US 11,886,135 B2Granted

Constant lubricant application

AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

InventorsKoichiro Takashima, Yasuyuki Ishii, Yoichi Yoshida

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An example lubricant applying device includes a rotatable applicator, a solid lubricant source to supply lubricant to the applicator, an urging member to urge the lubricant source to contact the applicator, and a guide member to restrict an urging of the lubricant source along a displacement direction. In a transverse cross section of the lubricant applying device that is taken orthogonally to a rotation axis of the applicator, a reference line extends from a contact surface of the lubricant source to the rotation axis of the applicator, in a direction parallel to the displacement direction of the guide member. In the transverse cross section, the lubricant source has a width that is substantially orthogonal to the displacement direction. The lubricant source is positioned to offset a widthwise center of the lubricant source to a downstream side of the reference line, in the rotational direction of the applicator.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A lubricant applying device comprising:

a rotatable applicator to apply lubricant to a member to be coated;
a solid lubricant source having a contact surface to contact the applicator to supply the lubricant to the applicator;
an urging member to urge the lubricant source to contact the applicator;
and
a guide member to restrict an urging of the lubricant source along a displacement direction,
wherein the contact surface of the lubricant source includes a contact area having an arcuate shape at least partially conforming to an outer circumference of the applicator, and
wherein, in a transverse cross-section of the lubricant applying device that is taken orthogonally to a rotation axis of the applicator, the contact area of the lubricant source has a geometric center, the geometric center of the contact area of the lubricant source to move along the rotational direction of the applicator from an upstream side of a reference line that extends from the contact surface of the lubricant source to the rotation axis of the applicator in a direction parallel to the displacement direction of the guide member to a downstream side of the reference line based on the lubricant source being consumed.

4 more elements

An image forming apparatus comprising:

a member to be coated;
a lubricant applying device comprising:
a rotatable applicator to apply lubricant to the member to be coated;
and
a solid lubricant source having a contact surface that faces the applicator,
wherein the contact surface includes a contact area that is in contact with the applicator to supply the lubricant to the applicator, and
wherein the contact area has a geometric center in a transverse cross section of the lubricant applying device that is taken orthogonally to a rotation axis of the applicator, the geometric center to move along a rotational direction of the applicator based on the lubricant source being consumed;
an urging member to urge the lubricant source to contact the applicator;
and
a guide member to guide the lubricant source in an urging direction of the urging member,
wherein a reference line extends from the contact surface of the lubricant source to the rotation axis of the applicator and parallel to the urging direction of the urging member in the transverse cross section, the geometric center of the contact area of the lubricant source to move from an upstream side of the reference line to a downstream side of the reference line based on the lubricant source being consumed by a rotation of the applicator.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/922,212Filed 15 Jun 2021
Priority: JP 2020-11290230 Jun 2020
Published: US 2023/0168611 A11 Jun 2023
Granted: 30 Jan 2024
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G03G 15/2025
Structural details of the fixing unit in general, e.g. cooling means, heat shielding means: with special means for lubricating and/or cleaning the…
G03G 15/0812
On a donor element, e.g. belt, roller: characterised by the developer regulating means, e.g. structure of doctor blade
G03G 21/0094
Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge: fatigue treatment of the photoconductor
G03G
Electrography