JP2001166655A - Printing material removing device and recording medium reproducing device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording medium reproducing device which can sufficiently remove a printing material from a recording medium even if a dipping time is short. SOLUTION: This recording medium reproducing device 1 removes the printing material from a form 3 by bringing liquid 16 such as water into contact with the form 3 to which the printing material sticks; and the printing material removal part 28 which removes the printing material sticking on the form 3 has curving means 31 and 35 which generate bending stress at the form part where the printing material sticks by curving the at least the form part and a rubbing means 30 which makes a mechanical rubbing force operate by coming into contact with the form part curved by the curving means 31 and 35.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording medium reproducing apparatus for removing a printing material from a recording medium after a liquid is brought into contact with the recording medium (sheet) to which the printing material is adhered, and used in the apparatus. The present invention relates to a printing material removing device. Specifically, after a recording medium (eg, copy paper, print paper, OHP sheet) is brought into contact with a liquid, a printing material (eg, toner, ink) fixed on the recording medium is removed by a printing material removing device. The present invention relates to a recording medium reproducing apparatus that removes a recording medium by using a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art From the viewpoint of resource recycling, an apparatus for removing a printing material from an image carrier (copied or printed matter) created by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer to reproduce a recording medium, for example, It is disclosed in JP-A-7-140554 and the like.

In such a recording medium reproducing apparatus, the image carrier is immersed in a liquid containing water as a main material, so that the liquid penetrates into the surface layer of the image carrier and the contact force between the printing material and the surface layer is increased. Decrease. Subsequently, while the recording medium is conveyed along the linearly formed guide, the printing material is peeled off by a mechanical rubbing means such as a brush provided near the guide.

[0004]

In the above-described method, the longer the time of immersion in the liquid, the more the liquid permeates into the surface layer of the image carrier, so that the printing material can be peeled off with a smaller scraping force. it can. However, if the immersion time is increased, the transport path required for immersing the recording medium becomes long and complicated, the amount of liquid required for immersing the recording medium increases, and the number of sheets that can be processed per unit time decreases. Such inconveniences occur. Conversely, if the force of the mechanical rubbing means is increased, the penetration time can be shortened, but the recording medium may be damaged.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing material removing apparatus capable of sufficiently removing a printing material from a recording medium even if the immersion time is short, and a recording medium reproducing apparatus using the apparatus.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a printing material removing apparatus according to claim 1 is a printing material removing apparatus for removing a printing material attached on a sheet from the sheet. The sheet portion to which the printing material is attached is bent, thereby bending the sheet portion to generate a bending stress, and the sheet portion bent by the bending portion is brought into contact with the sheet portion, thereby exerting a mechanical rubbing force. And rubbing means for causing the rubbing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing material removing apparatus according to the first aspect, the rubbing means is a brush.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing material removing apparatus of the first aspect, the rubbing means is a cloth.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing material removing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a radius of curvature of a sheet portion curved by the bending means is 10 mm or less.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing material removing apparatus for removing a printing material attached to a sheet from the sheet, wherein at least a sheet portion to which the printing material is attached is curved. It is characterized by having a curved portion for conveying a sheet in a predetermined direction and rubbing means for contacting the sheet portion curved in the curved portion and thereby applying a mechanical rubbing force.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium reproducing apparatus for removing the printing material from the sheet after the liquid is brought into contact with the sheet to which the printing material is attached, Claims 1 to 5
Characterized by using any one of the above printing material removing devices.

[0012]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, “downstream with respect to the paper transport direction” and “upstream with respect to the paper transport direction” are simply referred to as “downstream”, respectively.
Called "upstream".

I. 1. First Embodiment (1) Recording Medium Reproducing Apparatus FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a recording medium reproducing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as “reproducing apparatus”) 1. The reproducing apparatus 1 reproduces the paper in a reusable state by removing the toner from a copy or printed matter having a toner image formed on the surface of a special paper using an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Things.

(2) Paper This special paper is composed of a base material layer, an intermediate adhesive layer, and a surface layer.
It has a five-layer structure in which an intermediate adhesive layer and a surface layer are provided on both surfaces of a layer or a base material layer, respectively. As the base material layer, a plastic film, paper, or the like is used. The intermediate adhesive is for bonding the surface layer to the base material layer, and for example, a urethane resin, an acrylic resin, a styrene resin, or the like is used. If the adhesiveness is good, this intermediate adhesive layer can be omitted.
The surface layer is made of a water-swellable resin obtained by crosslinking a water-soluble resin. Here, “water-swellable” means that the substance expands by absorbing water or an aqueous solvent, but does not dissolve in the water or the aqueous solvent. The paper and the composition of each layer constituting the paper are described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
This is described in detail in Japanese Patent Publication No. 218955.

