JP2008277684A - Contact member, cooling device of electronic apparatus, electronic apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive contact member which can achieve efficient cooling and can have favorable durability, and to provide a cooling device of an electronic apparatus and the electronic apparatus, and an image forming apparatus related thereto. <P>SOLUTION: This contact member (14) is characterized by including a heat transmitting member (12) detachably in contact with an object to be cooled (11) for drawing heat from the object to be cooled, and a protecting member (13) provided detachably on the heat transmitting member for protecting the heat transmitting member. Thus, when the object is to be cooled in direct contact with the cooling means through the contact member to protect the object from generated heat, efficient cooling can be achieved while maintaining favorable durability and low contact thermal resistance, even if the object to be cooled is repeatedly attached to and detached from the contact member for periodical maintenance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact member, a cooling device for an electronic device, an electronic device, and an image forming apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a contact member for mounting a cooling device of an electrophotographic recording image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a laser printer.

First, an outline of heat generated in an electronic device and problems caused by the heat will be described by taking an electrophotographic recording image forming apparatus which is one of electronic devices as an example.
FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an electrophotographic recording type image forming apparatus. As shown in the figure, first, the charging device 101 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 104, which is an image carrier, and then, on the other hand, an optical device (not shown) reads the original, and the read original is written into the writing device 102. Is formed on the photosensitive member 104 as an electrostatic latent image. Next, the developing device 103 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image, that is, forms a visible image. On the other hand, the stacked one sheet 109 is conveyed to the transfer device 105 along the sheet conveying path 110, The transfer device 105 transfers the visible image to the sheet with static electricity. Thereafter, the sheet 109 is fixed by heat and pressure by the fixing device 107, and the decurler 108 is cooled, while the cleaning device 106 cleans residual toner on the photoconductor 104. By a series of processes described above, a copy as a predetermined sheet is obtained.

  At this time, in an optical device (not shown), when scanning a document, a scanner lamp or a scanner motor that drives the scanner lamp and its driver generate heat, and as a result, the temperature of the entire optical device rises, causing optical misalignment or malfunction. It may be a cause. In the writing device 102, the motor that drives the polygon mirror that rotates at high speed may generate heat, causing the temperature of the entire writing device to increase, which may hinder writing. Further, in the developing device 103, when the toner and the carrier are agitated to impart chargeability to the toner, frictional heat is generated, the temperature of the toner is raised to the softening point, the toner aggregates, and a high-definition image is generated. May not be formed, that is, it may lead to image defects. Further, in the fixing device 107, not only the fixing heat increases the temperature of the surrounding device, but, for example, during double-sided recording, the sheet whose temperature has increased due to the fixing heat becomes a heat storage source, In some cases, heat is transmitted to the developing device 103 and the photosensitive member 104, leading to not only the cause of image defects but also the durability of each device.

In order to deal with the problems related to heat as described above, the apparatus is conventionally cooled by a cooling means using a fan to avoid an increase in temperature at various places. However, in recent years, the amount of heat generation has been increasing due to higher image quality, higher speed, and colorization of the image forming apparatus, and the heat generation density has been increasing due to the downsizing of the apparatus. Has become difficult. Accordingly, liquid cooling exceeding the cooling performance of heat pipes, Peltier elements, and these cooling devices, which are directly brought into contact with heat generation points or high-temperature points due to the generated heat and cooled with high efficiency, has begun to be studied. In particular, as a conventional technique for liquid cooling, for example, Patent Document 1 discusses liquid cooling to a developing device of an electrophotographic apparatus. Also, in Patent Document 2, as in Patent Document 1, liquid cooling to the developing device is being studied. In this case, an attaching / detaching mechanism is provided between the developing device and the heat receiving member for liquid cooling so that maintenance of the developing device can be performed. And a configuration that can withstand actual use is disclosed. Further, in Patent Document 3, as in Patent Document 2, application of liquid cooling to a developing device in consideration of maintenance is being studied. In this case, as the attaching / detaching mechanism, a configuration is disclosed in which a coupler is provided in the middle of the refrigerant pipe and the developing device in which the liquid cooling heat receiving member is attached can be attached / detached. However, these liquid cooling devices have a drawback in that the configuration is complicated and the installation space must be secured, resulting in an increase in the size of the device. Therefore, in direct contact cooling, in order to avoid high contact thermal resistance due to a rough contact interface, it is generally low in hardness and relatively high in thermal conductivity. A low thermal resistance is realized by pressing with the contact member interposed, or by applying a thin grease or paste with relatively high thermal conductivity.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-17495 JP 2005-164927 A JP 2006-003628 A

