Cleaning Blade Coating With Controlled Penetration for Low Torque
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning blades in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses experience increased torque and wear, leading to cleaning defects such as curling and toner sneaking through, especially during continuous printing of high-density images.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning blade with a coating layer containing fine particles and a binding component, where the maximum penetration depth of the indenter is between 4.0 μm and 10.0 μm, providing a balance between lubricity and adhesion to prevent torque increase and maintain cleaning performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a cleaning blade with a coating layer is used to reduce torque and prevent curling, then the cleaning blade maintains stable contact pressure, but the coating layer may wear away too easily and expose the blade edge, potentially causing damage to the cleaning target
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by precisely controlling the maximum penetration depth of the indenter in the edge layer between 4.0 μm and 10.0 μm. This parameter optimization ensures the coating layer has appropriate hardness and wear resistance, allowing it to wear away gradually to expose the blade edge for maintaining contact pressure, while preventing excessive wear that would compromise cleaning performance or damage the cleaning target
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by creating an edge layer as a coating on the cleaning blade substrate. This composite structure combines the substrate material with the edge layer material, where the edge layer provides reduced torque and curling prevention, while the controlled penetration depth ensures the composite structure maintains durability and cleaning effectiveness
2Productivity
If the cleaning blade operates during continuous high-density printing, then productivity is improved, but torque increases and causes cleaning defects such as curling and toner sneaking through
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by optimizing the maximum penetration depth of the indenter in the edge layer between 4.0 μm and 10.0 μm. This parameter control ensures the coating layer maintains appropriate mechanical properties that prevent excessive torque increase during continuous high-density printing, allowing sustained productivity without cleaning defects
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning blade includes an elastic cleaning blade including an edge layer and a coating layer on the front end portion of the elastic cleaning blade substrate, the coating layer that comes into contact with a cleaning target to clean the surface of the cleaning target, the front end portion including a front edge ridge part and a cleaning blade supporting member to support the elastic cleaning blade substrate, wherein the maximum penetration depth hmax of the indenter of a microhardness tester is between 4.0 μm and 10.0 μm at a position 100 μm inward from the front edge ridge part on the undersurface of the elastic cleaning blade substrate as measured according to a nanoindentation hardness test.