JP2020020950A - Cleaning blade, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cleaning blade, an image forming apparatus, and a process cartridge that can achieve extension of the life of the cleaning blade.SOLUTION: In a cleaning blade that is composed of a blade member formed of an elastic material and removes an attachment from a surface of a member to be cleaned making surface movement by bringing a blade tip into contact with the surface of the member to be cleaned, the impact resilience rate Rat 35°C and the 100% modulus value Mat 35°C of a material forming the blade tip of the blade member are configured to satisfy R≤-4.8M+42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning blade, an image forming apparatus, and a process cartridge.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a cleaning blade configured of a blade member made of an elastic material, in which a tip portion of a blade abuts on a surface of a member to be cleaned and removes deposits from a surface of the member to be cleaned moving on the surface.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that the cleaning blade has a 100% modulus at 23 ° C of 6 to 12 MPa and a difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the rebound resilience at 0 ° C to 50 ° C of the material constituting the blade tip. It is described that the content is 30% or less. According to this, it is described that settling of the cleaning blade can be suppressed, and stable toner removal performance and stable durability against environmental changes can be obtained.

  However, in the cleaning blade described in Patent Literature 1, the abrasion resistance may be inferior, and the service life may not be sufficiently extended.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention is configured by a blade member made of an elastic material, and a blade tip portion is brought into contact with a surface of a member to be cleaned, thereby removing attached matter from the surface of the member to be cleaned moving on the surface. In the cleaning blade, the material constituting the blade tip of the blade member has a rebound resilience R ₃₅ at 35 ° C. and a 100% modulus M _{35 at} 35 ° C. satisfying the following relational expression (A). It is characterized by having been done.
R ₃₅ ≦ −4.8 M ₃₅ +42 (A)

  According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve a longer life of the cleaning blade.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming unit. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a pressing mechanism. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cleaning blade. The figure explaining a wear area. The figure explaining the direction which observes a wear state. (A) is a figure showing an example of fatigue wear, (b) is a figure showing an example of specular wear, and (c) is a figure showing an example of intermediate wear. The figure which shows the running chart used in low-temperature evaluation. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an abnormal image due to a cleaning failure. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of a charging roller before toner slip-through running, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of a charging roller after toner slip-through running. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the rebound resilience at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus value at 35 ° C. of Examples 1 to 19 and Comparative Examples 1 to 13. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the temperature of each material of the edge layer, each material of the backup layer, and the rebound resilience. 7 is a graph showing a relationship between a low-temperature evaluation (image rank) and a wear width in each example.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the developing device according to the present invention is applied to a tandem-type full-color image forming apparatus of an intermediate transfer system (hereinafter, simply referred to as “image forming apparatus”) will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The outline of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an automatic document feeder 3 and a document reading unit 4 from the top of the main body. Below the document reading section 4, a stack section 5 for stacking recording paper P as a recording medium on which an image has been formed is provided. Below the stack section 5, an image forming section 2 for forming an image based on a document image read by the document reading section 4 and a paper feed section 6 for feeding recording paper P to the image forming section 2 are provided. I have.

  The automatic document feeder 3 separates documents one by one from the document bundle and automatically feeds them onto the contact glass of the document reading unit 4, and reads the documents conveyed onto the contact glass by the document reading unit 4.

  The image forming unit 2 includes an intermediate transfer belt 17 that is stretched around a plurality of support rollers and moves on the surface in a counterclockwise direction in the drawing. Image forming units 10Y, 10C, and 10M for forming toner images of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K) on the lower stretching surface of the intermediate transfer belt 17. , 10K are arranged in parallel. Each of the image forming units 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K includes photoconductors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K on which a toner image of each color is formed. Around the photoconductors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K, a charging device, developing devices 13Y, 13C, 13M, and 13K, a photoconductor cleaning device, and the like are provided, respectively.

  Primary transfer rollers 14Y, 14C, 14M, and 14K are provided so as to be in contact with the inner peripheral surfaces of the intermediate transfer belt 17 at positions facing the respective photoconductors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K. Further, a secondary transfer roller 18 is provided so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface downstream of the primary transfer rollers 14Y, 14C, 14M, and 14K with respect to the surface movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 17. Further, a belt cleaning device is provided so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 17 downstream of the secondary transfer roller 18. A fixing device 20 is provided above the secondary transfer roller 18.

  Below each of the image forming units 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K, an optical writing unit 19 for irradiating each of the photoconductors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K with a laser beam is provided. Further, a toner supply device 28 is provided above the intermediate transfer belt 17. In the toner supply device 28, four toner cartridges (toner containers) corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, cyan, magenta, and black) are detachably (exchangeably) installed. The portion other than the toner cartridge in the toner supply device 28 is a toner transport device that transports the toner discharged from the toner cartridge to the developing devices 13Y, 13C, 13M, and 13K.

  The paper feed unit 6 feeds a paper feed cassette 7 for accommodating a plurality of stacked recording papers P and a topmost recording paper P from the stacked plurality of recording papers P to the image forming unit 2. And a paper feed roller 8 for feeding paper.

An image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.
Each image forming unit 10 forms a toner image of each color. With the rotation of each photoconductor 11, first, the surface of the photoconductor 11 is uniformly charged by a charging device. Next, a laser beam based on image information data obtained by decomposing image data of a document read by the document reading unit 4 for each color is radiated from the optical writing unit 19 onto each photoconductor 11 to form an electrostatic latent image. . Thereafter, the toner is adhered to the electrostatic latent image by each of the developing devices 13 to form a visible image, thereby forming a toner image of each color on each photoconductor 11.

  The color toner images on the photoconductors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 17 by the primary transfer rollers 14Y, 14C, 14M, and 14K to form a superimposed color toner image. The surfaces of the photoconductors 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K after the transfer of the toner image are cleaned by removing the residual toner by the photoconductor cleaning devices 15Y, 15C, 15M, and 15K to prepare for the image formation again.

  On the other hand, in the paper supply unit 6, the recording papers P stored in the paper supply cassette 7 are separated one by one, sent out toward the image forming unit 2 by the paper supply roller 8, and stopped against the registration rollers 9. Then, in synchronization with the timing of toner image formation of the image forming unit 2, the recording paper P stopped by abutting against the registration roller 9 is sent to a secondary transfer unit between the intermediate transfer belt 17 and the secondary transfer roller 18. In the secondary transfer section, the superimposed color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 17 is transferred to the supplied recording paper P. The recording paper P on which the toner image has been transferred is discharged to the stack unit 5 after the fixing device 20 fixes the toner image. On the other hand, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 17 after the transfer of the toner image is cleaned by removing the residual toner with a belt cleaning device, and is prepared for the next image formation.

