JP5169799B2 - Lubricant coating apparatus, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lubricant application device used in an electrophotographic system such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, a process cartridge having a structure in which the lubricant application device can be replaced integrally, and an image forming apparatus including the process cartridge.

In an image forming section of an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copying machine, a cleaning device for removing toner and deposits remaining on an image carrier such as a photoreceptor and an intermediate transfer member without being transferred to a transfer sheet in the transfer process Need. As a cleaning means of this cleaning device, a cleaning blade made of an elastic material such as rubber is generally used, and is generally in contact with the movement of the image carrier in the counter direction.
On the other hand, the surface friction coefficient of the image carrier is maintained at a desired value to prevent the toner additive from sticking to the image carrier, and the toner cannot be transferred due to increased frictional force in the transfer process. It is also well known to provide a mechanism for applying a lubricant such as zinc stearate to the surface of the image carrier in order to prevent it from remaining on the image carrier (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Downstream of the transfer process, the pressure-contacted lubricant bar is scraped off with an application brush (hereinafter also simply referred to as “brush”), and the lubricant adhering to the brush is adhered to the image carrier. The lubricant attached to the image carrier is thinly stretched and fixed by a cleaning blade that is in contact with a counter disposed downstream thereof. At the same time, the cleaning blade scrapes off the residual toner on the image carrier and cleans the surface of the image carrier to prepare for the next image.
One of the problems in the lubricant application mechanism is a deviation in consumption of the lubricant. This is a process in which a deviation occurs in the amount of shaving in the longitudinal direction in the process in which the lubricant is shaved by the brush.

JP 2004-309940 A

  The present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems. When a lubricant is applied on an image carrier such as a photoconductor, a deviation in the amount of abrasion occurs in the longitudinal direction of the lubricant. Provides a lubricant application device, a process cartridge, and an image forming device that can prevent deterioration in image quality and reduction in the life efficiency of the lubricant by providing a configuration that keeps the amount of wear of the lubricant uniform. The task is to do.

In response to this problem, the lubricant application device of the present invention is a lubricant application device including a lubricant, an application brush, and a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the lubricant against the application brush. wherein the the application brush pressurized by pressure, characterized in that there is a difference between the one end and the other end of the rotation shaft of the applicator brush.
Also, the lubricant applying device of the present invention, further, the rotation of the lubricant, the coating brush and comprises a case housing and said pressurizing means, said lubricant is the application brush by winding eyes of the application brush It moves to a longitudinal direction, The one end surface of the rotation longitudinal direction of the said application brush of the said lubricant and the said case are rubbed.
In the lubricant application device of the present invention, the difference in the pressure applied by the pressurizing unit may be pressurized so that the sliding resistance between the one end surface of the lubricant and the case is corrected. Features.
Further, the lubricant application device of the present invention is further configured such that the applied pressure on the one end side of the rotating shaft of the application brush of the lubricant and provided with one end surface of the lubricant is the applied pressure on the other end side. It is characterized by being larger than.
The lubricant application device of the present invention is further characterized in that a plurality of the pressurizing means are provided independently in the rotational longitudinal direction of the application brush.

The process unit of the present invention includes a photoconductor as an image carrier, a charging device that charges the surface of the photoconductor, a developing device that supplies toner to the photoconductor for development, and toner remaining on the photoconductor A process unit that is configured to be detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and includes the lubricant applying device according to any one of the above. And
The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a photoconductor as an image carrier, a charging device that charges the surface of the photoconductor, an exposure device that exposes the surface of the photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image, and A developing device that supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member to form a visible image, and an intermediate transfer member that directly or directly uses the visible image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member as an image carrier. In an image forming apparatus comprising a transfer device that indirectly transfers to a recording medium via a toner and a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor, a lubricant is supplied to the photoconductor or intermediate transfer body It is characterized by including the lubricant application device described above.

  According to the present invention, since no sliding resistance is applied to only one side of the lubricant or the application brush, there is no deviation in the contact pressure applied to the application brush, and therefore there is a deviation in the amount of wear of the lubricant. And a uniform lubricant can be applied.

