JP2012088516A - Cleaning device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device for a photoreceptor that allows permanent use of a magnetic brush charging device at a low cost, and improves maintenance performance thereof.SOLUTION: A cleaning device 86 is provided with a cleaning blade 162, a lubricant supply part 170 that supplies lubricant to a photoreceptor drum 40, a supplemental magnetic particle storage part 164; and magnetic particles recovery part 165. Magnetic particles B stored in the supplemental magnetic particle storage part 164 are supplied to a charging device 85 that is a magnetic brush charging device, and deteriorated magnetic particles A are recovered to the magnetic particle recovery part 165.

Description

  The present invention relates to a photoreceptor cleaning device used in an image forming apparatus including a magnetic brush charging device, and an image forming apparatus including the cleaning device.

  Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, a photoreceptor is provided, the surface of the photoreceptor is uniformly charged, and the charged photoreceptor surface is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image. It is known that a toner is supplied to form a visible image, and a visible image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor is transferred onto the surface of the transfer paper, and then fixed and discharged.

  Since the untransferred toner remains on the surface of the photoconductor after the visible image is transferred, the photoconductor surface is cleaned by a cleaning device so that the untransferred toner does not adversely affect the next image formation. Ready for the next image forming process. As a cleaning device, a cleaning blade made of an elastic material such as rubber or a cleaning brush in which synthetic resin fibers are formed in a brush shape is rubbed against the surface of the photosensitive member to remove deposits such as untransferred toner. Known.

  However, the cleaning blade and the cleaning brush have a problem that if they are continuously rubbed with the photosensitive member, they are worn over time and the cleaning performance is deteriorated due to chipping or deformation. Further, since the surface of the photoconductor is also worn, the life is shortened.

  Therefore, conventionally, a lubricant is applied to the surface of the photoconductor in order to reduce the frictional resistance acting between the photoconductor and these cleaning members and to eliminate problems such as wear of the cleaning member and the photoconductor. The method is taken. Also, if a lubricant is applied to the surface of the photoconductor, the coefficient of friction on the surface of the photoconductor decreases, so that a fluidizing agent or a charge control agent added to the toner is applied to the surface of the photoconductor by the contact pressure with the cleaning member. It is possible to prevent so-called filming that is fixed in a film form. Further, the toner developed on the photoconductor also has improved transferability by reducing the adhesion force with the surface of the photoconductor.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a configuration of a cleaning device that applies a lubricant to an image carrier with an application roller after cleaning with a cleaning blade, and further extends the lubricant applied with a leveling member.

  In recent years, as a method for uniformly charging the surface of the photoconductor, a magnetic brush charging device that uses a contact charging method, which hardly deteriorates or damages the surface of the photoconductor, has attracted attention and is clean.

  However, the magnetic particles forming the magnetic brush deteriorate over time due to repeated charging, so that the desired charging effect cannot be achieved, and the surface of the photoconductor cannot be uniformly charged to the desired charging potential and formed. This leads to image degradation.

  Thus, various proposals have been made to maintain the charging performance of the magnetic brush charging device by collecting the deteriorated magnetic particles and supplying new magnetic particles.

  For example, Patent Document 2 describes the following configuration. A magnetic brush charging device is provided in the case of the cleaning device, and the deteriorated magnetic particles for charging are collected and stored in the case of the cleaning device. Then, a new charging magnetic particle is supplied to the magnetic brush charging device from the photosensitive member containing the replenishment developer and the charging magnetic particles and the developer / charging magnetic particle container provided above the exposure means. The configuration is described. Patent Document 3 describes the following configuration. A dedicated recovery device is provided between the magnetic brush charging device and the developing device in the direction of rotation of the photoconductor to collect and store the deteriorated magnetic particles that have adhered to the surface of the photoconductor from the charging device in a dedicated recovery mode. Provided. In addition, a configuration is described in which charging magnetic particle replenishing means is provided in the upper portion of the charging container of the magnetic brush charging device provided above the photoconductor to replenish new magnetic particles for charging to the magnetic brush charging device. .

  In the configurations described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, when wear of the photoconductor is avoided by supplying a lubricant to the surface of the photoconductor, the wear of the cleaning blade becomes the life of the image forming unit. In order to make the image forming unit permanently usable, maintenance of a developer, a lubricant, a developing device, a cleaning device, a magnetic brush charging device, etc. is performed, and the developing device, cleaning device, magnetic brush charging is performed. It is necessary to make the device etc. usable permanently. Moreover, in order to make the magnetic brush charging device permanently usable, the collected magnetic particles for charging are discarded, and charging into the replenishment section reduced by supplying new magnetic particles for charging to the magnetic brush charging device. Replenishment of magnetic particles for use is essential.

  However, in any of the configurations described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, in order to permanently use the magnetic brush charging device, it is necessary to attach or detach or replace a plurality of members when performing maintenance work. The sex was low. Specifically, in the configuration described in Patent Document 2, a developer / charging magnetic particle container that is a charging magnetic particle replenishing unit, a cleaning device that stores the recovered magnetic particles, and a case inside the cleaning device It is necessary to attach or detach or replace the magnetic brush charging device provided in In the configuration described in Patent Document 3, it is necessary to attach or detach or replace the magnetic brush charging device provided with charging magnetic particle replenishing means and the collecting device containing the collected charging magnetic particles. Furthermore, in the configuration described in Patent Document 3, since a dedicated collection device is provided, an increase in cost for providing this collection device is inevitable.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to clean a photoconductor that can be used permanently and can be maintained at a low cost. Is to provide a device.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is used in an image forming apparatus provided with a magnetic brush charging device, and in a photoconductor cleaning device having a blade, at least a lubricant application unit; A first magnetic particle storage unit for storing magnetic particles to be supplied to the magnetic brush charging device, and a magnetic particle recovery unit for storing used magnetic particles recovered by the magnetic brush charging device. To do.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device according to the first aspect, the magnetic brush charging device includes a second magnetic particle accommodating portion that accommodates a predetermined amount of magnetic particles, The particles are replenished from one end side of the second magnetic particle accommodating portion, and the magnetic particles exceeding a predetermined amount that can be accommodated in the second magnetic particle accommodating portion are discharged from the other end side, and then the first magnetic particles It is accommodated in an accommodating part.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device according to the first or second aspect, the lubricant application means includes a replenishment lubricant accommodating portion and a replenishment lubricant accommodated in the replenishment lubricant accommodating portion. And a lubricant.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device according to the third aspect, the replenishing lubricant is a powder.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus includes the cleaning device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects as a cleaning device.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus including a plurality of image forming units, only the cleaning device provided in one image forming unit is the cleaning device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects. It is characterized by being.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the toner used in the developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor has a volume average particle size of 3 to 8 μm. The ratio (Dv / Dn) of the volume average particle diameter (Dv) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) is in the range of 1.00 to 1.40.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, the toner used in the developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor is a shape factor SF−. 1 is in the range of 100 to 180, and the shape factor SF-2 is in the range of 100 to 180.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the fifth to eighth aspects, the toner used in the developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor is at least nitrogen. A toner obtained by cross-linking and / or extending a toner material liquid in which an organic solvent is dispersed in a polyester prepolymer having a functional group containing an atom, polyester, a colorant, and a release agent in an organic solvent. It is characterized by this.
In the present invention, since the first magnetic particle storage unit and the magnetic particle recovery unit are provided in the cleaning device, the magnetic particles in the first magnetic particle storage unit reduced by supplying magnetic particles to the magnetic brush charging device are reduced. The maintenance work of replenishing and discarding the used magnetic particles collected in the magnetic particle collecting unit can be performed by attaching / detaching or replacing only the cleaning device. Therefore, the maintainability of the magnetic brush charging device can be improved.

  The present invention can improve the maintainability of the magnetic brush charging device. Therefore, it is possible to provide a photoconductor cleaning device that enables permanent use of the magnetic brush charging device and can improve its maintainability at low cost.

1 is an explanatory diagram of an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a magnetic brush charging device and a cleaning device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conveyance path of magnetic particles for a magnetic brush according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a magnetic brush charging device and a cleaning device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a toner shape factor SF-1 according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a toner shape factor SF-2 according to Embodiment 4;

  An example of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a color-compatible multifunction peripheral that is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the magnetic brush charging device and the cleaning device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conveyance path of magnetic particles for magnetic brushes (hereinafter referred to as magnetic particles) according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the magnetic brush charging device and the cleaning device according to the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the shape factor SF-1 of the toner according to the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a toner shape factor SF-2 according to FIG.

  First, the basic configuration of this copying machine will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine is an image forming apparatus main body that forms an image, an image forming unit 100, a paper feed table 200 on which the image forming unit 100 is placed, and an image forming unit 100. The scanner 300 is mainly composed of an attached scanner 300 and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 400 attached on the scanner 300.

