JPH0954531A - Lubricant supply device for image carrier in electrophotographic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: In an apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, since toner that is in close contact with a rotating roller that scrapes off solid lubricant is almost completely scraped off by a rubber blade, adhesive toner is removed. The lubricant cannot be effectively used to scrape off the lubricant on the photoreceptor in appropriate amounts. SOLUTION: A solid lubricant 35 is pressed by a biasing member 29 to the upper side of the peripheral surface of a rotating roller 30, and a regulating blade 40 made of a rubber blade is pressed to the lower side. Regulation blade 4
0 is not the front edge 40a, but the front surface 40
Press b against the rotating roller 30. When removing the toner adhering to the rotating roller 30, the leading edge 4
The toner on the rotating roller 30 that hits 0a is scraped off by the edge 40a. On the other hand, for example, the toner that electrostatically adheres to the rotating roller 30 slips between the surface portion 40b before the tip edge 40a and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 and remains on the peripheral surface while maintaining the close contact.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention can be applied to an electrophotographic apparatus using a laser, such as a copying machine, a printer and a facsimile. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier, which supplies a lubricant to an image carrier such as a photoconductor that forms an image on a surface thereof by using toner in such an electrophotographic apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 12, a solid lubricant 1 is provided in a lubricant supplying device for a photoconductor of a copying machine.
Is pressed by the urging member 2 against the rotating roller 3, the rotating roller 3 is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant 1 little by little, and the lubricant on the rotating roller 3 is brought into contact with the rotating roller 3. There is a structure in which the surface of the photoconductor 5 is coated with the rotating brush 4. Further, the front edge 6a of the rubber blade 6 is pressed against the rotating roller 3 to remove the toner attached to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 3.

By supplying the lubricant to the photoconductor 5 in this way, the friction coefficient of the surface of the photoconductor 5 is lowered, whereby the cleaning blade 7 pressed against the photoconductor 5 is worn and the cleaning performance is deteriorated. Of the toner is prevented, and the background portion of the surface of the photoreceptor 5 on which the image is not formed due to the excessive adhesion of toner is prevented from being contaminated with the toner.

[0004]

By the way, the above-mentioned amount of scraping of the solid lubricant usually corresponds to the surface roughness of the rotating roller 3 and the biasing force of the biasing member 2, but
In addition, there is an influence of the toner that is transferred from the photoconductor 5 through the rotary brush 4 and adheres to the rotary roller 3 closely. That is,
If there is toner that is electrostatically or mechanically adhered to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 3 due to adhesiveness, when the rotating roller 3 is rotated and the solid lubricant 1 is scraped off, the lubricant is more effectively removed. Can be scraped off.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional lubricant supply device, as shown in FIG. 12, the tip edge 6a of the rubber blade 6 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotary roller 3, so that the toner adhered on the peripheral surface is removed. Most were scraped off.
As a result, there is no room for exerting the scraping effect of the lubricant possessed by the above-mentioned adhesion toner. Therefore, in the past, in order to scrape off the solid lubricant 1 by an appropriate amount, in some cases,
It has been necessary to use a rotating roller whose surface roughness is excessively rough and to increase the biasing force of the biasing member.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for using a rotating roller whose surface roughness is excessively rough and for increasing the urging force of the urging member. The purpose is to make effective use of the toner in close contact with and to scrape off the lubricant in appropriate amounts.

Further, in the above-described conventional lubricant supply device, when the copying machine is driven, the solid lubricant 1 is always scraped off by the rotating roller 3 and supplied to the photoconductor 5. Therefore, the consumption of the solid lubricant 1 is increased, and as a result, the solid lubricant 1 is consumed.
There was also a problem that the replacement life of was short.

Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to extend the life of such a solid lubricant.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional lubricant supply device, when the solid lubricant 1 is consumed, the urging force of the urging member 2 is weakened according to the reduction amount thereof, so that the rotating roller 3 is aged over time.
The amount of lubricant scraped off with
There is also a problem that the amount of lubricant supplied to the oil gradually decreases, and an appropriate amount of lubricant cannot always be supplied.

Therefore, a third object of the present invention is to make it possible to always supply an appropriate amount of lubricant to the surface of an image bearing member such as a photoconductor, irrespective of such a decrease in solid lubricant. It is in.

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional lubricant supply device, even if the solid lubricant 1 is exhausted and the replacement time comes, if the solid lubricant 1 is forgotten to be replaced and is driven as it is, the lubricant is formed on the peripheral surface of the rotary roller 3. Does not adhere, the friction coefficient of the peripheral surface becomes high. Moreover, the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 3 is
It is formed relatively coarsely. Therefore, the rubber blade 6
Of the rubber blade 6 is likely to wear as a result.
Therefore, the cleaning performance of the rotating roller 3 is deteriorated.

Then, in the prior art, the residual toner on the rotary roller 3 is eventually transferred to the photosensitive member 5 via the rotary brush 4.
There was also a problem that it was transferred to and soiled the surface.

Therefore, a fourth object of the present invention is to prevent the surface of the image bearing member from being soiled by the residual toner adhering to the rotating roller between the time when the solid lubricant is exhausted and the time when the solid lubricant is replaced. Especially.

[0014]

Therefore, first, the first claim
In order to achieve the first object, the invention described in 1) presses the solid lubricant 35 against the rotating roller 30 and rotates the rotating roller 30 as in the following embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example. Then, the lubricant is carried on the peripheral surface, and the lubricant on the rotary roller 30 is applied to the image carrier such as the photoconductor 11 by a coating member such as the rotary brush 27. In the lubricant supply device 25, the regulating blade 40 is formed by using a rubber blade, and the front edge 40a of the regulating blade 40 is in front of the surface portion 40b.
Is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30.

When the rotary roller 30 is rotated during driving, the toner on the rotary roller 30 that abuts on the tip edge 40a of the rubber blade is removed by the tip edge 40a, while the toner adhered on the rotary roller 30 is removed. ,
It passes through between the surface portion 40b in front of the tip edge 40a and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 while being in close contact with each other.

