JP2006133426A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing a smelly component from flowing out from an exhaust port. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes: a main body case 2 having the exhaust port 37; a fixing section disposed in the main body case 2 and used to fix an unfixed image to a sheet by heating the sheet with the unfixed image held on it; and an exhaust passage along which a gas containing a smelly component produced as a result of fixing the unfixed image in the fixing section is guided to the exhaust port 37; and a catalyst 41 disposed in a certain part of the exhaust path and heated to perform the function of decomposing the smelly component produced when the unfixed image is fixed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

In recent years, when an image forming apparatus such as a printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) is used, an odor generated from the printer has become a problem.
Even at present, environmental standards are set and sufficient measures are taken, but for example, SOHO (home, small office) where there are many situations where work is performed near the printer and environmental measures are particularly desirable. Measures against odor are desired in public facilities and educational institutions.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a technique for suppressing odor (odor) generated from the toner itself and odor generated when the toner is fixed by heating using a fixing roller by improving the toner itself (for example, patents) is known. Reference 1).
However, even if the toner material is improved, it is difficult to completely remove the odor at the present time, and the toner used is also a special one (a special material is added), so there is a concern about its cost.
In addition, since the image forming apparatus (laser printer) is used at a high temperature, the odor in the fixing unit may stagnate, and the odor outflow from the exhaust system of the printer is completely prevented. Is difficult.

JP 2000-330326 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing the odor component from flowing out from the exhaust port.

Such an object is achieved by the present invention described below.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a casing having an exhaust port,
A fixing unit provided inside the casing and fixing the unfixed image on the recording medium by heating the recording medium carrying the unfixed image;
An exhaust path for guiding a gas containing an odor component generated when the unfixed image is fixed in the fixing unit to the exhaust port;
A catalyst provided by heating is provided in the middle of the exhaust path and has a function of decomposing odorous components generated when the unfixed image is fixed.
Thereby, since an odor component can be decomposed | disassembled efficiently (because the outstanding catalytic action (decomposition | disassembly effect | action) with respect to an odor component can be exhibited), the outflow of the odor component from an exhaust port can be prevented. . In addition, the maintenance work can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the catalyst is mainly composed of a noble metal.
Thereby, an odor component can be decomposed | disassembled easily and reliably efficiently.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the noble metal is composed mainly of platinum.
This is excellent in catalytic action.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the catalyst is mainly composed of a metal oxide.
Thereby, an odor component can be decomposed | disassembled easily and reliably efficiently.
In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the metal oxide has nickel oxide, cobalt oxide, or titanium oxide as a main component.
Thereby, an odor component can be decomposed | disassembled easily and reliably efficiently.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the fixing unit includes a contact portion between a hollow fixing roller and a pressure roller pressed against the fixing roller.
It is preferable that the inside of the fixing roller constitutes a part of the exhaust path.
This ensures that the odor component passes through the roller.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention has a heat source inside the fixing roller,
It is preferable that the catalyst is configured to be heated by the heat source.
As a result, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size without providing a separate heat source.

In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the catalyst is provided on an inner peripheral surface of the fixing roller.
Thereby, a catalyst can be heated reliably.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that a filter having a function of adsorbing the odorous component is provided in the exhaust path.
Thereby, since the adsorptivity of a odor component and the decomposition | disassembly effect | action with respect to an odor component are obtained, the outflow of the odor from an exhaust port can be prevented more reliably.