  In this embodiment, each image forming unit 10 has a photoconductor 11, a charging device, a developing device 13, and a photoconductor cleaning device supported on a common support, and is integrally detachable from the printer main body. In the form of a process cartridge. By adopting such a form of the process cartridge, maintainability can be improved.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming unit 10.
Since the four image forming units 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K have substantially the same structure except that the color of the toner used in the image forming process is different, the alphabets (Y, M, C, K) are omitted in the figure.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 10 includes a photoconductor 11 as an image carrier, a charging device 12 (charging roller) for charging the photoconductor 11, and an electrostatic latent formed on the photoconductor 11. A developing device 13 for developing an image, a photoreceptor cleaning device 15 for collecting untransferred toner on the photoreceptor 11, and a lubricant supply device 16 for supplying a lubricant onto the photoreceptor 11 are integrated with the case. And is in the form of a process cartridge.

  The charging device 12 is mainly configured by a charging roller that is arranged to face the surface of the photoconductor 11 and to which a charging voltage is applied.

  The developing device 13 includes a developing roller 13a as a developer carrying member that carries the developer on the surface, a stirring screw 13b2 that transports the developer stored in the developer storing unit while stirring the developer, It mainly comprises a supply screw 13b1 for transporting the developer while supplying it to the developing roller 13a, and a developing blade 13c opposed to the developing roller 23a to regulate the developer on the surface of the developing roller. In the developing device 13, the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating section is transported while being stirred by the stirring screw 13b2, and the stirred developer is transported while being supplied to the developing roller 13a by the supply screw 13b1. The developing roller 13a supplies toner to the surface of the photoconductor 11 to visualize the electrostatic latent image.

  The photoconductor cleaning device 15 as a cleaning device includes a cleaning blade 15a. The cleaning blade 15a is made of one or two layers of elastic material such as urethane rubber, and cleans the surface of the photoconductor 11 by bringing the tip ridge located on the photoconductor 11 side into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 11. . Deposits such as residual toner on the photoconductor 11 removed by the cleaning blade 15a fall to the photoconductor cleaning device 15, and are conveyed to a waste toner collecting container by a conveyance coil 15b provided in the photoconductor cleaning device 15. You. Details of the cleaning blade 15a will be described later.

  The lubricant supply device 16 serving as a lubricant supply means includes a blade-like member 16d, a solid lubricant 16b, a lubricant supply roller 16a that slidably contacts the photoconductor 11 and the solid lubricant 16b, and a holding member 16c that holds the solid lubricant 16b. A case 16f for accommodating the holding member 16c together with the solid lubricant 16b, a pressing mechanism 160 for pressing the solid lubricant 16b together with the holding member 16c toward the lubricant supply roller 16a, and the like.

  The case 16f has a substantially box shape that accommodates the holding member 16c together with the solid lubricant 16b so that the solid lubricant 16b can move in a direction in which the solid lubricant 16b is pressed against the lubricant supply roller 16a (so as not to hinder the movement). In addition, the case 16f is a range in which the movement of the solid lubricant 16b and the holding member 16c in the pressing direction (the direction in which the solid lubricant 16b presses the lubricant supply roller 16a) is not hindered. Is set relatively small to prevent the solid lubricant 16b from inclining and pressing against the lubricant supply roller 16a.

  The lubricant supply roller 16a is rotatively driven by rubbing with a linear velocity difference by a drive motor so as to contact the rotating photoconductor 11. The lubricant supply roller 16a is disposed so as to be in sliding contact with the solid lubricant 16b and the photoconductor 11, and the lubricant supply roller 16a rotates to scrape off the lubricant from the solid lubricant 16b. After the scraped lubricant is conveyed to a position where the lubricant is brought into sliding contact with the photoconductor 11, the lubricant is applied (supplied) to the photoconductor 11.

  The lubricant applied (supplied) to the photoconductor 11 is adjusted so that the friction coefficient (dynamic friction coefficient) between the photoconductor 11 and the cleaning blade 15a is 0.2 or less. By adjusting the number of rotations of the lubricant supply roller 16a, the lubricant applied (supplied) to the photoconductor 11 is adjusted.

  As the lubricant supply roller 16a, a brush-shaped member, a foam roller, or the like can be used. Among these, a foam roller is preferable. The foam roller has at least a core material and a foam layer formed on the outer periphery of the core material and having a plurality of cells, and further includes other members as necessary. The material, shape, size, and structure of the core material are not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected depending on the purpose. For example, resins such as epoxy resin and phenol resin; metals such as iron, aluminum, and stainless steel Is mentioned. Examples of the shape of the core material include a columnar shape and a cylindrical shape. Further, an adhesive layer may be provided on the surface of the cored bar.

  The foam layer is a layer formed on the outer periphery of the core material, and has a plurality of bubbles (sometimes referred to as “cells”, “holes”, and “voids”). The shape of the foam layer is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected depending on the purpose. Examples thereof include a cylindrical shape. The material of the foam layer is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected depending on the purpose. Examples thereof include foamed polyurethane. Although a conventional brush-shaped member can be used as the lubricant supply roller 16a, the foamed roller can uniformly supply the lubricant on the image carrier as compared with the brush-shaped member. It can improve the protection of the body. In addition, it is possible to solve the problem that the amount of lubricant shaved changes due to the settling of the brush over time when a brush-shaped member is used. The foamed polyurethane is not particularly limited, and a known production method can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. Examples of the raw material of the foamed polyurethane include a polyol, a polyisocyanate, a catalyst, a foaming agent, and a foam stabilizer.

  The open-cell type foam layer is preferable because it has a small residual compression strain and easily returns to its original shape even when compressed, so that it hardly deforms even in long-term use. The open-cell type is more advantageous in terms of cost than the closed-cell type, because lubricant powder is less likely to fly due to rubbing, and has a small amount of lubricant supplied (amount of lubricant block shaved) without unevenness. Since the image bearing member can be sufficiently protected, filming of the image bearing member can be prevented, a smaller lubricant block can be obtained, and the apparatus can be downsized.

  The average cell diameter of the foamed roller is not particularly limited as long as it is equal to or less than the number-based median diameter (D50) of the lubricant. In view of the grinding performance for the lubricant and the uniform supply of the lubricant to the surface of the image carrier. The average cell diameter is preferably 400 [μm] or more and 850 [μm] or less, more preferably 500 [μm] or more and 700 [μm] or less. When the average cell diameter is 400 [μm] or more, the lubricant is easily ground, and when a molded body on a block is used as the lubricant, the supply amount of the lubricant tends to be stable. On the other hand, when the average cell diameter is 850 [μm] or less, the contact area between the lubricant and the image carrier partially increases, so that it becomes easy to uniformly supply the lubricant.