In order to achieve the first object, the invention as set forth in claim 2 presses the solid lubricant 35 against the rotary roller 30 as in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In an electrophotographic apparatus, in which the lubricant is carried on the peripheral surface by rotating 30 and the lubricant on the rotary roller 30 is applied to an image carrier such as the photoconductor 11 by a coating member such as the rotary brush 27. Lubricant supply device 2 for image carrier
5, the regulation blade 40 is formed using a resin film, and the tip edge 40a of the regulation blade 40 is
It is characterized by being pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30.

When the rotating roller 30 is rotated during driving, the toner on the rotating roller 30 that abuts on the leading edge 40a of the resin film is removed by the leading edge 40a, while the toner adhered on the rotating roller 30 is removed. ,
It passes through between the tip edge 40a and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 while keeping in close contact with each other.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned second object, the invention described in claim 3 is such that, as in the following embodiment shown in FIGS.
A lubricant is supplied to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, which is directly or indirectly applied to an image carrier such as the photoconductor 11 by scraping off little by little with a rotating body such as a 0 / rotary brush 27. When the non-image area of the image carrier is present at the coating position A, the driving of the rotating body is stopped.

During driving, if there is a non-image area of the image bearing member at the lubricant application position A, the driving of the rotating member is stopped to interrupt the scraping of the solid lubricant 35.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned second object, the invention according to claim 4 applies solid lubricant 35 to the rotary roller 30 and the rotary brush 2 as shown in the following embodiments, for example.
In a lubricant supply device 25 for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, which is scraped off little by little with a rotating body such as 7 and applied directly or indirectly to an image carrier such as the photoreceptor 11,
The toner density on the image carrier is detected by a toner density detecting means, and when the toner density detected by the toner density detecting means is below a certain level, the driving of the rotating body is stopped.

During driving, the toner density on the image carrier is detected by the toner density detecting means, and when the toner density detected by the toner density detecting means is below a certain level, the driving of the rotating body is stopped and the solid state is stopped. The scraping off of the lubricant 35 is interrupted.

In order to achieve the second object, the invention described in claim 5 uses a solid lubricant as a rotating body such as the rotating roller 30 and the rotating brush 27, as shown in the following embodiments. In a lubricant supply device 25 for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus that scrapes off little by little and directly or indirectly applies it to an image carrier such as the photoconductor 11, the humidity is measured by a humidity sensor and then measured by the humidity sensor. When the humidity is below a certain level, the driving of the rotating body is stopped,
It is characterized by the following.

During driving, the humidity is measured by a humidity sensor. When the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is below a certain level, the driving of the rotating body is stopped and the scraping of the solid lubricant 35 is interrupted.

In order to achieve the second object, the invention according to claim 6 provides an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claims 3 to 5, for example, as shown in the following embodiments. In the lubricant supply device 25, when the rotating body is in a drive stopped state, free rotation of the rotating body is restricted.

When the rotating body is in the drive stopped state, the free rotation of the rotating body is restricted.

In order to achieve the third object, the invention according to claim 7 urges the solid lubricant 35 by the urging member 29 as in the following embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, for example. Then, the rotating roller 30 is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant 35 little by little, and the lubricant on the rotating roller 30 is applied by a coating member such as the rotating brush 27 to the photosensitive member 11. In the lubricant supplying device 25 for the image carrier in the electrophotographic apparatus for coating the image carrier,
The biasing member 29 is provided between a movable base member such as the spring storage box 50 and the solid lubricant 35, and the solid lubricant 3
5, the movable base member is operated according to the reduced amount, and the movable base member presses the movable base member to keep the biasing force of the biasing member 29 constant. To do.

During driving, the degree of decrease of the solid lubricant 35 is judged, the movable base member is operated according to the degree of decrease, and the movable base member is pressed to make the urging force of the urging member 29 constant. Hold.

In order to achieve the third object, the invention described in claim 8 is the image carrying method in the electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 7, as in the following embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, for example. In the device 25 for supplying a lubricant to the body, a toner concentration detecting means 53 for detecting the toner concentration on the image carrier.
And determining the reduction degree of the solid lubricant 35 based on the detection result of the toner concentration detecting means 53, operating the movable base member according to the reduction degree, and pressing the movable base member to apply the biasing force. It is characterized in that the biasing force of the member 29 is kept constant.

At the time of driving, the toner concentration on the image carrier is detected by the toner concentration detecting means 53, and the reduction amount of the solid lubricant 35 is judged based on the detection result, and the movable base is moved according to the reduction amount. The member is operated and pressed by the movable base member to keep the biasing force of the biasing member 29 constant.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned third object, the invention according to claim 9 provides an image carrier for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 7, as in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In the lubricant supply device 25, the moving distance L of the movable base member is set to be larger than the thickness t of the solid lubricant 35.

During driving, the solid lubricant 35 is urged against the rotating roller 30 with a constant urging force until the solid lubricant 35 is exhausted.

In order to achieve the fourth object, the tenth aspect of the invention is to press the solid lubricant 35 against the rotary roller 30 as in the following embodiments shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, for example. The rotary brush 2 which rotates the rotary roller 30 to scrape off the solid lubricant 35 little by little, and contacts the lubricant on the rotary roller 30 with the rotary roller 30.
7 is applied to an image bearing member such as a photoconductor 11 while the toner adhering on the rotating roller 30 is removed by a cleaning blade 65. A cleaning roller 66 having a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 2 μm or less and a toner cleaning blade 70 for removing the toner adhering to the cleaning roller 66 are provided, and a determining means 75 for determining the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35. The switching means 60 is operated when the determination means 75 determines that the solid lubricant 35 has run out, and causes the cleaning roller 66 to come into contact with the rotating brush 27 in place of the rotating roller 30.
And a drive means 71 for operating the switching means 60.