By the way, in the image forming apparatus, since it is necessary to periodically maintain and inspect the object to be cooled, it has been necessary to repeatedly attach and detach the object to be cooled from the main body of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, in order to attach / detach the cooling object, it is conceivable to attach / detach the cooling object and the cooling means, or to attach / detach the cooling means and the cooling object together with the cooling means attached. When a contact member is used, since the contact member generally has low hardness, it is easy to be peeled off or torn during attachment / detachment, and careful attention is required. In addition, even if it can be attached and detached, it is easy to be scratched because of its low hardness, so it does not attach and detach several times and is not suitable for repeated attachment and detachment. In addition, dust, dust, paper dust, toner, etc. floating inside the device may adhere to the contact interface and stick to it. If it is left as it is, the contact thermal resistance will increase and the intended cooling performance will not be achieved. There was a possibility that it could not be obtained. In such a case, it is necessary to remove the contact member once, clean the contact interface, and reapply a new contact member, which is very costly and labor intensive. Alternatively, even when grease or paste is used, it is necessary to repaint each time in the same manner, which is costly and troublesome.
On the other hand, in the latter case, for example, when liquid cooling is performed, it is considered that the refrigerant in the pipe is shut off using a coupler, and the object to be cooled and the cooling means attached thereto are attached and detached at the cut-off point of the coupler. However, since couplers usually have high pressure loss, it is necessary to select a high pump performance for transporting refrigerant, which not only increases costs, but also requires piping design that takes pressure resistance into consideration, which promotes the possibility of liquid leakage. . If a coupler is not used, it is possible to attach and detach the entire cooling means including the heat exchanger and all the objects to be cooled, but the heat exchanger is usually large and Interferes with the layout of other units and is practically impossible.

  The present invention is for solving these problems, and provides an inexpensive contact member, an electronic device cooling device, an electronic device, and an image forming apparatus that can be cooled with high efficiency and can achieve high durability. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the contact member of the present invention includes a heat transfer member that separably adheres to the object to be cooled and takes away the heat of the object to be cooled, and a heat transfer member that is detachably provided on the heat transfer member. It is characterized by comprising a protective member that protects the transmission member. Therefore, in order to protect the object to be cooled from the generated heat, it is highly durable even if the object to be cooled is repeatedly attached and detached by periodic maintenance when it is cooled directly by contacting the cooling means via the contact member. In addition, high-efficiency cooling with low contact thermal resistance can be realized.

  The heat transfer member is preferably made of a polymer material. Furthermore, the protective member is preferably made of a fluororesin.

  Furthermore, by providing an adhesive member between the object to be cooled and the heat transfer member, the contact member can be easily fixed to the object to be cooled, thereby avoiding mounting errors due to misalignment, and hence a decrease in cooling efficiency.

  In addition, the contact member of the present invention includes a heat conductive member and a bag-like member that wraps the heat conductive member, and is characterized in that the contact member is detachably attached to the object to be cooled. Therefore, an inexpensive contact member can be provided.

  Furthermore, the heat conductive member is preferably a liquid or a gel.

  Further, by providing the phase change material member inside the heat conductive member, the temperature rise of the cooling target can be delayed, and for example, the burden on the heat exchanger can be reduced. Specifically, it is possible to reduce the fan air volume of the heat exchanger, thereby saving energy and reducing noise.