  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.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus including a lubricant application device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 200 is an image forming apparatus that forms a full-color image, and mainly includes a reading unit 110, an image forming unit 120, and a paper feeding unit 130. In the reading unit 110, a first reading traveling body 111, a second reading traveling body 112, an imaging lens 113, and a reading sensor 114 are arranged.
The image forming unit 120 supplies toner to four process cartridges 121 (Y, C, M, and K), an endless intermediate transfer belt 122, a secondary transfer roller 123, and each process cartridge. A toner bottle (not shown) is provided. The process cartridge 121 includes a photoconductor 10 and a cleaning device 30, a lubricant coating device 20, a charging device 40, and a developing device 50 that are sequentially arranged around the photoconductor 10.
The intermediate transfer belt 122 is disposed above the photosensitive member 10 of each process cartridge, and the lower running surface of the intermediate transfer belt 122 is in contact with the peripheral surface of each photosensitive member 10. The intermediate transfer belt 122 functions as a transfer material on which toner images of different colors formed on the surface of each photoconductor 10 are transferred in a superimposed manner. A primary transfer roller 125 is disposed at a position facing the photoconductor 10 with the intermediate transfer belt 122 interposed therebetween. The configuration in which a toner image is formed on each photoconductor 10 and the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 122 is substantially the same in each process cartridge except that the color of the toner image is different.
Below the process cartridge row, there is disposed an exposure device 60 that forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating a charged image carrying surface with laser light based on, for example, image information. Note that a lubricant application device for applying a lubricant is provided on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 122 and the surface of the transfer roller 123, and a cleaning device is provided adjacent to the lubricant application device. .
On the other hand, the paper feed unit 130 is provided with a paper feed cassette 131 for storing transfer paper as a recording medium and a paper feed roller 132. The paper feed roller 132 is connected to the intermediate transfer belt 122 via a registration roller 133. towards the nip portion between the next transfer roller 123 for feeding the transfer sheet at a predetermined timing.
Further, a fixing device 126 is disposed at the outlet of the secondary transfer roller 123, and a paper discharge roller 127 and a paper discharge storage unit 128 that stores the discharged recording paper are provided downstream of the fixing device 126. Is provided.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a process cartridge including the lubricant application device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge 121 is mainly composed of a photosensitive member 10 and a cleaning device 30, a lubricant applying device 20, a charging device 40, and a developing device 50 provided around the photosensitive member 10. ing. The cleaning device 30 is provided with a cleaning blade 31 that contacts the surface of the photoreceptor 10. The cleaning blade 31 collects toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 10 and cleans it.
The lubricant application device 20 applies a lubricant 21, an application brush 22 as a lubricant application means that rotates in contact with both the lubricant 21 and the photoreceptor 10, an application blade 23, and the lubricant 21. It mainly comprises pressure means for pressing against the brush 22. The application brush 22 applies a powdery lubricant scraped from the lubricant 21 to the surface of the photoreceptor 10. The coating blade 23 levels the lubricant applied to the surface of the photoconductor 10 so that the thickness thereof is uniform.