  The solid lubricant 16b is formed by adding an inorganic lubricant and alumina to a fatty acid metal zinc. The zinc fatty acid metal preferably contains at least zinc stearate. In addition, as the inorganic lubricant, at least one of talc, mica, and boron nitride can be used, and boron nitride is particularly preferable.

  Since boron nitride hardly changes in characteristics due to discharge, use of the solid lubricant 16b containing boron nitride makes it difficult for deterioration due to discharge to occur even after the charging step and the transfer step on the photoconductor 11 are performed. Further, by using the solid lubricant 16b containing boron nitride, it is possible to prevent the photoconductor 11 from being oxidized and evaporated by electric discharge.

  Further, if a lubricant consisting of boron nitride alone is used, the lubricant supplied to the surface of the photoreceptor 11 does not spread over the entire drum surface, and a uniform lubricant film is not formed on the entire drum surface. There is a risk. For this reason, fatty acid metal salts are added to the solid lubricant 16b in addition to boron nitride. Accordingly, a lubricant film can be efficiently formed over the entire surface of the photoconductor 11, and high lubricity can be maintained for a long period of time. Examples of the fatty acid metal salt include a fatty acid metal salt having a lamellar crystal structure such as a fluororesin, zinc stearate, calcium stearate, barium stearate, aluminum stearate, and magnesium stearate; lauroyl lysine; sodium zinc monocetyl phosphate; Substances such as salts, calcium lauroyl taurine, etc. can be used. In particular, when zinc stearate is used as the fatty acid metal salt, the extensibility on the photoreceptor 11 is improved, the hygroscopicity is low, and the lubricity is not easily impaired even when the humidity changes.

  As a material to be mixed with the solid lubricant 16b, a liquid material or a gaseous material such as a silicone oil, a fluorine-based oil, or a natural wax can be used as an external additive in addition to the fatty acid metal salt and boron nitride.

  The solid lubricant 16b configured as described above can be obtained by putting a powdery lubricant into a mold and applying pressure in the mold to form a solid bar, or a powdery lubricant. It can be obtained by pouring the heated and melted product into a mold and then cooling it to form a lubricant block. When the constituent material of the lubricant is solidified into a bar, a binder may be added to the constituent material, if necessary, to form the solid lubricant 16b.

  The blade-like member 16d is made of a rubber material such as urethane rubber, and is configured to abut on the photoconductor 11 in the counter direction at a position downstream of the lubricant supply roller 16a in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 11. . The blade-like member 16d mechanically scrapes off the adhered matter such as untransferred toner adhered to the photoconductor 11.

  Here, in addition to the untransferred toner, paper dust generated from the recording paper P, a discharge product generated on the photoconductor 11 at the time of discharging by the charging device 12, and an adhering substance adhering to the photoconductor 11 are added to the toner. Additives, etc.

  When the solid lubricant 16b is applied to the surface of the photoreceptor 11 via the lubricant supply roller 16a, a powdery lubricant is applied to the surface of the photoreceptor 11, but the lubricating property remains in this state. Since the blade-like member 16d (thinning blade) is not sufficiently exhibited, it functions as a member for uniformizing the lubricant.

  The blade-like member 16d forms a film of the lubricant on the photoconductor 11, and the lubricant sufficiently exhibits its lubricity. At this time, the finer the powdery lubricant applied by the lubricant supply roller 16a is, the thinner it is at the molecular film level on the photoreceptor 11 by the blade-like member 16d and the more the photoreceptor is applied by the lubricant supply roller 16a. 11 can be thinned.

  A pressing mechanism is arranged behind the solid lubricant 16b to eliminate uneven contact between the lubricant supply roller 16a and the solid lubricant 16b. It is pressurized (biased) toward 16a.

3A and 3B are schematic configuration diagrams of the pressing mechanism 160. FIG. 3A is a perspective view illustrating the pressing mechanism 160 and the solid lubricant 16b, and FIG. 3B is a schematic configuration diagram of the rotating member 16g. It is.
The pressing mechanism 160 includes a holding member 16c that holds the solid lubricant 16b, a pair of rotating members 16g rotatably supported by the holding member 16c, and a tension spring 16h (attached to the pair of rotating members 16g). And a bearing 16j.

  A pair of rotating members 16g (pressing members) are rotatably supported by the holding member 16c at positions away from each other in the rotation axis direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2). The pair of rotating members 16g rotate in predetermined directions by the urging force of the tension springs 16h to indirectly press the solid lubricant 16b via the holding member 16c to supply the solid lubricant 16b with the lubricant. This is to make pressure contact with the roller 16a.

  Specifically, a support shaft 16g1 (shaft portion) serving as a rotation center is formed on both side surfaces of the rotating member 16g. The support shaft 16g1 of the rotating member 16g is fitted in the hole 16c2 of the holding member 16c in a state of being inserted into the inner diameter portion of the bearing 16j, and the rotating member 16g is rotatably held by the holding member 16c. Will be done. The two rotating members 16g are installed on the holding member 16c so as to be bilaterally symmetric in the rotation axis direction (width direction).

  The pair of rotating members 16g are connected by a tension spring 16h. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, hook portions at both ends of the tension spring 16h are connected to holes 16g4 of the rotating member 16g, respectively. The tension spring 16h serves as urging means for urging the holding member 16c in a direction approaching the lubricant supply roller 16a by rotating the pair of rotating members 16g in different directions so as to press against the case 16f. Will work. Specifically, the two rotating members 16g receive, from the tension spring 16h, a spring force (biasing force) in a direction in which the cam-shaped portions 16g2 abutting on the inner wall surface of the case 16f approach each other. Thus, the left rotating member 16g in FIG. 3A is urged to rotate counterclockwise about the support shaft 16g1. On the other hand, the right rotating member 16g in FIG. 3A is urged to rotate clockwise around the support shaft 16g1.

In the present embodiment, the cam-shaped portion 16g2 of the rotating member 16g can be reduced even if the solid lubricant 16b is consumed with time (even if the height in the pressing direction is reduced). The cam shape is formed such that the pressing force of the solid lubricant 16b on the solid lubricant 16b is substantially constant, and the amount of the lubricant scraped from the solid lubricant 16b by the lubricant supply roller 16a is constant.
As described above, in the present embodiment, the pressurizing mechanism 160 applies a pressing force to the solid lubricant 16b at both ends in the rotation axis direction (both ends in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2). It is configured as follows.

Next, the characteristic portion of the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cleaning blade 15a. The cleaning blade 15a includes a blade member 15a1 having a two-layer structure including an edge layer 151a including an edge portion contacting the photoconductor 11 and a backup layer 151b, and an L-shaped metal blade holder 15a2 holding the blade member 15a1. And

  The blade member 15a1 is formed by sequentially stacking layers by centrifugal molding, which is a general and effective manufacturing method at present. The blade member 15a1 is bonded and fixed to the blade holder 15a2. The edge layer 151a and the backup layer 151b are made of different materials and rubber materials such as urethane rubber having hardness.

