JPH0535156A - Cleaning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a developer from melt sticking to the surface of a photosensitive body and from being left unwiped, and to prevent generation of high frequency sound from a cleaning blade and turning over of a cleaning blade at the time of removing a developer residual on the surface of the photosensitive body. CONSTITUTION:At the time of removing a developer residued on the surface of the photosensitive body 2 by bringing a tip end of cleaning blade 1 into contact with the surface of a photosensitive body 2 provided with a surface protective layer consisting of an amorphous hydrocarbon film having 200-1000 Vickers hardness on an organic photosensitive layer containing a resin ingredient, a cleaning blade whose tip end in contact with the surface of the photosensitive body 2 has 65-70 hardness and 60-80% replusion elasticity is used.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, in which a toner image formed on the surface of a photoconductor is transferred onto a transfer paper, and then the surface of the photoconductor is cleaned with a cleaning blade. The present invention relates to a cleaning method in which the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor is removed by this cleaning blade by pressing the tip end portion thereof under pressure. Particularly, as a photoconductor, an amorphous film is formed on an organic photosensitive layer containing a resin component. The present invention relates to a cleaning method when a photoconductor provided with a surface protective layer made of a hydrocarbon film is used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, a toner image formed on the surface of a photoconductor is conventionally transferred onto a transfer paper, and then the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor is removed. In order to remove it from the surface of the photoconductor, generally, the tip of a cleaning blade made of urethane rubber or the like is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoconductor to remove the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor as described above. It was removed by a cleaning blade.

Here, as the above-mentioned photoreceptor, selenium,
In addition to the photoconductor on which an inorganic photosensitive layer such as cadmium sulfide and amorphous silicon is formed, a photoconductor on which an organic photosensitive layer formed by mixing a photosensitive material with a binder resin is also widely used. became.

However, in the photoconductor in which the organic photosensitive layer is formed by mixing the photosensitive material with the binder resin as described above, the hardness of the organic photosensitive layer on the surface thereof is generally low, and thus the tip of the cleaning blade as described above. When the portion is pressed against the surface of the photoconductor and cleaning is repeated, there is a problem that the organic photosensitive layer is gradually scraped by contact with the cleaning blade.

Therefore, in recent years, a photoreceptor in which a surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film is provided on the surface of the photoreceptor having the organic photosensitive layer containing the resin component as described above is used. Became.

When a surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film is provided on the surface of the photoreceptor on which the organic photosensitive layer is thus formed, the hardness of the surface protective layer is generally Vickers hardness 2
It is as high as 00 to 1000, and thus the abrasion of the organic photosensitive layer by the cleaning blade is suppressed.

However, in the case where the cleaning blade removes the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor by pressing the tip of the cleaning blade against the surface of the photoconductor having the high hardness, If the hardness of the cleaning blade tip that contacts the surface of the
Due to long-term use, the tip of the cleaning blade becomes worn, and the developer is not sufficiently removed from the surface of the photoconductor.On the contrary, the cleaning blade presses the developer against the surface of the photoconductor. There is a problem that a so-called filming phenomenon occurs in which the developer is fused to the surface of the photoconductor due to frictional heat or the like.

Further, when the surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film is provided as described above, the friction coefficient of the surface of the photoconductor becomes high, and a cleaning blade made of urethane rubber or the like is used for the photoconductor. When the photoconductor is driven by being pressed against the surface, the torque required to drive the photoconductor is more than twice as large as that of the photoconductor in which the conventional organic photosensitive layer is simply formed.

When the cleaning blade is pressed against the surface of the photoconductor to drive the photoconductor, a cleaning blade generally used for the photoconductor having the organic photosensitive layer is used. However, there is a problem in that the vibration resonates with the surrounding members to generate a high-frequency sound such as a kind of metallic sound, so-called blade squeal.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the tip of a cleaning blade is brought into pressure contact with the surface of a photoreceptor having a surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film on an organic photosensitive layer containing a resin component. When the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor is removed by the cleaning blade, the tip of the cleaning blade is scraped and the developer is fused on the surface of the photoconductor as described above, or the metal noise from the cleaning blade is generated. It is an object of the present invention to prevent the generation of such high frequency sound.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention remove the developer by bringing the tip of the cleaning blade into pressure contact with the surface of the photoconductor provided with the surface protective layer made of the amorphous hydrocarbon film as described above. In order to prevent the tip of the cleaning blade from being worn, it was considered to use a cleaning blade having high hardness. However, if the hardness of the cleaning blade is too high, the cleaning blade becomes brittle, and the tip of the cleaning blade is chipped due to rubbing against the photoconductor, collision with the developer, collision with paper dust wrapping around from the transfer paper, etc. As a result, unevenness due to rough wear or the like is generated, the developer passes through the concave portion, and undeveloped portion of the developer occurs.

