JPH07181862A - Production of cleaning blade having lubricity - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a cleaning blade which hardly generates falling-off of a lubricant and well executes a lubricating function. CONSTITUTION:Fine powder for lubrication consisting of zinc stearate or vinylidene fluoride resin and a binder for binding this fine powder to the surface of a cleaning blade body 1A are mixed and dispersed with a liquid of isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether or a fluorine-based inert liquid. This dispersion is applied on the surface of the cleaning blade body 1A and thereafter, the coating film is dried.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for producing a cleaning blade having lubricity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer or a facsimile, an electrostatic latent image is formed on a latent image carrier such as a photoconductor and the electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image. In the case where the toner image is transferred to a transfer material, after the toner image is transferred, the toner, paper dust, and other foreign matter that did not contribute to the transfer remain on the surface of the latent image carrier. Therefore, the deposits are removed from the latent image carrier.

As a means for removing such deposits, a cleaning blade made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber is used because it is advantageous in terms of cost and has good cleaning performance. Is often used. In this type of cleaning means, the edge portion of the cleaning blade is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the latent image carrier, and the adhered matter on the latent image carrier is scraped off by the edge portion. Depending on the pressure contact direction and the magnitude of the pressure contact force,
During the cleaning operation, the end portion side of the blade (the end portion side having the edge portion) is dragged by the movement of the latent image bearing member and warps back, so that a so-called “turning phenomenon” easily occurs.

When such a "turning phenomenon" occurs, the cleaning blade is damaged and the cleaning function is impaired. Also, due to the curling of the cleaning blade, the pressure contact force of this blade to the latent image carrier is increased,
As a result, the surface of the latent image carrier may be damaged, or the rotational load torque of the latent image carrier may increase, making its operation impossible.

Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which a lubricant is dispersed in various liquids, the dispersion liquid is applied to the surface of the cleaning blade main body, and then the applied portion is dried. As described above, when the cleaning blade having the lubricant in the edge portion is used, the coefficient of friction of the blade with respect to the latent image carrier is reduced, so that the occurrence of the curling phenomenon of the cleaning blade can be prevented. However, in the cleaning blade manufactured by the conventional method, the lubricant easily comes off from the cleaning body and the lubricating function is impaired relatively early, so that the occurrence of the curling phenomenon of the cleaning blade can be completely prevented. It was difficult. As a technique related to this type of technique, for example, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-158884 has already been proposed.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a cleaning blade which makes it difficult for lubricant to come off and to perform its lubricating function satisfactorily and stably over a long period of time. Especially.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides zinc stearate and fluorinated liquid for at least one liquid of isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether and fluorine-based inert liquid. A fine powder for lubrication selected from any one of vinylidene resins and a binder for strongly fixing and binding the fine powder to the surface of the cleaning blade body are mixed and dispersed, and the fine powder is added to the liquid. A dispersion liquid in which a binder is dispersed is obtained, and the dispersion liquid is applied to at least the surface of the edge portion of the cleaning blade main body, and then the coating film of the dispersion liquid is dried. It is a proposal.

At this time, when the dispersion liquid is applied to the cleaning blade main body, either or both of them are
It is advantageous to heat above room temperature relative to room temperature.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides
Fine powder for lubrication selected from any one of zinc stearate and vinylidene fluoride resin is mixed and dispersed in at least one liquid of isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether, and fluorine-based inert liquid. A dispersion liquid in which fine powder is dispersed in the liquid is obtained, and a binder for strongly fixing and binding the fine powder to the surface of the cleaning blade main body is coated on at least the edge surface of the cleaning blade main body. Apply the dispersion to the outer surface of the binder coating layer, then
The present invention proposes a method for producing a cleaning blade having lubricity, in which a coating film of a dispersion liquid is dried.

At this time, when the dispersion liquid is applied to the outer surface of the binder coating layer, it is advantageous to heat the dispersion liquid and / or the cleaning blade body side to a temperature higher than room temperature relative to room temperature. Is.

[0011]

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a usage state of a cleaning blade obtained by the present invention in an image forming apparatus.

The main body 1A of the cleaning blade 1 is made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber, and is adhered and fixed to a blade supporting member 2 made of metal, for example, by a double-sided tape. In the cleaning blade 1, the tip edge portion 1b is in pressure contact with a drum-shaped photoreceptor 3 which is an example of a latent image carrier, and the edge 1b in pressure contact causes toner to be transferred to a transfer material (not shown). The toner, paper dust, and other foreign matter remaining after the image transfer process are scraped off. The cleaning blade 1 is in pressure contact with the photoconductor 3 in the counter direction, and the cleaning blade main body 1A has a plate-like shape elongated in the axial direction of the photoconductor 3.

When the photosensitive member 3 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the drawing with the edge portion 1b of the cleaning blade 1 in pressure contact with the surface of the photosensitive member 3, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the edge portion 1b and the photosensitive member 3. Occur. At this time, conventionally, depending on the type of coating material on the surface of the photoconductor 1 or the elastic material of the cleaning blade, the blade “blown phenomenon” is likely to occur when the cleaning blade is pressed. In FIG.
What is indicated by a broken line is a cleaning blade that has caused such a "blip phenomenon". In particular, this "roll-up phenomenon" is likely to occur in the cleaning system in which the cleaning blade is pressed against the photoconductor in the counter direction.