In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that a filter having a function of adsorbing the odorous component is provided inside the fixing roller, and the catalyst is supported on or inside the filter.
Thereby, since the adsorptivity of a odor component and the decomposition | disassembly effect | action with respect to an odor component are obtained, the outflow of the odor from an exhaust port can be prevented more reliably. Further, the apparatus can be miniaturized.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the filter is made of a porous body.
Thereby, the adsorptivity of a higher odor component is obtained.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the filter is mainly composed of a carbon-based material.
Thereby, the adsorptivity of a still higher odor component is obtained. Moreover, since it has high thermal conductivity, when the filter is provided inside the fixing roller, the heat from the heat source can be efficiently transmitted to the catalyst.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the catalyst is preferably in a powder form.
Thereby, the surface area of a catalyst can be increased and the frequency with which an odor component and a catalyst contact can be raised more.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the powdery catalyst preferably has an average particle size of 1 to 100 μm.
Thereby, the surface area of the catalyst can be sufficiently increased.

Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a first embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body case (casing) 2 and includes a front cover 2 a that is attached to the front surface of the apparatus 1 so as to be openable and closable. An image carrier 3 made of a photosensitive drum is disposed in the main body case 2 and is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow by a driving means (not shown). Around the image carrier 3, a charging device 4 for uniformly charging the image carrier 3 along the rotation direction, and an exposure device for forming an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier 3 5. A rotary developing device 6 for developing an electrostatic latent image, and an intermediate transfer device 7 for primary transfer of a monochromatic toner image formed on the image carrier 3 are provided.

  In the rotary developing device 6, a yellow developing device 6Y, a magenta developing device 6M, a cyan developing device 6C, and a black developing device 6K are mounted on a support frame 9, and the support frame 9 is rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown). It is configured. The plurality of developing devices 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K rotate and move so that the developing roller 6a of a certain developing device selectively faces the image carrier 3 every time the image carrier 3 rotates by a predetermined amount. Has been. Each of the developing devices 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K has a toner storage portion that stores toner of each color.

  The intermediate transfer device 7 includes a driving roller 10 and a driven roller 11, an intermediate transfer belt 12 that is wound around the rollers 10 and 11 and driven in the direction indicated by the arrow, and is opposed to the image carrier 3 on the back surface of the belt 12. A four-color full-color image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 12 is disposed opposite to the primary transfer roller 13, the transfer belt cleaner 14 that removes residual toner on the belt 12, and the driving roller 10. It comprises a secondary transfer roller 15 for transferring onto a sheet material (recording medium).

  A power supply device 16 is disposed below the exposure device 5, and a sheet feed cassette 17 is disposed at the bottom of the main body case 2. A sheet material in the sheet feed cassette 17 is a pickup roller 18, a sheet material conveyance path. 19, the secondary transfer roller 15, and the fixing device 20 are conveyed to the paper discharge tray 21. The paper feed cassette 17 is attached to the front of the apparatus by a handle 17b so that it can be pulled out, and an auxiliary cassette 17a is attached so that it can be pulled out so as to protrude toward the rear of the apparatus so as to cope with a large paper size. Yes.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus having the above configuration will be described. When an image forming signal is input from a computer (not shown), the image carrier 3, the developing roller 6 a of the developing device 6 and the intermediate transfer belt 12 are driven to rotate. First, the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 3 is charged by the charging device 4. The exposure device 5 selectively exposes the outer peripheral surface of the uniformly charged image carrier 3 according to the image information of the first color (for example, yellow) so that the electrostatic latent image of yellow An image is formed.

  At the position of the latent image formed on the image carrier 3, the yellow developing device 6 </ b> Y rotates and the developing roller 6 a comes into contact therewith, whereby the yellow electrostatic latent image toner image is formed on the image carrier 3. Next, the toner image formed on the image carrier 3 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 12 by the primary transfer roller 13. At this time, the secondary transfer roller 15 is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 12.

