Image forming apparatus that applies necessary amount of lubricant to image bearing member

摘要

An image forming apparatus configured to apply a necessary amount of a lubricant to an image bearing member while preventing the lubricant from being excessively consumed. An intermediate transfer belt drive motor controlled by a PID controller drives an intermediate transfer belt. A brush rotation controller for controlling an application brush drive motor detects fluctuation in a frictional force between a cleaning blade and the intermediate transfer belt, and controls the application brush drive motor such that an amount of lubricant to be applied is an amount corresponding to the detected fluctuation in the frictional force.

主权项

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image bearing member configured to bear a toner image; a drive unit configured to drive said image bearing member; a first control unit configured to control said drive unit to drive said image bearing member at a constant speed; a cleaning unit configured to clean a surface of said image bearing member; a lubricant application unit configured to apply a lubricant to the surface of said image bearing member; and a second control unit configured to control an amount of the lubricant to be applied to said image bearing member by said lubricant application unit, wherein said second control unit is configured: to sample a signal varied in accordance with a friction between said cleaning unit and said image bearing member; and to set the controlled amount of the lubricant in accordance with a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of the signal sampled in a predetermined time period.