JP4853222B2 - Discharge product removal apparatus and image forming apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge product removing apparatus for removing a discharge product generated on the surface of an image carrier and an image forming apparatus using the same, and more particularly, a discharge formed on an image carrier of an image forming apparatus. The present invention relates to an improvement of a discharge product removing apparatus for removing a product together with toner.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-112188

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a cleaning device that removes transfer residual toner remaining on a photosensitive drum as an image carrier and discharge products generated due to charging of the photosensitive drum is known. For example, Patent Document 1 includes a rotating roll that wraps a nonwoven fabric around a cylindrical elastic layer and makes contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum, and the amount of wear of the photosensitive drum is adjusted by adjusting the rotational speed of the rotating roll. A drum cleaning device is disclosed that can be adjusted.

  In recent years, there has also been known an image forming apparatus for overcoating a surface of a photosensitive drum with a high-hardness resin and charging the photosensitive drum for the purpose of extending the service life.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a discharge product removing apparatus that removes a discharge product on an image carrier that is generated due to charging and an image forming apparatus using the discharge product removing apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the discharge product removing apparatus according to claim 1 is disposed in contact with an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface, and the image carrier is charged with charging. An endless belt-shaped holding member that holds the generated discharge product on the surface thereof, and an elastic layer is formed on the surface, and the holding member is moved by contact between the elastic layer and the inner peripheral surface of the holding member. An elastic rotating body that rotates, and a non-contact region that is in non-contact with each other in a rotating state is formed between an inner peripheral surface of the holding member and an outer peripheral surface of the elastic rotating body. It is what.

  Here, as a discharge product holding form, the discharge product is directly attached to the surface of the holding member and held, or the discharge product is attached to the toner or toner external additive and held by the holding member. The form to do is mentioned.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the discharge product removing device according to the first aspect, wherein the holding member has an inner circumferential length longer than an outer circumferential length of the elastic rotating body. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the discharge product removing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the holding member also serves to collect transfer residual toner on the image carrier. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the discharge product removing device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the holding member is formed on a support member formed in an endless belt shape and on a surface of the support member. And a toner holding member that holds the toner.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the discharge product removing device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the coefficient of friction between the inner peripheral surface of the holding member and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic rotating body is equal to that of the holding member. It is characterized by being formed so as to be larger than the friction coefficient between the outer peripheral surface and the surface of the image carrier.

  The discharge product removing device according to claim 6 is an electroconductive device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the discharge product removal device contacts the holding member and removes the collected material held on the surface of the holding member. And a friction coefficient between the inner peripheral surface of the holding member and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic rotating body is formed to be larger than the friction coefficient between the outer peripheral surface of the holding member and the surface of the conductive roll. It is what.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the discharge product removing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the surface of the holding member is made of a nonwoven fabric or suede.

  Here, the non-woven fabric refers to a non-woven fabric, for example, fibers that are collected in a certain direction or randomly and bonded chemically by an adhesive resin, mechanically entangled, or bonded by heat-bonding fibers. It shall be said. Moreover, suede shall mean the fiber member by which the raising process was given to the surface.

  An image forming apparatus according to an eighth aspect includes the discharge product removing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects and an image forming unit that forms a desired image on a recording medium. To do.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the non-contact region prevents the occurrence of distortion in the nip, maintains a uniform stress distribution in the nip, and suppresses an increase in wear of the image carrier. can do.

  According to invention of Claim 2, the non-contact area | region between a holding member and an elastic rotary body is easily realizable.