In the case of the counter method, the contact area A of the edge portion 1b shown in FIG. 1 is small, the pressure per unit area becomes very large, or the contact between the cleaning blade and the photosensitive member is left unattended for a long time. In the related art, the blade edge is dragged by the surface of the photoconductor 1 due to the frictional action during the rotation operation of the photoconductor, as shown by the broken line in FIG. However, there were times when it was able to warp in the direction of its movement.

As described above, when such a "blink phenomenon" of the blade occurs, the cleaning function cannot be performed well, and the blade itself may be damaged in some cases. Also, the surface of the photoconductor is damaged, or
The rotation load torque of the photoconductor increases and the photoconductor itself becomes inoperable.

Therefore, the cleaning blade is made to have lubricity by adhering fluororesin or the like to the peripheral portion of the edge of the cleaning blade or by adding a lubricant to the blade material. However, there is a problem in that such substances fall off due to differences in the amount of the fluororesin adhered, the content of the lubricant, etc., and the lubrication function is impaired over time.

In addition to this, a lubricant is dispersed in various liquids, and this dispersion is applied to a cleaning blade.
Although a cleaning blade is proposed in which the coating portion 4 shown in Fig. 4 is dried so that the lubricant is present in the edge portion 1b, this requires a long time for drying depending on the liquid used. However, there is a problem that the processing capacity is lowered.

Further, there is a problem that when the dispersion liquid is applied, a dripping 6 as shown in FIG. 3 is generated, and the dispersion liquid flows into the adhesive portion 5 to lower the adhesive strength. In addition to this, there is a problem that the bonding force between the cleaning blade main body and the lubricant is weak and the lubricant falls off and the lubricating function is impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the first embodiment of the method for producing a cleaning blade having lubricity will be described below.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, a cleaning blade body 1A made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber is adhered to the blade supporting member 2 in advance.

Next, fine powder for lubrication selected from one of zinc stearate and vinylidene fluoride resin for at least one liquid of isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether and fluorine-based inert liquid. The body (lubricant) and a binder for strongly fixing and bonding the fine powder to the surface of the blade body 1A of the cleaning blade are mixed and dispersed to obtain a dispersion liquid in which the fine powder and the binder are dispersed in the liquid. obtain. Then, this dispersion liquid is applied to at least the surface of the edge portion 1b of the cleaning blade main body 1A, that is, the portion that comes into pressure contact with the photoconductor 3 when the cleaning blade is used. In FIG. 2, the hatched portion and the portion indicated by reference numeral 4 is the coating portion, and the dispersion liquid is coated on the surface of the cleaning blade body 1A including the edge portion 1b. Then, after coating the dispersion liquid, the coating film is dried.

When the cleaning blade 1 thus produced is used as a cleaning means for the photosensitive member 3 as shown in FIG. 1, for example, the lubrication existing between the edge portion 1b of the cleaning blade 1 and the surface of the photosensitive member. The agent reduces the friction coefficient of the cleaning blade 1 with respect to the photoconductor 3 and prevents the blade from "blipping".
In addition, since the lubricant is firmly bonded to the cleaning blade main body 1A and the lubricants are also strongly bonded to each other by the function of the binder, the lubricant is less likely to fall off, and the lubricating function can be satisfactorily and stably performed. it can. In this way, it is possible to prevent the blade from "blipping" over a long period of time, and prevent the cleaning blade 1 and the photoconductor 3 from being damaged or the rotational load torque of the photoconductor 3 from increasing. In addition, the cleaning function can be favorably performed over time.

As can be seen from the above, any one of isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether and fluorine-based inert liquid may be used alone, or two or more thereof may be appropriately selected and used. You may make it mix and use.

When the dispersion liquid in which the fine powder for lubrication or the binder is dispersed in the above-mentioned liquid such as isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol is applied to the cleaning blade body 1A, the dispersion liquid is heated to room temperature rather than the temperature thereof. When heated to a high temperature, the liquid volatilization rate becomes faster, and it is possible to prevent "drip" during application,
The application can be carried out uniformly, or the reduction of the adhesive strength of the adhesive portion can be prevented.

Further, by increasing the volatilization rate, the drying time of the dispersion coating film can be shortened and the processing capacity of the coating film drying step can be improved. It should be noted that the cleaning blade body 1A may be heated under the same temperature condition when the dispersion liquid is applied, and in this case as well, the same operational effect can be obtained. Further, both the dispersion liquid and the cleaning blade body 1A may be heated under the same temperature condition.

When a dispersion liquid in which only the fine powder for lubrication is dispersed in the above-mentioned liquid is applied to the cleaning blade body, if the mixing ratio of the fine powder becomes high, the fine powder for lubrication is removed from the completed cleaning blade blade body. It easily falls off or peels off easily. On the other hand, when the binder is added in an appropriate ratio, it is possible to prevent such dropping off.

