JP3330791B2 - Lubricant supply device to image carrier in electrophotographic apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention can be applied to, for example, an electrophotographic apparatus using a laser, such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile. More specifically, in such an electrophotographic apparatus, the present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier such as a photoreceptor which forms an image on a surface using toner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a solid lubricant 1 is provided in a lubricant supplying device for a photoreceptor of a copying machine as shown in FIG.
Is urged against the rotating roller 3 by the urging member 2, and the rotating roller 3 is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant 1 little by little, and the lubricant on the rotating roller 3 is brought into contact with the rotating roller 3. There is a configuration in which the rotating brush 4 is applied to the surface of the photoconductor 5. Further, the leading edge 6 a of the rubber blade 6 is pressed against the rotating roller 3 to remove the toner adhered to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 3.

By supplying the lubricant to the photoreceptor 5 in such a manner, the friction coefficient of the surface of the photoreceptor 5 is reduced, whereby the cleaning blade 7 pressed against the photoreceptor 5 is worn and the cleaning performance is reduced. This has prevented the toner from being reduced, and prevents the toner from adhering to the surface of the photoreceptor 5 that does not form an image due to excessive toner adhesion.

[0004]

The amount of shaving of the solid lubricant described above usually largely corresponds to the surface roughness of the rotating roller 3 and the urging force of the urging member 2,
In addition, there is also an effect of toner that is transferred from the photoconductor 5 via the rotating brush 4 and adheres to the rotating roller 3. That is,
If there is toner electrostatically or mechanically or adhesively adhered to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 3, when the rotating roller 3 is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant 1, the lubricant is more effectively removed. Can be scraped.

However, in the above-described conventional lubricant supply device, as shown in FIG. 12, the leading edge 6a of the rubber blade 6 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotary roller 3, so that the toner adhering to the peripheral surface is removed. Most had been scraped.
As a result, there is no room for exerting the effect of scraping off the lubricant of the contact toner described above. Therefore, conventionally, in order to scrape off the solid lubricant 1 by an appropriate amount, in some cases,
It is necessary to use a rotating roller whose surface roughness is excessively roughened or to increase the urging force of the urging member.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a rotary roller without using a rotary roller whose surface roughness is excessively roughened or without increasing the urging force of an urging member. The purpose of the present invention is to make it possible to scrape off a suitable amount of a lubricant by effectively utilizing a toner closely adhered to the toner.

In the above-described conventional lubricant supply apparatus, the solid lubricant 1 is always scraped off by the rotating roller 3 and supplied to the photoreceptor 5 when the copying machine is driven. Therefore, the consumption of the solid lubricant 1 increases, and as a result, the solid lubricant 1
There was also a problem that the replacement life of the battery was short.

Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to extend the life of such a solid lubricant.

Further, in the above-described conventional lubricant supply device, when the solid lubricant 1 is consumed, the urging force of the urging member 2 is weakened in accordance with the degree of the decrease, so that the rotating roller 3
Reduces the amount of lubricant to be scraped off by the
There is also a problem that the supply amount of the lubricant gradually decreases, and an appropriate amount of the lubricant cannot always be supplied.

Therefore, a third object of the present invention is to provide a constant amount of lubricant to the surface of an image carrier such as a photoreceptor irrespective of the amount of such solid lubricant being reduced. It is in.

In the above-described conventional lubricant supply device, even if the solid lubricant 1 runs out and the replacement time arrives, if the lubricant is forgotten to be replaced and is driven as it is, the lubricant on the peripheral surface of the rotary roller 3 Does not adhere, the friction coefficient of the peripheral surface increases. Moreover, the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 3
It is relatively coarse. For this reason, the rubber blade 6
Of the rubber blade 6
, The cleaning performance of the rotating roller 3 is reduced.

Then, in the related art, the residual toner on the rotating roller 3 is eventually transferred to the photosensitive member 5 via the rotating brush 4.
There is also a problem that the surface is transferred and the surface is soiled.

Accordingly, a fourth object of the present invention is to prevent the surface of the image carrier from being stained with residual toner adhered to the rotating roller between the time when the solid lubricant is consumed and the time when the solid lubricant is replaced. It is in.

[0014]

For this purpose, first, claim 1 is described.
In order to achieve the first object, the invention described in (1) presses the solid lubricant 35 against the rotating roller 30 and rotates the rotating roller 30 as shown in the following embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example. An image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which a lubricant is carried on the peripheral surface and the lubricant on the rotating roller 30 is applied to an image carrier such as the photoreceptor 11 by an application member such as a rotating brush 27. In the lubricant supply device 25, the regulating blade 40 is formed using a rubber blade, and the surface portion 40b in front of the leading edge 40a of the regulating blade 40 is formed.
Is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30.

When the rotating roller 30 is rotated during driving, the toner on the rotating roller 30 which hits the leading edge 40a of the rubber blade is removed at the leading edge 40a, while the toner adhered on the rotating roller 30 is removed. ,
It passes through between the surface portion 40 b in front of the leading edge 40 a and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 while keeping the close contact.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the first object, for example, as shown in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In the electrophotographic apparatus, the lubricant is carried on the peripheral surface by rotating the roller 30 and the lubricant on the rotating roller 30 is applied to the image carrier such as the photoreceptor 11 by a coating member such as a rotary brush 27. Lubricant supply device 2 to image carrier
In 5, the regulating blade 40 is formed using a resin film, and the leading edge 40a of the regulating blade 40 is
It is characterized by being pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30.

When the rotating roller 30 is rotated during driving, the toner on the rotating roller 30 that hits the leading edge 40a of the resin film is removed at the leading edge 40a, while the toner adhered to the rotating roller 30 is removed. ,
It slips through between the leading edge 40a and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 while keeping in close contact.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the second object, for example, as shown in the following embodiment shown in FIGS.
In a lubricant supply device 25 for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which a rotating body such as a rotating brush 27 scrapes off the material little by little and directly or indirectly applies it to an image carrier such as the photoconductor 11, a lubricant is used. When there is a non-image area of the image carrier at the application position A, the driving of the rotating body is stopped.

