Protective Layer Forming Device for Photoconductor Friction Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face challenges in maintaining high-quality image formation due to increased friction and wear between photoconductors and cleaning blades, leading to reduced operational life and image quality, especially at high linear velocities, and the occurrence of black streaks caused by metal soap oxidation on charging rollers.
Innovation Solution
A protective layer forming device that uses a mixture of zinc stearate and zinc palmitate as a metal soap, micronized to a fine powder with particles between 20 μm and 200 μm in diameter, applied uniformly onto the photoconductor to reduce friction and prevent metal soap oxidation, ensuring consistent image quality at high speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rubber-made cleaning blade is press-contacted to remove residues, then cleanability is improved, but friction and wear increase, shortening operational life
Solution Approach 1:
A protective layer comprising metal soap particles (such as zinc stearate) is applied as an intermediary substance between the photoconductor surface and the cleaning blade. This protective layer reduces direct friction and contact stress between the rubber blade and photoconductor, thereby extending their operational lives while maintaining effective cleanability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the surface parameters of the photoconductor by coating it with metal soap particles, which modify the friction characteristics and surface properties. This parameter change reduces the coefficient of friction between the photoconductor and cleaning blade, decreasing wear while preserving cleaning effectiveness.
2Reliability
If metal soap is applied to protect photoconductor from AC charge, then photoconductor deterioration is reduced, but metal soap decomposes and generates fatty acid, increasing friction
Solution Approach 1:
The protective layer uses a composite formulation containing metal soap particles (for AC charge protection) combined with other substances that prevent decomposition and maintain low friction. This composite material approach allows the system to simultaneously achieve photoconductor protection and sustained lubricity without the friction increase caused by fatty acid generation.
3Manufacturing precision
If small particle diameter toner is used for higher image quality, then image resolution is improved, but toner slippage occurs at high rate due to insufficient cleaning blade retention
Solution Approach 1:
The protective layer acts as a sacrificial, easily replenished coating that facilitates the removal of small toner particles. By providing a low-friction surface and improving toner release characteristics, the protective layer enables effective cleaning of fine toner residues without requiring substantial changes to the cleaning blade mechanism.
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
The solution effectively reduces friction and wear, enhances cleanability, and prevents black streaks by ensuring uniform application of the protective layer, thereby prolonging the life of photoconductors and cleaning blades while maintaining high-quality image formation even at high linear velocities.
Implementation Method 1
a protective agent containing metal soap is applied onto a photoconductor, and the energy of AC charge is absorbed to the protective agent first, but hardly reaches the photoconductor
Implementation Method 2
a protective layer forming device which forms a protective layer containing a protective agent on a surface of a photoconductor... improve the lubricity of the photoconductor surface, reduce friction between the photoconductor and the cleaning blade
Data Source
AI summary
A protective layer forming device including: a protective agent block containing a metal soap, a protective agent supplying unit configured to supply a protective agent onto a photoconductor, and a pressing unit configured to press the protective agent supplying unit against the protective agent block, wherein the protective agent supplying unit is rotated while being pressed against the protective agent block by the pressing unit, so that the protective agent block is micronized to make the protective agent in the form of fine powder, and the protective agent in the form of fine powder is supplied onto the photoconductor, thereby forming a protective layer on the photoconductor, and wherein the protective agent in the form of fine powder has a particle diameter of 200 μm or smaller and contains protective agent particles of 20 μm to 200 μm in an amount of 1% by mass to 70% by mass.