During driving, the judging means 75 judges the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35. When the judging means 75 judges that the solid lubricant 35 has run out, the driving means 71 actuates the switching means 60 to rotate. Instead of the roller 30, the cleaning roller 66 is brought into contact with the image carrier. Then, the toner attached to the cleaning roller 66 is removed by the toner cleaning blade 70.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned fourth object, the invention according to claim 11 provides an image carrier for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 10 as in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In the lubricant supply device 25, toner concentration detecting means 69 for detecting the toner concentration on the image carrier.
Is provided, and the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35 is determined based on the detection result of the toner concentration detecting means 69.

When the toner concentration on the image carrier is detected by the toner concentration detecting means 69 during driving, the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35 is determined based on the detection result, and it is determined that the solid lubricant 35 is exhausted. , The switching means 6 by the driving means 71
0 is operated to bring the cleaning roller 66 into contact with the image carrier instead of the rotating roller 30.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned fourth object, the invention according to a twelfth aspect provides the image carrier in the electrophotographic apparatus according to the tenth aspect as in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In the lubricant supply device 25, when the rotating roller 30 comes into contact with the rotating brush 27, the rotation is transmitted to the rotating roller 30 and the cleaning roller 6
When 6 comes into contact with the rotating brush 27, the rotation is transmitted to the cleaning roller 66 of the rotating brush 27.

When the rotary roller 30 comes into contact with the rotary brush 27 during driving, the rotary roller 30 is rotated, and when the cleaning roller 66 comes into contact with the rotary brush 27, the cleaning roller 66 is rotated.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned fourth object, the invention according to a thirteenth aspect provides the image carrier in the electrophotographic apparatus according to the tenth aspect, as in the following embodiment shown in FIG. In the lubricant supply device 25, the cleaning blade 65 is formed of a resin film, and the toner cleaning blade 70 is formed of a rubber blade.
It is characterized by the following.

During driving, the toner adhered on the rotating roller 30 is cleaned by the resin film cleaning blade 6
The toner adhered on the cleaning roller 66 after being removed by means of No. 5 is removed by the toner cleaning blade 70 of a rubber blade.

[0040]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording unit of a laser printer including the lubricant supply device according to the first aspect.

Reference numeral R in the drawing indicates a recording unit. The recording unit R includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 11 that is an image carrier. Around the photoconductor 11, a charging device 12, a developing device 13, a transfer charger 14,
A separation charger 15, a cleaning device 16, and a static eliminator 17 are arranged. An optical writing device 18 is provided above the photoconductor 11.

Then, at the time of recording, the paper P is sent out from a paper supply unit (not shown), and is conveyed to the lower side of the photoconductor 11 by a registration roller at a timing.

The photoconductor 11 rotates in the clockwise direction shown by the arrow, and at that time, the surface of the photoconductor 11 is uniformly charged by the charging device 12, and the surface of the photoconductor 11 is irradiated with laser light. An electrostatic latent image is formed on. Subsequently, when the toner passes through the position of the developing device 13, the developing device 13 attaches toner to visualize the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 11. Then, the visible image is conveyed to the lower side of the photoconductor 11 and the paper P is conveyed.
The image is transferred by the transfer charger 14 onto the upper surface of the. After transfer,
The separation charger 15 removes the charge to separate the paper P from the photoconductor 11. After separation, the paper P is conveyed to a fixing device (not shown), where the transfer image is fixed, and then the paper P is discharged to an external paper discharge unit.

On the other hand, after the image transfer, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 11 is removed by the cleaning blade 20 of the cleaning device 16. Further, the surface of the photoconductor 11 is destaticized by the destaticizing charger 21 of the destaticizing device 17, and is irradiated with the destaticizing lamp 22 to be electrostatically initialized to prepare for the next use.

By the way, in the above-mentioned laser printer,
Although not shown in FIG. 4, the lubricant supply device is arranged, for example, at the upstream position in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 11 in the cleaning device 16.

FIG. 1 shows a lubricant supply device designated by the reference numeral 25. The lubricant supply device 25 includes a rotating brush 27 in an exterior case (not shown in FIG. 1). Rotating brush 27
Is formed by arranging a large number of bristles 27b of polyester fiber in a brush shape on the outer periphery of an aluminum cylindrical member 27a. Both ends of the cylindrical member 27a are rotatably supported by opposing side plates in the outer case, and are arranged parallel to the central axis of the photoconductor 11 so that the tip of the bristles 27b contacts the surface of the photoconductor 11.

Thus, the rotary roller 30 is provided on the side of the rotary brush 27 opposite to the photoconductor 11. Rotating roller 30
Is a roller made of stainless steel having fine irregularities on the peripheral surface and having a surface roughness of 10-point average roughness (Rz) of 2 to 8 μm, for example. Both ends of the roller shaft 30a are rotatably supported and arranged in parallel with the rotating brush 27, and the tips of the bristles 27b are brought into contact with the peripheral surface.

Further, on the peripheral surface of the rotary roller 30,
The solid lubricant 35 is pressed against the upper side in the figure, while the tip side of the regulation blade 40 is pressed against the lower side.

As the solid lubricant 35, for example, a material containing zinc stearate as a main component is melted and then cooled and solidified to form a horizontally long rectangular material, and both ends are appropriately held by exchangeable members. . Then, the upper end of the solid lubricant 35 is brought into contact with the lower end of an urging member 29 composed of a compression spring whose upper end is abutted against the spring receiving member 31, and the urging member 29 urges the solid lubricant 35 to rotate. -Pressed against LA 30.

The regulation blade 40 is made of polyurethane rubber or the like, and is formed of a thick plate-shaped rubber blade elongated in the direction of the roller shaft 30a. And this regulation blade 40 is
Instead of the leading edge 40a, the surface portion 40b in front of the leading edge 40a is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30.
Therefore, in the regulating blade 40, for example, as shown in FIG.
0a and the tangent line that is perpendicular to the radial line that connects the center of the rotary roller 30 to each other and is provided at a position that forms approximately -α (2 to 8) degrees.

In the above-described lubricant supply device 25, therefore, the rotary brush 27 and the rotary roller 30 are rotated during driving, and the solid lubricant 35 is gradually scraped off by the rotary roller 30, and the rotary roller thereof is rotated. A lubricant is carried on the peripheral surface of 30. Then, the lubricant on the rotary roller 30 is applied to the surface of the photoconductor 11 by the rotation of the rotary brush 27.

