JPH09325603A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a developing performance having stable quality and an end sealing technique without developer leakage at the end compatible by integrally molding a developer quantity regulating member provided with a supporting layer regulating pressure and an elastic layer functioning also as a charge imparting layer regulating an electrification quantity, and an end sealing member in a mold for molding. SOLUTION: An elastic blade 4 being the developer quantity regulating member is provided with the supporting layer 4a regulating the pressure and the elastic layer 4b served also as the charge imparting layer, and further the end sealing member 7 is inclusively and integrally constituted on the blade 4. The member 7 is constituted of an elastic body 7b and an elastic sliding member 7a slidably abutting on a developing sleeve. Namely, the member 7 and the layer 4a are arranged in the mold in advance and integrally molded by injecting a member used for the layer 4b functioning also as the charge imparting layer regulating electrifying performance. Thus, contact between the member 7 and the layer 4b is more improved, and toner sealing performance becomes excellent.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an electrostatic transfer process such as a printer or a copying machine, and a developing method for developing and visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier. Characterized by the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows an example of a conventional developing device. As shown in the figure, the developing device 10 includes a developer carrying member (hereinafter referred to as a developing sleeve) attached to a developing container 2 at a minute interval with respect to an image carrying member (hereinafter referred to as an electrophotographic photosensitive member) 1. 3, a developer amount regulating member (hereinafter referred to as an elastic blade) 4, and an elastic roller 5 are provided, and a one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) 6 is contained in the developing container 2.

In the developing device 10, the elastic blade 4 is brought into contact with the developing sleeve 3 as a means for regulating the layer thickness of the toner 6 carried and conveyed in the developing portion 9 between the developing sleeve 3 and the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1. By bringing the toner into contact with the elastic sleeve 4 and the contact portion of the developing sleeve 3 to regulate the toner, a thin layer of toner is formed on the developing sleeve 3 and friction is generated at the contact portion. A method of applying triboelectric charges (tribo) for developing a latent image to toner is adopted.

Further, at the time of this development, the toner sandwiched between the elastic blade 4 and the developing sleeve 3 is the developing sleeve 3.
An end seal member 7 is arranged to prevent leakage from the axial end of the.

As the elastic blade 4, there has been proposed a resin thin plate or a laminate of these, in addition to a rubber plate or a metal thin plate. As shown in FIG. 5, the developing device 10 includes an elastic blade 4 in which a resin thin plate 4b is laminated on a metal thin plate 4a. Further, as a specific size of the elastic blade 4, for example, width W = 240 mm, depth D
= 14 mm, the support layer 4a has a thickness t ₁ = 60 μm, and the elastic layer 4b has a thickness t ₂ = 2 mm.

Further, as the end seal member 7, a sponge body in which a sliding member (not shown) is arranged in a portion in contact with the developing sleeve 3 is used.

[0007]

However, when the end seal member 7 is used as a toner prevention measure, the end of the elastic blade 4 is strongly pressed to prevent toner leakage. When the end portion of the elastic blade 4 is strongly pressed, the toner coat thickness becomes thin,
The amount of charge imparted by friction on the toner was changed, and it was easy to affect the development quality.

Further, in a conventional developing device using a developer using a carrier, the holding force of the toner on the carrier is large, and therefore there is little problem associated with edge leakage, but the one-component toner which does not use a carrier is Since it is held by a comparatively weak electric force generated by charging due to friction, it is difficult to secure quality due to end leakage.

In addition, the toner used for improving the image quality and full color of an image by applying the electrophotographic process is further stable in quality due to the fact that it becomes more difficult to generate electric charges in the toner and the toner is made finer. There is a demand for compatibility between the developed property and the edge sealing technology that does not cause edge leakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of satisfying both the developability with stable quality and the edge sealing technique with no developer leakage at the edge.

[0011]

The above object is achieved by an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In summary, the present invention provides:
A developer accommodating container for accommodating the developer, and a developer carrier for carrying and conveying the developer from the developer accommodating container to the developing section,
Development having a developer amount regulating member for regulating the amount of the developer applied on the surface of the developer carrying member, and an end seal member for preventing the developer from leaking from the vicinity of the end of the developer carrying member. In an image forming apparatus utilizing an electrostatic transfer process including a device, the developer amount regulating member has a support layer for regulating pressure, and an elastic layer also serving as a charge imparting layer for regulating charge amount, An image forming apparatus characterized in that it is configured integrally with an end seal member.