During driving, if there is a non-image area of the image carrier at the lubricant application position A, the driving of the rotating body is stopped to cut off the solid lubricant 35.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the second object, for example, as shown in the following embodiment, the solid lubricant 35 is supplied to the rotating roller 30 and the rotating brush 2.
In a lubricant supply device 25 for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which an image carrier such as a photoconductor 11 is scraped little by little by a rotating body such as 7 and applied directly or indirectly to the image carrier,
The toner density on the image carrier is detected by a toner density detecting means, and when the toner density detected by the toner density detecting means is lower than a certain level, the driving of the rotating body is stopped.

During driving, the toner density on the image carrier is detected by toner density detecting means, and when the toner density detected by the toner density detecting means is lower than a certain level, the driving of the rotating body is stopped and The scraping of the lubricant 35 is interrupted.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the second object, for example, as shown in the following embodiment, a solid lubricant is supplied by a rotating body such as a rotating roller 30 and a rotating brush 27. In a lubricant supply device 25 for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which an image carrier such as the photoconductor 11 is scraped off little by little and applied directly or indirectly, humidity is measured by a humidity sensor, and the humidity sensor measures the humidity. When the humidity is below a certain level, the driving of the rotating body is stopped,
It is characterized by the following.

At the time of driving, the humidity is measured by a humidity sensor, and when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the driving of the rotating body is stopped to cut off the solid lubricant 35.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the second object, for example, as described in the following embodiment, the image carrier in the electrophotographic apparatus according to the third to fifth aspects is provided. In the lubricant supply device 25, when the rotating body is in the drive stop state, free rotation of the rotating body is regulated.

When the rotating body is in the drive stop state, the free rotation of the rotating body is restricted.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the third object, the solid lubricant 35 is urged by the urging member 29 as in the following embodiments shown in FIGS. Then, the solid lubricant 35 is scraped off little by little by rotating the rotary roller 30, and the lubricant on the rotary roller 30 is applied by a coating member such as the rotary brush 27 like the photoconductor 11. In the lubricant supply device 25 to the image carrier in the electrophotographic apparatus for applying to the image carrier,
The urging member 29 is provided between a movable base member such as a spring storage box 50 and the solid lubricant 35, and the solid lubricant 3
5 is determined, the movable base member is actuated in accordance with the reduced state, and the biasing force of the biasing member 29 is kept constant by pressing with the movable base member. I do.

At the time of driving, the degree of reduction of the solid lubricant 35 is determined, and the movable base member is operated in accordance with the reduction degree, and is pressed by the movable base member to keep the urging force of the urging member 29 constant. Hold.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the third object, for example, as shown in the following embodiments shown in FIGS. A toner concentration detecting means 53 for detecting the toner concentration on the image carrier in the lubricant supplying device 25 for the body;
The solid lubricant 35 is judged to be reduced based on the detection result of the toner concentration detecting means 53, and the movable base member is actuated in accordance with the reduced state, and is pressed by the movable base member to urge the solid lubricant 35. It is characterized in that the biasing force of the member 29 is kept constant.

At the time of driving, the toner concentration on the image carrier is detected by the toner concentration detecting means 53, and the amount of the solid lubricant 35 is determined on the basis of the detection result. The member is actuated and pressed by its movable base member to keep the urging force of the urging member 29 constant.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the third object, for example, as shown in the following embodiment shown in FIG. The lubricant supply device 25 is characterized in that the moving distance L of the movable base member is larger than the thickness t of the solid lubricant 35.

Then, at the time of driving, the solid lubricant 35 is urged with a constant urging force and pressed against the rotating roller 30 until the solid lubricant 35 runs out.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the fourth object, a solid lubricant 35 is pressed against the rotating roller 30 as in the following embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, for example. The rotating roller 30 is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant 35 little by little, and the lubricant on the rotating roller 30 is removed from the rotating brush 2 contacting the rotating roller 30.
7, the toner is applied to the image carrier such as the photoreceptor 11, and the toner attached to the rotating roller 30 is removed by the cleaning blade 65. A cleaning roller 66 having a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 2 μm or less, a toner cleaning blade 70 for removing toner adhered on the cleaning roller 66, and a determination unit 75 for determining the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35. A switching means 60 which operates when the determination means 75 determines that the solid lubricant 35 has run out and brings the cleaning roller 66 into contact with the rotating brush 27 in place of the rotating roller 30;
And a driving means 71 for operating the switching means 60.

At the time of driving, the presence / absence of the solid lubricant 35 is judged by the judging means 75. When the judging means 75 judges that the solid lubricant 35 has run out, the switching means 60 is operated by the driving means 71 and the rotation is performed. Instead of the roller 30, a cleaning roller 66 is brought into contact with the image carrier. The toner adhered on the cleaning roller 66 is removed by the toner cleaning blade 70.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the fourth object, for example, as shown in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In the lubricant supply device 25, a toner concentration detecting means 69 for detecting the toner concentration on the image carrier.
And the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35 is determined based on the detection result of the toner concentration detecting means 69.

At the time of driving, the toner density on the image carrier is detected by the toner density detecting means 69, and the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35 is determined based on the detection result. Switching means 6 by the driving means 71
0, and the cleaning roller 66 is brought into contact with the image carrier instead of the rotating roller 30.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the fourth object, for example, as shown in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In the lubricant supply device 25, when the rotating roller 30 comes into contact with the rotating brush 27, the rotation is transmitted to the rotating roller 30, and the cleaning roller 6
When the brush 6 comes into contact with the rotating brush 27, the rotation is transmitted to the cleaning roller 66.

