JP5108610B2 - Lubricant imparting agent coating apparatus, cleaning apparatus, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lubricity-imparting agent coating device, a cleaning device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus used in an electrophotographic system such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a composite machine thereof. Among them, in particular, charging, writing, development, transfer, cleaning, etc. are repeated to form a toner image on the photosensitive member, and the toner image is directly transferred or indirectly transferred via an intermediate transfer member. The present invention relates to an electrophotographic lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus, a cleaning apparatus, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus that perform recording on a transfer sheet such as an OHP film.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a method of applying a lubricity imparting agent to the surface of an image carrier is one of widely used techniques. As a method for applying the lubricity-imparting agent to the image carrier, a rotating brush roller is generally used. When a brush roller is used, there are one held by the brush of the brush roller and one scattered around. The solid lubricity imparting agent scattered around the periphery causes the application efficiency to the image carrier to be lowered.

  In order to increase the coating efficiency, for example, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is good to spray the powder adhering to the brush roller to clean the brush roller, but where the scattered powder adheres. However, there is a problem in that problems such as contamination of the apparatus and abnormal images occur. In Patent Document 3, it is good to prevent the residual toner from adhering to the brush roller, but the brush roller causes the lubricant to scatter, and it is impossible to predict where the scattered lubricant will adhere and contaminate the device. And troubles such as abnormal images occur.

JP 2004-251940 A JP 2007-86321 A JP 2000-172119 A

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the problem is that the solid lubricity imparting agent is shaved using a brush roller, the lubricity imparting agent held by the brush roller brush, and the brush roller brush. A lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus, a cleaning device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus are provided that efficiently transport the lubricity imparting agent scattered from the surface to the surface of an image carrier without waste and improve the coating efficiency of the lubricity imparting agent. That is.

The features of the present invention, which is a means for solving the above problems, are listed below.
In the present invention, in order to efficiently transport the lubricity imparting agent shaved by the fur brush to the surface of the image bearing member without waste, the first guide member and the second guide member are provided, the cleaning elastic blade, and the coating Abrasion is reduced by applying a coating to the elastic blade, and the coating elastic blade is brought into contact with the rotation direction of the image carrier in a counter manner to provide stable cleaning and coating performance over a long period of time. Maintain across.

  The lubricity-imparting agent coating apparatus of the present invention as a means for solving the above problem is that the solid lubricity-imparting agent shaved by the fur brush is transported to the surface of the image carrier without waste, and is fixed to the surface of the image carrier. By improving the application efficiency of the imparting agent, the consumption amount of the solid lubricity imparting agent can be reduced, and stable quality can be maintained over a long period of time.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that it is easy for a person skilled in the art to make other embodiments by changing or correcting the present invention within the scope of the claims, and these changes and modifications are included in the scope of the claims. The following description is an example of the best mode of the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the claims.

Examples of the present invention are shown below.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view schematically showing a color printer as an image forming apparatus.
In the main body case 2 of the color printer 1, an image forming unit 3, an optical writing device 4 that emits a light beam, a paper feed cassette 5 that is a recording medium storage unit that stores a recording medium P that is a transfer target, and toner A fixing device 6 for fixing the recording medium P to which the image has been transferred, a waste toner collecting container 7 for collecting waste toner generated after transferring the toner image, and the like are provided.
The image forming unit 3 is a part that forms a toner image and transfers the formed toner image to the recording medium P, and includes four photoconductors 8 (8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K) that are image carriers, and each photoconductor. 8, a charging roller 9, which is a charging device, a developing device 10, a cleaning device 11, a primary transfer roller 12, an intermediate transfer belt 13 which is an image carrier and a transfer target, and a secondary transfer roller which is a transfer device. 14 and a cleaning device 15 or the like. Here, in the description of the present specification and drawings, Y, C, M, and K subscripts indicate yellow, cyan, magenta, and black colors, respectively, and these subscripts are omitted as necessary. .
The photoconductor 8 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is connected to a drive motor (not shown), and rotates around a center line by a drive force from the drive motor. A photosensitive layer on which an electrostatic latent image is formed is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 8.

