JPH11174926A - Method for electrophotographic image forming and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a stable copying image of excellent quality over a long period. SOLUTION: In the case of this method, the device is allowed to perform the electrophotographic image formation on an organic photoreceptor (photoreceptor drum) 14 surface provided with a cleaning member for cleaning by an elastic rubber blade 8. In such a case, the device is composed by adopting polycarbonate of viscosity average molecular weight beyond 30000 for binding resin of the upper most layer on the above photoreceptor layer, so as to be substantially held by the photoreceptor 14 contact surface side of the cleaning blade (elastic rubber blade) 8 of the supporting member 9 fixing to the elastic rubber blade 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming method and an image forming apparatus used for a copying machine, a printer and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming method using electrophotography, a visible image is formed by forming an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor and then developing with a toner composed of a so-called resin and a colorant. A method has been adopted in which the image is transferred onto paper or the like as an image support, and is fixed by further applying heat or the like.
The photoreceptor removes residual toner in a cleaning step after the transfer step, and is repeatedly used for image formation. On the other hand, a fur brush, a magnetic brush, a blade, or the like is representative of the cleaning means, but a blade is mainly used in terms of performance, configuration, and the like. At this time, a plate-shaped rubber elastic body is generally used as the blade member.

In recent years, as an electrophotographic photoreceptor, an inorganic photoreceptor such as selenium, which has a problem in disposability, has been shifted to an organic photoreceptor in consideration of prevention of environmental pollution. As this organic photoreceptor, a laminated organic photoreceptor composed of a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer on a conductive support via an undercoat layer as necessary is often used. This charge transport layer is usually composed of a binder resin containing a charge transport material, and is easily scratched by friction or the like during repeated use in a cleaning step for removing toner, a developing step, a transfer step, and the like. . In addition, there has been a problem in use over a long period of time due to a decrease in film thickness particularly in the cleaning step.

[0004] In order to solve this problem, recently, means for suppressing the amount of wear by increasing the molecular weight of the binder resin constituting the charge transport layer has been adopted.

[0005] However, although the abrasion resistance of the photoreceptor itself is improved, the film strength of the photoreceptor is increased and the surface of the photoreceptor is hardly abraded. Become. As a result, a filmed material is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor, and the charging performance of the photoreceptor is reduced in a high-humidity environment, and the surface potential is reduced. Also, due to the influence of such a filmed material, the cleaning blade is worn or deteriorated, and cleaning failure occurs, so that the toner component on the photoreceptor cannot be completely scraped off. There was a problem of generating defects.

As described above, in the image forming method using a photoreceptor using a high-molecular weight binder resin having high durability and a high abrasion resistance function on the surface, a stable image is formed over a long period of time. I can't do that.

In order to solve these problems, it is common practice to forcibly remove the photosensitive layer and always expose a clean surface of the photosensitive member. Means for shaving the photoreceptor include increasing the abrasion speed by increasing the contact load of the blade, and bringing a urethane roller with an abrasive added into contact with the photoreceptor. However, when the amount of wear is increased in this way, although image defects due to poor cleaning are improved, sensitivity and charging potential are reduced due to wear, and the life of the inorganic photoconductor is shortened, thereby hindering high durability. The main cause.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic image forming method and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus capable of obtaining a high quality and stable copy image for a long period of time.

[0009]

The object of the present invention is attained by adopting the following constitution.

(1) In an electrophotographic image forming method having a cleaning member for cleaning the surface of an organic photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer provided on a conductive support with an elastic rubber blade, the binder resin on the uppermost layer of the photosensitive layer may be used. A polycarbonate having a viscosity average molecular weight of 30,000 or more is used, and the elastic rubber blade is substantially held by a support member for fixing the cleaning member on a photosensitive member contact surface side of the cleaning blade. Electrophotographic image forming method.

(2) The electrophotographic image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the elastic rubber blade has a rubber hardness of 60 ° or more and a rebound resilience of 60% or less.

