Image-bearing member protecting agent, method of applying an image-bearing member protecting agent, protective layer forming device, image forming method, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

• US 20100310291A1
• Filed: 06/02/2010
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Kunio, Urayama, Taichi, Tanaka, Shinya, Nakai, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,437,676 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/346
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/00 Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0503 Inert supplements
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/051 Organic non-macromolecular compounds
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/142 Inert intermediate layers
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/144 comprising inorganic material
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/14704 comprising inorganic material

Abstract

The present invention provides an image-bearing member protecting agent, which has a block shape and is used in an image forming process where the image-bearing member protecting agent is applied or attached to a surface of an image bearing member while being scraped off with a roll-shaped brush, the image-bearing member protecting agent including: a fatty acid metal salt, wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent includes a plurality of small blocks and has such an orientation that one or more of the small blocks are easily separated from other small blocks, and a plurality of oriented surfaces of the plurality of small blocks are arranged in a laminated state in a substantially same direction.

Claims

1. An image-bearing member protecting agent, which has a block shape and is used in an image forming process where the image-bearing member protecting agent is applied or attached to a surface of an image bearing member while being scraped off with a roll-shaped brush, the image-bearing member protecting agent comprising:

a fatty acid metal salt,

wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent includes a plurality of small blocks and has such an orientation that one or more of the small blocks are easily separated from other small blocks, and a plurality of oriented surfaces of the plurality of small blocks are arranged in a laminated state in a substantially same direction.

2. The image-bearing member protecting agent according to claim 1, wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent is formed by compression molding a particulate or granular raw material, which contains the fatty acid metal salt, in a mold, and the raw material is compressed while air contained in the raw material being pressed out in a lateral direction, so that the plurality of oriented surfaces are formed.

3. The image-bearing member protecting agent according to claim 1, further comprising an inorganic lubricant.

4. A protective layer forming device comprising:

a roll-shaped brush,

wherein the protective layer forming device is configured to apply or attach an image-bearing member protecting agent to a surface of an image bearing member, the image-bearing member protecting agent being scraped off with the roll-shaped brush,

wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent includes a plurality of small blocks and has such an orientation that one or more of the small blocks are easily separated from other small blocks, and a plurality of oriented surfaces of the plurality of small blocks are arranged in a laminated state in a substantially same, direction, and

wherein the brush is pressed against a block surface of the image-bearing member protecting agent, the block surface being substantially parallel to the oriented surfaces of the image-bearing member protecting agent.

5. The protective layer forming device according to claim 4, further comprising a layer forming member for pressing the image-bearing member protecting agent supplied to the surface of the image bearing member to form a film.

6. An image forming apparatus comprising:

an image bearing member which undergoes a process for bearing a toner image,

a transfer device configured to transfer the toner image formed on a surface of the image bearing member onto a transfer medium, and

a protective layer forming device comprises a roll-shaped brush and is configured to apply or attach an image-bearing member protecting agent to the surface of the image bearing member from which the toner image has been transferred onto the transfer medium, the image-bearing member protecting agent being scraped off with the roll-shaped brush,

wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent includes a plurality of small blocks and has such an orientation that one or more of the small blocks are easily separated from other small blocks, and a plurality of oriented surfaces of the plurality of small blocks are arranged in a laminated state in a substantially same direction, and

wherein the brush is pressed against a block surface of the image-bearing member protecting agent, the block surface being substantially parallel to the oriented surfaces of the image-bearing member protecting agent.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a cleaning device,

wherein the cleaning device is placed downstream the transfer device and upstream the protective layer forming device along a rotational direction of the image bearing member and is configured to remove a toner remaining on the surface of the image bearing member by rubbing the surface of the image bearing member.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image bearing member contains a thermosetting resin in at least an uppermost surface layer thereof.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image bearing member is a photoconductor.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a charging device which is provided in contact with or close to the surface of the image bearing member.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the charging device includes a voltage applying device configured to apply a voltage containing an alternating current component.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image bearing member is an intermediate transfer medium.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the toner has a circularity SR, which is represented by Equation 1, of 0.93 to 1.00:

Circularity SR=(periphery of a circle having the same area as a particle projection area)/(periphery of a particle projection image) 

 

Equation 1

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a ratio (D4/D1) of a weight average particle diameter (D4) of the toner to a number average particle diameter (D1) thereof is 1.00 to 1.40.