The charging roller 9 is disposed in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8 or is disposed with a small gap from the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8. When a voltage is applied to the charging roller 9 from a power supply unit (not shown), corona discharge is generated between the charging roller 9 and the photoconductor 8, and the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8 is made uniform. Charged.
The optical writing device 4 emits a light beam corresponding to the image data, and exposes the outer peripheral surface of the uniformly charged photoreceptor 8. By this exposure, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 8. The developing device 10 supplies toner to the photoreceptor 8. The supplied toner adheres to the electrostatic latent image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8, and the electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8 is visualized as a toner image.
The intermediate transfer belt 13 is a loop-shaped belt formed of a resin film or rubber as a base, and is wound around a drive roller 16, an entrance roller 17, and a tension roller 18, and is driven by a drive motor (not shown). The connected driving roller 16 is rotated by being driven to rotate. The entrance roller 17 and the tension roller 18 are driven to rotate by frictional force with the intermediate transfer belt 13 as the intermediate transfer belt 13 rotates.
The primary transfer roller 12 is disposed on the inner peripheral surface side (inside the loop) of the intermediate transfer belt 13, and a toner image on each photoconductor 8 is formed by applying a transfer voltage to the primary transfer roller 12. The image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 13. The toner images formed on the respective photoreceptors 8 are sequentially transferred and superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 13, and a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 13.

The cleaning device 11 cleans the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8 after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 13. By this cleaning, toner, paper dust, and the like remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 8 after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 13 are collected as waste toner.
The color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 13 is transferred to the secondary transfer roller 14 at the timing when the recording medium P is sent to the transfer position where the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the secondary transfer roller 14 are in contact with each other. When the working voltage is applied, it is transferred to the recording medium P. The recording medium P is fed from the sheet feeding cassette 5 and is conveyed by the conveyance roller 19 and the registration roller 20, and is transferred to the fixing device 6 after the toner image is transferred. The recording medium P to which the toner image has been transferred is subjected to fixing processing by applying heat and pressure in the fixing device 6, and the toner image melted by this fixing processing is fixed to the recording medium P. The recording medium P for which the fixing process has been completed is discharged onto a discharge tray 21 formed on the upper surface of the main body case 2.
The cleaning device 15 cleans the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 after the color toner image is transferred to the recording medium P. By this cleaning, toner, paper dust, and the like remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 after the toner image is transferred are collected as waste toner.

The waste toner collection container 7 is a portion in which waste toner collected by the cleaning devices 11 and 15 is input from the cleaning devices 11 and 15 and the input waste toner is stored. The waste toner collection container 7 is detachably attached to the main body case 2, and is removed from the main body case 2 when the waste toner in the waste toner collection container 7 is almost full. 7 is attached.
The photosensitive member 8 as a constituent member of the image forming unit 3, the charging roller 9, the developing device 10 and the cleaning device 11 arranged around each photosensitive member 8 are unitized and housed in a case, and the process cartridge 23 ( 23Y, 23C, 23M, and 23K) (see FIG. 2). Each process cartridge 23 is detachably mounted in the main body case 2. Since the photosensitive member 8, the charging roller 9, the developing device 10, and the cleaning device 11 are unitized as a process cartridge 23, replacement and maintenance work is facilitated, and the positional accuracy between the members is high. Therefore, the quality of the formed image can be improved. In this embodiment, the photosensitive member 8, the charging roller 9, the developing device 10, and the cleaning device 11 have been described by taking the process cartridge 23 as an example. However, there are various process cartridge configurations. For example, at least one of the charging roller 9, the developing device 10, and the cleaning device 11 and the photosensitive member 8 are housed in a case and unitized.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the side cover 24 provided on the main body case 2 is opened. By opening the side cover 24, the image forming unit 3 and the waste toner collection container 7 appear, and the process cartridge 23, the intermediate transfer belt 13 (shown in FIG. 1), the waste toner collection container 7, and other maintenance are performed. It can be carried out. Further, the intermediate transfer belt 13, the rollers 16, 17, 18 and the cleaning device 15 shown in FIG. 1 are housed in a belt case and unitized.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a process cartridge including a photoreceptor in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The process cartridge 23 uses a toner contact coil 32 that transports transfer residual toner and the like from upstream of rotation of the photoconductor 8 with reference to a portion where the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the photoconductor 8 are in contact, and transfer residual toner and the like attached on the photoconductor 8 A cleaning blade 31 as a cleaning means to be removed, a fur brush 33 for attaching the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 to the photoconductor 8, a solid lubricity imparting agent pressurizing spring 35, and the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 are fixed to the photoconductor 8. A coating elastic blade (hereinafter referred to as coating blade) 39, which is a coating means, a charging roller 9, a charging roller pressure spring 36, a charging cleaner roller 37 for cleaning the surface of the charging roller 9, and a charging cleaner roller pressure spring 38 are provided. I have.
In addition, the developing device 10 (described in FIG. 1) may be provided.