In addition, the charging device 40 mainly includes a charging roller 41 disposed so as to abut on the photoreceptor 10 and a pressing unit 42 that abuts the charging roller 41 against the photoreceptor 10. The charging roller 41 uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 10.
The developing device 50 includes a developing roller 51 that supplies toner as a developer to the surface of the photoreceptor 10 to visualize the electrostatic latent image, and a mixing roller that stirs the developer stored in the developer storage unit. 52, and a supply roller 53 that supplies the agitated and mixed developer to the developing roller 51.
As described above, the primary transfer roller (transfer bias roller) 125 is provided at a position facing the photoconductor 10 with the intermediate transfer belt 122 interposed therebetween.
Note that the lubricant application device 20 of the present invention can also be applied to the intermediate transfer belt 122. Unfixed toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 122 is comprised of a plurality of toner layers color toner has Sacchan superimposed. For this reason, the toner layer in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 122 is farthest from the secondary transfer roller 123 and is in a situation where transfer is difficult . Therefore, by applying the lubricant 21 onto the intermediate transfer belt 122 with the lubricant application device 20, the adhesion between the intermediate transfer belt 122 and the toner layer can be reduced, and the transferability can be improved. In addition, the cleaning performance of the transfer residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 122 can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the process cartridge described above, (a) is an assembly view, and (b) is a view after assembly.
As shown in FIG. 3, the case 11 accommodates at least a lubricant 21, an application brush 22, and a pressurizing unit ( not shown ). A lubricant holder 25 is formed in the case 11 of the process cartridge 121 having the side plate 12, and the lubricant holder 25 accommodates the lubricant 21 together with the lubricant holding member 24. On the lower surface of the lubricant holding member 24 facing the lubricant placement surface, a pressurizing unit that abuts the lubricant 21 on an application brush 22 as a lubricant application unit is provided. The pressurizing means will be described later.
The case 11 described here also serves as the case 11 for housing the process cartridge 121 including the photoconductor 10 and the like. Of course, a case for storing the lubricant 21 and a case for storing the photoreceptor 10 including the case may be provided separately .
The case 11 having the lubricant holder 25 is made of, for example, a material obtained by mixing a filler as a hardener with a polycarbonate resin, and the lubricant holder 25 has an elongated rectangular box shape in plan view.
The lubricant holder 25 of the case 11 provided with the side plate 12 contains the lubricant 21 supported by the lubricant holding member 24, and this lubricant 21 is exchanged between the side plates 12 by pressurizing means (not shown). It is pressed by the application brush 22 that is rotatably supported between them.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing a state in which the lubricant is arranged on the lubricant holding member and accommodated in the case, in which FIG. 4A is a partially open perspective view, and FIG. 4B is a length direction of the lubricant holding member. (C) is a partial cross-sectional view along the length direction of the lubricant holding member. FIG. 4 shows the initial state of operation, that is, the initial state of use of the lubricant 21. Hereinafter, the pressurizing means for pressing the lubricant 21 against the application brush 22 will be described with reference to the drawings.
4 (a) and 4 (c), a pressurizing means is provided on the surface of the lubricant holding member 24 that faces the surface on which the lubricant 21 is placed. In this pressurizing means , a pair of pressurizing arms 26 (one not shown) is arranged at a predetermined interval, and a pressurizing spring 26a made of a helical spring, for example, is disposed between the pressurizing arms 26. It is erected. That is, the pressure means is mainly constituted by a pair of pressure arms 26 and a pressure spring 26a installed between them. The pressure arm 26 gradually rises with the consumption of the lubricant 21 due to the restoring force that acts to narrow the interval between the pressure arms 26 by the pressure spring 26 a. As the pressurizing arm 26 stands, the lower end of the pressurizing arm 26 presses the bottom of the lubricant holder 25, and the lubricant 21 supported by the lubricant holding member 24 by the reaction force is applied to the application brush 22. It is always urged to contact with a predetermined contact pressure. However, in FIGS. 4A, 4 </ b> B, and 4 </ b> C, since the lubricant 21 is hardly consumed at the beginning of operation, the pressurizing arm 26 hardly stands.

  As shown in FIG. 2 described above, the lubricant application device 20 having the lubricant holding member 24 is integrated into the process cartridge 121 in which the photosensitive member 10 and, for example, the cleaning device 30, the charging device 40, and the developing device 50 are integrated. Attached and constitutes a part of the process cartridge 121. Such a process cartridge 121 is incorporated in an image forming apparatus and used for image formation as shown in FIG. 1 described above.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the application brush.
As shown in FIG. 5, the application brush 22 has a base cloth 22b arranged in the belt width and length directions and in which the brush hairs are implanted without spirally overlapping the cylindrical core metal shaft 22a. It is formed by wrapping.
Examples of the base fabric 22b include the following. As one base fabric (first backing) 22b, there is a base fabric that inserts a pile of tufted carpet. The material is jute, polypropylene, cotton, vinylon, etc., and the texture is plain weave or non-woven fabric. Another base fabric (secondary backing) 22b includes double backing. This is a base fabric 22b was Ramine bets to (overlapping with) the base fabric 22b described above, jute fabric, synthetic fiber fabric and nonwoven, synthetic rubber, and natural rubber in many cases. You may stick the adhesive double-sided tape for winding to this base fabric 22b on the back side.

