JP3820808B2 - Release agent supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a so-called heating roll type fixing device that heats and fixes an unfixed toner image transferred onto a transfer medium in a contact state in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine. It is related with the mold release agent supply apparatus used for the above.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional typical fixing device, as shown in FIG. 18, fixing is performed by passing a transfer sheet 104 carrying an unfixed toner image 103 through a pressure contact region 102 between a pair of heated rolls 100 and 101. A heat and pressure type fixing device is often used. The fixing device includes a fixing roll 100 having a heating source 105 therein and rotating in the direction of the arrow, a pressure roll 101 rotating in pressure contact with the fixing roll 100, and the fixing roll 100 attached to the fixing roll 100. The main part of the release agent supply device 106 that supplies a release agent for preventing toner offset to the outer peripheral surface of the roll 100 is configured, and the transfer sheet 104 carrying the unfixed toner image 103 is transferred to the transfer paper 104 described above. The toner image is fixed by passing through a pressure contact region 102 between the fixing roll 100 and the pressure roll 101. The fixing roll 100 has an affinity for a metallic substrate roll 107 having a heating source 105 therein, an inner elastic layer 108 coated on the substrate roll 107, and the release agent 110 for preventing toner offset. And an outer elastic body layer 109 formed on an elastic material such as fluororubber having wear resistance and coated on the inner elastic body layer 108. The fixing roll 100 presses the fixing roll 100 against the transfer sheet 104 with an appropriate pressure and contact width by the elastic action of the inner elastic body layer 108, and a release agent supplied to the outer elastic body layer 109. The action of 110 prevents the offset phenomenon.
[0003]
The present applicant has already proposed a technique for uniformly applying a small amount of a release agent (1.0 μl ≦ amount of release agent applied per recording material ≦ 2.5 μl) to the fixing roll in such a fixing device. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-333478). This technology includes a stainless steel oil metering roll whose surfaces rotate in contact with each other, a donor roll provided with a silicone rubber layer on the surface, and a blade, which is supplied to the oil metering roll and regulated by the blade. The release agent is applied to the surface of the fixing roll through a donor roll, and the center line average roughness Ra of the oil metering roll surface is set to 0.23 μm or less.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above prior art has the following problems. That is, in the case of the above conventional release agent supply device, it is possible to uniformly apply a small amount of release agent in the initial state, but as the number of prints increases, the total amount of release agent applied And the problem of oil streaks. This is because the additive material such as calcium carbonate and kaolin from the paper coming from the fixing roll that comes into contact with the transfer paper, paper fiber, toner and dust in the atmosphere are mixed with the release agent, resulting in a semi-solid state. This is because it is deposited on the edge of the blade and the manner in which the blade comes into pressure contact with the surface of the oil metering roll is changed, and the release agent regulating effect of the blade is wholly or partially reduced.
[0005]
Therefore, in the case of the above conventional release agent supply device, the release agent is excessively transferred to the recording paper through the fixing roll, and the post-it is recorded on the recording paper after passing through the fixing device. There was a problem that adhesive tape such as (registered trademark) or cellophane tape could not be adhered, and writing with a ballpoint pen, water-based pen, pencil, etc. was impossible. In addition, when the fixing process is performed on the OHP sheet or the like, the release agent is excessively transferred onto the OHP sheet after passing through the fixing process, so that the transparency of the OHP sheet is lowered and the color image is displayed. There was also a problem that the color did not appear when projected and the image looked dark. Furthermore, when forming images on both the front and back sides of the recording paper, the recording paper that has once passed through the fixing device and absorbed the release agent passes again through the paper transport path to the photosensitive drum during double-sided copying. However, there is a problem in that a release agent adheres to the photosensitive drum or the transfer device, resulting in transfer failure.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and the object of the present invention is to increase the total amount of the release agent applied and to reduce oil streaking regardless of the number of prints. It is an object of the present invention to provide a release agent supply device that does not occur and can always apply a predetermined amount of a release agent uniformly to a fixing roll.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
[0008]
That is, the invention described in claim 1 includes a rotating oil metering roll and a blade that contacts the surface of the oil metering roll, and a release agent that is applied to the surface of the oil metering roll by the blade. In the release agent supply device that regulates the amount of the release agent and supplies the release agent to the supplied member via the oil metering roll, Said A spiral groove is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll as a means to realize the function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade by pressing the blade edge against the surface of the oil metering roll. The pitch of the spiral groove formed on the surface of the oil metering roll is W, the height of the groove peak is H, and the groove peak height is ½. Width of mountain between grooves W _{1 / 2H} 100 μm ≦ W and H / W _{1 / 2H} The release agent supply device is characterized in that ≧ 0.08.