(3) In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a cleaning member for cleaning the surface of an organic photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer provided on a conductive support with an elastic rubber blade, the binder resin on the uppermost layer of the photosensitive layer may be used. A polycarbonate having a viscosity average molecular weight of 30,000 or more is used, and the elastic rubber blade is substantially held by a support member for fixing the cleaning member on a photosensitive member contact surface side of the cleaning blade. Electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

(4) The electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to (3), wherein the elastic rubber blade has a rubber hardness of 60 ° or more and a rebound resilience of 60% or less.

A polycarbonate having a viscosity average molecular weight of less than 30,000 has a low photoreceptor surface strength and cannot be used in the present invention. Typical polycarbonates include those having the following structures.

[0015]

Embedded image

Wherein R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ , R ₄ ,
R ₅ , R ₆ , R ₇ and R ₈ each represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or a lower alkyl group.

W represents an integer of 2 or more, and R _a and R _b are
Each represents a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or an aryl group, or _a group in which _Ra and _Rb are bonded together to form a carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring, and _Rc and _Rd each represent Represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or aryl group.

As the elastic rubber blade for cleaning, a material such as urethane rubber or silicone rubber is preferable, and a urethane rubber blade is particularly preferable. In the present invention, the rubber hardness is preferably 60 ° or more in JISA hardness, and the rebound resilience is preferably 60% or less.

The elastic rubber blade used in the present invention comprises:
As shown in FIG. 1, the support member has a free end on a support member.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes a photosensitive drum of an organic photosensitive member, 8 denotes an elastic rubber blade, and 9 denotes a support member.

In the present invention, the method of fixing the elastic rubber blade to the supporting member can achieve the object by substantially holding the elastic rubber blade on the supporting member on the photosensitive member contact surface side. If held on the opposite side, the object of the present invention cannot be achieved. FIG.
In the above, (A) is a method of contacting the present invention, and (B)
Is outside the present invention.

The condition for properly pressing the elastic rubber blade against the photoreceptor surface is determined by a delicate balance of various characteristics, and is considerably narrow. It depends on the characteristics of the elastic rubber blade such as its thickness, and the setting requires accuracy. However, the elastic rubber blades cannot be always set under appropriate conditions because the thickness of the elastic rubber blades can be slightly varied at the time of manufacture. In the process, it may be out of the proper area. Particularly when combined with a photosensitive layer using a high molecular weight binder resin, image defects such as filming and black spots are liable to occur if the photosensitive layer deviates from an appropriate area.

Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to cancel the variation in the characteristics of the elastic rubber blade, and even if the thickness of the elastic rubber blade varies, the pressing force against the photoreceptor surface is not affected. The above setting method will be effective.

Conventionally, as a method of setting an elastic rubber blade that does not cause a change in the pressure contact force on the photosensitive member surface, a supporting member is held via a fulcrum, and a weight is placed on the opposite side of the elastic rubber blade from contact with the photosensitive member surface. In addition, there has been adopted a method of press-fitting by applying the load. However, this method must be structurally complex and rugged, is expensive, and cannot be incorporated into a small machine with a sufficient pressing force.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the free end of the elastic rubber blade is pressed against the opposite side (counter) of the rotation direction of the photosensitive member.

The rubber hardness of the elastic rubber blade is J
IS A 60 ° to 70 ° (measured using JIS K6301 spring hardness test (A type)), rebound resilience is 30
７０70% (measured using a JIS K6301 rebound resilience test), Young's modulus is 30 to 60 kgf / cm ² , thickness is 1.5 mm to 3.0 mm, and free length is 7 to 12 m
m and the pressing force on the photoreceptor are preferably in the range of 5 to 30 g / cm.

The structure of the photoreceptor used in the present invention is as follows.

The charge generation material (CGM) is not particularly limited, but includes, for example, phthalocyanine pigment, polycyclic quinone pigment, azo pigment, perylene pigment, indigoid pigment and the like.

