Patent ID: 7734242
Filing Date: 2010-06-08
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. A protective layer setting unit, comprising: a protective agent comprising paraffin as a main component; a layer adjusting unit comprising a blade; and an application unit configured to apply the protective agent to an image carrying member, in a manner sufficient to meet the following requirements: a surface condition of the image carrying member determined by an applied-agent amount index “X” and an agent coating ratio “Y”, wherein a ratio of “X/Y” is set to 0.020 or less when the protective agent has been applied for 120 minutes to the image carrying member, wherein the applied-agent amount index “X” is defined by the following equation (1), and the agent coating ratio “Y” is defined by the following equation (2); wherein in the equation (1), Sb represents a peak area of a peak Pb at a wavenumber, b, in an infrared (IR) spectrum of the surface of the image carrying member after applying the protective agent for 120 minutes, wherein the wavenumber b is a peak found in an IR spectrum of the protective agent alone, but not in an IR spectrum of the image carrying member alone, Sa represents a peak area of a peak Pa at a wavenumber, a, in an IR spectrum of the surface of the image carrying member after applying the protective agent for 120 minutes, wherein the wavenumber a is a peak found in an IR spectrum of the image carrying member alone, but not in an IR spectrum of the protective agent alone; and wherein in the equation (2), A A(%) represents a second area value for the peak of a C1s X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum with respect to a total area of the C1s spectrum of the image carrying member, after applying the protective agent, wherein the protective agent is shaped as a protective agent bar, and the application unit comprises: a brush roller having a metal core and a number of fibers formed on the metal core by an electrostatic implantation method with a fiber density of 50,000 to 600,000 fibers per square inch, each of the fibers having a diameter of from 28 μm to 42 μm, the protective agent bar is pressed against the fibers to scrape the protective agent, and the fibers are pressed against the image carrying member to apply the protective agent to the image carrying member; and a blade configured to be pressed against the image carrying member to form the protective agent layer on the image carrying member.