The invention described in claim 2 comprises a rotating oil metering roll and a blade that contacts the surface of the oil metering roll, and a release agent applied to the surface of the oil metering roll by the blade. In the release agent supply device that regulates the amount of the release agent and supplies the release agent to the supplied member via the oil metering roll, Said A spiral groove is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll as a means to realize the function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade by pressing the blade edge against the surface of the oil metering roll. The height of the peak of the spiral groove formed on the surface of the oil metering roll is lower than the highest peak (P) by a predetermined height (0.2P). Mountain width Are added to each other, and the percentage obtained by dividing these added values by the measurement length L is t _P (20%), when the ten-point average roughness of the oil metering roll surface is Rz, t _P (20%) <10.0% and R _Z The release agent supply device is characterized in that ≧ 6 μm.
[0009]
Furthermore, the invention described in claim 3 is the release agent supply apparatus described in claim 1 or 2, Said As a means for realizing the function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade when the edge of the blade comes into pressure contact with the surface of the oil metering roll, spiral grooves are formed on both surfaces of the oil metering roll. Is formed.
[0010]
Furthermore, the invention described in claim 4 is the release agent supply apparatus described in claim 1 or 2, Said A spiral groove is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll as a means to realize the function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade by pressing the blade edge against the surface of the oil metering roll. The direction in which the spiral groove advances is reversed from the center in the longitudinal direction.
[0011]
Moreover, the invention described in claim 5 is the release agent supply apparatus described in claim 1 or 2, Said A spiral groove is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll as a means to realize the function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade by pressing the blade edge against the surface of the oil metering roll. The direction in which the spiral groove advances is opposite to the center of the longitudinal direction, and the direction in which each spiral groove advances is opposite to both ends from the longitudinal center with respect to the rotation direction of the oil metering roll. The direction to proceed to.
[0013]
Furthermore, the invention described in claim 6 is the invention described in claims 1 to 5. Described in any of In the release agent supply device, the release agent supply device is characterized in that the hardness of the surface of the oil metering roll is set higher than that of the blade contacting the surface of the oil metering roll.
[0016]
[Action]
The increase in the amount of release agent applied over the entire surface and the generation of oil streaks are caused by additives such as calcium carbonate and kaolin from the paper that wraps around from the fixing roll, paper fibers, and toner and atmosphere. This is because the dust mixes with the release agent and becomes semi-solid and accumulates on the blade edge.
[0017]
Therefore, in the present invention, since the edge of the blade is pressed against the surface of the oil metering roll on the surface of the oil metering roll, a function for scraping and removing foreign matters accumulated on the edge of the blade is added. The foreign matter can be scraped off from the edge and gradually moved downstream of the blade edge while moving in the longitudinal direction. Further, as a means for realizing the function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade when the edge of the blade comes into pressure contact with the surface of the oil metering roll, By forming a spiral groove on the surface of the ring roll, the foreign matter deposited on the edge of the blade is moved slightly in the longitudinal direction at the pitch of the spiral groove, and at the same time, slipped to the downstream side of the blade, By repeating this operation, foreign matter can be prevented from accumulating on the edge of the blade. As a result, according to the present invention, regardless of the number of prints, a predetermined amount of mold release is always applied to a supplied member such as a fixing roll without causing an increase in the total amount of the release agent applied and no oil streaking. It becomes possible to apply the agent uniformly.
[0018]
Embodiment
The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments.
