JP5263369B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which has an image carrier in which a toner image is formed and an agent feeder for feeding a lubricant to a surface of the image carrier, and which prevents the lubricant fed to the surface of the image carrier from being deteriorated by receiving influence of electric discharge. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus is configured to use an agent feeder 10 having a lubricant block 11 and a brush roller 12, to scrape a lubricant from the lubricant block 11 by rotating the brush roller 12 and to feed the scraped lubricant via the brush roller 12 to the image carrier 1. A lubricant prepared by compounding at least boron nitride and fatty acid metal salt is used as the lubricant. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image carrier, a charging device for charging the image carrier, an exposure device for exposing the charged image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, and the electrostatic latent image. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus comprising: a developing device that visualizes a toner image as a toner image; and an agent supply device that supplies a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier.

  An image forming apparatus of the above type configured as an electronic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine of these is well known (Patent Document 1). The image carrier is composed of a photoconductor. By applying a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier, the friction coefficient of the surface can be lowered, and the frictional force acting between the surface of the image carrier and a member in contact with the surface can be reduced. As a result, wear on the surface of the image carrier can be suppressed, and the life of the image carrier can be extended.

  As the lubricant, fatty acid metal salts such as zinc stearate have been widely used. However, it has been clarified that such a lubricant changes its characteristics under the influence of discharge performed in the vicinity of the image carrier and loses lubricity relatively early. A discharge is generated between the charging device and the image carrier made up of the photoconductor to charge the photoconductor to a predetermined polarity. However, the lubricant applied to the surface of the photoconductor deteriorates due to this discharge. is there.

JP 2002-91232 A

  The present invention has been made based on the above-described novel recognition, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of maintaining high lubricity of the surface of the image carrier for a long period of time.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image carrier, a charging device for charging the image carrier, and an exposure device for exposing the charged image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier. And an image forming apparatus comprising: a developing device that visualizes the electrostatic latent image as a toner image; and an agent supply device that supplies a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier. An image forming apparatus is proposed in which a lubricant composed of boron nitride and a fatty acid metal salt is used, and the charging device is applied with a bias in which an AC component is superimposed on a DC component. Item 1).

  In the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, it is advantageous that the charging device is composed of a charging roller arranged with a small gap between the charging device and the image carrier (claim 2).

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a film forming unit that rubs the supplied lubricant onto the surface of the image carrier and forms a lubricant film on the surface of the image carrier. (Claim 3).

  Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the agent supply device always supplies a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier when the image carrier rotates. Alternatively, it is advantageous to be configured to supply intermittently (Claim 4).

  According to the present invention, even when discharged, the lubricity is not easily lowered, and a lubricant film can be formed over the entire surface of the image carrier to maintain a high lubricity.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a charging roller and an image carrier. It is the schematic which shows the other example of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another example of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another example of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another example of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another example of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another example of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another example of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another example of the image forming apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus shown here has an image carrier 1 made of a drum-shaped photoconductor disposed in an image forming apparatus main body (not shown), and this image carrier 1 is rotated clockwise during an image forming operation. Driven by rotation. At this time, the image carrier 1 is charged to a predetermined polarity by a charging roller 2 which is an example of a charging device, and the charged surface is irradiated with the light-modulated laser light L emitted from the exposure device 3 to the image carrier. An electrostatic latent image is formed. When the electrostatic latent image passes through the developing device 4, it is visualized as a toner image with powdered toner.

  On the other hand, a transfer material P made of recording paper, for example, is fed in the direction of arrow A from a paper supply device (not shown), and the transfer material P is an example of a transfer device disposed opposite to the image carrier 1. It is sent to the transfer roller 5. At this time, the toner image on the image carrier 1 is transferred to the transfer material P by the action of the transfer roller 5. The transfer residual toner remaining on the image carrier 1 after the toner image transfer is removed by the cleaning device 6. The cleaning device 6 shown here has a cleaning member composed of a cleaning blade 7 pressed against the image carrier 1, and the transfer residual toner on the image carrier is scraped off by the cleaning blade 7. Next, the surface of the image carrier is irradiated with light from the charge eliminating lamp 8 to initialize the surface potential of the image carrier 1.