  According to invention of Claim 3, it can contribute to size reduction and cost reduction.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, it is possible to reinforce the rigidity of the toner holding member and contribute to the smooth integrated recovery of the discharge product and the toner.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to adjust the speed difference from the image carrier, thereby suppressing an increase in wear on the image carrier, and more effectively reducing the discharge products and toner on the image carrier. It can be removed and recovered.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, while ensuring a speed difference from the conductive roll, the toner and the discharge product held on the holding member can be more effectively recovered, and the discharge product removing means; It is possible to easily realize the shared use of the residual toner collecting means.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily realize a toner holding member that holds the discharge product together with the toner on the surface thereof.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that enables appropriate removal of discharge products generated due to charging.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a tandem color image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus and an original reading apparatus 10 that reads an original 12 on a platen 11 and four color components (for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) images (toner images) by, for example, electrophotography. An image forming unit 20 to be formed (in this embodiment, a yellow image forming unit: 20a, a magenta image forming unit: 20b, a cyan image forming unit: 20c, a black image forming unit: 20d) and each image forming unit 20 An endless intermediate transfer belt 30 that sequentially transfers (primary transfer) and holds each formed color component image, and a secondary that collectively transfers (secondary transfer) the superimposed image transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 30 to the recording paper 100. The transfer device 50, the fixing device 70 for fixing the batch-transferred image on the recording paper 100, and the recording at the batch transfer site It is obtained by a paper transportation system 80 for supplying a paper 100.

  In the present embodiment, the document reader 10 includes, for example, a light source 13 that is disposed below the platen glass 11 and irradiates light on the surface of the document 12, a CCD that converts reflected light from the surface of the document 12 into an electrical signal, and the like. Photoelectric conversion element 14, an appropriate number of mirrors 15 that form a path for guiding reflected light from the surface of the document 12 to the photoelectric conversion element 14, and reflected light from the surface of the document 12 on the imaging surface of the photoelectric conversion element 14. An imaging lens 16 for imaging is provided, and a reflected light image from the document 12 is read at a predetermined resolution.

  The image forming units 20a to 20d have photosensitive drums 21a to 21d, and charging devices 22a to 22d for charging the photosensitive drums 21a to 21d are disposed around the photosensitive drums 21a to 21d. An electrostatic latent image (an electrostatic latent image based mainly on image data read by the photoelectric conversion element 14 or image data taken from another recording medium) is written on the charged photosensitive drums 21a to 21d. Exposure devices 23a to 23d such as laser scanning devices, developing devices 24a to 24d in which electrostatic latent images written on the photosensitive drums 21a to 21d are developed with respective color component toners, and toners on the photosensitive drums 21a to 21d The primary transfer devices 25a to 25d such as a transfer roll on which the image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 30 and the discharge products on the photosensitive drums 21a to 21d are removed. Product removal device 26a~26d are disposed respectively.

  Here, the image forming units 20a to 20d have the same configuration, and these components (for example, the photosensitive drums 21a to 21d) have the same structure. Notation (for example, photosensitive drum 21) is used.

  The photosensitive drum 21 in the present embodiment has a charge transport property such as an organic photosensitive material, an amorphous selenium photosensitive material, and an amorphous silicon photosensitive material on the surface of a metal drum that rotates in the direction of the arrow. The charging roll 22 is in contact with the surface of the corresponding photosensitive drum 21, and the photosensitive layer is made to have a predetermined potential by a bias in which the AC voltage / current is superimposed on the DC voltage / current. It is comprised so that it may be electrically charged. The charging roll 22 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 with a constant load and a biting amount, and is rotated at the same speed as the photosensitive drum 21 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 21 by the frictional force of the contact portion. It is like that.

  The charging roll 22 according to the present embodiment is a surface of a roll-shaped member configured by covering a surface of a metal core made of metal such as stainless steel with a conductive elastic layer made of conductive synthetic resin or synthetic rubber. Further, a resistance control layer whose resistance value is adjusted to a predetermined value is laminated, and a release layer is further formed on the surface of the resistance control layer as necessary. A gap discharge is generated in a minute gap between the charging roll 22 and the photosensitive drum 21 by applying, for example, an alternating voltage on which a direct current voltage is superimposed on the core metal, and the photosensitive drum 21 is generated by the discharge. The surface of the battery is charged.

  The intermediate transfer belt 30 is an intermediate transfer body to which toner images of respective colors sequentially formed by these image forming units 20 a to 20 d are transferred in a state of being superimposed on each other, and corresponds to each image forming unit 20. It is inserted between each of the primary transfer rolls 25 arranged to face each of the photosensitive drums 21, and is passed over a plurality of support rolls 31 to 34, etc., so as to be able to circulate in the direction of the arrow. .