In addition, the coated brush 22 is adjusted to a volume resistivity of 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω · cm by adding a resistance control material such as carbon black to a resin such as nylon or acrylic. It is formed using the material. A sponge roller, a nonwoven fabric roller, or the like may be used outside the application brush 22.
The thickness of the brush fiber of the application brush 22 is preferably 3 to 8 denier, and the density of the brush fiber is preferably 20,000 to 100,000 / inch ² . If the thickness of the brush fiber is too thin, the application brush 22 tends to fall down when it contacts the surface of the photoconductor 10 , and conversely, if the brush fiber is too thick, the density of the fiber cannot be increased. Also, if the density of the brush fibers is low, the number of brush fibers contacting the surface of the photoconductor 10 is small, so that the lubricant 21 cannot be applied uniformly. Conversely, if the density of the brush fibers is too high, the fibers and fibers The gap is reduced, and the amount of powder of the lubricant 21 scraped off is reduced. Accordingly, the application brush 22 having the above-mentioned setting range having the thickness of the brush fiber for preventing the hair from collapsing and the density of the brush fiber capable of efficiently applying the lubricant 21 efficiently.
As the lubricant 21, fatty acids such as lead oleate, zinc oleate, copper oleate, zinc stearate, cobalt stearate, iron stearate, copper stearate, zinc palmitate, copper palmitate, zinc linoleate, etc. Metal salts can be used, and among these, zinc stearate is preferable.
The application brush 22 scrapes off the lubricant 21 by being driven to rotate, and supplies the finely divided lubricant to the surface of the photoreceptor 10. Thereafter, due to the contact between the surface of the photoreceptor 10 and the coating blade 23, the lubricant is stretched to become a thin film, and the friction coefficient of the surface of the photoreceptor 10 is reduced.

In the present invention, the position of the lubricant 21 is regulated by coming into contact with the lubricant 21 on the side of the coating brush 22 facing the rotational linear velocity direction. In this configuration, the contact portion is made of a material and a shape having a sliding resistance sufficient to restrict the movement of the lubricant 21 in the longitudinal direction of the application brush 22.
Therefore, the lubricant application device 20 of the present invention scrapes off the solid lubricant 21 that contacts with a predetermined pressure by rotating, and the application brush 22 that contacts and applies the scraped lubricant 21 to the photoreceptor 10. The lubricant application device 20 has a lubricant that abuts the lubricant 21 on the side facing the rotational linear velocity direction of the application brush 22 at the contact position with the lubricant 21 and regulates the position of the lubricant 21. A material or shape having a sliding resistance sufficient to restrict the movement of the coating brush 22 in the longitudinal direction by the contact portion of the case 11 including the lubricant 21 with the lubricant 21. It is characterized by having.

Hereinafter, an example of a mechanism in which a deviation in which the lubricant 21 is consumed in the longitudinal direction of the photoreceptor 10 is shown. This is because the deviation consumed in the longitudinal direction is not limited to this mechanism. When the lubricant holding member 24 moves upward in FIG. 4 together with the lubricant 21, the lubricant holding member 24 and the inner wall surface of the lubricant holder 25 rub against each other. Further, the end portions of the lubricant 21 and the lubricant holding member 24 come into contact with the side plate 12 of the case 11 in a planar shape and rub against each other.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a deviation consumed in the longitudinal direction of the lubricant application mechanism occurs. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the lubricant due to the deviation consumed in the longitudinal direction of the lubricant application mechanism.
As shown in FIG. 6, the lubricant 21 is pressurized to the application brush 22 with a pressure A by the pressure arms 26 provided at both ends of the pressure spring 26a . Since the application brush 22 has hair fall and winding, force is applied in the longitudinal direction of the application brush 22 by the rotational force of the application brush 22 (in the direction of arrow B in the figure). By applying the force in the longitudinal direction, the lubricant 21 gradually moves and hits the side plate 12 containing the lubricant 21. By abutting against the side plate 12, sliding resistance is generated by rubbing between the end portion of the lubricant 21 and the side plates 12 against the pressing force with which the application brush 22 is abutted against the lubricant 21 (arrow C in the figure). . This sliding resistance attenuates the force applied to the application brush 22 on the side where the sliding resistance of the lubricant 21 is generated. For this reason, the lubricant 21 on the side that is in contact with the side plate 12 is less likely to be scraped off. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, a deviation in the amount of wear of the lubricant 21 may occur. For this reason, if the pressure A applied by the pressurizing means that pressurizes both ends of the lubricant 21 is the same, the deviation of the scraping amount of the lubricant 21 cannot be eliminated.
Therefore, when a deviation in the amount of wear of the lubricant 21 occurs, a deviation occurs in the friction coefficient of the photoconductor 10, and the target friction coefficient cannot be maintained, which affects the image quality. Also there to become the goodness opposite be the lubricant 21 remains in the sea urchin one side of the example of FIG. 7 is gone and life, also resulting in decreased only remaining amount lifetime efficiency.
Therefore, considering this sliding resistance in advance, the lubricant 21 provides a difference in the applied pressure A by the pressure arms 26 provided at both ends of the pressure spring 26a. As a result, the scraping amount of the lubricant 21 can be made constant in the longitudinal direction, and a high-quality image can be obtained stably over a long period of time.
The difference in applied pressure is adjusted by a plurality of pressurizing means provided independently in the longitudinal direction of rotation of the application brush 22. As a means for adjusting the difference, the difference in the pressure A may be a difference in the angle of the pressure arm 26 . In addition, a difference may be provided in the strength of the pressure springs 26a provided in the pressure arms 26, respectively .

