Lubricant coating device and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10746352-B2
Application number	US-201815952121-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2018
Priority date	May 10, 2017
Publication date	Aug 18, 2020
Grant date	Aug 18, 2020

Abstract

A lubricant coating device preventing coating unevenness of lubricant powders is provided. The lubricant coating device includes a solid lubricant, a coating member and a film shaping member. The coating member in which first fibers composed of a material located on a positive polarity side and second fibers composed of a material located on a negative polarity side, on a triboelectric series with respect to the material of the solid lubricant are implanted, coats lubricant powders scraped off from the solid lubricant onto the image supporter. The film shaping member comes in contact with the image supporter and presses the lubricant powders onto the image supporter, to shape the lubricant powders into a form of a film. A scraping amount of the lubricant powders by the first fibers and a scraping amount of the lubricant powders by the second fibers are set to become substantially identical.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lubricant coating device, comprising:
a solid lubricant;
a coating member in which first fibers composed of a material located on a positive polarity side on a triboelectric series with respect to the material of the solid lubricant and second fibers composed of a material located on a negative polarity side on the triboelectric series with respect to the material of the solid lubricant are implanted, and that comes in contact with an image supporter and coats lubricant powders scraped off from the solid lubricant onto the image supporter; and
a film shaping member that comes in contact with the image supporter and presses the lubricant powders coated by the coating member onto the image supporter, to shape the lubricant powders into a form of a film;
wherein a scraping amount of the lubricant powders by the first fibers and a scraping amount of the lubricant powders by the second fibers are set to become substantially identical.

2. The lubricant coating device of claim 1 , wherein the first fibers are nylon fibers, and the second fibers are fluororesin fibers.

3. The lubricant coating device of claim 2 , wherein the fluororesin fibers have stiffness larger than the stiffness of the nylon fibers.

4. The lubricant coating device of claim 3 , wherein the fluororesin fibers have fineness larger than the fineness of the nylon fibers.

5. The lubricant coating device of claim 3 , wherein a plurality of fibers of the fluororesin fibers are bundled to have a loop form and implanted, as a twisted bundle in which twists are added, on the coating member, and wherein a plurality of fibers of the nylon fibers are bundled to have a loop form and implanted, as a non-twisted bundle in which twists are not added, on the coating member.

6. The lubricant coating device of claim 2 , wherein the fluororesin fibers are implanted on the coating member such that an angle formed by a loop surface formed by a loop bundle of the fluororesin fibers and a rotation direction of the coating member is made to become substantially vertical, and wherein the nylon fibers are implanted on the coating member such that an angle formed by a loop surface formed by a loop bundle of the nylon fibers and a rotation direction of the coating member is made to become substantially parallel.

7. The lubricant coating device of claim 2 , wherein the fluororesin fibers have a pushing amount into the solid lubricant larger than the pushing amount of the nylon fibers.

8. The lubricant coating device of claim 7 , wherein the fluororesin fibers have a fiber length longer than the fiber length of the nylon fibers.

9. The lubricant coating device of claim 2 , wherein the fluororesin fibers have an implanting density on the coating member higher than the implanting density of the nylon fibers.

10. An image forming apparatus, comprising an image former comprising:
the image supporter; and
the lubricant coating device of claim 1 .

Assignees

• Konica Minolta Inc

Inventors

• Azuma Yukimasa

Classifications

• G03G21/0094

  fatigue treatment of the photoconductor · CPC title

• F16N15/00

  Lubrication with substances other than oil or grease; Lubrication characterised by the use of particular lubricants in particular apparatus or conditions (F16N17/00 takes precedence; lubricating compositions, selection of particular substances as lubricants in general C10M) · CPC title

• F16N7/24 Primary

  with discs, rollers, belts or the like contacting the shaft to be lubricated · CPC title

• B05C1/02

  for applying liquid or other fluent material to separate articles {(B05C1/006 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B05B15/00

  Details of spraying plant or spraying apparatus not otherwise provided for; Accessories · CPC title