Next, a second embodiment of the cleaning blade manufacturing method according to the present invention will be described.

First, in producing the intended cleaning blade, either zinc stearate or vinylidene fluoride resin is added to at least one liquid of isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether and fluorine-based inert liquid. A fine powder for lubrication selected from one is mixed and dispersed to obtain a dispersion liquid in which the fine powder is dispersed in the liquid. Also in this case, isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether, and a fluorine-based inert liquid may be used alone, or two or more thereof may be appropriately selected and used in combination.

On the other hand, at least the surface of the edge portion 1b of the cleaning blade main body 1A is coated with a binder for strongly fixing and bonding the fine powder for lubrication to the surface of the cleaning blade main body 1A. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the binder coating layer 7 is formed on the surface of the cleaning blade body 1A including the edge portion 1b. Then, after this, the previously prepared dispersion liquid is applied to the outer surface of the binder coating layer 7. Reference numeral 8 indicates the coating film, and the coating film 8 is dried after coating.

Even with the cleaning blade obtained by such a manufacturing method, the dispersion coating film 8 is firmly fixedly bonded to the blade body 1A through the binder coating layer 7, so that the lubricant is unlikely to fall off. You can
Similar to the case where the cleaning blade obtained in the first embodiment described above is used, the cleaning function can be favorably and stably performed over a long period of time.

Also in this second embodiment, when the dispersion liquid is applied to the outer surface of the binder coating layer 7, both or one of the dispersion liquid and the cleaning blade main body is kept at room temperature. By heating to a temperature higher than the temperature, the volatilization rate of the liquid becomes faster, and it is possible to prevent "dripping" etc. at the time of application, and to perform the application evenly or reduce the adhesive strength of the adhesive part. Can be prevented. Furthermore, by increasing the volatilization rate,
The drying time of the dispersion coating film can be shortened, and the processing capacity of the coating film drying step can be improved.

By the way, in any of the examples, as the fine powder for lubrication, spherical fine powder is used so as to have good lubricity at the blade pressure contact portion with respect to the photoreceptor.
Other than the spherical shape, it is preferable to select a shape such that lubrication is effectively performed, and to combine these with a binder. Further, both of the examples have good volatility and low boiling point liquids (especially fluorine-based inert liquids) for the reasons described above.
It is convenient to use.

The cleaning blade obtained by each of the above-mentioned methods is not only used for cleaning a latent image carrier such as a photoconductor, but also a conveyor belt for conveying recording paper, It can also be used for a part to be cleaned having a member to be cleaned having another structure.

[0035]

According to the method of manufacturing a cleaning blade having lubricity described in claim 1 or 3, the cleaning agent can prevent the lubricant from falling off and can perform the lubricating function stably for a long period of time. A blade can be made.

According to the method for producing a cleaning blade having lubricity described in claim 2 or 4, it is possible to increase the volatilization rate of the liquid, and to apply the dispersion liquid uniformly or in the application step. The processing capacity can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a cleaning blade is used in an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the above cleaning blade is attached to a blade supporting member.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining that dripping of the dispersion liquid occurs when the dispersion liquid is applied.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which a cleaning blade body is undercoated with a binder coating layer and a dispersion liquid is applied onto the binder coating layer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cleaning Blade 1A Cleaning Blade Main Body 1b Edge 7 Binder Coating Layer 8 Dispersion Liquid Coating Film

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A fine powder for lubrication selected from one of zinc stearate and vinylidene fluoride resin for at least one liquid of isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether and a fluorine-based inert liquid. Body and a binder for strongly bonding the fine powder to the surface of the cleaning blade body are mixed and dispersed to obtain a dispersion liquid in which the fine powder and the binder are dispersed in the liquid, and the dispersion liquid is cleaned. A method for producing a cleaning blade having lubricity, which comprises applying a coating film of a dispersion liquid on a surface of at least an edge portion of a blade body and then drying the coating film of the dispersion liquid. 2. The cleaning having lubricity according to claim 1, wherein, when the dispersion liquid is applied to the cleaning blade main body, both or one of them is heated to a temperature higher than this temperature with respect to room temperature. How to make a blade. 3. A fine powder for lubrication selected from one of zinc stearate and vinylidene fluoride resin, for at least one liquid of isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ether and a fluorine-based inert liquid. A body is mixed and dispersed to obtain a dispersion liquid in which fine powder is dispersed in the liquid, and a binder for strongly fixing and binding the fine powder to the surface of the cleaning blade main body, at least on the surface of the edge portion of the cleaning blade main body. After coating, the dispersion is applied to the outer surface of the binder coating layer, and then the coating film of the dispersion is dried, to prepare a cleaning blade having lubricity. 4. When the dispersion liquid is applied to the outer surface of the binder coating layer, both the dispersion liquid and / or the cleaning blade body side are heated to a temperature higher than this temperature with respect to room temperature. The method for producing a cleaning blade having lubricity according to Item 3.