JP2008070713A - Image stripping apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of jam due to defective separation of an image forming substance formed on a recording material spreading from a leading edge to a trailing edge of the recording material by satisfactorily separating the image forming substance from the recording material. <P>SOLUTION: The image stripping apparatus is provided with: a stripping member with adhesive strength to the image forming substance on an image formed on the recording material; a superposing means to superpose the stripping member and the recording material; an adhering means adhering the image forming substance on the recording material on to the stripping member by pressurizing the stripping member and the recording which are superposing by a superposing means; and a separating means separating the stripping member and the recording material from each other which are superposed by the superposing means. The separating means is provided with a separating member having a larger separating angle to the stripping member in a part excluding the vicinity of the leading edge of the recording material than the separating angle to the stripping member in the vicinity of the leading edge of the recording material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image removing apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image removing apparatus that removes an image forming substance from a recording material on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile machine.

  In recent years, printers, analog copying machines, digital copying machines, and printing machines using electrophotographic methods, ink jet recording methods, and thermal transfer recording methods have become widespread, and a large amount of paper has been used. Paper generally used as a recording material is made from pulp obtained from wood, which is a renewable resource. However, in the paper manufacturing process, a lot of energy is consumed to dry the paper in the pulping process of extracting cellulose fibers from wood and the paper making process.

  In addition, in some of these paper manufacturing processes, the amount of carbon dioxide generated by using fossil fuels by using biomass-derived fuels such as black liquor, which are residues of balp extracted from wood, is reduced. Efforts are made. However, biomass-derived fuel is not used in all processes, and a large amount of fossil fuel is currently used. Carbon dioxide gas generated from fossil fuels is considered to be a causative substance that causes global warming, and from the viewpoint of environmental conservation, it is hoped to reduce the amount of paper used in order to prevent depletion of fossil fuel resources. It is rare. If fuel derived from biomass can be saved, it can be used for other than the paper manufacturing process.

  On the other hand, in recent years, the timber harvesting of wood to produce paper has been reduced, but not all paper is taken from managed forests and is not wood, but by reducing paper consumption, Protecting the environment and preventing the deterioration of the global environment is also an important social issue. In addition, since paper contains inorganic components that do not burn or decay, waste that needs to be landfilled is generated at a certain rate when the paper is discarded. Finding landfills for waste has become difficult, and from this point of view, reducing paper consumption is a social issue.

  In order to deal with these problems, a method of collecting information recording paper that is no longer needed, and once collecting the collected paper to a pulp state at a paper mill and reusing it has been performed. However, this method does not require new wood resources, but uses approximately the same energy as when paper is made from fresh pulp for transport, repulping, and repapering for recovery. Furthermore, since paper using recycled pulp has problems in quality such as reduced stiffness and whiteness and blurring when printed, high-quality paper generally used as information recording paper has a mixed rate of recycled pulp. It is necessary to keep it at about 30%. In order to produce high-quality information recording paper with high whiteness, it is necessary to keep the ratio of pulp extracted from waste paper low, or to produce pulp from unused waste paper, rather than to make paper from new wood. It may be expensive. Further, collecting and reproducing the recording material on which information is recorded causes the recording material on which the information is recorded to be distributed outside the home or outside the home, which is problematic from the viewpoint of maintaining confidentiality and privacy.

  As described above, as a method for solving the problem of collecting used paper once and recycling it as recycled paper, the recorded material is removed by removing the image once used, and the recorded material is recycled. Several recording materials and methods that can be used have been proposed.

  For example, as a method for transferring an image formed on a recording material to a peeling member and removing the image, Patent Document 1 describes that paper on which an image is formed by electrophotography is impregnated with a liquid containing water, A method is disclosed in which a paper and a peeling member are pressed in a heated state in a state where the adhesive strength with an image forming material is weakened, and the heat-flexible image forming material is peeled off from the paper. In this method, since the paper fiber is swollen with a liquid containing water, a shearing force is generated between the image forming substance not swollen with the liquid, and the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the paper is weakened. For this reason, there is an advantage that transfer and peeling can be performed with a relatively weak adhesive force between the peeling member and the image forming substance.

  In Patent Document 2, plastic, metal, non-liquid-permeable paper, ceramics, etc. are used as a recording material, and a heat-meltable peeler is applied to a heat-meltable image formed on these recording materials. A method of peeling and removing an image by heating by interposing is disclosed. Further, in Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4, an endless belt having a heat-melting resin on the surface or a peeling member drum having a heat-melting resin on the surface is used to form on a recording material treated with a release agent. An apparatus for transferring and removing the formed image is disclosed. The methods and apparatuses described in these patent documents provide an image forming substance on a recording material without applying a composition that weakens the adhesive force between the recording material and an image forming substance such as a liquid to the recording material. Therefore, the device configuration can be simplified. In addition, since a peeling member having a thermoplastic or heat-meltable resin on the surface is used, the contact state with the image forming substance on the recording material is improved, and the image forming substance on the recording material is completely removed. It becomes easy. It is such a height that a thermoplastic or heat-melting resin present on the surface of the peeling member is deformed when superimposed on a recording material and heated / pressurized to form a low density gradation image or background fog. This is because the peeling member can also come into contact with an image forming substance having a low thickness and an image forming substance existing in the concave portion of the recording material. In these patent documents, a belt-like peeling member is used, and the recording member and the peeling member are separated by backing up the peeling member belt with a roller so that the peeling member has a curvature.

  Next, as a method for increasing the separation between the recording material and the peeling member or preventing the heat-meltable resin from being peeled from the peeling member substrate, Patent Document 5 discloses a recording material and a peeling member. An apparatus is disclosed that uses a blade for separating the recording medium and presses the blade against the peeling member in the vicinity of the leading end position of the recording material, and releases the contact between the blade and the peeling member when passing the leading end. . However, as described in Patent Document 5, even when the separation blade is pressed against the peeling member, it is often difficult to pick up the tip of the recording material, and the peeling member remains attached to the recording material. There has been a problem that it passes through the blade or only a part of the recording material is picked up by the blade and causes a jam. In particular, the peeling member to which the image forming substance on the recording material is transferred has not a few irregularities on the surface thereof, and it is difficult to press the blade uniformly against the peeling member. There is also a problem that the thermoplastic resin adheres to the tip of the blade. In order to solve this problem, in Patent Document 5, a release member that is partly releasable is used, and the releasable portion of the release member and the leading end of the recording material are conveyed in synchronization. Thus, an apparatus for improving the pickup property at the tip of the recording material is illustrated.

Further, in Patent Document 6, when separating the peeling member and the recording material that are overlapped and bonded, the two are bent in opposite directions, and the radius of curvature of the recording material is smaller than the curvature radius of the peeling member. By making it become, the technique which improves separability and prevents that a thermoplastic resin layer peels from a peeling member is disclosed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-013383 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 01-297294 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-064472 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-094958 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-288289 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-282847 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-074025 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 09-204060 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-240661

  However, according to the above-mentioned patent document 1, when a commercially available plain paper is used, the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the paper is strong, and it is difficult to completely remove the image forming substance. Attempting to remove the material has caused a problem that a part of the paper is peeled off together with the image forming material. Further, according to the above Patent Documents 2 to 4, it is difficult to completely remove the image forming substance in the method and apparatus for separating the recording member from the recording material by providing the peeling member belt with a curvature. If the area occupied by the above image forming substance is large, it is difficult to separate the recording material and the peeling member itself, or the curvature of the peeling member is required to improve the separation between the recording material and the peeling member. When the height is increased (the radius is decreased), there is a problem that the heat-meltable resin of the peeling member is peeled off from the peeling member base.

  Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned Patent Document 5, even with the apparatus exemplified in this Patent Document, it is not possible to reliably pick up the tip of the recording material. In the example of Patent Document 5, a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 100 to 150 μm is used as a recording material. In particular, when a recording material based on paper is used, the rigidity is weaker than that of the film. Since the thickness is generally thin, it is difficult to prevent the occurrence of jam. Also, in the example of Patent Document 6, a polyethylene terephthalate film is used as a recording material. However, even if the technique described in this Patent Document is used, separation of the recording material based on paper is performed. In particular, it was difficult to separate the tip portion, and it was difficult to prevent the occurrence of jam. Further, it has been difficult to completely remove the image forming substance on the recording material.

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and can satisfactorily separate the image-forming substance of the image formed on the recording material from the leading edge to the trailing edge to prevent jamming due to poor separation. An object of the present invention is to provide an image removing apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image removing apparatus according to the present invention superimposes a peeling member having an adhesive force on an image forming substance of an image formed on a recording material, and the peeling member and the recording material. An overlapping means; an adhesive member that pressurizes the recording material superimposed by the overlapping means; and an image forming substance on the recording material to adhere to the peeling member; and a peeling member that is overlapped by the overlapping means Separating means for separating the recording material. The separating means in the image removing apparatus of the present invention is a separating member that increases the separating angle with respect to the peeling member in the portion excluding the vicinity of the leading end portion of the recording material, rather than the separating angle with respect to the peeling member near the leading end portion of the recording material It is characterized by having. Therefore, the leading end of the recording material can be reliably picked up, jamming, and recording material can be prevented from wrinkling and tearing. Since the separation member that increases the separation angle is provided, the image forming substance can be removed from the recording material better.

  Further, the driving means for moving or rotating the separating member and the peeling member conveying means for conveying the peeling member with a curvature at least a part of the peeling member, and when the leading end of the recording material approaches The separation member sandwiches the recording material and the separation member separated by the rigidity of the recording material and the curvature of the separation member at a position facing the separation member conveyed with a curvature by the separation member conveying means, and separates from the recording material. After sandwiching the member, the separation member is moved or rotated by the driving means so that the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member is increased. Therefore, the leading end portion of the recording material can be reliably picked up, jamming, recording material can be prevented from wrinkling and tearing, and the removal of the image forming substance from the recording material can be improved.

  Further, the moving member for moving the separating member and the separating member transporting unit for transporting the separating member with a curvature at least a part of the separating member, and when the leading end of the recording material approaches, the separating member is The recording material and the separation member separated by the rigidity of the recording material and the curvature of the separation member are sandwiched between the recording material and the separation member at a position facing the separation member conveyed with a curvature by the separation member conveying means. Thereafter, the separating member is moved by the moving means to a position facing the portion where the curvature of the peeling member is low. Therefore, the leading end portion of the recording material can be reliably picked up, jamming, recording material can be prevented from wrinkling and tearing, and the removal of the image forming substance from the recording material can be improved.

  In addition, the angle formed with the recording material separated from the peeling member with respect to the recording material transport direction immediately before separation exceeds 90 ° before the movement of the recording material is completely restricted. In this way, the separation member and / or the recording material guide member is provided, and due to the rigidity of the recording material, the separation position of the recording material in the portion excluding the vicinity of the front end portion is separated from the separation position in the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording material. It moves to the upstream side in the conveying direction of the member. Therefore, the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member is large, and the image forming substance on the recording material is removed well, and the other portion than the tip of the recording material can be obtained without moving / rotating the separation member. The separation angle of the part can be increased, and an image removing apparatus having a simple configuration can be realized.

  Further, when the vicinity of the front end of the recording material approaches, the separation member is separated by the rigidity of the recording material and the curvature of the peeling member at a position facing the peeling member conveyed with a curvature by the peeling member conveying means. After the recording material and the peeling member are sandwiched and the recording material and the peeling member are sandwiched, the separation position of the recording material has a small curvature on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the peeling member as the recording material is conveyed. Move to. Therefore, the leading end portion of the recording material can be reliably picked up, and the occurrence of a jam and the occurrence of wrinkling and tearing of the recording material can be prevented.

  The separating member has a plurality of claw-like members arranged at intervals in a direction substantially perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction. Therefore, even if the image forming substance on the recording material is transferred or the peeling member is uneven due to imperfect cleaning, the separation property is not degraded, and the leading edge of the recording material is reliably picked up. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of trouble that the image forming substance adheres to the separation member or the surface of the peeling member is damaged by the separation member.

  Further, the separating member moves in the vicinity of the recording material separated by the rigidity of the recording material and the curvature of the separating member at a position facing the separating member conveyed with a curvature by the separating member conveying means. The vicinity of the leading end of the recording material is displaced, and the recording material is guided to a position where the recording material is conveyed according to a recording material conveyance guide member provided so that the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member is increased. Therefore, the leading end portion of the recording material can be reliably picked up, jamming, recording material can be prevented from wrinkling and tearing, and the removal of the image forming substance from the recording material can be improved.

  In addition, after the recording material is guided to the position where the recording material is conveyed according to the recording material conveyance guide, the movable separation member has a leading end portion of the recording material before the trailing end portion of the recording material passes through the separation member. Is returned to the position before being conveyed and waits. Therefore, it is possible to process at high speed by reducing the interval between the recording materials to be subjected to image removal processing.

  Further, the separation member is provided so as not to contact the peeling member at a position where the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording material is separated and a position where the portion excluding the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording material is separated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent troubles such that the image forming substance adheres to the separation member, the tip of the separation member is worn or damaged, or the separation member is damaged by the separation member.

  Further, the recording material is not provided with a composition for reducing the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the recording material, and is provided with a compound for reducing the fixability to the image forming substance. Therefore, when the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming substance is relatively large as in the case of removing the image forming substance from the recording material to which the compound that reduces the fixing property to the image forming substance is applied, the image An unexpectedly large effect of improving the removal characteristics of the film can be obtained.

Further, the recording material is based on a paper mainly composed of cellulose fibers having a basis weight of 90 g / m ² or less, so that the fixing property of the image on the recording material and the offset resistance are ensured and the recording material is covered. The image forming substance on the recording material can be satisfactorily removed without causing trouble such as jam due to poor separation between the recording material and the peeling member.

  Moreover, since the peeling member has a layer containing a thermoplastic resin on the surface, the thermoplastic resin in the surface layer of the peeling member can adhere to the separation member or damage the surface layer of the peeling member.

  Further, an image forming apparatus as another invention is characterized by having the image removing apparatus. Since the image forming substance is removed from the recording material without using the image removal accelerating liquid, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having an image removing function that has a simple structure and can be reduced in size.

  An oilless toner containing a wax component is used. Therefore, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using oilless toner, the image forming material is not easily released from the fixing device of the image forming apparatus. However, it is necessary to use a recording material that has a relatively high adhesion to the image forming substance, but even if a recording material that has a relatively high adhesion to the image forming substance is used, the recording material and the release member are separated. It is possible to remove the image forming material on the recording material satisfactorily without causing trouble such as jam due to defects.

  According to the image removing apparatus of the present invention, since the separation member is set so that the separation angle with respect to the peeling member is small in the vicinity of the leading end portion of the recording material, the leading end portion of the recording material can be reliably picked up and jammed. In addition, a separation member that increases the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member is provided in a portion other than the vicinity of the front end portion. The removal of the substance from the recording material is improved.