In accordance with the second color, the third color, and the fourth color of the image formation signal, the above processing is repeated to form a latent image, develop, and transfer by one rotation of the image carrier 3 and the intermediate transfer belt 12, thereby forming an image. Four color toner images corresponding to the contents of the signals are superimposed and transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 12. When the full color image reaches the secondary transfer roller 15, the sheet material is supplied from the conveyance path 19 to the secondary transfer roller 15. At this time, the secondary transfer roller 15 is pressed against the intermediate transfer belt 12. A secondary transfer voltage is applied, and the full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 12 is transferred onto the sheet material. The toner image transferred onto the sheet material is heated and pressed by the fixing device 20 and fixed. The toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 12 is removed by the transfer belt cleaner 14.
In the case of double-sided printing, the sheet material that has exited the fixing device 20 is switched back so that the trailing edge is the leading edge, and is supplied again to the secondary transfer roller 15 via the double-sided printing conveyance path 22. The full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 12 is transferred onto the sheet material, and is again heated and pressed by the fixing device 20 to be fixed.

2 is a side sectional view of the fixing device in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing an exhaust path in the image forming apparatus.
In FIG. 2, the fixing device 20 has a fixing housing 23, and a hollow fixing roller 24 is disposed in the fixing housing 23 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure.
The fixing roller 24 includes a cylindrical body 242 provided with a heating source 241 such as a halogen heater.
A pressure roller 25 is disposed in pressure contact with the fixing roller 24 in a substantially horizontal direction, and is rotatable in the direction of the arrow shown in the drawing. A sheet material guide member 26 is disposed on the inlet side of the fixing housing 23, and a guide member 27 is disposed on the outlet side.

In the present embodiment, the fixing unit is configured by the pressure contact surface between the fixing roller 24 and the pressure roller 25.
A peeling member 29 for peeling the sheet material on which the toner image is fixed from the fixing roller 24 is disposed above the fixing roller 24, and the leading end of the peeling member 29 is positioned with a small gap with respect to the fixing roller 24. Has been. A support shaft 30 is fixed to the fixing housing 23, and two support members 31 are rotatably mounted on the support shaft 30 at positions opposed to both ends of the fixing roller 24. A spring member 32 that presses the support member 31 is provided between the fixing housing 23 and the fixing housing 23.

  The peeling member 29 is fixed between the two support members 31. With the above configuration, the tip of the support member 31 is in contact with the fixing roller 24, and the tip of the peeling member 29 is positioned with a slight clearance with respect to the fixing roller 24. A peeling member 33 is also disposed on the pressure roller 25 side. A shielding member 34 is fixed to the upper portion of the fixing housing 23, and an end thereof is in contact with the upper portion of the support member 31. With this configuration, the upper opening of the fixing housing 23 on the fixing roller 24 side can be shielded, and the thermal efficiency can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an air supply port 35 formed on one side surface of the main body case 2, an exhaust port 37 formed on the other side surface, and an exhaust that guides exhaust to the exhaust port 37. And a duct 38.
In the present embodiment, the air supply port 35, the space of the cylinder 242 of the fixing device 20, the space of the exhaust duct 38, and the exhaust port 37 constitute the main part of the exhaust path.
An exhaust fan 36 is disposed in the exhaust duct 38. The exhaust fan 36 forcibly exhausts the air in the exhaust path.

A thermal catalyst 41 is provided as a catalyst on the inner surface (inner peripheral surface) of the cylindrical body 242, that is, in the middle of the exhaust path.
The thermocatalyst 41 has a strong adsorption action of CO (carbon monoxide) and organic matter at room temperature, but when heated by the heat source 241, the adsorbed organic matter is desorbed and oxygen can be adsorbed to excite electrons. electrons and holes generated in the active oxygen from these electrons and holes (O 2 ^_-) and hydroxyl radicals ^(- OH) a strong oxidizing agent, such as occurs. These oxidizing agents oxidize odorous components on the surface of the thermal catalyst and decompose them into, for example, carbon dioxide and water.
Thereby, the odor component disappears or decreases from the air discharged from the image forming apparatus 1. For this reason, a user does not feel odor substantially.
Note that the main odor component is generated when a latent image (unfixed image) is fixed, and examples thereof include a monomer component of a resin used for toner which causes odor.