(Comparative Example 1)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a pressurizing unit in a conventional lubricant application apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the conventional pressurizing means, the same pressurizing force is performed by one pressurizing spring 8N. The lubricant moves in the longitudinal direction by the winding of the coating brush, and the front side (hereinafter simply referred to as “front side”) on which the openable front door of the image forming apparatus main body is arranged. It strikes against the side plate of the case. As a result, sliding resistance is applied to the front side, resulting in a substantial decrease in the applied pressure on the front side. As a result, the amount of abrasion applied to the lubricant is reduced on the front side, and the toner additive adheres to the photoconductor and abnormal photoconductor wear occurs.

Example 1
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the pressurizing means in the lubricant application device of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 9, a pressure spring is provided so that operation and pressure can be applied independently on the front side and the rear side, respectively, and the tensile force is 8.5 N on the front side and 7.5 N on the rear side. By doing so, it is possible to prevent various problems acting on the photosensitive member by correcting the insufficient pressure on the front side due to the sliding load.

(Example 2)
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the pressurizing means in the lubricant application device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the pressure springs are provided independently on the front side and the rear side, respectively, and the tensile force is 10 N on the front side and 8 N on the rear side, so that By correcting the insufficient pressurization, various problems acting on the photoconductor are prevented.

Using the lubricant application devices of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 1 described above, an acceleration evaluation test was performed.
In the case of using the toner as a two-component developer may be used by mixing with a magnetic carrier, the content ratio of the carrier and the toner in the developer, the toner concentration of 1 20 wt% is preferred as a developer. As the magnetic carrier, conventionally known ones such as iron powder, ferrite powder, magnetite powder, magnetic resin carrier having a particle diameter of about 20 to 200 μm can be used. Examples of the coating material include acrylic resins, polymethyl methacrylate resins, polyacrylonitrile resins, polyvinyl acetate resins, polyvinyl alcohol resins, polyvinyl butyral resins, polystyrene resins and polystyrene resins such as styrene acrylic copolymer resins, and polyvinyl chloride. Halogenated olefin resins such as polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate resin and polybutylene terephthalate resin, polycarbonate resins, polyethylene resins, polyvinyl fluoride resins, polyvinylidene fluoride resins, polytrifluoroethylene resins, polyhexafluoropropylene Resins, copolymers of vinylidene fluoride and acrylic monomers, copolymers of vinylidene fluoride and vinyl fluoride, tetrafluoroethylene, vinylidene fluoride and non-fluorinated monomers. Fluoro terpolymers such as polymers, and silicone resins. Moreover, you may contain electrically conductive powder etc. in coating resin as needed. As the conductive powder, metal powder, carbon black, titanium oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide or the like can be used. These conductive powders preferably have an average particle diameter of 1 μm or less. When the average particle diameter is larger than 1 μm, it becomes difficult to control electric resistance.
The toner used in the present invention, a thermoplastic resin, releasing agent such as wax, can be easily produced by and dispersed uniformly adding a sensitizer if necessary appropriate melt mixing a colorant such as carbon black . The volume average particle diameter of the toner is preferably 4 to 10 μm. When a small particle diameter toner having an average particle diameter of 10 μm or less can be used, the bulk density of the developer can be increased, so that the agent can be stably stirred and conveyed, and the recovery efficiency of the transfer residual toner can be improved. With respect to the reproducibility of the minute dots, the dot reproducibility is excellent in this range because the toner particles have a sufficiently small particle diameter with respect to the minute latent image dots. Increases image stability.

