JP5604385B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine equipped with these functions, and more particularly, to a rotating brush (contacting with a surface of an image carrier after a toner image is transferred to a transfer paper ( The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that collects residues such as residual toner and paper dust attached to the surface of an image carrier by a fur brush).

  Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine equipped with these functions, particularly a rotating brush (a fur brush that comes into contact with the surface of an image carrier after a toner image is transferred to a transfer sheet). 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an image forming apparatus that collects residues such as residual toner and paper dust attached to the surface of an image carrier with a brush.

  At this time, when scraping off the residue adhering to the surface of the image carrier with a rotating brush, in order to efficiently collect the scraped residue, after collecting the residue from the rotating brush with a collecting roller, It is preferable that the cleaning blade is brought into contact with the tip of the cleaning blade in the counter direction at a relatively upper position of the roller and dropped onto a recovery screw or the like.

  For this reason, a sheet-like seal member or the like is disposed between the collection roller and the cleaning blade so that the residue scraped off by the cleaning blade does not adhere to the upstream side of the collection roller again (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-96630 A

  However, in the above-described image forming apparatus, not only the static friction coefficient of the seal member but also the parameter of the surface roughness of the collection roller is important.

  For example, when the surface roughness of the collecting roller is extremely small, clogging is likely to occur between the collecting member and the deposits are difficult to collect from the rotating brush. Further, when the surface roughness of the collecting roller is extremely large, the scraping performance with the cleaning blade is deteriorated.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus that can ensure stable cleaning performance.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus of the present invention is in contact with an image carrier on which a toner image is formed on a surface, and the surface of the image carrier after the toner image is transferred to a transfer paper. A rotating brush that collects residues adhering to the surface, and contacts with the rotating brush on the downstream side of the rotating direction of the rotating brush with respect to the contact portion between the image carrier and the rotating brush, and is collected by the rotating brush. A collecting roller that removes the residue, a cleaning blade that contacts the rotating brush and the collecting roller at a downstream side in the rotation direction of the collecting roller and removes the residue removed by the collecting roller; In the image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet that is positioned between a contact portion between the rotating brush and the collection roller and the cleaning blade, and that contacts the collection roller, the surface of the image carrier And the surface roughness of To the collecting roller is is characterized in that it is a smaller structure with time changes greatly in the initial.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, stable cleaning performance can be ensured.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the surface layer of the image carrier and the surface layer of the recovery roller are formed of a coating layer made of the same material, so that each of the image carrier and the recovery roller is provided. The tendency of the surface roughness over time to have substantially the same structure is characterized.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, the temporal changes in the surface roughnesses of the image carrier and the collection roller can be made substantially the same.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a polishing member that polishes the one surface having a difference in surface hardness of the collection roller and the surface hardness of the image carrier and having a high surface hardness. By synchronizing the relative change rate or the difference in roughness between the change in surface roughness with time and the change in surface roughness with time of the collection roller, the surface roughness of each of the image carrier and the collection roller is adjusted. It is characterized by having the same structure with the tendency of change over time.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, it is possible to maintain the same relationship between the temporal changes of the surface roughnesses of the image carrier and the collecting roller while maintaining substantially the same relationship.

  5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein one surface hardness of the recovery roller and the surface hardness of the image carrier is lower than the other surface hardness, and the one surface of which the surface hardness is reduced. The image carrier is provided with a coating layer, and the relative change rate or the difference in roughness between the change with time of the surface roughness of the image carrier and the change with time of the surface roughness of the collecting roller is synchronized. And the tendency of each surface roughness of the said collection | recovery roller to change with time is made into the substantially same structure, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the image forming apparatus of claim 4, the changes in the surface roughness of the image carrier and the collection roller with the same structure are caused to have the same surface roughness at the time of replacement of the image carrier. It can be.

  At this time, the initial surface roughness of the recovery roller is Rz> 3, the initial surface roughness of the image carrier is Rz> 5, and the surface roughness at the time of replacement accompanying the time-dependent change of the image carrier. It is desirable that Rz> 0.5. Further, it is desirable that the coating layer on the surface of the collecting roller is a metal plating with high hardness.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention can ensure stable cleaning performance.