(3) Supply Unit Next, the configuration of the reproducing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The playback device 1 has a housing 2 that forms the appearance of the playback device 1. On the left side wall of the housing 2 on the drawing,
A supply unit 3 for storing and supplying a sheet before the reproduction processing is provided. The paper supply unit 3 is provided with a tray 5 or a cassette for supporting the stacked paper 4 and a top paper 4 as a first paper transport mechanism, similarly to a paper supply unit attached to a copying machine or a printer. It has a supply mechanism 6 for delivery. The supply mechanism 6 generally includes a supply roller 7 arranged to be in contact with the upper surface of the uppermost sheet 4 and a motor (not shown) for rotating the supply roller 7.

(4) First Paper Transport Mechanism The first paper transport mechanism 8 extends from the supply section 3 to a dipping section described later. The first paper transport mechanism 8 has a paper guide 9 that supports the paper 4 to be transported. Note that the distance from the supply unit 3 to the immersion unit is long, and
When the components other than the first paper transport mechanism 8 do not include a means (for example, a rotary drive roller) for applying a transport force to the paper 4 from the first paper transport mechanism 8 to the immersion section, In addition, one or a plurality of conveying means such as a paper conveying roller is provided. In order to smoothly supply the sheet 4 to the contact portion of the first roller pair described later, the downstream end of the sheet guide 9 is located near the upstream side of the contact portion of the first roller pair. I have.

(5) Pre-drying unit As shown in FIG. 1, a pre-drying unit 10 is provided in the middle of the first sheet transport mechanism 8, and the sheet 4 before regeneration is heated and its surface layer is dried appropriately. Thereafter, when the surface layer comes into contact with a liquid, it is preferable to absorb water in a short time and swell. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the pre-drying unit 10
Is composed of two rollers 11 and 12 arranged above and below the sheet 4 guided by the sheet guide 9.
Of these rollers 11, 12, the upper roller 11 has a heater 13 as a heating source inside. The two rollers 11 and 12 are supported in parallel and with their respective outer peripheral surfaces pressed against the other outer peripheral surface, and one roller is connected to a motor (not shown). In consideration of shortening the pre-drying time and regenerating the paper 4 having a five-layer structure in which an intermediate adhesive layer and a surface layer are provided on both sides of the base material layer, a heater (see FIG. (Not shown)
Thereby, the paper 4 may be heated from both sides. The configuration of the pre-drying unit 10 is not limited to the rollers 11 and 12 described above.
For example, any configuration may be used as long as it removes moisture from the paper, such as hot air drying, dehumidification drying, and vacuum drying.

(6) Immersion Unit The immersion unit 14 has a container 15 of a predetermined shape and size, and the container 15 contains a liquid 16. The liquid 16 is usually composed of water and a surfactant that enhances water penetration into the surface layer of the paper 4. However, the surfactant is not an essential material, and the liquid 16 may include only water. Further, another material may be added to the liquid 16 as needed.

In the container 15, a second paper transport mechanism 17 is provided to transport the paper 4 supplied from the upstream side of the container 15 to the downstream side of the container 15 while maintaining the paper 4 in the liquid 16. Is provided. The second paper transport mechanism 17 includes a first pair of rollers 18 disposed on the upstream side of the container 15, a second pair of rollers 19 disposed on the downstream side of the container 15, and the first and second rollers. And a paper guide 20 disposed between the roller pairs 18 and 19. One of the first roller pair 18 is connected to a motor (not shown), and
The first roller pair 18 is arranged in parallel with each other and one outer peripheral surface is pressed against the other outer peripheral surface, so that the sheet 4 is conveyed between the first roller pair 18. ing. Similarly, one of the second roller pair 19 is connected to a motor (not shown), and the second roller pair 19 pushes one outer peripheral surface to the other outer peripheral surface in parallel with each other. Paper 4
Are conveyed between the pair of rollers 19. On the other hand, the paper guide 20 is disposed between the contact portion of the first roller pair 18 and the contact portion of the second roller pair 19, and the paper guide 4 sent from the contact portion of the first roller pair 18. Is guided toward a contact portion of the second roller pair 19.