On the other hand, at the time of this driving, the toner on the photosensitive member 11 is transferred and attached to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 via the rotating brush 27. Then, the toner adhering to the rotating roller 30 is removed by the regulating blade 40.

At this time, the toner on the rotating roller 30 which hits the leading edge 40a of the regulating blade 40 is scraped off by the leading edge 40a. On the other hand, most of the toner that is electrostatically or mechanically adhered to the rotating roller 30 due to adhesiveness passes through between the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 and the surface portion 40b in front of the leading edge 40a while being in close contact.
It remains on the peripheral surface.

By the way, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the regulation blade 40 is formed by the rubber blade, but as in the embodiment of the invention described in claim 2 below, the regulation blade is formed by using the resin film. You can also do it.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the regulation blade 40 is formed of a resin film in the form of a long thin plate made of, for example, polyester. In this case, the resin film blade 40 presses the leading edge 40a against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30. Therefore, the resin film blade 40 is provided at a position where the plate surface 40c forms an angle of approximately + α (5 to 15) with respect to a tangent line that is perpendicular to the radial line connecting the tip edge 40a and the center of the rotating roller 30.

Thus, when the toner on the rotary roller 30 is removed by the resin film blade 40, a part of the toner hitting the leading edge 40a is the leading edge 40a.
Dam it and scrape it off. On the other hand, most of the toner that is in close contact with the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 passes through between the peripheral surface and the leading edge 40a and remains on the peripheral surface while being in close contact.

By the way, in the above-mentioned lubricant supply device 25, the rotating roller 30 is constantly operated while the laser printer is being driven.
Is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant 35. Therefore, the consumption of the solid lubricant 35 is relatively large, and the replacement life thereof tends to be short.

Therefore, the lubricant supply device according to the third aspect of the present invention stops the rotation of the rotary roller when the lubricant is not required to be applied to the photoconductor as in the following embodiment. Configure

For example, as shown in FIG.
The drive means 41 such as a motor for driving 0 is electrically connected to the drive control means 42 for controlling the operation of the drive means 41.

When driving, when the non-image area of the photosensitive member 11, that is, the background area generated between the images on the photosensitive member 11 in the circumferential direction, is located at the lubricant application position indicated by A in FIG. Is driven by the drive control means 42.
The operation of No. 1 is stopped and the drive of the rotary roller 30 is stopped. Then, during that time, the scraping of the solid lubricant 35 by the rotating roller 30 is interrupted.

It should be noted that the rotating roller 30 is configured so as to rotate by transmitting the driving force of another driving means for driving the photoconductor 11 and the like, without providing the dedicated driving means 41 as described above. You can also In that case, for example, a clutch is provided in the middle of the drive transmission path, and the operation of the clutch is controlled by the drive control means. Then, when there is a non-image area of the photoconductor 11 at the lubricant application position A, the clutch is disengaged and the driving of the rotary roller 30 is stopped.

By the way, as described above, when the lubricant is supplied to the photoconductor, the friction coefficient of the surface thereof is lowered and the adhesion force of the toner can be suppressed appropriately, and as a result, the toner adheres to the surface of the photoconductor. There is an effect that it is possible to prevent the background portion that does not form an image by passing through and is contaminated with the toner. Therefore,
When the amount of adhered toner on the photoconductor is large, it is necessary to supply a lubricant to weaken the adhesive force of the toner. When the amount of adhered toner is small, a lubricant is supplied to increase the adhesive force of the toner. It seems not necessary.

Therefore, in the lubricant supply device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the rotation of the rotary roller is stopped when the toner adhered on the photoconductor is less than a certain amount as in the following embodiment. Use a structure that does not supply lubricant.

Although not shown in FIG. 5, the lubricant supply device 25 is provided with a toner concentration detecting means for detecting the toner concentration on the photoconductor 11, and the toner concentration detecting means is electrically connected to the drive control means 42 described above. Connect to each other. As the toner concentration detecting means, for example, a light reflection type photo sensor,
A device is used in which light from the light emitting element is applied to the photoconductor 11 and the amount of reflected light is put into the light receiving element and converted into a voltage.

In this lubricant supply device 25,
During driving, when the toner density detecting means detects that the toner density on the photoconductor 11 is below a certain level, the drive controlling means 42 stops the operation of the driving means 41 and stops the driving of the rotating roller 30. Then, during that time, the scraping of the solid lubricant 35 by the rotating roller 30 is interrupted.

By the way, the above-mentioned lubricant supply device 25 also forms an image by reading the image information on the original with a CCD element, for example, and writing the read content on the photoconductor, among the electrophotographic devices. It can also be applied to a digital read / write type electrophotographic apparatus such as a digital PPC.

In this case, although not shown, the lubricant supplying device is provided with an appropriate judging means for judging the image reading amount read by the CCD element, and the judging device judges that the reading image amount is less than a certain amount. At this time, the driving of the rotary roller 30 may be stopped to interrupt the scraping of the solid lubricant 35.

Next, in the above laser printer, as shown in FIG.
When the paper after transfer is separated from the photoconductor 11 by the separation charger 15 shown in (3), if the water content of the paper is high due to high humidity, current also flows through the paper and becomes a resistance to obtain an appropriate corona discharge amount. As a result, the sheet may not be reliably separated from the photoconductor 11. In such a case, by applying a lubricant to the photoconductor 11 to lower the friction coefficient on the surface of the photoconductor, it is possible to easily separate the paper after the transfer from the photoconductor.

Therefore, when paying attention to the effect of separating the paper by such a lubricant, it is necessary to supply the lubricant to the photoconductor to facilitate the separation of the paper from the surface when the humidity is high. When is low, it can be said that it is not necessary to supply the lubricant.

In view of this, the lubricant supply device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, as in the following embodiment, does not supply the lubricant by stopping the rotation of the rotating roller when the humidity is below a certain level. To

Although not shown in FIG. 5, this lubricant supply device is provided with a humidity sensor for measuring humidity, and the humidity sensor is electrically connected to the drive control means 42 described above.