  The removal capability of the cleaning blade 15a is required to be maintained over time and for each environment (low temperature, normal temperature, high temperature), and the performance of the cleaning blade affects the life of the image forming unit 10. In recent years, a long life of the image forming unit 10 has been demanded, and a long life of the cleaning blade 15a has been demanded. Therefore, improvement of abrasion resistance and maintenance of the removal ability against environmental changes have been issues.

  When the toner slips through the cleaning blade due to a decrease in the removing ability of the cleaning blade 15a, the following two problems occur. First, the first problem is that the slip-through toner accelerates the contamination of the downstream charging roller 12a, and the dirty charging roller 12a causes uneven charging and poor charging, resulting in uneven images and streaky abnormal images. It is a bug.

  The second problem is that if the lubricant supply roller 16a becomes too dirty with the slip-through toner, the grinding ability for the solid lubricant 16b increases, and the lubricant is excessively applied. Excessive application of the lubricant causes dirt on the charging roller 12a due to the lubricant, and the excessive lubricant is not uniformly applied, which tends to cause uneven application. The uneven application of the lubricant causes unevenness of the surface potential due to unevenness of the charging property of the photoconductor 11, thereby causing unevenness of image density.

  The abrasion of the edge of the cleaning blade is caused by cutting and breaking of the molecular chain of the urethane rubber polymer constituting the edge as wear. The breaking and breaking of the molecular chain constituting the urethane rubber polymer can be explained by the magnitude of the accumulated stress concentrated on the edge. When the cumulative stress applied to the molecular chain of the urethane rubber polymer is small, there is little breakage and destruction of the molecular chain and wear does not proceed, but when the cumulative stress is large, the molecular chain breaks and breaks much and is manifested as wear. Become When the rebound resilience is large, the edge portion is pulled in the photoconductor moving direction, and a stick-slip motion that returns to the original position is easily generated. However, the stick-slip motion is easily performed due to the strength of rubber (100% modulus). And the cumulative stress are different.

  It is known that a low 100% modulus and high resilience material is effective in preventing an increase in the amount of wear at the edge of the cleaning blade 15a. The edge portion is pulled downstream by the frictional force acting between the edge portion and the photoreceptor 11 in the moving direction of the photoreceptor. At this time, since the edge portion is easily deformed by a low 100% modulus and high rebound material, the edge portion is easily deformed. No large stress is applied to the edge portion. Therefore, the molecules of the urethane rubber material are less likely to be cut, and the abrasion hardly proceeds.

  However, if the rebound resilience is too high, the stick-slip motion of the edge portion tends to occur. Stick-slip is a phenomenon in which the edge of the blade member 15a1 that comes into contact with the photoconductor 11 vibrates between an elastically deformed state and an undeformed state due to frictional force with the photoconductor 11. When this stick-slip occurs, there is a problem that the contact pressure tends to fluctuate and the ability to remove toner and external additives is reduced. Furthermore, although the amount of wear is small, the edge portion is worn unevenly due to stick slip, the worn surface is rattled, the contact pressure is likely to be non-uniform, and the removal ability is likely to be reduced. Such an uneven wear mode of the cleaning blade is called fatigue wear.

  On the other hand, by using a high 100% modulus, low rebound resilience material, the stick-slip motion of the edge portion is less likely to occur, and the contact pressure is less likely to fluctuate. This improves the ability to remove toner and external additives.

  However, if the 100% modulus value is too high, the edge portion cannot be easily deformed when the edge portion is pulled to the downstream side in the photoconductor moving direction by the frictional force acting between the photoconductor 11 and the edge portion cannot be easily deformed. Stress occurs. Therefore, the molecules of the urethane rubber material are apt to be cut, and the wear is apt to proceed. In addition, local wear is apt to occur where not the edge but the portion of the blade tip surface away from the edge is worn.

  As described above, in order to suppress the stick-slip, suppress the wear rate, and maintain the performance of removing the toner and external additives for a long period of time, the rubber material used for the edge portion is made of a 100% modulus and a rebound resilient material. The relationship is important.

  Generally, the urethane rubber material has a high rebound resilience when the modulus is reduced to 100%, and a low resilience when the modulus is increased to 100%. For example, there is a correlation between the 100% modulus value and the rebound resilience. There is. Therefore, if the rebound resilience and the 100% modulus value are defined independently of each other, there is a case where such a combination of the rebound resilience and the 100% modulus value cannot be actually obtained, and the provision does not conform to actual use. There is also. Accordingly, the present applicant has conducted the following evaluation test, and has derived a correlation between the rebound resilience and the 100% modulus value, which can balance the reduction of the amount of wear and the improvement of the removal performance.

<Evaluation test 1>
Hereinafter, evaluation test 1 performed by the present applicant will be described.
An evaluation test was performed by preparing cleaning blades 15a of Examples 1 to 19 and Comparative Examples 1 to 13 each having a two-layered blade member having the edge layer 151a and the backup layer 151b shown in FIG. The blade member 15a1 of each cleaning blade was bonded and fixed to an L-shaped metal blade holder 15a2, and the edge layer 151a had a thickness of 0.5 [mm] and the backup layer 151b had a thickness of 1.5 [mm]. . Further, the free length of the blade member was adjusted so that the linear pressure was about 20 [g / cm].

Paying attention to the 100% modulus value M ₃₅ at 35 ° C. and the rebound resilience R ₃₅ at 35 ° C., urethane rubber materials E1 to E34 of the edge layer 151a of each cleaning blade were selected.
The reasons for focusing on the 100% modulus value M ₃₅ at 35 ° C. and the rebound resilience R ₃₅ at 35 ° C. as the rubber material of the edge layer of each cleaning blade are as follows.

  Conventionally, physical property values (100% modulus value and rebound resilience) of a general office at room temperature (23 ° C. to 25 ° C.) are defined, such as Patent Document 1. However, the atmosphere around the cleaning blade in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using the cleaning blade has risen to about 30C to 40C. This is because the photoreceptor is fast and rotates at a high speed such as 300 [mm / s] and has a heat source such as a fixing device.

  Therefore, even if the physical property value of a general office at room temperature (23 ° C. to 25 ° C.) is specified, the cleaning performance over time often deviates significantly from the predicted value, which does not match actual use.