  Further, a belt cleaner 35 for removing residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 30 after the secondary transfer is provided on the surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 30 facing the support roll 31 so as to be retractable with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 30. In addition, a conveyance belt 53 and a fixing device 70 are disposed on the downstream side of the secondary transfer device 50 in the sheet conveyance direction.

  The intermediate transfer belt 30 in the present embodiment is formed as a film-like endless belt made of polyimide resin having flexibility, for example.

  Next, an image forming process of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged when a bias voltage / current obtained by superimposing an AC voltage / current on a predetermined DC voltage / current is applied to the charging roll 22. Next, for example, when the image data of each color component image (black, yellow, magenta, cyan) read by the document reading device 10 is sent to the exposure device 23 of each image forming unit 20 (20a to 20d), An electrostatic latent image for each color component is formed on the photoconductive drum 21 of each image forming unit 20, and an unfixed toner image for each color is formed by the developing device 24 containing the corresponding color toner.

  The unfixed toner images of the respective color components are charged with the polarity of the toner charged with respect to the base material of the intermediate transfer belt 30 by the primary transfer roll 25 at the primary transfer portion where the respective photosensitive drums 21 and the intermediate transfer belt 30 are pressed. By applying a reverse polarity voltage, primary transfer is performed by sequentially superimposing on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 30 by a pressure contact force and an electrostatic attraction force. The unfixed toner image primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 30 in this way is conveyed to a secondary transfer portion facing the conveyance path of the recording paper 100 as a recording material as the intermediate transfer belt 30 rotates. The

  At the secondary transfer portion, the secondary transfer roll 51 is pressed by the backup roll 34 disposed in the space in the intermediate transfer belt 30 via the intermediate transfer belt 30 and is fed from the paper feed tray 82 by the feed roll 81 at a predetermined timing. The unloaded recording paper 100 is inserted between the secondary transfer roll 51 and the intermediate transfer belt 30 through a predetermined number of conveying rolls 83.

  The unfixed toner images held on the intermediate transfer belt 30 are collectively transferred to the recording paper 100 at the secondary transfer site by a transfer electric field formed between the backup roll 34 and the secondary transfer roll 51. Electrotransfer is performed.

  Thereafter, the recording paper 100 onto which the unfixed toner image has been transferred is sent to the fixing device 70 via the conveyance belt 53, and the fixing device 70 fixes the unfixed toner image on the recording paper 100 with heat and pressure. The The residual toner is removed by the belt cleaner 35 from the intermediate transfer belt 30 after the transfer of the unfixed toner image to the recording paper 100 is completed.

  Incidentally, as described above, when a contact-type charging roll is used as the charging device 22 for the photosensitive drum 21, a discharge product is generated due to discharge at a minute gap between the photosensitive drum 21 and the charging roll 22. There is a possibility that the discharge product adheres to the photosensitive drum 21 and an image defect or the like is generated by the discharge product. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the discharge products adhering to the photosensitive drum 21.

  Therefore, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, as a discharge product removing unit that removes the discharge product adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, the primary transfer roll upstream of the charging roll 22 is used. A discharge product removing device 26 disposed in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 is provided on the downstream side of 25.

  Next, the discharge product removing apparatus 26 according to the present invention will be further described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the discharge product removing apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge product removing device 26 according to the present invention rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 (clockwise direction in this example) (counterclockwise direction in this example). ) In a predetermined nip region Rn ₁ between the elastic rotator 260 and the photosensitive drum 21, its outer peripheral surface is in contact with the photosensitive drum 21, and its inner peripheral surface is in contact with the surface of the elastic rotator 260, and The holding member 265 that rotates following the elastic rotator 260 and holds the discharge product together with the toner on the surface thereof, and the predetermined nip region Rn ₂ downstream of the nip region Rn ₁ are interposed via the holding member 265. In addition, a conventionally known detoning roll DR that is a conductive roll that comes into contact with the elastic rotator 260 and a scraper SC that scrapes the collected material on the surface of the detoning roll DR are provided.