  The scanner 300 is placed on the contact glass 301 as the first traveling body 303 equipped with a document illumination light source or mirror and the second traveling body 304 equipped with a plurality of reflecting mirrors reciprocate. Scanning of a document (not shown) is performed. The scanning light sent out from the second traveling body 304 is condensed on the imaging surface of the reading sensor 306 installed behind the imaging lens 305 and then read as an image signal by the reading sensor 306.

  The image forming unit 100 is provided with photosensitive drums 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40Bk corresponding to toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk) as latent image carriers. It has been. Around each photosensitive drum 40, various means for executing an electrophotographic process, such as a developing device 70, a charging device 85 which is a magnetic brush charging device, and a photosensitive device cleaning device 86 (hereinafter referred to as a cleaning device 86), are arranged. Thus, the image forming unit 38 (Y, M, C, Bk) is formed. Each image forming unit 38 can be attached to and detached from the printer main body, so that consumable parts can be replaced at a time. Four image forming units 38 are provided in parallel to form the tandem image forming unit 20. Here, the configuration of each image forming unit 38 is different only in the color of the toner to be used, and the basic configuration and operation are the same. Therefore, in the following description, symbols Y, M, C, and Bk are appropriately set. The description will be omitted.

  Each image forming unit 38 has a casing 41. From the shaft hole on one side of the rotating shaft of the photosensitive drum 40 formed in the casing (not shown), the tip of the rotating shaft of the photosensitive drum 40 is provided to the outside. Further, when the image forming unit 38 is mounted, it is connected to a photoreceptor driving unit (not shown), and when it is in operation, it is rotationally driven by this photoreceptor driving unit.

  In the developing device 70 of each image forming unit 38, the developer containing the four color toners is used. In the developing device 70, a developing roller 71 that is a developer carrying member carries and conveys the developer, and develops a latent image on the photoconductive drum 40 at a position facing the photoconductive drum 40.

  Above the tandem-type image forming unit 20, an exposure device 31 is provided that forms a latent image by exposing the photosensitive drum 40 with laser light or LED light based on image information.

Further, an intermediate transfer belt 15 made of an endless belt member is disposed at a lower position facing the photosensitive drum 40 of the tandem type image forming unit 20. The intermediate transfer belt 15 is supported by a support roller 34, a support roller 35, and a secondary transfer backup roller 36. A primary transfer device 62 that transfers the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drum 40 to the intermediate transfer belt 15 is disposed at a position adjacent to the photosensitive drum 40 via the intermediate transfer belt 15.

  Below the intermediate transfer belt 15, a secondary transfer device 19 that collectively transfers a toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15 to the sheet P conveyed from the paper feed cassette 44 of the paper feed table 200. Is arranged. The secondary transfer device 19 includes a secondary transfer roller 23 and a contact / separation mechanism (not shown) that supports the secondary transfer roller 23 so as to be able to contact and separate from the intermediate transfer belt 15. The secondary transfer device 19 presses the secondary transfer roller 23 against the secondary transfer backup roller 36 via the intermediate transfer belt 15 to transfer the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 15 onto the sheet P.

  In order to remove toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15, an intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 90 is provided. The intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 90 abuts a cleaning blade made of, for example, a fur brush or urethane rubber against the intermediate transfer belt 15 and scrapes off the transfer residual toner of the secondary transfer adhering to the intermediate transfer belt 15. .

  A fixing device 60 is provided adjacent to the secondary transfer device 19, and the sheet P onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 60 by the conveyance belt 16. The fixing device 60 fixes the image on the sheet P. The fixing device 60 mainly includes a heating roller 66 in which a heater as a heat source is incorporated, and a pressure roller 67 pressed against the heating roller 66.

  A reversing device 28 for reversing the sheet P is disposed below the secondary transfer device 19 and the fixing device 60. The reversing device 28 reverses the sheet P so as to record images on both sides of the sheet P.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus having the above configuration will be described. The original document is set on the document table 30 of the automatic document feeder 400 shown in FIG. 1, or the automatic document feeder 400 is opened to set the document on the contact glass 301 of the scanner 300, and the automatic document feeder 400 is closed. . When a start switch (not shown) on the operation panel is pressed in this state, when a document is set on the automatic document feeder 400, the document is transported and moved onto the contact glass 301. When a document is set on 301, the scanner 300 is immediately driven to cause the first traveling body 303 and the second traveling body 304 to travel. The first traveling body 303 emits light from the light source and receives reflected light from the document surface, reflects the reflected light toward the second traveling body 304, and further reflects the reflected light by the mirror of the second traveling body 304. Then, the light enters the reading sensor 306 through the imaging lens 305, and the reading sensor 306 reads the document content.

  Further, by pressing a start switch on the operation panel, a drive motor (not shown) is driven to rotate and drive one of the support roller 34, the support roller 35, and the secondary transfer backup roller 36, and the other two supports. The roller is driven to rotate, thereby rotating the intermediate transfer belt 15. At the same time, in each image forming unit 38, the photosensitive drum 40 is uniformly charged by the charging device 85, and then charged by irradiating writing light from the exposure device 31 with a laser, LED, or the like according to the reading content of the scanner 300. An electrostatic latent image is formed on each photosensitive drum 40. Toner is supplied from the developing device 70 to the photosensitive drum 40 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized. On each photosensitive drum 40, yellow (Y), magenta (M), A single color image of cyan (C) and black (Bk) is formed. A single color image is sequentially primary transferred by the primary transfer device 62 so as to overlap the intermediate transfer belt 15, and a composite color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 15. Residual toner is removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 40 after image transfer by a cleaning device 86, and electricity is removed by a charge removal device (not shown) to prepare for image formation again.

  By pressing the start switch on the operation panel, one of the paper feed rollers 42 of the paper feed table 200 is selected and rotated, and the sheet P is loaded from one of the paper feed cassettes 44 provided in the paper bank 43 in multiple stages. The paper is fed out, separated one by one by the separation roller 45, inserted into the paper feed path 46, transported by the transport roller pair 47, guided to the paper feed path 48 in the image forming unit 100, and abutted against the resist roller pair 49 and stopped. Let Next, the registration roller pair 49 is rotated in synchronization with the composite color image on the intermediate transfer belt 15, and the sheet P is fed between the intermediate transfer belt 15 and the secondary transfer device 19. The color image is transferred onto the sheet P by transfer.

  The sheet P carrying the unfixed toner image that has passed through the secondary transfer roller 23 is conveyed to the fixing device 60, and heat and pressure are applied by the fixing device 60 to fix the transferred image. The sheet P after image fixing is switched by the switching claw 55 and discharged by the discharge roller pair 56 and stacked on the paper discharge tray 57, or switched by the switching claw 55 and introduced into the reversing device 28, where the sheet P Is reversed and led to the transfer position again, and an image is recorded also on the back surface, and then discharged onto the discharge tray 57 by the discharge roller pair 56. At this time, residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 15 after the image transfer is removed by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 90 to prepare for re-image formation by the tandem type image forming unit 20.

  Next, a charging device 85 that is a magnetic brush charging device, a magnetic particle storage unit that stores magnetic particles, and a magnetic particle recovery unit that collects and stores used and deteriorated magnetic particles, which are characteristic parts of the present invention. The image forming units 38Y, 38M, 38C, and 38B provided with the provided cleaning device 86 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example 1
First, the first embodiment of the image forming unit 38 of the present embodiment will be described from the first embodiment. Here, the basic configuration of the charging device 85 and the cleaning device 86 corresponding to each image forming unit 38 of the present embodiment is different only in the color of the toner used in each corresponding image forming unit 38. Since the operation is the same, in the following description, the symbols Y, M, C, and Bk are omitted as appropriate. As described above, various means for performing an electrophotographic process such as the developing device 70, the charging device 85 that is a magnetic brush charging device, and the cleaning device 86 are disposed around the photosensitive drum 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 38 of this embodiment includes a developing device 70 on the upstream side of the toner image transfer position of the photosensitive drum 40 in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum. The electrostatic latent image formed on 40 is developed with the developer carried on the developing roller 71. A charging device 85, which is a magnetic brush charging device, is straddled across the exposure position of the exposure light L based on image information exposed by the exposure device 31 on the upstream side of the developing device 70 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum. It is arranged.

  The charging device 85 includes a magnetic roller 151, a charging device case 153 that is a second magnetic particle container, and a regulation blade 152. Then, the magnetic particles A housed in the charging device case 153 are magnetically attracted to the magnetic roller 151 and are regulated so that the magnetic particles A have a predetermined adsorption amount by the regulating blade 152, and then the photosensitive drum. The surface of the photosensitive drum 40 is charged by a bias applied opposite to the surface of the surface 40.

