JP2009300174A - Surface property discrimination device, sheet material discrimination device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface property discrimination device, a sheet material discrimination device, and an image forming apparatus capable of preventing the variations of manufacture of a probe when discriminating the surface property of an object to be measured by being rubbed with a probe in the contact state, and improving a probe damage prevention property by improvement of processing accuracy and improvement of rigidity of a probe tip. <P>SOLUTION: The surface property discrimination device is a piezoelectric contact type surface property detection sensor wherein a sheet material 7 is scanned by a probe tip abutting part, and a piezoelectric element 15b generates an electric signal by inducing a strain resulting from vibration and impact corresponding to irregularities on the sheet material surface and a frictional coefficient thereof, and the surface property of the sheet material surface is discriminated based on an intensity difference of the electric signal. In the device, instead of an S-shaped probe 15a formed by bending twice an oblong sheet metal tip in the prior art, a triangular probe is used, which is constituted by processing beforehand the shape of a tip structure part on a plane of a parent sheet metal so that the shape of the tip structure part as a view from a probe side becomes triangular, and then by being bent rectangularly, or constituted by being processed beforehand with a resin member, and then by being bonded onto a flat sheet metal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a surface property identification device, a sheet material identification device, and an image forming apparatus. In particular, the surface property identification device for identifying the difference in surface friction resistance of the object to be measured, the difference in surface roughness and the surface material that cause the difference, and the difference in rigidity of the sheet object to be measured and the thickness that causes it Further, the present invention relates to an improvement in the reliability and performance of a sheet material identification device capable of detecting differences in density and material. The present invention also relates to a heating device provided with a sheet material identification device and an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic printer, a copying machine, an ink jet printer, a thermal head printer, a dot impact printer, a facsimile, and a composite device thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various image forming apparatuses are generally apparatuses that form an image on a sheet-like recording material (hereinafter simply referred to as a recording material) such as plain paper, postcard, cardboard, sealed letter, and OHP plastic thin plate. is there. In a typical image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile using an electrophotographic system, a toner image is formed on a recording material by electrostatic image forming means using toner as a developer. Thereafter, the recording material is heated and pressed by a fixing unit to melt and fix the toner image to form an image.

  In addition, other image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and facsimile machines using an inkjet system use ink as a developer. Then, an image is formed on a recording material by image forming means for ejecting ink at a high speed from a recording head constituted by using a large number of nozzles having fine orifices utilizing a mechanical or thermal reaction.

  In addition, other image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and facsimile machines using a thermal transfer method use an ink ribbon as a developer, and are recorded by an image forming unit that thermally transfers ink from the ink ribbon using a thermal head. An image is formed on the material.

  By the way, these image forming apparatuses have been improved in recent years, and devices for high image quality and high processing speed have been realized by various means, and at the same time, cost reduction measures have been devised to reduce costs. Has become popular and has become widespread.

  However, the types of recording materials used in these image forming apparatuses are various from plain paper to high-grade paper subjected to a special surface treatment for sealed letters, and resin sheets for OHP. Furthermore, since the use of image forming apparatuses has become widespread, it has come to be used all over the world. Therefore, it is necessary to cope with any recording material used in various places so that a good image can be formed. ing. For this reason, the roughness of the surface of the recording material, which greatly affects the image forming conditions, is a very important factor.

  For example, in an image forming apparatus that employs an electrophotographic method, the following difference occurs when the surface of a recording material used is smooth (hereinafter referred to as smooth paper) and rough (hereinafter referred to as rough paper). is there. In other words, the heating efficiency for transferring heat from the heating source to the paper surface in the fixing unit varies according to the difference in thermal resistance due to the difference in surface properties, and even if the rough paper is fixed at an appropriate fixing temperature with smooth paper, it causes insufficient fixing. End up. For this reason, it is necessary to fix the rough paper at a higher temperature.

  Therefore, in the current image forming apparatus, the temperature at which the rough paper can be fixed is used as the standard fixing temperature, and the fixing is always performed at an excessive temperature on the smooth paper. Further, since a higher fixing temperature is necessary for a rougher paper, a selection mode for allowing the user to change the setting of the fixing temperature is provided when using such a paper.

