Cleaning Blade Lubricant Coating Adjustment for Toner Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face issues with cleaning blade performance due to an undesired increase in the radius of curvature caused by a coating film of lubricant, leading to ineffective toner removal, especially in large image-area ratios, resulting in cleaning failures.
Innovation Solution
An initial coating film adjustment is performed before image formation, where the image bearer is driven to rotate, and the cleaning blade is slid to remove a portion of the lubricant coating, exposing the edge of the cleaning blade, thereby enhancing cleaning performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a coating film of lubricant is formed on the cleaning blade edge, then the cleaning blade maintains stable contact with the image bearer, but the radius of curvature increases causing ineffective toner removal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing coating film adjustment before actual image formation. The controller drives the image bearer to rotate and slide the cleaning blade against it, removing excess lubricant coating before the cleaning blade is needed for production cleaning. This preliminary removal action ensures the cleaning blade starts with optimal coating thickness, preventing the radius of curvature increase that would harm cleaning efficiency while maintaining contact stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and thickness parameter of the lubricant coating film through controlled sliding friction. By adjusting the sliding conditions (rotation speed, contact pressure, sliding distance), the coating film thickness is modified from an initial thick state to an optimized thin state. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by achieving the right balance between maintaining contact stability (requiring some coating) and preventing radius of curvature increase (requiring thin coating).
2Reliability
If lubricant is applied to the cleaning blade, then contact stability is maintained, but cleaning performance deteriorates due to increased radius of curvature
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs preliminary coating adjustment by driving the image bearer to rotate and sliding the cleaning blade against it before actual cleaning operations. This preliminary sliding action removes excess lubricant coating that would otherwise increase the radius of curvature and degrade cleaning performance. The result is an optimized coating thickness that maintains contact stability without compromising cleaning precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding process changes the coating film thickness parameter from excessive to optimal. By controlling sliding conditions, the lubricant coating is reduced to a thin layer that maintains sufficient contact stability while preventing the radius of curvature increase that would harm cleaning performance. This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction between reliability and manufacturing precision.
3Reliability
If the cleaning blade contacts the image bearer with thick lubricant coating, then contact stability is ensured, but toner removal effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary coating adjustment by rotating the image bearer and sliding the cleaning blade against it, removing excess lubricant coating before actual cleaning operations begin. This preliminary removal ensures the cleaning blade operates with optimal coating thickness, maintaining contact stability while maximizing toner removal efficiency by preventing radius of curvature increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding friction process changes the coating thickness parameter from thick to thin, optimizing the balance between contact stability and cleaning efficiency. The controlled reduction of coating thickness prevents the radius of curvature from increasing, thereby maintaining effective toner removal while preserving sufficient contact stability for reliable operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method improves cleaning efficiency by reducing the chances of cleaning failures and ensuring stable contact between the cleaning blade and the image bearer, effectively removing residues.
Implementation Method 1
sliding the image bearer and the cleaning blade, removing a portion of the coating film of the lubricant
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a cleaning blade having an elastic member contacting a surface of the image bearer, the cleaning blade removing a residue on the surface of the image bearer, and a controller. In the image forming apparatus, the cleaning blade has a coating film of a lubricant formed on an edge contacting, at least, the image bearer, and the controller performs an initial coating film adjustment before an image is initially formed. In the image forming apparatus, the initial coating film adjustment includes driving the image bearer to rotate, sliding the image bearer and the cleaning blade, removing a portion of the coating film of the lubricant, which is formed on the cleaning blade, and exposing the edge of the cleaning blade.