  In the cleaning device case 161 of the cleaning device 86, a lubricant supply unit 170 as a lubricant application unit is provided together with a cleaning blade 162 that blocks the transfer residual toner. In addition, a residual toner conveying screw 163 for conveying the collected transfer residual toner to a waste toner container (not shown) is also provided. The lubricant supply unit 170 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a solid lubricant 172, a brush roller 171 that scrapes off the solid lubricant 172 and applies lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive drum 40, and presses the solid lubricant 172 against the brush roller 171. And a guide member (not shown) for supporting the brush roller 171 in a rotatable manner and guiding the solid lubricant 172. Further, on the side away from the photosensitive drum 40 of the cleaning device 86, a replenishing magnetic particle container 164 which is a first magnetic particle container on the left hand side in FIG. 3 (the front side in FIG. 2) and 3, a magnetic particle recovery unit 165 is provided on the right hand side (the back side in FIG. 2) in FIG. 3 and is partitioned by a partition wall. The replenishing magnetic particle storage unit 164 stores replenishing magnetic particles B, and the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 recovers used magnetic brush charging magnetic particles recovered from the charging device 85.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, on the left hand side of the charging device case 153 in FIG. 3, a replenishment transport path 181 in which a transport coil 182 is arranged is provided from the replenishment magnetic particle container 164 inside the replenishment port. 154. 3 is connected to a recovery port 155 from a magnetic particle recovery unit 165 provided in the cleaning device 86 on the right hand side of the charging device case 153 in FIG. The replenishment transport path 181 is connected to the lower side surface of the replenishment magnetic particle storage unit 164, and the recovery transport path 183 is connected to the upper side surface of the magnetic particle recovery unit 165.

  Then, the magnetic particles B for replenishment flow into the charging device case 153 by the rotation of the transport coil 182 according to the usage situation. The volume in the charging device case 153 increases by the amount of the magnetic particles B that flow in, and the amount that reaches the recovery port 155 of the recovery transport path 183 is recovered to the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 of the cleaning device 86 through the recovery transport path 183. Is done. In addition, the magnetic particle replenishment transport path 181 and the recovery transport path 183 are detachably attached to the charging device case 153 and the replenishment magnetic particle storage portion 164 and are detachably supported by the apparatus main body. When the cleaning device 86 is replaced, the cleaning device 86 can be replaced while the supply transport path 181 and the recovery transport path 183 are supported on the apparatus main body side.

  Here, the photosensitive drum 40 is charged by the charging device 85 that is a magnetic brush charging device, and wear is not generated by the lubricant applied by the lubricant supply unit 170, so that the life of the photosensitive drum 40 is extended. . In addition, the cleaning performance by the cleaning device 86 can be maintained for a long time by suppressing the wear of the cleaning blade 162. When the cleaning device 86 is replaced, the solid lubricants 172 and 182 of the lubricant supply unit 170 are replaced, so that they can be used permanently. Further, in the charging device 85, the magnetic particles A deteriorate, but the magnetic particles B are replenished, the used magnetic particles A are recovered, and the cleaning device 86 is replaced. The magnetic particles B in the magnetic particle storage unit 164 return to the initial amount, and the magnetic particles C collected in the magnetic particle collection unit 165 are discarded, and can be used permanently.

  Conventionally, in a low-cost image forming apparatus, it is necessary to replace a plurality of members in order to prevent deterioration in charging performance due to magnetic particle deterioration of the charging device 85 which is a magnetic brush charging device and to enable permanent use. There are many cases, maintenance is not easy, useless work has occurred during maintenance work, and maintenance is low. However, in this embodiment, the cleaning blade 162 that has been worn by replacing only the cleaning device 86, the replenishing magnetic particles B accommodated in the replenishing magnetic particle accommodating portion 164, and the solid lubricant 172 of the lubricant supplying portion 170. Are refreshed, and the magnetic particles C in the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 that has recovered the used magnetic particles A can be discarded. Therefore, in this embodiment, maintenance work for discarding and replenishing magnetic particles can be performed by replacing only the cleaning device 86, so that maintenance of the magnetic brush charging device can be improved.

  Further, for example, unlike the configuration in which the magnetic particles to be discarded in Patent Document 3 are attached to the surface of the photosensitive member and then recovered by a dedicated recovery device, there is no increase in cost of providing the dedicated recovery device. As described above, since there is no dedicated collection device or the like for collecting magnetic particles, which is expensive, a work environment for collecting and supplying magnetic particles with high maintenance can be realized at low cost. Further, as in Patent Document 3, a dedicated collection device is provided, and the magnetic particles are not ejected from the magnetic brush charging device and collected by the collection device using a dedicated collection mode. Unusable downtime does not occur unnecessarily. Furthermore, the cleaning blade 162 is not wasted due to the operation of the dedicated collection mode, and the life of the cleaning blade 162 is not shortened. That is, it is possible to prevent the life of the useless cleaning blade from being reduced.

  Further, conventionally, a magnetic brush charging device in which a plurality of devices are concentrated and a magnetic particle collecting unit and a magnetic particle storage unit of magnetic particles for charging a magnetic brush are often arranged at positions where it is difficult to secure an installation space. It must be arranged in the vicinity, and it is necessary to secure an installation space in the vertical direction, which often hinders downsizing of the image forming apparatus. However, in the present invention, since the magnetic particle collection unit 165 and the replenishing magnetic particle storage unit 164 are provided in the cleaning device 86 that is often disposed at a position where a space is easily secured as compared with the position of the charging device 85, the image is provided. There is no hindrance to downsizing the forming apparatus. In particular, a vertical space is not required as compared with the conventional configuration.

  As described above, this embodiment is a low-cost configuration in which only the cleaning device 86 provided with the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 and the replenishment magnetic particle storage unit 164 is replaced, and the permanent use of the charging device 85. It is possible to perform maintenance work of discarding deteriorated magnetic particles and replenishing new magnetic particles. In addition, since the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 and the replenishment magnetic particle storage unit 164 are provided in the cleaning device 86 that is often disposed at a position where a space is relatively easily secured, it may hinder the downsizing of the multifunction device. Absent. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a cleaning device 86 that enables permanent use of the charging device 85 that is a magnetic brush charging device at low cost, improves maintenance, and does not hinder downsizing of the multifunction device that is an image forming device. Can do.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the cleaning device 86 is replaced during the maintenance of the charging device 85 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the configuration is as follows. May be. When the charging device 85 is maintained, the cleaning device 86 is detached from the apparatus main body, and the used and deteriorated magnetic particles C accommodated in the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 are discarded in the detached state. Then, after replenishing new magnetic particles B in the replenishing magnetic particle accommodating portion 164 reduced by replenishing the charging device 85, the cleaning device 86 is attached to the apparatus main body. The solid lubricants 172 and 182 of the lubricant supply unit 170 provided in the cleaning device 86 can also have the same configuration.

(Example 2)
Next, a second example of the image forming unit 38 according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described. The present embodiment and the above-described first embodiment are configured such that the lubricant supply unit 170 of the present embodiment uses a powder lubricant, and the lubricant supply unit 170 alone is not included in the cleaning device 86. The difference is that the cleaning device 86 is provided with a replenishment lubricant accommodating portion 166 for accommodating the replenishing powder lubricant E to be replenished to the lubricant supplying portion 170. Since the other points are the same as in the first embodiment, the configuration and operation common to the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

  When the lubricant is supplied to the photosensitive drum 40 by the brush roller 171 provided on the upstream side in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum from the cleaning blade 162 as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The amount of lubricant supplied is not the same when the image to be formed has a large image area such as a photograph because it adheres to the brush roller 171 and when the image area of a document or the like is small. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a constant lubricant can be supplied regardless of the image formed by supplying the lubricant downstream of the cleaning blade 162 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum. I was able to do it. Further, the lubricant supply unit 170 of the present embodiment conveys the powder lubricant D in the interior by the rotary blade 175, and the lubricant adhering to the surface of the photoconductor drum 40 is extended by the leveling member 176 and the photoconductor drum 40. Applied to the surface. Also in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the recovery of the deteriorated magnetic particles and the replenishment of new magnetic particles by the charging device 85 are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  Further, the powder lubricant D in the lubricant supply unit case 174 of the lubricant supply unit 170 decreases with the operation of the multifunction peripheral as the image forming apparatus. However, according to the present embodiment, the supply powder lubricant E stored in the supply lubricant storage unit 166 is supplied to the lubricant supply unit 170 according to the use situation. When the cleaning device 86 is replaced, the powder lubricant E in the replenishment lubricant accommodating portion 166 is refreshed and can be used permanently. Further, when the cleaning device 86 is replaced, in this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the lubricant supply unit 170 is provided alone. Therefore, if only the cleaning device 86 is replaced with the lubricant supply portion 170 remaining. Well, you can reduce the weight when replacing. Further, since it is not necessary to attach and detach the rotary blade 175 and the rotation drive source (not shown) at the time of replacement of the cleaning device 86, problems such as poor connection at the joint and damage to the joint occur. There is nothing. The leveling member 176 is also formed of polyurethane or the like as with the cleaning blade 162, but the wear associated with use is extremely small and need not be replaced.