4 to 6 are schematic views showing details of the configuration of the solid lubricity imparting section.
[First embodiment]
FIG. 4 shows a first form of the configuration of the solid lubricity imparting section.
The lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus A of the present invention has a fur brush 33, a solid lubricity imparting agent 34, a solid lubricity imparting agent pressurizing spring 35, and a first guide member 40. A first guide member 40 for efficiently conveying the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 to the surface of the photoreceptor 8 is provided between the coating blade 39 and the fur brush 33. The fur brush 33 rotates in the same direction as the photoconductor 8, and the coating blade 39 is in contact with the photoconductor 8 in a counter manner. The contact pressure can be set lower than that of the trailing method by causing the coating blade 39 to contact the rotating direction of the photosensitive member 8 by the counter method, and the coating blade 39 can be prevented from being worn and worn. By suppressing the settling and wear of the coating blade 39, the performance of the coating blade 39 can be stably maintained over a long period of time.

  The fur brush 33 is brought into contact with the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 and is conveyed while being adhered to the brush while scraping the solid lubricity imparting agent 34. At this time, the rotation of the fur brush 33 causes the lubricity imparting agent to scatter after contacting the solid lubricity imparting agent 34. As shown in FIG. 4, part of the lubricity imparting agent of the fur brush 33 is scattered along the scattering direction 1 of the solid lubricity imparting agent. In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus A of the present invention, the scattered lubricity imparting agent can be applied to the surface of the photoreceptor 8 again. The rotation direction of the fur brush 33 is the same as the rotation direction of the photosensitive member 8, the first guide member 40 is provided between the application blade 39 and the fur brush 33, and one end of the first guide member 40 is connected to the application blade 39. By extending to the vicinity where the photoconductor 8 abuts, the lubricity imparting agent can be attached to the surface of the photoconductor 8 without waste, and can be fixed to the surface of the photoconductor 8 by the coating blade 39. The performance is improved and the coating efficiency can be improved. Further, the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 shaved by the fur brush 33 is transported to the surface of the photoconductor 8 without waste and is fixed to the surface of the photoconductor 8, thereby improving the application efficiency of the lubricity imparting agent. By improving the coating efficiency, the consumption of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 can be reduced, and stable quality can be maintained over a long period of time.

The first guide member 40 is disposed between the fur brush 33 and the application blade 39, and the corner 40a at the arc end of the back surface side of the guide member 40 is formed from the surface where the fur brush 33 and the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 are in contact with each other. Also, it was arranged to start the curve so that the gap with the fur brush became wider as it approached the vicinity of the surface of the image carrier from a portion away from the photoconductor 8. In this case, it is preferable that the first guide member 40 is disposed so as to have a step of 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less in a direction away from the photoreceptor 8 from the surface where the fur brush 33 and the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 are in contact. By providing the step in this way, the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 that scatters at the moment when the rotating brush of the fur brush 33 leaves the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 can be conveyed to the first guide member 40 without waste. Since the shaved solid lubricity imparting agent 34 can be transported to the first guide member 40 without waste, the transport performance of the lubricity imparting agent is improved and the coating efficiency can be improved. Further, the gap between the first guide member 40 and the fur brush 33 becomes narrower as the first guide member 40 approaches the photoconductor 8, so that the coating blade 39 can be brought closer to the fur brush 33 side. Can be made compact. In this step, when the setting is less than 1 mm or more than 3 mm, the amount of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 that is not conveyed to the first guide member 40 tends to increase.
As shown in FIG. 4, the back surface of the arc portion of the first guide member 40 is shaped so that the gap with the fur brush 33 becomes narrower toward the photoreceptor 8 side. Since the gap with the fur brush 33 is narrowed, the powder lubricity imparting agent that has been scattered and floated is again held by the fur brush 33 and applied to the surface of the photoreceptor 8.

