JP3567670B2 - Printing material removal equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing material removing apparatus for removing a printing material recorded by an electrophotographic method from a recording material.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, from the viewpoint of paper recycling, an apparatus for removing a printing material on a recording medium recorded by an electrophotographic method has been proposed. As such a printing material removing apparatus, there are an apparatus for dissolving or swelling a printing material with an organic solvent and removing the printing material with a brush or ultrasonic waves, and an apparatus for removing a thermoplastic printing material by thermal transfer. Since the former uses an organic solvent, there is a high possibility that safety (effects on the human body, etc. under the Fire Service Act) and handling (odor, liquid leakage, etc.) will be problematic, and it is especially used in offices. Is not preferred.
[0003]
As the latter device, for example, JP-A-1-297294, JP-A-4-64472, JP-A-4-94958, and JP-A-4-116000 disclose a heat-soluble release member as a recording material. There is disclosed an apparatus for removing a printing material on a recording medium by heating the sheet while cooling the sheet, cooling the sheet, and then peeling off the peeling member. In these apparatuses, when the cohesive force of the printing material (toner) transferred onto the heat-soluble release member is not sufficient and the removal is repeated a plurality of times, the printing material once transferred onto the heat-soluble release member is removed. Next, there is a problem that when the recording material comes into contact with the recording material, the recording material is cut off and transferred to the recording material again.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a printing material removing apparatus that does not cause re-transfer of printing material from a peeling member to a recording material.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a recording material having a printing material recorded by an electrophotographic method, in which a peeling member is pressed against a recording material, and the printing material on the recording material is adhered to the peeling member. The printing material is separated from the recording material by separating the material from the peeling member, and is adhered to the peeling member, and the printing material is pressed against the next supplied recording material in a state where the peeling member is adhered to the printing material. The apparatus includes a heating means for heating the printing material on the peeling member after the printing material is peeled from the recording material.
[0006]
It is preferable that the peeling member is a material having high adhesiveness to a printing material on a recording material. In general, the adhesiveness between materials is correlated with their inherent SP value (solubility parameter), and materials having similar SP values have higher adhesiveness. Since the acrylic resin or polyester resin, which is the main component of the toner as a printing material, has an SP value of 9 to 11, it is particularly preferable to use a resin material having an SP value of 8 or more and 12 or less as a peeling member used in the present invention. preferable.
[0007]
As the heating means, a contact type heating roller, a non-contact type infrared heater, or the like can be used. The heating temperature by the heating means is equal to or higher than the temperature at which the peeled printing material on the peeling member is softened, is equal to or lower than the temperature determined from the heat resistance of the recording material, and is preferably 80 ° C to 200 ° C. is there.
[0008]
In the printing material removing apparatus having the above configuration, the printing material separated from the recording material by the separating member is heated by the heating unit. Thereby, the cohesive force between the printing materials on the peeling member is increased, and the adhesive force between the printing material and the peeling member is increased, so that the transfer of the printing material on the peeling member to the recording material is prevented. .
[0009]
In the printing material removing apparatus of the present invention, when separating the recording material from the peeling member, it is preferable to provide a means for bending the recording material with respect to the peeling member and separating the recording material. In this case, a shearing force acts between the surface of the recording material and the printing material due to the bending stress acting on the recording material, and the printing material is surely peeled off.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a printing material removing apparatus according to the present invention. This apparatus comprises a transport belt 1, a peeling belt 2, a separating claw 3, and a heating roller 4 as a heating means.
[0012]
The transport belt 1 is horizontally stretched between a driving roller 5 that is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow a and a driven roller 6. The transport belt 1 is capable of horizontally transporting a recording material 8 on which an image is formed with a printing material 7 in the direction of arrow b. Between the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6, a backup roller 9 that rotates with the movement of the transport belt 1 is disposed. The backup roller 9 is configured to face a heating roller 12 of the peeling belt 2 described below via the transport belt 1.
[0013]
The peeling belt 2 is stretched over a driving roller 10, a driven roller 11, and a heating roller 12 arranged in a triangle, and is movable in the direction of arrow d by rotating the driving roller 10 in the direction of arrow c. In the peeling belt 2, the driven roller 6 of the transport belt 1 is located between the driving roller 10 and the heating roller 12, and the belt portion between the driving roller 10 and the heating roller 12 is transported on the transport belt 1. The recording material 8 is disposed so as to be pressed against the recording material 8. Further, the heating roller 12 faces the backup roller 9 via the separation belt 2 and the conveyance belt 1, heats a separation member surface layer 23 of the separation belt 2, which will be described later, and records the recording material conveyed on the conveyance belt 1. The printing material 7 is also heated. The heating temperature of the heating roller 12 is set to 80 ° C. or more and 200 ° C. or less.