In particular, the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention includes a fluorenone-based disazo pigment, an imidazole perylene pigment,
The use of an anthrone pigment or an oxytitanyl phthalocyanine pigment shows remarkably improved effects in sensitivity, durability and image quality.

These charge generating substances can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The charge transport material (CTM) is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, an oxazole derivative, an oxadiazole derivative, a thiazole derivative, a thiadiazole derivative, a triazole derivative, an imidazole derivative, an imidazolone derivative, an imidazolidine derivative, a bisimidazolidine derivative. , Styryl compounds, hydrazone compounds, pyrazoline derivatives, amine derivatives, oxazolone derivatives, benzothiazole derivatives, benzimidazole derivatives, quinazoline derivatives, benzofuran derivatives, acridine derivatives, phenazine derivatives, aminostilbene derivatives, poly-N-vinylcarbazole, poly-1 -Vinyl pyrene,
And poly-9-vinylanthracene.

Further, as the charge transporting substance, those which are excellent in the ability to transport holes generated upon light irradiation and which are suitable for combination with oxytitanyl phthalocyanine and the like are preferable.

Since the charge generating substance and the charge transporting substance by themselves have poor film forming ability, the photosensitive layer may be formed by using various binders.

Any binder resin can be used for forming the photosensitive layer, but it is preferable to use a film-forming high molecular polymer which is hydrophobic, has a high dielectric constant, and is electrically insulating. . Examples of such a high-molecular polymer include polycarbonate, polyester, methacrylic acid resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene, polyvinyl acetate,
Styrene-butadiene copolymer, vinylidene chloride-acrylonitrile copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-maleic anhydride copolymer, silicone resin, silicone-alkyd resin, phenol formaldehyde resin, styrene -Alkyd resin, poly-N-vinyl carbazole, polyvinyl acetal (for example, polyvinyl butyral) and the like. These binder resins can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more.

An antioxidant can be added to the photosensitive layer for the purpose of preventing ozone deterioration. As antioxidants,
Hindered phenol, hindered amine, paraphenylenediamine, arylalkane, hydroquinone, spirochroman, spiroidanone and derivatives thereof,
Organic sulfur compounds, organic phosphorus compounds and the like can be mentioned.

[0036] These specific compounds are disclosed in
Nos. 3-14154, 63-18355, 63-4
4662, 63-50848, 63-50849
Nos. 63-58455, 63-71856, 63-71857 and 63-146046.

The amount of the antioxidant to be added is 0.1 to 100 parts by weight, preferably 1 to 50 parts by weight, particularly preferably 5 to 25 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of CTM.

The organic photoreceptor is provided on a support with a charge generation layer (C
GL), the charge transport layer (CTM), and if necessary,
Auxiliary layers such as a protective layer, an undercoat layer, a barrier layer, and an adhesive layer may be laminated.

The undercoat layer functions as an adhesive layer or a blocking layer. In addition to the binder resin, for example, polyvinyl alcohol, ethyl cellulose,
Carboxymethyl cellulose, casein, copolymerized nylon, N-alkoxymethylated nylon, starch and the like are used.

Solvents or dispersion media used for forming the charge generation layer and the charge transport layer include butylamine, diethylamine, ethylenediamine, isopropanolamine, triethanolamine, triethylenediamine, and the like.
N, N-dimethylformamide, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, cyclohexanone, benzene, toluene, xylene, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,
2-dichloropropane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethane, dichloromethane, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, dimethyl Sulfoxide, methylcellosolve and the like.

FIG. 2 shows the form of the organic photoreceptor according to the present invention.
Examples are shown in (1) to (6).

As shown in FIGS. 2 (1) and 2 (2), the organic photoreceptor is composed of a conductive support 1 on which CGM2 containing CGM as a main component and CTL3 containing CTM as a main component. Are provided. Of these, the uppermost layer refers to the layer on the outermost surface of the photoreceptor.