  Furthermore, the lubricant is generally made into a bar-like solid as in Example 1, but the manufacturing method involves melting and solidifying the powdered lubricant, which is expensive to manufacture. In the present embodiment, the powder lubricant is used as it is, and the manufacturing cost for the solid material can be reduced.

(Example 3)
Next, Example 3 which is a third example of the image forming unit 38 of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment and the above-described first and second embodiments, the cleaning device is provided with a replenishing magnetic particle accommodating portion 164 that accommodates magnetic particles to be replenished to the charging device 85 and a magnetic particle collecting portion 165 that accommodates the recovered magnetic particles. Only the configuration relating to the point that only the cleaning device 86Bk is provided in the image forming unit 38Bk that uses the black (Bk) toner of each color 86 is different. Since the other points are the same as in the first or second embodiment, the configuration and operation common to the first and second embodiments will be omitted as appropriate.

  In the first and second embodiments, the same effect can be obtained in each image forming unit by including the replenishing magnetic particle storage unit 164 and the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 shown in FIGS. However, in an image forming apparatus provided with a plurality of image forming units so that a color image can be output at a high speed, generally, an image forming unit for black, which is frequently used, is always operated and images of other colors are used. The forming unit is often operated only when forming a color image.

  Therefore, in the image forming unit 38 of the present embodiment, the replenishing magnetic particle storage unit 164 and the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 are provided only in the cleaning device 86Bk of the black image forming unit Bk. With this configuration, it is possible to maintain only the charging device 85Bk that deteriorates alone.

  In addition, the color image forming unit also operates during a so-called process control operation performed for the purpose of adjusting the color of a color image. At this time, since only a very small pattern is formed, the cleaning blade does not wear, but the magnetic brush charging device does not form the image required by the user to perform the normal operation, but the magnetic brush is not formed. The magnetic particles for charging will be deteriorated.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, in the first and second embodiments, the replenishment transport path 181 and the recovery transport path 183 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, respectively, are moved from the cleaning device 86Bk to all the image forming units Y, M, and C. , Bk charging devices 85Y, M, C, and Bk. With this configuration, only the black cleaning device 86Bk, which is frequently used, is replaced, so that the charging devices 85Y, M, C, and Bk of all the image forming units Y, M, C, and Bk are supplied. Replenishment of the magnetic particles B and recovery of used and deteriorated magnetic particles can be performed.

  Accordingly, since the replenishing magnetic particle storage unit 164 and the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 are provided only in the cleaning device 86Bk of the image forming unit Bk, the cost is lower than the configuration of the first and second embodiments and the maintenance property is improved. High and does not hinder downsizing of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the charging device 85, which is a magnetic brush charging device, can be permanently used at a lower cost than the configurations of the first and second embodiments described above, and the maintainability is improved. A cleaning device 86 for the photosensitive drum 40 that does not hinder downsizing can be provided.

Example 4
Next, Example 4 which is a fourth example of the image forming unit 38 of the present embodiment will be described. This embodiment is different from the above embodiment only in that the toner that can be suitably used in the developing device 70 of the image forming unit 38 is defined. Since the other points are the same as in any one of the first to third embodiments, the configuration and operation common to the first to third embodiments will be omitted as appropriate.

  In order to reproduce minute dots of 600 dpi or more, the toner preferably has a volume average particle diameter of 3 to 8 μm. The ratio (Dv / Dn) of the volume average particle diameter (Dv) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) is preferably in the range of 1.00 to 1.40. The closer (Dv / Dn) is to 1.00, the sharper the particle size distribution. With such a toner having a small particle size and a narrow particle size distribution, the toner charge amount distribution is uniform, a high-quality image with little background fogging can be obtained, and the electrostatic transfer method has a high transfer rate. can do.

The toner shape factor SF-1 is preferably in the range of 100 to 180, and the shape factor SF-2 is preferably in the range of 100 to 180. 5 and 6 are diagrams schematically showing the shape of the toner in order to explain the shape factor SF-1 and the shape factor SF-2. The shape factor SF-1 indicates the ratio of the roundness of the toner shape and is represented by the following formula (1). This is a value obtained by dividing the square of the maximum length MXLNG of the shape formed by projecting the toner on a two-dimensional plane by the figure area AREA and multiplying by 100π / 4.
SF-1 = {(MXLNG) ² / AREA} × (100π / 4) (1)
Here, when the value of SF-1 is 100, the shape of the toner becomes a true sphere, and becomes larger as the value of SF-1 increases.

The shape factor SF-2 indicates the ratio of the unevenness of the toner shape, and is represented by the following formula (2). A value obtained by dividing the square of the perimeter PERI of the figure formed by projecting the toner onto the two-dimensional plane by the figure area AREA and multiplying by 100 / 4π.
SF-2 = {(PERI) ² / AREA} × (100 / 4π) (2)
Here, when the value of SF-2 is 100, unevenness does not exist on the toner surface, and as the value of SF-2 increases, the unevenness of the toner surface becomes more prominent.

  Specifically, the shape factor is measured by taking a photograph of the toner with a scanning electron microscope (S-800: manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.), introducing it into an image analyzer (LUSEX 3: manufactured by Nireco) and analyzing it. Calculated. When the shape of the toner is close to a sphere, the contact state between the toner and the toner or the toner and the photoconductor becomes a point contact, so that the adsorption force between the toners becomes weak. Accordingly, the fluidity is increased, and the attracting force between the toner and the photoreceptor is weakened, and the transfer rate is increased. If either of the shape factors SF-1 and SF-2 exceeds 180, the transfer rate is lowered, which is not preferable.

  The toner suitably used for the image forming unit 38 of this embodiment is a toner in which at least a polyester prepolymer having a functional group containing a nitrogen atom, a polyester, a colorant, and a release agent are dispersed in an organic solvent. A toner obtained by crosslinking and / or extending a material solution in an aqueous solvent. Hereinafter, the constituent material and the manufacturing method of the toner will be described.

(polyester)
The polyester is obtained by a polycondensation reaction between a polyhydric alcohol compound and a polycarboxylic acid compound. Examples of the polyhydric alcohol compound (PO) include dihydric alcohol (DIO) and trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol (TO). (DIO) alone or a mixture of (DIO) and a small amount of (TO) preferable. Examples of the dihydric alcohol (DIO) include alkylene glycol (ethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, etc.); alkylene ether glycol (diethylene glycol) , Triethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polytetramethylene ether glycol, etc.); alicyclic diols (1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydrogenated bisphenol A, etc.); bisphenols (bisphenol A, bisphenol) F, bisphenol S, etc.); alkylene oxide (ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, etc.) adduct of the above alicyclic diol; Alkylene oxide bisphenol (ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, etc.), etc. adducts. Among them, preferred are alkylene glycols having 2 to 12 carbon atoms and alkylene oxide adducts of bisphenols, and particularly preferred are alkylene oxide adducts of bisphenols and alkylene glycols having 2 to 12 carbon atoms. It is a combined use. The trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol (TO) includes 3 to 8 or higher polyhydric aliphatic alcohols (glycerin, trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane, pentaerythritol, sorbitol, etc.); trihydric or higher phenols (Trisphenol PA, phenol novolak, cresol novolak, etc.); and alkylene oxide adducts of the above trivalent or higher polyphenols.

  Examples of the polyvalent carboxylic acid (PC) include divalent carboxylic acid (DIC) and trivalent or higher polyvalent carboxylic acid (TC). (DIC) alone and (DIC) with a small amount of (TC) Mixtures are preferred. Divalent carboxylic acids (DIC) include alkylene dicarboxylic acids (succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, etc.); alkenylene dicarboxylic acids (maleic acid, fumaric acid, etc.); aromatic dicarboxylic acids (phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid) And naphthalenedicarboxylic acid). Of these, preferred are alkenylene dicarboxylic acids having 4 to 20 carbon atoms and aromatic dicarboxylic acids having 8 to 20 carbon atoms. Examples of the trivalent or higher polyvalent carboxylic acid (TC) include aromatic polycarboxylic acids having 9 to 20 carbon atoms (such as trimellitic acid and pyromellitic acid). In addition, as polyhydric carboxylic acid (PC), you may make it react with polyhydric alcohol (PO) using the above-mentioned acid anhydride or lower alkyl ester (Methyl ester, ethyl ester, isopropyl ester, etc.).

  The ratio of the polyhydric alcohol (PO) to the polycarboxylic acid (PC) is usually 2/1 to 1/1, preferably as the equivalent ratio [OH] / [COOH] of the hydroxyl group [OH] and the carboxyl group [COOH]. Is 1.5 / 1 to 1/1, more preferably 1.3 / 1 to 1.02 / 1.