  Further, the cross-sectional shape of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 is a quadrangle, and any one of the four surfaces is in contact with the fur brush 33, and a straight line connecting the center of the photoconductor 8 and the center of the fur brush 33, and the fur brush 33. One surface of the solid lubricity-imparting agent 34 in contact with the fur brush 33 is 1 ° or more and 90 ° or less in the rotation direction of the photoreceptor with respect to a vertical straight line drawn with respect to the point where the solid-lubricity imparting agent 34 contacts It arranged so that it may touch at an angle of. The lubricity imparting agent that scatters at the moment when the brush of the rotating fur brush 33 leaves the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 can be transported toward the first guide member 40 without waste. Since the shaved lubricity imparting agent can be transported to the arc portion of the first guide member 40 without waste, the transport performance of the lubricity imparting agent is improved and the coating efficiency can be improved. When the arrangement angle of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 is set to 0 ° or less, or when it exceeds 90 °, the amount of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 that is not conveyed to the first guide member 40 tends to increase. It was in.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, after the fur brush 33 comes into contact with the photoreceptor 8, the lubricity imparting agent remaining on the fur brush 33 is scattered from the fur brush 33 due to centrifugal force or the like. The scattering is scattered along the scattering direction 2 of the solid lubricity imparting agent. For this reason, in order to be able to apply the lubricity-imparting agent to the surface of the photoreceptor 8 again, the following configuration is adopted. That is, there are two points where the lubricity imparting agent scatters from the fur brush 33. The fur brush 33 is on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the fur brush 33 at a portion where the fur brush 33 is in contact with the solid lubricant imparting agent 34, and the downstream side in the rotation direction of the fur brush 33 at a portion where the fur brush 33 is in contact with the photoconductor 8. The lubricity imparting agent that scatters from the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 corresponds to the first guide member 40, and the lubricity imparting agent that separates from the photoreceptor 8 corresponds to the second guide member 41, thereby solid lubrication. The property imparting agent 34 can be used without waste, and the application efficiency to the photoreceptor 8 can be improved. Therefore, as described above, the sheet-like second guide member 41 is provided between the cleaning blade 31 and the fur brush 33. With this configuration, the moment when the brush of the rotating fur brush 33 leaves the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 and the moment when the brush of the rotating fur brush 33 in contact with the photoconductor 8 leaves the photoconductor 8. The lubricity-imparting agent that splatters can be transported without waste. Since the lubricity imparting agent shaved by the fur brush 33 can be transported without waste, the transport performance of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 is improved. By improving the conveyance performance of the lubricity imparting agent, the application efficiency of the lubricity imparting agent to the surface of the photoconductor 8 is improved, and the consumption of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 can be kept low, and the stable performance is achieved. It can be maintained for a long time.

  Further, by applying a coating process to the cleaning blade 31 and the coating blade 39 with a resin having a low surface friction coefficient such as a fluororesin or a silicone resin, wear can be suppressed, and stable performance can be maintained over a long period of time. In addition, by applying a coating treatment to a metal compound such as a carbide such as C or TiC, or a nitride such as AlN or TiN, the surface can be hardened and wear can be suppressed, and stable performance can be maintained over a long period of time. Thereby, the durability of the cleaning blade 31 is improved, and the running cost can be reduced.