  FIG. 11 shows the basic configuration of a printer that employs an electrophotographic system as a specific example of these. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to a conventional example. In the printer, the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 is uniformly charged with a predetermined polarity by the charging roller 1, and then only the area where the photosensitive drum 2 is exposed by the exposure means 3 such as a laser is discharged to remove the charge on the photosensitive drum 2. To form a latent image. The latent image is developed by the toner 5 of the developing device 4 to be visualized as a toner image. That is, first, the toner 5 of the developing device 4 is frictionally charged to the same polarity as the charging surface of the photosensitive drum 2 between the developing blade 4a and the developing sleeve 4b. Then, DC and AC bias are applied in a superimposed manner at the developing gap portion where the photosensitive drum 2 and the developing sleeve 4b face each other, and the toner 5 is selectively attached to the latent image forming portion of the photosensitive drum 2 while floating and vibrating by the action of an electric field. . Thereafter, the toner 5 is conveyed by rotation of the photosensitive drum 2 to a transfer nip formed by the transfer roller 6 (corresponding to an image forming unit) and the photosensitive drum 2.

  On the other hand, the sheet material 7, which is a recording material such as paper on which an image is recorded, is fed from the sheet material cassette 7a to the vertical conveying roller pair 7d by a pair of feed rollers 7c (the lower roller may be a pad). The Thereafter, the sheet is transported through either the vertical transport roller pair 7d to the pre-transfer transport roller 7e or the manual feed tray 7b by the paper feed roller pair 7c to the pre-transfer transport roller 7e. The Further, the pre-transfer conveying roller 7e (corresponding to the sheet material conveying means) is conveyed to the transfer nip portion at a predetermined entry angle between the upper transfer guide plate 9 and the lower transfer guide plate 9 '. Until the sheet material 7 is conveyed from the pre-transfer conveyance roller 7e to the transfer nip portion, the sheet material 7 is rubbed with various members that are in contact before the sheet material 7 is conveyed to this region. 7 surface may be charged. For this reason, a neutralizing brush 8 for removing such unnecessary charging, which causes an image disturbance when performing electrostatic recording, is provided in contact with the back side of the sheet material 7 being conveyed and is grounded. .

  A high voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner 5 is applied to the transfer roller 6 on the back surface of the sheet material 7 in order to electrostatically attract the toner 5 on the photosensitive drum 2 and move it to the sheet material 7 side in the transfer unit. Then, the toner 5 is electrostatically attracted to the back surface of the sheet material 7 and the toner image is transferred to the sheet material 7, and the back surface of the sheet material 7 is charged with the opposite polarity to the toner 5, and the transferred toner 5 The transfer charge for continuing to hold is applied to the back surface of the sheet material 7.

  Finally, the sheet material 7 to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing device 12 (corresponding to a fixing unit) including a heating rotator 13 and a pressure roller 14 that forms a nip portion. Then, the toner image is fixed by being heated and pressurized while being controlled by a heater provided on the heating rotator 13 side so as to maintain a preset fixing temperature at the nip portion.

  A slight amount of deposits such as toner having different polarities remain on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 after the toner image is transferred. For this reason, the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 after passing through the transfer nip is cleaned by the cleaning blade 10a that is counter-abutted against the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 by the cleaning container 10 and then cleaned. Wait for formation.

  The above-described constituent elements of the charging roller 1, the photosensitive drum 2, the developing device 4, and the cleaning container 10 have a relatively short replacement period. Therefore, the cartridge replacement system in which these units can be replaced in units of the integrated cartridge 11 is possible. Image forming apparatuses are mainly used.

  Among the processes described above, a contact heating type fixing device having good thermal efficiency and safety is widely known as an image fixing method. Conventionally, a heat roller fixing device described below has been mainly used. The heat roller fixing device forms a releasable layer on the surface of a metal cylindrical core, forms a heat fixing roller containing a halogen heater inside the cylinder, and forms an elastic layer made of heat-resistant rubber on the metal core. A pressure roller formed by forming a pressure side releasable layer on the surface is configured by pressure contact. However, in recent years, a film heating type fixing device has been used as a method with higher heating efficiency. The film heating type fixing device uses a fixing film in which a heat-resistant resin film having a low heat capacity is processed into a cylindrical shape and a release layer is formed on the surface instead of the heat fixing roller. In this configuration, a ceramic heater is brought into contact with the inside to heat.

  This type of film heating type fixing device has higher heat transfer efficiency than the conventional heat roller method using a cylindrical metal containing a halogen heater as a fixing roller from the viewpoint of promoting energy saving in recent years. For this reason, attention is paid to the fast start-up of the fixing device, and it has been applied to higher speed models. However, especially in this method, it is necessary to reduce the heat capacity of the heating surface of the fixing unit in order to emphasize the rate of temperature increase. As a result, it is difficult to form an elastic layer on the heating surface, and a hard heating surface is used. Yes. For this reason, this type of fixing method has a configuration in which a difference in the heating efficiency is more likely to occur due to the unevenness of the recording material surface.