In this lubricant supply device 25,
During driving, when the humidity sensor detects that the humidity is below a certain level, the drive control means 42 causes the drive means 41 to operate.
Then, the drive of the rotary roller 30 is stopped. Then, during that time, the scraping of the solid lubricant 35 by the rotating roller 30 is interrupted.

By the way, the lubricant supply device 2 shown in FIG.
In No. 5, the solid lubricant 35 was scraped off by the rotary roller 30 and the lubricant was applied onto the photoconductor 11 via the rotary brush 27.
However, the lubricant supply device may be configured to apply the solid lubricant 35 to the photoconductor 11 by directly scraping off the lubricant with the rotating brush 27 as shown in FIG. Also in the case of this direct coating type, when the lubricant supply is not required as described above, similarly, the drive control means 42 stops the operation of the drive means 41 to stop the drive of the rotary brush 27. To do so.

When the driving of the rotary roller 30 is stopped when the lubricant is not required as described above, the lubricant supply device according to the present invention as set forth in claim 6 is implemented. As in the embodiment, it is preferable that the free rotation of the rotating body such as the rotating roller 30 or the rotating brush 27 is restricted.

In this case, the lubricant supply device 25 has
Although not shown, for example, a braking device is appropriately provided. In the case of the indirect coating type shown in FIG. 5, the rotating roller 3
When 0 is in the drive stopped state, the brake device is operated to lock the rotation of the rotary roller 30. Thus, the rotation of the rotating body 11 is prevented from being transmitted through the rotating brush 27 to rotate the rotating roller 30, and the solid lubricant 3
The consumption of 5 is prevented. In the case of the direct coating type shown in FIG. 6, the brake device similarly locks the rotation of the rotary brush 27 to prevent the rotary brush 27 from rotating together. It should be noted that the rotation roller 30 or the rotation brush 2 is provided by using other rotation restriction means such as a torque limiter.
It is also possible to prevent the 7 from turning around.

By the way, the lubricant supply device 2 shown above
In No. 5, when the solid lubricant 35 is consumed, the urging force of the urging member 29 is weakened in accordance with the degree of decrease, so that the amount of lubricant scraped off by the rotating roller 30 decreases with time, and as a result, the photosensitive member 5 is exposed. The supply amount of the lubricant may decrease, and it may not be possible to always supply an appropriate amount of the lubricant.

Therefore, the lubricant supply device of the invention described in claims 7 and 8 is as in the following embodiments.
It is configured so that an appropriate amount of lubricant can be constantly supplied to the photoconductor.

Therefore, in this lubricant supply device 25,
As shown in FIG. 7, the biasing member 29 formed of a compression spring is housed in a spring storage box 50, and a roller-shaped eccentric cam 51 is provided on the upper side of the spring storage box 50.

The eccentric cam 51 rotatably supports the eccentric shafts 51a at both ends and is arranged in parallel with the rotary roller 30. Then, for example, driving means 52 such as a step motor
The driving force is transmitted so that it is rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

The spring storage box 50 has a solid lubricant 35 at the lower end.
The upper end of the biasing spring 29 applied to the upper side is applied to the receiving plate portion 50a, and the receiving plate portion 50a is pressed to the eccentric cam 51.
Then, the upper side of the solid lubricant 35 is put in the lower opening of the spring storage box 50. Then, this spring storage box 50
As shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), the guide member is appropriately provided so that the eccentric cam 51 can be moved linearly up and down in the figure by a distance L corresponding to the eccentric amount.

In addition, in the lubricant supply device 25, as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the toner concentration detecting means 53 for detecting the toner concentration on the photoconductor 11 is provided at the upstream position in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 11. The toner concentration detection means 53 is electrically connected to the drive means 52 via the drive control means 54.

Then, at the time of driving, the toner density detecting means 53
When it is detected that the toner concentration on the photoconductor 11 exceeds a certain level, it is determined that the solid lubricant 35 has decreased and the urging force of the urging member 29 has weakened based on the detection result, and the driving is performed. The drive means 52 is operated by the control means 54 to rotate the eccentric cam 51, and as shown in FIG. 9, the spring storage box 50 is pushed down to compress the biasing member 29, and the biasing member 29 that is temporarily weakened is biased. Return the power to the desired level. And
The scraping amount of the solid lubricant 35 scraped off by the rotating roller 30 is kept constant.

On the other hand, when the toner density detecting means 53 detects that the toner density on the photoconductor 11 is below a certain level, the biasing force of the biasing member 29 becomes strong for some reason based on the detection result. Then, the drive control means 54 operates the drive means 52 to further rotate the eccentric cam 51 to reduce the compression amount of the biasing member 29, and the biasing force of the biasing member 29 temporarily strengthened to the predetermined value again. Return to the strength of.
Then, the scraped amount of the solid lubricant 35 is kept constant.

Thus, the biasing force of the biasing member 29 is always kept constant according to the toner concentration of the photoconductor 11, and the solid lubricant 35 is scraped off by the rotating roller 30 until it almost disappears. Supply appropriate amount to 11.

By the way, in the above-described lubricant supply device 25, the eccentric cam 51 has the eccentric amount, that is, the spring storage box 50, as in the embodiment of the invention described in claim 9 below (see FIG. 8). The moving distance L is set to be larger than the thickness t of the solid lubricant 35.

However, in this lubricant supply device 25,
At the time of driving, as shown in FIG. 8B, until the solid lubricant 35 is almost completely replaced, the solid lubricant 35 is urged by the urging member 29 with a constant urging force to the rotating roller 30. Press against. Then, until then, the solid lubricant 35 is scraped off by a fixed amount.