  The transfer material P separated from the image carrier 1 passes through a fixing device (not shown), and at this time, the toner image is fixed on the transfer material by the action of heat and pressure. The transfer material that has passed through the fixing device is discharged onto a discharge tray (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, spacers 9 made of tape are attached to the longitudinal ends of the charging roller 2 of this example, and the spacers 9 are in pressure contact with the image carrier 1, and the charging roller 2 and the image carrier A minute gap G is formed between the body 1 and the body 1. A charging voltage is applied to the charging roller 2 to generate a discharge between the charging roller 2 and the image carrier, whereby the image carrier 1 is charged to a predetermined polarity. As will be described later, a bias in which an AC component is superimposed on a DC component can be applied to the charging roller 2. Similarly, a transfer voltage having a polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity of the toner image on the image carrier is also applied to the transfer roller 5, thereby causing a discharge between the transfer roller 5 and the image carrier 1, The toner image on the image carrier 1 is transferred onto the transfer material P.

  The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has an agent supply device 10 for supplying a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier in addition to the image carrier 1 on which a toner image is formed as described above. The agent supply device 10 shown here includes a lubricant block 11 formed in a bar shape, and a brush roller 12 that is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow B while sliding on the surface of the lubricant block 11 and the image carrier 1. And have. As the brush roller 12 rotates, the lubricant in the lubricant block 11 is scraped off little by little, and the powdery lubricant adhering to the brush of the brush roller 12 is supplied to the surface of the rotating image carrier 1. . By forming the lubricant block 11 into a roller shape and rotationally driving it, the lubricant block 11 and the brush roller 12 can be rubbed.

  The powdery lubricant on the image carrier 1 supplied as described above is rubbed against the surface of the image carrier by the cleaning blade 7 to form a lubricant film on the surface of the image carrier. In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning blade 7 constitutes a film forming means for rubbing the supplied lubricant on the surface of the image carrier and forming a lubricant film on the surface of the image carrier. . Thus, by forming a lubricant film on the surface of the image carrier, the friction coefficient on the surface of the image carrier can be lowered, and the frictional force acting on the cleaning blade 7 and the surface of the image carrier can be reduced. Thereby, the lifetime of the image carrier 1 can be extended.

  If only the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image carrier, the lubricant remains in powder form on the image carrier. In this state, the lubricant does not exhibit lubricity. In order for the lubricant to exhibit lubricity, it is necessary to rub the powdery lubricant onto the surface of the image carrier to form a lubricant film. In the example shown in FIG. 1, as described above, the cleaning blade 7 rubs the lubricant supplied onto the image carrier 1 against the surface of the image carrier, so that a lubricant film can be formed on the image carrier, The lubricity of the lubricant can be improved.

  In the agent supply apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, the lubricant block 11 solidified in a bar shape is used. However, as will be described later, a lubricant in powder form can be used. In order to harden the lubricant into a bar shape, a powdery lubricant is put into a mold, and pressure is applied in the mold to form the lubricant. Alternatively, the powdered lubricant can be heated and melted, poured into a mold, and then cooled to form a lubricant block. In any case, as the lubricant, at least a lubricant composed of boron nitride and a fatty acid metal salt is used.

  When boron nitride is used as the lubricant, the lubricant that is supplied to the image carrier and formed into a film does not deteriorate early due to the discharge generated when the charging roller 2 and the transfer roller 5 are operated. Boron nitride does not easily change its characteristics due to electric discharge, and even when it is discharged, its lubricity is not lost compared to other lubricants. In addition, it is possible to prevent the image carrier from being oxidized and evaporated by discharge.

  However, when a lubricant consisting only of boron nitride is used, the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier does not spread over the entire surface of the image carrier, and a uniform lubricant film is formed on the entire surface of the image carrier. There is a risk of disappearing. Therefore, as described above, the lubricant used in the agent supply apparatus 10 of the present example contains a fatty acid metal salt in addition to boron nitride, thereby covering the entire surface of the image carrier. A lubricant film can be formed efficiently, and high lubricity can be maintained over a long period of time. By using a lubricant containing a fatty acid metal salt, a lubricant film can be formed on the entire surface of the image carrier.

