Cleaning Blade Amplitude Control for Toner Leakage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning blades for photosensitive drums in electrophotographic apparatuses face issues with toner leakage, blade turning, squealing noise, chipping, and excessive wear due to inappropriate edge amplitude and contact pressure, which affect the stability and durability of the cleaning process.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning blade with a blade portion that has a specific amplitude relationship (a≤50 μm and 0.1≤b/a≤0.6) and a support configuration (0.26≤A/B≤0.48, 1 mm≤C≤3 mm, and international rubber hardness of 80 IRHD or more and 90 IRHD or less) to optimize edge vibration and contact pressure, reducing toner leakage, blade chipping, and noise while minimizing wear on the photosensitive drum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the edge amplitude is increased to improve cleaning effectiveness, then toner scraping capability is improved, but toner leakage and blade turning up occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by precisely controlling the amplitude parameters a and b of the blade edge vibration. By setting a≤50 μm and 0.1≤b/a≤0.6, the invention optimizes the vibration characteristics to achieve effective toner scraping while preventing excessive blade movement that causes toner leakage and blade turning up.
2Productivity
If the peripheral amplitude is increased relative to edge amplitude, then cleaning coverage is improved, but squealing noise increases due to resonance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent controls the amplitude ratio parameter b/a within 0.1≤b/a≤0.6 to optimize the vibration distribution between the edge and peripheral parts. This parameter optimization ensures adequate cleaning coverage while preventing excessive peripheral vibration that would cause resonance and squealing noise with the electrophotographic apparatus body.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the peripheral amplitude is decreased relative to edge amplitude, then squealing is reduced, but blade tip chipping occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes the minimum ratio b/a≥0.1 to ensure that peripheral vibration is not excessively reduced. This maintains sufficient vibration amplitude at the blade tip to prevent chipping and maintain durability, while still keeping the overall vibration within limits that prevent squealing noise.
4Productivity
If contact pressure on the photosensitive drum is increased, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but drum wearing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the vibration amplitude parameters to achieve effective cleaning with reduced contact pressure. By controlling a≤50 μm and 0.1≤b/a≤0.6, the blade maintains sufficient cleaning effectiveness while minimizing excessive contact pressure that would cause accelerated wearing of the photosensitive drum surface.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides a cleaning blade having a blade portion. The blade portion has a blade tip equipped with an edge constituted by a ridge line between the tip surface the blade portion and a blade surface arranged near a photosensitive drum. The blade portion satisfies the following expressions: a≤50 μm, and 0.1≤b/a≤0.6 where, when the blade portion is viewed along blade longitudinal direction with the edge in sliding contact with the photosensitive drum for measurement rotating in one direction, a represents a maximum amplitude of the edge which vibrates with the rotation of the photosensitive drum for measurement, and b represents a maximum amplitude when a position separated from the edge by 200 μm on the blade surface of the blade tip vibrates with the oscillation of the edge.