  For example, it is important to reduce the wear of the cleaning blade 15a in order to extend the life of the cleaning blade 15a. A so-called stick-slip motion in which the edge portion vibrates between an elastically deformed state and an undeformed state is generated by a frictional force generated by the rubbing with the photoconductor 11. It is known that the stick-slip motion tends to increase as the rebound resilience of the rubber material used for the tip of the cleaning blade increases. Generally, urethane rubber tends to have a higher rebound resilience as the temperature increases. Therefore, even if the rebound resilience at 23 ° C. is 30%, if the rebound resilience at 35 ° C. is 50%, the stick-slip amount actually considered in the image forming apparatus at 30% is larger, The amount of wear increases more than expected.

  As described above, when the physical property value of a general office at room temperature (23 ° C. to 25 ° C.) is specified, the cleaning performance over time may deviate significantly from the prediction, which is not suitable for actual use. In the evaluation test, the evaluation test was performed focusing on the physical properties at 35 ° C.

  The material B1 of the backup layer of the cleaning blades of Examples 1 to 19 and Comparative Examples 1 to 13 is common, and Table 1 shows the physical properties of the material of the backup layer.

  The rebound resilience was measured according to the measurement method described in JIS-K6255. It can be measured using a rebound resilience tester such as a 221 resilience tester. The 100% modulus value was measured using a tensile tester AG-X manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation in accordance with JIS-K6251.

  The tan δ peak temperature of the urethane rubber was measured using DMS6100 manufactured by SII Nanotechnology. The sample was 2 × 2 × 40 [mm], and was continuously measured in a tensile mode at 1 Hz from -50 ° C. to + 100 ° C. while increasing the temperature by 3 ° C./min.

<Wear running>
Wear running was performed under the following conditions.
・ Evaluation environment: 23 ° C, 50% RH
・ Image forming equipment: Ricoh MPC5100S
-Running chart: Image area ratio: 5 [%] A4 horizontal-Photoconductor travel distance: 200 km

<Evaluation 1: Measurement of wear rate>
The wear rate was determined by observing a three-dimensional image of the tip of the cleaning blade after the running evaluation test using a laser microscope VK-9500 manufactured by KEYENCE, and calculating the wear area S [μm ² ]. The wear area S is a cross-sectional area of a lost portion with respect to the initial stage of use indicated by a hatched portion shown in FIG. Then, the obtained wear area S was obtained by dividing (division) by the traveling distance of the photoconductor (200 km).

<Evaluation 2: Wear form>
The wear mode was evaluated by observing the wear state of the cleaning blade after the running evaluation test from the direction shown in FIG. 6 using a laser microscope VK-100 manufactured by KEYENCE to evaluate the wear mode. The lens magnification was 100 times. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), when severe unevenness was observed on the worn surface, it was evaluated as “fatigue wear”. As shown in FIG. 7 (b), no unevenness was observed on the worn surface, and the surface was smooth. When a worn surface was observed, it was evaluated as “mirror wear”. As shown in FIG. 7C, when the wear surface was intermediate between “mirror wear” and “fatigue wear”, it was evaluated as intermediate wear. did. In addition, when local wear was confirmed on the front end surface several [μm] away from the edge portion, it was evaluated as “local wear”.

<Evaluation 3: Low-temperature cleaning property>
After running under the following conditions, low-temperature evaluation was performed.
・ Evaluation environment: 10 ° C, 15% RH
・ Image forming equipment: Ricoh MPC5100S
・ Cleaning blade: Blade after the above-mentioned wear running 200km ・ Running chart: Vertical band solid A4 horizontal
・ Number of running: 1000

FIG. 8 shows a running chart used in low-temperature evaluation.
As shown in FIG. 8, the running chart is one in which vertical band solid images of K, C, M, and Y are arranged at predetermined intervals.

The low-temperature evaluation was based on the image output after the low-temperature running and evaluated according to the following criteria.
-"O": In the evaluation 3, when there is no abnormal image due to poor cleaning in the output 1000 sheets.-"": In the evaluation 3, 10 abnormal images due to cleaning failure in the output 1000 sheets. When the number of sheets is less than or equal to "X": In the evaluation 3, when 11 or more and 30 or less abnormal images due to cleaning failure are generated in the 1000 sheets output. "XX": The number of 1000s output in the evaluation 3. When an abnormal image due to poor cleaning occurs on 31 or more sheets

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an abnormal image E due to defective cleaning in a low-temperature evaluation test.
FIG. 9A shows an example in which a cleaning failure has occurred in the K vertical band solid pattern, and a streak-like abnormal image E has continuously occurred on the image. FIG. 9B is an example in which a cleaning failure occurs in the C, M, and Y vertical band solid patterns, and a short streak-like abnormal image E occurs intermittently. FIG. 9C shows an example in which a cleaning failure occurs in the vertical band patterns C and M and a large amount of cleaning failure occurs in the width direction, and the abnormal image E has a thick streak shape. As described above, the cleaning failure often occurs in accordance with the vertical band solid pattern of the running chart with toner input.

<Evaluation 4: Charging roller contamination evaluation>
In the evaluation of the charging roller stain, instead of directly measuring the stain on the charging roller surface, it was indirectly evaluated based on a toner slip-through amount. This is because if the amount of toner slipping through is large, the amount of toner adhering to the application roller 16a shown in FIG. 2 increases, and as a result, the consumption rate of the lubricant 16b increases, and the contamination of the downstream charging roller 12 becomes worse. know. Therefore, the contamination of the charging roller can be indirectly evaluated from the evaluation of toner slippage. In addition, the toner slippage evaluation is evaluated based on the amount of slippage toner adhered to the application roller 16a.

After running under the following conditions, a toner slip-through evaluation test was performed.
・ Image forming equipment: Ricoh MPC5100S
・ Cleaning blade: Blade after the above-mentioned wear running (200 km running) ・ Running chart: Vertical band solid A4 horizontal (see FIG. 8)
・ Number of running: 1000

  The toner slippage evaluation was evaluated based on the amount of slippage toner adhered to the application roller 16a. The surface of the application roller 16a before the toner slip-through running (new) shown in FIG. 10A is read by a scanner to measure the luminance L0, and the surface of the application roller 16a after the toner slip-through running shown in FIG. The read luminance L1 is measured. Next, a luminance difference ΔL (= L0−L1) before and after the toner slippage running was obtained, and a decrease in the brightness of the application roller 16a due to the toner slippage was evaluated as a substitute characteristic of the toner slippage amount.

The contamination of the charging roller (toner slippage) based on ΔL was evaluated as follows.
・ “○”: ΔL ≦ 25
"△": 25 <Δ50 ≦ 50
“×”: 50 <ΔL ≦ 75
"Xx": 75 <[Delta] L

  Table 2 below shows the physical properties of the urethane rubber materials E1 to E34 of the edge layers of the cleaning blades of Examples 1 to 19 and Comparative Examples 1 to 13 and the evaluation test results, and FIG. 19 is a graph showing the relationship between the rebound resilience at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus value at 35 ° C. of Comparative Examples 1 to 13 and Comparative Examples 1 to 13. Note that “○” shown in FIG. 11 is for the overall evaluation “○”, “△” is for the overall evaluation “△”, and “◇” is for the overall evaluation “×”. Where “×” is for the overall evaluation “XX”.