[Second form]
FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the configuration of the solid lubricity imparting section. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member same as the said form, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
The first guide member 40 has an arc portion 40c having a circular arc cross section, is concentric with the center of rotation of the fur brush 33, and the gap between the fur brush 33 and the first guide member 40 is 1 mm or less. . Note that the centers of the members 33 and 40 are not necessarily the same. In that case, the gap between the fur brush 33 and the first guide member 40 is preferably 1 mm or less at the shortest portion. When the gap between the members 33 and 40 is set to this length, a pool of the lubricity imparting agent can be suitably formed. The lubricity imparting agent is again held by the fur brush 33 and is exposed to the coating blade 39 and the photosensitive member. It is conveyed to the part where the body 8 is in contact. As a result, the lubricity imparting agent can be stably supplied to the photoreceptor 8. A plurality of protrusions 40c1 or grooves may be formed along the arc on the back side of the arc 40c. When the protrusions and grooves are formed, the lubricity-imparting agent that has fallen on the back surface of the guide member from the fur brush 33 is caught on the protrusions and grooves, so that the guide member 40 can easily hold the lubricity-imparting agent and form a pool. It becomes easy.

  Further, the cross-sectional shape of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 is a quadrangle, one of the four surfaces is in contact with the fur brush, and the fur brush 33 of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 is in contact with the fur brush 33 from the rotation center. The center in the width direction of one surface of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 that is in contact with the fur brush 33 is offset by 1 to 2 mm on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the fur brush 33 with respect to the perpendicular drawn to the surface that is running. Yes. If comprised in this way, the force which is going to move the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 to the rotation direction downstream of the fur brush 33 because the fur brush 33 rotates can be relieved. And the press to the fur brush 33 of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 can be stabilized. Therefore, the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 to be shaved by the fur brush 33 can be stabilized.

In the second embodiment, the developer removed from the surface of the photoreceptor 8 by the fur brush 33 reaches the contact portion between the fur brush 33 and the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 before the fur brush 33 removes the developer. A flicker portion 40b for removing the developer is provided. A large number of through holes 40b1 are formed at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the flicker portion 40b, and the developer from the fur brush 33 passes through the through holes 40b1 and the first guide portion 40 has a large number of through holes 40b1. The pressure spring is stored between the pressure spring accommodating portion and the solid lubricity imparting agent 34. By providing the flicker portion 40b in this way, the ratio of the lubricity imparting agent in the substance accumulated in the gap between the arc portion 40c of the first guide member 40 and the fur brush 33 is increased, and the photosensitivity of the lubricity imparting agent is increased. Application efficiency to the body 8 is improved.
The coating blade 39 is subjected to a coating process. By improving the durability of the blade 39 by the coating process, the durability of the image forming portion is improved and the running cost can be reduced.

[Third embodiment]
FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the configuration of the solid lubricity imparting section. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member same as the said form, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
The first guide member 40 is a sheet metal member having a concave cross section that holds the coating blade 39. By holding the coating blade 39 with the first guide member 40, the shape of the frame to which the guide member 40 is attached can be simplified.
Further, the end of the guide member 40 can be brought close to the vicinity of the portion where the coating blade 39 contacts the photoconductor 8. Therefore, the lubricity imparting agent scraped off by the fur brush 33 can be transported to the photoreceptor 8 without waste and fixed on the surface of the photoreceptor to improve the application efficiency of the lubricity imparting agent. By improving the coating efficiency, it is possible to reduce the consumption of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34.

After the printing operation by the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the present embodiment is completed, after the drive motor of the photoconductor 8 is stopped, the drive motor of the photoconductor 8 is rotated by less than one rotation in the reverse direction to the printing operation. Then, the cleaning blade 31 and the coating blade 39 can be prevented from wobbling, and the durability of the image forming apparatus is improved.
Further, in this embodiment, the flicker member 42 abuts on the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 and also serves to restrain movement of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 in the abutting direction. For this reason, the change in the posture of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 caused by the forward / reverse rotation operation of the fur brush 33 is reduced, and the posture of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 is stabilized. The change is reduced, and the lubricity imparting agent can be stably supplied to the photoreceptor 8.