In this embodiment, only one container 15 is provided in the immersion section 14. However, in order to always maintain a constant amount of liquid 16 in the container 15, a liquid replenisher is provided in addition to the container 15. May be provided, and the container 15 and the liquid replenisher may be appropriately connected by a liquid supply pipe.

In order to collect foreign matter (for example, printing material separated from paper) in the liquid 16, a foreign matter collecting filter, a pipe connecting the foreign matter collecting filter and the container 15, and a pipe in the middle of the pipe. It is also possible to provide a liquid circulating unit having a pump provided and collect foreign matter with a foreign matter collecting filter while circulating the liquid along the pipe.

(7) Third Paper Transport Mechanism The third paper transport mechanism 26 has a paper guide 27 extending from the second roller pair 19 to a printing material removing section described later. Paper 4 passing through the contact portion of second roller pair 19
Is smoothly transferred to the paper guide 27, the upstream end of the paper guide 27 is located near the downstream side of the contact portion of the second roller pair 19. Further, in order to smoothly supply the sheet 4 to a contact portion of a third roller pair described later,
The downstream end of the paper guide 27 is located near the upstream side of the contact portion of the third roller pair.

(8) Printing Material Removal Unit In order to remove toner from the paper 4 immersed in the liquid 16, a printing material removal unit 28 is disposed downstream of the third paper transport mechanism 26. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Roller pair 29, a first brush roller 30A and a first opposing roller 31A adjacent to the brush roller 30A.
And the second brush roller 30B and the brush roller 30
A second opposing roller 31B close to B and a fourth roller pair 34 are sequentially arranged along the sheet transport direction.

More specifically, one of the third pair of rollers 29 is connected to a motor (not shown), and the third pair of rollers 29 are parallel to each other and have one outer peripheral surface being the other. The paper 4 is placed by pressing against the outer peripheral surface.
Are conveyed between the third roller pair 29.

The first opposing roller 31A is so positioned that its outer periphery is substantially located on the downstream extension of the paper guide 27.
It is arranged downstream (the right side in FIG. 2) of the third roller pair 29. The sheet 4 is conveyed along the opposing roller 31A, and the first opposing roller is deflected by about 90 degrees (toward the outer surface of the second opposing roller 31B disposed below in FIG. 2). In the vicinity of the outer surface of 31A, there is provided a first bending guide 35A that is bent at about 90 degrees at a constant interval from the outer surface of the opposing roller 31A. As shown in FIG. 3, the first curved guide 35A has a plurality of holes 36 extending in the transport direction of the paper 4 as the first opposed roller 31A.
Are provided along the major axis direction. First brush roller 3
0A is a roller unit 32A connected to a motor (not shown).
And a large number of brushes 33B implanted around the roller portion 32A, and the tips of the brushes 33B are opposed to the opposing surface of the sheet 4 conveyed along the first opposing roller 31A, and the first curved portion. The contact can be made through a hole 36 provided in the guide 35A.

The paper 4 is conveyed along the second opposing roller 31B disposed downstream of the first opposing roller 31A, and the paper 4 is again transported (by the fourth roller pair 34 disposed on the right side in FIG. 2). In the vicinity of the outer surface of the second opposed roller 31B, a second curved portion that is curved at about 90 degrees with a constant interval from the outer surface of the opposed roller 31B so as to be deflected by about 90 degrees (toward the contact portion). A guide 35B is provided. Like the first curved guide 35A, the second curved guide 35B is provided with a plurality of holes extending in the transport direction of the sheet 4 along the long axis direction of the second opposed roller 31B. The second brush roller 30B includes a roller portion 32B connected to a motor (not shown) and a number of brushes 33B planted around the roller portion 32B. The paper 4 conveyed along the sheet 4 can come into contact with the opposite back surface through a hole provided in the second curved guide 35B.

One of the fourth roller pair 34 disposed downstream of the second opposing roller 31B is connected to a motor (not shown), and the fourth roller pair 34 is parallel to each other. The paper 4 is conveyed between the fourth roller pair 34 by pressing one outer peripheral surface against the other outer peripheral surface.