During driving, when the rotating roller 30 comes into contact with the rotating brush 27, the rotating roller 30 is rotated, and when the cleaning roller 66 comes into contact with the rotating brush 27, the cleaning roller 66 is rotated.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, in order to achieve the fourth object, for example, as shown in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In the lubricant supply device 25, the cleaning blade 65 is formed of a resin film, and the toner cleaning blade 70 is formed of a rubber blade.
It is characterized by the following.

At the time of driving, the toner adhering to the rotating roller 30 is removed by the cleaning blade 6 of the resin film.
5 and the toner adhered on the cleaning roller 66 is removed by a toner cleaning blade 70 of a rubber blade.

[0040]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording unit of a laser printer including the lubricant supply device according to the first aspect.

In the figure, a recording unit is indicated by a reference symbol R. The recording unit R includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 11 as an image carrier. Around the photoreceptor 11, a charging device 12, a developing device 13, a transfer charger 14,
A separation charger 15, a cleaning device 16, and a neutralization device 17 are arranged. An optical writing device 18 is provided above the photoconductor 11.

At the time of recording, the paper P is sent out from a paper supply unit (not shown), and is conveyed to the lower side of the photoreceptor 11 at a timing by a registration roller.

The photoreceptor 11 rotates clockwise as indicated by an arrow. At this time, the surface of the photoreceptor 11 is uniformly charged by the charging device 12, and the surface is irradiated with laser light from the optical writing device 18. To form an electrostatic latent image. Subsequently, when passing through the position of the developing device 13, the toner is adhered by the developing device 13, and the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 11 is visualized. Then, the visible image is transferred to the sheet P conveyed to the lower side of the photoconductor 11.
Is transferred onto the upper surface of the substrate by the transfer charger 14. After transfer,
The charge is removed by the separation charger 15 to separate the paper P from the photoconductor 11. After separation, the paper P is transported to a fixing device (not shown), where the transferred image is fixed, and then discharged to an external discharge unit.

On the other hand, after the image is transferred, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 11 is removed by the cleaning blade 20 of the cleaning device 16. Further, the surface of the photoreceptor 11 is neutralized by the neutralization charger 21 of the neutralization device 17 and irradiated with the neutralization lamp 22 to be electrostatically initialized to prepare for the next use.

By the way, the above-mentioned laser printer includes:
Although not shown in FIG. 4, the lubricant supply device is arranged, for example, at a position upstream of the photoconductor 11 in the cleaning device 16 in the rotation direction.

FIG. 1 shows a lubricant supply device denoted by reference numeral 25. The lubricant supply device 25 includes a rotating brush 27 in an outer case not shown in FIG. Rotating brush 27
Is formed, for example, by brushing a large number of bristles 27b of polyester fiber on the outer periphery of an aluminum cylindrical member 27a in a brush shape. Then, both ends of the cylindrical member 27a are rotatably supported by opposing side plates in the outer case, and are arranged parallel to the central axis of the photoconductor 11, and the tips of the bristles 27b are brought into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 11.

The rotating roller 30 is provided on the opposite side of the rotating brush 27 from the photoconductor 11. Rotary roller 30
Is made of a stainless steel roller provided with fine irregularities on the peripheral surface and having a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 2 to 8 μm, for example. Then, both ends of the roller shaft 30a are rotatably supported and arranged in parallel with the rotating brush 27, and the tips of the bristles 27b are brought into contact with the peripheral surface.

Further, on the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30,
While the solid lubricant 35 is pressed against the upper side in the figure, the tip side of the regulating blade 40 is pressed against the lower side.

As the solid lubricant 35, for example, a material containing zinc stearate as a main component is melted and then solidified by cooling to form a horizontally long rectangular material, and both ends thereof are exchangeably held by appropriate members. . The lower end of an urging member 29 made of a compression spring whose upper end is applied to the spring receiving member 31 is applied to the upper side of the solid lubricant 35, and the solid lubricant 35 is rotated by the urging member 29. -Pressed against the roller 30.

The regulating blade 40 is made of a polyurethane rubber or the like, and is formed by a thick rubber blade long in the direction of the roller shaft 30a. And this regulation blade 40
Instead of the leading edge 40a, the surface 40b in front of the leading edge 40a is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, the regulating blade 40 has a plate surface 40c having a surface portion 40b,
It is provided at a position that makes an angle of approximately -α (2 to 8) degrees with respect to a tangent line that is perpendicular to a radius line connecting the center of the rotary roller 30 and 0a.

In the lubricant supply device 25 described above, the rotating brush 27 and the rotating roller 30 are rotated during driving, and the solid lubricant 35 is scraped off little by little by the rotating roller 30. The lubricant is carried on the peripheral surface of the lubricating member 30. Then, the lubricant on the rotating roller 30 is applied to the surface of the photoconductor 11 by the rotation of the rotating brush 27.

On the other hand, at the time of this driving, the toner on the photosensitive member 11 is transferred and adheres to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 via the rotating brush 27. Then, the toner adhered on the rotating roller 30 is removed by the regulating blade 40.

At this time, the toner on the rotating roller 30 which strikes the leading edge 40a of the regulating blade 40 is scraped off at the leading edge 40a. On the other hand, most of the toner that has adhered electrostatically or mechanically to the rotating roller 30 due to adhesiveness has slipped between the surface portion 40b in front of the leading edge 40a and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30,
It remains on the peripheral surface.

In the above-described embodiment, the regulating blade 40 is formed by a rubber blade. However, as in the second embodiment of the present invention, the regulating blade is formed by using a resin film. You can also.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the regulating blade 40 is formed of a longitudinally thin resin film made of, for example, polyester or the like. In this case, the resin film blade 40 presses the leading edge 40 a against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30. For this reason, the resin film blade 40 is provided at a position where its plate surface 40c forms approximately + α (5 to 15) degrees with respect to a tangent line perpendicular to a radius line connecting the leading edge 40a and the center of the rotary roller 30.

