Lubrication device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

摘要

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a toner image forming unit to form a toner image on the image bearer; a transfer device to transfer the toner image from the image bearer onto a transfer medium; a cleaning device to remove untransferred toner from the image bearer; and a lubrication device including a solid lubricant, an applicator to apply lubricant scraped off from the solid lubricant to the image bearer while rotating, and an applicator driving device to rotate the applicator; and a controller to control the applicator driving device according to a predetermined variable to change a rotational frequency of the applicator during idle running of the image bearer.

主权项

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image bearer; a toner image forming unit to form a toner image on the image bearer; a transfer device to transfer the toner image from the image bearer onto a transfer medium; a cleaning device to remove untransferred toner from the image bearer; an image bearer driving device; and a lubrication device to apply lubricant to the image bearer, the lubrication device including:
a solid lubricant,an applicator to apply lubricant scraped off from the solid lubricant to the image bearer while rotating, andan applicator driving device to rotate the applicator; and a controller to control the applicator driving device according to a set variable to change a rotational frequency of the applicator during idle running of the image bearer, wherein the applicator driving device and the image bearer driving device are independently controlled to adjust an amount of lubricant for a subsequent printing operation by changing the rotational frequency of the applicator.