JP5328039B2 - Cleaning roller, cleaning device including the same, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning roller used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, a cleaning apparatus using the cleaning roller, and an image forming apparatus.

  In a copying machine, a printer, or the like, an image forming unit that forms an image is provided with a photosensitive drum. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum, and toner is electrostatically attached to form a toner image. After the toner image is transferred to a transfer medium such as paper, the toner and discharge products remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum are removed by a cleaning device.

The cleaning device for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum includes a cleaning blade that scrapes off deposits (toner and discharge products) on the surface of the photosensitive drum, a cleaning roller that rotates in contact with the photosensitive drum, and a photosensitive drum. And a recovery screw for recovering the removed deposits.
The cleaning roller is required to have not only a function of removing toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum but also a function of supplying toner containing an abrasive to the surface of the photosensitive drum to polish the surface of the photosensitive drum. That is, the cleaning roller needs to have a function of carrying and transporting toner.

Generally, a foam is used for the roller body of the cleaning roller. Since there are open cells on the surface of the foam and toner is carried on the open cells, the surface of the photoconductive drum is polished at the nip portion where the cleaning roller and the photoconductive drum are pressed against each other.
Since the opening cell diameter on the surface of the foam is non-uniform, the amount of toner carried on the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning roller is not uniform, and there are locations where the amount of toner carried is large and small. Accordingly, uneven polishing occurs on the surface of the photosensitive drum, and the coefficient of friction on the surface of the photosensitive drum increases, so that filming (dash marks) is likely to occur. Further, the surface of the photosensitive drum is charged by the rubbing (rubbing) between the cleaning roller and the photosensitive drum, the charge amount of the toner is increased, and a discharge is generated, and the photosensitive film on the outermost layer of the photosensitive drum is destroyed, and the leakage occurs. There was a problem that marks were formed on the paper.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the following patent document, irregularities are formed on the surface of a roller body of a cleaning roller made of a foamed elastic body, and the surface of the photosensitive drum is stably polished with a uniform toner conveyance amount. Alternatively, a method for removing residual toner is disclosed.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for controlling the amount of toner to be conveyed by forming irregularities on the surface of the cleaning roller, and defining the height and width of the irregularities and the pitch between the irregularities.
When the cleaning roller disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used, since the uneven shape is defined, the toner is uniformly held over the entire roller, and a certain amount of toner can be conveyed and removed.

Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for controlling the amount of toner supplied and removed by forming irregularities on the surface of a roller made of a foamed elastic body and defining the angle of the tip of the convex portion that comes into contact with the photosensitive drum. ing.
When the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 is used, the angle of the contact portion with the photosensitive drum is defined, so that the surface of the photosensitive drum is not damaged and a certain amount of toner can be conveyed. .

However, in the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, irregularities are formed on the roller surface and the shape thereof is defined, but the volume of the concave portion that carries toner is not defined. Therefore, there is a risk that the amount of toner to be conveyed will be too much or too little, and the surface of the photosensitive drum cannot be stably ground or removed, and filming (dash marks) and uneven polishing will occur. There was a problem that it was easy to do.
Furthermore, the diameter of the open cell on the surface of the foamed elastic body to be used is not specified, and therefore, it cannot be adapted to the miniaturization of toner particles accompanying an increase in image quality. That is, there is a problem in that toner fine particles are taken into the open cells and are not easily detached, and the amount of charge on the surface of the photosensitive drum is increased to easily cause leak marks.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-52708 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-52709

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and in a cleaning roller using an elastic body, the toner conveyance amount is controlled to prevent uneven polishing, and filming (dash marks) and The present invention provides a cleaning roller capable of preventing the occurrence of leak marks, a cleaning device including the cleaning roller, and an image forming apparatus.

The invention according to claim 1 has a rotating shaft and a cylindrical elastic body provided around the rotating shaft, and unevenness is formed in a circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body, and the unevenness of the elastic body is The cleaning roller is provided over the entire length in the axial direction, and the relationship between the diameter R1 of the circle whose outer diameter is the upper end of the convex portion and the diameter R2 of the circle whose outer diameter is the bottom end of the concave portion is 0. a 6mm ≦ R1-R2 ≦ 1.2mm, the ratio of the total volume _{V 0} which the recess for the difference between the cylinder volume _{V 2} to the diameter of the cylindrical volume _{V 1} and the R2 to the R1 and diameter 0. The present invention relates to a cleaning roller , wherein 35 ≦ V ₀ / (V ₁ −V ₂ ) ≦ 0.5, and the cell diameter of the open cell formed on the surface of the elastic body is 50 μm or less .

Invention, contact with the photosensitive drum, the contact portion A cleaning device comprising a cleaning roller that rotates in the same direction, characterized in that the cleaning roller is a cleaning roller according to claim 1, wherein according to claim 2 The present invention relates to a cleaning device.

A third aspect of the present invention relates to the cleaning device according to the second aspect, wherein a linear speed ratio of the cleaning roller to the photosensitive drum is 0.6 to 2.0 (excluding 1).

The invention according to claim 4 relates to the cleaning device according to claim 2 or 3 , wherein the outermost layer of the photosensitive drum is amorphous silicon.

A fifth aspect of the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to any one of the second to fourth aspects.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotating shaft and the cylindrical elastic body provided around the rotating shaft are provided, the unevenness is formed in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body, and the unevenness is the elasticity. It is a cleaning roller provided over the entire length in the axial direction of the body, and the relationship between the diameter R1 of the circle whose outer diameter is the upper end of the convex portion and the diameter R2 of the circle whose outer diameter is the bottom end of the concave portion is 0.6 mm ≦ R1−R2 ≦ 1.2 mm, and the ratio of the total volume V ₀ of the recess to the difference between the cylindrical volume V ₁ having the diameter R ₁ and the cylindrical volume V ₂ having the diameter R ₂ is Since 0.35 ≦ V ₀ / (V ₁ −V ₂ ) ≦ 0.5 , the amount of toner carried in the concave portion of the cleaning roller is regulated, so that the toner conveyance amount is controlled and the photosensitive drum is controlled. It is possible to prevent uneven polishing of the surface and filming ( Generation of dash marks) and leak marks can be prevented, and the cleaning roller can withstand long-term use.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the cell diameter of the open cell formed on the surface of the elastic body is 50 μm or less , even minute toner particles are hardly taken into the open cell, and the toner Can be conveyed, frictional charging by rubbing can be prevented, and the occurrence of leak marks can be suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning device including a cleaning roller that is in contact with and driven by the photosensitive drum, and the cleaning roller is the cleaning roller according to the first aspect , so that it can be used for a long time. A cleaning device that does not generate polishing unevenness, filming (dash marks), or leak marks can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the surface speed of the photosensitive drum is effectively polished when the linear velocity ratio of the cleaning roller to the photosensitive drum is 0.6 to 2.0 (excluding 1). It is possible to obtain a cleaning device that can be used.

According to the invention of claim 4 , since the outermost layer of the photosensitive drum is amorphous silicon, a cleaning device that does not damage the amorphous silicon layer can be obtained.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by providing the cleaning device according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, an image forming apparatus that does not cause filming (dash marks) or leak marks even during long-term use is obtained. be able to.

It is a perspective view of the cleaning roller which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of the cleaning roller which concerns on this invention. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the cleaning roller which concerns on this invention, Comprising: (a) is an expanded sectional view of 1st embodiment, (b) is an expanded sectional view of 2nd embodiment, (c) is 3rd embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a cleaning roller, a cleaning device, and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning roller according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the cleaning roller according to the present invention.
The cleaning roller (1) according to the present invention includes a rotating shaft (2) and a cylindrical elastic body (3) provided around the rotating shaft (2).
Concavities and convexities are formed in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body (3), and the concavities and convexities are provided over the entire axial length of the elastic body (3) (see FIG. 1).

  The unevenness provided on the surface of the cleaning roller (1) according to the present invention is such that the diameter of the circle whose outer diameter is the upper end of the convex portion (the maximum diameter of the cleaning roller) is R1, and the diameter of the circle whose outer diameter is the bottom end of the concave portion. When (the minimum diameter of the cleaning roller) is R2, R1 and R2 satisfy the following relationship.

  0.6 mm ≦ R1-R2 ≦ 1.2 mm (A)

Since the difference between R1 and R2 is within the above range, an increase in the toner charge amount due to frictional charging is suppressed even when the cleaning roller (1) repeatedly rubs against the photosensitive drum.
If the difference between R1 and R2 is less than 0.6 mm, a toner layer having a sufficient thickness cannot be formed on the roller surface of the cleaning roller (1), and stable polishing is performed on the photosensitive drum. I can't. On the other hand, if the difference between R1 and R2 exceeds 1.2 mm, the toner particles adhering to the bottom end of the recess are difficult to separate. For this reason, the amount of charge in the toner layer increases due to frictional charging due to repeated rubbing between the toner particles and the photosensitive drum, and a discharge occurs at the pressure contact portion (nip portion) with the photosensitive drum, and the outermost portion of the photosensitive drum is discharged. There is a possibility that the outer layer is destroyed and a leak mark is generated on the paper.

Also, V ₂ the volume of a cylinder whose diameter and V _1, R2 volume of the cylinder to diameter _R1, when the total volume of the recesses formed on the surface of the cleaning roller (1) and V _0, which are the following Satisfy the relationship.
Note that the total volume V _{0 of the} recesses is an imaginary line that connects the maximum diameter portion (convex portion) adjacent to the maximum diameter portion (convex portion) of the cleaning roller (1) in the shortest distance from the sectional shape of the cleaning roller (1). It is calculated by subtracting one recess cross-sectional area, calculating the sum of the recess cross-sectional areas in the entire circumferential direction, and multiplying the sum of the recess cross-sectional areas by the length in the longitudinal direction of the elastic body (3).

0.35 ≦ V ₀ / (V ₁ −V ₂ ) ≦ 0.8 (B)

If the ratio of V ₀ to V ₁ -V ₂ is less than 0.35, the amount of toner on the cleaning roller (1) becomes too small, so that the pressure contact portion (nip) with the photosensitive drum with which the cleaning roller (1) abuts On the other hand, if the ratio exceeds 0.8, the toner conveyance amount will increase remarkably, and slip will occur at the pressure contact part (nip part). In either case, it is not preferable because it becomes insufficient.

The shape of the unevenness formed on the surface of the cleaning roller (1) according to the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies the above relationships (A) and (B).
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the uneven shape.
3 (a) shows a trapezoidal shape with both convex and concave portions, FIG. 3 (b) shows a convex portion with a triangular shape and concave portion with a trapezoidal shape, and FIG. 3 (c) shows a convex portion with a trapezoidal shape and a concave portion with a triangular shape. is there.

  The method for forming the above-described uneven shape is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. For example, a method of injecting and molding a melted raw material of the elastic body (3) into a mold having a predetermined uneven shape on the inner peripheral surface, or unevenness on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body (3) by wire cutting after extrusion molding Examples include a method of forming a shape.

  The material of the elastic body (3) is not particularly limited, and for example, ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), butadiene acrylonitrile copolymer (NBR), urethane, silicon rubber and the like are used. EPDM is suitable when the outermost layer of the photosensitive drum with which the cleaning roller (1) contacts is amorphous silicon.

When the uneven shape is molded, open cells are formed on the surface of the elastic body (3) (not shown).
The cell diameter of the open cell is preferably 50 μm or less, and more preferably 20 μm or less. Moreover, an open cell does not exist in the foam surface, ie, the surface of an elastic body (3) may be in the state of a skin layer.
When the cell diameter of the open cell exceeds 50 μm, it is not preferable because toner particles are easily taken into the open cell and toner particles are difficult to be detached.
When the opening cell diameter is 50 μm or less or there is no opening cell, toner particles are transported without being taken into the opening cell. Therefore, even minute toner particles used in a high-quality image forming apparatus can be prevented from being taken into the open cells.

An abrasive such as titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ) may be added to the toner conveyed by the cleaning roller (1). By adding an abrasive to the toner, the surface of the photosensitive drum in contact with the cleaning roller (1) can be more efficiently polished.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cleaning device provided with the cleaning roller (1) according to the present invention.
The cleaning device (4) is provided facing the photosensitive drum (5), and a cleaning blade (6) for scraping off deposits (toner and discharge products) on the surface of the photosensitive drum (5), and a photosensitive drum. A cleaning roller (1) rotating in contact with the body drum (5) and a recovery screw (7) for recovering deposits removed from the photosensitive drum (5) are provided.
Further, a charging device (8) and a transfer device (11) are in contact with the periphery of the photosensitive drum (5).
In FIG. 4, the arrows inside the photosensitive drum (5) and the cleaning roller (1) indicate the rotation direction, and the arrow crossing the contact portion between the photosensitive drum (5) and the transfer device (11) indicates the sheet. The conveyance direction is shown.

It is desirable that the cleaning roller (1) contacts the photosensitive drum (5) and rotates at different linear speeds in the same direction at the contact portion. By varying the linear velocity, the surface of the photosensitive drum (5) is effectively polished.
The linear speed ratio between the cleaning roller (1) and the photosensitive drum (5) is preferably 0.6 to 2.0 (excluding 1).
If the linear speed ratio is less than 0.6, the polishing becomes insufficient. On the other hand, if the linear speed ratio exceeds 2.0, the load fluctuation of the nip portion increases, so that the driving of the photosensitive drum (5) is not stable. This is not preferable because a jitter image is easily generated.

The material of the outermost layer of the photosensitive drum (5) with which the cleaning roller (1) contacts is not particularly limited, and amorphous silicon, organic photosensitive member (OPC), or the like can be used.
The cleaning device (4) using the cleaning roller (1) according to the present invention is suitably used for the photosensitive drum (5) having an outermost layer made of amorphous silicon that requires particularly stable polishing. .

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
The image forming apparatus in the illustrated example is a printer, but may be a copying machine or a facsimile.
An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a cleaning device (4) having the above-described cleaning roller (1).

  The image forming apparatus of the illustrated example includes a paper feed cassette (22) that is slidably stored inside a printer main body (21), and a paper that is stored in a storage space (23) of the paper feed cassette (22) ( A paper feed unit (24) for taking out paper, a manual feed tray (25) installed in front of the printer main body (21), and a manual feed for taking out paper (not shown) set in the manual feed tray (25). The paper feed unit (26), the transport path (27) through which the paper supplied from each of the paper feed units (24) and (26) is transported, and the respective paper feeds upstream of the transport path (27) in the paper transport direction The registration roller pair (28) disposed downstream of the joining portion of the sections (24) and (26) in the paper conveyance direction and the registration roller pair (28) downstream of the conveyance path (27) in the paper conveyance direction. Form an image on one side of the paper being placed and transported And an image (toner image) formed on one side of the sheet being conveyed that is disposed downstream of the image forming unit (29) in the sheet conveyance direction of the conveyance path (27). The fixing device (30) and the registration roller pair (28) from the downstream side of the conveyance path with respect to the fixing device (30) of the conveyance path (27) when an image is formed on the other surface of the sheet that has passed through the fixing apparatus (30). In addition, a reversing path (31) for returning to the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the conveying path (27), and a paper discharge section (32) provided at the end of the conveying path (27) are provided.

The image forming unit (29) includes a photosensitive drum (5), a charging device (8) disposed around the photosensitive drum (5), an exposure device (9), a developing device (10), and a transfer device (11). ) And a cleaning device (4).
As a result, in the image forming section (29), the photosensitive drum (5) is rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown) at a predetermined process speed (circumferential speed), and the surface thereof is predetermined by the charging device (8). Uniformly charged to polarity and potential.

  An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the charged photosensitive drum (5) by the exposure device (9). The exposure device (9) irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum (5) with a laser beam (not shown), removes the charge of the laser beam irradiated portion on the surface of the photosensitive drum (5), and responds to image information. An electrostatic latent image is formed.

  The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum (5) is developed as a toner image by electrostatically adhering toner having a charge supplied from the toner container (33) by the developing device (10). The Further, the toner image is transferred onto the paper as a transfer image by the transfer device (11). At this time, the photosensitive drum (5) having the toner image transferred onto the paper is removed by the cleaning device (4) to remove residual toner, discharge products, and the like, and charged at the time of the next image formation by the charge removal device (not shown). The static elimination process for is performed. As this static elimination apparatus, for example, an optical static elimination apparatus in which a plurality of LED chips having a wavelength of 650 nm are arranged in the longitudinal direction is used.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a cleaning device (4) having a cleaning roller (1) provided with an uneven shape and defining the volume of the recess, so that even when used for a long time, uneven polishing and filming (Dash mark), an image forming apparatus in which no leak mark is generated.

Hereinafter, the effects of the present invention will be made clearer by showing examples of the cleaning device using the cleaning roller according to the present invention.
However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

<Production method of cleaning roller>
Manufacturing method 1.
p, p'-oxybisbenzenesulfonylhydrazide (hereinafter referred to as OBSH) (average particle size 13 μm, maximum particle size 30 μm) was added to isopropyl alcohol so as to be 20% by weight, and a dispersant (Pionin A-44-PN, Takemoto) Ultrasonic stirring was performed by adding 30 ppm (manufactured by Yushi Co., Ltd.).
The obtained dispersion was passed through an ultrafine atomizer (Nanomizer, manufactured by Nanomizer) five times at a pressure of 200 MPa to pulverize OBSH particles (particle size 0.15 to 0.85 μm, average particle size 0.35 μm). .
20 ppm of stearylamine acetate (acetamine-86, manufactured by Kao Corporation) was added to this dispersion, and spray dried at 60 ° C. under reduced pressure (100 Torr).
The foam material was mixed using a kneader kneader and a roll kneader at a blending ratio shown in Table 1 to prepare a mixture.

Next, a metal shaft (φ8 mm, SUM22L, electroless nickel plating treatment) serving as a rotating shaft was loaded into a mold having an uneven shape on the inner peripheral surface, and the above mixture was injected under pressure.
After the injection, vulcanization was performed inside the mold (220 ° C., 15 minutes) to obtain a roller-like foamed rubber molding.
The uneven shape of the roller is controlled by the uneven shape formed on the inner peripheral surface of the mold. Specifically, R1 is controlled by adjusting the outermost diameter of the roller, R2 is the shape of the recess, V ₀ / (V ₁ -V ₂ ) is the shape of the recess, and the circumferential interval between the recesses.

By the manufacturing method 1, the cleaning roller of Examples 1-5 which satisfy | fills said Formula (A) and (B) was obtained.
In addition, the cell diameter of the open cell formed in the roller surface of Examples 1-5 was 10 micrometers on average.
As Comparative Examples 1 to 14, cleaning rollers not satisfying the above formulas (A) and (B) were obtained.

<Production method of cleaning roller>
Manufacturing method 2.
p, p'-oxybisbenzenesulfonylhydrazide (hereinafter referred to as OBSH) (average particle size 13 μm, maximum particle size 30 μm) was added to isopropyl alcohol so as to be 20% by weight, and a dispersant (Pionin A-44-PN, Takemoto) Ultrasonic stirring was performed by adding 30 ppm (manufactured by Yushi Co., Ltd.).
The obtained dispersion was passed through an ultrafine atomizer (Nanomizer, manufactured by Nanomizer) five times at a pressure of 200 MPa to pulverize OBSH particles (particle size 0.15 to 0.85 μm, average particle size 0.35 μm). .
20 ppm of stearylamine acetate (acetamine-86, manufactured by Kao Corporation) was added to this dispersion, and spray dried at 60 ° C. under reduced pressure (100 Torr).
The foam material was mixed using the kneader kneader and roll kneader at the blending ratio shown in Table 1 to prepare a mixture.

Next, the above mixture is injected into an extruder for coextrusion having a T-shaped crosshead die, a nipple through which a die (φ16 mm) and a core metal (φ8 mm) are inserted is attached, and a metal shaft (φ8 mm, SUM22L, electroless nickel plating process) was continuously inserted at a speed of 3.2 m / min.
The rubber layer made of the above mixture was discharged at a thickness of about 4 mm, and was integrally extruded together with the core metal. After the extrusion molding, the rubber layer was cut into the length of the cored bar, put into a hot air oven (200 ° C.) and vulcanized.
The obtained roller-shaped foamed rubber molded body was placed on a rotatable support, and an uneven shape was formed on the surface of the molded body using a nichrome wire heated while rotating the molded body.
The uneven shape of the roller is controlled by moving the nichrome wire back and forth. Specifically, R1, R2, and R1-R2 (uneven steps) are controlled by adjusting the amplitude of movement of the nichrome wire, and V ₀ (total volume of the recess) is the reciprocating movement of the nichrome wire. It is controlled by adjusting the period and interval.

By the production method 2, the cleaning rollers of Examples 6 to 10 satisfying the above formulas (A) and (B) were obtained.
In addition, the cell diameter of the open cell formed in the roller surface of Examples 6-10 was 10 micrometers on average.
As Comparative Examples 15 to 23, cleaning rollers not satisfying the above formulas (A) and (B) were obtained.

The cleaning roller obtained by creation methods 1 and 2 is mounted on an image forming apparatus (LS-2020D, manufactured by Kyocera Mita Co., Ltd.), and continuous printing of 100,000 sheets is performed on A4 size paper (transfer paper) at a printing rate of 5%. The film was evaluated for filming (dash marks), leak marks, and uneven polishing.
For filming (dash mark), the surface of the photosensitive drum is visually observed. If the filming (dash mark) size is less than 0.2 mm × 0.2 mm, it should be ○, 0.2 mm × 0.2 mm or more. X.
The leak marks were evaluated by the number of black spots that are leak marks on the paper (transfer paper) after 100,000 sheets were printed, and 5 or less was marked with ◯ and 5 or more was marked with x.
As for uneven polishing, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the transmission density of 50% half pattern on the paper (transfer paper) after printing 100,000 sheets is less than 0.05, and 0.05 or more is x. did. In addition, the transmission density measurement apparatus (X-rite company make, Model 310T) was used for the transmission density measurement.
The results are shown in Tables 2 and 3.

From Tables 2 and 3, in Examples 1 to 10 using the cleaning roller according to the present invention, filming (dash marks), leak marks, and polishing unevenness do not occur even after printing 100,000 sheets. confirmed.
On the other hand, since the cleaning rollers of Comparative Examples 1 to 23 do not satisfy the relationship of 0.6 mm ≦ R 1 −R 2 ≦ 1.2 mm and 0.35 ≦ V ₀ / (V ₁ −V ₂ ) ≦ 0.8, It was confirmed that filming, leak marks, and polishing unevenness could not be prevented.
Therefore, it has been confirmed that by using the cleaning roller according to the present invention, stable rubbing and polishing of the surface of the photosensitive drum is possible, and the outermost layer film of the photosensitive drum is formed even in a long-term printing operation. It has become clear that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven polishing, filming (dash marks), and leak marks without breaking.

  The present invention is preferably used for an image forming apparatus including a cleaning device such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cleaning roller 2 ... Rotating shaft 3 ... Elastic body 4 ... Cleaning apparatus 5 ... Photosensitive drum

Claims (5)

A rotating shaft and a cylindrical elastic body provided around the rotating shaft are provided. Unevenness is formed in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body, and the unevenness is provided over the entire axial length of the elastic body. A cleaning roller,
The relationship between the diameter R1 of the circle whose outer diameter is the upper end of the convex portion and the diameter R2 of the circle whose outer diameter is the bottom end of the concave portion is 0.6 mm ≦ R1-R2 ≦ 1.2 mm,
Wherein R1 total volume _{V 0} which ratio 0.35 ≦ _V of the recess for the difference between the cylinder volume _{V 2} to the cylindrical volume _{V 1} and the R2 to diameter diameter _{0 / (V 1 -V 2)} ≦ 0.5,
A cleaning roller, wherein a cell diameter of an open cell formed on the surface of the elastic body is 50 μm or less . A cleaning device that includes a cleaning roller that contacts the photosensitive drum and rotates in the same direction at the contact portion,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning roller is a cleaning roller according to claim 1 . 3. The cleaning device according to claim 2 , wherein a linear speed ratio of the cleaning roller to the photosensitive drum is 0.6 to 2.0 (excluding 1). 4. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the outermost layer of the photosensitive drum is amorphous silicon. An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 2 .

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