1 is an explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the principal part of the clogged state which shows the image forming apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a main part showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 illustrates an intermediate transfer belt applied to an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the intermediate transfer belt in an initial state, and (B) is a change in surface roughness with time. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the intermediate transfer belt in a state. 1 shows a collection roller applied to an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the collection roller in an initial state, and (B) is a state in which the surface roughness changes with time. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of a collection | recovery roller. FIG. 10 is a graph showing temporal changes of the intermediate transfer belt and the collection roller of Example 2 in the image forming apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A shows a change with time of a collecting roller of Example 3 in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, (A) is a sectional view of an essential part in the initial stage, (B) is a sectional view of an essential part in the middle period, and (C) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part at the end. FIG. 10 is a graph showing temporal changes of the intermediate transfer belt and the collection roller of Example 3 in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Next, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are preferred specific examples of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and may have various technically preferred limitations. However, the technical scope of the present invention is particularly limited to the present invention. As long as there is no description which limits, it is not limited to these aspects. In addition, the constituent elements in the embodiments shown below can be appropriately replaced with existing constituent elements and the like, and various variations including combinations with other existing constituent elements are possible. Therefore, the description of the embodiment described below does not limit the contents of the invention described in the claims.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a main part in a clogged state showing the image forming apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 shows an intermediate transfer belt applied to an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4A shows an initial state of the intermediate transfer belt. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the intermediate transfer belt with the surface roughness changing with time, and FIG. 5 is applied to the image forming apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the recovery roller in the initial state, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the recovery roller in which the surface roughness changes with time. 6 shows changes with time of the intermediate transfer belt and the collection roller of Example 2 in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a rough view, FIG. 7 shows a change with time of the collecting roller of Example 3 in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of an essential part, and FIG. 7C is a cross-sectional view of the main part in the final stage, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing changes with time of the intermediate transfer belt and the collection roller of Example 3 in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a tandem color printer 11 as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a paper feed cassette 13 that stores transfer paper (not shown) inside a printer main body 12. A paper feeding unit 14 for taking out the transfer paper from the paper feeding cassette 13, an image forming processing unit 15 for performing an image forming process on the transfer paper supplied from the paper feeding cassette 13 or a manual feed tray (not shown), and a paper feeding cassette 13 or a secondary transfer unit 17 that transfers the toner image that has been subjected to image formation processing by the image forming processing unit 15 while guiding the transfer paper supplied from the manual feed tray along the transfer paper conveyance path 16, and fixing the transferred toner image. A fixing unit 18 for discharging, and a paper discharge unit 19 for discharging the transfer paper after fixing.

  For example, the image forming processing unit 15 employs a tandem system that performs image forming processing using toner (developer) of four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). ing. In the following description, only in the case of color designation, the symbol of each arithmetic numeral is attached with a color (Y, M, C, K) in parentheses, and in the common case, only the arithmetic numeral is included. A description will be given with reference numerals.

  The image forming processing unit 15 corresponds to each color (Y, M, C, K), a plurality of toner containers 20 storing replenishing toner, and printing transmitted from each color toner from a personal computer (not shown). A plurality of amorphous silicon-made photosensitive drums 21 that form toner images based on image data included in the data, a plurality of developing units 22 that supply toner to the respective photosensitive drums 21, and the photosensitive drums 21. And an endless intermediate transfer belt (image carrier) 23 to which the toner image is transferred.

  Each photosensitive drum 21 is for carrying a toner image of each color on the surface thereof based on the beam flux emitted from the exposure unit 24 and transferring the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 23. In addition, it is disposed below the intermediate transfer belt 23. Further, around the photosensitive drum 21, a charger (charging roller) 25, an exposure unit 24, a developing unit 22, a transfer roller 26, a photosensitive member cleaning device 27, and a static eliminator 28 are arranged in the order of the transfer process.

  The developing units 22 having basically the same configuration are disposed adjacent to each other below the intermediate transfer belt 23 along the rotational movement direction. A detailed description of the configuration of the developing device 22 is omitted.