[0014]
The separation claw 3 has a wedge portion 13 that is disposed at a position where a belt portion around the driven roller 6 of the transport belt 1 is separated from a belt portion between the driving roller 10 and the heating roller 12 of the peeling belt 2. The wedge portion 13 is for separating the recording material 8 attached to the peeling belt 2 from the peeling belt 2. The separation claw 3 and the driven roller 6 of the transport belt 1 constitute a unit that bends the recording material 8 in an arc shape with respect to the surface layer 23 of the peeling member.
[0015]
The heating roller 4 is disposed so as to be in pressure contact with a belt portion around the driven roller 10 of the peeling belt 2, and heats and melts the printing material 7 on the peeling belt 2 peeled from the recording material 8. I have. The heating temperature of the heating roller 4 is set to 80 ° C. or more and 200 ° C. or less.
[0016]
The recording material 8 used in the printing material removing apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration is made of a transparent plastic film (OHP sheet or the like) or a film (synthetic paper) made opaque by adding inorganic fine particles. As shown in (B), an image of the printing material 7 is formed by an appropriate image forming apparatus. The plastic film is not particularly limited as long as it is a thermoplastic resin, but in consideration of heat resistance, polyester, polycarbonate, polyimide, polymethyl methacrylate and the like can be mentioned. Among them, polyester, particularly polyethylene terephthalate, is preferred in terms of versatility, price, heat resistance, durability and the like.
[0017]
The printing material 7 recorded as an image on the recording material 8 is a so-called toner (hereinafter, the printing material is referred to as toner), and is usually an acrylic (methacryl) polymer or an acrylic (methacryl) -styrene copolymer. In general, a polyester polymer is used as a main component, and a coloring material, a release agent, and a charge control agent are added thereto.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 2A, the peeling belt 2 has a peeling member surface layer 23 provided on a base layer 21 with an adhesive layer 22 interposed therebetween.
[0019]
The release member surface layer 23 is provided to release the toner 7 on the recording material 8. That is, heat is applied to the toner 7 on the recording material 8 to soften the toner 7, and heat is also applied to the release member surface layer 23 to soften the toner 7. To adhere. The lower limit of the temperature applied to the toner 7 is determined by the temperature at which the toner 7 softens, and the upper limit is determined by the heat resistance of the recording material 8. Specifically, the temperature applied to the toner 7 is 80 ° C. or more and 200 ° C. or less. As described above, the toner 7 is softened and the peeling member surface layer 23 is also in a softened state, so that the toner 7 is easily bonded to the peeling member surface layer 23. For this reason, it is preferable that the peeling member surface layer 23 is a thermoplastic resin and has a softening point of 80 to 200 ° C. In particular, the softening point of the release member surface layer 23 is preferably within a range of ± 20 ° C. of the softening point of the toner. Here, the softening point is the outflow starting temperature in the flow tester.
[0020]
It is an essential condition that the peeling member surface layer 23 has good adhesion to the toner 7. That is, it is desired that the material constituting the release member surface layer 23 has high compatibility with the toner 7. In general, the compatibility between different materials is determined based on the difference in surface energy and the SP value (solubility parameter). In particular, materials having similar SP values have good compatibility. The SP value of the toner 7 varies depending on the type of the resin as the main component, but is about 9 to 11. The present inventors have focused on this SP value and conducted intensive studies. As a result, when the SP value of the resin of the release member surface layer 23 is 8 or more and 12 or less, the toner 7 on the recording material 8 Was found to transfer well.
[0021]
Examples of such a resin having a softening point of 80 to 200 ° C. and an SP value of 8 to 12 include polystyrene, styrene-acryl (methacryl) copolymer, polyvinyl alcohol-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl acetal, and polyester. Among these, styrene-acryl (methacryl) copolymer, polyvinyl acetal, polyester resin, and the like are preferable from the viewpoint of adhesiveness to the toner and the like.