  Furthermore, by providing an adhesive layer on the surface of the bag-like member, the contact member can be easily fixed to the object to be cooled, and it is possible to avoid mounting errors due to misalignment and thus a decrease in cooling efficiency.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus for an electronic device, the contact member provided on an object that generates heat inside the electronic device or an object that is heated by the heat, and the heat from the contact member. And a heat transporting means for transferring heat to the outside of the electronic device. Therefore, it is possible to provide an inexpensive electronic device cooling apparatus that can be cooled with high efficiency and can achieve high durability.

  Furthermore, since the heat transport means includes at least a heat pipe, it is possible to provide a cooling device for electronic equipment with high cooling efficiency.

  In addition, by including at least the liquid cooling means in the heat transport means, it is possible to provide a cooling device for electronic equipment with high cooling efficiency.

  Furthermore, by including at least a Peltier element in the heat transport means, high durability can be realized, and high reliability without liquid leakage in the case of liquid cooling can be realized.

  In addition, since at least the vapor compression refrigerator is included in the heat transporting means, high heat transporting efficiency can be realized, and thus a cooling device for electronic equipment with high cooling efficiency can be provided.

  Furthermore, an electronic device as another invention is characterized by including the cooling device. Therefore, normal operation can be guaranteed and a highly reliable electronic device can be provided.

  An image forming apparatus as another invention is characterized by including the cooling device. Therefore, in order to protect the object to be cooled from the heat generated in the image forming apparatus, when the object is directly contacted with the cooling means via the contact member and cooled with high efficiency, the object to be cooled is repeatedly attached and detached by periodic maintenance. However, it is possible to provide a low-cost image forming apparatus that can achieve high-efficiency cooling with high durability and low contact thermal resistance.

  According to the contact member of the present invention, in order to protect the object to be cooled from the generated heat, when the object is directly contacted with the cooling means via the contact member and cooled with high efficiency, the object to be cooled is repeatedly attached and detached by periodic maintenance. Even if it is made, high-efficiency cooling with high durability and low contact thermal resistance is realized.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the cooling device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A cooling device 10 according to the present embodiment shown in the figure is in close contact with an object 11 to be cooled inside an electronic apparatus such as an image forming apparatus, a contact member 14 including a heat transfer member 12 and a protection member 13, and a protection member. A heat receiving member 15 that is pressed onto the heat receiving member 15, a heat transport path 16 that is attached to the heat receiving member 15 and transmits heat, and a heat exchanger 17 that is provided on the other side of the heat transport path 16 and performs heat exchange. It is configured.

  According to the cooling device 10 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the temperature of the object 11 to be cooled inside the electronic apparatus such as the image forming apparatus rises due to its own heat generation or heat reception from the vicinity. At this time, the heat of the object 11 to be cooled is transmitted to the heat receiving member 15 through the heat transfer member 12 and the protection member 13, and then to the heat transport path 16, reaches the heat exchanger 17, and is radiated to the outside of the electronic device. Therefore, the temperature rise of the cooling object 11 is suppressed.

  On the other hand, when the cooling object 11 is taken out of the electronic device main body in order to maintain the cooling object 11, the protection member 13 and the heat receiving member 15 are separated from each other. The object to be cooled 11 is taken out together with the heat transfer member 12 and the protection member 13 without being subjected to elastic stress, and thus without being peeled off or torn. After the maintenance of the cooling object 11 is completed, the protective member 13 and the heat receiving member 15 are pressed against the low temperature heat transfer member 12 when it is attached to the electronic device body again. The object to be cooled 11 is mounted together with the heat transfer member 12 and the protection member 13 without causing scraping or the like. Such an attaching / detaching step can be repeatedly performed because the heat transfer member 12 is not damaged. In addition, even if dust falls on the surface of the protective member 13, unlike the relatively sticky surface specific to the low hardness of the heat transfer member 12, the dust does not adhere to and stick to it. Even if garbage accumulates, it will not stick to it with a waste cloth. This does not increase the contact thermal resistance.