Further, the present inventors have found that the higher the repulsive elasticity at the tip of the cleaning blade that is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive member, the higher the frequency of high-frequency sound such as metallic sound generated from the cleaning blade. The use of a cleaning blade composed of a material with low impact resilience was investigated. However, if the impact resilience of the cleaning blade is too low, the tip of the cleaning blade is in a state of digging into the photosensitive member, the contact area between the cleaning blade and the photosensitive member surface becomes large, and when the photosensitive member is driven, The frictional force between the tip of the cleaning blade and the photoconductor becomes large, which causes a problem that the cleaning blade is reversed.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention, as described above, scrape the tip of the cleaning blade to fuse the developer to the surface of the photosensitive member, or generate high-frequency sound such as metallic sound from the cleaning blade. In addition to preventing this, it is necessary to carry out further research to prevent the cleaning blade from being wiped off due to chipping, etc. at the tip of the cleaning blade, and to prevent the cleaning blade from reversing when the photoconductor is driven. Over time, the present invention was completed.

[0014]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, a photoreceptor having a surface protective layer formed of an amorphous hydrocarbon film on an organic photosensitive layer containing a resin component. In the cleaning method in which the tip of the cleaning blade is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photosensitive member to remove the developer remaining on the surface of the photosensitive member by the cleaning blade, the Vickers hardness of the surface protective layer of the photosensitive member is 200 to The cleaning blade is 1000, and the cleaning blade to be brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoconductor is a cleaning blade having a hardness of 65 to 70 and a repulsion resilience of 60 to 80% at the tip end contacting the surface of the photoconductor.

Here, the cleaning blade having a hardness of 65 to 70 at its tip is used as the cleaning blade as described above. If the hardness is lower than 65, the cleaning is repeated as described above. While cleaning, the tip of the cleaning blade wears and the developer is not sufficiently removed from the surface of the photoconductor.On the contrary, the cleaning blade presses the developer against the surface of the photoconductor, and the developer is exposed to light. On the other hand, when the hardness is higher than 70 while the film is fused to the surface of the body and the hardness thereof is higher than 70, the tip of the cleaning blade becomes fragile, and during repeated cleaning, rubbing against the photoreceptor and development. Collisions with the agent, collisions with paper dust that has sneak up from the transfer paper, etc. cause irregularities due to chipping or rough wear at the tip, and the developer passes through the recesses, This is because the left wiping the image agent occurs.

The repulsion resilience at the tip of the cleaning blade is set to 60 to 80%. The repulsion resilience is lower than 60%. The contact area between the cleaning blade and the surface of the photoconductor becomes large, and the frictional force between the tip of the cleaning blade and the photoconductor when the photoconductor is driven is large, and the cleaning blade reverses. Drive failure on the photoconductor or damage to the photoconductor,
While there is a problem such as damage to the cleaning blade, if the impact resilience is higher than 80%, the cleaning blade vibrates slightly due to friction with the photoconductor, and high frequency sound such as metallic sound is generated. This is because the phenomenon of blade squeal occurs.

In this specification, the hardness at the tip of the cleaning blade is measured using A type and C type of the spring type hardness test specified in Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS-K-6301). The value
The impact resilience of the cleaning blade tip was also measured by the impact resilience test specified in Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS-K-6301).

When a cleaning blade made of urethane rubber or the like is used as the cleaning blade, the hardness and impact resilience of the cleaning blade change with temperature. Therefore, when using such a cleaning blade, , The cleaning blade itself,
A holder for holding the cleaning blade, a photosensitive member and the like are provided with appropriate temperature adjusting means, and the temperature of the cleaning blade is adjusted by the temperature adjusting means so that the hardness of the tip of the cleaning blade is 65 to 70.
It is preferable that the impact resilience is 60 to 80%.

On the other hand, as a photoreceptor for removing the developer remaining on the surface with the above cleaning blade, an amorphous carbonized material having a Vickers hardness of 200 to 1000 is formed on the organic photosensitive layer containing the resin component as described above. Any material may be used as long as it is provided with a surface protective layer made of a hydrogen film. For example, a functionally separated type in which a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer are sequentially laminated on a conductive support. Laminated photoreceptors, inversely laminated photoreceptors in which a charge transport layer and a charge generation layer are sequentially laminated on a conductive support, and single-layer photoreceptors having both a charge generation function and a charge transport function. It may be the body.

Here, the conductive support may be any support as long as its surface has conductivity, and may have a cylindrical shape, a flat plate shape, a belt shape or the like. Alternatively, the surface thereof may be roughened, oxidized, or colored.

Known materials may be appropriately selected and used as the charge generating material, charge transporting material, binder resin and the like used for forming the charge generating layer and the charge transporting layer according to the purpose. It is also possible to use an inorganic material such as zinc oxide, cadmium sulfide, a selenium alloy, or an amorphous silicon alloy.

Further, in the above-mentioned photoreceptor, an undercoat layer may be provided in order to improve its charging performance, image quality, adhesiveness of the photosensitive layer and the like. When the undercoat layer is provided in this way, a resin such as an ultraviolet curable resin, a room temperature curable resin or a thermosetting resin, a mixed resin in which a resistance adjusting material is dispersed in the resin, a metal oxide or a metal sulfide is used. It is possible to use a vacuum thin film material obtained by thinning an object or the like in vacuum by an evaporation method or an ion plating method, an amorphous carbon film formed by using a plasma polymerization method, an amorphous silicon carbide film, or the like.