  The intermediate transfer belt 23 is an endless belt disposed in the printer body 12 so as to extend in the horizontal direction, and is circulated and driven in accordance with an image forming operation. In addition, the toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 23 is transferred by the secondary transfer unit 17 to the transfer paper conveyed through the transfer paper conveyance path 16 from the paper feed cassette 13 or the manual feed tray. Further, the intermediate transfer belt 23 is installed so as to be rotatable between a pair of rollers 29, 30. One of the rollers 29 is a driving roller, and the other roller 30 is a tension roller that also serves as a driven roller. Maintained. Further, on the side of the intermediate transfer belt 23 (on the left side facing the roller 30 via the intermediate transfer belt 23 in the drawing), the residual toner after the toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper by the secondary transfer unit 17 is intermediate. A cleaning device 31 is provided to remove from the surface of the transfer belt 23. A reflective sensor 42 is provided on the upstream side of the secondary transfer unit 17 so as to face the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23. The reflective sensor 42 detects the density of the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 23, and the optimum conditions for the image forming operation are set.

  The transfer paper onto which the toner image has been transferred by the secondary transfer unit 17 is fixed by the fixing unit 18 through the transfer paper transport path 16 and then to the paper discharge unit 19 disposed at the end of the transfer paper transport path 16. Are discharged and stacked toward the paper discharge tray portion 12a that also serves as the upper surface of the printer main body 12. The tension mechanism of the roller 30 employs a known technique, and maintains the tensioned state of the intermediate transfer belt 23 by displacing the intermediate transfer belt 23 in the rotational movement direction (directions of arrows a and b in the drawing).

  The exposure unit 24 divides each light beam emitted from a plurality of light sources 32 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to each photosensitive drum 21 (Y, M, C, K) into two. The polarization scanning is performed by polarizers 33 (YM) and 33 (CK) such as polygon mirrors that share the light source 32 (Y) and (M) and the light sources 32 (C) and (K) as a pair. The light beam is imaged on the photosensitive drum 21 (Y, M, C, K).

  The cleaning device 31 extends in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 23 (the depth direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 and the transfer paper width direction), and is disposed to face the roller (tension roller) 30 via the intermediate transfer belt 23. Yes. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning device 31 is in contact with the cleaning case 34, the rotating brush 35 made of a roller-like fur brush that contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23, and the rotating brush 35. A collection roller 36 that electrically collects the residue adhering to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23 collected by the rotating brush 35 from the rotating brush 35, a cleaning blade 37 that scrapes the residue collected by the collecting roller 36, and a rotation A backflow prevention sheet 38 that is located between the contact portion between the brush 35 and the collection roller 36 and the cleaning blade 37 and contacts the collection roller 36, and is in contact with the collection roller 36 downstream of the cleaning blade 37. Scraping with a polishing roller 39 as a polishing member for polishing the surface of the collection roller 36 and a cleaning blade 37 And the residue spiral 40 for collecting and conveying the, and a. In addition, the arrow of illustration shows the rotation direction of each rotary body.

  As a result, the cleaning device 31 removes residual toner and paper dust remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23 by the rotating brush 35 in the rotational movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 23 (see the arrow in FIG. 2) and the counter direction. Collect between brush fibers by rotating at.

  Residue collected by the rotating brush 35 is removed from between the brush fibers to the collecting roller 36 due to a potential difference between the rotating brush 35 and the collecting roller 36 by a bias applied to the collecting roller 36.

  Further, the residue removed by the collection roller 36 is scraped off by a cleaning blade 37 that comes into contact with the collection roller 36 in the counter direction, and is discharged out of the apparatus by a spiral 40 disposed below the cleaning blade 37 (illustrated). Not transported to a waste toner box.

  For the rotating brush 35, for example, brush fibers made of a conductive resin such as conductive polyester or conductive nylon are used.

  For the collection roller 36, for example, a metal member such as stainless steel or nickel plating is used.

  For the cleaning blade 37, for example, a resin sheet such as polyurethane or a resin film such as PET is used.

  Further, the backflow preventing sheet 38 allows the residue collected by the rotating brush 35 to pass through without being scraped at all times. For this reason, the material or thickness of the sheet 38 is higher in flexibility than the brush fibers of the rotating brush 35.