In the present embodiment, the first and second opposed rollers 31A and 31B are each connected to a motor (not shown), and convey the sheet 4 by rotating (these opposed rollers). The rollers 31A and 31B may be rotatable without being connected to a motor. However, in order to increase the conveyance force of the paper 4 and for the following reason, the direction in which the paper 4 is transported to the downstream side (hereinafter referred to as the forward direction). ) Is preferably connected to the motor so as to rotate.

First and second brush rollers 30A, 30
In B, it is preferable that when the leading end of the paper 4 enters each contact area where the leading end of the paper 4 comes into contact with the brushes 33A and 33B, the leading end of the brush rotates forward at a speed higher than the transport speed of the paper 4. When the leading end of the brush 4 rotates at a speed lower than or in the opposite direction to the transport speed of the roller paper 4, when the leading end of the paper 4 enters the area, the paper 4 is transported at the boundary between the contact area and the non-contact area. This is because the paper 4 easily shifts (ie, the paper 4 is easily flipped up) and causes a jam.
In particular, when the first and second opposed rollers 31A and 31B do not apply a conveying force to the sheet 4, the sheet 4 easily shifts from a predetermined conveying path.

First and second brush rollers 30A, 30
B is preferably such that the rotation direction is switched at a predetermined point in time while the paper 4 is passing through the contact area and before the rear end of the paper 4 is carried out from each contact area where the rear end of the paper 4 comes into contact with the brushes 33A and 33B. . When the trailing end of the paper 4 exits the contact area with the brush tip rotating at a speed higher than the transport speed of the paper 4, the paper 4 moves from the paper transport path at the boundary between the contact area and the non-contact area. This is because the paper 4 is easily shifted (that is, the paper 4 is easily flipped up), which causes jamming and defective printing material removal. Brush roller 30
The switching between the rotation directions of A and 30B may be performed when the leading end of the paper 4 reaches the transporting means disposed downstream of each of the brush rollers 30A and 30B. That is, the switching of the rotation is performed on the paper 4 with respect to the first brush roller 30A.
Is performed when the leading end of the sheet 4 reaches the second opposing roller 31B, and is performed when the leading end of the paper 4 reaches the fourth roller pair 34 for the second brush roller 30B. First
When the distance from the brush roller 30A to the fourth roller pair 34 is shorter than the sheet length, when the leading end of the sheet 4 reaches the fourth roller pair 34, the two brush rollers 30
A and 30B may be simultaneously rotated in opposite directions.

The brush 33 of the brush roller 30 protrudes toward the opposing roller 31 through a hole provided in the curved guide 35.
However, the hole 36 is made large and the thickness of the curved guide 35 is made small (preferably 1 mm or less) so that the brush 36 hits the opposing roller 31 and wraps around the opposing roller 31, thereby increasing the contact area of the brush 33 with the paper 4. It is preferable that the distance between the curved guide 35 and the opposing roller 31 is further increased (preferably 1 mm or more). (Note that members which are disposed at two places such as the opposing rollers 31A and 31B will be described.) In the case where it is not necessary to specify the position when indicating, the member is simply represented by a code only (for example, the opposing roller 31).

According to experiments by the present inventors, in order to increase the bending stress on the paper 4 (as a result, toner is easily removed), the opposing rollers 31A and 31B are
It has been found preferable to use one having a diameter of 20 mm or less.

In the present embodiment, two brush rollers 3 are used to remove toner adhering to both sides of the paper 4.
Although 0A and 30B are provided, it is needless to say that a configuration in which only one brush roller is provided to remove only toner adhered to only one surface of the paper 4 may be used.

In the present embodiment, the printing material removing unit 2
8 is provided separately from the immersion part 14, but may be arranged in the container 15 (in the liquid).

Furthermore, a pair of transport rollers may be further provided between the first and second brush rollers 30A and 30B in consideration of the stability of transport of the paper 4.

(9) Fourth paper transport mechanism Referring again to FIG. 1, the fourth paper transport mechanism 40 is a fourth paper transport mechanism.
And a paper guide 41 extending from the roller pair 34 to the vicinity of the right side wall of the housing 2. The paper guide 41 is
The paper guide 27 is disposed substantially parallel to the paper guide 27.
In order to smoothly transfer the paper 4 passing through the contact portion of the roller pair 34 to the paper guide 41, the upstream end of the paper guide 41 is located near the downstream side of the contact portion of the fourth roller pair 34. ing.