The elastic rotating body 260 in the present embodiment includes an elastic layer 263 formed on the surface of the rotating shaft 261. The holding member 265 is in contact with a part of the surface of the elastic layer 263 of the elastic rotator 260 (surface corresponding to the nip regions Rn ₁ and Rn ₂ ), and has an inner peripheral length longer than the outer peripheral length of the elastic rotator 260. And a support member 267 made of endless belt-like rubber or resin, and a toner holding member 269 made of nonwoven fabric or suede formed on the surface of the support member 267 so that the toner can be held on the surface thereof. . In this embodiment, from the viewpoint of reinforcing the strength of the toner holding member 269, the support member 267 is provided on the inner side (the elastic rotator 260 side). However, the support member 267 is omitted. Also good. Further, the toner holding member 269 may be any member that can hold toner on its surface, and is not limited to a nonwoven fabric or suede.

Further, the elastic rotating body 260 and the holding member 265 according to the present embodiment are in contact with a predetermined nip region Rn ₁ with the photosensitive drum 21 and a predetermined nip region Rn ₂ with the detoning roll DR, and this nip In the regions Rn ₁ and Rn ₂ , the elastic layer 263 is disposed between the photosensitive drum 21 and the detoning roll DR so as to be pressed.

In the rotating state, the non-contact region R ₀ between the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 263 and the inner peripheral surface of the support member 267 is caused by the difference between the outer peripheral length of the elastic layer 263 and the inner peripheral length of the support member 267. Are formed on both sides of the nip regions Rn ₁ and Rn ₂ .

  In the discharge product removing device 26 according to the present invention configured as described above, when the discharge product is collected, the toner on the holding member 265 is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to remove the discharge product. The toner is moved to the surface, and the discharge product together with the toner is removed and collected from the photosensitive drum 21. Specifically, the discharge product generated by charging of the photosensitive drum 21 is removed and collected together with the toner by the toner holding member 269, and then the discharged and removed discharge product is disposed on the downstream side. The toner is removed together with the toner by the toning roll DR and the scraper SC.

  In general, as a means for removing discharge products, for example, when a conventional rotary roll having an elastic layer is used, the nip pressure increases suddenly by increasing the amount of biting, so that an appropriate amount is obtained. It becomes difficult to obtain the nip pressure stably and uniformly. In addition, the amount of biting in increases the amount of wear of the photosensitive drum 21 and the removal of the discharge products is insufficient.

On the other hand, in the discharge product removing device 26 according to the present invention, the nip region Rn ₁ with the photosensitive drum 21 and the non-contact region R ₀ formed between the elastic layer 263 and the support member 267 and Both sides of the nip region Rn ₂ with the detoning roll DR are opened to suppress the occurrence of distortion in the nip due to pressing, and uniform stress in the nip region (particularly, the nip region Rn ₁ with the photosensitive drum 21). Distribution can be obtained. This ensures a stable nip pressure by the elastic layer 263, prevents image defects such as color loss due to discharge products, and avoids an increase in wear of the photosensitive drum 21. Is possible.

  Note that the holding member 265 can be surely driven by the rotation of the rotating shaft 261 to adjust the speed difference from the photosensitive drum 21, thereby suppressing an increase in wear on the photosensitive drum 21 and at the same time on the photosensitive drum 21. From the viewpoint of more effectively removing and collecting the discharge products and toner, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner peripheral surface of the holding member 265 (in this example, the inner peripheral surface of the support member 267) and the elastic layer 263. The friction coefficient μ1 with the outer peripheral surface is preferably larger than the friction coefficient μ2 between the outer peripheral surface of the holding member 265 (in this example, the outer peripheral surface of the toner holding member 269) and the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21. That is, it is preferable to select the material of each member (the elastic layer 263, the support member 267, and the toner holding member 269) constituting the discharge product removing device 26 so as to satisfy the relationship of μ1> μ2.