  The polycondensation reaction between a polyhydric alcohol (PO) and a polycarboxylic acid (PC) is carried out in the presence of a known esterification catalyst such as tetrabutoxytitanate or dibutyltin oxide, and heated to 150 to 280 ° C. while reducing the pressure as necessary. The produced water is distilled off to obtain a polyester having a hydroxyl group. The hydroxyl value of the polyester is preferably 5 or more, and the acid value of the polyester is usually 1 to 30, preferably 5 to 20. By giving an acid value, it tends to be negatively charged, and furthermore, when fixing to a recording paper, the affinity between the recording paper and the toner is good and the low-temperature fixability is improved. However, when the acid value exceeds 30, there is a tendency to deteriorate with respect to the stability of charging, particularly environmental fluctuation.

  The weight average molecular weight is 10,000 to 400,000, preferably 20,000 to 200,000. A weight average molecular weight of less than 10,000 is not preferable because offset resistance deteriorates. On the other hand, if it exceeds 400,000, the low-temperature fixability is deteriorated.

  In addition to the unmodified polyester obtained by the above polycondensation reaction, the polyester preferably contains a urea-modified polyester. The urea-modified polyester is obtained by reacting a terminal carboxyl group or hydroxyl group of the polyester obtained by the above polycondensation reaction with a polyvalent isocyanate compound (PIC) to obtain a polyester prepolymer (A) having an isocyanate group. It is obtained by cross-linking and / or extending the molecular chain by the reaction of the amine with amines.

  Examples of the polyvalent isocyanate compound (PIC) include aliphatic polyisocyanates (tetramethylene diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, 2,6-diisocyanatomethylcaproate, etc.); alicyclic polyisocyanates (isophorone diisocyanate, cyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, etc.) ); Aromatic diisocyanates (tolylene diisocyanate, diphenylmethane diisocyanate, etc.); araliphatic diisocyanates (α, α, α ′, α′-tetramethylxylylene diisocyanate, etc.); isocyanates; Those blocked with caprolactam or the like; and combinations of two or more of these.

  The ratio of the polyvalent isocyanate compound (PIC) is usually 5/1 to 1/1, preferably as an equivalent ratio [NCO] / [OH] of the isocyanate group [NCO] and the hydroxyl group [OH] of the polyester having a hydroxyl group. 4/1 to 1.2 / 1, more preferably 2.5 / 1 to 1.5 / 1. When [NCO] / [OH] exceeds 5, low-temperature fixability deteriorates. When the molar ratio of [NCO] is less than 1, when a urea-modified polyester is used, the urea content in the ester is lowered and hot offset resistance is deteriorated.

  The content of the polyvalent isocyanate compound (PIC) component in the polyester prepolymer (A) having an isocyanate group is usually 0.5 to 40 wt%, preferably 1 to 30 wt%, more preferably 2 to 20 wt%. . If it is less than 0.5 wt%, the hot offset resistance deteriorates, and it is disadvantageous in terms of both heat-resistant storage stability and low-temperature fixability. On the other hand, if it exceeds 40 wt%, the low-temperature fixability deteriorates.

  The number of isocyanate groups contained per molecule in the polyester prepolymer (A) having an isocyanate group is usually 1 or more, preferably 1.5 to 3 on average, more preferably 1.8 to 2 on average. Five. If it is less than 1 per molecule, the molecular weight of the urea-modified polyester will be low, and the hot offset resistance will deteriorate.

  Next, as amines (B) to be reacted with the polyester prepolymer (A), a divalent amine compound (B1), a trivalent or higher polyvalent amine compound (B2), an amino alcohol (B3), an amino mercaptan (B4) ), Amino acid (B5), and amino acid block of B1 to B5 (B6).

  Examples of the divalent amine compound (B1) include aromatic diamines (phenylenediamine, diethyltoluenediamine, 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane, etc.); alicyclic diamines (4,4′-diamino-3,3′-dimethyldicyclohexyl). Methane, diamine cyclohexane, isophorone diamine, etc.); and aliphatic diamines (ethylene diamine, tetramethylene diamine, hexamethylene diamine, etc.) and the like. Examples of the trivalent or higher polyvalent amine compound (B2) include diethylenetriamine and triethylenetetramine. Examples of amino alcohol (B3) include ethanolamine and hydroxyethylaniline. Examples of amino mercaptan (B4) include aminoethyl mercaptan and aminopropyl mercaptan. Examples of the amino acid (B5) include aminopropionic acid and aminocaproic acid. Examples of the compound (B6) obtained by blocking the amino group of B1 to B5 include ketimine compounds and oxazolidine compounds obtained from the amines of B1 to B5 and ketones (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, etc.). Among these amines (B), preferred are B1 and a mixture of B1 and a small amount of B2.

  The ratio of amines (B) is equivalent to the equivalent ratio [NCO] / [NHx] of isocyanate groups [NCO] in the polyester prepolymer (A) having isocyanate groups and amino groups [NHx] in amines (B). Is usually 1/2 to 2/1, preferably 1.5 / 1 to 1 / 1.5, more preferably 1.2 / 1 to 1 / 1.2. When [NCO] / [NHx] is more than 2 or less than 1/2, the molecular weight of the urea-modified polyester is lowered, and the hot offset resistance is deteriorated. The urea-modified polyester may contain a urethane bond together with a urea bond. The molar ratio of the urea bond content to the urethane bond content is usually 100/0 to 10/90, preferably 80/20 to 20/80, and more preferably 60/40 to 30/70. When the molar ratio of the urea bond is less than 10%, the hot offset resistance is deteriorated.

  The urea-modified polyester is produced by a one-shot method or the like. Polyhydric alcohol (PO) and polyvalent carboxylic acid (PC) are heated to 150-280 ° C. in the presence of a known esterification catalyst such as tetrabutoxytitanate, dibutyltin oxide, etc., and water generated while reducing the pressure as necessary. Distill off to obtain a polyester having a hydroxyl group. Subsequently, at 40-140 degreeC, this is made to react with polyvalent isocyanate (PIC), and the polyester prepolymer (A) which has an isocyanate group is obtained. Further, this (A) is reacted with amines (B) at 0 to 140 ° C. to obtain a urea-modified polyester. When reacting (PIC) and when reacting (A) and (B), a solvent may be used if necessary. Usable solvents include aromatic solvents (toluene, xylene, etc.); ketones (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, etc.); esters (ethyl acetate, etc.); amides (dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, etc.) and ethers And those inert to isocyanates (PIC), such as tetrahydrofuran (such as tetrahydrofuran).

  In addition, in the crosslinking and / or extension reaction between the polyester prepolymer (A) and the amines (B), a reaction terminator can be used as necessary to adjust the molecular weight of the resulting urea-modified polyester. Examples of the reaction terminator include monoamines (diethylamine, dibutylamine, butylamine, laurylamine, etc.), and those obtained by blocking them (ketimine compounds).

  The weight average molecular weight of the urea-modified polyester is usually 10,000 or more, preferably 20,000 to 10,000,000, and more preferably 30,000 to 1,000,000. If it is less than 10,000, the hot offset resistance deteriorates. The number average molecular weight of the urea-modified polyester or the like is not particularly limited when the above-mentioned unmodified polyester is used, and may be a number average molecular weight that can be easily obtained to obtain the weight average molecular weight. When the urea-modified polyester is used alone, its number average molecular weight is usually 2000-15000, preferably 2000-10000, more preferably 2000-8000. When it exceeds 20000, the low-temperature fixability and the glossiness when used in a full-color apparatus are deteriorated.

  By using the unmodified polyester and the urea-modified polyester in combination, the low-temperature fixability and the glossiness when used in a full-color image forming apparatus are improved. Therefore, it is preferable to use the urea-modified polyester alone. The unmodified polyester may include a polyester modified with a chemical bond other than a urea bond. The unmodified polyester and the urea-modified polyester are preferably at least partially compatible with each other in terms of low-temperature fixability and hot offset resistance. Therefore, it is preferable that the unmodified polyester and the urea-modified polyester have a similar composition.

  The weight ratio of unmodified polyester to urea-modified polyester is usually 20/80 to 95/5, preferably 70/30 to 95/5, more preferably 75/25 to 95/5, and particularly preferably 80 /. 20-93 / 7. When the weight ratio of the urea-modified polyester is less than 5%, the hot offset resistance is deteriorated, and it is disadvantageous in terms of both heat-resistant storage stability and low-temperature fixability. The glass transition point (Tg) of the binder resin containing unmodified polyester and urea-modified polyester is usually 45 to 65 ° C, preferably 45 to 60 ° C. If it is less than 45 ° C., the heat resistance of the toner deteriorates, and if it exceeds 65 ° C., the low-temperature fixability becomes insufficient. In addition, since the urea-modified polyester is likely to be present on the surface of the obtained toner base particles, the heat-resistant storage stability tends to be good even when the glass transition point is low as compared with known polyester-based toners.