(10) Washing Unit In order to wash the paper 4 from which the toner has been removed by the printing material removing unit 28 and wash away foreign substances remaining on the paper 4, a washing unit is provided downstream of the printing material removing unit 28. The part 42 is arranged. The cleaning section 42 has a tank 43 disposed above the paper guide 41, and a cleaning liquid 44 is stored in the tank 43. One end of a liquid supply pipe 45 is connected to the bottom of the tank 43. The other end of the liquid supply pipe 45 is located on the downstream side of the printing material
The cleaning liquid 44 is sprayed at the watering position 46 on the paper 4 that has passed through the printing material removing unit 28. The cleaning solution 44
The liquid supply pipe 45 is provided with a suitable valve (not shown) to adjust the amount of water sprayed.

As the cleaning liquid 44, it is preferable to use the same liquid as the liquid 16 contained in the container 15. In this case, below the paper guide 41, there may be provided a liquid returning means (for example, a plate arranged at a downward slope toward the container 15) for collecting the cleaning liquid 44 sprinkled on the paper 4 and returning it to the container 15. Good. Also, a pipe connecting the tank 43 and the container 15, a pump for sending the liquid 16 (the cleaning liquid 44) from the container 15 to the tank 43 or from the tank 43 to the container 15 through this pipe, and a liquid level of the container 15 is measured. A detector or the like is provided, and the pump is driven according to the output of the detector, whereby the liquid level of the container 15 can be maintained constant.

In the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid tank 43
Is provided above the paper guide 41, and the liquid 18 flows down naturally through the liquid supply pipe 42 by gravity, whereby the cleaning liquid 44 is sprinkled on the upper surface of the paper 4. Considering that
A device for sprinkling the cleaning liquid 44 on the lower surface of the device may be further provided.

(11) Liquid Removal Unit A liquid removal unit 47 is provided downstream of the watering position 46 in order to remove the liquid 16 from the paper 4 on which the liquid 16 has been sprayed again by the washing unit 42. In the present embodiment, the liquid removing unit 47 compresses the paper 4 by sandwiching the paper 4 from its front surface and back surface.
This employs a method of squeezing out moisture, and includes a pair of squeezing rollers 48 arranged vertically above and below a sheet conveyance path along the sheet guide 41. These squeezing rollers 48 are arranged in parallel with each other and with one outer peripheral surface pressed against the other outer peripheral surface. Further, in order to squeeze out the liquid 16 contained in the paper 4 as much as possible, the pressing force between the squeezing rollers is set to be larger than that of another pair of rollers which merely transports the paper 4.

(12) Post-Drying Unit A post-drying unit 49 is provided downstream of the liquid removing unit 47 in order to dry the paper 4 from which the liquid 16 has been squeezed out so that it can be reused by a copying machine or the like. preferable. After drying section 49
May be a blower that simply blows air at room temperature to the paper 4, a blower with a built-in heater that can blow hot air, or a pre-dryer. The heating roller type heater used in the section 10 may be used.

(13) Discharge Unit The discharge unit 50 is provided on the right side wall of the housing 2 in the post-drying unit 49.
And a tray 51 for receiving the sheet 4 that has passed through.

(14) Reproduction Operation The operation of the reproduction apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. Sheets 4 to be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus 1 are stacked on a tray 5 of the sheet supply unit 3. The stacked sheets 4 are sent out onto the sheet guide 9 of the first sheet transport mechanism 8 from the uppermost sheet contacted by the supply roller 7 and supplied to the predrying unit 10. In the pre-drying unit 10, the paper 4 is pre-dried to increase the liquid penetration into the surface layer. The preheated paper 4 is then sent into the container 15 of the immersion section 14 and immersed in the liquid 16. The paper 4 immersed in the liquid 16 is transferred to a second paper transport mechanism 17 and supplied onto a paper guide 20 by a first roller pair 18. If necessary, paper 4
Waits on the paper guide 20 until the liquid 16 completely penetrates the entire surface layer of the paper 4. When the liquid 16 permeates the surface layer of the paper 4, the surface layer swells, the adhesive force between the toner fixed on the surface and the surface layer is lost, and the toner is separated by applying a mechanical force to the toner. It is possible.

Paper 4 in which sufficient liquid 16 has penetrated into the surface layer
Is sent out onto the paper guide 27 of the third paper transport mechanism 26 by the second pair of rollers 19 of the second paper transport mechanism 17. Next, in the printing material removing section 28, the paper 4 is bent by the first opposing roller 31A and subjected to bending stress, and at the same time, the surface is subjected to mechanical rubbing force by the first brush roller 30A. The toner adhering to the surface is scraped off. Subsequently, the paper 4 was bent in the opposite direction by the second opposing roller 31B and was subjected to bending stress, and at the same time, the back surface was mechanically rubbed by the second brush roller 30B and adhered to the back surface. The toner is scraped off.