  The heat transfer member 12 preferably has a high thermal conductivity, but the base is made of a polymer material and has a low hardness, and is pressed between the object to be cooled 11 and the heat receiving member 15 so that the interface between the object to be cooled 11, Alternatively, it is desirable that the height of the contact thermal resistance due to the rough interface of the heat receiving member 15 can be reduced. Further, it is desirable that the protective member 13 is made of a fluororesin so that even if dust such as dust, dust, paper powder, or toner falls, it can be easily removed or released and is not sticky. Furthermore, demand for the heat transfer member 12 having high thermal conductivity and low hardness has been increasing in recent years, and development of polymer composite materials in which heat conductive fillers such as metals and flakes are dispersed has been actively conducted. . Also, even if it is a polymer material, in the case of a silicone material, the silicone resin itself is not only expensive, but a slight amount of siloxane gas may be generated, which causes it to adhere to electrode contacts, etc., generating silicon dioxide In addition, there is a possibility that a contact failure may occur, and a heat conductive material such as rubber or acrylic containing a heat conductive filler such as alumina or boron nitride has been proposed. Absent.

  In the present embodiment, the cooling target object 11, the heat transfer member 12, the protection member 13, and the heat receiving member 15 are described in this order, but the order is not limited to this. For example, the cooling object 11, the protection member 13, the heat transfer member 12, and the heat receiving member 15 may be used in this order. In this case, the attachment / detachment is performed between the cooling object 11 and the protection member 13, and the contact member 14 including the heat transfer member 12 and the protection member 13 is left on the heat receiving member 15.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the adhesive member 14 may include a base material 18 and an adhesive member 19 in addition to the heat transfer member 12 and the protection member 13. In this case, it can be easily attached to the cooling object 11 or the heat receiving member 15, and it is desirable to be easy to use without causing a deviation at the time of attachment / detachment.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the cooling device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same components. In the cooling device 20 of the present embodiment shown in the figure, the contact member 21 is configured to include a heat transfer member, a pouch 22 as a bag-like member as a protective member, and a liquid 23 wrapped in the pouch 22. . The contact member 21 comes into close contact with the cooling object 11 inside the electronic apparatus such as the image forming apparatus, and the heat receiving member 15 is pressed onto the pouch 22. The heat of the object 11 to be cooled is transmitted to the contact member 21, further to the heat receiving member 15, and the heat transport path 16, reaches the heat exchanger 17 and is radiated to the outside of the electronic device, and the temperature of the object 11 to be cooled increases. It is suppressed. Here, the pouch 22 is a packaging film in which several kinds of plastic materials are laminated to enhance heat resistance, cold resistance, tensile strength, etc., and is usually used for packaging fresh food products, processed foods, etc. It is. In general, there are a thickness of 100 μm and a thickness of 400 μm.

  According to the cooling device 20 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the cooling object 11 inside the electronic apparatus such as the image forming apparatus generates its own heat as in the cooling device 10 of the first embodiment. Or the temperature rises due to heat received from the vicinity. At this time, the heat of the object 11 to be cooled is transmitted to the heat receiving member 15 through the pouch 22 and the liquid 23 and to the heat transport path 16, reaches the heat exchanger 17, and is radiated to the outside of the electronic device. The temperature rise is suppressed.

  Further, when the cooling object 11 is removed from the electronic apparatus main body for maintenance, the pouch 22 is cooled with the heat receiving member 15 or between the pouch 22 and the heat receiving member 15 or between the pouch 22 and the cooling object 11. By separating from both of the objects 11, the cooling object 11 is taken out while the liquid 23 is protected by the pouch 22 (in this case, the liquid 23 does not leak). After the maintenance of the cooling object 11 is completed, the liquid 23 is pressed and mounted between the cooling object 11 and the heat receiving member 15 while being protected by the pouch 22 when being attached to the electronic device main body again. Needless to say, the above attachment / detachment process can be repeated.