  Similarly, from the viewpoint of more effectively recovering the toner and discharge products removed by the discharge product removing device 26 while ensuring a speed difference from the detoning roll DR, the inner periphery of the holding member 265 is similarly used. The friction coefficient μ1 between the surface (in this example, the inner peripheral surface of the support member 267) and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 263 is detonated with the outer peripheral surface of the holding member 265 (in this example, the outer peripheral surface of the toner holding member 269). It is preferable that the coefficient of friction with the roll DR is larger than μ3.

  Next, the results of verifying and evaluating the performance of the image forming apparatus including the discharge product removing apparatus 26 configured as described above in comparison with the image forming apparatus having the conventional configuration will be described below as an example. .

First, in this embodiment, the process speed is set to 260 mm / sec in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment (temperature 28 ° C., humidity 80%) in which discharge products are likely to be generated, and the photosensitive drum of the discharge product removing device 26 is used. The amount of biting with respect to No. 21 was changed, and the state of occurrence of white spots and the amount of wear of the photosensitive drum 21 when an image was formed on 600,000 A4 size recording sheets was experimentally verified. In the verification evaluation, the inner circumferential length of the holding member 265 and the outer circumferential length of the elastic rotating body 260 are substantially equal so that the non-contact region R ₀ is not formed between the holding member 265 and the elastic rotating body 260. An image forming apparatus using a rotating roll set in the above-mentioned configuration was used as a conventional configuration, and a comparative evaluation was performed in comparison with this conventional image forming apparatus.

  Further, as the holding member 265, a non-woven fabric (trade name WP-8085: manufactured by Japan Vilene Co.) is used, and as the elastic layer 263, a sponge made of urethane foam (trade name ECS: manufactured by INOAC Corporation, hardness 107.9). ± 22.6 N), and the sponge thickness was set to 5 mm and the nip width was set to 5 mm.

The specifications of other main components and the main electrical specifications are as follows.
Photoconductor drum 21: Organic photoconductor with a diameter of about 30.0 mm
Charging potential V0 = -500V (background potential)
Post-exposure potential VL = −200v (image portion potential)
・ Process speed: 260 mm / second ・ Developing method: dry two-component developing method ・ Contact charger 22: charging roll made of a semiconductive roll
DC + AC contact charging system
IAC = 0.7mA (AC component current value)
Frequency = 614Hz (AC component voltage waveform)
VDC = −520v (DC component voltage value)
Exposure device 23: laser wavelength = 780 nm
・ Developing roll 24: Diameter = 16.0 mm
Sleeve rotation speed = 400 mm / sec
The rotation direction is opposite to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21.
Development bias: VDC = −400v (DC component voltage value)
Vpp = 1.5kv (AC component voltage value)
Frequency = 6 kHz (AC component voltage waveform)
Development gap (distance between the photosensitive drum 21 and the development roll 24): about 0.3 mm
Intermediate transfer belt 30: made of polyimide, primary transfer roll 25: transfer bias +500 v to +1000 v, 10 μA
Secondary transfer roll 51: Transfer bias + 1600v
The results of comparison and verification under the above conditions are shown in FIG.

As can be understood from FIG. 3, in the case of an image forming apparatus having a conventional configuration (a rotating roll having no non-contact region R ₀ ), the amount of biting is 1.0 mm or more and the wear amount is 10 nm / cyc or more. It can be seen that, when the amount exceeds the allowable range, the whiteout of the image occurs when the biting amount is 1.5 mm or less. That is, it is understood that there is no amount of biting that can keep the wear amount of the photosensitive drum 21 within the allowable wear amount (10 nm / cyc or less) and prevent the occurrence of image blanking.