[0019]
Embodiment 1
FIG. 2 shows a fixing device to which the release agent supply device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 2, the fixing device includes a heating source 2 inside, a fixing roll 1 that rotates in an arrow direction 3, and a pressure roll that is disposed in pressure contact with the fixing roll 1. The main part is comprised by the pressure roll 5 to perform, and the mold release agent supply apparatus 6 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention which supplies a mold release agent to the surface of the said fixing roll 1, The said fixing roll The unfixed toner image 7 is transferred by heat and pressure by passing a transfer sheet 8 as a transfer medium onto which the unfixed toner image 7 has been transferred through a nip formed between the pressure roller 5 and the pressure roll 5. It is fixed on the paper 8.
[0021]
The fixing roll 1 is driven to rotate at a predetermined speed along the arrow direction 3 via a gear 30 by a drive motor (not shown). This fixing roll 1 includes a 630 W Colts lamp 2 as a heating source inside, a substrate roll 9 formed of a steel core material having an outer diameter of 44 mm, an inner side made of silicone rubber with a thickness of 3 mm and a rubber hardness of 60 °. An elastic body layer 10 and an outer elastic body layer 11 having a wall thickness of 0.03 mm and a rubber hardness of 70 ° made of Viton (DuPont: trade name) provided on the inner elastic body layer 10 are configured. . The fixing roll 1 is heated from the inside by a Colts lamp 2 so that the surface temperature becomes a predetermined temperature. The surface temperature of the fixing roll 1 is detected by a temperature sensor 13 in contact with the surface of the fixing roll 1 and is controlled by a temperature controller (not shown) so that the surface temperature of the fixing roll 1 becomes 160 ° C. Yes.
[0022]
On the other hand, the pressure roll 5 includes a 630 W Colts lamp 17 as an auxiliary heating lamp inside, a substrate roll 15 formed of a steel core material having an outer diameter of 48 mm, a thickness of 2 mm made of silicone rubber, and a rubber hardness of 33. And an outer elastic layer 14 having a wall thickness of 0.03 mm and a rubber hardness of 70 ° made of Viton (trade name) provided on the inner elastic layer 16. Has been. The pressure roll 5 is heated from the inside by the Colts lamp 17 so that the surface temperature becomes a predetermined temperature.
[0023]
The surface temperature of the pressure roller 5 is detected by a temperature sensor 18 that contacts the surface of the pressure roller 5 and is controlled by a temperature controller (not shown) so that the surface temperature of the pressure roller 5 becomes 130 ° C. It is configured.
[0024]
A peeling claw 19 for peeling the transfer paper 8 is disposed on the surface of the pressure roll 5.
[0025]
Further, the fixing roll 1 and the pressure roll 5 are brought into pressure contact with each other with a load of 80 kg, and are driven to rotate at a speed of 220 mm / sec when fixing the paper. In addition, when a transparent film such as an OHP sheet is fixed, it is rotationally driven at a speed of 60 mm / sec.
[0026]
Then, the unfixed toner image 7 is transferred by heat and pressure by passing the transfer paper 8 onto which the unfixed toner image 7 is transferred through a nip formed between the fixing roll 1 and the pressure roll 5. It is fixed on the transfer paper 8.
[0027]
By the way, in the fixing device, a release agent supplying device 6 for applying oil as a release agent for preventing offset is provided on the surface of the fixing roll 1.
[0028]
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, the release agent supply device 6 includes an oil pipe 20 to which a release agent 21 is supplied and an amine-modified dimethyl silicone oil 21 as a release agent from a nonwoven fabric or the like. The release agent 21 is applied to the surface of the oil metering roll 23 via the wick 22. The release agent 21 adhering to the surface of the oil metering roll 23 is configured to be applied to the surface of the fixing roll 1 via a donor roll 24. At this time, the amount of the release agent 21 applied to the surface of the fixing roll 1 is controlled by the blade 25 that contacts the surface of the oil metering roll 23 and is along the axial direction of the oil metering roll 23. It is applied uniformly.
