METAL CLEANING BLADE WITH DIAMOND COATING

Publishing Venue

Xerox Disclosure Journal

Abstract

"Bare" metal toner removal cleaning blades* are commercially impractical because of high blade wear in operation, a long-known problem, for which even a Teflon coating is not sufficient. Per recent issues of "High Technology" magazine and other publications, a new diamond vapor deposition technique for providing very high-wear resistance metal surface treatment has become commercially available. That is a potential solution to this problem.

XEROX DISCLOSURE JOURNAL

METAL CLEANING BLADE WITH DIAMOND COATING US. C1.355/15 Paul F. Morgan

Proposed Classification

Int. C1. G03g 21/00

"Bare" metal toner removal cleaning blades* are commercially impractical because of high blade wear in operation, a long-known problem, for which even a Teflon coating is not sufficient. Per recent issues of "High Technology" magazine and other publications, a new diamond vapor deposition technique for providing very high-wear resistance metal surface treatment has become commercially available. That is a potential solution to this problem.

This same technology can be used for hardening of other wear surfaces in copiers or printers, such as toner cleaning housing seals, shaft bearings, etc..

An elastomeric base mounting of the mounting edge of the metal blade should also be provided, to avoid inducing corrugations in the blade which may extend out to the cantelevered cleaning edge. This provides more uniform blade edge normal force with the photoreceptor or other surface to be cleaned, which is another known problem with metal cleaning blades.

*as opposed to conventional elastomeric (urethane) cleaning blades, or elastomeric tipped metal blades as in U.S. Patent 3,848,992.

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   XEROX DISCLOSURE JOURNAL Volume 14 Number 1 January/February 1989