(Coloring agent)
As the colorant, all known dyes and pigments can be used. For example, carbon black, nigrosine dye, iron black, naphthol yellow S, Hansa yellow (10G, 5G, G), cadmium yellow, yellow iron oxide, ocher , Yellow lead, titanium yellow, polyazo yellow, oil yellow, Hansa yellow (GR, A, RN, R), pigment yellow L, benzidine yellow (G, GR), permanent yellow (NCG), Vulcan fast yellow (5G, R), Tartrazine Lake, Quinoline Yellow Lake, Anthrazan Yellow BGL, Isoindolinone Yellow, Bengala, Red Dan, Lead Zhu, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Mercury Red, Antimon Zhu, Permanent Red 4R, Para Red, Phi Sayred, Parachlor Ortonito Aniline Red, Resol Fast Scarlet G, Brilliant Fast Scarlet, Brilliant Carmine B, Permanent Red (F2R, F4R, FRL, FRLL, F4RH), Fast Scarlet VD, Belkan Fast Rubin B, Brilliant Scarlet G, Resol Rubin GX, Permanent Red F5R , Brilliant Carmine 6B, Pigment Scarlet 3B, Bordeaux 5B, Toluidine Maroon, Permanent Bordeaux F2K, Helio Bordeaux BL, Bordeaux 10B, Bon Maroon Light, Bon Maroon Medium, Eosin Lake, Rhodamine Lake B, Rhodamine Lake Y, Alizarin Lake, Thio Indigo Red B, Thioindigo Maroon, Oil Red, Quinacridone Red, Pyrazolone Red Polyazo Red, Chrome Vermillion, Benzidine Orange, Perinone Orange, Oil Orange, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Alkaline Blue Lake, Peacock Blue Lake, Victoria Blue Lake, Metal Free Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Blue, Fast Sky Blue, Indanthrene Blue (RS, BC), indigo, ultramarine blue, bitumen, anthraquinone blue, fast violet B, methyl violet lake, cobalt purple, manganese purple, dioxane violet, anthraquinone violet, chrome green, zinc green, chromium oxide, pyridian, emerald green, pigment Green B, Naphthol Green B, Green Gold, Acid Green Lake, Malachite Green Lake, Lid Russian nin green, anthraquinone green, titanium oxide, zinc white, litbon and mixtures thereof can be used. The content of the colorant is usually 1 to 15% by weight, preferably 3 to 10% by weight, based on the toner.

  The colorant can also be used as a master batch combined with a resin. As a binder resin to be kneaded together with the production of the master batch or the master batch, a polymer of styrene such as polystyrene, poly-p-chlorostyrene, polyvinyl toluene or the like, or a copolymer of these and a vinyl compound, Polymethyl methacrylate, polybutyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, epoxy resin, epoxy polyol resin, polyurethane, polyamide, polyvinyl butyral, polyacrylic acid resin, rosin, modified rosin, terpene resin, fat Aromatic or alicyclic hydrocarbon resins, aromatic petroleum resins, chlorinated paraffins, paraffin waxes and the like can be mentioned, and these can be used alone or in combination.

(Charge control agent)
Known charge control agents can be used, such as nigrosine dyes, triphenylmethane dyes, chromium-containing metal complex dyes, molybdate chelate pigments, rhodamine dyes, alkoxy amines, quaternary ammonium salts (fluorine-modified 4 Secondary ammonium salts or compounds, tungsten simple substances or compounds, fluorine activators, salicylic acid metal salts, and metal salts of salicylic acid derivatives. Specifically, Bontron 03 of a nigrosine dye, Bontron P-51 of a quaternary ammonium salt, Bontron S-34 of a metal-containing azo dye, E-82 of an oxynaphthoic acid metal complex, E-84 of a salicylic acid metal complex , Phenolic condensate E-89 (above, Orient Chemical Industries, Ltd.), quaternary ammonium salt molybdenum complex TP-302, TP-415 (above, Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.), quaternary ammonium salt copy Charge PSY VP2038, copy blue PR of triphenylmethane derivative, copy charge of quaternary ammonium salt NEG VP2036, copy charge NX VP434 (manufactured by Hoechst), LRA-901, LR-147 which is a boron complex (Nippon Carlit) Manufactured), copper phthalocyanine, perylene, quinacridone, azo series Fee, a sulfonic acid group, a carboxyl group, and polymer compounds having a functional group such as quaternary ammonium salts. Of these, substances that control the negative polarity of the toner are particularly preferably used. The amount of charge control agent used is determined by the type of binder resin, the presence or absence of additives used as necessary, and the toner production method including the dispersion method, and is not uniquely limited. Preferably, it is used in the range of 0.1 to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin. The range of 0.2 to 5 parts by weight is preferable. When the amount exceeds 10 parts by weight, the chargeability of the toner is too high, the effect of the charge control agent is reduced, the electrostatic attraction with the developing roller is increased, the developer fluidity is lowered, and the image density is lowered. Invite.

(Release agent)
As a release agent, a low melting point wax having a melting point of 50 to 120 ° C. works more effectively as a release agent in the dispersion with the binder resin between the fixing roller and the toner interface. The effect on high temperature offset is exhibited without applying a release agent such as oil. Examples of such a wax component include the following. Examples of waxes and waxes include plant waxes such as carnauba wax, cotton wax, wood wax, rice wax, animal waxes such as beeswax and lanolin, mineral waxes such as ozokerite and cercin, and paraffin, microcrystalline, And petroleum waxes such as petrolatum. In addition to these natural waxes, synthetic hydrocarbon waxes such as Fischer-Tropsch wax and polyethylene wax, and synthetic waxes such as esters, ketones, and ethers can be used. Furthermore, fatty acid amides such as 12-hydroxystearic acid amide, stearic acid amide, phthalic anhydride imide, chlorinated hydrocarbon, and low molecular weight crystalline polymer resin, poly-n-stearyl methacrylate, poly-n- A crystalline polymer having a long alkyl group in the side chain such as a homopolymer or copolymer of polyacrylate such as lauryl methacrylate (for example, a copolymer of n-stearyl acrylate-ethyl methacrylate, etc.) can also be used. . The charge control agent and the release agent can be melt-kneaded together with the master batch and the binder resin, and of course, they may be added when dissolved and dispersed in the organic solvent.

(External additive)
Inorganic fine particles are preferably used as an external additive for assisting the fluidity, developability and chargeability of the toner particles. The primary particle diameter of the inorganic fine particles is preferably 5 × 10 −3 to 2 μm, and particularly preferably 5 × 10 −3 to 0.5 μm. Moreover, it is preferable that the specific surface area by BET method is 20-500 m < ² > / g. The use ratio of the inorganic fine particles is preferably 0.01 to 5 wt% of the toner, and particularly preferably 0.01 to 2.0 wt%.

  Specific examples of the inorganic fine particles include, for example, silica, alumina, titanium oxide, barium titanate, magnesium titanate, calcium titanate, strontium titanate, zinc oxide, tin oxide, quartz sand, clay, mica, wollastonite, diatomaceous earth. Examples include soil, chromium oxide, cerium oxide, bengara, antimony trioxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium oxide, barium sulfate, barium carbonate, calcium carbonate, silicon carbide, and silicon nitride. Among these, as the fluidity imparting agent, it is preferable to use hydrophobic silica fine particles and hydrophobic titanium oxide fine particles in combination. In particular, when stirring and mixing are performed using particles having an average particle size of 5 × 10-2 μm or less, the electrostatic force and van der Waals force with the toner are remarkably improved. Even when stirring and mixing inside the developing device is performed, a fluidity-imparting agent is not detached from the toner, a good image quality that does not cause fireflies and the like is obtained, and a reduction in residual toner is further achieved. .

  Titanium oxide fine particles are excellent in environmental stability and image density stability, but have a tendency to deteriorate the charge rise characteristics. Therefore, if the amount of titanium oxide fine particles added is larger than the amount of silica fine particles added, this side effect is affected. It can be considered large. However, when the added amount of the hydrophobic silica fine particles and the hydrophobic titanium oxide fine particles is in the range of 0.3 to 1.5 wt%, the charge rising characteristics are not greatly impaired, and the desired charge rising characteristics can be obtained, that is, repeated copying. Stable image quality can be obtained even if

  Next, a toner manufacturing method will be described. Here, although a preferable manufacturing method is shown, it is not limited to this.

(Toner production method)
1) A toner material solution is prepared by dispersing a colorant, unmodified polyester, a polyester prepolymer having an isocyanate group, and a release agent in an organic solvent.
The organic solvent is preferably volatile with a boiling point of less than 100 ° C. from the viewpoint of easy removal after toner base particle formation. Specifically, toluene, xylene, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, methylene chloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, chloroform, monochlorobenzene, dichloroethylidene, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, Methyl isobutyl ketone and the like can be used alone or in combination of two or more. In particular, aromatic solvents such as toluene and xylene and halogenated hydrocarbons such as methylene chloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride are preferable. The usage-amount of an organic solvent is 0-300 weight part normally with respect to 100 weight part of polyester prepolymers, Preferably it is 0-100 weight part, More preferably, it is 25-70 weight part.