  The polishing roller 39 is always in contact with the surface of the collection roller 35 by a biasing force such as a spring (not shown), and polishes the surface of the collection roller 35.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4A, the intermediate transfer belt 23 is provided with an elastic rubber layer 23b and a coating layer 23c in this order on the surface layer side of the base resin 23a. The surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23 is attached with an external additive of toner along with the image forming operation, and when used to some extent, it shifts from the initial state to the durable state and becomes stable. The glossiness also decreases during the transition, but if the glossiness of the surface in the initial state is high, the glossiness varies depending on the location when the surface becomes durable and does not become uniform. If the glossiness is uneven, toner density detection by the reflective sensor 42 becomes unstable. Therefore, in the intermediate transfer belt 23 of the present invention, the surface roughness is increased according to the coating conditions so that the glossiness in the initial state is close to the glossiness in the durable state. At this time, if the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 is initially set to be large depending on the material of the coating layer 23c, the surface treatment, etc., as shown in FIG. 4B, residual toner, external additives, etc. remain. By burying as an object F, a change in the direction in which the surface roughness is smoothed occurs with time. Further, when the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 is large, the generated paper dust is easily attached to the intermediate transfer belt 23 and conveyed. Therefore, the paper dust conveyed to the rotating brush 35 as the intermediate transfer belt 23 rotates is collected by the rotating brush 35, and then transferred to the collecting roller 36 to pass the backflow preventing sheet 38. Then, it is scraped off by the cleaning blade 37 and collected.

  When the surface roughness of the initial intermediate transfer belt 23 is large, the amount of paper dust attached to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23 and transported increases, so the amount of paper dust removed by the collection roller 36 increases. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, when the amount of paper dust increases, clogging is likely to occur between the collection roller 36 and the sheet 38. For this reason, the collected toner cannot pass between the collection roller 36 and the sheet 38 in the depth direction of the paper. Further, the toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 37 from the gap between the collecting roller 36 and the sheet 38 that is not clogged may accumulate on the bottom surface 34a of the cleaning case 34 and may not be collected. In addition, the toner that has become unrecoverable may be reattached to the rotating brush 35 due to the accumulation on the bottom surface 34 a and may be attached to the intermediate transfer belt 23 on the downstream side of the cleaning device 31. The same result will be caused and image defects will occur.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, when a metal material such as aluminum, SUS, or SUM is used for the base material 36a of the collection roller 36, the surface thereof is coated with a high hardness metal such as nickel. By applying as the coating layer 36b, a long-term stable surface roughness can be maintained. Further, the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 can be adjusted by performing a blasting process or the like on the metal material of the base material. When the metal plating process is performed, a surface having a high hardness while maintaining the surface state. Can be obtained. At this time, when the surface of the collection roller 36 is coated with a metal plating layer such as nickel, the surface roughness hardly changes. When the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 is initially large, a change in the surface roughness occurs with time because the toner, the external additive, or the like is buried. In the initial state where the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 is large, the generated paper dust adheres to the intermediate transfer belt 23 and is easily conveyed. The paper dust conveyed to the rotary brush 35 is collected by the rotary brush 35, then removed by the collection roller 36, passed through the sheet 38, scraped off by the cleaning blade 37, and collected.

  Further, when the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 is large, even if a large amount of paper dust is conveyed from the intermediate transfer belt 23, the sheet is allowed to pass without clogging the sheet 38 due to the high conveyance force of the collection roller 36. Can do. However, when the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 is large, the toner easily slips out from the cleaning blade 37, and thus the design of the cleaning blade 37 is restricted.

  Therefore, the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 is increased at the initial stage of the intermediate transfer belt 23 where the amount of paper dust transported is large so as not to clog the paper powder into the sheet 38 and to limit the design of the cleaning blade 37. When the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 is lowered by setting and printing, and the transport amount of the paper dust is reduced, the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 may be set to be more than that for transporting the toner. However, when the surface hardness of the collection roller 36 is high, it cannot be matched with the change over time in the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23, and even though the paper dust can be prevented from clogging at the initial stage, the cleaning blade 37 slips through. Problems appear immediately and cleaning defects occur.

  However, the base material hardness, surface hardness, surface roughness, and the like of the collection roller 36 and the intermediate transfer belt 23 cannot be designed simply by slipping through the paper dust or the cleaning blade 37, so the conditions are limited to some extent. Therefore, in order to solve the problem of slipping out paper dust without affecting other parameters, the initial surface roughness of the collection roller 36 is increased by leveling the surface of the collection roller 36 with the polishing roller 39. It is possible to reduce the surface roughness with time and to match the change in the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 with time.

  FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 with and without the polishing roller 39. As shown in FIG. 5A, the recovery roller 36 is provided with a coating layer 36b made of high-hardness metal plating, so that the surface roughness greatly changes even though it is in contact with the cleaning blade 37. It's hard to think about it. Accordingly, the polishing roller 39 that polishes the surface of the collection roller 36 is made to have a high hardness, so that the collection roller 36 having a large initial surface roughness can be formed over time with the coating layer 36b as shown in FIG. It becomes possible to level.

  Alternatively, the surface layer of the collection roller 36 (coating layer 36b) is lower in hardness than the substrate 36a, and the hardness of the polishing roller 39 is set between the substrate of the collection roller 36 and the surface layer, so that the surface layer is polished. The surface is leveled, but the base material layer is not leveled. Therefore, if the surface roughness of the base material is set by blasting or the like, the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 can be set within a certain range. The initial performance and durability performance can be satisfied.

  The reason why the polishing roller 39 is arranged on the downstream side of the cleaning blade 37 is to prevent the toner from being stuck to the collecting roller 36 by being pressed between the polishing roller 39 and the collecting roller 36. However, if an external additive of toner such as titanium oxide is used as an abrasive, and it is desired to improve the abrasiveness, it may be disposed between the sheet 38 and the cleaning blade 37.

Example 1
In view of the above-described conditions, the same material is used for the coating layer 23c of the intermediate transfer belt 23 and the coating layer 36b of the collection roller 36.

  As a result, the change over time of the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 and the change over time of the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 can be synchronized and always matched.

(Example 2)
The surface hardness of the collection roller 36 was made higher than the surface hardness of the intermediate transfer belt 23, and the surface of the collection roller 36 was polished by a polishing roller 39.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the relative change rate between the change with time of the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 and the change with time of the surface roughness of the recovery roller 36 or the change with time, as compared with the case where the recovery roller 36 is not polished, The difference in roughness can be synchronized, and the tendency of the surface roughness of each of the intermediate transfer belt 23 and the collection roller 36 to change with time has the same structure.

  In the graph of FIG. 6, the change over time of the initial surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 up to a predetermined number is large, and the change over time of the surface roughness is small after the predetermined number of image forming processes. The change with time of the surface roughness of the collecting roller 36 is set to be substantially the same as the difference (Rz reference) with respect to the change with time of the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23.

  This relationship can be set by the difference between the material of the coating layer 23c of the intermediate transfer belt 23 and the material of the coating layer 36b of the recovery roller 36. For example, the change with time of the intermediate transfer belt 23 is reflected by a reflective sensor. When the change with time of the intermediate transfer belt 23 deviates from the assumption, the biasing force of the polishing roller 39 to the collection roller 36 is changed so that the change with time of the collection roller 36 changes with substantially the same difference. It is also possible to adjust by changing (contact pressure).

  Further, the change with time of the surface roughness of the collecting roller 36 may be set so that it hardly changes after a predetermined number of sheets.

(Example 3)
The surface hardness of the collection roller 36 is set lower than the surface hardness of the intermediate transfer belt 23, and as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the timing of the change with time (wear) of the coating layer 36d is shown in FIG. The tendency of change was made substantially the same structure.

  In Example 3, while maintaining the relationship that the surface hardness of the collection roller 36 is lower than the surface hardness of the intermediate transfer belt 23, the initial surface roughness of the collection roller 36 is Rz> 3 (RZ in the graph of FIG. 8). 5), the initial surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 is Rz> 5 (RZ = 10 in the graph of FIG. 8), and the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 at the replacement time accompanying the change over time is Rz> 0. .5 is desirable.

  As described above, in the color printer 11 as the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the change over time of the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt 23 and the change over time of the surface roughness of the collection roller 36 are retained by the collection roller 36. By adopting a structure that has substantially the same tendency in the direction in which the removal rate of objects decreases, clogging between the rotating brush 35 and the sheet 38 can be suppressed, and stable cleaning performance can be ensured.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the surface of the collection roller 36 is polished by the polishing roller 39 has been disclosed. However, when the surface hardness of the collection roller 36 is lower than the surface hardness of the intermediate transfer belt 23, the polishing roller A polishing member similar to 39 may be disposed in the vicinity of the upstream side of the cleaning device 31, and the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23 may be polished in place of the collection roller 36.