  The liquid 23 may be a gel. However, it is desirable to have a high thermal conductivity property value.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the cooling device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 denote the same components. In the cooling device 30 of the present embodiment shown in the figure, the contact member 31 is configured to have a plurality of phase change material members 32 inside the liquid 23. According to the cooling device 30 of the present embodiment, the liquid 23 can have a heat storage effect, and the temperature rise of the cooling object 11 can be delayed. It can be kept low and the durability of parts can be expected to increase. As the structure of the phase change material member 32, for example, a microcapsule containing a heat storage agent is desirable. The heat storage agent has a melting point, which can be freely set by changing the type and amount of the heat storage agent. As an example, an aliphatic hydrocarbon compound having 10 or more carbon atoms such as tetradecane, pentadecane, eicosane, and docosan can be given. Increasing the number of carbons increases the melting point and allows setting according to the purpose. The spherical core of the microcapsule can be made into a thin contact member by setting the diameter to 10 μm or less, preferably 5 μm or less. Examples of the material of the spherical core include polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, polyamide, urea formalin resin, and melamine formalin resin film obtained by a technique such as an interfacial polymerization method or an in situ method. Although not shown, it is desirable to provide an adhesive member on the pouch 22 so that the pouch 22 can be easily attached to the cooling object 11 or the heat receiving member 15 and is easy to use without causing a deviation at the time of attachment / detachment.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the cooling device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same components. In the cooling device 40 of the present embodiment shown in the figure, the cooling object 11 and the heat receiving member 15 can be repeatedly attached and detached by the contact member 14 including the heat transfer member 12 and the protection member 13 in FIG. By using the heat pipe as the transport path, a cooling device for the image forming apparatus having high heat transport performance of the heat pipe is realized. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, as the heat transport path, the pipe 41 in which the refrigerant is sealed is provided, and the liquid cooling means by the pump 42, the tank 43, and the heat exchanger 17 is provided, so that high heat transport by liquid cooling is provided. A cooling device for electronic equipment having performance can also be realized.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the cooling device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same components. In the cooling device 50 of the present embodiment shown in the figure, an electronic device cooling device having a Peltier element 51 as a heat transport means to the heat exchanger 17 and having high cooling controllability can be realized.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the position of the heat exchanger 17 is desired to be separated from the object 11 to be cooled, it may be combined with another heat transporting means such as using a heat pipe 52. However, in FIG. 7, instruments associated with the vapor compression refrigerator such as an accumulator and a valve are omitted, but may be provided. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, a vapor compression refrigerator may be used as a cooling means, a pipe 53 through which a phase-change refrigerant is transported may be provided as a heat transport path, and a compressor 54 may be provided midway. Thus, the heat exchanger 17 that serves as a condenser in which the refrigerant changes from gas to liquid, and the heat receiving member 15 serve as an evaporator in which the liquid changes to gas, and cool the cooling object 11.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of another invention. The image forming apparatus of the present invention shown in the figure is a monochrome image forming apparatus, which is a monochrome image forming apparatus 100 equipped with the above-described cooling device of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 11 denote the same components. First, after the charging device 101 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 104 that is an image carrier, an optical device (not shown) reads the original, and the writing device 102 statically reads the original on the photoconductor 104. Formed as an electrostatic latent image. Next, the developing device 103 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image, that is, forms a visible image. On the other hand, the stacked one sheet 109 is conveyed to the transfer device 105 along the sheet conveying path 110, The transfer device 105 transfers the visible image to the sheet with static electricity. Thereafter, the sheet 109 is fixed by heat and pressure by the fixing device 107, and the decurler 108 is cooled, while the cleaning device 106 cleans residual toner on the photoconductor 104. Then, a heat receiving member 61 is attached to the developing device 103 that generates heat by stirring the toner and the developer, and the pump 62, the tank 63, and the heat exchanger 64 are connected by a pipe 65, and the pipe 65 is connected in the direction of the arrow. The refrigerant is transported to At this time, the heat receiving member 61 uses an extruded aluminum jacket so as to fit the shape of the developing device 103.