[Fourth form]
FIG. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of the configuration of the solid lubricity imparting section. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member same as the said form, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
In this embodiment, the photoconductor 8, the cleaning blade 31, the waste toner conveying coil 32, the solid lubricity imparting agent 34, the fur brush 33, and the solid lubricity imparting agent pressurizing spring 35 are held by the first frame 44. The coating blade 39, the charging roller 9, the charging roller pressure spring 36, the charging cleaner roller 37, and the charging cleaner roller pressure spring 38 are held by the second frame 45. In this way, by fixing the cleaning blade 31 and the coating blade 39, which are likely to be vibration sources due to rubbing with the photoconductor 8, to different frames, the transmission of vibrations to the respective blades through the frame is weakened. It is possible to further suppress vibration amplification and resonance. Further, by separating the first frame 44 that holds the cleaning blade 31 and the second frame 45 that holds the coating blade 39, there are no restrictions on the mold drawing direction compared to the case where the cleaning blade 31 is held by a single frame. As a result, the rigidity of each frame can be increased. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the amplification and resonance of vibrations of both the blades 31 and 39, the blade holder, the frames 44 and 45, the photoconductor 8, and the like, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of abnormal images and abnormal noise due to the vibrations. Become.

This effect is not limited to the case where the blade other than the cleaning blade is the coating blade 39 as shown in FIG. 7, and the same effect can be obtained when, for example, a polishing blade for removing fixed foreign matter on the surface of the photoreceptor is used. Is obtained.
In this embodiment, the coating blade 39 is brought into contact with the rotation direction of the photoconductor 8 by a counter method. As a result, the abutting pressure can be set lower than that of the trailing method by bringing the coating blade 39 into contact with the rotation direction of the photosensitive member by the counter method, and the coating blade 39 can be prevented from being worn and worn. . By suppressing the settling and wear of the coating blade 39, the performance of the coating blade 39 can be stably maintained over a long period of time.

Further, in this embodiment, the photosensitive member 8 is held by the first frame 44 that holds the cleaning blade 31, and the second frame 45 is fixed to the first frame 44. As a result, the cleaning blade 31 and the photosensitive member 8 can be positioned with high accuracy, and the cleaning function can be stabilized easily by keeping the cleaning conditions constant. Further, when it is not necessary to position the second blade with respect to the photosensitive member 8 with higher accuracy than the cleaning blade 31, the configuration is simplified and the assembly is facilitated by positioning through the first frame 44. Thus, the cleaning function can be stabilized, the configuration can be simplified, and the assemblability can be improved.
In this embodiment, the vibration isolating member 46 is sandwiched between the first frame 44 and the second frame 45. As a result, vibration transmission between the first frame 44 and the second frame 45 can be prevented and vibration damping can be improved, and vibration amplification and resonance can be further suppressed.

  Differences due to the presence or absence of the guide portion 44a will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, by having the guide portion 44 a, it is possible to deposit on the guide portion the amount of the lubricant powder that has been scraped from the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 and that could not be held by the fur brush 33. Since the upper lubricant powder adheres to the fur brush 33 again, it becomes possible to reduce the discard amount of the solid lubricity imparting agent 34 and supply the lubricity imparting agent efficiently. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, when there is no guide portion 44a, the lubricant powder that cannot be held by the fur brush 33 is discarded, and the supply amount of the lubricity imparting agent to the photoconductor 8 is greatly reduced.

An example when the gap between the guide portion 44a and the fur brush 33 is large will be described with reference to FIG. Since the gap between the guide portion 44a and the fur brush 33 is large, the amount of the lubricant powder deposited on the guide portion again adheres to the fur brush 33, thereby supplying the lubricant imparting agent to the photoconductor 8. The amount can be reduced.
FIG. 11 shows an example in which the arc length of the guide portion 44a is short. By reducing the arc length of the guide portion 44a, the amount of lubricant powder deposited on the guide portion again adheres to the fur brush 33, thereby reducing the supply amount of the lubricity imparting agent to the photoreceptor 8. Is possible.
Moreover, it is possible to further reduce the supply amount of the lubricity imparting agent by carrying out the contents of FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 at the same time.
Further, the width of the cross-sectional shape of the gap between the guide portion 44 a and the fur brush 33 may be different at the longitudinal position of the first guide member 40. If it does so, it will become possible to increase / decrease the supply amount of the lubricity imparting agent to the photoconductor 8 in the longitudinal direction position, and finer adjustment of the lubricity imparting agent will be possible.
For example, if the configuration around the photosensitive member is likely to cause poor cleaning at the end, the end of the arc can be increased by increasing the arc length at a position 20 mm from the end and shortening the arc length at the center. The supply amount of the lubricity imparting agent can be increased in the part. In this case, the cleaning property can be ensured, so that the cleaning property can be ensured over the entire longitudinal direction of the guide portion. As a result, it is possible to obtain a configuration around the image carrier with higher reliability, longer life, and higher image quality than before.