2) The toner material liquid is emulsified in an aqueous medium in the presence of a surfactant and resin fine particles.
The aqueous medium may be water alone or an organic solvent such as alcohol (methanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, etc.), dimethylformamide, tetrahydrofuran, cellosolves (methyl cellosolve, etc.), lower ketones (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, etc.). It may be included.
The amount of the aqueous medium used relative to 100 parts by weight of the toner material liquid is usually 50 to 2000 parts by weight, preferably 100 to 1000 parts by weight. If the amount is less than 50 parts by weight, the dispersion state of the toner material liquid is poor, and toner particles having a predetermined particle diameter cannot be obtained. If it exceeds 20000 parts by weight, it is not economical.

Further, in order to improve the dispersion in the aqueous medium, a dispersant such as a surfactant and resin fine particles is appropriately added.
As surfactants, anionic surfactants such as alkylbenzene sulfonates, α-olefin sulfonates, phosphate esters, alkylamine salts, amino alcohol fatty acid derivatives, polyamine fatty acid derivatives, amine salt types such as imidazoline, Quaternary ammonium salt type cationic surfactants such as alkyltrimethylammonium salts, dialkyldimethylammonium salts, alkyldimethylbenzylammonium salts, pyridinium salts, alkylisoquinolinium salts, benzethonium chloride, fatty acid amide derivatives, polyhydric alcohols Nonionic surfactants such as derivatives, for example, amphoteric surfactants such as alanine, dodecyldi (aminoethyl) glycine, di (octylaminoethyl) glycine and N-alkyl-N, N-dimethylammonium betaine And the like.

Further, by using a surfactant having a fluoroalkyl group, the effect can be obtained in a very small amount. Preferred anionic surfactants having a fluoroalkyl group include fluoroalkyl carboxylic acids having 2 to 10 carbon atoms and metal salts thereof, disodium perfluorooctanesulfonyl glutamate, 3- [ω-fluoroalkyl (C6-C11 ) Oxy] -1-alkyl (C3-C4) sodium sulfonate, 3- [ω-fluoroalkanoyl (C6-C8) -N-ethylamino] -1-propanesulfonic acid sodium, fluoroalkyl (C11-C20) carvone Acids and metal salts, perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids (C7 to C13) and metal salts thereof, perfluoroalkyl (C4 to C12) sulfonic acids and metal salts thereof, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid diethanolamide, N-propyl-N- ( 2-Hydroxyethyl) Perful Olooctanesulfonamide, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) sulfonamidopropyltrimethylammonium salt, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) -N-ethylsulfonylglycine salt, monoperfluoroalkyl (C6-C16) ethyl phosphate, etc. Can be mentioned.
Product names include Surflon S-111, S-112, S-113 (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.), Florard FC-93, FC-95, FC-98, FC-129 (Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd.), Unidyne DS-101. DS-102 (manufactured by Daikin Industries, Ltd.), Megafac F-110, F-120, F-113, F-191, F-812, F-833 (manufactured by Dainippon Ink, Inc.), Xtop EF-102, 103, 104, 105, 112, 123A, 123B, 306A, 501, 201, 204 (manufactured by Tochem Products), and Fgentent F-100, F150 (manufactured by Neos).

  Moreover, as the cationic surfactant, aliphatic quaternary ammonium such as aliphatic primary, secondary or secondary amic acid, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) sulfonamidopropyltrimethylammonium salt which has a right fluoroalkyl group is used. Salts, benzalkonium salts, benzethonium chloride, pyridinium salts, imidazolinium salts, trade names include Surflon S-121 (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.), Florard FC-135 (Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd.), Unidyne DS-202 (Daikin Industries) Smoke), Megafac F-150, F-824 (Dainippon Ink Co., Ltd.), Xtop EF-132 (Tochem Products), Footage F-300 (Neos), and the like.

  The resin fine particles are added to stabilize the toner base particles formed in the aqueous medium. For this reason, it is preferable to add so that the coverage existing on the surface of the toner base particles is in the range of 10 to 90%. For example, polymethyl methacrylate fine particles 1 μm and 3 μm, polystyrene fine particles 0.5 μm and 2 μm, poly (styrene-acrylonitrile) fine particles 1 μm, trade names are PB-200H (manufactured by Kao), SGP (manufactured by Soken), Techno Examples include polymer SB (manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.), SGP-3G (manufactured by Sokensha), and micropearl (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.).

  In addition, inorganic compound dispersants such as tricalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, titanium oxide, colloidal silica, and hydroxyapatite can also be used.

  As a dispersant that can be used in combination with the above resin fine particles and inorganic compound dispersant, the dispersed droplets may be stabilized by a polymer protective colloid. For example, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, α-cyanoacrylic acid, α-cyanomethacrylic acid, itaconic acid, crotonic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid or maleic anhydride and other (meth) acrylic monomers containing hydroxyl groups Bodies such as acrylic acid-β-hydroxyethyl, methacrylic acid-β-hydroxyethyl, acrylic acid-β-hydroxypropyl, methacrylic acid-β-hydroxypropyl, acrylic acid-γ-hydroxypropyl, methacrylic acid-γ-hydroxy Propyl, acrylic acid-3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl, methacrylic acid-3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl, diethylene glycol monoacrylate, diethylene glycol monomethacrylate, glycerol monoacrylate, glycerol monomethacrylate Luric acid esters, N-methylol acrylamide, N-methylol methacrylamide, etc., vinyl alcohol or ethers with vinyl alcohol, such as vinyl methyl ether, vinyl ethyl ether, vinyl propyl ether, or compounds containing vinyl alcohol and a carboxyl group Esters such as vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate, acrylamide, methacrylamide, diacetone acrylamide or their methylol compounds, acid chlorides such as acrylic acid chloride, methacrylic acid chloride, vinyl pyridine, vinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl Nitrogen compounds such as imidazole and ethyleneimine, or homopolymers or copolymers such as those having a heterocyclic ring thereof, polyoxyethylene, poly Xoxypropylene, polyoxyethylene alkylamine, polyoxypropylene alkylamine, polyoxyethylene alkylamide, polyoxypropylene alkylamide, polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether, polyoxyethylene lauryl phenyl ether, polyoxyethylene stearyl phenyl ester, polyoxy Polyoxyethylenes such as ethylene nonylphenyl ester, celluloses such as methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and hydroxypropyl cellulose can be used.

  The dispersion method is not particularly limited, and known equipment such as a low-speed shear method, a high-speed shear method, a friction method, a high-pressure jet method, and an ultrasonic wave can be applied. Among these, the high-speed shearing method is preferable in order to make the particle size of the dispersion 2 to 20 μm. When a high-speed shearing disperser is used, the rotational speed is not particularly limited, but is usually 1000 to 30000 rpm, preferably 5000 to 20000 rpm. The dispersion time is not particularly limited, but in the case of a batch method, it is usually 0.1 to 5 minutes. The temperature during dispersion is usually 0 to 150 ° C. (under pressure), preferably 40 to 98 ° C.

3) At the same time as the preparation of the emulsion, the amines (B) are added to cause a reaction with the polyester prepolymer (A) having an isocyanate group.
This reaction involves molecular chain crosslinking and / or elongation. The reaction time is selected depending on the reactivity between the isocyanate group structure of the polyester prepolymer (A) and the amines (B), but is usually 10 minutes to 40 hours, preferably 2 to 24 hours. The reaction temperature is generally 0 to 150 ° C, preferably 40 to 98 ° C. Moreover, a well-known catalyst can be used as needed. Specific examples include dibutyltin laurate and dioctyltin laurate.

4) After completion of the reaction, the organic solvent is removed from the emulsified dispersion (reactant), washed and dried to obtain toner base particles.
In order to remove the organic solvent, the temperature of the entire system is gradually raised in a laminar stirring state, and after giving strong stirring in a certain temperature range, the solvent base is removed to produce spindle-shaped toner base particles. . Further, when an acid such as calcium phosphate salt or an alkali-soluble material is used as the dispersion stabilizer, the calcium phosphate salt is dissolved from the toner base particles by a method such as dissolving the calcium phosphate salt with an acid such as hydrochloric acid and washing with water. Remove. It can also be removed by operations such as enzymatic degradation.

5) A charge control agent is injected into the toner base particles obtained above, and then inorganic fine particles such as silica fine particles and titanium oxide fine particles are externally added to obtain a toner.
The injection of the charge control agent and the external addition of the inorganic fine particles are performed by a known method using a mixer or the like. Thereby, a toner having a small particle size and a sharp particle size distribution can be easily obtained. Furthermore, by giving strong agitation in the process of removing the organic solvent, the shape between the true spherical shape and the rugby ball shape can be controlled, and the surface morphology is also controlled between the smooth shape and the umeboshi shape. be able to.