  Next, as Example 1, between the developing device 103 and the heat receiving member 61 in FIG. 9, a Teflon (registered trademark) having a thickness of 30 μm corresponding to a protective member as a contact member and a thermal conductivity of 0.25 W / mK, A silicone rubber having a thickness of 500 μm corresponding to a heat transfer member and a thermal conductivity of 1.1 W / mK was prepared, and this was prepared together with a polyimide having a thickness of 100 μm corresponding to a substrate and a thermal conductivity of 0.156 W / mK together with an adhesive. Further, in liquid cooling, an antifreeze liquid mainly composed of propylene glycol was used as the refrigerant. However, a rust inhibitor is also included. With the above configuration, continuous operation (continuous 75 sheets per minute) was performed for 3 hours. As a result, the temperature of the developing device 103 was as shown in Table 1 below. The measured temperature of the developing device 103 (the temperature of mixing the carrier and the toner) is less than 50 ° C., which is a temperature that causes development problems, whereas the target temperature of the developing device 103 is determined from the softening point temperature of the toner. It did not rise.

  Further, the developing device 103 was repeatedly attached and detached from the image forming apparatus 10 times, but no scratches or the like were found on the protective member, and the measured temperature of the developing device 103 hardly changed. Although the liquid cooling means is used in the above-described first embodiment, it may of course be a configuration having a heat pipe.

  Next, as Example 2, as a contact member between the developing device 103 and the heat receiving member 61, a polypropylene having a thickness of 60 μm and a thermal conductivity of 0.18 W / mK, a thickness of 7 μm, and a thermal conductivity of A pouch composed of three layers of aluminum of 237 W / mK, a thickness of 33 μm, and a polyethylene terephthalate with a thermal conductivity of 0.19 W / mK, and a container in which pure water was enclosed was adopted. The amount of pure water was sealed so as to be about 1 mm thick when mounted on the developing device 103 and the heat receiving member 61. Others are the same as in the first embodiment. With the above configuration, as a result of continuous operation (75 continuous sheets per minute) for 3 hours, the temperature of the developing device 103 was as shown in Table 2 below. The measured temperature of the developing device 103 (the temperature of mixing the carrier and the toner) is less than 50 ° C., which is a temperature that causes development problems, whereas the target temperature of the developing device 103 is determined from the softening point temperature of the toner. It did not rise.

  Further, the developing device 103 was repeatedly attached and detached from the image forming apparatus several times, but no scratches or the like were found on the protective member, and the measured temperature of the developing device 103 hardly changed.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of another invention. The color image forming apparatus shown in the figure is a quadruple tandem type color image forming apparatus, which is a color image forming apparatus equipped with the cooling device of the invention described above. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 9 denote the same components. The color image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment includes a black image forming apparatus 201-Bk, a cyan image forming apparatus 201-C, a magenta image forming apparatus 201-M, a yellow image forming apparatus 201-Y, and an intermediate image forming apparatus 201-Bk. A transfer belt 202 is provided. The image forming apparatuses for the respective colors will be described using the black image forming apparatus 201-Bk. As a configuration, the image forming apparatus includes a charging device 203, an exposure device 204, a developing device 205, a cleaning device 206, and a photoconductor 207. . The visible image created by the black image forming device 201-Bk to the yellow image forming device 201-Y is temporarily copied onto the intermediate transfer belt 202, while one sheet 109 is transferred to the sheet conveyance path 110. And the transfer device 208 transfers the visible image to the sheet 109 by static electricity. Thereafter, the sheet 109 is fixed by heat and pressure by the fixing device 107, and further, the decurler 108 is cooled to obtain a copy as a predetermined sheet. However, heat is generated by stirring the toner and the developer. The temperature rises in the image forming apparatuses 201-Bk, 201-C, 201-M, and 201-Y of the respective colors that include the developing device. For this reason, in the color image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, a heat receiving member is attached to each color developing device, that is, the heat receiving member 61-Bk for the black toner developing device and the cyan toner developing device. The heat receiving member 61-C, the heat receiving member 61-M to the magenta toner developing device, and the heat receiving member 61-Y to the yellow toner developing device are mounted, together with the pump 62, the tank 63, and the heat exchanger 64. The refrigerant is transported through the pipe 65 in the direction of the arrow. At this time, the heat receiving member for each color was an aluminum jacket that was extruded so as to fit the shape of the developing device for each color.