The thermal catalyst 41 can be used, for example, in the form of powder, flakes, small lumps (pellet), or honeycomb, but is preferably in the form of powder. Thereby, the specific surface area of the thermal catalyst 41 becomes large, and the frequency with which an odor component and a catalyst contact can be raised more. For this reason, the efficiency of decomposition of the odorous component in the thermal catalyst 41 is improved.
When the thermal catalyst 41 is a powder, the average particle diameter is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 to 100 μm, and more preferably 1 to 10 μm. Thereby, the surface area of the thermal catalyst 41 can be sufficiently increased.

The thermal catalyst 41 is not particularly limited. For example, a noble metal such as Pt, Pd, Rh, Os, Ru, Ir, Au, Ag, an alloy containing at least one of the noble metals, nickel oxide, cobalt oxide, and the like. , Titanium oxide, metal oxides such as Al ₂ O ₃ (alumina), and the like, and one or more of these can be used in combination. Among these, a noble metal mainly composed of Pt (platinum) or a metal oxide mainly composed of nickel oxide, cobalt oxide or titanium oxide is preferable. These thermal catalysts 41 are preferable because they exhibit particularly excellent catalytic action.
As a method of providing the thermal catalyst 41 on the inner surface of the cylinder 242, a method of forming the cylinder 242 by mixing the thermal catalyst 41 in the constituent material of the cylinder 242, or a method of mixing the thermal catalyst 41 with a binder to form a cylinder Examples thereof include a method of forming a coat layer by applying to the inner surface of the body 242 and a method of attaching a film having the thermal catalyst 41 attached to the inner surface of the cylindrical body 242.

Next, the decomposition operation (action) of the odor component will be described.
First, when the power supply of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, the exhaust fan 36 rotates, and thereby an air flow is formed from the air supply port 35 toward the exhaust port 37. At the same time, the heating source 241 is heated and reaches a predetermined temperature. Thereby, the thermal catalyst 41 provided in the cylinder 242 has a function of decomposing odor components. In this state, when the toner fixing operation is performed in the fixing device 20, the odor component generated at the time of toner fixing is guided into the cylindrical body 242 and comes into contact with the thermal catalyst 41. Thereby, an odor component is decomposed | disassembled into water, a carbon dioxide, etc. by the effect | action of the thermal catalyst 41, for example.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1, the odor component generated by the toner fixing operation of the fixing unit in the fixing device 20 at the time of printing can be efficiently decomposed. Can be prevented from flowing out. In addition, maintenance work can be reduced (substantially maintenance-free), and cost can be reduced.

Further, since the heating source 241 of the fixing device 20 is used as the heat source of the thermal catalyst 41, it is not necessary to provide a separate heat source, and the image forming apparatus 1 can be downsized.
In the present embodiment, the powder thermal catalyst 41 is disposed on the inner surface of the cylindrical body 242, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the thermal catalyst 41 is directly sprayed on the inner surface of the cylindrical body 242. Examples thereof include a film forming method by a sputtering method or a vapor deposition method.

Next, a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment described above, and description of similar matters will be omitted.
As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a filter 42 is provided.

The filter 42 is installed so as to separate the space on the air supply port 35 side and the space on the exhaust port 37 side through the filter 42. In this embodiment, the filter 42 is installed inside the exhaust duct 38. .
Moreover, the filter 42 has a structure part (not shown) which is a part through which an odor component passes.

The shape (form) of the structure part is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a woven fabric and a non-woven fabric, but a porous body is preferable. By constituting the structure portion with a porous body, higher adsorptivity of odor components can be obtained.
In addition, examples of the constituent material of the structural part include various carbon-based substances and oxides such as zeolite, silica gel, and alumina. Among these, one or more of these can be used in combination. It is preferably composed mainly of a carbon-based material. Thereby, the higher adsorptivity of an odor component is obtained.
According to this image forming apparatus 1, the same effect as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.
In this image forming apparatus 1, by providing the thermal catalyst 41 and the filter 42, it is possible to more reliably prevent the odor component from flowing out from the exhaust port 37.