When the toner on the rotating roller 30 is removed by the resin film blade 40, a part of the toner hitting the leading edge 40a is removed.
And then scrape it off. On the other hand, most of the toner adhered to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 passes through between the peripheral surface and the leading edge 40a and remains on the peripheral surface while being adhered.

In the above-described lubricant supply device 25, the rotating roller 30 is always in operation during the operation of the laser printer.
Is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant 35. Therefore, the consumption of the solid lubricant 35 is relatively large, and its replacement life is likely to be short.

Therefore, the lubricant supply device according to the third aspect of the present invention stops the rotation of the rotary roller when it is not necessary to apply the lubricant to the photosensitive member as in the embodiment described below. Configure.

For example, as shown in FIG.
A drive control means 42 for controlling the operation of the drive means 41 is electrically connected to a drive means 41 such as a motor for driving the zero.

When a non-image area of the photoconductor 11, that is, a background area generated between images before and after in the circumferential direction on the photoconductor 11 is located at the lubricant application position indicated by reference symbol A in FIG. The drive control means 42 controls the drive means 4
(1) is stopped, and the driving of the rotating roller 30 is stopped. In the meantime, the scraping of the solid lubricant 35 by the rotating roller 30 is interrupted.

It is to be noted that the rotating roller 30 is configured to transmit the driving force of other driving means for driving the photosensitive member 11 and the like, and to rotate even without the dedicated driving means 41 as described above. Can also. In this case, for example, a clutch is provided in the drive transmission path, and the operation of the clutch is controlled by the drive control means. Then, when there is a non-image area of the photoconductor 11 at the lubricant application position A, the clutch is disengaged and the driving of the rotating roller 30 is stopped.

As described above, when the lubricant is supplied to the photoreceptor, the friction coefficient of the surface is reduced, and the adhesion of the toner can be appropriately suppressed. As a result, the toner adheres to the surface of the photoreceptor. There is an effect that it is possible to prevent a background portion that does not form an image from being stained with toner. Therefore,
When the amount of adhered toner on the photoreceptor is large, it is necessary to supply a lubricant to weaken the adhesion of the toner, but when the amount of adhered toner is small, supply a lubricant to increase the adhesion of the toner It is not considered necessary.

Therefore, in the lubricant supply device according to the present invention, when the amount of toner adhered on the photoreceptor is less than a predetermined amount, the rotation of the rotating roller is stopped as in the following embodiment. The configuration is such that no lubricant is supplied.

Although not shown in FIG. 5, the lubricant supply device 25 includes a toner density detecting means for detecting the toner density on the photoconductor 11, and the toner density detecting means is electrically connected to the drive control means 42 described above. Connection. As the toner concentration detecting means, for example, a light reflection type photo sensor,
Light from a light emitting element is applied to the photoreceptor 11, and the amount of reflected light is input to the light receiving element and converted into a voltage.

In the lubricant supply device 25,
At the time of driving, when the toner concentration detecting unit detects that the toner concentration on the photoconductor 11 has become equal to or less than a predetermined value, the driving control unit 42 stops the operation of the driving unit 41 and stops the driving of the rotating roller 30. In the meantime, the scraping of the solid lubricant 35 by the rotating roller 30 is interrupted.

In the meantime, among the electrophotographic devices, the lubricant supply device 25 as described above reads image information on a document using, for example, a CCD element, and writes the read content on a photoreceptor to form an image. The present invention can also be applied to a digital reading / writing type electrophotographic apparatus such as a digital PPC.

In this case, although not shown, the lubricant supply device is provided with an appropriate judging means for judging the image reading amount read by the CCD element, and the judging means judges that the read image amount is equal to or less than a certain amount. At this time, the driving of the rotation roller 30 may be stopped to interrupt the scraping of the solid lubricant 35.

Next, in the above-described laser printer, FIG.
When the paper after transfer is separated from the photoreceptor 11 by the separation charger 15 shown in (2), if the water content of the paper is large due to high humidity, current also flows into the paper and resistance is obtained, so that an appropriate corona discharge amount is obtained. As a result, the paper may not be reliably separated from the photoconductor 11 in some cases. In such a case, by applying a lubricant to the photoreceptor 11 to lower the friction coefficient of the photoreceptor surface, it is possible to easily separate the sheet after the transfer from the photoreceptor.

Therefore, when attention is paid to the effect of separating the paper by such a lubricant, it is necessary to supply the lubricant to the photoreceptor to facilitate the separation of the paper from the surface when the humidity is high. Is low, it can be said that there is no need to supply a lubricant.

Therefore, the lubricant supply device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is configured such that when the humidity is below a certain level, the rotation of the rotary roller is stopped and the lubricant is not supplied, as in the following embodiment. To

Although not shown in FIG. 5, the lubricant supply device includes a humidity sensor for measuring humidity, and the humidity sensor is electrically connected to the drive control means 42 described above.

In the lubricant supply device 25,
At the time of driving, when the humidity sensor detects that the humidity is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the driving control means 42 controls the driving means 41.
Is stopped, and the driving of the rotating roller 30 is stopped. In the meantime, the scraping of the solid lubricant 35 by the rotating roller 30 is interrupted.

Incidentally, the lubricant supply device 2 shown in FIG.
In No. 5, the solid lubricant 35 was scraped off by the rotating roller 30 and the lubricant was applied to the photoreceptor 11 via the rotating brush 27.
However, the lubricant supply device may be configured such that the lubricant is directly scraped off from the solid lubricant 35 by the rotating brush 27 and applied to the photoreceptor 11, as shown in FIG. In the case of the direct application type as well, when the supply of the lubricant is not required as described above, similarly, the operation of the driving means 41 is stopped by the driving control means 42 and the driving of the rotary brush 27 is stopped. To do.