As described above, the cleaning device 86 for the image forming unit 38 according to the present embodiment can provide the following operations and effects. In the charging device 85, the magnetic particles A deteriorate, but the magnetic particles B accommodated in the replenishing magnetic particle accommodating portion 164 are replenished, and the deteriorated magnetic particles A used are recovered and cleaned. By replacing the device 86, the magnetic particles B in the replenishing magnetic particle storage unit 164 return to the initial amount, and the magnetic particles C recovered in the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 are discarded, so that they are used permanently. Is possible. Then, the cleaning blade 162 and the solid lubricant 172 that have been worn out by replacing only the cleaning device 86 are refreshed, and the magnetic particles C in the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 that recovered the used magnetic particles A are discarded. can do. Therefore, the maintenance work for collecting and supplying the magnetic particles can be performed by replacing only the cleaning device 86, so that the maintenance of the magnetic brush charging device can be improved. In this way, the charging device 85 can be used permanently and the deteriorated magnetic particles can be used in a low-cost configuration in which only the cleaning device 86 provided with the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 and the replenishment magnetic particle storage unit 164 is replaced. Maintenance work of recovery and replenishment of new magnetic particles can be made possible. Therefore, it is possible to provide a photosensitive drum cleaning device 86 that enables permanent use of the charging device 85, which is a magnetic brush charging device, at a low cost, and can improve its maintainability.
Further, the cleaning device 86 of the image forming unit 38 according to the present embodiment can provide the following operations and effects. A supply port 154 at one end in the longitudinal direction of the charging device case 153 is connected to a replenishment transport path 181 for transporting the replenishment magnetic particles B from the replenishment magnetic particle storage unit 164, and a recovery port at the other end. Connected to 155 is a recovery transport path 183 for transporting the used deteriorated magnetic particles to the magnetic particle recovery section 165. The bulk of the charging device case 153 is increased by the amount of the replenishing magnetic particles B that have flowed into the charging device case 153 due to the rotation of the transporting coil 182 according to the use situation, and the transport for collection is performed. The amount reaching the recovery port 155 of the path 183 is recovered to the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 of the cleaning device 86 through the recovery transport path 183. In this manner, the magnetic particles B for replenishment to the charging device 85 and the used and deteriorated magnetic particles can be recovered. Therefore, as in the past, a dedicated recovery device is provided and operates in a dedicated recovery mode. There is no need to let them. Therefore, there is no unnecessary downtime during which the user cannot use the image forming apparatus. Furthermore, the cleaning blade 162 is not wasted due to the operation of the dedicated collection mode, and the life of the cleaning blade 162 is not shortened. That is, it is possible to prevent the life of the useless cleaning blade from being reduced.
Further, in the cleaning device 86 of the image forming unit 38 according to the present embodiment, the replenishment lubricant accommodating portion 166 that accommodates the replenishing powder lubricant E to be replenished to the lubricant supplying portion 170 that is the lubricant applying unit is provided. Therefore, the supply powder lubricant E contained in the supply lubricant container 166 is replenished to the lubricant supply unit 170 according to the use situation, and the cleaning device 86 is replaced with powder at the time of replacement. By refreshing the body lubricant E, permanent use becomes possible.
Further, in the cleaning device 86 of the image forming unit 38 according to the present embodiment, the lubricant used in the lubricant supply unit 170 which is a lubricant application unit is the powder lubricant D, so that a commonly used powder lubricant is used. Since it is not made into the bar-shaped solid substance which fuse | melted and solidified, the manufacturing cost of a lubricant can be reduced. Therefore, further cost reduction is possible.
Further, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, by providing the cleaning device 86 described above, it is possible to achieve the same operational effects as the cleaning device 86 described above.
Further, the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment includes the cleaning device 86Bk as described above only for the black image forming unit Bk that is frequently used among the plural image forming units 38Y, 38M, 38C, and 38Bk. Therefore, it is possible to maintain only the charging device 85Bk that deteriorates alone. Furthermore, the replenishment conveyance path 181 and the collection conveyance path 183 of the cleaning device 86Bk can be connected to the charging devices 85Y, M, C, and Bk charging device cases 153 of all the image forming units Y, M, C, and Bk. . With this configuration, only the black cleaning device 86Bk, which is frequently used, is replaced, so that the charging devices 85Y, M, C, and Bk of all the image forming units Y, M, C, and Bk are supplied. It is possible to replenish the magnetic particles B and recover the used and deteriorated magnetic particles. Therefore, since the replenishing magnetic particle storage unit 164 and the magnetic particle recovery unit 165 are provided only in the cleaning device 86Bk of the image forming unit Bk, the cost is lower than the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the maintenance is high, and the image There is no hindrance to downsizing the forming apparatus. Therefore, the charging device 85, which is a magnetic brush charging device, can be permanently used at a lower cost than the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and maintainability is improved, and the multifunction device, which is an image forming apparatus, can be downsized. The cleaning device 86 that does not hinder can be provided.
In the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the toner used in the developing device 70 has a volume average particle diameter in the range of 3 to 8 μm, and the volume average particle diameter (Dv) and the number average particle diameter (Dn). Since the ratio (Dv / Dn) is in the range of 1.00 to 1.40, the toner charge amount distribution becomes uniform, and a high-quality image with little background fogging can be obtained. Also, the transfer rate can be increased in the electrostatic transfer system. Therefore, high-quality image formation can be performed.
In the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the toner used in the developing device 70 has a shape factor SF-1 in the range of 100 to 180 and a shape factor SF-2 in the range of 100 to 180. The transfer rate of the toner image from the body drum 40 does not decrease. Therefore, high-quality image formation can be performed.
Further, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the toner used in the developing device 70 disperses at least a polyester prepolymer having a functional group containing a nitrogen atom, a polyester, a colorant, and a release agent in an organic solvent. Toner obtained by crosslinking and / or elongation reaction of the toner material liquid in an aqueous medium. By using such a toner, it is possible to improve low-temperature fixability, hot offset resistance, glossiness when full-color images are formed, and heat-resistant storage stability. In addition, it is possible to suppress a decrease in developer fluidity and a decrease in image density, to obtain a good image quality that does not generate fireflies, and to reduce transfer residual toner. Therefore, high-quality image formation can be performed.

38 Image forming unit 40 Photosensitive drum 60 Fixing device 70 Developing device 100 Image forming unit 151 Magnetic roller 153 Charging device case 154 Supply port 155 Collection port 161 Cleaning device case 162 Cleaning blade 163 Residual toner transport screw 164 Magnetic particle storage unit for supply 165 Magnetic particle recovery unit 166 Replenishment lubricant storage unit 170 Lubricant supply unit 171 Brush roller 172 Solid lubricant 173 Spring 174 Lubricant supply unit case 175 Rotating blade 176 Leveling member 181 Replenishment transport path 182 Transport coil 183 For recovery Conveying path A Magnetic particles B Magnetic particles for replenishment C Magnetic particles recovered D Powder lubricant E Powder lubricant for replenishment

JP 2006-251751 A Japanese Patent No. 3703341 JP 2009-186887 A

Claims (9)

In a photoconductor cleaning device used in an image forming apparatus having a magnetic brush charging device and having a blade,
At least a lubricant application means;
A first magnetic particle container for containing magnetic particles to be replenished to the magnetic brush charging device;
A cleaning apparatus comprising: a magnetic particle recovery unit that stores used magnetic particles recovered by the magnetic brush charging device. The cleaning device according to claim 1,
The magnetic brush charging device includes a second magnetic particle storage unit that stores a predetermined amount of magnetic particles,
The replenishing magnetic particles are replenished from one end side of the second magnetic particle accommodating portion, and the magnetic particles exceeding a predetermined amount that can be accommodated in the second magnetic particle accommodating portion are discharged from the other end side, A cleaning device, which is housed in a magnetic particle housing portion. The cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2,
The lubricant application means
A cleaning device comprising: a replenishment lubricant accommodating portion; and a replenishment lubricant accommodated in the replenishment lubricant accommodating portion. The cleaning device according to claim 3.
A cleaning device, wherein the replenishment lubricant is powder.   An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1 as a cleaning device. In an image forming apparatus including a plurality of image forming units,
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein only the cleaning device provided in one image forming unit is the cleaning device according to claim 1. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
The toner used in the developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor has a volume average particle diameter in the range of 3 to 8 μm, and the ratio of the volume average particle diameter (Dv) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) ( Dv / Dn) is in the range of 1.00 to 1.40. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
The toner used in the developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member has a shape factor SF-1 in the range of 100 to 180 and a shape factor SF-2 in the range of 100 to 180. Image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the toner used in the developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor is a polyester prepolymer having at least a functional group containing a nitrogen atom, An image forming apparatus, which is a toner obtained by crosslinking and / or stretching reaction of a toner material liquid in which polyester, a colorant, and a release agent are dispersed in an organic solvent in an aqueous medium.

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