JP5019266B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original image is formed on the surface of the image carrier, and toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier to visualize the electrostatic latent image, Developing means for forming a toner image on the image carrier, transfer means for electrically transferring the toner image on the image carrier to a transfer material in contact with the image carrier, and on the image carrier after transfer by the transfer means There is known an image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning unit that removes toner remaining on a toner image; and a paper dust removing unit that removes at least paper dust generated from a transfer material and adhering to an image carrier. (Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-184930 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of removing paper dust attached to a conveying member with a simple configuration.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveying member that conveys at least one of a toner image and a sheet that holds the toner image, and a support that supports the conveying member and rotates to transmit a driving force to the conveying member. A neutralizing device comprising a neutralizing device, a neutralizing device main body and a conductive material, and neutralizing the paper dust adhering to the conveying member; on the downstream side in the moving direction of the conveying member with respect to the neutralizing device A removing device that scrapes and removes toner and paper dust attached to the conveying member, and a shielding member that contacts the conveying member and shields a gap between the conveying member and the removing device main body. and, wherein the charge removing member, cuts have been formed, it is spaced apart so as to form the conveying member and the gap position of the upstream side of the shielding member in the moving direction of the conveying member, said vibration electric The removal device, and the shielding member is an image forming apparatus is disposed at a position facing the supporting member via the conveying member.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of removing paper dust attached to a conveying member with a simple configuration.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming apparatus main body 12, an intermediate transfer belt 14 that conveys a toner image in the image forming apparatus main body 12, four image forming units 16 </ b> Y, 16 </ b> M, 16 </ b> C, and 16 </ b> K, and paper supply Device 18, four toner bottles 40, 40, 40, 40, removal device 100 for removing toner and paper dust adhering to intermediate transfer belt 14, and static eliminating device for eliminating paper dust adhering to intermediate transfer belt 14 200 is arranged. In addition, a conveyance path 28 used for conveyance of paper is formed in the image forming apparatus main body 12.

  The image forming units 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K have photoreceptors 52Y, 52M, 52C, and 52K, respectively. The image forming unit 16Y has a yellow toner image, and the image forming unit 16M has a magenta toner image. The image forming unit 16C forms a cyan toner image, and the image forming unit 16K forms a black toner image, and these toner images are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14, respectively.

  The paper supply device 18 is provided, for example, in the lower part of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The paper supply device 18 has a stacking container 20 on which sheets are stacked, a pickup roll 22 that picks up the sheets stacked on the stacking container 20, and a pickup roll. 22 is provided so as to contact the feed roll 24 and the feed roll 24 that feeds the paper picked up by the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction. When used to eliminate, it has a retard roll 26. The loading container 20 is detachably provided to the image forming apparatus main body 12 so that it can be pulled out, for example, in the front direction in the figure, and stores sheets used as a transfer medium such as plain paper and OHP sheet. ing.

The conveyance path 28 is formed, for example, in a substantially vertical direction on the right end portion side of the image forming apparatus main body 12, for example. Further, the feed roll 24 and the retard roll 26, the transport roll 29, the resist roll 30, the secondary transfer roll 32, the fixing device 34, and the discharge roll 36 are arranged along the transport path 28 in order from the upstream side in the paper transport direction. Has been.
The registration roll 30 is used to temporarily stop the sheet sent to the conveyance path 28 and send it to the secondary transfer roll 32 so as to synchronize with the timing at which image formation is performed by the image forming unit 16Y or the like. The fixing device 34 includes a heating roll 34a and a pressure roll 34b, and fixes the toner image on the paper by applying heat and pressure to the paper passing between the heating roll 34a and the pressure roll 34b. ing.

  A discharge tray section 38 is provided on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the discharge roll 36 is discharged to the discharge tray unit 38.

  The four toner bottles 40, 40, 40, 40 are disposed in the image forming apparatus main body 12, for example, below the discharge tray unit 38. These toner bottles 40 have yellow, magenta, cyan, and black colors. Each toner is stored, and yellow toner, magenta toner, cyan toner, and black toner are supplied to the image forming units 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K through a toner supply path (not shown). .

  The image forming units 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K are respectively provided on the other surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the image forming units 48Y, 48M, 48C, and 48K disposed on the one surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 14. The primary transfer rolls 50Y, 50M, 50C, and 50K are disposed. The image forming units 48Y, 48M, 48C, and 48K are detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 12. For example, the image forming units 48Y, 48M, 48C, and 48K can be pulled out toward the front in FIG. It has become. Details of the image forming units 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K will be described later.

The intermediate transfer belt 14 is supported by support rolls 42a, 42b, 42c, and 42d, which are used as support members, respectively, and the portion where the image forming unit 16 is disposed is disposed, for example, in a substantially parallel plane. Yes.
The support roll 42a is used as a drive member that transmits drive to the intermediate transfer belt 14, and receives drive transmission from a drive transmission mechanism (not shown) having a drive source such as a motor (not shown). It rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, transmits the drive to the intermediate transfer belt 14, and moves the intermediate transfer belt 14 to rotate in the arrow direction shown in FIG. Further, the support roll 42 a is used as a backup roll for backing up the secondary transfer roll 32.

  The intermediate transfer belt 14, the support rolls 42 a, 42 b, 42 c, 42 d and the primary transfer rolls 50, 50, 50, 50 may be integrated as a transfer unit so that the transfer unit can be detached from the image forming apparatus main body 12. good. The secondary transfer roll 32 is incorporated in the secondary transfer unit 33. The secondary transfer unit 33 can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body 12, and can be pulled out, for example, in the front direction in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows details of the image forming unit 16. The image forming units 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K have the same configuration although the colors of the toners used are different. Therefore, the image forming unit 16 will be described below.
The image forming unit 16 includes an image forming unit 48. In the image forming unit 48, the above-described photoconductor 52, a charging device 54 that charges the photoconductor 52, for example, a charging roll, and an LED (light emitting), for example. an exposure device 56 that forms a latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 52, a developing device 58 that develops the latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 52 formed by the exposure device 56 with toner, and a toner image. After the transfer, a cleaning device 60 for cleaning toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor 52 after the transfer is mounted.
In this embodiment, the image forming unit 48 is configured by combining a separable photoconductor unit 62 and a developing unit 64. In the photosensitive unit 62, a photosensitive body 52, a charging device 54, an exposure device 56, and a cleaning device 60 are housed in a first housing 66. In the developing unit 64, the developing device 58 is accommodated in the second housing 68. The first housing 66 and the second housing 68 are detachably coupled to form the image forming unit 48.

  The developing device 58 is, for example, a two-component system, and a developer composed of toner and carrier is used. The developer is stirred by the augers 70 and 72 and supplied to the developing roll 74. In the developing roll 74, a magnetic brush is formed by a carrier, the toner attached to the carrier is conveyed by the magnetic brush, and the latent image on the photosensitive member 52 is developed by the toner. As in this embodiment, in the two-component developing device 58, the developing roll 74 is disposed above the augers 70 and 72, so that the developer is prevented from accumulating and the developer is uniformly stirred. Development performance can be maintained.

  The cleaning device 60 includes a toner scraping unit 76 formed of, for example, a blade, and a collecting unit 78 that collects the toner scraped off by the toner scraping unit 76.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above, the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the photoconductor 52 rotate in synchronization, the surface of the photoconductor 52 is charged by the charging device 54, and a latent image is formed by the exposure device 56. Is done. The latent image on the photoreceptor 52 formed by the exposure device 56 is developed by the developing device 58. The toner image developed by the developing device 58 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14 by the primary transfer roll 50. The toner images of the respective colors formed by the image forming units 16 are superimposed as the intermediate transfer belt 14 moves.

  On the other hand, the sheets loaded on the loading container 20 of the sheet supply device 18 are sent out one by one to the conveyance path 28 by the pickup roll 22, the feed roll 24, and the retard roll 26. The sheet sent to the conveyance path 28 comes into contact with the registration roll 30, temporarily stops, and is sent to the secondary transfer roll 32 with timing. Then, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14 is transferred onto the sheet by the secondary transfer roll 32. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is further sent to the fixing device 34, and the toner image is fixed on the sheet by heat and pressure. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 34 is discharged to the discharge tray unit 38 by the discharge roll 36.

  When the image is formed as described above, the toner remains on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 after the toner image is transferred onto the paper by the secondary transfer roll 32, and the intermediate transfer belt 14 On the surface of the paper, paper powder detached from the paper is adhered. The paper dust adhering to the intermediate transfer belt 14 is neutralized by the static eliminator 200, and the paper dust and toner adhering to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 are removed by the removing device 100. Here, the paper dust refers to a substance released from the paper, such as a fiber of the paper released from the paper or a solidified fiber.

FIG. 3 shows a removal device 100 and a static elimination device 200.
The removing device 100 is used to remove the toner and paper dust attached to the intermediate transfer belt 14, and has a removing device main body 102. The developer removed in the removing device main body 102 is in the axial direction of the support roll 42b. A conveying member 104 is provided for conveying the sheet. Further, a lower end side of a blade 108 used as a removing member is mounted on the removing device main body 102 via a support member 106. The upper end portion side of the blade 108 is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 14 so as to be backed up by the support roll 42b. The blade 108 is made of a material such as rubber having flexibility and elasticity, and is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 14 with the upper end side bent, for example.

The static eliminator 200 is used to neutralize the paper dust adhering to the intermediate transfer belt 14, is disposed at a position facing the support roll 42 b via the intermediate transfer belt 14, and has a film member 202.
The film member 202 is used as a static elimination member used for neutralizing paper dust adhered to the intermediate transfer belt 14, is disposed so as to contact the intermediate transfer belt 14, and is made of a conductive material. The upper end side of the film member 202 is attached to the removing apparatus main body 102, and the lower end side is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 14 so as to be backed up by the support roll 42b. For this reason, the film member 202 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 14 in a state where the lower end side is bent.

The film member 202 is made of, for example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film in which carbon particles are mixed, and has conductivity, flexibility, and elasticity. The conductivity of the film member 202 is adjusted by a method such as adjusting the amount of mixed carbon particles, and the conductivity of the film member 202 may be in the range of 10 ¹ Ω · cm to 10 ⁵ Ω · cm. More desirably, it is in the range of 10 ¹ Ω · cm to 10 ³ Ω · cm.

  The film member 202 is grounded using a ground wire 210. The film member 202 may be electrically floated instead of being grounded.

  The film member 202 is also used as a suppressing member that suppresses scattering of the toner removed by the removing device 100. That is, when the lower end portion of the film member 202 is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 14, the inside of the removing device body 102 and the outside of the removing device body 102 are blocked. For this reason, the developer removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 by the blade 108 is prevented from being scattered outside the removing apparatus main body 102.

FIG. 4 shows the film member 202.
The film member 202 may be a substantially rectangular one as shown in FIG. 4A. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the film member 202 is on the intermediate transfer belt 14 side, and the intermediate transfer belt. For example, a portion in which a plurality of cuts 204 are formed may be used in a portion in contact with 14. The cuts 204 are formed, for example, substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the film member 202 and the support roll 42b (see FIG. 3). The film member 202 in which the cuts 204 are formed has a higher discharge effect than the film member 202 in which no cuts are formed. Further, the pressure at which the film member 202 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 14 can be set by adjusting the length, direction, number, and the like of the cuts 204 to be formed.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration in the vicinity of the support roll 42b of the image forming apparatus according to the comparative example.
In the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment described above, the removing device 100 and the static eliminator 200 are attached in the vicinity of the support roll 42b, whereas the image forming device according to this comparative example is Although the removal device 100 is included, the neutralization device 200 is not included. That is, in the first embodiment described above, the film member 202 mixed with carbon particles is attached to the removing apparatus main body 102, whereas in this comparative example, the film not mixed with carbon particles. A member 80 is attached. For this reason, the film member 80 does not have electroconductivity.
The film member 80 is provided to block the inside of the removing device main body 102 from the outside of the removing device 100 and suppress the scattering of toner.

  In the first embodiment described above, the film member 202 is grounded using the ground wire 210, whereas the film member 80 is not grounded.

FIG. 6 shows how the toner and the like are removed from the intermediate transfer belt 14.
In the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, the toner T is removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 by being scraped off by the blade 108. The removed toner T is deposited in the removing device main body 102 so as to fall. Further, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6B, the paper dust P adhering to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 is similar to the toner T. It is removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 by being scraped off by the blade 108, and the removed paper powder P is deposited in the removing device main body 102 so as to fall.

Although the size of the paper powder P is generally larger than the size of the toner T, since it is made of fiber, the tip portion is often in a sharp shape. In general, the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the blade 108 It is easy to pierce the contact part N. Further, when the paper dust P is charged, the paper dust P and the intermediate transfer belt 14 are electrostatically attached, so that the removal by the blade 108 is not good, and the paper dust that has not been removed. P may be deposited on the contact portion N between the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the blade 108. When paper dust accumulates at the contact portion N, a separated area is likely to be generated between the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the blade 108, and the toner T is easily slipped from the separated area. Defects are likely to occur during removal.
Note that the paper powder is easily charged in a low temperature and low humidity environment. For this reason, in the low temperature and low humidity environment, the paper powder is likely to fail due to electrostatic adhesion to the intermediate transfer belt. .

  In the first embodiment of the present invention, the paper dust P is neutralized by the static eliminator 200 to weaken the electrostatic adhesion between the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the paper dust P, and then the intermediate transfer is performed more than the static eliminator 200. The paper dust P is removed using the removing device 100 located downstream in the moving direction of the belt 14. For this reason, defective removal of the paper dust P from the intermediate transfer belt 14 is unlikely to occur.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the comparative example, the paper dust P adhering to the intermediate transfer belt 14 is not neutralized. For this reason, the paper dust P often rushes into the contact portion N in a state where the paper dust P is electrostatically strongly attached to the intermediate transfer belt 14, and in this case, the paper dust P comes into contact as shown in FIG. It tends to stay in part N.

  Further, instead of the configuration of the present embodiment, a rotatable roll-shaped brush member to which a bias is applied is provided on the upstream side in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 14 of the blade 108, and the intermediate transfer belt 14 is provided by this brush member. It is also conceivable to adopt a configuration in which paper dust is removed from the surface. However, when the brush member is provided, a paper flicker from the brush, a flicker member that removes the paper dust and collected toner from the brush by an applied bias, a mechanism for rotating the brush, and the like are required. Therefore, the configuration becomes complicated. Here, the flicker member is a member that is disposed so as to bite into the rotating brush, and that removes deposits attached to the brush.

FIG. 7 shows a static eliminator 200 included in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
In the first embodiment described above, the film member 202 is provided so as to contact the intermediate transfer belt 14. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the film member 202 is disposed so as to form a gap G between the film member 202 and the intermediate transfer belt 14. The gap G is determined in a range of 0.5 mm to 2 mm, for example.

  In the first embodiment described above, the film member 202 is also used as a scattering suppression member that suppresses scattering of the toner removed by the removing device 100. In contrast, in the second embodiment, since the film member 202 is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14, a film member 80 is provided separately from the film member 202, and the film member 80 is used in the removal device main body 102. And the outside of the removal device 100 are blocked.

  In the second embodiment, since the film member 202 is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14, the paper dust attached to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 can be removed, but it adheres to the surface of the film member 202. The amount of toner to be reduced is smaller than that in the case where the film member 202 is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 14 as in the first embodiment, and the film member 202 is less likely to be deteriorated due to toner adhesion. .

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the film member 202 is used as the charge removal member. However, the paper powder P electrostatically attached to the intermediate transfer belt 14 can be discharged. If there is, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, a configuration other than the film member 202 may be adopted as the charge removal member.
For example, a neutralizing cloth can be used as the neutralizing member. Here, the neutralization cloth refers to, for example, a cloth-like member in which a conductive polymer effective for neutralization is formed on the surface of an ultrafine fiber (nonwoven fabric). The electric conductivity of the neutralizing cloth may be in the range of 10 ¹ Ω · cm to 10 ⁵ Ω · cm, and more preferably in the range of 10 ¹ Ω · cm to 10 ³ Ω · cm.

  Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the static eliminator 200 is installed at a position facing the support roll 42b via the intermediate transfer belt 14, but it is not always necessary to provide it at this position. Rather, the intermediate transfer belt 14 is moved among the four image forming units 48Y, 48M, 48C, and 48K on the downstream side of the position where the secondary transfer roll 32 contacts in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 14. The intermediate transfer belt 14 can be disposed at an arbitrary position on the upstream side in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 14 relative to the image forming unit 48K positioned on the most upstream side in the direction. At this time, as in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, if the static eliminator 200 is disposed at a position facing the support member that supports the intermediate transfer belt 14 via the intermediate transfer belt 14, In the first embodiment, it is easy to keep the width at which the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the film member 202 are in contact with each other. In the second embodiment, the gap G between the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the film member 202 is set. Easy to keep constant.

  Further, when the static eliminator 200 is disposed at a position facing the support member that supports the intermediate transfer belt 14 via the intermediate transfer belt 14, the support roll 42b is not necessarily used as the support member. For example, a support roll 42c may be used. Further, a support plate (not shown) that supports the intermediate transfer belt 14 from the inside may be provided, and the static eliminator 200 may be provided so as to face the support plate via the intermediate transfer belt 14.

  In the embodiment described above, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a plurality of photoconductors used as image carriers with the photoconductors 52Y, 52M, 52C, and 52K, and the intermediate transfer belt 14 includes the photoconductors 52Y and 52M. , 52C, and 52K, the toner image is transferred from each of the image forming apparatus 10 to a single photosensitive member, and an intermediate transfer belt to which a plurality of color toner images are sequentially transferred from the single photosensitive member. You may comprise so that it may have.

  In the embodiment described above, the belt-shaped intermediate transfer belt 14 is used as the conveying member. However, for example, a drum-shaped intermediate transfer that can convey the toner image transferred from the photosensitive member 52 is used. A transfer body other than a belt shape such as a body may be used as the conveying member.

  In the embodiment described above, the intermediate transfer belt 14 that conveys the toner image transferred from the photosensitive member 52 is used as the conveying member. Instead, the toner image is transferred from the photosensitive member 52. For example, a sheet conveying belt may be used as a conveying member for conveying the transferred sheet.

  As described above, the present invention can be applied to image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimile machines.

1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front view illustrating a configuration of an image forming unit included in an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view illustrating a removal device and a charge removal device included in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a left side view illustrating a charge removal member included in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a charge removal member included in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a left view which shows the modification of. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the removal apparatus which the image forming apparatus which concerns on a comparative example has. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the blade included in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention removes the toner. FIG. 6B is a schematic view showing a state where the blade included in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention removes paper dust, and FIG. 6C shows the paper dust in the image forming apparatus according to the comparative example. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the removal defect occurred. FIG. 6 is an enlarged front view illustrating a removal device and a charge removal device included in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 14 Intermediate transfer belt 16 Image forming part 42a Support roll 100 Removal apparatus 108 Blade 200 Static elimination apparatus 202 Film member 210 Ground line P Paper dust T Toner

Claims (1)

A conveying member that conveys at least one of a toner image and a sheet that holds the toner image;
A support member that supports the transport member and rotates to transmit a driving force to the transport member;
A neutralization device having a neutralization device body and a neutralization member made of a conductive material, and neutralizing paper dust adhered to the transport member;
A removing device that is provided on the downstream side in the moving direction of the conveying member with respect to the static eliminator, and scrapes and removes toner and paper dust attached to the conveying member;
A shielding member that contacts the conveying member and shields a gap between the conveying member and the main body of the removing device;
Have,
The static elimination member has a notch formed and is spaced apart to form a gap with the conveyance member at a position upstream of the shielding member in the movement direction of the conveyance member ,
The image forming apparatus , wherein the static eliminator, the removal device, and the shielding member are arranged at positions facing the support member via the transport member .

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