[0022]
On the other hand, the adhesive layer 22 is provided to adhere the release member surface layer 23 to the base layer 21 and to prevent the transfer of the release member surface layer 23 to the recording material 8. Examples of a material constituting the adhesive layer 22 include a commercially available adhesive. The type of the adhesive is not particularly limited, but an adhesive having at least some heat resistance is required. For example, vinyl / methyl ether, maleic anhydride copolymer, polyvinyl alcohol / vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl acetal, ethyl acrylate, polyamide resin, phenol resin, resorcinol resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin, furan resin, polyurethane resin Chlorinated rubber, butadiene, acrylonitrile rubber, butyl rubber, neoprene rubber, thiochol, and the like, but are not limited thereto.
[0023]
Examples of a method of applying the adhesive to the base layer 21 include a chemical reaction method, a heat melting method, and a solvent volatilization method, and it is preferable to use an appropriate method depending on the type of the adhesive.
[0024]
Next, the operation of the printing material removing apparatus having the above configuration will be described.
[0025]
When the recording material 8 on which an image is formed by the toner 7 is supplied to the transport belt 1 with the toner 7 facing upward, the recording material 8 is transported by the transport belt 1 in the direction of arrow b. And the separation belt 2. When the recording material 8 passes between the heating roller 12 and the backup roller 9, the release member surface layer 23 melted by the heating roller 12 is pressed against the recording material 8, and the toner 7 on the recording material 8 is melted. As a result, the toner 7 on the recording material 8 fuses with the surface layer 23 of the release member. As described above, the recording material 8 is further transported in the direction of the arrow b in a state where the toner 7 is fused with the peeling member surface layer 23, and as the recording material 8 moves away from the heating roller 12, the fused toner 7 and the peeling member surface layer 23 are cooled, Solidify.
[0026]
When the leading end of the recording material 8 reaches the separation claw 3, the recording material 8 is separated from the separation belt 2 by the separation claw 3 and is discharged around the driven roller 6 of the transport belt 1 in the direction of arrow e. At this time, the recording material 8 separated from the separation belt 2 is bent in an arc shape with respect to the separation member surface layer 23 by the separation claw 3 and the driven roller 6. As a result, a bending stress acts on the recording material 8, a shearing force is generated between the surface of the recording material 8 and the toner 7, and the toner 7 is reliably separated.
[0027]
The toner 7 on the recording material 8 remains on the peeling member surface layer 23 while being fused and solidified to the peeling member surface layer 23, is peeled off from the recording material 8, and is transferred to the peeling member surface layer 23. The toner 7 thus transferred to the release member surface layer 23 moves in the direction of arrow d together with the release belt 2. When the toner 7 on the peeling member surface layer 23 reaches a portion facing the heating roller 4, the toner 7 is heated by the heating roller 4. As a result, the cohesive force between the toners 7 is increased, and the adhesive force between the toner 7 and the peeling member surface layer 23 is increased, so that re-transfer to the recording material 8 which is next supplied onto the transport belt 1 is prevented. You.
[0028]
In the above-described embodiment, the heating roller 4 that is in contact with the peeling belt 2 is used as a unit for heating the toner after the transfer. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. An infrared heater 14 or the like for heating the toner 7 transferred onto the release member surface layer 23 in a non-contact manner may be used.
[0029]
Further, the peeling belt 2 may be provided with a unit for cleaning the toner 7 fused to the peeling member surface layer 23. As the cleaning unit, a unit that physically scrapes the toner 7 with a blade or a unit that thermally transfers the toner 7 to another member can be used. By providing such a cleaning means, the ability of the peeling member surface layer 23 to remove the toner can be maintained for a long time.
[0030]
Further, before the recording material 8 is inserted between the peeling belt 2 and the transport belt 1, a unit for heating the toner 7 on the recording material 8 is provided to increase the cohesive force of the toner in advance. At the time of separation, the toner is less likely to be cut, and the toner can be more reliably removed. In this case, the same heating means as those of the heating rollers 4 and 12 and the infrared heater 14 can be used, and the heating temperature is also the same as that of the above embodiment.
[0031]
【Example】
(Example 1)
As a release member, 100 g of a styrene-methyl methacrylate copolymer resin having an average molecular weight of 200000 (SP value: 9.3, softening point: 110 ° C.) was dissolved in 1 liter of THF to prepare a resin solution. Next, this resin solution was applied to an OHP film with a bar coater and dried. As the OHP film, a film coated with a methacryl-polyvinyl acetate copolymer resin (Genuine OHP film manufactured by Minolta Co., Ltd.) was used. The thickness of the dried resin was measured and found to be 5 μm. The end of this film was adhered with a reactive acrylic adhesive to form a seamless peeling belt 2.
[0032]
As the recording material 8, a material obtained by subjecting a surface of a polyethylene terephthalate film of A4 size and 100 μm in thickness to an antistatic treatment with a cationic surfactant to be used. An image of the toner 7 was formed on the recording material 8 by an electrophotographic copying machine EP-4050 manufactured by Minolta Co., Ltd. Toner 7 used had a softening point of 113 ° C. and an SP value of 9.3.
[0033]
The peeling belt 2 was attached to the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and moved at a speed of 0.5 cm / sec, while the recording material 8 was conveyed by the conveying belt 1 at a speed of 0.5 cm / sec. The heating roller 12 of the peeling belt 2 was maintained at a temperature of 150 ° C. A distance of about 30 cm was provided between the heating section (heating roller 12) and the separation section (separation claw 3). The temperature of the heating roller 4 of the peeling belt 2 was set to 150 ° C.
[0034]
When the apparatus was operated under the above conditions, the recording material 8 that had passed through the separation claw 3 was cleanly removed of the toner 7, while an image of the transferred toner 7 was seen on the peeling member surface layer 23 of the peeling belt 2. The toner 7 was removed from the 50 recording materials 8, but no retransfer of the toner from the release member surface layer 23 to the recording material 8 was observed, and good deinking could be performed.
[0035]
(Example 2)
As a peeling member, a black solid image is formed on a 150 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate film using an electrophotographic laser beam printer “Finewriter 401” manufactured by Minolta Co., Ltd., and this is repeated five times to form a thick toner material. After forming the surface layer of the black solid image, the one stored in a high-temperature bath at 150 ° C. was used to smooth the surface layer. Then, the end portions of the film were connected to each other with an adhesive to form a seamless peeling belt 2. The entire circumference of the peeling belt 2 was 100 cm.
[0036]
As the recording material 8, an image of the toner 7 was formed on a white PET film in which fine particles of titanium oxide were dispersed in PET using the above-described fine writer 401. Toner 7 used had a softening point of 120 ° C. and an SP value of 10.5.
[0037]
Using the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 using a far-infrared lamp 14 as a heating means, the apparatus was operated under the same conditions as in the first embodiment. The toner was removed continuously for 50 sheets of the recording material 8, but no re-transfer of the toner 7 from the surface layer 23 of the peeling member to the recording material 8 was performed, and good deinking could be performed.
[0038]
(Comparative example)
The same material as in Example 1 was used as the peeling member surface layer 23 and the recording material 8, and the apparatus in which the heating roller 4 was removed from the apparatus of Example 1 was used. In this comparative example, the toner was successfully removed from the first few sheets, but the toner 7 transferred from the recording material 8 to the release member surface layer 23 was gradually re-transferred to the recording material 8 and good deinking was performed. I didn't.
[0039]
From the above Examples and Comparative Examples, it was confirmed that, according to the printing material removing apparatus of the present invention, retransfer of the toner 7 was prevented and good deinking could be performed.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, after the printing material is separated from the recording material, the heating means for heating the printing material on the separating member is provided. As the cohesive force increases, the adhesive force between the printing material and the peeling member increases, and the retransfer of the printing material on the peeling member to the recording material is prevented, and the printing material can be removed satisfactorily for a long time. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a printing material removing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a recording material and a peeling member.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the printing material removing apparatus of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveying belt, 2 ... Peeling belt, 3 ... Separation claw, 4 ... Heating roller (heating means), 7 ... Printing material, 8 ... Recording material, 14 ... Infrared heater (heating means), 23 ... Peeling member surface layer.

Claims (3)

The peeling member is pressed against the recording material having the printing material recorded by the electrophotographic method, the printing material on the recording material is adhered to the peeling member, and the recording material is separated from the peeling member to remove the printing material. In a printing material removing apparatus that is peeled from a recording material and adheres to a peeling member, and the peeling member is pressed against a recording material to be supplied next in a state where the printing material is adhered ,
An apparatus for removing a printing material, comprising a heating means for heating the printing material on the peeling member after the printing material is peeled from the recording material. The printing material removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heating temperature of the heating unit is 80C or more and 200C or less. 3. The printing material removing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for bending the recording material with respect to the peeling member when separating the recording material from the peeling member.

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