JP2004205878A - Cleaning device for fixing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small-sized cleaning device for a fixing unit which facilitates replacement of a cleaning web. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device for the fixing unit is provided with a couple of rollers which clamp and carry a form with each other and fix toner transferred onto the printing form by heat and pressure between the rollers and a shaft holding assistant member for replacement of a heat-resisting non-woven fabric roller which cleans surfaces of the couple of rollers by pressing the heat-resisting non-woven fabric such as Nomex. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heat roller type toner image fixing device most commonly used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine using an electrophotographic method and a laser beam printer, that is, a toner image transferred onto a printing paper. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device in a fixing device including a fixing roller that contacts and heats and melts toner, and a pressure roller that presses and feeds printing paper between the fixing roller.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer using an electrophotographic method, a web cleaning for cleaning and removing residual toner on a body to be cleaned of a fixing roller or a pressure roller by pressing a nonwoven cloth or the like against the roller. The device is widely used (for example, see Patent Document 1). When the cleaning web is composed of a new cleaning web, a winding shaft for winding the new cleaning web, and a winding shaft for gradually winding the cleaning web having a reduced cleaning ability with toner adhered thereto, the new cleaning web is used. It is necessary to replace the battery when it runs out (for example, see Patent Document 2).
Generally, cleaning web replacement is often performed for each web cleaning device, but the running cost increases (for example, see Patent Document 2).
Further, if it is attempted to replace only the cleaning web in order to reduce the running cost, the number of working steps increases and the space of the web cleaning device increases.
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2000-98789 (page 2-3, FIG. 4)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-7-31517 (page 5)
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a small-sized fixing device cleaning device in which the cleaning web can be easily replaced.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above object is to provide a pair of rollers for fixing the toner transferred onto the printing paper by heat and pressure between the rollers at the same time as nipping and conveying the paper between the rollers, and a heat-resistant non-woven cloth such as Nomex on the surfaces of the pair of rollers. This is achieved by providing a shaft holding auxiliary member for replacing the heat-resistant non-woven fabric roller in a cleaning device of a fixing device that performs cleaning by pressing the non-woven fabric roller.
[0005]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the web cleaning device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 shows an apparatus for fixing a toner image T formed by electrophotography to plain paper P by heating. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a fixing roller as a fixing rotating body having a heating heater 3 such as a halogen heater therein, and is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow upon receiving a driving force from a driving motor (not shown). ing.
[0006]
In the fixing roller 1, a heat-resistant elastic layer 12 having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm is formed on the outer peripheral surface of a metal hollow roller core 11 made of aluminum, stainless steel, iron, or the like. The resin layer 13 is formed with a thickness of about 1.0 to 40 μm.
[0007]
Below the fixing roller 1, a pressure roller 2 is supported by a bearing (not shown), and is arranged so as to be in pressure contact with the fixing roller 1 at least at the time of fixing by a known pressing means. , Rotating while rubbing each other. The pressure roller 2 has a relatively thick (for example, about 5 mm to 10 mm) elastic layer 22 made of silicone rubber, fluorine rubber, fluorosilicone rubber, or the like provided on the outer peripheral surface of a metal roller core 21. The fluorine resin layer 23 is provided with a thickness of about 30 to 100 μm.
[0008]
Further, a temperature-sensitive element 4 such as a thermistor or a thermocouple is arranged in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fixing roller 1 and transmits a detection signal thereof to a known control means (not shown). The temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the fixing roller 1 is maintained at the toner image melting temperature by controlling the output of the fixing roller 1 or the voltage applied thereto.
A separation claw 51 for reliably separating the fixed plain paper P from the roller is in contact with the pressure roller 2, and is formed by coating a heat-resistant resin such as polyimide or polyamide resin with a fluorine resin. Have been.
[0009]
On the other hand, a cleaning device 6 for removing foreign matters such as offset toner and paper dust adhering to the surface of the pressure roller 2 from the roller surface is provided below the pressure roller 2. A cleaning web 60 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "web") made of a heat-resistant nonwoven fabric such as Nomex or Himeron is used. This web 60 is usually made by mixing a high-temperature soft polyester fiber with an aromatic polyamide fiber to form a nonwoven fabric having a moderate softness and strength, and adding a silicone oil having a viscosity of about 10,000 centistokes to the nonwoven fabric. What is impregnated and wound is used. The cleaning device 6 includes a take-up shaft 61 for the web 60, a web pressure roller 62, a web feed shaft 63, a rear shaft holding member 72, a front shaft holding member 73 shown in FIGS. 79, a rear shaft holding auxiliary member 74, a front shaft holding auxiliary member 76, a wick 67 mechanism, and the like. The web 60 is movable in the feed direction from the feed shaft 63 to the take-up shaft 61 as shown by the arrow C. A shaft 80 is provided on the fixing device main body side to scrape off excess silicone oil so that the silicone oil impregnated in the web 60 is maintained at an appropriate amount by the web pressing roller 62. The web pressing roller 62 is formed by coating a metal core with a heat-resistant rubber layer such as silicone rubber. A foaming agent is put in the rubber in order to obtain sufficient softness, and the sponge is formed. As the rubber hardness, 20 ° to 30 ° (Asker-c) is used.