By the way, in the lubricant supply device 25,
The urging force of the urging member 29 is adjusted by determining the degree of decrease of the solid lubricant 35 based on the toner concentration on the photoconductor 11. However, for example, a counter that counts the number of passed recording sheets is provided, the degree of reduction of the solid lubricant 35 is determined based on the number of passed sheets counted by the counter, and the biasing member 29 is activated according to the determination result. It can also be adjusted to keep the power constant. Further, a time measuring means for counting the drive time of the lubricant supply device itself is provided, and the amount of decrease of the solid lubricant 35 is judged based on the drive time, and the urging force of the urging member 29 is adjusted to be kept constant. You can also

Now, in the above-mentioned lubricant supply device, FIG.
As shown in (b), even if the solid lubricant 35 is exhausted and the replacement time comes, if the driver forgets to replace it and continues to drive it, the lubricant does not adhere to the peripheral surface of the rotary roller 30, so The friction coefficient of the surface becomes high. Moreover, the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 is formed to be relatively rough. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the rubber blade 40 pressed against the rotating roller 30 is easily worn, and as a result,
The cleaning performance of the rotary roller 30 by the rubber blade 40 deteriorates. Then, there is a possibility that the residual toner on the rotary roller 30 will be transferred to the photoconductor 11 via the rotary brush 27 and stain the surface thereof.

Therefore, in the lubricant supply device according to the tenth aspect, as shown in the following embodiments, the photoreceptor is prevented from being contaminated by the residual toner adhered on the rotating roller.

Therefore, in this lubricant supply device 25,
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, between the opposing side plates 55,
Both ends of the brush shaft 27a of the rotary brush 27 are rotatably attached, and the support shaft 5 is parallel to the brush shaft 27a.
Fix both ends of 6. Then, the support shaft 56 and the rotating brush 2
A switching means 60 is provided between the seven. The switching means 60 includes the opposite side plate portions 60a and 60b and the side plate portion 6 near the rotating brush 27.
It has a spring receiving plate portion 60c provided horizontally between 0a and 60b. Then, the ends of the both side plate portions 60a and 60b opposite to the spring receiving plate portion 60c are attached to both ends of the support shaft 56, and the switching means 60 is rotatably supported about the support shaft 56.

Therefore, the switching means 60 has the side plate portion 60a.
Both ends of the roller shaft 30a of the rotating roller 30 are rotatably mounted between 60b, and the rotating roller 30 is attached to the brush shaft 2
It is arranged parallel to 7a and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 is brought into contact with the rotating brush 27. The rotary roller 30 has a roughness of the peripheral surface of, for example, ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 3 to 10 μm.
And formed relatively coarsely. The tip of a cleaning blade 65 held by a blade holder (not shown) is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotary roller 30 on the side opposite to the rotary brush 27.

A solid lubricant 35 is replaceably provided on the upper surface of the peripheral surface of the rotary roller 30. Then, the lower end of the biasing member 29 whose upper end is pressed against the spring receiving plate portion 60c is attached to the upper side of the solid lubricant 35, and the solid lubricant 35 is pressed against the rotating roller 30 by the biasing member 29.

Further, between the side plate portions 60a and 60b, both ends of the roller shaft 66a of the cleaning roller 66 are rotatably attached below the rotary roller 30, and the cleaning roller 66 is arranged in parallel with the rotary roller 30. The cleaning roller 66 has a circumferential surface with a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 2 μm or less, and is relatively smooth. Then, on the peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 66,
The tip of the toner cleaning blade 70 held by a blade holder (not shown) is pressed against.

Therefore, in the switching means 60, the operating rod 67a of the solenoid 67 is provided below the one side plate portion 60a.
Connect the tip of. On the other hand, the lower ends of the tension springs 68 whose upper ends are appropriately attached to the spring attaching portions are attached to the upper sides of the both side plate portions 60a and 60b as shown in FIG. Then, the tension spring 68 and the solenoid 67 constitute a driving means 71 of the switching means 60. Therefore, normally, the solenoid 67 is turned on, and the operating rod 67a pulls the switching means 60 against the tension spring 68 to hold it at a position where the rotary roller 30 contacts the rotary brush 27.

Further, this lubricant supply device detects the toner concentration on the photoconductor 11 at the upstream position in the rotational direction of the photoconductor 11 as in the embodiment of the invention described in claim 11 below. A toner concentration detecting means 69 is provided. The toner concentration detecting means 69 is electrically connected to the determining means 75 for determining the presence or absence of the solid lubricant 35 based on the toner concentration detection result. Further, the judging means 75 is electrically connected to the solenoid 67 of the driving means 71.

Further, in this lubricant supply device, the drive transmission gear 8 for transmitting the rotation of the drive motor (not shown) is provided as in the embodiment of the invention described in claim 12 described below.
0 is supported, for example, on the outside of the side plate portion 60a, and its drive transmission gear 80 is meshed with a gear 81 provided on the roller shaft 30a of the rotary roller 30. On the other hand, a gear 82 is provided on the roller shaft 66 a of the cleaning roller 66. Then, the rotation of the drive motor is transmitted to the rotary roller 30 through the meshing of the drive transmission gear 80 and the gear 81 to rotate it. On the other hand, as will be described later, when the switching means 60 is rotated to bring the cleaning roller 66 into contact with the rotary brush 27, it is transmitted to the cleaning roller 66 through the meshing of the drive transmission gear 80 and the gear 82 and is rotated. The configuration.

In this lubricant supply device, however, the rotary brush 27 and the rotary roller 30 are rotated during driving to scrape away the solid lubricant 35 little by little, and the lubricant on the rotary roller 30 is passed through the rotary brush 27. It is applied on the photoconductor 11. Further, the toner attached to the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 30 is
It is removed by the cleaning blade 65.

After that, when the toner density detecting means 69 detects that the toner density on the photoconductor 11 is above a certain level during this driving, the judging means 75 judges that the solid lubricant 35 has run out based on the detection result. Then, for example, the display section (not shown) indicates that the lubricant should be replaced, and the solenoid 67 of the driving means 71 is turned off. Then, the switching member 60 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 10 by the tension spring 68, the upper side of the side plate portion 60a is brought into contact with an appropriate stopper (not shown) and stopped, and the cleaning roller 66 replaces the rotating roller 30 and the rotating brush 27. Hold in contact position. At that time, a gear 82 is engaged with the drive transmission gear 80 instead of the gear 81.