First, the principle of the present invention will be described below.
The principle of operation of the image removing apparatus of the present invention is that a recording material on which an image is formed with an image forming substance and a peeling member having an adhesive force with respect to the image forming substance are superposed and the recording material is superposed. After the image forming substance on the recording material is adhered to the peeling member by pressurizing the peeling member, the image forming substance on the recording material is separated into the peeling member by separating the recording material and the peeling member. When removing the image formed on the recording material by transfer, the image forming substance on the recording material is reduced by reducing the curvature radius of the recording material as much as possible and increasing the curvature radius of the peeling member as much as possible. Removed well.

  Further, in order to remove the image forming substance on the recording material, water or a surfactant is added to the recording material on which an image is formed as in the image removing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above. In an apparatus for applying an image removal promoting liquid containing an organic solvent, the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming substance is weakened by the image removal promoting liquid. It is not so important whether to give a curvature to and separate. Therefore, it is possible to form the separating member into a drum or to provide the endless belt-like separating member with a curvature, and to adopt a curvature separation in which the separating member and the recording material are separated by the rigidity of the recording material. It is advantageous for simplifying. However, when a reusable medium to which a composition for weakening the fixing property to an image forming substance is used as a recording material without applying an image removal accelerating liquid, the image forming substance is relatively less than the recording material. If a reusable medium that can provide practical fixability to an image forming substance cannot be obtained unless it has a large adhesive force, it can adhere to the recording material. Since the force and the adhesive force between the peeling member are antagonized, the angle of the recording material at the time of separation and the angle of the peeling member greatly affect the removal characteristics of the image forming substance from the recording material.

  By the way, the reason why the separation property of an image is improved when separation is performed so that the curvature radius of the recording material is changed as much as possible without changing the curvature radius of the separation member at the time of separation is not necessarily clear. It is presumed that by changing the radius of curvature, a shearing force is generated between the surface of the recording material and the image forming material, and the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming material is reduced. This principle will be described with reference to FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, a recording material 1 on which an image is formed with an image forming substance 3 and a belt-like peeling member 2 are overlapped by a heating / pressurizing unit (not shown) and heated. As a result, the image forming substance 3 is also in an adhesive state with the peeling member 2. Then, when the radius of curvature of the central portion in the thickness direction of the recording material 1 is set to Rp with the separation claw or the separation plate 4 in the separation portion, the curvature radius suddenly increases from the state where the curvature radius before separation is almost infinite. Since the recording material 1 has a thickness t, there is a difference between the inner radius Ra and the outer radius Rb. The recording material 1 contracts inside the recording material 1 and expands outside. The image forming substance 3 adhering to the recording material 1 also tries to expand as the recording material 1 extends outside. However, since the radius of curvature of the peeling member 2 does not change, the peeling member 2 of the image forming material 3 does not change. On the surface adhering to the recording medium, there is no change in the radius of curvature, and the image forming substance 3 tries to maintain the length before separation. Therefore, at the interface with the recording material 1 having a large change in the radius of curvature, the image forming substance 3 It is presumed that a large shearing force acts on the recording material 1 and the adhesive force between the recording material 1 and the peeling member 2 decreases. Embodiments based on the principle of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the image removing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the image removing apparatus according to the present embodiment shown in the figure, the recording material 100 that is no longer necessary after the image is formed on the paper feed cassette 101 by an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic system is the image forming surface. Is set to face down. A configuration example of the recording material 100 will be described later. For example, the recording material 100 is a paper on which a composition that lowers the fixing property to an image forming substance is applied in advance. In the case where the recording material 100 is plain paper not provided with a composition that reduces fixability to an image forming substance, the image forming substance formed by a commonly used electrophotographic apparatus cannot be easily removed. . In the case of using a recording material on which plain paper or an image forming substance is hardly peeled off, in order to adopt the method of applying an image removal accelerating liquid mainly composed of water, disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like, an image is used. It is necessary to provide means for reducing the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming substance, such as a means for applying an image removal accelerating liquid to the recording material in the removing device. However, in this embodiment, an apparatus that does not use means for reducing the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming substance as shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

  Then, the recording material 100 on which the image in the paper cassette 101 is formed is conveyed to a transfer peeling unit by a paper feed roller 102 and a paper feed roller pair 103. The transfer peeling portion includes an endless belt-like peeling member 121, a pressure roller 109, a heating roller 111, driven rollers 113 and 114, a separating member 104, a cleaning backup roller 115, and the like. The endless belt-shaped peeling member 121 is stretched around the heating roller 111, the driven rollers 113 and 114, and the cleaning backup roller 115 so as to circumscribe the pressure roller 109. The heating roller 111 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 by a drive system (not shown). The heating roller 111 is a hollow roller made of a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel, and incorporates a halogen lamp 112 as its internal heater. The heating roller 111 may be provided with a coil for generating an eddy current in the roller and heating it, instead of using a halogen lamp as a heater. The heating roller 111 is provided with a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple, a platinum resistor, a thermistor, an infrared sensitive type for measuring the surface temperature of the roller (not shown), and information from the temperature sensor is fed back. However, the controller (not shown) controls the on / off of the halogen lamp 112 as an internal heater, and is configured to keep the surface temperature of the heating roller 111 constant. The appropriate temperature range controlled by a temperature controller (not shown) depends on the physical properties of the image-forming substance and the image-forming substance removal processing speed, but for image-forming substances that exhibit commonly used thermoplasticity. Is preferably set so that the image forming substance on the recording material is 80 to 130 ° C., and the temperature of the surface of the heating roller 111 is preferably 80 to 180 ° C., particularly preferably 90 to 150 ° C. .

  Heated to 80 to 130 ° C. by the heating roller 111, the image forming material on the recording material is softened and becomes fluid. The heated image forming material on the recording material is pressed against the peeling member by passing through the nip formed by the heating roller 111 and the pressure roller 109, and adheres to the peeling member. The pressure roller 109 has a heat resistant elastic layer 110 made of silicon rubber, urethane foam elastic body, etc. having a hardness of 10 to 50 ° and a thickness of about 0.5 to 7 mm on a roller made of a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum. Is provided. A nip is formed between the pressure roller 109 and the heating roller 111 by applying pressure with a spring, a hydraulic pressure, a pneumatic device or the like (not shown). The endless belt-shaped peeling member 121 is conveyed at a speed substantially equal to the peripheral speed of the heating roller 111 by a frictional force generated by a nip pressure formed between the pressure roller 109 and the heating roller 111.

The pressure roller 109 is also driven and rotated by friction due to the pressure of the nip formed between the pressure roller 109 and the peripheral speed of the pressure roller 109 so as to be substantially equal to the peripheral speed of the heat roller 111. The recording material 100 conveyed to the transfer / peeling unit by the paper feed roller 102 and the paper feed roller pair 103 is overlapped with the endless belt-like peeling member 121 heated by the heating roller 111, and heated with the pressure roller 109. Pressure is applied by a nip formed between the rollers 111. The pressing force is improved by setting the pressing force, the rubber hardness of the pressure roller, and the rubber thickness so that the surface pressure of the nip is 1 × 10 ^{5 to} 6 × 10 ⁵ Pa and the nip width is 3 to 13 mm. Transfer from the recording material to the peeling member is performed. The endless belt-shaped peeling member 121 is a polymer compound having relatively high heat resistance such as, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthylate, polysulfone, polyetherimide, polyamideimide, polyamide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyimide, or polyetheretherketone. Can be used as it is in an endless belt shape having a thickness of about 50 to 300 μm. Moreover, metal members, such as stainless steel and nickel, can also be used.