  The overall evaluation shown in Table 2 was evaluated in four stages based on the evaluation items (wear type, low-temperature cleaning property, charging roller stain). The comprehensive evaluation was determined based on the worst evaluation result among the three evaluation items. For example, in the first embodiment, the overall judgment was “△” because of the abrasion pattern “△”, the low-temperature cleaning property “、”, and the charging roller contamination “△”. In the ninth embodiment, the overall judgment was ○ because of the wear pattern 、, the low-temperature cleaning property 、, and the charging roller stain ○. Further, for example, in Comparative Example 1, the overall judgment was x because of the wear pattern x, the low-temperature cleaning property △, and the charging roller stain x.

In all of Examples 1 to 19, the overall evaluation was △ or more, and good results were obtained. On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 1 to 13, any one of the evaluation of the abrasion pattern, the low-temperature cleaning property, and the contamination of the charging roller was evaluated as “x”, and the overall evaluation was evaluated as “x”.
As shown in FIG. 11, the lower the strength (the lower the 100% modulus at 35 ° C.) and the lower the resilience (the lower the resilience at 35 ° C.), the better the overall judgment. As the repulsion rate was higher, the result was worse for the overall judgment.

Also, as shown in FIG. 11, it can be seen that a boundary line can be drawn between the comprehensive judgment “△” or more and the comprehensive judgment “×” (“◇” in FIG. 11). This boundary line can be expressed as R ₃₅ = −4.8M35 + 42, where the rebound resilience at 35 ° C. is R ₃₅ and the 100% modulus at 35 ° C. is M ₃₅ . Therefore, from FIG. 11, the relationship between the rebound resilience at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus value at 35 ° C. satisfies R ₃₅ ≦ −4.8 M ₃₅ +42, so that stick-slip can be suppressed and uneven fatigue wear can be reduced. The generation of the cleaning blade can be suppressed, and the progress of wear can be suppressed, so that a cleaning blade having good wear resistance can be obtained. As a result, even after running at 200 [Km], toner slip-through can be suppressed, and good cleaning properties can be maintained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a boundary line can be drawn between the comprehensive judgment “△” and the comprehensive judgment “○”. This boundary line can be expressed as R ₃₅ = −4.3M ₃₅ +31, where the rebound resilience at 35 ° C. is R ₃₅ and the 100% modulus at 35 ° C. is M ₃₅ . Therefore, when the relationship between the rebound resilience at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus value at 35 ° C. satisfies R ₃₅ ≦ −4.3M ₃₅ +31, a cleaning blade with even better wear resistance can be obtained. .

The 100% modulus value of the edge layers of Examples 1 to 19 at 35 ° C. was 6.3 [MPa] or less. By setting the 100% modulus value of the edge layer at 35 ° C. to 6.3 [MPa] or less, the edge portion is appropriately deformed, and the edge portion is deformed by a protrusion on the surface of the photoreceptor or an inclusion such as a toner additive (silica). Acceleration of wear of the blade itself can be suppressed, abrasion speed can be suppressed to 4.00 [μm ² / km] or less, toner slip-through can be suppressed even after running 200 km, and good cleaning performance can be obtained. Was able to maintain. The 100% modulus value of the urethane rubber cannot be reduced to any extent, and is generally 2 [MPa] or more.

  In the above evaluation test 1, it was found that the edge layer having excellent abrasion resistance preferably had low strength (100% modulus low at 35 ° C.) and low rebound resilience (low rebound resilience at 35 ° C.). Was. On the other hand, when the urethane rubber is made to have low rebound resilience, the tendency to lose rubber properties is increased. As an index indicating the rubber property, there is a tan δ peak temperature, the lower the tan δ peak temperature, the rubber material that maintains the rubber property even in a low temperature environment, and the higher the tan δ peak temperature, the more the rubber property in a low temperature environment. It is low. When the rubber property at low temperatures is low, it is impossible to generate pressure for removing foreign substances such as toner and external additives from the surface of the photoreceptor, causing toner to pass through, and the cleaning performance at low temperatures is reduced. is there.

  However, according to the examples in Table 2, good low-temperature cleaning properties are obtained even when the tan δ peak temperature of the edge layer is high. Particularly, in Example 14, the tan δ peak temperature was 20.2 ° C., and the low-temperature cleaning property was maintained even when the tan δ peak temperature was higher than 10 ° C. as compared with the low-temperature environment (10 ° C.). This is because the tan δ peak temperature of the backup layer B1 is −3.6 ° C., which is lower than the edge layer. Further, the tan δ peak temperature of the backup layer B1 is 0 ° C. or lower, and the tan δ peak temperature is a value sufficiently lower than the low temperature environment (10 ° C.). As a result, the backup layer can maintain good rubber properties even at a low temperature (10 ° C.), suppressing a reduction in the rubber properties of the entire cleaning blade, suppressing a pressure decrease even in a low temperature environment, and deteriorating the low temperature cleaning properties. It is considered that was suppressed.

  Next, the present applicant conducted an evaluation test on the influence of the rebound resilience of the backup layer. Hereinafter, the evaluation test 2 will be described.

<Evaluation test 2>
Among the examples shown in Table 1 above, E9, E11, E14, and E18 were selected as typical examples of materials having a low rebound resilience, and a two-layer blade was formed by combining with different types of backup layers B1 and B2. Then, the cleaning properties at a low temperature environment of 10 ° C. were compared. Further, in order to confirm the effect of the backup layer, single-layer blades of E9 and E14 were also prepared. Table 3 shows the physical properties of the edge layer and the backup layer used in the evaluation test 2. FIG. 12 shows the temperatures of the edge layers E9, E11, E14, and E18, the backup layers B1 and B2, and the repulsion. It is a graph which shows the relationship with an elastic modulus. As the material of the edge layer, a material of the edge layer in which the wear mode was specular wear was selected in order to exclude the influence of the wear mode. Further, in order to confirm the effect of the backup layer, an edge layer having a tan δ peak temperature higher than 10 ° C. was selected.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the rebound resilience of the backup layer B2 at 10 ° C. is larger than that of the edge layer at 10 ° C. In this evaluation test 2, the tan δ peak temperatures of the backup layers B1 and B2 were set to −3.6 ° C. and −3.4 ° C., and those having almost the same peak temperature were selected. Thereby, the influence of the rebound resilience of the backup layer can be accurately evaluated.