When the shape of the toner is close to a sphere, the contact state between the toners becomes a point contact, so that the adsorbing force between the toners is weakened.
In addition, since the contact state between the toner and the photoconductor is a point contact, the attractive force between the toner and the photoconductor is weakened, and the transfer rate is increased, contributing to the improvement in image quality. Further, silica or the like is often used as a normal fluidity improver. For example, the average primary particle size of the silica is usually 10 to 30 nm and the bulk density is 0.1 to 0.2 mg / cm ³ . Specific examples of the fluidity improver include SiO ₂ , TiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , MgO, CuO, ZnO, SnO ₂ , CeO ₂ , Fe ₂ O ₃ , BaO, CaO, K ₂ O, Na _2. O, ZrO ₂ , CaO · SiO ₂ , K ₂ O (TiO ₂ ) n, Al ₂ O ₃ · 2SiO ₂ , CaCO ₃ , MgCO ₃ , BaSO ₄ , MgSO ₄ , SrTiO _{3 and the} like can be exemplified, preferably Includes SiO ₂ , TiO ₂ , and Al ₂ O ₃ . In particular, these inorganic compounds may be hydrophobized with various coupling agents, hexamethyldisilazane, dimethyldichlorosilane, octyltrimethoxysilane, and the like.

Using the carrier and toner described above, the image forming apparatus provided with the lubricant application device was subjected to accelerated evaluation of medaka and streak-like soiling under the following <evaluation conditions>.
<Evaluation conditions>
・ Original / transfer material size: A4
-Document feeding direction: Horizontal (210 mm)
Color mode: Full color (4 colors), black toner and yellow toner, and magenta toner and cyan toner solid images were alternately formed at a ratio of 1: 1.
-Number of prints per transfer (transfer material output per transfer): 1000 (1kP)
With the images described above, the occurrence of medaka and streak-like background stains was evaluated with a solid image of black toner when a total of 10,000 (10 kP) images were output. The results are shown in Table 1.
Medaka is a phenomenon in which a fluidity-imparting agent such as silica contained in a toner adheres to a photoconductor, and is likely to occur when the amount of lubricant is reduced on the photoconductor. The streak-like background stain is a phenomenon in which a faint streak appears in a non-image portion, and is likely to occur when the amount of lubricant is reduced on the photoconductor as in the case of medaka. Therefore, acceleration evaluation was performed for the effect of the lubricant on the photoreceptor.

表１から明らかなように、ベタ画像のトナー付着量を変えて、メダカ、スジ状地汚れの発生状況を評価したが、加圧力を同じにした比較例では、３ｋＰまでにメダカ、スジ状地汚れが発生してしまい、実際に、市場で用いることはできないレベルであった。それに対して、フロント側とリア側の加圧力を変えた場合は、トナー付着量が多く、潤滑剤を感光体から除去する効果の大きい系では、３ｋＰでメダカの発生があったが、通常の画像上に明確に表れるレベルではなく、実際の市場で用いることには問題のないレベルであった。

As can be seen from Table 1, the amount of solid toner adhering was changed to evaluate the occurrence of medaka and streak-like soil stains. In the comparative example with the same applied pressure, the medaka and streak-like ground were up to 3 kP. Dirt was generated, and it was actually a level that could not be used in the market. On the other hand, when the applied pressure on the front side and the rear side is changed, the amount of toner adhesion is large, and in the system that has a large effect of removing the lubricant from the photoreceptor, medaka was generated at 3 kP. It was not a level that appears clearly on the image, and it was a level that would not be a problem for use in the actual market.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the pressurizing means in the lubricant application device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, each of the plurality of pressurizing means is configured by a compression spring and a pressurizing roller, but may be configured only by a compression spring as shown in FIG. 11. .