It is preferable that the developer amount regulating member and the end seal member are integrally formed in a molding die.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, the present invention is described as being embodied in, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. Further, the same members as those described above are designated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 3, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is provided with an electrophotographic photosensitive member 1, which is an image carrier, rotatably, the photosensitive member 1 is uniformly charged by a primary charger 11, and then, for example, The light emitting element 12 such as a laser exposes the information signal to form an electrostatic latent image, which is visualized by the developing device 10. Next, the visible image is transferred to a transfer paper 14 by a transfer charger 13 and further fixed by a fixing device 15 to obtain a permanent image. Further, the transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1 is removed by the cleaning device 16.

Example 1 Example 1 of the elastic blade according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the elastic blade 4 as the developer amount regulating member of this embodiment has a support layer 4a for regulating the pressure and an elastic layer 4b also serving as a charge-imparting layer, and further has an end portion. The seal member 7 is integrally configured.

To explain further, the elastic blade 4 is shown in FIG.
As will be understood from the above, the flat plate-shaped rectangular portion composed of the support layer 4a and the elastic layer 4b, and the end portion sealing members 7 integrally provided at both ends of the rectangular portion composed of the elastic layer 4b only. And a cubic part that has a shape. The end seal member 7 is composed of an elastic body 7b and an elastic sliding member 7a that slidably contacts the developing sleeve 3.

Here, a procedure for manufacturing the elastic blade 4 including the end seal member 7 and integrally formed will be described.

In a mold having a mirror surface preheated to 160 ° C. and capable of integrally molding the end seal member 7, 2
Each end seal member and stainless steel as a support layer 4a having a thickness of 60 μm, which is coated with a heat-vulcanizable primer on a predetermined portion in advance, are arranged, and a heat-vulcanizable silicone is used as an elastic layer 4b which also functions as a charge-imparting layer. Inject the rubber, 160
Molding was performed at 20 ° C. for 20 minutes to obtain an elastic blade with an integrated end seal.

End seal member Elastic body part (Molto plane; manufactured by Inoac Corporation) Sliding part (Teflon felt; manufactured by Hayashi Felt Co., Ltd.) Primer (SH2260; manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.) Heat vulcanizing silicone rubber ( SE4706U; ibid.) 100 parts vulcanizing agent (RC-4 (50p) FD; ibid.) 0.5 parts After this, heat treatment is carried out at 200 ° C. for 4 hours, and the rubber hardness of the elastic layer also serving as the charge imparting layer is 60 degrees. Got one. Thereafter, molding burrs and the like were cut off to obtain the elastic blade integrated with the end seal shown in FIG.

Elastic blade 4 thus produced
As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting member 8 is attached to the developing container 2, and the end seal members 7 on both sides are pressed against the developing sleeve 3.

Assembling this into a cartridge unit in which a non-magnetic toner is put in a developing unit which is a developing unit which is a developing unit which is a developing unit which is a photosensitive unit for a Canon laser beam printer (laser shot),
It was held in the hand and shaken violently for 3 reciprocations left and right, and this was evaluated by a solid image mounted on a laser beam printer.

As a result, very good results were obtained as shown in Table 1 below.

As the material for controlling the pressure of the elastic blade, a thin metal plate such as phosphor bronze or a rust-prevented zinc coated steel plate can be used in addition to stainless steel. In addition to silicone rubber, urethane rubber or the like is used.

Further, as the end seal member, the rubber sponge body is used in combination with the lubricating artificial leather as described above, but any elastic sliding member capable of ensuring slidability may be used.

As described above, the end sealing material and the supporting layer are previously placed in the mold, and the member used as the elastic layer which also serves as the charge-imparting layer for regulating the charging property is injected and integrally molded, whereby The adhesion between the partial sealing member and the elastic layer is further improved, and the toner sealing property is improved.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In a mold for molding an elastic layer which has a mirror surface preheated to 160 ° C. and which also includes an end seal member and can be integrally assembled, a heat vulcanization mold is formed at a predetermined part in a mold. A stainless steel layer having a thickness of 60 μm coated with a primer is arranged, and a heat-vulcanizable silicone rubber is injected as an elastic layer that also serves as a charge-imparting layer, and molded at 160 ° C. for 20 minutes to form an elastic blade. Obtained.

End seal member: Elastic body part (Molto plain; manufactured by Inoac Corporation) Sliding part (Teflon felt; manufactured by Hayashi Felt Co., Ltd.) Primer (SH2260; manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.) Heat vulcanizing silicone rubber (SE4706U; ibid.) 100 parts Vulcanizing agent (RC-4 (50p) FD; ibid.) 0.5 parts After that, heat treatment is performed at 200 ° C. for 4 hours, and the charge imparting layer has a rubber hardness of 60 degrees. Got After that, the molding burrs and the like are cut off, and the end seal members, which have been assembled by adhering the elastic body portion and the sliding portion in advance, are inserted into both end portions of the elastic layer,
An elastic blade integrated with the end seal member was obtained. The end seal members 7 on both sides are pressed against the developing sleeve 3 to complete the developing device 10.