  On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus provided with the discharge product removing device 26 according to the present invention, no image blanking occurs at any biting amount, while the biting amount is 2.5 mm or less and the photosensitive drum 21. It can be seen that the amount of wear can be kept within the allowable amount of wear. That is, it is understood that the image forming apparatus provided with the discharge product removing device 26 according to the present invention can achieve both the prevention of image whiteout and the suppression of the increase in the wear amount with a biting amount of 2.5 mm or less. Thereby, according to the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention, it has confirmed that the better discharge product removal performance was obtained compared with the image forming apparatus of the conventional structure.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration using the detoning roll DR is exemplified to enable the integrated recovery of the discharge product and the transfer residual toner. However, the discharge product removal apparatus according to the present invention is as described above. It is not limited to a simple configuration. For example, the detoning roll DR is omitted, and a conventionally known cleaning blade for collecting transfer residual toner is separately provided on the downstream side, the discharge product is collected by the discharge product removing device 26, and the transfer residual toner is collected by the cleaning blade. It is also possible to configure so that it is possible to select the most suitable structural member for each function by collecting the two and sharing the roles of both.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a so-called tandem type image forming apparatus is exemplified, but the image forming apparatus to which the discharge product removing apparatus 26 of the present invention is applied is limited to such a tandem type image forming apparatus. It is applicable to an image forming apparatus having an arbitrary configuration such as a rotary type, and in particular, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is overcoated with a high-hardness resin. The present invention can be suitably applied to an image forming apparatus that charges the surface by superimposing an alternating current component on a direct current component.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the discharge product removal apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram for explaining the relationship between the friction coefficient between the elastic rotating body and the holding member and the friction coefficient between the holding member and the photosensitive drum according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the result of having compared and verified the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention, and the image forming apparatus of a conventional structure.

Explanation of symbols

20a-20d: image forming unit, 21a-21d: photosensitive drum, 22a-22d: charging device, 23a-23d: exposure device, 24a-24d: developing device, 25a-25d: primary transfer device, 26a-26d: discharge Product removal device, 30: intermediate transfer belt, 35: belt cleaner, 50: secondary transfer device, 70: fixing device, 80: paper transport system, 100: recording paper, 260: elastic rotating body, 261: rotating shaft, 263: elastic layer, 265: holding member, 267: support member, 269: toner holding member, DR: detoning roll, SC: scraper, R ₀ : contact area, Rn ₁ , Rn ₂ : nip area, μ1, μ2, μ3: Friction coefficient

Claims (8)

An endless belt-shaped holding member that is placed in contact with an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface and holds a discharge product generated along with charging of the image carrier on the surface;
An elastic layer is formed on the surface, and an elastic rotating body that rotationally drives the holding member by contact between the elastic layer and the inner peripheral surface of the holding member,
An upstream surface and a downstream side of a nip region where the elastic rotating body is pressed against the image carrier via the holding member are respectively in an rotated state and an inner peripheral surface of the endless belt-like holding member and the elastic member. A non-contact area where the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body is not in contact with each other is formed , and the holding member is inclined toward the image holding body on each of the upstream side and the downstream side of the nip area. Discharge product removal apparatus characterized by the above.   The discharge product removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding member has an inner circumferential length longer than an outer circumferential length of the elastic rotating body.   The discharge product removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding member also serves to collect transfer residual toner on the image carrier.   4. The holding member according to claim 1, wherein the holding member includes a support member formed in an endless belt shape, and a toner holding member formed on a surface of the support member for holding toner. The discharge product removing apparatus according to any one of the above.   The friction coefficient between the inner peripheral surface of the holding member and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic rotating body is formed to be larger than the friction coefficient between the outer peripheral surface of the holding member and the surface of the image carrier. Item 5. The discharge product removing device according to any one of Items 1 to 4. A conductive roll that presses the elastic rotating body through the holding member and removes the collected material held on the surface of the holding member, and includes an inner circumferential surface of the holding member and an outer circumferential surface of the elastic rotating body. 6. The discharge product removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the friction coefficient is formed to be larger than the friction coefficient between the outer peripheral surface of the holding member and the surface of the conductive roll.   The discharge product removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the holding member is made of a nonwoven fabric or suede.   8. An image forming apparatus comprising: the discharge product removing apparatus according to claim 1; and an image forming unit that forms a desired image on a recording medium.

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