The photosensitive layers 4, 4 'may be provided via an undercoat layer 5 provided on the conductive support 1, as shown in FIGS.

As described above, an electrophotographic photosensitive member having excellent electrophotographic properties can be obtained when the photosensitive layer has a two-layer structure.

In the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the photosensitive layer 4 comprising fine particles of CGM 7 dispersed in the layer 6 containing CTM as a main component is electrically conductively supported. It may be provided directly on the body 1 or via the undercoat layer 5.

Further, a protective layer may be provided on the photosensitive layer, if necessary.

Here, when the photosensitive layer has a two-layer structure, CGL
2 can be formed by the following method directly on the conductive support 1 or the CTL 3, or after providing an undercoat layer such as an adhesive layer or a blocking layer as necessary.

(1) Vacuum evaporation method (2) Method of applying a solution in which CGM is dissolved in an appropriate solvent (3) CGM is formed on fine particles in a dispersion medium by a ball mill, sand grinder, or the like, and a binder is used if necessary. And applying a dispersion obtained by mixing and dispersing.

That is, specifically, a vapor deposition method such as vacuum evaporation, sputtering, or CVD, or a coating method such as dipping, spray, blade, or roll method is optionally used.

The thickness of the CGL thus formed is preferably 0.01 to 5 μm, more preferably 0.05 to 3 μm.

The CTL 3 can be formed in the same manner as the CGL 2.

At this time, the thickness of the CTL3 can be changed as required, but is usually preferably 5 to 40 μm, particularly preferably 23 to 35 μm, which is excellent in sensitivity and durability. Is obtained. The composition ratio in this CTL is such that the binder is 0.1 to 5 parts by weight with respect to 1 part by weight of CTM.
It is preferable to use the binder in an amount of 5 parts by weight, but when forming the photosensitive layer 4 ″ in which fine-grained CGM is dispersed, the binder is preferably used in an amount of 5 parts by weight or less based on 1 part by weight of the CGM.

In the case where the CGL is of a dispersion type in a binder, the binder is preferably used in an amount of 5 parts by weight or less with respect to 1 part by weight of the CGM.

The material of the conductive support used in the present invention is mainly aluminum, copper, brass, steel,
A belt-shaped or drum-shaped metal material such as stainless steel or another plastic material is used. Among them, aluminum excellent in cost, workability and the like is preferably used, and a thin-walled cylindrical aluminum tube usually formed by extrusion or drawing is often used.

Next, although not limited to this, FIG. 3 shows an example of a digital copying machine, and the image forming method and apparatus of the present invention will be described.

In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3, although not shown in the figure, the original is irradiated with light from a light source, the reflected light is converted into an electric signal by an image reading unit, and this image data is converted into an image by the image writing unit 11. To 13 (11 is a laser light source, 12 is a polygon mirror, and 13 is an fθ lens).

On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 14 for forming an image is uniformly charged by corona discharge in the charging unit 15, and subsequently, image exposure light is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 14 from the laser light source 11 in the image writing section. Then, the image is reverse-developed by the next developing unit 16 and transferred to a recording sheet (recording material) by the transfer pole 17. The recording material (recording paper) 18 is a separation pole 19
As a result, the photosensitive drum is separated from the photosensitive drum and fixed by the fixing device 20. On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 14 is
1 is cleaned. Reference numeral 22 denotes a pre-charging exposure lamp, which may be provided after the separation pole 19 and before the cleaning device.

In the above description, the process using a single color has been described. However, in some cases, an image in a plurality of colors such as two colors may be used. The process of charging, image writing by laser light exposure, and developing the corresponding color toner is repeated by applying the signal for each color separated at the time of image reading, and the four color toners of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toner are repeated. The image may be formed on the photoreceptor and transferred to the recording material at one time.

Further, the method of forming the toner image and the method of transferring the toner image to the recording material may be different.