This is assembled into a cartridge unit in which a non-magnetic toner is put in a developing unit which is a developing unit which is a developing unit, which is a photosensitive unit for a Canon laser beam printer (laser shot),
It was held in the hand and shaken violently for 3 reciprocations left and right, and this was mounted on a laser beam printer and evaluated with a plain image. As a result, good results could be obtained as shown in Table 1 below.

As described above, the end seal member is inserted into the end assembly portion of the elastic blade, assembled, and attached to the developing container. At this time, the incorporated end seal member is removed from the elastic layer side at a portion corresponding to the end seal member of the developing container.
It is used as a developing device by pressing it against the developing sleeve.

As a result, although the end seal member has been forcibly pressed against the end of the elastic blade to prevent toner leakage, the contact deformation of the end of the elastic layer of the elastic blade is almost ignored. As a result, a uniform pressure contact can be obtained, the thickness of the toner coat can be made more uniform, and the amount of charge imparted can be stabilized to ensure good development.

Comparative Example Next, a conventional elastic blade will be described as a comparative example of Examples 1 and 2.

In a mold having a mirror surface heated in advance to 160 ° C., a stainless steel as a support layer having a thickness of 60 μm, which is coated with a heat-vulcanizing primer in a predetermined portion, is arranged in advance, and an electric charge is applied to this as an elastic layer. A heat-vulcanizable silicone rubber that also serves as a layer was injected and molded at 160 ° C. for 20 minutes to obtain an elastic blade.

End seal member: Elastic body part (Molto plain; manufactured by Inoac Corporation) Sliding part (Teflon felt; manufactured by Hayashi Felt Co., Ltd.) Primer (SH2260; manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.) heat vulcanizing silicone rubber (SE4706U; ibid.) 100 parts Vulcanizing agent (RC-4 (50p) FD; ibid.) 0.5 parts After this, heat treatment was carried out at 200 ° C. for 4 hours to obtain an elastic layer having a rubber hardness of 60 degrees. . After that, molding burrs and the like were cut off to obtain an elastic blade shown in FIG.

The above-mentioned end seal member was pressed against this elastic blade by a conventional method, and then the end seal member was pressed against a developing sleeve to obtain a developing device.

This was assembled into a photosensitive body unit for a Canon laser beam printer (laser shot), a cleaning unit, and an integrated cartridge containing non-magnetic toner in the developing unit. The image was attached to a laser beam printer and evaluated with a solid image.

As a result, as shown in Table 1 below, very good results could not be obtained.

The results of performance comparison of the elastic developer amount controlling blade members of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 1 are shown in Table 1 below.

[0040]

[Table 1]

As is clear from Table 1, Examples 1 and 2
In comparison with Comparative Example 1, it was shown that a defective image was not formed in the non-image portion image due to toner leakage by integrally molding the elastic layer that also serves as the charge imparting layer, including the end seal member.

[0042]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the developer amount regulating member has the support layer for regulating the pressure and the elastic layer also serving as the charge imparting layer for regulating the charge amount. However, since it is integrally formed with the end seal member, it is possible to achieve both stable developing property of quality and end seal technology without developer leakage from the end of the developer carrier. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus having a high quality image and an excellent sealing property.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an elastic blade integrally including an end seal member according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a developing device in which the elastic blade of FIG. 1 is incorporated.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a conventional developing device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional elastic blade.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrophotographic photosensitive member (image bearing member) 2 Developing container (developer containing container) 3 Developing sleeve (developer carrying member) 4 Elastic blade (developer amount regulating member) 4a Support layer 4b Elastic layer 5 Elastic roller 6 Toner ( Developer) 7 Edge seal member

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A developer accommodating container for accommodating a developer, a developer carrier for carrying and conveying the developer from the developer accommodating container to a developing section, and a developer applied on the surface of the developer carrier. Formation using an electrostatic transfer process including a developing device having a developer amount regulating member for regulating the amount of the developer and an end seal member for preventing the developer from leaking from the vicinity of the end of the developer carrier. In the apparatus, the developer amount regulating member includes a support layer that regulates a pressure and an elastic layer that also serves as a charge imparting layer that regulates a charge amount, and is configured integrally with the end seal member. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above. 2. The image forming apparatus, wherein the developer amount regulating member and the end seal member are integrally formed in a molding die.