[0029]
As the oil metering roll 23, as shown in FIG. 3, the surface 27 of a hollow metal roll 26 made of SUS having a diameter of 19.5 mm and an effective length of 320 mm is used. Of course, a solid metal roll 26 may be used as the oil metering roll 23. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, an amine-modified dimethyl silicone oil 21 as a release agent is applied to the oil metering roll 23 via a wick 22. As the amine-modified dimethyl silicone oil 21, for example, one having a viscosity of 300 cs is used.
[0030]
The blade 25 that contacts the surface of the oil metering roll 23 is made of 2 mm thick fluororubber whose base end is bonded to a 1 mm thick iron plate.
[0031]
The donor roll 24 is an elastic roll in which a silicone rubber 29 is coated to a thickness of 3 mm on the surface of a metal core 28 having a diameter of 13 mm.
[0032]
Further, the oil metering roll 23 is driven and rotated by the fixing roll 1 by a gear 31 to which driving force is transmitted from the fixing roll 1. On the other hand, the donor roll 24 is configured to be driven to rotate as the fixing roll 1 rotates by being pressed against the surface of the fixing roll 1.
[0033]
By the way, in the first embodiment, the function of scraping and removing the foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade is added to the surface of the oil metering roll by pressing the edge of the blade against the surface of the oil metering roll. It is configured as follows.
[0034]
In the first embodiment, the blade edge is pressed against the surface of the oil metering roll, thereby realizing a function of scraping and removing foreign matters accumulated on the edge of the blade. As a means, a spiral groove is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll.
[0035]
That is, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the edge of the blade 25 is pressed against the surface of the oil metering roll 23 and the surface of the oil metering roll 23, so that the blade 25 A spiral groove 31 is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll 23 as means for realizing the function of scraping and removing foreign substances accumulated on the edge. The spiral groove 31 is formed by, for example, setting a raw pipe for forming the oil metering roll 23 on a lathe, and a bite having a predetermined tip shape with respect to the rotated pipe of the oil metering roll 23. Is moved along the longitudinal direction at a predetermined speed. At that time, by appropriately setting the rotational speed of the oil metering roll 23, the amount of movement of the cutting tool, or the tip shape of the cutting tool, the pitch (W) of the spiral groove 31 and the peak height (H ), The width at the height at half the peak height of the groove 31 (W _{1 / 2H} ) And the like can be controlled.
[0036]
Here, as a parameter for specifying the spiral groove 31 formed on the surface of the oil metering roll 23, the pitch (W) of the spiral groove 31 as shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the width (W _{1 / 2H} Or center line average roughness Ra or ten-point average roughness Rz. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the surface shape of the oil metering roll 23 in which the spiral groove 31 is formed is measured as shown in FIG. 4, and the peak of the spiral groove 31 is measured as shown in FIG. The width of the position (l) lower than the highest peak (P) by a predetermined height (for example, 5%, 10%, 20%) ₁ , L ₂ , ... l _n ) Are added together, and these added values (l ₁ + L ₂ + ... + l _n ) Divided by the measurement length L, which is 100% _P Etc. are used.
[0037]
In view of this, the inventors have made a prototype of a fixing device having a release agent supply device as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2 and using the fixing device having the release agent supply device, As shown in FIG. 4, the shape of the spiral groove 31 formed on the surface of the ring roll 23 is variously changed, and in full color copy mode, J paper and P paper (both Fuji Xerox offices) are used as transfer paper 8. (Supply Co., Ltd.) were passed through 5000 sheets, a total of 10000 sheets, and then an OHP sheet was passed through to conduct an oil streak evaluation.
[0038]
7 to 13 show the results of the experiment. 7 to 13, the data indicated by black circles are oil metering rolls in which no oil streaks are generated, and the data indicated by triangles are oil metering rolls in which oil streaks are generated only on the rear side. The data indicated by * indicates each oil metering roll with oil streaks on the entire surface. FIG. 4A shows the surface shape of the oil metering roll whose data is indicated by the black circles, and FIG. 4 shows the surface shape of the oil metering roll whose data is indicated by the triangles. FIG. 4C shows the surface shape of the oil metering roll whose data is indicated by (b) and *. 7 to 13, dotted lines are straight lines connecting the average values of the data on the rear side and the front side of each oil metering roll.