Further, when the driving of the rotating roller 30 is stopped when the lubricant is not required as described above, the embodiment of the lubricant supply apparatus according to the present invention described in claim 6 will be described. As in the embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which free rotation of a rotating body such as the rotating roller 30 or the rotating brush 27 is restricted.

In this case, the lubricant supply device 25 includes:
Although not shown, for example, a brake device is appropriately provided. In the case of the indirect coating type shown in FIG.
When 0 is in the drive stop state, the brake device is operated to lock the rotation of the rotating roller 30. Thus, the rotation of the rotating body 11 is prevented from being transmitted through the rotating brush 27 and causing the rotating roller 30 to rotate.
5 is prevented from consuming even a small amount. In the case of the direct application type shown in FIG. 6, the rotation of the rotary brush 27 is similarly locked by the brake device to prevent the rotary brush 27 from rotating. It should be noted that the rotation roller 30 or the rotation brush 2 may be rotated by using other rotation regulating means such as a torque limiter.
7 can also be prevented from rotating.

By the way, the lubricant supply device 2 shown above
In 5, when the solid lubricant 35 is consumed, the urging force of the urging member 29 is reduced in accordance with the degree of the decrease, so that the amount of the lubricant scraped off by the rotating roller 30 decreases with time, and as a result, There is a possibility that the supply amount of the lubricant decreases, and an appropriate amount of the lubricant cannot always be supplied.

Therefore, the lubricant supply device according to the seventh and eighth aspects of the present invention has the following features as in the following embodiments.
It is configured such that an appropriate amount of lubricant can always be supplied to the photoconductor.

Therefore, in the lubricant supply device 25,
As shown in FIG. 7, a biasing member 29 formed of a compression spring is housed in a spring housing box 50, and a roller-shaped eccentric cam 51 is provided above the spring housing box 50.

The eccentric cam 51 supports the eccentric shafts 51a at both ends in a freely rotatable manner and is arranged in parallel with the rotary roller 30. Then, for example, a driving means 52 such as a step motor
7 is provided so as to be rotatable in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.

The spring storage box 50 has a solid lubricant 35 at the lower end.
The upper end of the biasing spring 29 applied to the upper surface is brought into contact with the receiving plate portion 50a, and the receiving plate portion 50a is pressed against the eccentric cam 51.
The upper side of the solid lubricant 35 is put in the lower opening of the spring storage box 50. Then, this spring storage box 50 is
As shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), the eccentric cam 51 is provided so as to be linearly movable up and down in the figure by a distance L corresponding to the amount of eccentricity, as shown in FIGS.

Further, in this lubricant supply device 25,
As shown in (1), a toner density detecting means 53 for detecting the toner density on the photoconductor 11 is provided at a position upstream of the photoconductor 11 in the rotation direction. The toner density detecting unit 53 is electrically connected to the driving unit 52 via a driving control unit 54.

At the time of driving, the toner density detecting means 53
When it is detected that the toner concentration on the photoreceptor 11 has become equal to or higher than the predetermined value, it is determined based on the detection result that the solid lubricant 35 has decreased and the urging force of the urging member 29 has been weakened. The drive means 52 is operated by the control means 54 to rotate the eccentric cam 51, and as shown in FIG. 9, the spring storage box 50 is pushed down to compress the urging member 29, and the urging member 29 is temporarily weakened. Return the power to the specified strength. And
The shaving amount of the solid lubricant 35 shaved by the rotating roller 30 is kept constant.

On the other hand, when the toner density detecting means 53 detects that the toner density on the photoreceptor 11 has become lower than a certain level, the urging force of the urging member 29 increases for some reason based on the detection result. Then, the drive control means 54 activates the drive means 52 by the drive control means 54 to further rotate the eccentric cam 51 to reduce the amount of compression of the biasing member 29, and the biasing force of the biasing member 29, which has been temporarily strengthened, is again determined by Return to strength.
Then, the shaving amount of the solid lubricant 35 is kept constant.

Thus, the urging force of the urging member 29 is always kept constant in accordance with the toner concentration of the photoreceptor 11, and the solid lubricant 35 is scraped off by the rotating roller 30 until almost no more. And supply it to 11 in appropriate amounts.

By the way, in the lubricant supply device 25 described above, the eccentric cam 51 has an eccentric amount, that is, a spring storage box 50, as in the embodiment of the present invention described in claim 9 below (see FIG. 8). Of the solid lubricant 35 is larger than the thickness t of the solid lubricant 35.

Thus, in the lubricant supply device 25,
At the time of driving, as shown in FIG. 8B, the solid lubricant 35 is urged by the constant urging force of the urging member 29 to the rotary roller 30 until the replacement when the solid lubricant 35 is almost exhausted. Press. Until then, the solid lubricant 35 is scraped off by a fixed amount.

By the way, in the lubricant supply device 25,
The urging force of the urging member 29 is adjusted by judging the reduction of the solid lubricant 35 based on the toner concentration on the photoconductor 11. However, for example, a counter is provided for counting the number of recording sheets passed, and the amount of the solid lubricant 35 is determined based on the number of sheets counted by the counter, and the attachment of the urging member 29 is determined according to the determination result. Adjustments can be made to keep the power constant. Further, a time measuring means for counting the driving time of the lubricant supply device itself is provided, and the amount of the solid lubricant 35 is determined based on the driving time, and the urging force of the urging member 29 is adjusted to be kept constant. You can also.

Now, in the above-described lubricant supply device, FIG.
As shown in (b), even if the solid lubricant 35 has run out and the replacement time has come, if the drive is performed without forgetting to replace the solid lubricant 35, the lubricant does not adhere to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30; The friction coefficient of the surface increases. In addition, the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 is formed relatively coarse. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the rubber blade 40 pressed against the rotating roller 30 is easily worn, and as a result,
The cleaning performance of the rotating roller 30 by the rubber blade 40 is reduced. Then, the residual toner on the rotating roller 30 may be transferred to the photoreceptor 11 via the rotating brush 27 and stain the surface thereof.