  In various image forming apparatuses such as a printer using such a fixing device, as the processing speed is increased as described above, there is a problem that a difference in fixing property becomes remarkable due to a difference in paper type. . Then, it is necessary for the user himself / herself to input an appropriate fixing mode to the printer in accordance with the type of paper that the user intends to use.

  However, forcing the user to select a mode in order to switch the fixing condition each time depending on the type of paper used in this way increases the work burden on the user. Also, if the user makes a mistake in the selection mode, the fixability of the print will be insufficient, or conversely, excessive heating will waste power and image defects will occur due to high temperature offset, and toner contamination of the fuser There was a possibility of inviting.

  Further, in a usage environment in which a single network printer is shared by a plurality of users as in recent years, a special user uses a special paper to switch the mode setting accordingly, and then the special paper is used. May remain in the image forming apparatus. For this reason, when other users who do not know that use the modes, the modes do not match, and there is a high possibility that the problem will occur because proper fixing is not performed.

  In terms of the number of fixing modes that can be set, there are strictly various levels of actual paper smoothness, and it is impossible to set optimum conditions for each level. For this reason, the number of setting modes is limited by collectively fixing paper having a certain level of smoothness in the same mode, and fixing may be performed on specific paper using more power than necessary. Yes, depending on the combination of paper and settings, inefficient fixing may be performed.

  On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus employing the ink jet method, the amount of ink required differs between the case where the recording material used is smooth paper and the case of rough paper. That is, even if an image is formed on rough paper with an appropriate amount of ink using smooth paper, the ink permeates in the thickness direction of the paper and causes a lack of density, so that more ink is ejected onto the rough paper. There is a need. For this reason, in the current image forming apparatus, it has been necessary for the user to perform an operation for the printer to recognize the paper type in advance for the paper having different surface properties.

  Also, in an image forming apparatus that employs a thermal transfer method, the amount of power required differs between the case where the recording material used is smooth paper and the case of rough paper. For this reason, even if heat is transferred onto rough paper with an appropriate amount of electric power using smooth paper, the thermal resistance is large, so that the transferability of the ink is lowered, resulting in insufficient density.

  As described above, in any of the current image forming apparatuses, there is a risk that excessive temperature, ink, and power are consumed or the image quality is deteriorated in order to prevent the image quality of the image from being deteriorated due to the surface roughness of the recording material. . In order to prevent these problems, it is necessary to switch these conditions according to the surface roughness of the recording material. However, at present, only the optical sensor that requires a complicated configuration and signal processing that is used in some image forming apparatuses and a method that forces the user to change the setting is greatly increased. I had no choice but to invite.

  For this reason, some proposals have been made so far for detecting the roughness of the surface of the recording material and changing the image forming conditions according to the detection result to form an image. For example, those disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are proposed as the detection principle capable of detecting the surface roughness of the recording material at a relatively low cost and at a high speed. In these proposals, the contact means that contacts the surface of the recording material detects physical phenomena such as vibration and rubbing sound caused by rubbing against the surface of the recording material, and detects the difference in the detected amount as the difference in surface roughness. A method is disclosed. As a specific configuration thereof, a configuration has been proposed in which a piezoelectric element is provided in the contact means and vibration is converted into an electric signal and detected.

  However, the above proposal does not disclose in detail the specific constituent conditions necessary for a member (hereinafter referred to as a probe) that is actually brought into contact with the surface of the recording material. That is, a configuration in which a simple linear probe is fixed at one end on the upstream side in the scanning direction, that is, in the conveyance direction of the recording material, and the downstream end is abutted obliquely so as not to oppose the conveyance direction. Just staying in it. Therefore, it is considered difficult to actually realize highly accurate detection with this content alone.

  For this reason, the inventor of the present application newly studied the sensor probe shape and the mounting configuration in order to dramatically improve the surface property discrimination performance and make it practical by a detection method using a piezoelectric element. As a result, a mechanical structure portion is provided at the probe tip portion so that the tip contact portion can vibrate on the sheet material conveyance plane in the conveyance direction. In addition, the configuration in which the tip abutting portion abuts at an angle that bites into the measurement surface against the conveyance direction, that is, the angle formed by the probe tip portion and the recording material when the recording material enters the probe tip portion is an acute angle. It was. The contact pressure may be a light pressure that can jump up in the opposite direction depending on the conveying pressure of the sheet material. It has been found that very high discrimination performance can be obtained by such a configuration. The S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 (corresponding to a surface property identification device) (see FIG. 12) has been invented as a configuration that realizes such a structure at the lowest cost without hindering recording material conveyance. The S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 is configured to fix a probe having an S-shaped side surface shape obtained by bending a strip-shaped metal sheet metal twice to a rotation shaft. In addition, the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 is attached so that it can be detected whether the sheet material 7 is fed from either the sheet material cassette 7a or the manual feed tray 7b. That is, the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 is attached to the optimum transfer upper guide plate 9 as a position that can be detected from the surface side of the recording material on the downstream side in the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material conveyance path merging portion. And evaluated. As a result, it has been confirmed that very high discrimination performance can be obtained without hindering recording material conveyance, and a summary of the results has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 3).

