JPH04322287A - Residual toner cleaner for electrophotographic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a residual toner cleaner for color electrophotographic apparatuses, etc., in which a toner image is once transferred from a photoreceptor to an intermediate transfer member, and then further transferred to recording paper, etc. Regarding.

In an electrophotographic apparatus using an intermediate transfer member, after a toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer member to recording paper,
It is necessary to remove residual toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer member before the next new toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer member.

0003

2. Description of the Related Art In conventional residual toner cleaners for electrophotographic apparatuses, residual toner is removed by pressing, for example, a cleaning blade or a cleaning brush against the surface of an intermediate transfer member.

0004

However, the surface of the intermediate transfer member is generally made of an elastic material so that the intermediate transfer member can be stably driven in contact with the photoreceptor. Therefore, the fine particle toner is attracted to the surface of the intermediate transfer member with a relatively strong force.

[0005] For this reason, in the conventional type in which the cleaning blade is pressed against the intermediate transfer body, toner tends to stick to the surface of the intermediate transfer body and the blade itself tends to vibrate, resulting in cleaning leakage.

[0006]Furthermore, in the case of using a cleaning brush, the force for scraping off the toner adsorbed on the surface of the intermediate transfer member is weak, and cleaning defects such as uneven brushing tend to occur.

[0007] If toner remains on the intermediate transfer member, color mixing occurs in color electrophotography, and due to the toner layering on the surface of the intermediate transfer member, the transfer voltage when transferring to recording paper becomes unstable. , the transfer efficiency deteriorates.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a residual toner cleaner for an electrophotographic apparatus that can reliably and easily remove toner remaining on the surface of an intermediate transfer member after being transferred to a recording medium. .

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the residual toner cleaner for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention has the following features:
As shown in FIG. 1 for explaining the embodiment, the toner image transferred from the surface of the photoreceptor 1 is further transferred to a recording medium 10.
At a position after the toner image is transferred to the recording medium 100, the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 2 is heated and melted. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a residual toner melting means 4 for the purpose of melting the residual toner, and a molten toner adsorption means 3 for adsorbing the melted residual toner from the surface of the intermediate transfer body 2.

The molten toner adsorption means 3 is a metal roller that rotates in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer member 2, and the residual toner melting means 4 is a heater that heats the roller. Good too.

Further, the molten toner adsorption means 3 may be a water-absorbing paper 9 or cloth provided so as to move in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer body 2.

0012

[Operation] After the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer body 2 to the recording medium 100, the residual toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 2 is heated and melted by the residual toner melting means 4.
The melted and liquid toner is easily adsorbed from the surface of the intermediate transfer body 2 by the molten toner adsorption means 3.
removed.

[0013]

[Embodiment] An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a color electrophotographic apparatus using toners of four colors: yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (B).

This device has four photosensitive drums 1 (1Y, 1M, 1M,
C, 1B) and an intermediate transfer drum 2 that is brought into contact with and rotated at the same time as those four photosensitive drums 1.
After the toner images of each color are sequentially superimposed and transferred from each photosensitive drum 1 to the intermediate transfer drum 2, the color toner images are transferred from the intermediate transfer drum 2 to the recording paper 100.

Around each photosensitive drum 1, the photosensitive drum 1
A pre-charger 11 that charges the photosensitive drum 1, an exposure section 12 that irradiates the photosensitive drum 1 with image light to form an electrostatic latent image, and a developer 13 that develops the electrostatic latent image with toner are arranged in this order. When the transfer drum 2 contacts the photosensitive drum 1, the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to the intermediate transfer drum 2.
transcribed into. 14 is a cleaner for removing toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1.

The intermediate transfer drum 2 is made of conductive rubber, such as conductive silicone rubber, which is an elastic material that is resistant to heat and has low surface energy.

The intermediate transfer drum 2 is rotated in the opposite direction to the photosensitive drum 1 by a drive motor (not shown). Therefore, the outer circumferential surface of the intermediate transfer drum 2 and the outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 1 move in the same direction at the contact portion, and the toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum 1 to the intermediate transfer drum 2 there.