Therefore, the lubricant supply device according to the tenth aspect prevents the photosensitive member from being stained by residual toner adhered to the rotating roller, as described in the following embodiment.

Therefore, in the lubricant supply device 25,
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, between the opposing side plates 55,
Both ends of the brush shaft 27a of the rotating brush 27 are rotatably mounted, and the support shaft 5 is parallel to the brush shaft 27a.
Fix both ends of 6. Then, the support shaft 56 and the rotating brush 2
Switching means 60 is provided between the seven. The switching means 60 includes the opposing side plate portions 60a and 60b and the side plate portion 6 near the rotating brush 27.
And a spring receiving plate portion 60c provided horizontally between Oa and 60b. Then, ends of the both side plate portions 60a and 60b opposite to the spring receiving plate portion 60c are attached to both ends of the support shaft 56, and the switching means 60 is rotatably supported around the support shaft 56.

Thus, the switching means 60 is connected to the side plate 60a.
The two ends of the roller shaft 30a of the rotating roller 30 are rotatably mounted between 60b, and the rotating roller 30 is
The rotating roller 30 is arranged in parallel with the rotating brush 7a so that the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 contacts the rotating brush 27. The rotating roller 30 has a surface roughness of, for example, a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 3 to 10 μm.
And formed relatively coarsely. The tip of a cleaning blade 65 held by a blade holder (not shown) is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 on the side opposite to the rotating brush 27.

On the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30, a solid lubricant 35 is replaceably provided on the upper side thereof. The lower end of the urging member 29 whose upper end is applied to the spring receiving plate portion 60c is attached to the upper side of the solid lubricant 35, and the solid lubricant 35 is pressed against the rotating roller 30 by the urging member 29.

Further, between the side plate portions 60a and 60b, both ends of the roller shaft 66a of the cleaning roller 66 are rotatably mounted below the rotating roller 30, and the cleaning roller 66 is disposed in parallel with the rotating roller 30. The cleaning roller 66 has a relatively smooth peripheral surface, for example, having a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 2 μm or less, and is formed relatively smoothly. Then, on the peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 66,
The tip of the toner cleaning blade 70 held by a blade holder (not shown) is pressed against the blade.

The switching means 60 includes an operating rod 67a of the solenoid 67 below one of the side plates 60a.
Connect the tip of. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, a lower end of a tension spring 68 whose upper end is appropriately attached to a spring mounting portion is attached to the upper side of both side plate portions 60a and 60b. The driving means 71 of the switching means 60 is constituted by the tension spring 68 and the solenoid 67. Therefore, normally, the solenoid 67 is turned on, and the switching lever 60 is pulled by the operating rod 67a against the tension spring 68 to hold the rotary roller 30 at a position where the rotary roller 30 comes into contact with the rotary brush 27.

Further, this lubricant supply device detects the toner density on the photoconductor 11 at a position upstream of the photoconductor 11 in the rotation direction, as in the embodiment of the invention described in claim 11 below. A toner density detecting unit 69 is provided. The toner concentration detecting means 69 is electrically connected to a judging means 75 for judging the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35 based on the detection result of the toner concentration. Further, the determining means 75 is electrically connected to the solenoid 67 of the driving means 71.

Further, in this lubricant supply device, a drive transmission gear 8 for transmitting the rotation of a drive motor (not shown) as in the embodiment of the present invention described in claim 12 below.
0 is supported, for example, outside the side plate portion 60a, and a gear 81 provided on the roller shaft 30a of the rotating roller 30 meshes with the drive transmission gear 80. On the other hand, a gear 82 is provided on the roller shaft 66a of the cleaning roller 66. Then, the rotation of the drive motor is transmitted to the rotation roller 30 via the mesh between the drive transmission gear 80 and the gear 81 to rotate it. On the other hand, as will be described later, when the switching unit 60 is rotated to bring the cleaning roller 66 into contact with the rotating brush 27, the cleaning roller 66 is transmitted to the cleaning roller 66 via the meshing of the drive transmission gear 80 and the gear 82 and is rotated. Configuration.

In this lubricant supply device, the rotating brush 27 and the rotating roller 30 are rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant 35 little by little when driven, and the lubricant on the rotating roller 30 is removed via the rotating brush 27. It is applied on the photoconductor 11. Further, the toner adhered to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 is
It is removed by the cleaning blade 65.

Thereafter, when the toner concentration detecting means 69 detects that the toner concentration on the photoreceptor 11 has become equal to or higher than a predetermined value at the time of driving, the judging means 75 judges that the solid lubricant 35 has run out based on the detection result. Then, for example, a display of a lubricant exchange is displayed on a display unit (not shown), and the solenoid 67 of the driving unit 71 is turned off. Then, the switching member 60 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 10 by the tension spring 68, and the upper side of the side plate portion 60 a is abutted against an appropriate stopper (not shown) to be stopped, and the cleaning roller 66 is replaced with the rotating brush 27 instead of the rotating roller 30. Hold in contact position. At this time, a gear 82 meshes with the drive transmission gear 80 instead of the gear 81.

Thus, the cleaning roller 66 is rotated to scrape off the toner adhered to the rotating brush 27 with the cleaning roller 66 and the toner adhered to the peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 66 is removed by the toner cleaning blade 7.
The cleaning is performed by scraping at 0. Then, the cleaning is performed until the solid lubricant 35 is replaced with a new one.

Then, after the drive of the lubricant supply device 25 is stopped and the solid lubricant 35 is replaced with a new one, when the lubricant supply device 25 is driven again, the solenoid 67 is turned on and the switching means 60 is turned. Then, the rotary roller 30 is moved again to a position where the rotary roller 30 comes into contact with the rotary brush 27, and the lubricant is supplied to the photoconductor 11.