  By the way, as a crystal structure of boron nitride, a low-pressure phase similar to a hexagonal graphite type structure (h-BN), a cubic zinc blende structure (c-BN), and a hexagonal wurtzite A type (w-BN) can be mentioned. Among these boron nitrides, hexagonal low-pressure phase boron nitride crystals similar to the hexagonal graphite type structure have a layered structure. Such boron nitride in the hexagonal low-pressure phase is a substance having a cleavage property in a direction perpendicular to the layer, and therefore, the friction coefficient is maintained at about 0.2 or less up to nearly 400 ° C., and is excellent in lubricity. It can be said that it is a lubricant that is hardly affected by electric discharge. Therefore, it is particularly preferable to use a hexagonal low-pressure phase boron nitride as boron nitride, and by applying a lubricant containing such boron nitride to the surface of the image carrier and forming a film, Even if the film passes through the charging roller 2 and is affected by electric discharge, it is possible to effectively suppress deterioration of the lubricant and maintain lubricity.

  Examples of fatty acid metal salts include fatty acid metal salts having a lamellar crystal structure such as fluororesin, zinc stearate, calcium stearate, barium stearate, aluminum stearate, magnesium stearate, lauroyl lysine, sodium zinc monocetyl phosphate Substances such as salt and lauroyl taurine calcium can be used. In addition to these fatty acid metal salts and boron nitride, liquid materials such as silicone oil, fluorine oil, and natural wax, and gaseous materials can be added as an external addition method.

  Of the fatty acid metal salts described above, it is particularly preferable to use zinc stearate. This is because zinc stearate has very good extensibility on the image carrier, has low hygroscopicity, and does not easily lose lubricity even when the humidity changes.

  The boron nitride content in the lubricant can be appropriately set, but is preferably 10 to 80% by volume. When the content of boron nitride is less than this range, not only the effect of improving the lubricity by boron nitride can be expected, but also the deterioration effect of the lubricant due to discharge cannot be enhanced. On the other hand, if the boron nitride content is more than the above range, it is not preferable because the lubricant film formed on the surface of the image carrier cannot be formed efficiently.

  In order to harden the constituent material of the above-described lubricant into a bar shape as described above, a binder is added to the constituent material and molded as necessary.

  Further, in the agent supply apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, an agent application member composed of a brush roller 12 is used, but a lubricant is applied to the surface of the image carrier via an agent application member such as a sponge pad or an elastic roller. It can also be applied. Alternatively, the lubricant can be directly supplied to the surface of the image carrier by directly bringing the lubricant block or powdery lubricant into contact with the image carrier.

  Next, another specific example of the method of supplying the lubricant to the surface of the image carrier by the agent supply device will be clarified.

  In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the agent supply device 10 is not a lubricant block, but includes a container 13, and the bottom of the container 13 is configured by a mesh body 14 having a number of mesh-shaped openings. Yes. The container 13 contains a powdery lubricant 15 containing boron nitride and a fatty acid metal salt, and a brush roller 12 is provided in contact with the mesh body 14 of the container 13. The brush roller 12 is also an image. It is in contact with the surface of the carrier. As the brush roller 12 rotates, the lubricant 15 in the container 13 moves to the brush roller 12 through the mesh-shaped opening, and the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image carrier. The powdery lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier in this manner is rubbed against the surface of the image carrier by the cleaning blade 7 of the cleaning device 6 to form a lubricant film on the surface of the image carrier. Other configurations of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3 are the same as those illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  In the agent supply apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4, a sponge member 16 holding a powdery lubricant is provided instead of the container 13 shown in FIG. 3. As the brush roller 12 rotates, the lubricant held by the sponge member 16 is supplied to the surface of the image carrier via the brush roller 12. The sponge member 16 may be formed in a roller shape and used while being rotated. The other configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  In the agent supply apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 5, a brush member 17 having a brush made of porous fibers holding a powdery lubricant is provided instead of the container 13 shown in FIG. The lubricant held on the fiber is supplied to the surface of the image carrier through the rotating brush roller 12. The brush member 17 may be formed into a roller shape and used while rotating. The other configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 5 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  The agent supply device 10 shown in FIG. 6 is disposed downstream of the cleaning device 6 and upstream of the charging roller 2 with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier 1, and the brush roller shown in FIG. Instead of 12, an elastic roller 18 is provided. As the elastic roller 18 rotates in the direction of arrow B, the lubricant is scraped off from the lubricant block 11, and the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image carrier. At the same time, the elastic roller 18 rubs the powdery lubricant onto the surface of the image carrier to form a lubricant film on the surface of the image carrier. Thus, in this example, the elastic roller 18 constitutes an agent application member and constitutes a film forming means.