Further, in addition to the above, image information is previously stored in RO
The information can be stored in an image memory such as an M or a floppy disk, and the information in the image memory can be extracted as needed and output to an image forming unit. Therefore, an apparatus that does not have an image reading unit but stores information from a computer or the like in a memory and outputs the information to an image forming unit as in this example is also included in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The most common of these are LED printers and LBPs (laser beam printers).

[0061]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples, but embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

Example 1 Polyamide resin Amilan CM
30 g of -8000 (manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) to 900 m of methanol
l, 1-butanol, 100 ml
The mixture was heated and dissolved at 0 ° C. This solution was prepared with an outer diameter of 80 mm and a length of 36.
Coated on a 0 mm cylindrical aluminum conductive support,
An undercoat layer having a thickness of 0.5 μm was formed.

Next, 10 g of a silicone resin KR-5240 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) was dissolved in 1000 ml of t-butyl acetate, and Y-TiOPc (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-17066) was added thereto.
No., Fig. 1) 10 g was mixed and 20
After time dispersion, a charge generation layer coating liquid (CGL liquid-1) was obtained. Using this solution, it was applied on the undercoat layer,
A charge generation layer having a thickness of μm was formed.

Next, 150 g of CTM (T-1) and 200 g of BPZ type polycarbonate resin Iupilon Z-300 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company) having a viscosity average molecular weight of 30,000 were added to 1,2-
It was dissolved in 1,000 ml of dichloroethane to obtain a coating solution for the charge transport layer (CTL solution-1). Using this liquid, after coating on the charge generation layer, dried at 100 ° C. for 1 hour,
A charge transport layer having a thickness of 22 μm was formed.

Thus, a photoreceptor sample (OPC-1) comprising an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer, and a charge transport layer was obtained.

[0066]

Embedded image

The photoreceptor produced as described above was incorporated in a remodeled machine of a digital copying machine Konica 7050 (manufactured by Konica).

At this time, an elastic rubber blade used as a cleaning member was attached to the supporting member with a hot melt adhesive, and the supporting member was fixed to the cleaning device.

Further, the surface on which the elastic rubber blade was attached to the support member had the same structure as the surface in contact with the photosensitive member. The elastic rubber blade has a rubber hardness of JIS A 70
°, rebound resilience 60%, thickness 1.9mm, free length 9mm
At a contact angle of 20 ° in a counter direction to the rotation of the photoreceptor with a pressing force of 18 g / cm.

In this state, a 200,000 copy actual shooting test was performed to evaluate the quality of the copied image.

Example 2 A photoconductor sample was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the binder resin for the charge transport layer was changed to BPZ type polycarbonate resin Panlite TS-2050 (manufactured by Teijin) having a viscosity-average molecular weight of 50,000. (OPC-
2) was obtained.

Using the photoreceptor sample (OPC-2), a 200,000 copy actual copying test was performed in the same manner except that the rubber hardness of the elastic rubber blade used as the cleaning member was changed to JISA 75 °.

Example 3 A photoconductor was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the binder resin for the charge transport layer was changed to BPZ type polycarbonate resin Iupilon Z-800 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical) having a viscosity average molecular weight of 80,000. Sample (OPC-
3) was obtained.

Using the photoreceptor sample (OPC-3), a 200,000 copy actual photographing test was performed in the same manner except that the resilience of the elastic rubber blade used as the cleaning member was changed to 65%.

Example 4 A 200,000 actual copy test was performed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the rubber hardness of the elastic rubber blade used as the cleaning member was changed to JISA 58 °.

Example 5 A 200,000 copy actual photographing test was performed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the resilience of the elastic rubber blade used as the cleaning member was changed to 55%.

(Example 6) In the same manner as in Example 3, except that the rubber hardness of the elastic rubber blade used as the cleaning member was changed to JISA 58 ° and the rebound resilience was changed to 55%, a real copy test of 200,000 copies was performed. Was.