Further, in the photoreceptor having the organic photosensitive layer as described above, the surface thereof has a Vickers hardness of 200.
In providing the surface protective layer composed of the amorphous hydrocarbon film of up to 1000, a known plasma-CVD apparatus as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be used.

Here, in the plasma-CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the first to sixth tanks 101 to 106 are made to seal the raw material and carrier gas in a vapor phase state at room temperature, and these tanks are sealed. 101-106,
Corresponding first to sixth control valves 107 to 112, respectively.
And the first to sixth flow rate controllers 113 to 118 are connected.

Further, the first to third containers 119 to 121 are made to enclose the raw materials in a liquid phase or a solid state at room temperature, and the respective raw materials enclosed in these containers 119 to 121 are enclosed. In order to vaporize, each container 119-1
21 corresponding to the first to third temperature controllers 122-1
24 are provided. Furthermore, each of these containers 119-12
1 to the corresponding seventh to ninth control valves 125 to 125, respectively.
127 and the seventh to ninth flow rate controllers 128 to 130 are connected.

After these gases are mixed in the mixer 131, they are fed into the reaction chamber 133 via the main pipe 132. In the middle of the pipe part, the pipe heater 134 can be placed and heated at an appropriate position of the pipe part so that the gas obtained by vaporizing the raw material compound in the liquid phase or the solid phase at room temperature does not condense. I am trying.

Also in the reaction chamber 133, the reaction chamber heater 1 is provided around the reaction chamber 133 so that the gas obtained by vaporizing the raw material compound in the liquid phase or the solid phase at room temperature does not condense.
51 is arranged so that heating can be performed.

In the reaction chamber 133,
The ground electrode 135 and the power application electrode 136 are installed so as to face each other, and both electrodes 135, 136 are provided.
Electrode heaters 137 are installed in the respective
36 can be heated.

Here, the high-frequency power matching device 138 is connected to the power applying electrode 136 via the connection selection switch 144.
A high-frequency power source 139 provided with, a low-frequency power source 141 provided with a low-frequency power matching device 140, and a DC power source 143 provided with a low-pass filter 142,
The connection selection switch 144 allows power with different frequencies to be appropriately selected and applied.

A pressure control valve 145 is provided to adjust the pressure in the reaction chamber 133, and the reaction chamber 133 is provided with a pressure control valve 145.
When reducing the internal pressure, a diffusion pump 147 and an oil rotary pump 148 are used via an exhaust system selection valve 146.
Alternatively, the cooling excluding device 149, the mechanical booster pump 150, and the oil rotary pump 148 are used. It should be noted that the exhaust gas is further detoxified with safety through an appropriate exclusion device 153 and then exhausted into the atmosphere.

Further, in these exhaust system pipes as well, the pipe heater 134 is arranged at an appropriate position in order to prevent the vaporized gas of the raw material compound in the liquid or solid state at room temperature from condensing on the way. And is able to heat.

The plasma-CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is different from the plasma-CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 1 only in the internal form of the reaction chamber 133, and the other parts are different from the plasma-CVD apparatus described above. Is the same.

Here, in the plasma-CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 2, a cylindrical substrate 152 having an organic photosensitive layer formed on a conductive support is installed as a ground electrode 135 inside the reaction chamber 133. And the electrode heater 13
I am trying to distribute 7. In addition, a power applying electrode 136 having the same cylindrical shape is arranged around the substrate 152,
Further, an electrode heater 137 is arranged outside thereof. The substrate 152 on which the organic photosensitive layer is formed can be rotated by a drive motor 154 from the outside.

When a surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film is provided on the photoconductor using these plasma-CVD devices, the reaction chamber is previously set to 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-6 by a diffusion pump. The pressure is reduced to about Torr, the degree of vacuum is confirmed, and the gas adsorbed inside the device is desorbed.
If necessary, the electrode heater and the substrate fixedly arranged on the electrode are heated to a predetermined temperature by an electrode heater. In addition,
When the temperature of the substrate is raised in this way, the substrate temperature is set to 1 in order to prevent thermal transformation of the organic photosensitive layer formed on the photoconductor.
The temperature is set to 00 ° C or lower (normal temperature to 100 ° C).

Next, the first to sixth tanks and the first to third tanks
A hydrocarbon-based raw material gas is appropriately introduced into the reaction chamber from the vessel while using the first to ninth flow rate controllers to make the flow rate constant, and the pressure inside of the reaction chamber is kept constant by the pressure control valve.

Then, after the gas flow rate is stabilized, for example, a low frequency power source is selected by the connection selection switch, low frequency power is applied to the power application electrode, discharge is started between both electrodes, and on the substrate. A solid phase film is formed on. When forming a solid phase film on a substrate in this manner, the film thickness is controlled by the reaction time, and when the film thickness reaches a predetermined value, the discharge is stopped and the amorphous hydrocarbon A surface protective layer made of a film is provided.

When a surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film is provided on the photoreceptor in this manner, oxygen, nitrogen, and Group 3 of the periodic table may be added to the amorphous hydrocarbon film, if necessary. Impurities such as atoms, atoms of Group 4 of the periodic table, and atoms of Group 5 of the periodic table may be contained.

When butadiene is used as the source gas and the surface protective layer made of the amorphous hydrocarbon film is provided on the surface of the photoreceptor on which the organic photosensitive layer is formed as described above, it is formed. The amorphous hydrocarbon film generally has the following physical properties. Hole mobility 10 ⁻⁷ to 10 ⁻¹⁰ [cm ² / V / sec] Electron mobility 10 ⁻⁷ to 10 ⁻¹⁰ [cm ² / V / sec] Ionization potential 5.0 to 5.8 [eV ] Optical forbidden band width 2.0 to 2.8 [eV] relative permittivity 2.4 to 3.0 Visible light absorption coefficient 200 to 4000 [l / cm] Spin density 2.0 × 10 ^{18 to} 9.0 × 10 ¹⁹ [l / cm] Flexibility 1.5-1.7 Vickers hardness 200-1000 Thermal conductivity 5-12 [W / mK]

Depending on the raw material gas used, there are some that deviate from the above physical properties, but in the present invention, the surface protective layer formed of an amorphous hydrocarbon film formed on the surface of the photoreceptor is generally as follows. It has the structural features of 1 to 4. 1. Contain at least carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms. 2. Having a C = C bond in the structure. 3. Having a dangling bond in the structure. 4. It has an amorphous structure and has no clear peak in X-ray diffraction or Raman scattering.

In the present invention, when the photoconductor manufactured as described above is used, it is commonly used in an image forming system using a visible light source such as a liquid crystal shutter array and a PLZT shutter array, or a general copying machine. When used in an analog image forming system using visible light and a lens and a mirror optical system, a photoconductor having sensitivity in a specific visual field is used, and a semiconductor laser (7
(80 nm) optical system, LED array (680 nm) optical system, etc. When used in an image forming system using long-wavelength light, a photoreceptor having sensitivity in the long-wavelength range is used.

Then, the tip of the cleaning blade is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoconductor on which the surface protective layer made of the amorphous hydrocarbon film is formed, so that the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor is removed. When removing with a cleaning blade, as shown in FIG.
A flat plate-shaped cleaning blade 1 having a constant thickness is held by a blade holding member 11, and the tip of the cleaning blade 1 is brought into pressure contact with the surface of a rotating photoconductor 2.

In this way, the cleaning blade 1 is
Contact surface 1a of the cleaning blade 1 that comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 2 when the tip portion of
And an angle θ with the tangent line X of the photoconductor 2 at the contact point,
That is, the pressure contact angle θ of the cleaning blade 1 is 8 to 20.
The contact pressure of the cleaning blade 1 with respect to the photoconductor 2 is preferably set to 0.1 to 10 g / mm.

Further, the cleaning blade 1 used in the present invention is not limited to the flat plate-like one as shown in FIG. 7A, and for example, as shown in FIG. In the tip of the cleaning blade 1 that comes into contact with the cleaning blade 1, the corner on the side opposite to the photoconductor 2 is chamfered and the tip has an acute angle, or as shown in FIG. Is not constant, and the tip of the cleaning blade 1 that comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 2 is thin, or as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to use a flexible blade having a curved tip portion of the cleaning blade 1 that contacts the surface of the cleaning blade 1.

When any of these cleaning blades 1 is used, the contact surface 1a of the cleaning blade 1 that contacts the photoconductor 2 and the tangent line X of the photoconductor 2 at the contact point are the same as in the above case. The angle θ formed, that is, the pressure contact angle θ of the cleaning blade 1 is set to 8 to 20 °, and the pressure contact force of the cleaning blade 1 to the photoconductor 2 is set to 0.1 to 10 g / mm. preferable.

Further, in order to efficiently scrape off the residual developer from the surface of the rotating photosensitive member 2 as described above, FIG.
It is preferable to swing the cleaning blade 1 in the axial direction of the photoconductor 2 as shown in FIG.

Further, depending on the type of the photoconductor 2 used, if a cleaning blade 1 keeps pressing a certain portion for a long time, when a half image is copied, the contact portion appears as image noise, so-called contact memory. Since there are some that cause the above phenomenon, it is preferable to separate the cleaning blade 1 from the surface of the photoconductor 2 when the photoconductor 2 is not rotating.

[0047]

In the present invention, as described above, the tip of the cleaning blade is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive member provided with the surface protective layer made of the amorphous hydrocarbon film having Vickers hardness of 200 to 1000 on the organic photosensitive layer. When the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor is removed by the cleaning blade, the hardness of the tip of the cleaning blade brought into contact with the surface of the photoconductor as described above has a hardness of 65 to 70 and a repulsion elasticity of 60 to 80. % Use a cleaning blade.

As described above, the cleaning blade having a hardness of 65 to 70 at the tip end contacting the surface of the photoconductor is used to remove the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor as described above. Even when the above procedure is repeated, there is little wear at the tip of the cleaning blade, and the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor can be stably removed over a long period of time. As it is pressed against the surface of the body, the developer will not be fused and filmed on the surface of the photoreceptor, and it will rub against the photoreceptor, collide with the developer, and wrap around from the transfer paper. The developer can be removed without causing unevenness due to chipping or rough wear at the tip of the cleaning blade due to collision with paper dust. It is indeed done, no longer be wiped of the developer.

Further, the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor as described above is removed by using the cleaning blade having the impact resilience of 60 to 80% at the tip end contacting the surface of the photoconductor as described above. Therefore, when the tip of the cleaning blade is pressed against the surface of the photoconductor as described above to drive the photoconductor, the cleaning blade vibrates slightly and a high-frequency sound such as a kind of metallic sound is generated. The squeal of the blade does not occur, and the cleaning blade does not reverse when the photoconductor is driven.

[0050]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Here, an example of the cleaning device used for carrying out the cleaning method of the embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

Here, in the cleaning device 10 used in this embodiment, the cleaning blade 1
A flat plate made of urethane rubber was used as the material. On the other hand, as the photosensitive member 2, a cylindrical one is used, and as shown in FIG. 6, an organic photosensitive layer 2b containing a resin component is formed on the conductive support 2a, and the organic photosensitive layer 2b is further formed. Vickers hardness of 200 ~
The one provided with the surface protection layer 2c made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film having a thickness of 1000 was used.

Then, the photoreceptor 2 is rotated at a peripheral speed of 26 to 50c.
While rotating at a high speed of m / sec, the cleaning blade 1 was held by the blade holding member 11, and the tip of the cleaning blade 1 was brought into pressure contact with the surface of the rotating photoconductor 2 as described above.

Here, when the tip of the cleaning blade 1 is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the rotating photoconductor 2 as described above, the blade holding member 11 holding the cleaning blade 1 is used to adjust the pressure of the spring 12.
It is attached to a pressing member 13 provided with, and the tip end portion of the cleaning blade 1 is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoconductor 2 by the urging force of the spring 12 for pressure adjustment.

Further, in the cleaning device 10, the photosensitive member 2 and the blade holding member 11 can be heated by a heating means (not shown), and the cleaning blade held by the blade holding member 11 by the heating means. 1 is adjusted so that the hardness of the tip portion of the cleaning blade 1 contacting the surface of the photoconductor 2 becomes 6
0 to 70, and the impact resilience was set to 60 to 80%.

Then, the angle of the cleaning blade 1 with respect to the photosensitive member 2 is adjusted via the blade holding member 11, and the contact surface 1a of the cleaning blade 1 contacting the photosensitive member 2 and the tangent line of the photosensitive member 2 at the contact point. The angle θ with X, that is, the pressure contact angle θ of the cleaning blade 1 with respect to the photosensitive member 2 is set to 8 to 20 °, and
The pressure contacting force of the cleaning blade 1 was adjusted by the pressure adjusting spring 12 so that the pressure contacting force of the cleaning blade 1 with respect to the photoconductor 2 was in the range of 0.1 to 10 g / mm.

In this way, the tip of the cleaning blade 1 is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoconductor 2 rotating at a high peripheral speed of 26 to 50 cm / sec, and the cleaning blade 1 allows the cleaning blade 1 to remain on the surface of the photoconductor 2. The developer that is being scraped off is scraped off, and the scraped-off developer is attached to the rotary blade holder 14 as a guide member 1
The developer scraped by the collecting blade 16 is conveyed to the collecting blade 16 in the rotary blade holder 14 by 5 and is collected in a collecting bottle (not shown).

Next, the cleaning device 10 as described above.
As shown in FIG. 7, the case where the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 2 after the transfer is mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus 20 is removed will be specifically described.

Here, as the electrophotographic apparatus 20,
Commercially available copy machine (EP87 manufactured by Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.)
0) is modified, and depending on the charging polarity of the photoconductor 2 to be used,
The one that can be switched between positive charging and negative charging is used.

Then, as described above, the organic photosensitive layer 2b containing the resin component is formed on the cylindrical conductive support 2a,
Further, a Vickers hardness of 200 is applied on the organic photosensitive layer 2b.
The photosensitive member 2 provided with the surface protective layer 2c made of an amorphous hydrogen oxide film having a thickness of about 1000 is used as the electrophotographic apparatus 2.
The cleaning device 10 is mounted between the transfer / separator 21 and the eraser lamp 22.

Then, the photosensitive member 2 mounted in this way is
This photoreceptor 2 is rotated at a high speed of 6 to 50 cm / sec.
After charging the surface of the device with the charger 23, the optical system 24
Exposure based on image information by the
An electrostatic latent image was formed on the surface of the.

Next, a developer is supplied from the developing device 25 to the electrostatic latent image thus formed on the surface of the photoconductor 2 to form a toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 2.

Then, the toner image thus formed on the surface of the photoconductor 2 is transferred to the recording paper 2 via the transfer / separator 21.
The toner image thus transferred is fixed on the recording paper 26 by the fixing roller 27 and then discharged onto the paper discharge tray 28.

On the other hand, after the toner image is transferred from the photoconductor 2 to the recording paper 26 as described above, the cleaning device 1
0, the tip of the cleaning blade 1 is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoconductor 2 rotating as described above, and the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 2 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 1. , The surface of the photoconductor 2 is removed from the surface of the photoconductor 2 and then the eraser lamp 2
I tried to eliminate the charge with 2.

Next, using the electrophotographic apparatus 20 as described above, the hardness and impact resilience of the tip of the cleaning blade 1 pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor 2 are changed, and the surface of the photoreceptor 2 after transfer is changed. An experiment was conducted to remove the residual developer, and the blade squeaking as described above in the cleaning blade 1, the state of reversal of the cleaning blade 1, the uncleaned portion of the developer left by the cleaning blade 1,
The filming of the developer on the photoconductor 2 was examined.

Here, as the cleaning blade 1 to be brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 2, nine kinds of cleaning blades B1 to B9 made of urethane rubber materials shown in Table 1 below were used.

Further, these cleaning blades B1
In order to change the hardness and rebound resilience of the tip portion of B9 to B9 in contact with the surface of the photoconductor 2, the electrophotographic apparatus 20 is installed in an environmental test room, and the temperature is adjusted in the environmental test room and the cleaning blade 1 itself. The temperature can be changed from 0 to 60 ° C. by the heating means for adjusting the temperature.

[0068]

[Table 1]

Tables 2 to 10 below show changes in characteristics such as hardness and impact resilience due to changes in temperature of the cleaning blades B1 to B9 made of the urethane rubber material as described above. Here, the temperature in each of the cleaning blades B1 to B9 is a contact type thermometer (manufactured by Hioki Co., Ltd., 3
412).

[0070]

[Table 2]

[0071]

[Table 3]

[0072]

[Table 4]

[0073]

[Table 5]

[0074]

[Table 6]

[0075]

[Table 7]

[0076]

[Table 8]

[0077]

[Table 9]

[0078]

[Table 10]

On the other hand, in this experiment, as the photosensitive member 2 to be mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus 20, the one manufactured as described below was used.

In this photoreceptor, the conductive support is made of an aluminum alloy containing 0.7% by weight of magnesium and 0.4% by weight of silicon, and has an outer diameter of 80 mm and a length of 340 mm. , A cylindrical one with a wall thickness of 2 mm was used.

On the other hand, an azo compound 0.4 represented by the following chemical formula 1
5 parts by weight, 0.45 parts by weight of a polyester resin (manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd., Byron 200) and 50 parts by weight of cyclohexanone were placed in a sand grinder and dispersed for 24 hours,
A charge generation layer coating liquid having a viscosity of 20 cp at 20 ° C. was prepared.

[0082]

[Chemical 1]

Then, the conductive support is dipped in the thus prepared charge generating layer coating solution, and the charge generating layer coating solution is applied to the surface of the conductive support by a dipping method. Was dried in circulating air at 20 ° C. for 30 minutes to form a charge generation layer having a thickness of 0.3 μm on the surface of the conductive support.

Next, 10 parts by weight of the styryl compound shown in Chemical formula 2 below and a polycarbonate resin (manufactured by Teijin Chemicals Ltd.,
7 parts by weight of Panlite K-1300) was dissolved in a solvent consisting of 40 parts by weight of 1,4-dioxane to prepare a coating liquid for charge transport layer having a viscosity of 240 cp at 20 ° C.

[0085]

[Chemical 2]

Then, the conductive support on which the charge generation layer is formed as described above is dipped in the coating liquid for the charge transport layer, and the dipping method is applied on the charge generation layer formed on the conductive support. By applying the charge transport layer coating solution,
This was dried in circulating air at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes to form a charge transport layer having a film thickness of 32 μm.

In this way, after the organic photosensitive layer comprising the charge generating layer and the charge transporting layer is formed on the conductive support, the surface protective layer comprising the amorphous hydrocarbon film is provided on the organic photosensitive layer. I did it.

Here, in providing the surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film, the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is used, and the amorphous hydrocarbon film is formed under the following film forming conditions. The surface protection layer is formed.

(Film Forming Conditions) Raw Material Gas Butadiene 15 sccm Carrier Gas Hydrogen 300 sccm Vacuum Degree 1 Torr Electrode Distance 38 mm Drum Rotation Speed 5 rpm Electric Power 150 W Power Supply Frequency 80 KHz Drum Temperature 70 ° C. Film Forming Time 3 Minutes Thus amorphous hydrocarbon When a film is formed,
A surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film having a Vickers hardness of 600 and a film thickness of 0.10 μm was obtained.

In order to change the Vickers hardness of the surface protective layer, it is necessary to consider the raw material gas species, the film forming time, the drum temperature, etc. Generally, the higher the vacuum degree, the higher the Vickers hardness of the surface protective layer. A layer is formed. For example, under the above conditions, only the degree of vacuum is changed, and when the degree of vacuum is 2 Torr, the Vickers hardness is 200, and when it is 1.5 Torr, the Vickers hardness is 40.
Vickers hardness of 800 at 0, 0.7 Torr,
When it is 0.5 Torr, a surface protective layer having a Vickers hardness of 1000 is obtained.

After forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor as described above, the developer is supplied from the developing device 25 to form a toner image on the surface of the photoconductor as described above. As the developer used in the developing device 25, a two-component developer containing toner and carrier was used.

Here, as the toner, styrene-n-
Butyl methacrylate resin (softening point 132 ° C, glass transition point 60 ° C) 100 parts by weight, carbon black (Mitsubishi Kasei Co., Ltd., MA # 8) 5 parts by weight, nigrosine dye (Orient Chemical Co., Ltd., Bontron N-) 01)
3 parts by weight and 2 parts by weight of low molecular weight polypropylene (manufactured by Sanyo Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd., Viscole 550P) were thoroughly mixed in a ball mill, and then heated to 140 ° C. 3
After kneading on the main roll, this was left to cool and then coarsely pulverized by using a Fizer mill and further finely pulverized by a jet mill. Then, the finely pulverized particles were classified by wind force, and a positively chargeable toner having an average particle diameter of 9 μm was used.

When using this toner, 0.01 part of colloidal silica R-974 (trade name) manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd. is used with respect to 100 parts by weight of this toner.
A part which was post-treated by adding parts by weight was used.

On the other hand, as the carrier, polyester resin (softening point 123 ° C., glass transition point 65 ° C., AV23,
OHV40) 100 parts by weight, Fe-Zn ferrite fine particles (TMD-2, MRP-2) 500 parts by weight, carbon black (Mitsubishi Kasei Co., MA #).
8) 2 parts by weight are sufficiently mixed and crushed by a Henschel mixer, and then the mixture is melted and kneaded by using an extrusion kneader set to a cylinder part 180 ° C. and a cylinder head part 170 ° C., and this kneaded product is cooled. After that, coarse pulverization was performed with a Fizer mill, fine pulverization was further performed with a jet mill, and classification was performed using a classifier so that a carrier having an average particle size of 60 μm was used.

Then, each of the above cleaning blades B
1 to B9, the printing durability test was conducted by the electrophotographic apparatus 20.

Here, in performing the printing durability test, the photoconductor 2 mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus 20 is rotated, and the surface of the photoconductor 2 is -800 V by the charger 23.
To be charged. Then, the surface of the photoconductor 2 thus charged is exposed by the optical system 24 using a 6% chart to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 2, and then the photoconductor 2 is charged. The developer is supplied to the surface from the developing device 25 to form a toner image, and the toner image thus formed on the surface of the photoconductor 2 is transferred to the recording paper 26. The residual developer was removed using the cleaning blades B1 to B9 described above.

When removing the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 2 by using the cleaning blades B1 to B9, the cleaning blades B1 to B9 are used.
Of the cleaning blades B1 to B that come into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 2 by setting the temperatures of the cleaning blades to 0 ° C, 25 ° C and 50 ° C
The printing durability test was conducted by changing the hardness and the impact resilience of the tip portion of No. 9.

In this way, the required number of printing durability tests were conducted,
When the temperatures of the cleaning blades B1 to B9 are set to 0 ° C., 25 ° C., and 50 ° C., respectively, the blade squeal in each cleaning blade, the state of filming of the developer on the surface of the photosensitive member by each cleaning blade, The possibility that each cleaning blade may turn over and the uncleaned developer left by each cleaning blade were evaluated as follows, and the results are shown in Tables 11 and 12 below. In performing these evaluations, the peripheral speed of the rotating photoconductor is set to 26 to 50c.
m / sec, the contact angle θ of the cleaning blade with respect to the photosensitive member is changed to 8 to 20 °, and the contact pressure of the cleaning blade with respect to the photosensitive member is changed within the range of 0.1 to 10 g / mm to display the result in the worst case. I chose

(Evaluation of blade squeal in cleaning blade) When the cleaning blade is pressed against the surface of the rotating photoconductor to remove the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor, the cleaning blade vibrates and produces metallic noise. Regarding blade squeal that occurs, it is indicated by x when such a metallic sound is generated even once during the printing durability test of 1000 sheets, and by ◯ when the metallic sound is never generated. I chose

(Evaluation of Filming of Developer on Photoreceptor Surface) With respect to filming of the developer on the surface of the photoreceptor, the surface of each photoreceptor was impregnated with alcohol after the printing durability test of 1,000 sheets. It was wiped lightly with a damp cloth, and when the cloth turned black, it was indicated by x, and when the color of the cloth did not change, it was indicated by ◯.

(Evaluation of Possibility of Reversing of Cleaning Blade) Regarding the possibility of reversing of the cleaning blade pressed against the surface of the photoconductor when the photoconductor is driven, the rotational torque of the photoconductor is high. Since the reversal of the cleaning blade is more likely to occur, 100
After the printing durability test of 0 sheets, the rotational torque of the photoconductor was measured. Here, in measuring the rotational torque of the photoconductor, a torque gauge (manufactured by Kyowa Denki Co., Ltd.) is attached to the drive shaft of the photoconductor mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus.
TP-10KCE) was attached, and measurement was performed using an amplifier WGA-700A (trade name) manufactured by the same company. Then, when the rotational torque measured as described above exceeds 5 kg · cm and there is a high possibility that the cleaning blade will be reversed, the rotational torque is 3 kg · cm.
The case where the cleaning blade reversal occurred accidentally could be indicated as Δ, and the case where the cleaning blade was not likely to be reversed at a rotation torque of 3 kg · cm or less and was good was indicated as ◯.

(Evaluation of Undeveloped Part of Developer with Cleaning Blade) In order to evaluate the undeveloped part of the developer with a cleaning blade, after carrying out the above printing endurance test of 1000 sheets, the toner image was not transferred onto the recording paper. The respective cleaning blades were brought into pressure contact with the surface of the photoconductor while the toner image was still applied to remove the developer applied to the surface of the photoconductor. Then, in such a state, a developer corresponding to solid black is applied to the surface of the photoconductor without exposure, and the developer thus applied is removed from the surface of the photoconductor by each of the above cleaning blades. As described above, after 50 sheets were continuously subjected to such an operation, the state of the developer on the surface of the photoconductor was examined. Then, when the undeveloped portion of the developer is confirmed when visually observed, and the case where image noise appears on the copy image is ×, the residual developer cannot be confirmed by visual observation,
When the surface of the photoconductor is wiped with a white flannel cloth, the developer slightly adheres to the flannel cloth, but when there is no problem in practical use, it is △. No residual developer is observed even when wiped with the flannel cloth. A suitable case is indicated by ◯.

In the following Tables 11 and 12, the evaluation of the blade squeal in the cleaning blade is (sound), the evaluation of the filming of the developer on the surface of the photosensitive member is (f), and the cleaning blade is reversed. The evaluation of the possibility that the cleaning blade B will be displayed as (reverse), and the evaluation of the uncleaned developer left by the cleaning blade will be displayed as (wiping).
The results with 1 to B5 are shown, and in Table 12, the results with cleaning blades B6 to B9 are shown.

[0104]

[Table 11]

[0105]

[Table 12]

As is clear from this result, the hardness of the tip of the cleaning blade contacting the surface of the photoconductor is 65.
If the hardness is less than the above, the tip of the cleaning blade is worn away, and the developer is likely to be filmed on the surface of the photoconductor. On the other hand, if the hardness exceeds 70, the tip of the cleaning blade may be chipped. The developer is liable to be left unwiped, and from the viewpoint of filming and left unwiping, it is preferable that the hardness of the tip of the cleaning blade is in the range of 65 to 70.

If the repulsion elasticity of the cleaning blade tip portion contacting the surface of the photosensitive member is less than 60%, the cleaning blade is liable to be inverted when the photosensitive member is driven, while the repulsion elasticity is 80%. If it exceeds%, the cleaning blade vibrates slightly and the blade squeal easily occurs. From the viewpoint of reversing the cleaning blade and blade squeal, it is preferable that the repulsion elasticity of the cleaning blade tip is 60 to 80%. won.

[0108]

As described above in detail, in the cleaning method according to the present invention, a photoreceptor having a surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film having a Vickers hardness of 200 to 1000 is provided on the organic photosensitive layer. When the tip of the cleaning blade is brought into pressure contact with the surface and the developer remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor is removed by the cleaning blade, the cleaning of the tip of the cleaning blade in contact with the surface of the photoreceptor has a hardness of 65 to 70. Since the blade is used, the cleaning blade tip wears less when cleaning is repeated, and the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor can be stably removed over a long period of time. The agent will not be fused and filmed on the surface of the photoconductor, and will not come into contact with the photoconductor. Irregularities by chipping the tip of the cleaning blade without that occurs, no longer be wiped developer by like.

Further, in the cleaning method according to the present invention, as the cleaning blade, the one having a repulsion resilience of 60 to 80% is used. When removing the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor by pressing it against the surface of the body, the cleaning blade does not vibrate and a high frequency sound such as a kind of metallic sound is not generated. The cleaning blade is no longer inverted when the photoconductor is driven while the tip of the is pressed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a plasma CVD apparatus used for providing a surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film on the surface of a photoreceptor.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a modified example of a plasma CVD apparatus used for providing a surface protective layer made of an amorphous hydrocarbon film on the surface of a photoreceptor.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a cleaning blade is brought into contact with a photoconductor in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the cleaning blade is swung in the axial direction of the photoconductor in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a cleaning device used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory view showing a structure of a photoconductor used in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of an electrophotographic apparatus equipped with a cleaning device used in an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cleaning Blade 2 Photoreceptor 2b Organic Photosensitive Layer 2c Surface Protection Layer

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shuji Iino 2-3-13 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Isao Doi 2-chome, Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka No. 13 Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Iyoyoshi Osawa 2-3-3 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A photosensitive member comprising a surface protective layer of an amorphous hydrocarbon film formed on an organic photosensitive layer containing a resin component. In the cleaning method in which the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor is removed by the cleaning blade, the Vickers hardness of the surface protective layer of the photoreceptor is 200 to 1
000, and a cleaning blade having a hardness of 65 to 70 and a repulsion resilience of 60 to 80% at the tip portion in contact with the surface of the photoconductor is used as the cleaning blade pressed against the surface of the photoconductor. Method.