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus including a lubricant application device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic structure figure showing a process cartridge provided with a lubricant application device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is the elements on larger scale of the process cartridge mentioned above, (a) is an assembly drawing, (b) is the figure after an assembly. It is a figure which shows the state which has arrange | positioned the lubricant to the lubricant holding member, and was accommodated in the case, (a) is a partially open perspective view, (b) is a cross section orthogonal to the length direction of a lubricant holding member. FIG. 4C is a partial cross-sectional view along the length direction of the lubricant holding member. It is a figure which shows the structure of an application brush. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the deviation consumed in the longitudinal direction of a lubricant application mechanism arises. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of a lubricant agent when the deviation consumed in the longitudinal direction of a lubricant application mechanism arises. It is a figure which shows the structure of embodiment of the pressurization means in the conventional lubricant application apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the pressurization means in the lubricant coating device of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of other embodiment of the pressurization means in the lubricant coating device of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of other embodiment of the pressurization means in the lubricant coating device of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Photoconductor 11 Case 12 Side plate 20 Lubricant coating device 21 Lubricant 22 Coating brush 22a Shaft 22b Base cloth 23 Coating blade 24 Lubricant holding member 25 Lubricant holder 26 Pressure arm 26a Pressure spring 27 Downstream inner wall surface 30 Cleaning Device 31 Cleaning blade 40 Charging device 41 Charging roller 42 Pressing means 50 Developing device 51 Developing roller 52 Mixing roller 53 Supply roller 60 Exposure device 110 Reading unit 111 First reading traveling body 112 Second reading traveling body 113 Imaging lens 114 Reading sensor DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 120 Image formation part 121 Process cartridge 122 Intermediate transfer belt 123 Secondary transfer roller 125 Primary transfer roller 126 Fixing device 127 Paper discharge roller 128 Paper discharge accommodating part 130 Paper feed part 131 Paper feed cassette 132 Paper roller 133 registration rollers 200 image forming apparatus

Claims (7)

A lubricant,
An application brush,
In a lubricant application device comprising a pressurizing means for pressurizing the lubricant to the application brush,
The application brush has a wound line formed by spirally winding a belt-like base fabric in which brush fibers are planted around a rotating shaft,
A side plate is provided facing the end face of the lubricant corresponding to one end face in the rotational longitudinal direction of the application brush,
Insufficient pressure applied to the application brush caused by the lubricant moving by the winding of the application brush and the end of the lubricant hitting the side plate corresponds to the side plate of the rotating shaft of the application brush. A lubricant application device, wherein the pressure applied to the side is corrected by making it larger than the pressure applied to the other end . The lubricant application device according to claim 1, wherein
A case for accommodating the lubricant, the application brush, and the pressurizing unit;
Lubrication characterized in that the lubricant moves in the rotation longitudinal direction of the application brush by the winding line of the application brush, and the end surface of the lubricant in the rotation longitudinal direction of the application brush and the case rub against each other. Agent applicator. The lubricant application device according to claim 2,
The lubricant application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the difference in the pressure applied by the pressurizing means is pressurized so that the frictional resistance between the one end surface of the lubricant and the case is corrected . In the lubricant application device according to claim 3,
The lubricant application device according to claim 1, wherein the applied pressure on one end side of the rotation shaft of the application brush of the lubricant and provided with one end face of the lubricant is larger than the applied pressure on the other end side . The lubricant application device according to claim 4,
A plurality of the pressurizing means are provided independently in the longitudinal direction of rotation of the application brush . A photoreceptor for forming a latent image;
At least one of a charging device that charges the surface of the photoconductor, a developing device that supplies toner to the photoconductor for development, and a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on the photoconductor,
In the process unit configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body,
A lubricant application device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is provided.
A process unit characterized by that. A photoreceptor for forming a latent image;
A charging device for charging the surface of the photoreceptor;
An exposure device that exposes the surface of the photoreceptor to form an electrostatic latent image;
A developing device that supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor to form a visible image;
A transfer device for transferring a visible image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor directly or indirectly to a recording medium via an intermediate transfer member as an image carrier;
In an image forming apparatus comprising a cleaning unit that removes toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor,
The lubricant application device according to claim 1, wherein a lubricant is supplied to the photosensitive member or the intermediate transfer member.
An image forming apparatus.

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