  For each example, a blade wear run was performed under the following conditions, blade wear was measured at an arbitrary traveling distance, accelerated low-temperature cleaning property was evaluated, and low-temperature cleaning property was evaluated with respect to the amount of wear.

<Wear running>
Wear running was performed under the following conditions.
・ Evaluation environment: 23 ° C, 50% RH
・ Image forming equipment: Ricoh MPC5100S
-Running chart: Image area ratio: 5 [%] A4 horizontal-Photoreceptor travel distance: Stop at an arbitrary travel distance, measure the amount of blade wear each time, and evaluate the following <Evaluation 4: Evaluation of accelerated low-temperature cleaning property> In each example, the running distance was divided into four times, and the wear area was measured each time. In Table 4, from the top of each example, the first time, the second time, the third time, and the fourth time are wear amounts at the same running distance.

<Evaluation 4: Accelerated low-temperature cleaning property>
・ Evaluation environment: 10 ° C, 15% RH
・ Image forming equipment: Ricoh MPC5100S
-Charging condition: Vpp [kV] applied to the charging roller is set to 1.2 times of the default condition.-Cleaning blade: Stop at an arbitrary running distance in the above <Wearing running evaluation>, and measure the blade wear. Blade running chart: vertical band solid A4 horizontal running number: 500

The evaluation criteria for the accelerated low-temperature cleaning property evaluation were as follows.
Rank 5: In the evaluation 4, when there is no abnormal image due to poor cleaning in the output 500 sheets. Rank 4: In the evaluation 4, when an abnormal image due to poor cleaning occurs after the 401st sheet. Rank 3: When an abnormal image due to poor cleaning occurs within the 400th sheet after the 101st sheet in Evaluation 4, Rank 2: Cleaning within the 100th sheet after the 11th sheet in Evaluation 4, When an abnormal image due to a defect occurs: Rank 1: In Evaluation 4, when an abnormal image due to a cleaning defect occurs within the tenth sheet passing.

  Table 4 below shows the results of the low-temperature evaluation, and FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the low-temperature evaluation (image rank) and the wear width in each example.

  As is clear from FIG. 13, the devices of Examples 24 and 25 having no backup layer have a smaller wear area than those of Examples 9, 11, 15, 18, and 20 to 23 having the backup layer. It can be seen that the rank has decreased. In Examples 24 and 25 having no backup layer, since the cleaning blade had low rubber properties at low temperatures, the pressure for removing foreign substances such as toner and external additives from the surface of the photoconductor could not be maintained satisfactorily. It is considered that toner slipped through with a small wear area and the image rank was lowered. On the other hand, in Examples 9, 11, 15, 18, and 20 to 23 provided with a backup layer having a tan δ peak temperature lower than that of the edge layer and a tan δ peak temperature of 0 ° C. or lower, a rubber at a low temperature was used as a cleaning blade. The deterioration of the properties was suppressed, the pressure could be maintained satisfactorily, and even if the wear area was large, good cleaning properties could be maintained.

  In addition, as can be seen from Table 3, the tan δ peak temperature of the edge layer is 12.5 ° C. to 18.8 ° C., and the tan δ peak temperature of the backup layer is −3.4 ° C. and −3.6 ° C., and the low-temperature cleaning property is improved. Can be secured. Therefore, by lowering the tan δ peak temperature of the backup layer by at least 15.9 ° C. with respect to the an δ peak temperature of the edge layer, low-temperature cleaning properties can be ensured.

  Further, as is clear from the comparison between Example 11 and Example 21, Example 15 and Example 22, and Example 18 and Example 23, the cleaning blade using the backup layer B2 has the backup layer B1. It can be seen that the low-temperature cleaning property is better than the cleaning blade used. Thus, it was found that the low-temperature cleaning property can be improved by making the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the backup layer higher than that of the edge layer at 10 ° C. In particular, as can be seen from Example 23, the effect is obtained when the resilience at 10 ° C. of the backup layer is higher than the resilience at 10 ° C. of the edge layer by 1% or more. From Example 20, it was confirmed that at least the backup layer having a rebound resilience at 10 ° C. higher than the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the edge layer by 12.5 [%] was effective. Therefore, if the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the backup layer is at least 1% or more and 12.5% or less than the rebound resilience of the edge layer at 10 ° C., the low-temperature cleaning property is ensured. Can be improved. In addition, even if the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the backup layer is higher than the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the edge layer by 12.5 [%] or more, it is considered that the low-temperature cleaning property can be improved.

  From this evaluation test 2, a material having a low rebound resilience was selected for the edge layer with emphasis on abrasion resistance and mirror surface wear, and even when the tan δ peak temperature was increased, the tan δ peak temperature was higher than the edge layer in the backup layer By selecting a material on the low-temperature side and selecting a material having a higher rebound resilience at a low temperature of 10 ° C. than that of the edge layer, it is possible to suppress a decrease in cleaning performance at a low temperature.

  Further, as can be seen from Table 4, in Examples 9, 11, 20, and 21, the 100% modulus value of the edge layer at 35 ° C is smaller than the 100% modulus value of the backup layer at 35 ° C. It was found that the abrasion area was suppressed as compared with Examples 15, 18, 22, and 23 in which the 100% modulus value of the backup layer was larger than the 100% modulus value of the backup layer at 35 ° C.

What has been described above is merely an example, and each embodiment has a specific effect.
(Aspect 1)
A cleaning blade configured of a blade member 15a1 made of an elastic material, in which a tip of a blade such as an edge is brought into contact with a surface of a member to be cleaned such as the photoconductor 11, and a deposit is removed from the surface of the member to be cleaned moving on the surface. In 15a, the resilience R ₃₅ at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus M ₃₅ at 35 ° C. of the material constituting the blade tip of the blade member satisfy the relationship of R ₃₅ ≧ −4.8 M ₃₅ +42. Have been.
According to this, as described in the above-described evaluation test, by setting the relationship between the rebound resilience R35 at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus M35 at 35 ° C. as R35 ≧ −4.8 M35 + 42, the abrasion resistance is improved. The cleaning blade 200 can maintain good cleaning performance even after the member 200 to be cleaned such as a photoreceptor runs [Km], and can achieve a long life of the cleaning blade.

(Aspect 2)
In the first aspect, the relationship between the rebound resilience R ₃₅ at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus M ₃₅ at 35 ° C. of the material forming the blade tip of the edge portion of the blade member is R ₃₅ ≧ −4.3M ₃₅ +31. It is configured to satisfy.
According to this, as described in the evaluation test 1, by satisfying the relationship of R ₃₅ ≧ −4.3M ₃₅ +31, the wear resistance can be further improved.