[0039]
“Polishing” in FIG. 13 is a surface processed by applying a grindstone from the left and right with the base pipe of the oil metering roll 23 rotated. “Turning” is a surface processing method for forming a spiral groove 31 by using a lathe and a cutting tool to move the cutting tool in the longitudinal direction with respect to the raw pipe of the oil metering roll 23 rotated. Various parameters can be controlled by adjusting the rotation speed, the moving amount of the cutting tool, and the tip shape of the cutting tool.
[0040]
From the results of the above experiments, the mechanism is shown below. The foreign matter that has entered from the fixing roll 1 passes through the wick 22 and is sandwiched between the edges of the blade 25 by the rotation of the oil metering roll 23. Since pressure is applied to the edge of the blade 25, foreign matter cannot pass through the oil metering roll 23 downstream. As described above, when foreign matter accumulates on the surface of the oil metering roll 23, the metalling effect of the blade 25 is lost. In particular, the additives such as calcium carbonate and kaolin contained in the transfer paper 8 sufficiently contain the release agent 21 and are in a semi-solid state, and thus are easily deposited on the edge of the blade 25.
[0041]
In such a state, when the surface of the oil metering roll 23 is polished and the surface roughness Ra of the oil metering roll 23 is as smooth as 0.2 μm, foreign matter is applied to the edge of the blade 25, Accumulation of foreign matter will be accelerated.
[0042]
On the other hand, when the spiral groove 31 is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll 23 as in the first embodiment, the foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade 25 is accompanied by the rotation of the oil metering roll 23. Then, it is transported in the axial direction along the spiral groove 31 formed on the surface of the oil metering roll 23, transported to the end of the oil metering roll 23 and removed. Therefore, in the release agent supply device 6, additives such as calcium carbonate and kaolin, paper fibers, toner, and dust in the atmosphere from the paper that wraps around from the fixing roll 1 that contacts the transfer paper 8. Even if it mixes with the mold release agent and becomes semi-solid and accumulates on the edge of the blade 25, the foreign matter deposited on the edge of the blade 25 remains in the spiral groove 31 formed on the surface of the oil metering roll 23. And is removed downstream of the blade edge. Therefore, even when the number of transfer sheets 8 on which fixing processing is performed by the fixing device is increased, a predetermined amount is always applied to the fixing roll without causing an increase in the total amount of release agent applied and oil streaks. It is possible to uniformly apply the release agent.
[0043]
Further, as is apparent from FIG. 13, when the spiral groove 31 for moving the foreign matter along the longitudinal direction is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll 23, the pitch of the spiral groove 31 is W, The height of the peak is H, and the width at the height at half the peak height of the groove 31 is W. _{1 / 2H} 100 μm ≦ W, H / W _{1 / 2H} By setting so as to satisfy ≧ 0.08, it is possible to prevent the generation of oil streaks due to uneven supply of oil, and a predetermined amount of release agent is always uniformly applied to the fixing roll 1. Can be applied.
[0044]
Further, as apparent from FIG. 7, it can be seen that if the center line average roughness Ra on the surface of the oil metering roll 23 is 1.7 μm or more, the generation of oil streaks can be prevented.
[0045]
Further, as apparent from FIG. 8, it can be seen that if the maximum height Rmax of the surface of the oil metering roll 23 is 7.0 μm or more, generation of oil streaks can be prevented. However, if the maximum height Rmax on the surface of the oil metering roll 23 is too large, the edge of the blade 25 may be damaged. According to experiments conducted by the present inventors, the maximum height Rmax is 10 It is desirable that it is 0.0 μm or less.
[0046]
Further, as can be seen from FIG. 9, it can be seen that if the ten-point average roughness Rz of the surface of the oil metering roll 23 is 6.0 μm or more, the generation of oil streaks can be prevented.