(Comparative Example 1) In the same manner as in Example 2, except that the surface on which the elastic rubber blade was attached to the support member was the surface facing the surface in contact with the photosensitive member (see FIG. 1B). A live-action test of 200,000 copies was performed.

Comparative Example 2 A photoconductor was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the binder resin for the charge transport layer was changed to BPZ type polycarbonate resin Iupilon Z-200 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical) having a viscosity average molecular weight of 20,000. Sample (OPC-
4) was obtained.

Also, using the photoreceptor sample (OPC-4), the same procedure as in Example 1 was repeated except that the surface on which the elastic rubber blade was attached to the support member was changed to the surface in contact with the photoreceptor.
A live-copy test of 10,000 copies was performed.

(Comparative Example 3) In Example 1, BPA having a viscosity average molecular weight of 25,000 was added to the binder resin of the charge transport layer.
Photoreceptor sample (OPC-L) in the same manner except that Panlite L-1250 (manufactured by Teijin) was used.
5) was obtained.

Also, using the photoreceptor sample (OPC-5), the same procedure as in Example 1 was repeated except that the surface on which the elastic rubber blade was attached to the support member was changed to the surface facing the surface in contact with the photoreceptor. A live-copy test of 10,000 copies was performed.

The results were evaluated by visual evaluation and image density measurement using a Macbeth densitometer. The evaluation criteria are shown below.

Fog: Judgment based on white background density (WD) “○” WD ≦ 0.005 “Δ” 0.005 <WD ≦ 0.01 “×” 0.01 <WD Image blur: Judgment by fine line reproducibility ○: 8 lines / mm or more “Δ”: 5.6 lines / mm or more, 7.1 lines / mm or less “×” 5 lines / mm or less Density unevenness: Density difference of entire halftone (density 0.2) image ( ΔHD = maximum density−minimum density) Judgment “≦” ΔHD ≦ 0.05 “△” 0.05 <ΔHD ≦ 0.1 “×” 0.1 <ΔHD Practical application is possible.

Table 1 shows the test results.

[0086]

[Table 1]

As shown in Examples 1 to 6, in the present invention,
Good image quality is obtained from the beginning to 200,000 copies.

On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 1 to 3, it can be seen that the image quality deteriorates due to repeated use, and there is a problem.

[0089]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electrophotographic image forming method and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus capable of obtaining a high-quality and stable copy image for a long period of time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a method for holding an elastic rubber blade according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a layer configuration of the photoconductor of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Laser light source of image writing part 14 Photoconductor drum 15 Charging unit 16 Developing unit 17 Transfer pole 19 Separation pole 20 Fixing device 21 Cleaning device 22 Pre-charge exposure lamp (PCL) 8 Elastic rubber blade

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Shimoda 2970, Ishikawacho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica Corporation (72) Inventor Katsumi Matsuura 2970, Ishikawacho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica Corporation (72) Inventor Yuji Endo 2970 Ishikawacho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica Corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electrophotographic image forming method comprising: a cleaning member for cleaning a surface of an organic photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer provided on a conductive support with an elastic rubber blade; A polycarbonate having an average molecular weight of 30,000 or more is used, and the elastic rubber blade is substantially held by a support member for fixing the cleaning member on a photosensitive member contact surface side of the cleaning blade. Electrophotographic image forming method. 2. The elastic rubber blade has a rubber hardness of 60.
2. The electrophotographic image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the resilience is 60% or less. 3. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a cleaning member for cleaning the surface of an organic photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer provided on a conductive support with an elastic rubber blade, wherein the binder resin on the uppermost layer of the photosensitive layer has viscosity. A polycarbonate having an average molecular weight of 30,000 or more is used, and the elastic rubber blade is substantially held by a support member for fixing the cleaning member on a photosensitive member contact surface side of the cleaning blade. Electrophotographic image forming apparatus. 4. The elastic rubber blade has a rubber hardness of 60.
4. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the resilience is 60% or less.