(Aspect 3)
In the aspect 1 or 2, the blade member 15a1 has a laminated structure including an edge layer 151a constituting a blade tip portion such as an edge portion, and a backup layer 151b laminated on the edge layer 151a.
According to this, as described in the evaluation test 2 and the like, the lowering of the low-temperature cleaning property can be suppressed by the material of the backup layer, and the selection range of the edge layer can be widened.

(Aspect 4)
In Embodiment 3, the tan δ peak temperature of the backup layer 151b is lower than the tan δ peak temperature of the edge layer 151a.
According to this, as described in the evaluation test 2, even if the tan δ peak temperature of the edge layer is high, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the rubber property of the cleaning blade 15a in a low temperature (10 ° C.) environment. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the contact pressure against the photoconductor in a low-temperature environment, and to maintain low-temperature cleaning properties even when wear progresses. Further, a material having a high tan δ peak temperature of the edge layer can be used, and the range of selection of the material forming the edge layer can be widened.

(Aspect 5)
In Embodiment 4, the tan δ peak temperature of the backup layer 151b is 0 ° C. or lower.
According to this, as described in Evaluation Test 2, etc., even if the tan δ peak temperature of the edge layer is high, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the rubber property of the cleaning blade 15a in a low temperature (10 ° C.) environment, Even if abrasion proceeds, good low-temperature cleaning properties can be maintained. Further, even if the tan δ peak temperature of the edge layer is higher than the low-temperature (10 ° C.) environment by about 10 ° C., good low-temperature cleaning properties can be maintained even after abrasion progresses, and selection of a material constituting the edge layer Can be widened.

(Aspect 6)
In any of Embodiments 3 to 5, the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the backup layer is larger than the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the edge layer.
According to this, as described in the evaluation test 2, the low-temperature cleaning property can be improved as compared with the case where the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the backup layer is equal to or less than the resilience at 10 ° C. of the edge layer. .

(Aspect 7)
In any of Embodiments 3 to 6, the 100% modulus value of the edge layer at 35 ° C. is smaller than the 100% modulus value of the backup layer at 35 ° C.
According to this, as shown in Examples 20 and 21 of the evaluation test, good low-temperature cleaning properties can be obtained.

(Aspect 8)
In Embodiment 7, the 100% modulus value of the edge layer at 35 ° C. is 6.3 [MPa] or less.
According to this, as is clear from Table 2 of Evaluation Test 1, the cleaning blades of Examples 1 to 19 in which the 100% modulus value of the edge layer at 35 ° C. is 6.3 [MPa] or less, Gave good results. By setting the 100% modulus value of the edge layer at 35 ° C. to at least 6.3 [MPa], a cleaning blade having good wear resistance can be obtained.

(Aspect 9)
An image carrier such as the photoreceptor 11 and a cleaning blade 15a for removing unnecessary deposits adhered to the surface of the image carrier are provided. In the image forming apparatus for transferring to a recording medium, the cleaning blade according to any one of aspects 1 to 8 is used as a cleaning blade.
According to this, a good image can be maintained over time.

(Aspect 10)
In the ninth aspect, a lubricant supply unit such as a lubricant supply device 16 for applying or attaching a lubricant to the surface of an image carrier such as the photoconductor 11 is provided.
According to this, as described in the embodiment, the coefficient of friction between the image carrier such as a photoconductor and the cleaning blade can be reduced, and the wear resistance of the cleaning blade can be increased.

(Aspect 11)
An image carrier such as the photoconductor 11 and a cleaning blade 15a for contacting the surface of the image carrier and removing unnecessary substances adhered on the surface are provided, and are detachably attached to the image forming apparatus. In the configured process cartridge, the cleaning blade according to any one of aspects 1 to 8 is used as the cleaning blade.
According to this, a good image can be maintained over time, and the life of the process cartridge can be extended.

(Aspect 12)
In the eleventh aspect, a lubricant supply unit such as a lubricant supply device 16 for applying or attaching a lubricant to the surface of an image carrier such as the photoconductor 11 is provided.
According to this, as described in the embodiment, the coefficient of friction between the image carrier such as a photoconductor and the cleaning blade can be reduced, and the wear resistance of the cleaning blade can be increased.

1: Image forming device 2: Image forming unit 10: Image forming unit 11: Photoconductor 15: Photoconductor cleaning device 15a: Cleaning blade 15a1: Blade member 15a2: Blade holder 15b: Transport coil 16: Lubricant supply device 151a: Edge Layer 151b: Backup layer

Japanese Patent No. 5633775

Claims (12)

A cleaning blade configured of a blade member made of an elastic material, in which a blade tip portion is brought into contact with the surface of the member to be cleaned, and removes deposits from the surface of the member to be cleaned moving on the surface.
The material constituting the blade tip portion of the blade member is configured so that the rebound resilience R ₃₅ at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus value M _{35 at} 35 ° C. satisfy the following relational expression (A). Characteristic cleaning blade.
R ₃₅ ≦ −4.8 M ₃₅ +42 (A) The cleaning blade according to claim 1,
The material constituting the blade tip portion of the blade member is configured so that the rebound resilience R ₃₅ at 35 ° C. and the 100% modulus M _{35 at} 35 ° C. satisfy the following relational expression (B). Characteristic cleaning blade.
R ₃₅ ≦ −4.3M ₃₅ +31 (B) The cleaning blade according to claim 1 or 2,
The cleaning blade according to claim 1, wherein the blade member has a laminated structure including an edge layer constituting the blade tip and a backup layer laminated on the edge layer. The cleaning blade according to claim 3,
A cleaning blade wherein the tan δ peak temperature of the backup layer is lower than the tan δ peak temperature of the edge layer. The cleaning blade according to claim 4,
A cleaning blade, wherein the tan δ peak temperature of the backup layer is 0 ° C. or less. The cleaning blade according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
A cleaning blade wherein the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the backup layer is greater than the rebound resilience at 10 ° C. of the edge layer. The cleaning blade according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
A 100% modulus value of the edge layer at 35 ° C. is smaller than a 100% modulus value of the backup layer at 35 ° C. The cleaning blade according to claim 7,
A cleaning blade, wherein a 100% modulus value of the edge layer at 35 ° C. is 6.3 [MPa] or less. An image carrier;
A cleaning blade for removing unnecessary deposits attached to the surface of the image carrier,
An image forming apparatus that finally transfers an image formed on the image carrier to a recording medium,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the cleaning blade according to claim 1 is used as the cleaning blade. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a lubricant supply unit for applying or attaching a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier. A process cartridge, comprising: an image carrier; and a cleaning blade that comes into contact with the surface of the image carrier and removes unnecessary substances adhered to the surface, and is configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus. At
9. A process cartridge, wherein the cleaning blade according to claim 1 is used as the cleaning blade. The process cartridge according to claim 11, wherein
A process cartridge comprising: a lubricant supply unit for applying or attaching a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier.