JPH0365973A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily eliminate the contamination of a transfer material carrier and to easily remove toner adhering the carrier by setting a small-diameter substance adding means for forming a dense film by adding small-diameter substance consisting of lublicating oil additive close to the transfer material carrier. CONSTITUTION:The small-diameter substance adding means 102 for forming the dense film by adding the small-diameter substance 100 consisting of the lublicating oil additive is set close to the transfer material carrier 5f. A small container 102 is disposed close to one outer surface of a cleaning means 11 on the upstream side of the means 11. The small-diameter substance 100 stored in the container 102 drops from an opening 100a on a lower surface, so that the small-diameter substance 100 is added to the transfer material carrier sheet 5f. The lublicating oil additive constituting the small-diameter substance 100 is oil soluble additive, which is oiliness agent, oil soluble abrasion resistant additive and oil soluble EP agent, etc. Thus, the attracting force of the toner adhering to the transfer material carrier is made weak and the toner is easily and surely removed by the cleaning means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention obtains an image by transferring a toner image carried on an image carrier to a transfer material carried on a transfer material carrier of a transfer device. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

A toner image obtained by forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original image on an image bearing member made of a photoreceptor, an insulator, etc. using an electrophotographic method or the like, and developing it. Image forming apparatuses, such as copiers and printers, have been proposed, such as copying machines and printers, which transfer images by bringing a transfer material into contact with an image carrier once or multiple times, and which are commercially available. There is.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a color electrophotographic copying machine for forming full-color images.

In this example, the color electrophotographic copying machine supports a drum-shaped electrophotographic photoreceptor as an image carrier, that is, a photoreceptor drum 1, rotatably in the direction of the arrow. Optical system 3, transfer device 5 and cleaner 6
It is placed and tena.

The optical system 3 includes an original operation unit 3a and a color separation filter 3b, and irradiates the photosensitive drum 1 uniformly charged by the charger 2 with a light image for each separated color image to form an electrostatic latent image. do. The developing device 4 is a rotary developing device, and has four developing devices arranged around a central axis 4b, namely, a yellow developing device 4Y, a magenta developing device 4M, a cyan developing device 4C, and a black developing device 4B. Then, a predetermined developing device is rotated to a developing position opposite to the photosensitive drum 1 to develop the latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, thereby forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum 1.

The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred from the transfer material cassette 7 to the photosensitive drum 1 via a conveyance system and a transfer device 5.
The image is transferred to a transfer material supplied to a position opposite to the image. The transfer device 5 is drum-shaped in this example, and includes a cylinder 5a, a transfer charger 5b, a transfer material gripper 5c that grips and conveys the transfer material, an inner charger 5d, and an outer charger 5e.
A transfer material carrying sheet 5f made of a dielectric material is stretched in a cylindrical shape in the opening area of the circumferential surface of the cylinder 5a.

To explain further, as the transfer device 5 rotates, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the transfer material supported on the transfer material carrier sheet 5f by the transfer material charger 5b.
At the same time, the transfer material is attracted to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f. After the remaining toner is removed from the photosensitive drum 1 by a cleaner 6, the next image forming process is performed on the photosensitive drum 1.

A toner image of a desired number of colors, for example, a four-color toner image, is transferred to the transfer material adsorbed and conveyed to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f in this manner, thereby forming a full-color image. The method of forming such a color image is well known to those skilled in the art, so further explanation will be omitted.

As described above, when the transfer of the four-color toner image is completed, the transfer material is separated from the transfer device 5, and the heat roller fixing device 9
is discharged onto the tray 1o.

As described above, in the color electrophotographic copying machine, the transfer material carrying sheet 5f made of a dielectric material is stretched as a transfer material carrier for holding the transfer material in the peripheral opening of the transfer device 5. Near the periphery of the transfer device 5 are a photosensitive drum 1,
A group of units holding or storing developer, such as a developing device 4 and a cleaner 6, are arranged, and the transfer material carrying sheet 5f on the transfer device 5 is contaminated by toner scattered from these units. Sometimes. Furthermore, if the transfer material gets jammed in the transfer device 5 or the like when separating the transfer material on which the toner image has been transferred but not yet fixed from the transfer device 5, the transfer material may be stuck on the transfer material carrying sheet. toner adheres thereto, and the transfer material carrying sheet 5f is significantly contaminated by the toner.

Therefore, the transfer device 5 is provided with a cleaning means 11 for the purpose of removing toner adhering to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f. Cleaning of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f is normally performed when the drum of the transfer device 5 rotates prior to the transfer, but it is performed at any time after the above-mentioned jam of the transfer material or the like occurs.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning means 11 includes a fur brush cleaner lla disposed on the outside of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, and a backup brush llb disposed on the inside. This backup brush llb is a straight line connecting a cleaning point A between the circumferential surface of the fur brush lla and the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrically supported transfer material carrying sheet 5f, and the center point O of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f. A backup brush ll is disposed above and is capable of applying a predetermined amount of pressure to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f.
A depth d of approximately 1 mm was provided on the b side.

However, the cleaning performance of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f by the cleaning means 11 is different from that of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f.
It largely depends on the adsorption force of toner to f. In other words, the toner on the transfer material carrying sheet 5f may have residual charges during development, transfer, etc., or may have a small diameter and a high surface energy between it and the transfer material carrying sheet 5f. 7. Strongly adsorbed to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f.

For this reason, the cleaning performance of the cleaning means 11 is affected, and the toner on the transfer material carrying sheet may not be completely cleaned with a constant pressure, resulting in poor cleaning.

For the above reasons, conventionally, the transfer material carrying sheet 5f
This forces the fur brush cleaner 11a to increase the pressure on the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, and the amount d of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f biting into the backup brush llb side increases, thereby increasing the amount of deformation of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f. However, there was a drawback that the transfer material carrying sheet 5f was plastically deformed over time.

Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned current situation, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that makes it possible to easily remove contamination and adhered toner on a transfer material carrier such as a transfer material carrier sheet of a transfer device. That's true.

in order to The above object is achieved by an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

In summary, the present invention provides cleaning for removing toner adhering to a transfer material carrier of a transfer device that carries a transfer material for transferring a toner image carried on an image carrier. In an image forming apparatus in which a means is installed in close proximity to each other, a small diameter substance for applying a small diameter substance made of a lubricating oil additive onto the transfer material carrier to form a dense film made of the small diameter substance on the transfer material carrier. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that a substance applying means is installed close to the transfer material carrier.

Oiouwara Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

This image forming apparatus is characterized in that a small container 102 for applying a small diameter substance 100 made of a lubricating oil additive is provided on a transfer material carrying sheet 5f as a transfer material carrier of the transfer device 5. The other configuration of the forming apparatus is basically the same as the conventional image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 5, and the same reference numerals in FIG. 1 as those in FIG. 5 indicate the same members.

The small container 102 is disposed close to the outer surface of one side of the upstream side of the cleaning means 11 in the upper half of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, and the small-diameter substance 100 accommodated therein is transferred to the opening 100 on the lower surface.
By falling from a, the small diameter substance 100 is applied onto the transfer material carrying sheet 5f.

The lubricating oil additives that make up the small-diameter substance lOO are oil-soluble additives, such as oil-based agents, oil-soluble anti-wear additives, and oil-soluble EP.
There are drugs etc. Such lubricating oil additives are, for example, long-chain organic compounds containing -COOH, -OH, -NH in the molecule.
Those having a polar group such as 2 are optimal. Small diameter substance 1
The particle size of 00 is about 0.1 to 0.9 μm, which is smaller than the particle size of the toner. A preferred example of the small diameter substance lOO is iron stearate.

In the present invention, the small-diameter substance 100 made of a lubricating oil additive, for example, iron stearate, is applied to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f because it is adsorbed onto the transfer material carrying sheet 5f.
Iron stearate molecules form a dense film on the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, reducing the surface energy of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, and reducing the surface energy of the low energy surface (30 to 30% between the methyl groups of the iron stearate molecules). 40erg/ct&). Therefore, the surface energy between the toner and the sheet 5f adhering to the transfer agent carrying sheet 5f on which the dense film is formed is reduced, and the toner is weakly adsorbed onto the sheet 5f. This is because the toner adhering to the sheet 5f can be easily removed by the fur brush cleaner 11a of the cleaning means 11.

A dense film is formed on the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, and the sheet) 5
According to experiments conducted by the present inventor, stearic acid, in addition to iron stearate, has the effect of reducing the surface energy between the toner adhering to sheet 5i' and weakly adsorbing the toner onto sheet 5f. It was particularly large for zinc and Holaclon (registered trademark name for polyvinylidene fluoride).

According to this embodiment, the opening 102a on the lower surface of the small container 102
As shown in FIG. 2, the small-diameter substance 100 made of lubricating oil additive applied onto the transfer material carrying sheet 5f falls to the cleaning means 11 along with the toner adhered by the transfer material carrying sheet 5f. transported. There, the transfer material carrying sheet 5f is pressurized by the fur brush cleaner lla which is pressed so that the amount of biting into the backup brush 11b side becomes d.
The small-diameter substance 100 forms the above-mentioned dense film on the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, thereby reducing the surface energy between the toner and the sheet 5f and weakly adsorbing the toner onto the sheet 5f.

Next, when the transfer material carrying sheet 5f rotates once and reaches the cleaning means 11, the toner adhering to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f is removed by the fur brush cleaner lla. This removal of the toner is easily performed because the toner is weakly adsorbed onto the transfer agent carrying sheet.

According to this embodiment, the conventional cleaning means 11 has a 50%
By applying the small-diameter substance 100 made of a lubricating oil additive onto the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, 80% or more of the toner adhering to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, which could only be removed, can be removed by 80% or more.

Example 2 In the image forming apparatus of Example 1, the cleaning means 11 having a fur brush cleaner 11a such as a sheet cleaner was used in the transfer device 5, so that the transfer material carrying sheet 5f
Even if a small-diameter substance 100 made of a lubricating oil additive is applied thereon, the toner adhering to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f can be removed by 100%.
It is difficult to completely remove the small-diameter substances 100 applied onto the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, and the formation of a dense film from the small diameter substance 100 applied on the transfer material carrying sheet 5f is performed at the cleaning means 11. To remove the toner, it is necessary for the sheet 5 to make one more rotation and return, which has the drawback of taking time.

In the transfer device 5 of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, in order to eliminate these difficulties, as shown in FIG.
By pressing 06 against the transfer agent carrying sheet 5f,
The feature is that a small diameter substance 100 is provided on the sheet 5f.

The web 106 is placed in contact with and installed in a position close to the means 11 on the upstream side of the cleaning means 11 in the lower half of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f so as to press the transfer material carrying sheet 5f. has been done.

According to this embodiment, the small diameter substance 10 made of a lubricating oil additive is applied onto the transfer material carrying sheet 5f by the web 106.
0, since the web 106 is pressed against the sheet 5f, it is pressurized by the web 106 at the same time as it is applied, forming a dense film on the sheet 5f. In this way, before the transfer material carrying sheet 5f reaches the cleaning means 11, the surface energy between the toner and the sheet 5f is already reduced, so that the toner adhering to the sheet is removed from the surface immediately after the web 106. It can be removed directly by the brush cleaner 11a.

In this embodiment, by unwinding and winding the web 106 at appropriate lengths, the web 106 can be pressed against the transfer material carrying sheet 5f while constantly updating the new surface, and the small diameter substance 100 can be applied onto the sheet 5f. , a dense film can be favorably formed on the sheet 5f, and the toner adhering to the sheet 5f can be favorably removed.

In this embodiment, according to experiments, approximately 80% of the toner adhering to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f is removed by the cleaner lla during the first rotation of the sheet 5f, and when the sheet 5f comes into contact with the web 106 again, The remaining toner was further removed by the web 106, and the removal effect of the toner adhering to the sheet 5f finally reached nearly 100%.

As is clear from the above, the web 106 alone is quite effective in removing the toner adhering to the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, so if the cost of toner removal is to be reduced, one or more webs 106 may be provided. That's fine,
Fur brush cleaner lla and backup brush 11
b can be omitted.

Example 3 In this example, a small-diameter substance 100 made of a lubricating oil additive is applied onto a transfer material carrying sheet 5f, and is used to remove toner adhering to the sheet 5f.
00 is moved from the sheet 5f to the photosensitive drum 1, as shown in FIG. 4, and is also used for removing toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 1.

On the upstream side of the contact portion (transfer portion) of the transfer material carrying sheet 5f with the photosensitive drum l shown in FIG. This forms a dense film, thereby weakening the adsorption force of the toner adhering to the sheet 5f, and removing the toner by the fur brush cleaner lla of the cleaning means 11.

The small diameter substance 100 applied onto the transfer material carrying sheet 5f to form a dense film is conveyed by the sheet 5f and reaches a contact portion with the photosensitive drum l. Then, the transfer charger 5b inside the transfer material carrying sheet 5f constituting the transfer means 503 provided at the contact portion transfers the toner image from the photosensitive drum l onto the upper transfer material by the transfer material carrying sheet 5. By applying a transfer electric field of opposite polarity to that during transfer, the sheet 5
The small diameter substance 100 on f is moved onto the photosensitive drum 1.

The small-diameter substance 100 moved onto the photosensitive drum 1 is conveyed to the cleaner 6 of the drum 1 by the photosensitive drum 1. In this embodiment, the transfer charger 5b is used to move the small-diameter material 100 onto the photosensitive drum l, but a separate charger dedicated to moving the toner may be provided.

The cleaner 6 is a member that removes toner remaining on the photosensitive drum l, but conventionally, the contact between the cleaning blade 6a and the photosensitive drum l is not stable, and
There is a drawback that the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1 slips through the blade 6a, resulting in poor cleaning of the photosensitive drum 1.

As in this embodiment, by moving the commercial material 100 onto the photosensitive drum 1 and conveying it to the cleaner 6, the small diameter material 100 is inserted between the cleaning blade 6a and the photosensitive drum l. Then, the small-diameter substance 100 is formed into a dense film, and the cleaning blade 6a
The contact between the photosensitive drum 1 and the photosensitive drum 1 can be stabilized.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, by applying the small-diameter substance 100 onto the transfer material carrying sheet 5f, not only can the toner adhering to the sheet 5f be easily removed by the cleaner lla, but also the toner attached to the sheet 5f can be easily removed. The remaining toner can be easily removed by the cleaning blade 6a.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a small-diameter substance made of a lubricating oil additive is applied onto the transfer material carrier of the transfer device, and the small-diameter substance is deposited on the transfer material carrier. Since a dense film is formed, the adsorption force of the toner adhering to the transfer material carrier can be weakened, and as a result, the toner can be easily and reliably removed by the cleaning means. Furthermore, the dense film formed on the transfer material carrier improves the releasability of the transfer material from the carrier, and has the effect of ensuring separation of the transfer material after transfer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing how the transfer material carrying sheet of the transfer device in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 is cleaned.6 FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of cleaning of the transfer material carrying sheet of FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how the photosensitive drum is cleaned in still another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional color electrophotographic copying machine. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing how the photosensitive drum in the copying machine shown in FIG. 5 is cleaned. b f 1 OO 02 06: Photosensitive drum: Transfer device: Transfer charger: Transfer material carrying sheet: Cleaner: Cleaning means: Small diameter substance: Small container: Web Fig. 2 γ 00 Fig. 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A transfer material carrier of a transfer device carrying a transfer material for transferring a toner image carried on an image carrier, for removing toner adhering to the transfer material carrier. In an image forming apparatus in which a cleaning means is installed nearby, a small-diameter substance made of a lubricating oil additive is applied onto the transfer material carrier to form a dense film made of the small-diameter substance on the transfer material carrier. An image forming apparatus characterized in that a small-diameter substance applying means is installed close to the transfer material carrier. 2) A charger for applying a transfer electric field to transfer a small-diameter substance constituting the dense film formed on the transfer material carrier onto the image carrier; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is installed close to a position where it contacts the carrier.