  As the elastic roller 18, a rubber roller, a urethane roller, an elastomer roller, or the like can be used. The roller surface has a surface roughness Rz of 30 μm or less, preferably 10 μm or less, more preferably 2 μm or less. The roller hardness is not a problem as long as a nip can be obtained by pressure contact with the surface of the image carrier, but the JIS A hardness is 40 to 80 degrees, preferably 40 to 65 degrees, and more preferably 50 to 60 degrees.

  As the elastic roller 18, a tube-covered roller can also be used. For example, a urethane roller covered with a tube or a brush roller covered with a tube can be employed. As the tube, polyimide, a fluorine-based seamless tube (thickness 50 to 1000 μm), or the like can be used. In particular, fluorine-based PVDF or the like is preferable as a material for the tube. The surface of the tube should be smooth, and the surface roughness Rz is preferably 1 μm or less, particularly preferably 0.5 μm or less.

  In the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the lubricant is applied to the surface of the image carrier by the agent supply device 10 before the transfer residual toner on the image carrier is cleaned by the cleaning device 6. Although there is a risk of uneven application of the lubricant due to the transfer residual toner on the image carrier, in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 6, after the surface of the image carrier is cleaned by the cleaning device 6, Since the lubricant is applied to the surface of the image carrier by the agent supply device 10, it is possible to prevent uneven application of the lubricant. In addition, since the lubricant is applied to the surface of the image carrier in the upstream side of the charging roller 2 with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier 1, the deterioration of the image carrier 1 due to discharge can be prevented. The cleaning device 6 shown in FIG. 6 is provided with a cleaning member including a cleaning brush 19 in addition to the cleaning blade 7. The other configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 7, an elastic blade 20 is provided that is in pressure contact with the surface portion of the image carrier upstream of the charging roller and downstream of the agent supply device 10 with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier 1. In addition, the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier by the agent supply device 10 can be more reliably formed into a film by the elastic blade 20. In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 7, the elastic roller 18 and the elastic blade 20 constitute a film forming unit. The other configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 7 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  The agent supply device 10 illustrated in FIG. 8 is configured in the same manner as the agent supply device 10 illustrated in FIG. 6, but the agent supply device 10 is upstream of the cleaning device 6 with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier 1. Is arranged. Also in the image forming apparatus shown here, the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier is rubbed against the surface of the image carrier by the elastic roller 18 and the cleaning blade 7 to form a film. The elastic roller 18 and the cleaning blade 7 constitute a film forming means. The other configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 8 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 9, an elastic roller 21 that presses the surface of the image carrier downstream of the charging roller 2 with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier is provided. The elastic roller 21 serves as a film forming means for rubbing the lubricant supplied to the image carrier onto the surface of the image carrier and removes the deteriorated lubricant. That is, when the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier by the agent supply device 10 passes through the charging roller 2, a part of the lubricant is deteriorated by the action of discharge. It is removed. Thereby, the lubricity of the image carrier 1 can be further enhanced. A blade may be used in place of the elastic roller 21. The other configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 9 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 10, the agent supply device 10 is provided downstream of the cleaning device 6 in the image carrier rotation direction, and more elastic than the agent supply device 10 in the image carrier rotation direction downstream. A blade 20 is provided, and the lubricant supplied to the image carrier 1 by the agent supply device 10 is rubbed against the surface of the image carrier by the elastic blade 20. The other configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 10 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  In the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 10, the lubricant on the image carrier is rubbed against the surface by the cleaning blade 7 and the elastic blade 20. It can also be pressed against the image carrier. Further, the end corner portion of the elastic blade pressed against the image carrier can be chamfered to eliminate uneven contact of the elastic blade against the surface of the image carrier. Furthermore, if only the elastic blade made of rubber or the like is used, its waist is weak, which may cause unevenness of the elastic blade against the surface of the image carrier. Therefore, a rigid body such as a metal can be bonded to the elastic blade to strengthen the entire body, thereby preventing unevenness of the elastic blade against the surface of the image carrier.

  Further, the agent supply device 10 may be configured to always supply the lubricant to the surface of the image carrier when the image carrier 1 is rotating, or to supply the lubricant intermittently. It may be configured. When the lubricant is intermittently supplied to the surface of the image carrier, the agent supply device 10 is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the surface of the image carrier, and the agent supply device 10 is formed by, for example, a cam, a solenoid, or an actuator. May be configured so as to be able to contact with and separate from the surface of the image carrier. Alternatively, when the lubricant is not supplied to the image carrier 1, the rotation of the agent applying member including the brush roller 12 and the elastic roller 18 can be stopped. For example, every time the image forming operation is performed 50 to 200 times, the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image carrier using the agent supply device 10.