[0047]
Furthermore, as apparent from FIG. 10, the contact ratio t of the surface of the oil metering roll 23 _P Although (20) varies, it can be seen that if it is less than 10%, the occurrence of oil streaks can be prevented. Further, as is apparent from FIG. 11, the contact ratio t of the surface of the oil metering roll 23 _P When (10) is less than 4%, it can be seen that oil streaks can be prevented. Further, as apparent from FIG. 12, the contact ratio t of the surface of the oil metering roll 23 _P (5) shows that generation | occurrence | production of an oil streak can be prevented if it is 1.5% or less.
In addition, it becomes possible to prevent generation | occurrence | production of an oil stripe reliably by satisfy | filling all the requirements of the said paragraph numbers [0044]-[0047] simultaneously.
[0048]
However, when the surface shape of the oil metering roll 23 does not satisfy these conditions, the accumulation of foreign matter is superior to the effect of scraping off the foreign matter, resulting in oil streaks.
[0049]
Embodiment 2
FIG. 14 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals. In the second embodiment, the surface of the oil metering roll is shown in FIG. In addition, as a means for realizing a function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade when the edge of the blade comes into pressure contact with the surface of the oil metering roll, a spiral is formed on both end surfaces of the oil metering roll. It is configured to form a groove having a shape.
[0050]
That is, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the surface of the oil metering roll is configured to form a spiral groove on the surface of the central portion in addition to the surfaces of both ends thereof. The spiral groove 31 on the center surface has a pitch W of 80 μm and H / W _{1 / 2H} Is set to be 0.08, and the foreign matter removal / conveyance performance is set to be relatively low, whereas the spiral grooves 31 on both end surfaces have a pitch W of 200 μm and H / W _{1 / 2H} Is set to be 0.1, and the foreign substance removal and conveyance performance is set to be relatively high. In the experiment described above, the spiral shape with a pitch of 80 μm has a low foreign matter scraping effect and oil streaks are derived, but the location is concentrated at the end of the OHP sheet. This is because the scraping effect does not work well because the end of the blade is cantilevered and the pressure is lower than the central portion. The oil metering roll 23 is set to have a width of 40 mm at both ends where the foreign matter removal and conveyance performance is set high.
[0051]
In this way, by forming the spiral grooves 31 on the surfaces of both end portions where the foreign matter of the oil metering roll easily deposits, the foreign matter can be effectively removed, and the generation of oil streaks is reliably prevented. be able to.
[0052]
In the second embodiment, the spiral groove is formed on the surface of the center portion in addition to the surfaces of both ends of the oil metering roll. However, the spiral shape is formed only on the surfaces of both ends of the oil metering roll. Of course, the groove may be formed.
[0053]
Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
[0054]
Embodiment 3
FIG. 15 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals. In the third embodiment, the surface of the oil metering roll will be described. Further, as a means for realizing a function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade when the edge of the blade comes into pressure contact with the surface of the oil metering roll, the surface of the oil metering roll has a spiral shape. A groove is formed, and the direction in which the spiral groove advances is opposite to the longitudinal center.
[0055]
Further, in the third embodiment, the edge of the blade is pressed against the surface of the oil metering roll, thereby realizing a function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the edge of the blade. As a means, a spiral groove is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll, and the direction in which the spiral groove advances is opposite to the longitudinal center, and the direction in which each spiral groove advances In a direction that advances from the longitudinal center to both ends with respect to the rotational direction of the oil metering roll.
[0056]
That is, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the spiral groove 31 formed on the surface of the oil metering roll 23 is set so that its traveling direction is opposite to the longitudinal center. In addition, the direction in which the spiral grooves 31 a and 31 b travel is configured to be a direction from the longitudinal center to both ends with respect to the rotation direction of the oil metering roll 23.
[0057]
By doing so, the foreign substance moves in the longitudinal direction by the spiral groove 31, but the traveling direction of the spiral groove 31 is reversed in the longitudinal direction in order to shorten the path until the foreign substance is released. As a result, foreign matters can be removed in a short time, and oil streaks and the like due to foreign matter accumulation can be more effectively prevented.
[0058]
Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
[0063]
In the above-described embodiment, it goes without saying that there is an effect even when the oil metering roll 23 is in direct contact with the fixing roll 1 as shown in FIG.