  Further, when an endless belt-like peeling member 121 having a weak adhesive force to the image forming substance is used, if the adhesive force of the recording material to the image forming substance is not weaker than that, the image forming substance is used as the peeling member. Since it cannot be transferred and removed from the recording material, it has a relatively strong adhesion to styrene-acrylic resins and polyester resins that are generally used as the main ingredients of image forming substances such as electrophotographic image forming apparatuses. It is preferable to use molecular compounds. The endless belt-shaped peeling member 121 used in the image removing apparatus of the present invention preferably has a composition layer containing a thermoplastic resin on the surface thereof.

  FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a peeling member having a composition layer containing a thermoplastic resin on the surface. In the same figure, the peeling member base 121a is composed of a high heat-resistant polymer compound such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthylate, polysulfone, polyetherimide, polyamideimide, polyamide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyimide, polyetheretherketone. can do. Further, the release member surface layer 121c is a composition layer containing a thermoplastic resin, and the same thermoplastic resin used for the image forming substance can be used as the thermoplastic resin. That is, as an example of a thermoplastic resin that can be used for the peeling member surface layer 121c, as carboxylic acid, terephthalic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, 1 type of sebacic acid, brassic acid, pyromellitic acid, citraconic acid, glutaconic acid, mesaconic acid, itaconic acid, teraconic acid, phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, hemimellitic acid, melophanic acid, trimesic acid, planitic acid, trimellitic acid Alternatively, two or more kinds are used, and polyhydric alcohols include bisphenol A, hydrogenated bisphenol A, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butanediol, neopentyldiol, hexamethylenediol, heptanediol, octanediol, pentaglycerol, pentaerythritol. Polyester resin obtained by condensation polymerization using one or more of lithol, cyclohexanediol, cyclopentanediol, pinacol, glycerin, etherified diphenol, catechol, resorcinol, pyrogallol, benzenetriol, phloroglucinol, and benzenetetraol. Polymers of styrene such as polystyrene, poly-p-chlorostyrene, and polyvinyltoluene, and substituted products thereof; styrene-p-chlorostyrene copolymer, styrene-propylene copolymer, styrene-vinyltoluene copolymer, styrene-vinyl Naphthalene copolymer, styrene-methyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-butyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-octyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-methacrylate Acid methyl copolymer, styrene-ethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-butyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-glycidyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer Styrene-diethylaminopropyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-ethylene glycol methacrylate copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-vinyl methyl ketone copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, styrene-isoprene copolymer Styrene copolymers such as styrene-acrylonitrile-indene copolymer, styrene-maleic acid copolymer, styrene-maleic acid ester copolymer; polymethyl methacrylate, polybutyl methacrylate Relate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, epoxy resin, epoxy polyol resin, polyurethane, polyamide, polyvinyl butyral, polyacrylic resin, rosin, modified rosin, terpene resin, aliphatic or alicyclic Examples thereof include hydrocarbon resins and aromatic petroleum resins.

  In order to make it difficult for the peeling member surface layer 121c to peel from the peeling member base 121a, the peeling member base 121a is roughened by a sandblasting method or the like, or is irradiated with an electron beam, oxidation treatment, laser ablation, or ultraviolet irradiation. Surface modification is preferably performed by treatment, ion beam irradiation, treatment corona charging treatment, or the like.

  In the peeling member shown in FIG. 3A, a peeling member surface layer 121c containing a thermoplastic resin is directly provided on a peeling member base 121a. In addition to such surface modification, the peeling member shown in FIG. 3B is provided with an intermediate layer 121b between the peeling member base 121a and the peeling member surface layer 121c. Providing the intermediate layer 121b is an effective means for making it difficult for the peeling member surface layer 121c to peel from the peeling member base 121a. That is, a compound having adhesive properties is provided as an intermediate layer 121b on both the peeling member base 121a and the peeling member surface layer 121c, such as a silane coupling agent, or a peeling containing an elastic body such as a styrene-butadiene copolymer or a thermoplastic resin. A composition having a small coefficient of thermal expansion, more specifically, a composition in which a pigment such as titanium oxide, calcium carbonate, zinc oxide, or carbon black is mixed with a resin that can be used for the member surface layer 121c can also be used. In addition, as a material for the intermediate layer 121b, among the resins that can be used for the composition layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin, a material having a thermal expansion coefficient intermediate between the peeling member surface layer 121c and the peeling member base 121a is used. It can be selected and used. By providing these compositions as the intermediate layer 121b, the generation of shearing force due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the peeling member surface layer 121c and the peeling member base 121a is alleviated, and the peeling member surface layer 121c peels from the peeling member base 121a. Can be prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, when the release member 121 is provided with a surface layer 121c containing a thermoplastic resin, the recording material 100 on which the image is formed and the release member 121 are overlapped, and the pressure roller While passing through the nip formed by 109 and the heating roller 111, the surface layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin provided on the surface of the peeling member is softened, so that an image on the recording material or the recording material is obtained. Even if the forming material has irregularities, the surface layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin on the peeling member can be deformed, so that the contact between the image forming material and the peeling member is improved. For this reason, the image forming material on the recording material is satisfactorily transferred to the peeling member and removed.

  In addition, by using a thermoplastic resin that softens at the same temperature as the image forming substance for the peeling member surface layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin on the surface of the peeling member, the image forming substance and the surface of the peeling member are heated and pressurized. Since both the peeling member surface layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin is softened, the contact between the image forming substance and the peeling member is improved, and the effect of removing the image forming substance is obtained.

  Further, when a resin having a solubility parameter value close to the solubility parameter value of the thermoplastic resin used for the image forming substance is used as the thermoplastic resin used for the peeling member surface layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin, In addition to the effect of improving the contact with the image forming substance on the recording material, the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the release member surface layer is increased, so that the image forming substance on the recording material is further improved. It is transferred to the peeling member and removed.

  Therefore, it is preferable to select and use the thermoplastic resin used for the peeling member surface layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin, which has the same or the same molecular structure as the image forming substance. Alternatively, it is also preferable to use the thermoplastic image forming substance itself as the composition layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin. The thickness of the peeling member surface layer 121c containing a thermoplastic resin provided on the peeling member base 121a is preferably 5 to 200 μm, particularly preferably 15 to 40 μm. When the thickness of the composition containing the thermoplastic resin is less than 5 μm, an image forming material that forms a background fog on the recording material, an image forming material that scatters around the image, and an image forming material that forms a low density gradation image It becomes difficult to remove. If the thickness of the composition containing the thermoplastic resin is larger than 200 μm, the heat capacity of the peeling member increases or the thermal conductivity of the peeling member decreases, so that a lot of energy is consumed to remove the image forming substance. When the peeling member is cooled to room temperature when the image removing apparatus is not used or when the peeling member is transported through a portion having a small radius of curvature, the peeling member surface layer 121c containing the thermoplastic resin is peeled from the peeling member base 121a. This is likely to cause the problem of

  In FIG. 2, the peeling member 121 and the recording material 100 are overlapped and bonded together with an image forming substance interposed therebetween, and then the recording material 100 and the peeling member 121 are separated by the separation member 104. The separated recording material 100 is guided to the paper discharge roller pair 106 by the guide plate 105 and stocked on the paper discharge tray 108 by the paper discharge roller 106. In FIG. 2, a recording material 107 is a recording material from which an image forming substance is removed. The image forming substance on the recording material 100 is transferred to the peeling member 121. For the image forming substance transferred to the peeling member 121, an appropriate image forming substance removing means is selected depending on the material of the peeling member, the adhesive force to the image forming substance, the processing speed, etc. (hereinafter, image formation transferred from the recording material). The process of removing the substance from the peeling member is called cleaning).