Next, a third embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described.
5 and 6 are cross-sectional views showing a filter in the third embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment will be described with a focus on differences from the first and second embodiments described above, and description of similar matters will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the image forming apparatus 1 of the third embodiment, the thermal catalyst 41 is not disposed (arranged) on the inner surface of the cylindrical body 242, and the filter in which the thermal catalyst 41 is supported inside. The point 42 is provided inside the cylindrical body 242 is different from the first and second embodiments.
The filter 42 according to the present embodiment includes a base material 112 and a powdery thermal catalyst 41 supported on the surface of the base material 112 (at least at a part of the portion that comes into contact with the odor component).
It is preferable that the heat of the heat source 241 is directly transmitted to the filter 42. Thereby, since high thermal conductivity is obtained, more excellent catalytic action can be obtained.
In particular, when the structural part is made of a carbon-based material, it has high thermal conductivity, so that heat from the heating source 241 can be efficiently transmitted to the thermal catalyst 41.

According to this image forming apparatus 1, the same effect as the image forming apparatus 1 of the second embodiment described above can be obtained.
In the image forming apparatus 1, the odor component is adsorbed and captured by the base material 112, and the odor component adsorbed on the base material 112 can be decomposed by the effect of the excited thermal catalyst 41. Thereby, the outflow of the odor from the exhaust port 37 can be prevented more reliably. Further, the adsorption capacity of the filter 42 can be prevented from being saturated, and the life of the filter 42 can be extended.
In the present embodiment, the thermal catalyst 41 is supported on the surface of the base material 112. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the thermal catalyst 41 may be supported inside the base material 112.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration of each unit is replaced with an arbitrary configuration having the same function. can do. In addition, any other component may be added to the present invention.
Further, the present invention may be a combination of any two or more configurations (features) of the above embodiments.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the thermal catalyst 41 is provided in the cylindrical body 242, but the arrangement (arrangement) location of the thermal catalyst 41 is not limited to each of the above embodiments, and in the present invention, in the middle of the exhaust path. What is necessary is just a place where a temperature environment higher than the room temperature atmosphere in can be obtained.
In each of the above embodiments, rollers such as the fixing roller 24 and the pressure roller 25 are used as the fixing member. However, the fixing member is not limited thereto, and may be an endless film, for example.
The application of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is not particularly limited, and can be applied to various printers such as a laser printer.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described.
1. Manufacture of image forming apparatus (Example 1)
An image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 was manufactured.
In addition, Pt powder (average particle diameter of 2 μm) was used as the thermal catalyst.
Then, this Pt powder and a zirconia aqueous solution (binder) were mixed, and this mixture was applied to the inner surface of the cylinder of the fixing roller to arrange the Pt powder.
(Example 2)
An image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Pt—Ru alloy powder was used as the thermal catalyst.

(Example 3)
An image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 was manufactured.
In addition, Pt powder (average particle diameter of 2 μm) was used as the thermal catalyst.
And this Pt powder was provided on the inner surface of the cylinder of the fixing roller by coating using a spraying method.
Example 4
An image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 4 was manufactured.
In addition, the filter comprised with activated carbon (carbonaceous material) was used for the filter.
The thermal catalyst was disposed on the inner surface of the cylinder of the fixing roller in the same manner as in Example 1.

(Example 5)
An image forming apparatus as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 was manufactured.
In addition, Pt powder (average particle diameter of 2 μm) was used as the thermal catalyst.
This Pt powder and polyimide resin were mixed, and the mixture was formed into a filter-shaped molded body. The molded body was baked in the atmosphere at 1500 ° C. for 2 hours to carbonize the polyimide resin. As a result, a filter containing Pt was obtained.
(Example 6)
An image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that NiO powder (average particle size 10 μm) was used as the thermal catalyst.