  FIG. 12 is a graph showing the results of confirming the effect of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 having the first embodiment performed 10,000 prints and compared the toner consumption at that time. At this time, the applied pressure of the solid lubricity imparting agent pressurizing spring 35 is not affected by the influence of the lubricity imparting agent so that an abnormal image does not occur due to charging roller contamination or filming of the lubricity imparting agent on the photoconductor 8. Printed while adjusting. The process conditions such as the size of the photoconductor 8, the print mode, and the peripheral speed of the photoconductor 8 are the same, and the sample images are also the same. The amount of consumption at this time is less in the image forming apparatus 1 of the present invention having the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus A provided with the first guide member 40 and the like as compared with the conventional image forming apparatus 1. You can see that very little has been done. Therefore, by using the present invention, the coating efficiency is improved as compared with the conventional apparatus, and the consumption of the solid lubricity imparting agent can be reduced. It can be seen that the performance can be maintained for a longer time than the conventional apparatus by reducing the consumption of the solid lubricity imparting agent.

  The same effect could be obtained with the cleaning device 15 and the process cartridge 23 in which the lubricity-imparting agent coating apparatus A was provided and incorporated. By improving the application efficiency of the lubricity imparting agent and reducing the wear of the cleaning blade 31 and the application blade 39, it is possible to provide the process cartridge 23 capable of maintaining stable performance over a long period of time. Note that similar experiments were performed with the image forming apparatuses 1 of the second to fourth embodiments, and similar results were obtained.

1 is a longitudinal side view schematically showing a color printer as an image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the state which open | released the side cover provided in the main body case. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a process cartridge including a photoreceptor in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the 1st form of a structure of a solid lubricity provision part. It is the schematic which shows the 2nd form of a structure of a solid lubricity provision part. It is the schematic which shows the 3rd form of a structure of a solid lubricity provision part. It is the schematic which shows the 4th form of a structure of a solid lubricity provision part. It is explanatory drawing which shows a form in case there exists a guide part. It is explanatory drawing which shows a form when there is no guide part. It is explanatory drawing which shows a form when the clearance gap between a guide part and a fur brush is large. It is explanatory drawing which shows a form when the circular arc length of a guide part is short. It is a graph which shows the result of the effect check of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image forming device (color printer)
2 Main body case 3 Image forming unit 4 Optical writing device 5 Paper feed cassette 6 Fixing device 7 Waste toner collecting container 8 Photoconductor 9 Charging roller 10 Developing device 11 Cleaning device 12 Primary transfer roller 13 Intermediate transfer belt 14 Secondary transfer roller 15 Cleaning device 16 Driving roller 17 Entrance roller 18 Tension roller 19 Transport roller 20 Registration roller 21 Paper discharge tray 23 Process cartridge 24 Side cover 31 Cleaning blade 32 Waste toner transport coil 33 Fur brush 34 Solid lubricity imparting agent 35 Solid lubricity imparting agent Pressure spring 36 Charging roller pressure spring 37 Charging cleaner roller 38 Charging cleaner roller pressure spring 39 Application blade 40 First guide member 40a Corner portion 40b Flicker portion 40b1 Through hole 41 Second guide member 42 Flicker member 43 Frame 44 first frame 44a guide portion 45 second frame 46 vibration isolator A lubricity imparting agent applying device P recording medium

Claims (16)