Thereafter, the cleaning liquid 44 is sprayed on the paper 4 at the water spraying position 46 of the cleaning unit 42 to remove foreign matter remaining on the front and back surfaces, the liquid is squeezed out by the liquid removing unit 47, and the post-drying unit 49 And is discharged to the tray 51 of the discharge unit 50.

(15) Retraction mechanism of brush roller The brush 33 of the brush roller 30 is moved to the facing roller 31 for a long time.
When the contact is made, the brush 33 falls down, so a mechanism for retracting the brush 33 from the opposing roller 31 during standby (when the reproducing device is not used) may be provided.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a retracting mechanism of the brush roller 30 (note that the brush 33 of the brush roller 30 is not shown in FIG. 4). Roller part 3 of brush roller 30
2 is supported on the first shaft 52. The first shaft 52 rotatably supports rollers 53 at both ends thereof. A second shaft 54 is arranged in parallel with the first shaft 52 and at a predetermined interval from the first shaft 52. Second axis 5
The eccentric cam 55 is fixed to the roller 4 so as to contact the roller 53 of the first shaft 52. The second shaft 54 is supported by a frame 56 near both ends and connected to a motor 57 (for example, a stepping motor).
Therefore, the eccentric cam 55 rotates around the second shaft 54 by the rotation of the motor 57. The brush roller 30 is moved vertically in the drawing (the first and second shafts 52,
(Along a line passing through 54), that is, between the contact position (the highest position) where the brush 33 contacts the opposing roller 31 and the retracted position (the lowest position) retracted from the opposing roller 31. Frame 56
Has an opening 58 extending in the vertical direction, and has a first shaft 52.
Are guided vertically along the opening 58.

The first shaft 52 has a roller 53 and a frame 56.
, A first ring 59 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the first shaft 52 is provided. First ring 5
9 is provided rotatably with respect to the first shaft 52;
One end of a spring 60 is connected to a position facing the shaft 54 of the spring. The other end of the spring 60 is rotatably provided between the eccentric cam 55 and the frame 56, and is connected to a second ring 61 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the second shaft 54. The roller 30 is urged to the retracted position.

In the retraction mechanism configured as described above,
The rotation of the motor 57 causes the eccentric cam 55 to rotate, and the roller 53 in contact with the eccentric cam 55 moves in the vertical direction.
1 is moved between a contact position where the contact roller 1 and the retracted position retracted from the opposing roller 31.

Although not shown, a gear is provided outside the frame 56 of the first shaft 52, and this gear is
In a state where the brush roller 30 is arranged at the uppermost position, the brush roller 30 is engaged with a driving gear for rotating the brush roller 30.

II. Second Embodiment FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the printing material removing unit. The printing material removing section 28 'has two brush rollers 30A' and 30B 'corresponding to one side (the front side in the figure) of the paper 4, and has corresponding first and second curved guides 35A', 35B 'is the second curved guide 35B'
Hole 36B 'of the first curved guide 35A'
It is arranged so as to be at a position shifted by a predetermined distance from A ′ in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction [see FIG. 5B]. Therefore, the portion that has not been sufficiently rubbed by the first brush roller 30A ′ that first comes into contact with the paper 4 can be rubbed by the second brush roller 30B ′. (Partial removal of toner) can be eliminated (in the figure,
Although the brush roller is provided only on the front surface of the paper 4, it goes without saying that a similar mechanism may be provided on the back surface of the paper. ).

III. Third Embodiment As shown in FIG. 6, as a curved guide 35 (FIG. 2), a plurality of teeth extending in a sheet conveying direction at predetermined intervals, and two teeth extending in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction are provided. Comb member 62
May be used such that the teeth are arranged to face each other so as to be shifted from each other by a predetermined distance. Also in this case, it is possible to prevent defective removal of the toner. Further, the comb-shaped members 62 are installed at a fixed distance from each other in the paper transport direction, and the brush roller 30 and the opposing roller 31 are directly placed in the gap (a region including a line connecting the centers of the brush roller 30 and the opposing roller 31). By opposing each other, the sliding effect of the brush 33 is further improved.