  And when using the peeling member which has the peeling member surface layer 121c containing a thermoplastic resin layer, it is preferable to use the transfer cleaning member roller 132 as a cleaning means like FIG. The transfer cleaning member roller 132 is made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthylate, polysulfone, polyetherimide, polyamideimide, polyamide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyimide, polyether on a roller made of a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum. It is a roller provided with a member having adhesion to an image forming substance such as ether ketone, polyacetal, epoxy resin, urethane resin, acrylic resin, phenol resin, urea resin, melamine resin. The transfer cleaning member roller 132 is a hollow roller made of a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel, and incorporates a halogen lamp 131 as its internal heater. Instead of using a halogen lamp as a heater for heating the roller, a coil for generating an eddy current in the roller and heating it may be provided. The transfer cleaning member roller 132 is provided with a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple, a platinum resistor, a thermistor, an infrared sensitive type for measuring the surface temperature of the roller (not shown), and information from the temperature sensor. The controller 131 (not shown) controls the on / off state of the heater 131 to keep the surface temperature of the transfer cleaning member roller 132 constant. The appropriate temperature range controlled by the temperature controller depends on the physical properties of the image-forming substance and the image-forming substance removal process speed. The image forming substance on the material is set to be 120 to 200 ° C., and is set to be higher than the temperature at which the recording material and the peeling member are stacked and heated so that the fluidity of the image forming substance is relatively high. preferable.

  The cleaning backup roller 115 is a roller made of a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel, and a sponge elastic member having a thickness of about 0.5 to 7 mm and having a hardness of 20 or less according to JISK6253 on a roller made of metal. A heat-resistant elastic layer 116 is provided. A nip is formed between the cleaning backup roller 115 and the transfer cleaning member roller 132 by applying a pressing force by a spring, a hydraulic pressure, a pneumatic device, etc. (not shown).

  Further, the transfer cleaning member roller 132 is conveyed in the same direction as or opposite to the conveyance of the peeling member so that the circumferential speed thereof is faster than the conveyance speed of the peeling member belt 121. The speed ratio between the circumferential speed of the transfer cleaning member roller 132 and the conveying speed of the peeling member 121 is set to 2 to 5 regardless of whether the rotation direction of the transfer cleaning member roller 132 is forward or reverse with respect to the peeling member. The The image forming material transferred onto the transfer cleaning member roller 132 is removed from the transfer cleaning member roller 132 by the blade 133 and accumulated in the collected image forming material container 130. The blade 133 is shown as a fixed type in FIG. 2, but a rotating spiral blade can also be used.

  As described above, the image removing apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured to superimpose a recording material on which an image is formed with an image forming substance and a peeling member having an adhesive force with respect to the image forming substance. An image removing apparatus having means for pressurizing a recording material and the peeling member to adhere an image forming substance on the recording material to the peeling member, and means for separating the overlapped recording material and the peeling member The separating means is provided so that the separation angle of the recording material in the portion excluding the vicinity of the tip portion with respect to the separation member is larger than the separation angle with respect to the recording material in the vicinity of the tip portion of the recording material. .

  4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a peripheral configuration of the separation member of FIG. In FIG. 2, the separation member 104 is shown as a wedge-shaped claw or plate. However, at the position S, the angle between the separation member 104 and the peeling member 121 is small, and the leading end of the recording material is easily picked up. That is, the leading end position of the recording material is synchronized with the movement of the separating member 104 by, for example, registering with the paper feed roller 103, and before the leading end of the recording material reaches the leading end of the separating member 104, The separating member 104 is moved to the position S. When the leading end of the recording material 100 is picked up by the separating member 104, the Bick-up member 104 is not shown in the figure with a solenoid, cam, or motor within a time that the recording material 100 does not pass the rear end of the separating member 104. The position is moved to a position M (shown by a broken line) in FIG. 4 by means such as a spring. At the position M, the angle of the separating member 104 with respect to the peeling member 121 is set larger than that at the position S. In a general electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a printing margin is provided around the recording material in order to improve the separability from the fixing device.

  Therefore, no image is formed in the vicinity of the leading edge of the recording material, so that when the leading edge is picked up, even if the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member is small, the image removal characteristics on the recording material are affected. Don't give.

  In addition, the pickup at the leading end of the recording material is significantly improved by reducing the angle of the separating member 104 with respect to the peeling member, so that jamming due to a pickup error or occurrence of wrinkles on the recording material, Breaking can be prevented. Once the separation member 104 has picked up the leading edge of the recording material, the angle of the separation member 104 with respect to the peeling member 121 is increased so that the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member increases, The removal property of the image forming substance is improved. Note that the separation member 104 at the position M in FIG. 4 is returned to the position S by the above-described driving means until the leading end of the next recording material reaches the separation member.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the image removing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 denote the same components. In the image removing apparatus according to the present embodiment shown in the figure, the separation member 104 is a separation claw provided in a plurality in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the peeling member. The difference from the image removal apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that the diameter of the roller 115 is smaller than that of the image removal apparatus of the first embodiment, and the tip of the separation claw of the separation member 104. As shown in FIG. 6, at the position S where the leading end of the recording material is picked up, it is opposed to the driven roller 114 and is separated from the peeling member and the peeling member conveyed along the driven roller 114 due to the rigidity of the recording material. It is located between the recording material to be separated. As described above, in a general electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a print margin is provided around the recording material. Therefore, since no image is formed in the vicinity of the tip of the recording material, the recording material and the peeling member are not bonded. For this reason, the leading edge of the recording material is reliably separated from the peeling member conveyed along the curvature of the driven roller 114.

  Therefore, even if the leading end of the separating member 104 is not in contact with the peeling member, the separating member 104 enters between the recording material and the peeling member that have been reliably separated. By not bringing the tip of the separation member 104 into contact with the peeling member, the surface layer of the peeling member is damaged, or the composition containing the thermoplastic resin on the surface of the peeling member adheres to the tip of the separation member, and the peeling member and the recording target It is possible to prevent the occurrence of troubles such as lowering the separation ability of the material or reducing the separation ability between the peeling member and the recording material due to wear of the tip of the separation member, and a particularly favorable effect can be obtained.

  Also in the second embodiment, when the leading end of the recording material 100 is picked up by the separation member 104, the big-up member 104 is within a time when the recording material 100 does not pass the rear end of the separation member 104. Is moved to the position M in FIG. 6 by means of a solenoid, cam, motor, spring or the like not shown. In the position S, the recording material and the separation member were separated at the place where the separation member was conveyed with a certain curvature. At the position M (indicated by a broken line) where the separation member 104 has moved, the separation member is The recording material is bent and separated at a portion having no curvature (the radius of curvature is infinite). Even in this position M, the separation member 104 does not need to be in contact with the peeling member. Also in the image removing apparatus of the present embodiment, the angle at the position M is larger than the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member at the position S, and the curvature radius of the peeling member is infinite at the position M. Therefore, the transfer of the image forming substance from the recording material is performed well.