[0064]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a predetermined amount of the release agent is always applied to the fixing roll without any increase in the amount of release agent applied and no oil streaking regardless of the number of prints. Can be provided uniformly.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 (a) is a block diagram showing a release agent supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b) is a block diagram showing an oil metering roll.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a fixing device to which a release agent supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIGS. 3A to 3C are a sectional view, a front view, and a side view, respectively, showing an oil metering roll.
FIGS. 4A to 4C are graphs showing the results of measuring the surface shape of different oil metering rolls, respectively.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a surface shape of an oil metering roll.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing parameters representing the surface shape of the oil metering roll.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing the measurement results of Ra of the oil metering roll.
FIG. 8 is a graph showing measurement results of Rmax of an oil metering roll.
FIG. 9 is a graph showing measurement results of Rz of an oil metering roll.
FIG. 10 shows t of the oil metering roll _p It is a graph which shows the measurement result of (20).
FIG. 11 shows t of an oil metering roll _p It is a graph which shows the measurement result of (10).
FIG. 12 shows t of the oil metering roll _p It is a graph which shows the measurement result of (5).
FIG. 13 is a chart showing experimental results obtained by changing each parameter of the oil metering roll.
FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing an oil metering roll of a release agent supply apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an oil metering roll of a release agent supply apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the release agent supply device according to the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram illustrating a fixing device including a conventional release agent supply device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fixing roll, 6 Release agent supply apparatus, 21 Release agent, 22 Wick, 23
Oil metering roll, 24 donor roll, 31 spiral groove.

Claims (6)

A rotating oil metering roll and a blade that contacts the surface of the oil metering roll; the amount of the release agent applied to the surface of the oil metering roll by the blade is regulated; in the release agent supply device for supplying a release agent to the supply target member through, by the edge of the blade to the surface of the oil metering roll is pressed, the function of removing scraping foreign matters deposited on the edge of the blade As a means to realize, forming a spiral groove on the surface of the oil metering roll,
The pitch of the spiral groove formed on the surface of the oil metering roll is W, the height of the peak of the groove is H, and the width of the peak between the grooves at ½ of the height of the peak of the groove is W _{1 / When 2H} , 100 μm ≦ W and H / W _{1 / 2H} ≧ 0.08 A rotating oil metering roll and a blade that contacts the surface of the oil metering roll; the amount of the release agent applied to the surface of the oil metering roll by the blade is regulated; in the release agent supply device for supplying a release agent to the supply target member through, by the edge of the blade to the surface of the oil metering roll is pressed, the function of removing scraping foreign matters deposited on the edge of the blade As a means to realize, forming a spiral groove on the surface of the oil metering roll,
All the peak widths lower than the highest peak (P) by a predetermined height (0.2P) are added to the peak height of the spiral groove formed on the surface of the oil metering roll. and, t _P (20%) the percentage of the value obtained by dividing these sum values in the measurement length L, when the ten-point average roughness of the oil metering roll surface and Rz, t _P (20%) <10.0% and R _Z ≧ 6 μm. 3. The release agent supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a blade edge is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the oil metering roll, thereby realizing a function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the blade edge. As a release agent supply device, a spiral groove is formed on the surface of both end portions of the oil metering roll. 3. The release agent supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a blade edge is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the oil metering roll, thereby realizing a function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the blade edge. As a release agent supply device, a spiral groove is formed on the surface of the oil metering roll, and the direction in which the spiral groove advances is reversed from the center in the longitudinal direction. 3. The release agent supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a blade edge is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the oil metering roll, thereby realizing a function of scraping and removing foreign matter accumulated on the blade edge. Forming a spiral groove on the surface of the oil metering roll, the direction in which the spiral groove advances is opposite to the center of the longitudinal direction, and the direction in which each spiral groove advances A mold release agent supply device characterized in that the direction from the center in the longitudinal direction to the both ends is set with respect to the rotational direction of the oil metering roll. The mold release agent supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the hardness of the surface of the oil metering roll is set to be higher than that of the blade contacting the surface of the oil metering roll. Release agent supply device.

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