IV. Fourth Embodiment Instead of providing the opposing roller 31 in opposition to the brush roller 30, as shown in FIG. 7, another guide 63 provided with a hole similar to the curving guide 35 is curved in the paper transport direction. It is provided so as to be curved so that the distance from the guide 35 is constant,
The sheet 4 may pass between these curved guides 35 and 63. In this case, even during standby, the brush roller 30
Since the brush 33 does not fall down, there is no need to provide a brush roller retracting mechanism as shown in FIG.

V. Fifth Embodiment As a roller opposed to the brush roller 30, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Even if a roller 65 made of a wire or the like only at the portion where the roller 3 hits (that is, provided with a large number of holes) is used, the brush 33 can be prevented from falling down.

As shown in FIG. 8B, a counter roller 66 having a notch or a groove is used, and the counter roller 66 is rotated during standby so that the notch faces the brush 33. Also, the brush 33 can be prevented from falling down.

VI. Sixth Embodiment In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7, another brush roller 67 is provided so that a brush passes through a curved guide 63 provided with a hole so as to contact the back surface of the paper 4. Can be rubbed simultaneously on the front and back surfaces.

VII. Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the sheet 4 is deflected by about 90 degrees by the bending means such as the opposing roller 31, but the present invention is not limited to this angle. That is, the brush roller 3
Any angle may be used as long as a sufficient bending stress can be applied to the paper 4 in cooperation with mechanical rubbing means such as 0 to remove toner adhering to the paper 4.

As the mechanical rubbing means, any means such as cloths and blades other than brushes may be used.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the printed matter and the copied matter handled by the reproducing apparatus are obtained by fixing toner as a printing material on the surface of special paper having a three-layer structure or a five-layer structure. Further, the above-mentioned recycled paper for reproducing such a printed matter or the like does not dissolve the toner in the liquid only by separating the toner from the paper. However, the present invention supplies an appropriate liquid to a printed material or the like created by an image forming apparatus (for example, an ink jet printer) of a type in which liquid ink is impregnated between fibers of a paper or a porous surface layer. The present invention is also applicable to a reproducing apparatus that regenerates a sheet by dissolving ink.

[0060]

As is clear from the above description, according to the reproducing apparatus using the printing material removing section according to the present invention, in order to remove the printing material from the recording medium, the bending stress and the mechanical rubbing force are required. At the same time, the peeling force of the printing material is increased, so that the printing material can be sufficiently removed even if the time of dipping the recording medium in the liquid is short. Also,
Since the permeation time is short, the size of the regenerating device and the amount of liquid can be reduced. Further, since the mechanical sliding force can be reduced, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being damaged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of a recording medium reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a printing material removing unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an opposing roller and a curved guide of FIGS.

FIG. 4A is a schematic view showing an example of a brush roller retracting mechanism. FIG. 4B is a side view of the evacuation mechanism viewed from the left side of FIG.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view illustrating another embodiment of a printing material removing unit. (B) Schematic showing the relative positions of the first and second curved guides.

FIG. 6A is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the curved guide. (B) Sectional drawing of FIG.6 (a).

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of a printing material removing unit.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the opposing roller.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the printing material removing section.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: reproducing apparatus, 4: paper, 28: printing material removing section, 3
0: Brush roller. 31: counter roller, 35: curved guide.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printing material removing apparatus for removing printing material attached to a sheet from the sheet, wherein at least a sheet portion to which the printing material is attached is bent, thereby generating a bending stress on the sheet portion. A printing material removing apparatus, comprising: a bending means for causing the sheet to be curved by the bending means; and a rubbing means for applying a mechanical rubbing force. 2. A printing material removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rubbing means is a brush. 3. The printing material removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rubbing means is a cloth. 4. A printing material removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a radius of curvature of a sheet portion curved by said bending means is 10 mm or less. 5. A printing material removing device for removing a printing material attached to a sheet from the sheet, wherein the bending portion curves at least a sheet portion to which the printing material is attached and conveys the sheet in a predetermined direction. And a rubbing means for making contact with the sheet portion curved at the bending portion and thereby exerting a mechanical rubbing force. 6. A recording medium reproducing apparatus for removing a print material from a sheet after the liquid is brought into contact with the sheet to which the print material is attached, in order to remove the print material. A recording medium reproducing apparatus characterized by using any one of the printing material removing apparatuses.