The recording paper 100 conveyed by the paper conveyance roller 16 runs while being sandwiched between the intermediate transfer drum 2 and the transfer roller 17, where the color toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer drum 2 to the recording paper 100. be done.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 1, between the transfer section A to the recording paper 100 and the photosensitive drum 1 that transfers a new toner image to the intermediate transfer drum 2, there is a section for transferring the toner image to the recording paper 100. A residual toner cleaner is provided to remove residual toner 200 remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 2 after the transfer. The residual toner cleaner will be explained below.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a metal roller (melted toner adsorption means) that rotates in contact with the intermediate transfer drum 2 at a position after the toner image is transferred to the recording paper 100. direction (so the contact surfaces move in opposite directions).

A heater 4 (residual toner melting means) is built inside the metal roller 3, and the metal roller 3 is heated to about 100 to 140 degrees Celsius by this heater 4.

Therefore, the residual toner 200 that has adhered to the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 2 is transferred to the metal roller 3.
When touched, it is heated to above the glass transition point and melted. Then, since the surface of the metal roller 3 has a smaller contact angle with the liquid and has higher wettability than the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 2, which is an elastic body, as shown in FIG. The liquid molten toner 201 existing between the metal roller 3 and the intermediate transfer drum 2 contacts the metal roller 3 over a wider area than the intermediate transfer drum 2, and is attracted to the metal roller 3 side.

The molten toner 201 adsorbed on the surface of the metal roller 3 is scraped off by the metal blade 5 placed in contact with the metal roller 3, and the scraped molten toner 201 is stored in the waste toner container 6. be done. 7 is a cooling fan for lowering the surface temperature of the intermediate transfer drum 2, which has risen due to contact with the metal roller 3, to an appropriate temperature.

FIG. 3 shows the results of an experiment in which the cleaning efficiency (how much residual toner could be removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 2) was measured by changing the surface temperature of the metal roller 3. It can be seen that a surface temperature in the range of 80 to 160 degrees Celsius is well within the practical range.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 2 is heated by a near-infrared lamp 8, thereby causing the melted residual toner 200 to be adsorbed onto paper 9 or the like having good water absorbency. There is.

The near-infrared lamp 8 has a width comparable to that of the intermediate transfer drum 2, is arranged parallel to the intermediate transfer drum 2, and has a surface temperature of 150 degrees Celsius.
Heat to above 30°F. As a result, the residual toner 200 is melted and becomes liquid.

[0028] The paper 9 with good water absorption is fed to the feed roller 21.
The portion pulled out from there is pressed against the intermediate transfer drum 2 by the pressing roller 22. Since the vicinity thereof is irradiated by the near-infrared lamp 8, the melted residual toner 200 is absorbed by the paper 9.

The paper 9 from which the residual toner has been absorbed is taken up by a take-up roller 23 that is rotationally driven by a drive mechanism (not shown).
When the paper 9 and rollers 21 to 23 are all wound up,
be replaced as a unit. 7 is a cooling fan.

[0030] In place of the paper 9, cloth or the like having good water absorption may be used. Further, in place of the photosensitive drum 1 and intermediate transfer drum 2 used in each of the above-described embodiments, belt-shaped drums or the like may be used.

[0031]

According to the residual toner cleaner for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention, the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer member is heated, melted, and liquefied before being adsorbed on the adsorption means. It has an excellent effect of reliably and easily adsorbing residual toner adhering to the transfer body and removing it from the surface of the intermediate transfer body.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial configuration diagram of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing cleaning efficiency according to the first example.

FIG. 4 is a partial configuration diagram of a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Photosensitive drum (photosensitive body) 2 Intermediate transfer drum (intermediate transfer body) 3 Metal roller (melted toner adsorption means) 4 Heater (residual toner melting means) 100 Recording paper (recording medium)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An intermediate transfer body (2) that is driven to further transfer the toner image transferred from the surface of the photoreceptor (1) to a recording medium (100); and a toner image transferred to the recording medium (100). A residual toner melting means (4) for heating and melting the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer body (2) at a position after the toner is transferred, and a residual toner melting means (4) for heating and melting the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer body (2), A residual toner cleaner for an electrophotographic apparatus, characterized in that a residual toner cleaner for an electrophotographic apparatus is provided with a molten toner adsorbing means (3) for adsorbing molten toner from the surface of a body (2). 2. The molten toner adsorption means (3) is a metal roller that rotates in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer body (2), and the residual toner melting means (4) is a metal roller that rotates in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer body (2). The residual toner cleaner for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, which is a heater for heating. 3. The molten toner adsorption means (3) is a water-absorbing paper (9) or cloth provided so as to move in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer body (2). Residual toner cleaner for electrophotographic equipment as described.