Visualization of Internal Stress of Cleaning Blade by Photoelastic Method

Abstract

In laser printers, to maintain the print quality, a cleaning blade is brought into contact with a photoreceptor to remove residual toner on the photoreceptor surface after the transfer process. However, due to long-term use of the product, abrasion or chipping may occur at the blade, causing color streaks on the printed matter. In this study, a blade-on-disk-type friction tester simulating the cleaning mechanism of laser printers was manufactured and polyurethane blade pieces in contact with a glass disk were observed with the photoelastic method. By using this friction tester, internal stress of the blade was visualized and quantified, and the influence of applied toner on the internal stress was examined. With the finite element method, mechanical behavior of a blade contacting with a sliding glass plate was analyzed. Validity of the internal stress distribution visualized with the photoelastic method was discussed by comparing that analyzed with the finite element method.