11. Color printer (image forming apparatus)
23. Intermediate transfer belt (image carrier)
23c ... Coating layer 35 ... Rotating brush 36 ... Recovery roller 36b ... Coating layer 37 ... Cleaning blade 38 ... Sheet 39 ... Polishing roller (polishing member)

Claims (5)

An image carrier on which a toner image is formed on the surface;
A rotating brush that contacts the surface of the image carrier after the toner image is transferred to a transfer paper and collects residues adhering to the surface;
A collection roller that contacts the rotating brush at a downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating brush with respect to a contact portion between the image carrier and the rotating brush and removes the residue collected by the rotating brush;
A cleaning blade that contacts on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the collecting roller with respect to the contact portion between the rotating brush and the collecting roller and removes the residue removed by the collecting roller;
A sheet that is located between a contact portion between the rotating brush and the collection roller and the cleaning blade and contacts the collection roller;
In an image forming apparatus comprising:
And the surface roughness of the surface roughness and the collecting roller of said image bearing member, Ri smaller structures der with time changes greatly in the initial,
By configuring the surface layer of the image carrier and the surface layer of the collection roller with a coating layer made of the same material, the tendency of the surface roughness of the image carrier and the collection roller to change with time is substantially the same. An image forming apparatus having a structure . An image carrier on which a toner image is formed on the surface;
A rotating brush that contacts the surface of the image carrier after the toner image is transferred to a transfer paper and collects residues adhering to the surface;
A collection roller that contacts the rotating brush at a downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating brush with respect to a contact portion between the image carrier and the rotating brush and removes the residue collected by the rotating brush;
A cleaning blade that contacts the rotating brush and the collecting roller at a downstream side in the rotation direction of the collecting roller and removes the residue removed by the collecting roller;
A sheet that is located between a contact portion between the rotating brush and the collection roller and the cleaning blade and contacts the collection roller;
In an image forming apparatus comprising:
The surface roughness of the image carrier and the surface roughness of the recovery roller are structures that are greatly changed with time and become small in the initial stage,
There is a difference between the surface hardness of the collection roller and the surface hardness of the image carrier,
A polishing member for polishing the one surface having a high surface hardness is provided,
By Rukoto synchronize the difference of the relative rate of change or roughness of the surface roughness of the aging of the collection roller and change with time of the surface roughness of the image carrier, the image carrier and said collecting roller images forming device you characterized in that the tendency of aging of the surface roughness of the same structure. An image carrier on which a toner image is formed on the surface;
A rotating brush that contacts the surface of the image carrier after the toner image is transferred to a transfer paper and collects residues adhering to the surface;
A collection roller that contacts the rotating brush at a downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating brush with respect to a contact portion between the image carrier and the rotating brush and removes the residue collected by the rotating brush;
A cleaning blade that contacts on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the collecting roller with respect to the contact portion between the rotating brush and the collecting roller and removes the residue removed by the collecting roller;
A sheet that is located between a contact portion between the rotating brush and the collection roller and the cleaning blade and contacts the collection roller;
In an image forming apparatus comprising:
The surface roughness of the image carrier and the surface roughness of the recovery roller are structures that are greatly changed with time and become small in the initial stage,
While making one surface hardness of the surface hardness of the collection roller and the surface hardness of the image carrier lower than the other surface hardness,
A coating layer is provided on the one surface having a reduced surface hardness,
Each surface of the image carrier and the collection roller is synchronized by synchronizing the relative change rate or the difference in roughness between the time change of the surface roughness of the image carrier and the surface roughness of the collection roller. that the tendency of the roughness of the time course was substantially the same structure images forming device you characterized. The initial surface roughness of the collection roller is Rz> 3,
The initial surface roughness of the image carrier is Rz> 5,
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a surface roughness of the image bearing member at a replacement time associated with a change with time is Rz> 0.5 . 5. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the coating layer on the surface of the collecting roller is a metal plating with high hardness .

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