Cleaning means for removing transfer residual toner on the image carrier after transferring the toner image from the image carrier;
A fur brush rotating in the same direction as the image carrier rotating direction, applying a solid lubricity imparting agent to the image bearing member downstream of the cleaning means;
In a lubricity-imparting agent coating apparatus comprising a coating means for fixing a solid lubricity-imparting agent applied on an image carrier onto the image carrier,
A first guide member for conveying the solid shaped lubricity providing agent to the surface of the image bearing member, setting between the coating device and the fur brush,
The first guide member has a circular arc shape concentric with the rotation center of the fur brush, and a gap between the fur brush and the first guide member is 1 mm or less. Coating device. In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to claim 1,
The lubrication agent coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating unit is a coating elastic blade that abuts in a counter manner with respect to an image carrier rotation direction. In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The first guide member becomes wider gap between the fur brush toward the image bearing member surface from near a site distant from the image carrier than the surface which is in contact and the fur brush and the solid lubricity imparting agent Start to bend and
Furthermore, the gap between a fur brush and a 1st guide member becomes narrow as it approaches the surface vicinity of an image carrier, The lubricity imparting agent coating device characterized by the above-mentioned. In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The solid lubricant imparting agent has a square cross-sectional shape, and any one of the four surfaces is in contact with the fur brush,
The surface of the solid lubricant imparting agent in contact with the fur brush with respect to the straight line connecting the center of the image carrier and the fur brush center, and the vertical straight line drawn with respect to the straight line at the point where the fur brush and the solid lubricity imparting agent contact each other Is in contact with the photosensitive member rotation direction at an angle of 1 to 90 °. In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Wherein the off Aburashi, lubricity providing agent application device, characterized in that the solid lubricity imparting agent is provided a second guide member for returning the fur brush between the fur brush cleaning means. In Jun slipping agent coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The lubrication agent coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating means is a blade, and the blade is coated. In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to claim 1,
The solid lubricant imparting agent has a square cross-sectional shape, and any one of the four surfaces is in contact with the fur brush,
The center in the width direction of one surface of the solid lubricity imparting agent in contact with the fur brush with respect to a perpendicular drawn from the rotation center of the fur brush to the surface in contact with the fur brush of the solid lubricity imparting agent. A lubricity-imparting agent applicator that is offset upstream in the direction of rotation of the fur brush . In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to claim 1,
The lubricity-imparting agent applicator, wherein the first guide member having an arc shape in cross section has a protrusion or a groove formed along the arc . In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to claim 1,
A flicker portion is provided for removing toner from the fur brush before the toner removed from the surface of the image carrier by the fur brush reaches the contact portion between the fur brush and the solid lubricity-imparting agent. A lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus. In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The lubricity-imparting agent coating apparatus, wherein the first guide member is a sheet metal member that holds a coating elastic blade . In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to claim 9 ,
A lubricity-imparting agent coating apparatus, wherein the flicker part abuts on a solid lubricity imparting agent and serves to restrain movement of the solid lubricity imparting agent in the abutting direction . In the lubricity imparting agent coating apparatus according to claim 1,
The lubricity-imparting agent applying apparatus, wherein a gap between the first guide member and the fur brush is different at a longitudinal position of the first guide member . In a cleaning device including a cleaning elastic blade that removes transfer residual toner on an image carrier after transferring a toner image from the image carrier,
The said cleaning apparatus is equipped with the lubricity imparting agent application apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 12.
A cleaning device. The cleaning device according to claim 13.
After the printing operation is completed, after the image carrier driving motor is stopped, the image carrier driving motor is rotated less than one rotation in the opposite direction to the printing operation in order to prevent the elastic blade for cleaning and the elastic blade for coating from being twisted. Make
A cleaning device. A process cartridge that includes at least an image carrier that carries a latent image and a lubricity-imparting agent application device that applies a solid lubricity-imparting agent to the image carrier and is integrally supported and detachable from the image forming apparatus main body In
The lubricity-imparting agent applicator is the lubricity-imparting agent applicator according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
A process cartridge characterized by that. An image carrier for carrying a latent image;
A developing device for developing a toner image with a toner on a latent image on an image carrier;
A transfer device for transferring the developed toner image to a recording medium directly or via an intermediate transfer member;
A cleaning device comprising a cleaning elastic blade for removing transfer residual toner on the image carrier after the transfer is completed;
In an image forming apparatus comprising a lubricity-imparting agent coating apparatus that applies a lubricity-imparting agent to an image carrier,
The lubricity-imparting agent applicator is the lubricity-imparting agent applicator according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
An image forming apparatus.

Images