Image forming apparatus and lubricant application method

摘要

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a rotative image carrier and transferring the image onto an object, including: a cleaning unit removing a residual material from the image carrier; and a lubricant applying unit applying lubricant to a circumferential surface of the image carrier, the lubricant applying unit including: a rotative transporter picking up and retaining lubricant, transporting the lubricant to a lubricant application point, and supplying a portion of the lubricant to the image carrier at the lubricant application point; an ejector causing the transporter to eject a portion of the lubricant retained by the transporter; a collector collecting the portion of the lubricant ejected from the transporter; and a controller controlling ejection of the portion of the lubricant so as to maintain the amount of the lubricant retained by the transporter as no greater than a predetermined upper limit.

主权项

1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a rotative image carrier and transferring the image onto an object, comprising:
a cleaning unit that removes a residual material from the rotative image carrier after the image has been transferred onto the object; and a lubricant applying unit that applies lubricant to a circumferential surface of the rotative image carrier after the residual material has been removed, the lubricant applying unit including:
a rotative transporter that picks up and retains lubricant from a lubricant source, transports the lubricant to a lubricant application point, and supplies a portion of the lubricant to the rotative image carrier at the lubricant application point;an ejector that causes the rotative transporter to eject a portion of the lubricant retained by the rotative transporter;a collector that collects the portion of the lubricant ejected from the rotative transporter; anda controller that controls ejection of the portion of the lubricant caused by the ejector so as to maintain the amount of the lubricant retained by the rotative transporter as no greater than a predetermined upper limit, wherein the controller controls the ejection such that the amount of the portion of the lubricant ejected from the rotative transporter per a predetermined number of rotations of the rotative transporter equals a first amount when the amount of the lubricant being retained by the rotative transporter is no greater than the predetermined upper limit, and controls the ejection such that the amount of the portion of the lubricant ejected from the rotative transporter per a predetermined number of rotations of the rotative transporter equals a second amount greater than the first amount when the amount of the lubricant being retained by the rotative transporter is greater than the predetermined upper limit.