[0010]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, both ends of the web pressing roller 62 are supported by a sheet metal 65 rotatable around a rotation shaft 64. By rotating the sheet metal 65 around the rotating shaft 64 by the torsion coil spring 66 provided on the rotating shaft 64, the web pressing roller 62 can be pressed against the pressing roller 2 with a load of 0.5 to 2 kgf.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 6, the web 60 has a cutout indicating the end of use on the web delivery shaft 63. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the web 60 has been used. The notch is detected by a detecting means (not shown), and a state in which the web 60 has been used is detected.
[0012]
Next, the structure of the web 60 holding unit will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0013]
First, the normal web 60 is held by a rear shaft holding member 72 and a front shaft holding member 73. At the time of replacing the web 60, the web 60 can be removed and attached by moving the front shaft holding member 73 outward. The shaft of the web 60 is engaged with a drive unit (not shown) on the rear side, and moves the web 60 in the axial direction when removing and attaching. When the front shaft holding member 73 was moved outward, it was held at a predetermined position by a stopper provided on the web case 78, and the web case 78 and the front shaft holding member 73 were fastened by releasing the stopper. The structure is such that the web 60 is returned to the fixed position by the tipper coil spring 79. In order to confirm that the front-side shaft holding member 73 has correctly returned to the original position, a positioning mark is provided on the web case 78, and a positioning square hole is provided on the front-side shaft holding member 73. . If the front-side shaft holding member 73 is not correctly returned to the original position, a part of the front-side shaft holding member 73 protrudes from the web case 78 and cannot be inserted into the fixing device main body. A rear-side shaft holding auxiliary member 74 is fastened to the rear-side shaft holding member 72 by welding, screwing, caulking, or the like, and a slide for interlocking with the front-side shaft holding member 73 is mounted on the front-side shaft holding member 73. A front shaft holding auxiliary member 76 is provided to which the shaft 75 is fastened by welding, screwing, caulking, or the like. The slide shaft 75 is fastened with a tome 77 for moving the front-side shaft holding auxiliary member 76 after moving the front-side shaft auxiliary member 73 by a certain distance. If the front-side shaft holding assisting member 76 is moved only by the bolts 77 fastened to the slide shaft 75, the front-side shaft holding assisting member 76 may not easily tilt and move. A shape for moving the side shaft holding auxiliary member 76 is provided. A rib shape is provided on the web case 78 in order to regulate the moving range of the front shaft holding auxiliary member 76. The front side shaft holding auxiliary member 76 is automatically returned to the original position by being pushed by the front side shaft holding member 73.
[0014]
When the web 60 is replaced, both ends of the shaft of the web 60 are mounted on the rear shaft holding auxiliary member 74 and the front shaft holding auxiliary member 76, so that the web 60 can be easily removed and attached.
[0015]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, replacement of the cleaning web can be easily performed by newly providing the shaft holding auxiliary member for the cleaning web. Further, the shaft holding auxiliary member is configured to be movable in conjunction with the opening of the shaft holding member, whereby the size can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to reduce the running cost, the number of work steps, and the size of the cleaning device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a rear side in the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a front side in the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a fixing unit.
FIG. 5 is a side view of a web pressing roller unit.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a web end-of-use detecting unit.
FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory cross-sectional view of the front shaft holding member in a normal state according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the front shaft holding member in a replacement operation state according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the operation of the front shaft holding member according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 is a fixing roller, 2 is a pressure roller, 6 is a cleaning device, 11 is a hollow roller core, 12 is an elastic layer, 13 is a resin layer, 21 is a metal roller, 22 is an elastic layer, and 23 is a fluoro resin layer. , 51 are separation claws, 60 is a web, 61 is a take-up shaft, 62 is a pressing roller, 63 is a feed shaft, 64 is a rotating shaft, 65 is a rotatable sheet metal, 66 is a torsion coil spring, and 72 is a rear shaft holding member. , 73 is a front side shaft holding member, 74 is a rear side shaft holding auxiliary member, 75 is a slide shaft, 76 is a front side shaft holding auxiliary member, 77 is a tomewa, 78 is a web case, 79 is a hipper coil spring, and 80 is a shaft. is there.

Claims (4)

At the same time as nipping and transporting the paper between the rollers, a pair of rollers for fixing the toner transferred onto the printing paper by heat and pressure between the rollers, and a heat-resistant non-woven cloth such as Nomex is pressed against the surfaces of the pair of rollers to clean the paper. A cleaning device for a fixing device, wherein a shaft holding auxiliary member for replacing a heat-resistant non-woven fabric roller is provided. 2. The cleaning device for a fixing device according to claim 1, wherein when the heat resistant nonwoven fabric roller is replaced, the shaft holding auxiliary member is movable in conjunction with opening of a shaft holding member of the heat resistant nonwoven fabric roller. The cleaning device for a fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the shaft holding auxiliary member stops at a predetermined position after the shaft holding member of the heat resistant nonwoven fabric roller has moved a certain distance. 2. The cleaning device for a fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary holding member returns to an original position of the shaft of the heat-resistant nonwoven fabric roller by a shaft holding member of the heat-resistant nonwoven fabric roller. 3.

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