Incidentally, in the lubricant supply device, as in the embodiment of the present invention described in claim 13 below,
The cleaning blade 65 of the rotating roller 30 having a relatively rough peripheral surface is formed of, for example, a high-quality resin film such as Mylar, while the cleaning roller 6 having a relatively smooth surface is formed.
The toner cleaning blade 70 of No. 6 may be formed of a rubber blade.

The solid lubricant 35 described above includes:
In addition to the above zinc stearate, for example, barium stearate, lead stearate, iron stearate, nickel stearate, cobalt stearate, copper stearate,
Strontium stearate, calcium stearate, cadmium stearate, magnesium stearate, zinc oleate, manganese oleate, iron oleate, cobalt oleate, lead oleate, magnesium oleate, copper oleate, palmitic acid, zinc zinc palmitate Uses relatively higher fatty acids such as copper palmitate, magnesium palmitate, aluminum palmitate, calcium palmitate, lead cabrate, lead cabronate, zinc linolenate, cobalt linolenate, calcium linolenate, cadmium coronenate, etc. be able to. Further, colloidal high-temperature silica powder can be used, and further, natural wax such as carnauba wax can be used.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the photosensitive member 11 is used as the image carrier has been described. However, the image carrier is not limited to such a photoconductor, and may be, for example, an intermediate transfer belt provided in a color electrophotographic apparatus such as a color laser copying machine.

[0104]

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, instead of pressing the leading edge of the regulating blade made of a rubber blade against the rotating roller for scraping the solid lubricant, the leading edge of the regulating blade is used. Since the surface portion in front of the edge is pressed, the toner adhered to the rotating roller can pass through between the surface portion and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller and remain on the peripheral surface. The effect of scraping off the lubricant by the contact toner can be effectively used. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the necessity of using a rotating roller whose surface roughness is excessively finished as in the related art and increasing the urging force of the urging member in order to scrape off the lubricant by an appropriate amount.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the regulating blade is formed of a resin film, and the leading edge thereof is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller. It is possible to slip through between the edges and to remain on the peripheral surface as it is, thereby similarly effectively utilizing the effect of scraping off the lubricant by the close contact toner on the rotating roller.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when it is not necessary to supply the lubricant to the image carrier, that is, when there is a non-image area of the image carrier at the lubricant application position, the driving of the rotating body is performed. Is stopped to stop the scraping of the solid lubricant by the rotating body, so that the consumption of the solid lubricant can be saved and the replacement life can be extended.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when it is not necessary to supply the lubricant to the image carrier, that is, the toner density on the image carrier is detected by the toner density detecting means, and the toner density is detected. When the rotational speed is below a certain level, the driving of the rotating body is stopped and the scraping of the solid lubricant is interrupted, so that the consumption of the solid lubricant can be saved and the replacement life can be extended.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when it is not necessary to supply the lubricant to the image carrier, that is, when the humidity is measured by the humidity sensor and the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is equal to or less than a certain value, By stopping the driving of the rotating body and interrupting the scraping of the solid lubricant, similarly, the consumption of the solid lubricant can be saved and the replacement life thereof can be extended.

According to the invention described in claim 6, according to claim 3,
In the lubricant supply device according to the present invention, since the free rotation of the rotating body is restricted when the rotating body is in the driving stop state, in addition, the rotating body obtains driving from around the rotating body and rotates. Therefore, the removal of the lubricant in the drive stopped state can be reliably interrupted, and the replacement life can be further extended.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether the amount of the solid lubricant is reduced, and the movable base member is operated in accordance with the reduced amount, and the movable base member is pressed to apply the urging member. Since the power is kept constant, the amount of the lubricant scraped off by the rotating roller is always kept constant, whereby an appropriate amount of the lubricant can always be supplied to the surface of the photoconductor.

According to the invention of claim 8, according to claim 7,
In the lubricant supply device described in the above, the toner concentration on the image carrier is detected, the degree of reduction of the solid lubricant is determined based on the detection result, and the movable base member is operated in accordance with the reduction degree, and the movable base member is moved. Similarly, by pressing the base member to keep the urging force of the urging member constant, the amount of the scraped lubricant can be constantly kept constant, and an appropriate amount of the lubricant can always be supplied to the surface of the photoconductor. .

According to the ninth aspect, the seventh aspect is provided.
In the lubricant supply device described in the above, since the moving distance of the movable base member is made larger than the thickness of the solid lubricant, in addition, the urging force of the urging member is kept constant until the solid lubricant runs out. Can be.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, apart from the rotating roller for scraping off the solid lubricant, the cleaning blade of the roller, a cleaning roller having a relatively smooth peripheral surface, and the toner cleaning for the cleaning roller A blade is provided, and when it is determined by the determining means that the solid lubricant has run out, the switching means contacts the cleaning roller instead of the rotating roller with the rotating brush to remove the toner adhered to the rotating brush and removes the toner adhered to the rotating brush. Since the adhered toner is removed by the toner cleaning blade, the toner adhered to the rotating roller is transferred to the image carrier via the rotating brush between the time the solid lubricant runs out and the time when it is actually replaced, as before. Thus, the surface can be prevented from being stained.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the lubricant supply device according to the tenth aspect further comprises a toner concentration detecting means for detecting a toner concentration on the image carrier, and The presence or absence of the solid lubricant can be determined based on the simple configuration.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the lubricant supply device of the tenth aspect, when the rotating roller is brought into contact with the rotating brush, only the rotating roller is rotated, while the cleaning roller is rotated. When contacting
By rotating only the cleaning roller, the life of the cleaning blade and the toner cleaning blade pressed against both rollers can be extended.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the lubricant supply device according to the tenth aspect, the cleaning blade which presses the rotating roller having a relatively rough peripheral surface has relatively high wear resistance. By using a resin film blade, the blade life can be extended,
By using a rubber blade having a high toner removal efficiency as a toner cleaning blade pressed against a cleaning roller having a relatively smooth peripheral surface, the cleaning effect of the blade can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lubricant supply device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 1;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a regulating blade made of a rubber blade is pressed against a rotating roller.