  Further, since the pickup at the leading end of the recording material is performed at a place where the peeling member has a curvature, the certainty can be further improved as compared with the image removing apparatus of the first embodiment. And the occurrence of wrinkling and tearing of the recording material can be prevented.

  By the way, in the image removing apparatus according to the present embodiment, as the separating member 104, a plurality of separating claws provided in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the separating member are used. However, the separating member is conveyed like a separating blade. If there is no unevenness on the peeling member, there are few problems, but if the image forming substance removal processing operation is repeated, the thickness and cleaning of the transferred image forming substance are not necessarily It is difficult to avoid unevenness as the surface shape of the peeling member because it cannot be made uniform.

  For this reason, if a separation blade that covers the entire width of the peeling member is used, a high part of the surface of the peeling member hits, making it difficult to pick up the recording material, or separating the blade from the peeling member and recording material Even when trying to be picked up, there arises a problem that a high part of the surface of the peeling member hits the blade and the separating blade is soiled with the image forming substance. Therefore, such a problem can be avoided by arranging a plurality of separation claws that can move independently in the width direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, not only the separation claw is simply moved in parallel, but also when the recording material is moved from the position S to the position M, it is rotated so that the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member becomes larger. The removal of the image forming substance on the recording material can be improved. As in the case of the first embodiment, the separation member 104 is synchronized with the recording material to be removed by a control device (not shown), and the separation member at the position M is the next recording material. By the time the tip reaches the separating member, it is returned to position S.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the separation unit in the image removing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7 denote the same components. In the present embodiment, the separation member 104 has an angle formed with the recording material separated from the peeling member with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording material immediately before separation before the movement of the recording material is completely regulated. In addition, the recording material 100 is guided so as to be conveyed at an angle exceeding 90 °. The angle formed by the recording material separated from the peeling member with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording material immediately before separation is an angle defined as θ as shown in FIG. A plurality of separation members 104 are separation claws provided in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the peeling member.

  As in the second embodiment, the image removing apparatus according to the present embodiment is separated from the peeling member by the rigidity of the peeling member conveyed along the driven roller 114 and the recording material. It is in a position to be sandwiched between. For this reason, the leading edge of the recording material is reliably separated from the peeling member conveyed along the curvature of the driven roller 114. Even when the leading end of the separating member 104 is not in contact with the peeling member, the leading end of the recording material is reliably picked up by entering between the recording material and the peeling member that have been reliably separated.

  For this reason, by not bringing the tip of the separation member 104 into contact with the peeling member, the surface layer of the peeling member is damaged, or the composition containing the thermoplastic resin on the surface of the peeling member adheres to the tip of the separation member. Can prevent the occurrence of troubles such as lowering the separating ability of the recording material and the tip of the separating member and reducing the separating ability of the peeling member and the recording material. .

  Also in the present embodiment, after the leading end of the recording material 100 is picked up by the separating member 104, the separating member 104 is upstream of the peeling member by means such as a solenoid, cam, motor, or spring not shown. That is, by moving the separation member 104 to a location where the curvature of the peeling member is not present (the radius of curvature is infinite), it is ensured that the separation member does not have a curvature and the separation angle of the recording material is increased. Separation can be performed.

However, as in the present embodiment, the recording member separated from the peeling member with respect to the recording material conveyance direction immediately before separation by the shape of the separation member 104 and the recording material guide provided on the downstream side of the separation member. When the recording material 100 is conveyed such that the angle formed with the material exceeds 90 ° before the movement of the recording material is completely restricted, the recording material is generally used for printing at 70 g / m. ^{Even with} a paper having a basis weight of about ² , the separation point moves due to the rigidity of the recording material itself, so that separation is performed at a place where there is no curvature of the peeling member, as shown by the broken line in FIG. Become. That is, as in the present embodiment, the angle formed by the recording material separated from the peeling member with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording material immediately before separation is before the movement of the recording material is completely restricted. In addition, the recording material 100 is conveyed so as to have an angle exceeding 90 °, so that the separation member 104 has the curvature of the separation point between the recording material and the separation member without moving or rotating the separation member 104. It is possible to move from a location having no curvature to a location having no curvature, and with a simple apparatus configuration, it is possible to reliably pick up the tip of the recording material and to obtain good image-forming substance removal characteristics from the recording material. .

  The angle formed by the recording material separated from the peeling member with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording material immediately before separation needs to be an angle exceeding 90 °, but is preferably 130 to 180 °. . Further, as is clear from the principle, it is necessary to transport the peeling member to exceed 90 ° with respect to the peeling member before the movement of the separated recording material is suppressed by the discharge roller or the like. After the movement of the peeling member is suppressed by the above, it is clear that the recording material transport direction does not affect the separation or the peeling characteristics of the image forming substance.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the separation unit in the image removing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7 denote the same components. Since the separating member 104 does not play a role of guiding the recording material 100 by its shape, the separating member 104 does not need to have a shape like a nail shape for guiding the recording material along the separating member, and is simply conveyed with a curvature. A plate-like member or a linear member having sufficient strength to push the leading end of the recording material 100 separated from the peeling member to the position where it can be conveyed along the guide plate 107 may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the separation member 104 is located at the position S in FIG. 9 when the leading end of the recording material 100 superimposed on the peeling member 121 reaches the vicinity of the leading end of the separation member 104. As described above, in a general electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a print margin is provided around the recording material in order to improve the separation from the fixing device. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, when the peeling member 121 is conveyed so as to have a curvature, the tip of the recording material 100 is separated from the peeling member due to the rigidity of the peeling member. The separation member 104 is at the position S in FIG. 9 before the leading end of the recording material reaches the vicinity of the separation member. In other words, when the separating member 104 is at the position S, the leading end of the recording material separated by the curvature of the peeling member is not touched. The separation member 104 is registered by the paper feed roller 103, and the conveyance of the recording material 100 and the movement of the separation member 104 are synchronized by a position sensor of the recording material superimposed on the peeling member. After the leading end of the recording material separated by the curvature portion of the peeling member passes through the leading end of the separating member 104, when the recording material having a certain length is conveyed, the separating member 104 includes a solenoid (not shown), It is moved to a position S ′ (shown by a broken line) in FIG. 9 by means such as a cam, a motor, or a spring. The fixed length is approximately 0.2 to 5 mm.

  As described above, when the separation member 104 moves from the position S to the position S ′, the leading end of the recording material separated in curvature is guided to the guide plate 117, and the recording material follows the guide plate 117 and the guide plate 105. The separation member and the recording material are separated. The shape and arrangement of the guide plate are designed so that the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member is as large as possible.

  In this embodiment, the recording material and the peeling member are separated from each other by the conveyance force of the recording material that is adhered and conveyed to the peeling member and the rigidity of the recording material, except for the tip. It is unnecessary that the separating member 104 stays at the position S ′ after picking up at least the tip of the recording material that has passed through the guide plate 117. Therefore, even if the recording material is returned from the position S ′ to the position S before the rear end of the recording material passes through the separating member 104, the separation of the peeling member and the recording material is not affected at all.

  Further, the separation member 104 can be returned to the standby position for picking up the front end portion of the recording material to be processed next before the rear end portion of the recording material passes through the separation member 104. The interval between the recording materials can be shortened, and the image removal processing of the recording material can be performed at high speed.

  The image removing apparatus of the present invention relates to a means for separating the recording material and the peeling member after the recording material on which the image is formed and the peeling member are stacked and bonded, and the means according to the present invention includes: However, the type of the recording material is not particularly limited. That is, when general paper is used for image formation, a means for applying an image removal accelerating liquid is added to the above-described embodiment in order to remove the image forming substance on the recording material. Is valid.

  However, in the case of applying the image removal accelerating liquid, since the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the recording material is generally weakened by the image removal accelerating liquid, it is good regardless of the separation angle of the recording material. Image removal characteristics are obtained. For this reason, the separation means of the present invention forms an image on a recording material provided with a composition that lowers the adhesion to the image forming material, and the image forming material formed on the recording material is imaged. It is effective to apply to an image removing apparatus that removes the image forming material by thermally transferring it to the peeling member without applying a removal accelerating liquid.

  In an image removal apparatus that removes an image forming substance without applying an image removal accelerating liquid, a recording material to which a composition that lowers the adhesion to the image forming substance is applied is used. Although the removability of the substance is good, there is a problem of an offset in which the image is easily dropped or the image is transferred from the recording material to the fixing device by the fixing device of the image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, in most electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, silicon oil is applied to the fixing device to improve the releasability of the fixing device with respect to the image forming material.

  In recent years, in order to improve maintainability of an image forming apparatus, a technique has been adopted in which a wax is contained in a toner without applying silicone oil to a fixing device, and the occurrence of offset is prevented by the releasability by the wax. is there.

  In an image forming apparatus employing such an oilless system, prevention of occurrence of offset is a more serious problem than practical fixing of an image, and the adhesiveness of an image forming substance to a recording material is set high. Otherwise, an offset will occur.

  In the recording material in which the adhesiveness of the image forming substance is increased to such an extent that no offset is generated in the image forming apparatus adopting the oil-less method, the separation member in the image removing apparatus of the present invention has no curvature, If the recording material is not separated while being conveyed at a large angle with respect to the peeling member, good image forming substance removal characteristics cannot be obtained. The recording material used in the present invention is preferably based on paper mainly composed of cellulose fibers in terms of cost, environmental load, writing property, formability, and the like. Examples of the composition that lowers the adhesion to the image forming substance include a silicon resin, a silane coupling agent, a fluororesin, an olefin resin, a surfactant, a sizing agent, and a wax. An example of a reusable recording material obtained by adding a surfactant to paper is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 7, and includes a fluorine-based surfactant, a silicon-based surfactant, and a total number of carbon atoms in the molecule of 8 or more. A paper provided with a surfactant containing a linear or branched alkyl group can be preferably used. More specific examples of the fluorosurfactant that can be applied to the recording material in order to reduce the fixing property with the image forming substance are anionic systems such as fluoroalkylcarboxylates and fluoroalkylsulfonates, These include amphoteric systems such as fluoroalkyl-introduced betaines, nonionic systems, and cationic systems. Specific examples of the silicone-based surfactant are silicone oils such as epoxy modification, alkyl modification, aralkyl modification, amino modification, carboxyl modification, alcohol modification, fluorine modification, and polyether modification. Examples of surfactants containing a linear or branched alkyl group having a total number of carbon atoms of 8 or more in the molecule are alkyl carboxylates, alkyl sulfates, alkyl sulfonates, alkyl phosphates Anionic compounds such as salts, alkylamine salts, alkylamine derivatives, quaternary ammonium salts, imidazolines, imidazolium salts, and other cationic systems, and betaine and other amphoteric systems.

  Examples of the recording material provided with a silicon compound on the surface are disclosed in Patent Document 8 and Patent Document 9 described above. In the present invention, a recording material that is particularly preferably used is a recording material that uses an olefin-maleic anhydride polymer as a compound that lowers the fixability with an image forming substance. By using, as an olefin component of the olefin-maleic anhydride polymer, a polymer compound having a double bond at the α-position and polymerized using an olefin monomer having 10 to 20 carbon atoms. Further, it is possible to prevent the compound that deteriorates the fixing property with the image forming substance due to repeated use of the recording material from being transferred to the peeling member or the inside of the recording material, and to increase the number of repeated use.

Compounds that reduce the adhesion to the above image-forming substances include white pigments such as calcium carbonate, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, barium sulfate, latex, styrene-butadiene polymer emulsion, acrylic resin, polyvinyl alcohol, starch, vinyl acetate heavy A composition to which a polymer compound such as a combined emulsion, carboxymethyl cellulose, alginic acid, gum arabic, etc. is added is based on plain paper mainly composed of cellulose fibers, and the adhering amount is 1.5 g / m ² or more on one side in the vicinity of the surface. By applying, good image forming substance removal characteristics can be obtained even in an image removing apparatus that does not apply an image removal accelerating liquid.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is not limited to these specific examples.

<Specific example 1>
A coating solution was prepared by mixing 1 part by weight of an olefin-maleic anhydride polymer 25% by weight aqueous solution and 10 parts by weight of a polyvinyl alcohol 10% by weight aqueous solution.

This coating solution was applied to both sides of a commercially available plain paper (Ricoh copy paper Type 6200) using an air knife coater so that the dry coating amount on one side was 2.3 g / m ² and dried at 120 ° C.

  The paper with reduced fixability to the image-forming substance thus obtained is subjected to a smoothing process with a super calendar so that the smoothness becomes 350 seconds, and cut into A4 size and reusable paper. Obtained. Using this recording material, a full-color pattern having a gradation image, a secondary color, a single color solid image, and a character image is printed using a commercially available color electrophotographic image forming apparatus (trade name: Ricoh imagio Neo C285). did. The printed image was clear with no offset.

  The toner used in this model is an oilless toner containing a wax component. The image forming substance was removed from the recording material on which an image was formed as described above, using the apparatus shown in FIG. The conditions for image removal were as follows.

  As the separation unit, 8 separation claws having a thickness of 2 mm are provided through the shaft in the width direction of the image removing apparatus, and each separation claw is prepared so as to be movable up and down independently by a spring, as shown in FIG. The whole separation claw was moved by a solenoid.

  As a peeling member, the surface of a polyimide endless belt with a thickness of 100 μm is roughened by sandblasting, and the surface is subjected to corona charging, and then ethylene-vinyl acetate resin is applied to the surface (outer surface) of the belt so that the dry thickness is 15 μm. (Intermediate thermoplastic resin layer), after the black toner of imgio Neo C285 was electrostatically attached by charging the belt, the belt was heated to 120 ° C. to obtain a 25 μm thick black toner layer (thermoplastic resin) What provided the layer) was used.

  The process linear velocity (peeling member conveyance speed) was 40 mm / sec, and the heating roller set temperature was 140 ° C.

  The image forming substance processing of 100 printed recording materials was performed continuously, but the separation of the peeling member and the recording material was performed satisfactorily without causing jamming. Further, no image remained on the processed recording material.

<Comparative Example 1>
In the image removing apparatus according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the recording material is recorded from the position where the separation claw is fixed at the position S while the separation claw is not moved and is kept fixed at the position S in FIG. The image forming substance removing process was performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment except that the guide plate 105 and the discharge roller pair 106 were moved so that the toner can be discharged. When the image forming substance processing of 100 printed recording materials was performed continuously, the separation of the peeling member and the recording material was successfully performed without causing any jamming. On the recording material, about 25% of the total image remained, and a reusable recording material could not be obtained.

