10-20 micrometers, the fiber density became 3.0 * 10 < ⁸ > -1.5 * 10 < ⁹ > / m < ² >. Examples 3, 4, 6 to 9 using brush members made of fibers are examples using brush members made of conductive fibers whose fiber thickness and fiber density are outside the above ranges. Compared with those of 1, 2, and 5, the occurrence of voids and vertical streaky density unevenness was further reduced.

  In particular, in Examples 8 and 9 using the photosensitive drum in which the overcoat layer contains silica and the surface has irregularities, the occurrence of voids is further reduced. In the grounded Example 9, the occurrence of vertical stripe-like density unevenness was further reduced.

1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, the first cleaning device removes the residue remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum at a position downstream of the position where the toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum in the moving direction of the photosensitive drum. And a lubricant supply means for supplying a lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive drum, a static eliminator for neutralizing the photosensitive drum, and a leveler for applying the lubricant supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum to the surface of the image holding member. It is the schematic explanatory drawing which showed the state which provided the shin member. In the Example and comparative example of this invention, it is the schematic explanatory drawing which showed the position which provides a static elimination apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

10 Photosensitive drum (image holding member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Developing device 12 Charging device 13 Exposure device 14 Roller 15 Intermediate transfer body 16 Primary transfer device 17 Secondary transfer device 18 Feeding roller 19 Fixing device 20 First cleaning device 21 Cleaning blade 30 Lubricant supply means 31 Brush member 31a Roller 31b Conductive Fiber 32 solid lubricant 33 pressing means 40 static eliminating device 50 leveling member 51 support member 60 second cleaning device 61 cleaning blade S recording medium

Claims (5)

  A cleaning device that removes residue remaining on the surface of the image holding member after the toner image is transferred from the image holding member that holds and moves the toner image, and the moving direction of the image holding member downstream of the cleaning device And a leveling member for applying the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image holding member to the surface of the image holding member. In the obtained image forming apparatus, the lubricant supply means is provided with a lubricant supply member that scrapes off the lubricant from the solid lubricant and supplies the lubricant to the surface of the image holding member. An image forming apparatus, wherein a neutralizing device for neutralizing the surface of the image holding member is provided between the first and second members. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant supply member is configured by a rotating brush member, and the brush member has a fiber thickness in the range of 10 to 20 μm and a fiber density of 3.0 × 10 ^8. An image forming apparatus using conductive fibers in a range of ˜1.5 × 10 ⁹ fibers / m ² .   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant is zinc stearate.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an overcoat layer having irregularities is provided on a surface of the image holding member. 5.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the leveling member is grounded.

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