FIG. 3 is a state explanatory view showing a state in which a regulating blade made of a resin film is pressed against a rotating roller.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording unit of a laser printer including the lubricant supply device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lubricant supply device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another lubricant supply device that directly scrapes solid lubricant with a rotating brush and applies the lubricant to a photoreceptor.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lubricant supply device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 8;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams showing the relationship between the thickness of the solid lubricant provided in the lubricant supply device and the moving distance of the spring storage box.

FIG. 9 is a state explanatory view showing a state in which the eccentric cam is rotated in accordance with the reduction of the solid lubricant to push down the spring storage box.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lubricant supply device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claims 10 and 11;

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the lubricant supply device as viewed from above.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional lubricant supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 photoconductor (image carrier) 25 lubricant supply device 27 rotating brush 29 urging member 30 rotating roller 35 solid lubricant 40 regulating blade 40a tip edge 40b surface portion in front of tip edge 50 spring storage box (movable base member) 53/69 Toner density detecting means 60 Switching means 65 Cleaning blade 66 Cleaning roller 70 Toner cleaning blade 71 Switching means driving means 75 Judging means A Lubricant application position L Spring storage box moving distance t Solid lubricant thickness

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page Examiner Teruaki Shimomura (56) References JP-A-6-318018 (JP, A) JP-A-6-324603 (JP, A) JP-A-2-28684 (JP, A) JP-A-6-324604 (JP, A) JP-A-57-58181 (JP, A) JP-A-8-254933 (JP, A) JP-A-7-271142 (JP, A) JP-A-6-175453 (JP JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/00 G03G 21/10-21/12 G03G 21/00 370-540 G03G 21/14

Claims (13)

(57) [Claims] 1. A solid lubricant is pressed against a rotating roller, and the rotating roller is rotated to carry the lubricant on the peripheral surface, and the lubricant on the rotating roller is applied to the image carrier by an applying member. In a lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, a regulating blade is formed using a rubber blade, and a surface portion in front of a leading edge of the regulating blade is pressed against a peripheral surface of the rotating roller. A device for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in a photographic device. 2. A solid lubricant is pressed against a rotating roller, the rotating roller is rotated to carry the lubricant on the peripheral surface, and the lubricant on the rotating roller is applied to the image carrier by an applying member. In a lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, a regulating blade is formed using a resin film, and a leading edge of the regulating blade is pressed against a peripheral surface of the rotating roller. A device for supplying lubricant to the image carrier. 3. An apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which a solid lubricant is scraped off little by little by a rotating body and applied directly or indirectly to the image carrier. A lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the drive of the rotating body is stopped when there is a non-image area of the body. 4. An apparatus for supplying lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which a solid lubricant is scraped off little by little by a rotator and applied directly or indirectly to the image carrier, the toner density on the image carrier is adjusted. Is detected by the toner density detecting means,
A lubricant supply device for an image bearing member in an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the driving of the rotating body is stopped when the toner concentration detected by the toner concentration detecting means is equal to or lower than a predetermined value. 5. In a lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which a solid lubricant is scraped little by little by a rotating body and applied directly or indirectly to the image carrier, humidity is measured by a humidity sensor, A lubricant supply device for an image bearing member in an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the driving of the rotating body is stopped when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined value. 6. When the rotating body is in a driving stop state,
6. A lubricant supply device for an image bearing member in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein free rotation of said rotating body is regulated. 7. A solid lubricant is urged by an urging member and pressed against a rotating roller. The rotating roller is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant little by little, and the lubricant on the rotating roller is imaged by an application member. In a lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus for applying to a carrier, the urging member is provided between a movable base member and a solid lubricant, and the degree of reduction of the solid lubricant is determined. A lubricant supply device for an image bearing member in an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the movable base member is actuated in accordance with the degree of reduction, and the biasing force of the biasing member is kept constant by being pressed by the movable base member. 8. A toner concentration detecting means for detecting a toner concentration on the image carrier, wherein a decrease in the amount of the solid lubricant is determined based on a detection result of the toner concentration detection means, and the solid lubricant is determined in accordance with the decrease. 8. The apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the movable base member is actuated and pressed by the movable base member to keep the urging force of the urging member constant. 9. The lubricant supply device for an image bearing member in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a moving distance of said movable base member is made larger than a thickness of a solid lubricant. 10. A solid lubricant is pressed against a rotating roller,
The rotating roller is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant little by little, and the lubricant on the rotating roller is applied to the image carrier with a rotating brush that comes into contact with the rotating roller, while the toner adhered on the rotating roller is removed. In a lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus for removing with a cleaning blade, a cleaning roller having a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 2 μm or less and a toner for removing toner attached to the cleaning roller A cleaning blade provided with a judgment means for judging the presence or absence of a solid lubricant; and a switch for activating when the judgment means judges that the solid lubricant has run out and bringing the cleaning roller into contact with the rotating brush in place of the rotating roller. Carrying means in an electrophotographic apparatus, comprising: The lubricant supply device to. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a toner concentration detecting unit for detecting a toner concentration on the image bearing member, and judging the presence or absence of a solid lubricant based on a detection result of the toner concentration detecting unit. A lubricant supply device for an image bearing member in an electrophotographic apparatus. 12. When the rotating roller contacts a rotating brush, rotation is transmitted to the rotating roller, and when the cleaning roller contacts the rotating brush, rotation is transmitted to the cleaning roller. 11. An apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in the electrophotographic apparatus according to 10. 13. An apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said cleaning blade is formed of a resin film, and said toner cleaning blade is formed of a rubber blade.