<Comparative example 2>
In the image removing apparatus according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the separation claw is not moved, but is kept fixed at such a position that the separation claw and the peeling member are in light contact with each other at the position M in FIG. The image forming substance removal process is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment except that the guide plate 105 and the discharge roller pair 106 are moved so that the recording material can be discharged from the position where the nail is fixed at the position M. It was. Attempts were made to remove the image-forming substance on the seven printed recording materials, but none of the recording materials were separated satisfactorily, leading to jamming, and the image-forming substance removal process could not be completed. The recording material to be removed by the forming material was torn and became unusable.

<Comparative Example 3>
In the image removal apparatus of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 10, a separation block 118 is provided instead of the driven roller 114, and the separation member 118 is conveyed so that the radius of curvature becomes small. The image forming material removal is performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the curvature separation method is performed so that the recording material is separated according to the rigidity of the recording material, and the guide plate 105 and the discharge roller pair 106 are moved so that the separated recording material can be discharged. Processed. The radius of curvature of the portion of the separation block that gives curvature to the peeling member was 3 mm. The image forming substance processing of 100 printed recording materials was performed continuously, but the separation of the peeling member and the recording material was performed satisfactorily without causing jamming. However, about 40% of all the images remain on the recording material subjected to the image forming substance removal treatment, and a reusable recording material cannot be obtained.

<Specific example 2>
In the image removal apparatus of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the image forming substance removal process was performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, except that the separation unit was configured as shown in FIG. The separation member 104 was fixed without being moved. That is, the separation member 104 is set at the same position when separating the front end portion of the recording material from other portions. The image forming substance processing of 100 printed recording materials was performed continuously, but the separation of the peeling member and the recording material was performed satisfactorily without causing jamming. Further, no image remained on the processed recording material.

<Comparative Example 4>
As shown in FIG. 11, the recording material separated by the separation member is changed to a separation member that is approximately 90 ° with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording material immediately before separation, and separated according to the separation direction. An image removing apparatus similar to the second embodiment is prepared except that the position of the discharge roller 106 is changed so that the recorded material can be discharged, and the same as the second embodiment. An image forming substance removing process was performed. The position of the separating member 104 was fixed. When 100 sheets of the printed recording material were continuously subjected to the image forming substance processing, the separation of the peeling member and the recording material was performed satisfactorily without causing jamming. However, about 25% of all the images remain on the recording material subjected to the image forming substance removal treatment, and a reusable recording material cannot be obtained.

  The image removing apparatus of the present invention described above may be connected to an image forming apparatus that forms an image by electrophotography or may be built in the image forming apparatus.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications and substitutions are possible as long as they are described in the scope of the claims.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the principle of the image removal apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the image removal apparatus of the 1st Example of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the structural example of the peeling member which has a composition layer containing a thermoplastic resin on the surface. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a peripheral configuration of a separation member in FIG. 2. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the image removal apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing movement of a separation member of an image removal device concerning the 2nd example of an embodiment. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows another movement of the separation member of the image removal apparatus which concerns on the example of 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the separation part in the image removal apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the isolation | separation part in the image removal apparatus which concerns on the 4th Example of this invention. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a separation unit in Comparative Example 3. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a separation unit in Comparative Example 4. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1, 100, 107; recording material; 2, 121; peeling member;
3, 134; image-forming substance, 4; separator plate, 101; paper feed cassette,
102; paper feed roller, 103; paper feed roller pair, 104; separation member,
105; guide plate, 106; pair of discharge rollers, 108; discharge tray,
109; pressure roller, 110, 116; heat-resistant elastic layer,
111; heating roller, 112, 131; halogen lamp,
113, 114; driven roller,
115; Cleaning backup roller,
117; guide plate, 118; separation block,
130; a recovered image-forming substance container;
132; transfer cleaning member roller, 133; blade.

Claims (14)

A peeling member having an adhesive force with respect to an image forming substance of an image formed on a recording material, an overlapping means for overlapping the peeling member and the recording material, and the peeling overlapped by the overlapping means An adhesive unit that pressurizes the member and the recording material to adhere an image forming substance on the recording material to the peeling member, and a separation that separates the peeling member and the recording material superimposed by the superimposing unit An image removing apparatus having means for:
The separation means includes a separation member that increases a separation angle with respect to the separation member in a portion other than the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording material than a separation angle with respect to the separation member in the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording material. A featured image removal device. Drive means for moving or rotating the separation member, and peeling member transporting means for transporting the peeling member with at least a part of the curvature of the peeling member,
When the leading end of the recording material approaches, the separation member is positioned at a position facing the peeling member conveyed with a curvature by the peeling member conveying means, and the rigidity of the recording material and the curvature of the peeling member are The recording member and the peeling member that are separated by each other are sandwiched, and after the recording material and the peeling member are sandwiched, the separation means by the driving unit increases the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member. The image removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the member is moved or rotated. A moving means for moving the separation member; and a peeling member transporting means for transporting the peeling member with a curvature at least part of the peeling member;
When the leading end of the recording material approaches, the separation member is positioned at a position facing the peeling member conveyed with a curvature by the peeling member conveying means, and the rigidity of the recording material and the curvature of the peeling member are After sandwiching the recording material and the peeling member separated by each other and sandwiching the recording material and the peeling member, the moving member moves the separation member to a position facing a portion having a low curvature of the peeling member. The image removing apparatus according to claim 1.   The angle formed by the recording material separated from the peeling member with respect to the transport direction of the recording material immediately before separation exceeds 90 ° before the movement of the recording material is completely restricted. The separation member and / or the recording material guide member are provided so that the portion of the recording material excluding the vicinity of the front end portion is separated from the separation position near the front end portion of the recording material due to the rigidity of the recording material. The image removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separation position of the material moves to the upstream side in the conveying direction of the peeling member.   When the vicinity of the front end of the recording material approaches, the separating member is positioned at a position facing the peeling member conveyed with a curvature by the peeling member conveying means, and the rigidity of the recording material and the separation member The recording material separated by the curvature and the peeling member are sandwiched, and after the recording material and the peeling member are sandwiched, the separation position of the recording material is moved as the recording material is conveyed. The image removing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image removing apparatus moves to a portion having a small curvature on the upstream side in the conveying direction.   The said separating member has a some nail | claw-shaped member arrange | positioned at intervals in the substantially perpendicular | vertical direction with respect to the conveyance direction of the said to-be-recorded material, The one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Image removal device.   The separation member moves near the tip of the recording material separated by the rigidity of the recording material and the curvature of the peeling member at a position facing the peeling member conveyed with a curvature by the peeling member conveying means. The position where the recording material is conveyed according to the recording material conveyance guide member provided so as to displace the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording material and to increase the separation angle of the recording material with respect to the peeling member The image removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image removing apparatus is guided to the above.   After the recording material is guided to the position where the recording material is conveyed in accordance with the recording material conveyance guide, the movable separation member is arranged such that the recording material before the rear end portion of the recording material passes through the separation member. 8. The image removing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the front end of the material is returned to a position before being conveyed and waits.   The separation member is provided so as not to come into contact with the peeling member even at a position where the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording material is separated and a position where the portion excluding the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording material is separated. The image removing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.   The recording material is not provided with a composition for reducing the adhesive force between the image forming material and the recording material, and is provided with a compound for reducing the fixability to the image forming material. Item 10. The image removing device according to any one of Items 1 to 9. 11. The image removing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the recording material is based on paper mainly composed of cellulose fibers having a basis weight of 90 g / m ² or less.   The image removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the peeling member has a layer containing a thermoplastic resin on a surface thereof.   An image forming apparatus comprising the image removing apparatus according to claim 1.   14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein an oilless toner containing a wax component is used.

Images