  Also, between each color developing device and each color heat receiving member, as a contact member, a polypropylene having a thickness of 60 μm and a thermal conductivity of 0.18 W / mK, a thickness of 7 μm and a thermal conductivity of 237 W / A pouch consisting of three layers of mK aluminum, 33 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate having a thermal conductivity of 0.19 W / mK, and pure water and a heat storage agent (a mixture of tetradecane, pentadecane, eicosane and docosan). What enclosed the microcapsule comprised from a 10 micrometer polystyrene was employ | adopted. The amount of pure water was sealed to a thickness of about 1 mm when mounted on each color developing device and each color heat receiving member. Furthermore, liquid cooling used the aqueous solution which also contains the antirust agent which has a mixture of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol as a main component in a refrigerant | coolant.

  With the above configuration, continuous operation (sheet feeding) was performed for 4 hours, and the temperatures of the developing devices for each color were as shown in Table 3 below. As shown in Table 3, the measurement result was less than 45 ° C. against the target temperature of the developing device for each color determined by the softening point temperature of the toner, which was less than 45 ° C., and did not become a temperature causing development problems.

  Further, each color developing device was repeatedly attached and detached from the image forming device several times, but no scratches or the like were found on the protective member, and the measured temperature of the developing device was hardly changed.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It cannot be overemphasized that various deformation | transformation and substitution are possible if it is description in a claim.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the cooling device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of another adhesive member. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the cooling device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the cooling device which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the cooling device which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the cooling device which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows another structure of the cooling device which concerns on 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows another structure of the cooling device which concerns on 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of another invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of another invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of an electrophotographic recording system image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

10, 20, 30, 40, 50; cooling device,
11; Cooling object; 12; Heat transfer member; 13; Protection member;
14, 21, 31; contact member, 15, 61; heat receiving member,
16; heat transport path, 17; heat exchanger, 22; pouch, 23; liquid,
32; Phase change material member, 41, 65; Piping, 42, 62; Pump,
43, 63; tank, 51; Peltier element,
100; monochrome image forming apparatus; 200; color image forming apparatus.

Claims (15)

  A heat transfer member that separably adheres to the object to be cooled and takes away the heat of the object to be cooled, and a protective member that is separably provided on the heat transfer member and protects the heat transfer member. Contact member.   The contact member according to claim 1, wherein the heat transfer member is made of a polymer material.   The contact member according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is made of a fluororesin.   The contact member according to claim 1, wherein an adhesive member is provided between the object to be cooled and the heat transfer member.   A contact member comprising a heat conductive member and a bag-like member that wraps the heat conductive member, and is detachably attached to an object to be cooled.   The contact member according to claim 5, wherein the heat conductive member is a liquid or a gel.   The contact member according to claim 5, wherein a phase change material member is provided inside the thermally conductive member.   The contact member according to claim 5, wherein an adhesive layer is provided on a surface of the bag-like member.   The contact member according to claim 1, which is provided on an object that generates heat inside the electronic device or an object that rises in temperature due to the heat, and heat from the contact member is transmitted to the electronic device. And a heat transport means for transferring heat to the outside of the electronic device.   10. The electronic apparatus cooling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the heat transporting means includes at least a heat pipe.   10. The electronic apparatus cooling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the heat transport means includes at least a liquid cooling means.   The electronic apparatus cooling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the heat transporting means includes at least a Peltier element.   10. The electronic apparatus cooling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the heat transporting means includes at least a vapor compression refrigerator.   An electronic device comprising the electronic device cooling device according to claim 9.   An image forming apparatus comprising the electronic device cooling device according to claim 9.

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