抄録
In electrophotographic printer, there are several processes of charging, exposure, development, transfer, fusing, and cleaning. As for the quality of printing, tribological factors associated with the rubber roller are important. We focused on the observation of micro-slip occurred between those rollers. However, the width of the contact is wide for commercial microscopes. Thus, we used the laser microscope which has wide field of view by installing low NA objective lens. Many micro contact points were observed and they were created by the small asperities on the rubber surface making contact with cylindrical surface of the smooth glass. Some torque was applied to the rubber roller, and each of the micro contact points slipped individually. The slip distance and the real contact area of each contact points were obtained. Comparing the new and aged rollers, we clarified the difference of micro slip distribution of the rubber roller.