Thus, the cleaning roller 66 is rotated to scrape off the toner attached to the rotary brush 27 by the cleaning roller 66, and the toner attached to the peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 66 is removed by the toner cleaning blade 7.
Scrape at 0 to perform cleaning. Then, this cleaning is performed until the solid lubricant 35 is replaced with a new one thereafter.

After that, after stopping the driving of the lubricant supply device 25 and replacing the solid lubricant 35 with a new one, when driving the lubricant supply device 25 again, the solenoid 67 is turned on and the switching means 60 is rotated. The rotary roller 30 is moved to switch to a position where the rotary roller 30 comes into contact with the rotary brush 27 again, and the lubricant is supplied to the photoconductor 11.

By the way, in the above-mentioned lubricant supply device, as in the embodiment of the invention described in claim 13 described below,
The cleaning blade 65 of the rotating roller 30 having a relatively rough peripheral surface is formed of a resin film such as high quality Mylar, while the cleaning roller 6 having a relatively smooth surface is used.
The toner cleaning blade 70 of No. 6 may be formed of a rubber blade.

As the solid lubricant 35 described above,
In addition to the above zinc stearate, for example, barium stearate, lead stearate, iron stearate, nickel stearate, cobalt stearate, copper stearate,
Strontium stearate, calcium stearate, cadmium stearate, magnesium stearate, zinc oleate, manganese oleate, iron oleate, cobalt oleate, lead oleate, magnesium oleate, copper oleate, palmitic acid, zinc cobalt palmitate , Relatively high fatty acids such as copper palmitate, magnesium palmitate, aluminum palmitate, calcium palmitate, lead cabrate, lead cabronate, zinc linolenate, cobalt linolenate, calcium linolenate, cadmium corinoneate, etc. be able to. Further, colloidal high-temperature silica powder can be used, and further, natural wax such as carnauba wax can be used.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the photoconductor 11 is used as the image bearing member is shown. However, the image carrier is not limited to such a photoconductor, and may be an intermediate transfer belt or the like provided in a color electrophotographic apparatus such as a color laser copying machine.

[0104]

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the tip of the regulating blade made of a rubber blade is not pressed against the rotary roller for scraping off the solid lubricant, but the tip thereof is used. Since the surface portion in front of the edge is pressed, the toner adhered to the rotating roller can pass through the surface portion and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller as it is and remain on the peripheral surface. The scraping off effect of the lubricant by the contact toner can be effectively used. As a result, in order to scrape off the lubricant by an appropriate amount, it is possible to eliminate the need to use a rotating roller whose surface roughness is excessively rough as in the prior art or to increase the urging force of the urging member.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the regulating blade is formed of the resin film and the leading edge of the regulating blade is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller, the contact toner on the rotating roller has the peripheral surface and the leading edge thereof. It can pass through between the edges and remain on the peripheral surface as it is, so that the effect of scraping off the lubricant by the contact toner on the rotating roller can be effectively utilized.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when it is not necessary to supply the lubricant to the image carrier, that is, when there is a non-image area of the image carrier at the lubricant application position, the rotary body is driven. Is stopped and the scraping of the solid lubricant by the rotating body is interrupted, so that the consumption of the solid lubricant can be saved and its replacement life can be extended.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when it is not necessary to supply the lubricant to the image carrier, that is, the toner density on the image carrier is detected by the toner density detecting means, and the toner density is detected. When it is below a certain level, the drive of the rotating body is stopped and the scraping of the solid lubricant is interrupted, so that the consumption of the solid lubricant can be saved and the replacement life thereof can be extended.

According to the invention described in claim 5, when it is not necessary to supply the lubricant to the image carrier, that is, when the humidity is measured by the humidity sensor and the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is below a certain level. By stopping the drive of the rotating body and interrupting the scraping of the solid lubricant, the consumption of the solid lubricant can be saved and the replacement life can be extended.

According to the invention of claim 6, claim 3
In addition, in the lubricant supply device according to claim 5, since the free rotation of the rotating body is restricted when the rotating body is in the drive stopped state, in addition, the rotating body takes drive from the surroundings and is rotated together. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the scraping of the lubricant in the drive stopped state, thereby further extending the replacement life.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the degree of decrease of the solid lubricant is judged, the movable base member is actuated in accordance with the degree of decrease, and the movable base member is pressed to apply the biasing member. Since the force is kept constant, the amount of lubricant scraped off by the rotary roller is always kept constant, whereby an appropriate amount of lubricant can be constantly supplied to the surface of the photoconductor.

According to the invention described in claim 8, claim 7 is provided.
In the lubricant supply device described in (3), the toner concentration on the image bearing member is detected, the reduction degree of the solid lubricant is judged based on the detection result, and the movable base member is operated according to the reduction degree, and the movable base member is moved. By pressing the base member to keep the biasing force of the biasing member constant, similarly, the scraped amount of the lubricant can be always kept constant, and an appropriate amount of the lubricant can be constantly supplied to the surface of the photoconductor. .

According to the invention of claim 9, claim 7 is provided.
In the lubricant supply device described in (1), since the moving distance of the movable base member is made larger than the thickness of the solid lubricant, in addition, keep the biasing force of the biasing member constant until the solid lubricant runs out. You can

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, in addition to the rotating roller for scraping off the solid lubricant and the cleaning blade for the roller, a cleaning roller having a relatively smooth peripheral surface, and toner cleaning for the cleaning roller are provided. When the determining means determines that the solid lubricant is exhausted, the switching means replaces the rotating roller with the rotating roller to bring the cleaning roller into contact with the rotating brush to remove the toner adhering to the rotating brush and remove the toner from the cleaning roller. Since the toner that adheres is removed by the toner cleaning blade, the toner that has adhered to the rotating roller transfers to the image carrier via the rotating brush as before, between the time when the solid lubricant runs out and the actual replacement. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the surface from being soiled.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the lubricant supply device according to the tenth aspect, a toner concentration detecting means for detecting the toner concentration on the image carrier is provided, and the detection result is obtained. Based on this, the presence or absence of the solid lubricant can be determined with a simple configuration.