  Further, when the environmental temperature is low, the amount of lubricant supplied from the agent supply device 10 to the image carrier 1 increases, and as a result of excessive supply of lubricant, the lubricant adheres to the charging roller 2 and discharges. May become unstable. Therefore, at a low temperature, it is possible to reduce the amount of lubricant supplied to the image carrier surface by, for example, weakening the pressure contact force of the agent application member such as the brush roller 12 to the image carrier surface.

  Further, when the image forming apparatus is operated after the image forming apparatus has been stopped for a long time, the image carrier is likely to be oxidized by discharge, so the stop time of the image forming apparatus is detected, and when that time is long, It is also possible to increase the amount of lubricant supplied to the image carrier 1.

  Also, it is configured to detect the axial torque of the image carrier, detect the amount of lubricant applied to the surface of the image carrier, and increase or decrease the amount of lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier according to the amount. You can also Further, when the spacer 9 is adhered to the charging roller 2 and the spacer 9 is brought into contact with the image carrier as in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. It is also advantageous to supply a large amount of lubricant between the body and reduce the frictional force acting between them.

  Next, experimental examples conducted to investigate the lubrication performance of the image carrier are introduced. The experimental equipment and its conditions are as follows.

Copy machine: IPSiO color8200 remodeling machine (direct color full-color printer)
Charging device: Hard type charging roller without contact with the image carrier Bias applied to the charging roller: AC component Vpp 3.0 kV, frequency 4 kHz, DC component -700 V
Environmental conditions: Temperature 25 ° C, humidity 65%
Output image: 5% chart Lubricant: Bar-shaped lubricant block shown in FIG. Zinc stearate
2. Boron nitride
3. A mixture of zinc stearate and boron nitride Evaluation method: The friction coefficient between the image carrier and the transfer material was measured by the Euler belt method. The results are shown in Table 1.

The following points can be understood from Table 1.
When a lubricant consisting only of zinc stearate was used, the coefficient of friction after 1000 printouts increased significantly. When a lubricant composed only of boron nitride is used, the change in the coefficient of friction is small between the initial stage and after 1000 sheets are printed out. When using a lubricant comprising a mixture of zinc stearate and boron nitride, the change in the coefficient of friction after the initial and 1000-sheet printouts was greater than when using a lubricant containing only boron nitride. The coefficient of friction after printout is lower than that of a lubricant containing only boron nitride. From this, it can be seen that it is most preferable to use a lubricant comprising a mixture of zinc stearate and boron nitride.

  The image forming apparatus for supplying the lubricant to the image carrier made of the photosensitive member has been described above. However, the image forming member made of the intermediate transfer member to which the toner image formed on the photosensitive member is transferred is also described above. The lubricant can be applied in the same manner as described above.

  Also, a process in which at least an image carrier on which a toner image is formed and an agent supply device for supplying a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier are integrally assembled and detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body. Although it is well known in the art to configure a cartridge, the above-described configurations can be applied to such a process cartridge. That is, as the lubricant supplied to the image carrier of the process cartridge, at least a lubricant composed of boron nitride and a fatty acid metal salt is used, and the lubricant supplied to the process cartridge is used as the image carrier. A film forming means for forming a lubricant film on the surface of the image carrier by rubbing the surface is provided, and a lubricant supply device is always supplied to the surface of the image carrier when the image carrier rotates. Or may be configured to be supplied intermittently.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image carrier 2 Charging roller 3 Exposure apparatus 4 Developing apparatus 10 Agent supply apparatus

Claims (4)

An image carrier, a charging device that charges the image carrier, an exposure device that exposes the charged image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, and the electrostatic latent image as a toner image In an image forming apparatus comprising a developing device for visualizing and an agent supply device for supplying a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier, at least boron nitride and a fatty acid metal salt are blended as the lubricant. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that a bias in which an alternating current component is superimposed on a direct current component is applied to the charging device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the charging device includes a charging roller disposed with a minute gap between the charging device and the image carrier. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a film forming unit that rubs the supplied lubricant on the surface of the image carrier and forms a lubricant film on the surface of the image carrier. 4. The agent supply device according to claim 1, wherein the agent supply device is configured to always supply a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier or intermittently supply the image carrier when the image carrier is rotating. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

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