(Comparative Example 1)
An image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that no thermal catalyst was provided on the inner surface of the fixing roller cylinder.
(Comparative Example 2)
An image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 4 was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 4 except that no thermal catalyst was disposed on the inner surface of the fixing roller cylinder.

2. Evaluation 50 volunteers were collected and the smell of air discharged from each image forming apparatus was asked in the order shown in Table 1.
Then, the odor of air discharged from each image forming apparatus was evaluated according to the following four criteria.

(Double-circle): There is no unpleasant odor (it felt).
○: Slightly annoying (I felt).
Δ: Slightly unpleasant smell (feeled).
X: It smells (feels) quite unpleasant.
The results are shown in Table 1 below.

As shown in Table 1, in the image forming apparatus of each example, it was clarified that a considerable number of people judged that there was no unpleasant odor and the odor component was removed. In particular, in the image forming apparatus (Examples 4 and 5) in which the catalyst and the filter are used in combination, the number of persons judged to have no unpleasant odor tended to increase.
On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus of each comparative example, it was determined that a considerable number of people were concerned about the odor.

1 is a side sectional view showing a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a fixing device in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a front view showing an exhaust path in the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a front view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the image forming apparatus of this invention. It is a front view which shows 3rd Embodiment of the image forming apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the filter in 3rd Embodiment of the image forming apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus 2 ... Main body case 2a ... Front cover 3 ... Image carrier 4 ... Charging device 5 ... Exposure device 6 ... Rotary developing device 6a ... Developing roller 6Y ... Developing device for yellow 6M: Developing device for magenta 6C: Developing device for cyan 6K ... Developing device for black 7 ... Intermediate transfer device 9 ... Support frame 10 ... Drive roller 11 ... Follower roller 12 ... Intermediate transfer belt 13 ... ... primary transfer roller 14 ... transfer belt cleaner 15 ... secondary transfer roller 16 ... power supply device 17 ... paper feed cassette 17a ... auxiliary cassette 17b ... handle 18 ... pick-up roller 19 ... sheet material conveyance path 20 ...... Fixing device 21 ...... Discharge tray 22 ...... Conveying path for duplex printing 23 ...... Fusing housing 24 ...... Fixing roller 24 …… Heat source 242 …… Cylinder 25 …… Pressure roller 26, 27 …… Guide member 29 …… Peeling member 30 …… Supporting shaft 31 …… Supporting member 32 …… Spring member 33 …… Peeling member 34 …… Blocking member 35 …… Air supply port 36 …… Exhaust fan 37 …… Exhaust port 38 …… Exhaust duct 41 …… Thermal catalyst 42 …… Filter 112… Base material

Claims (14)

A casing with an exhaust port;
A fixing unit provided inside the casing and fixing the unfixed image on the recording medium by heating the recording medium carrying the unfixed image;
An exhaust path for guiding a gas containing an odor component generated when the unfixed image is fixed in the fixing unit to the exhaust port;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a catalyst provided in the exhaust path and having a function of decomposing an odor component generated when the unfixed image is fixed.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the catalyst is mainly composed of a noble metal.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the noble metal is mainly composed of platinum.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the catalyst is mainly composed of a metal oxide.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the metal oxide is mainly composed of nickel oxide, cobalt oxide, or titanium oxide. The fixing unit includes a contact portion between a hollow fixing roller and a pressure roller pressed against the fixing roller.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inside of the fixing roller constitutes a part of the exhaust path. A heat source in the fixing roller;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the catalyst is heated by the heat source.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the catalyst is provided on an inner peripheral surface of the fixing roller.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a filter having a function of adsorbing the odorous component in the exhaust path.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a filter having a function of adsorbing the odorous component is provided inside the fixing roller, and the catalyst is carried on or inside the filter.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the filter is made of a porous body.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the filter is mainly composed of a carbon-based material.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the catalyst is in a powder form.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the powdery catalyst has an average particle diameter of 1 to 100 μm.

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