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, in the lubricant supply device according to the tenth aspect, when the rotary brush is brought into contact with the rotary roller, only the rotary roller is rotated, while the cleaning roller is When making contact,
By rotating only the cleaning roller, it is possible to extend the life of the cleaning blade and the toner cleaning blade that are pressed against both rollers.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the lubricant supply device according to the tenth aspect, the cleaning blade which is pressed against the rotating roller whose peripheral surface is relatively rough has relatively high wear resistance. By using a resin film blade, it is possible to extend the life of the blade,
By using a rubber blade having a high toner removal efficiency as the toner cleaning blade which is pressed against the cleaning roller having a relatively smooth peripheral surface, the cleaning effect by the blade can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lubricant supply device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 1.

FIG. 2 is a state explanatory view showing a pressed state of a regulation blade made of a rubber blade against a rotating roller.

FIG. 3 is a state explanatory view showing a state in which a regulation blade made of a resin film is pressed against a rotating roller.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording unit of a laser printer including the lubricant supply device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lubricant supply device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 3.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another lubricant supply device that directly scrapes off a solid lubricant with a rotating brush and applies it to the photoconductor.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lubricant supply device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 8.

8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams showing the relationship between the thickness of the solid lubricant provided in the lubricant supply device and the movement distance of the spring storage box.

FIG. 9 is a state explanatory view showing a state in which the eccentric cam is rotated and the spring storage box is pushed down according to the degree of reduction of the solid lubricant.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lubricant supply device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claims 10 and 11.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the lubricant supply device as viewed from above.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional lubricant supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Photoreceptor (Image Carrier) 25 Lubricant Supply Device 27 Rotating Brush 29 Biasing Member 30 Rotating Roller 35 Solid Lubricant 40 Control Blade 40a Tip Edge 40b Face Edge Front Edge 50 Spring Storage Box (Movable Base Member) 53/69 Toner concentration detecting means 60 Switching means 65 Cleaning blade 66 Cleaning roller 70 Toner cleaning blade 71 Switching means driving means 75 Judging means A Lubricant application position L Spring moving distance of t box Solid lubricant thickness

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Makoto Arai 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A solid lubricant is pressed against a rotary roller, the rotary roller is rotated to carry the lubricant on the peripheral surface, and the lubricant on the rotary roller is applied to an image carrier by a coating member. In a device for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, a regulation blade is formed using a rubber blade, and a surface portion of the regulation blade in front of a leading edge is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller. A lubricant supply device for an image carrier in a photographic device. 2. A solid lubricant is pressed against a rotary roller, the rotary roller is rotated to carry the lubricant on the peripheral surface, and the lubricant on the rotary roller is applied to the image carrier by a coating member. In a device for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, a regulating blade is formed using a resin film, and the leading edge of the regulating blade is pressed against the peripheral surface of the rotating roller. Lubricant supply device for image carrier. 3. A lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein a solid lubricant is scraped off little by little with a rotating body and applied directly or indirectly to the image carrier, and the image carrier is provided at a lubricant application position. A lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the drive of the rotating body is stopped when there is a non-image area of the body. 4. A toner concentration on the image carrier in an apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which a solid lubricant is scraped off little by little with a rotating body and applied directly or indirectly to the image carrier. Is detected by the toner concentration detection means,
A lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the driving of the rotating body is stopped when the toner density detected by the toner density detecting means is below a certain level. 5. An apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus in which a solid lubricant is scraped off little by little with a rotating body and directly or indirectly applied to the image carrier, and humidity is measured by a humidity sensor, An apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, which stops driving of the rotating body when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is below a certain level. 6. When the rotating body is in a drive stopped state,
The lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the rotation of the rotary body is restricted. 7. A solid lubricant is biased by a biasing member and pressed against a rotary roller, the rotary roller is rotated to scrape away the solid lubricant little by little, and the lubricant on the rotary roller is imaged by a coating member. In a lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus for applying to a carrier, the urging member is provided between a movable base member and a solid lubricant, and the decrease amount of the solid lubricant is determined, and A lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the movable base member is actuated in accordance with the degree of decrease and is pressed by the movable base member to keep the biasing force of the biasing member constant. 8. A toner density detecting means for detecting a toner density on the image carrier is provided, and a reduction degree of the solid lubricant is judged based on a detection result of the toner concentration detecting means, and the reduction degree is determined according to the reduction degree. The lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the movable base member is actuated, and the movable base member is pressed to hold the biasing force of the biasing member constant. 9. The lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the moving distance of the movable base member is larger than the thickness of the solid lubricant. 10. A solid lubricant is pressed against a rotating roller,
The rotary roller is rotated to scrape off the solid lubricant little by little, and the lubricant on the rotary roller is applied to the image carrier by a rotary brush that is in contact with the rotary roller, while the toner adhered on the rotary roller is removed. In a device for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus, which is removed with a cleaning blade, a cleaning roller having a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of 2 μm or less and a toner for removing toner attached to the cleaning roller A cleaning blade is provided, and a determination means for determining the presence or absence of solid lubricant, and a switch for contacting the cleaning roller with the rotating brush instead of the rotating roller when the determining means determines that the solid lubricant is exhausted Means for driving an electrophotographic apparatus, and a driving means for operating the switching means. The lubricant supply device to. 11. The toner density detecting means for detecting the toner density on the image carrier is provided, and the presence or absence of the solid lubricant is judged based on the detection result of the toner density detecting means. Supply device to the image bearing member in the electrophotographic apparatus of the above. 12. The rotation roller is transmitted to the rotation roller when the rotation roller comes into contact with the rotation brush, and the rotation is transmitted to the cleaning roller when the cleaning roller comes into contact with the rotation brush. 10. An apparatus for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier in the electrophotographic apparatus according to item 10. 13. A lubricant supply device for an image carrier in an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the cleaning blade is formed of a resin film, and the toner cleaning blade is formed of a rubber blade.