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 12 (A), the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 has an S-shaped probe 15a having a piezoelectric element 15b formed on a flat portion, and an end on the opposite side of the anti-scanning side. It has a fixed end fixed to the probe holder 15c by 15d. The probe holder 15c is fixed to a probe rotation shaft 15e having an axial direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and parallel to the sheet material conveyance plane. Further, the probe tip is pressed and abutted by a pressurizing unit with a contact pressure of about 0.0196 to 0.334 N with respect to the sheet material conveyance plane around the probe rotation shaft 15e. The pressurizing means may be configured to come into contact with the S-shaped probe 15a itself, or when the S-shaped probe 15a itself is not equipped with a spring mechanism, the S-shaped probe is externally provided. The structure which pressurizes the probe 15a may be sufficient. Further, the probe rotation shaft 15e is fixed on a sensor holding plate 15g which also serves as the transfer upper guide plate 9 via a bearing 15f, and a conveyance flat plate 15h is provided on the conveyance path of the sheet material 7 as a sheet material conveyance plane. The sheet material identification device is configured.

  FIG. 12B shows the arrangement relationship of each member when these components are viewed from above. A square hole is formed in the central portion of the sensor holding plate 15g to bring the tip of the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 into contact with the sheet material conveyance plane. Further, a signal line 15k for taking out a detection signal is soldered from the surface of the piezoelectric element 15b and the sheet metal surface of the S-shaped probe 15a, and the surface of the sensor holding plate 15g is pulled along the longitudinal direction to the electrical component of the image forming apparatus. It has been turned.

  FIG. 12C is a block diagram for controlling the fixing unit of an electrophotographic printer using the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15. Based on the detection signal output from the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 (hereinafter referred to as the detection unit 15) which is a detection unit of the image forming apparatus, an optimal control signal to the fixing device 12 according to the type of paper used. Is output. At this time, the estimation unit 15'a of the control unit 15 '(corresponding to the control unit) outputs an optimal control signal to the fixing device 12 according to the type of paper used. The estimation unit 15′a outputs an optimal control signal by referring to data of a temperature table 15′b (corresponding to a determination table) in which an optimal control temperature is associated with a predetermined detection signal in advance. be able to. As a result, it is possible to obtain sufficient fixability with the minimum necessary power.

  FIG. 13 shows data obtained as a result of evaluating the discrimination by actually detecting a plurality of paper types with such a sensor. As the S-shaped surface property detection sensor, a SUS344 sheet metal is used as a probe, and a configuration of a type that detects only the surface roughness described above is used. The paper used for evaluation in this material is selected from 12 types of paper types that are frequently used in the actual market, and the same capital letters in the name of each paper indicates the same surface property. Here, R type paper is rough paper with fine irregularities uniformly formed on the surface, F type paper is smooth paper, and W type paper is rough paper with corrugated modification on the paper surface. Paper is shown, and the numerical part of each paper indicates the basis weight of the paper.

  In the graph of FIG. 13, after placing OHT paper (hereinafter referred to as OHT) first with these paper types as the horizontal axis, basically rough paper and smooth paper are alternately placed in order from left to right on paper with a small basis weight. Lined up. Moreover, the measurement result (round plot point, broken line) of average surface roughness = Ra [μm] by a non-contact surface roughness meter was plotted on each paper. The S-shaped surface property detection sensor is mounted on a jig capable of passing paper at a paper conveyance speed equivalent to that of an existing high-speed image forming apparatus, and the surface property is scanned by scanning a distance of about 1/4 of the total length of each paper. Is a plot of the signal level obtained by integrating the detection signal when the signal is detected.

  The graph of FIG. 13 is a comparison of these, and plot points of each data are displayed in a line graph to make it easier to see the magnitude relationship. As is apparent from this graph, the detection result of the paper surface using this S-shaped surface property detection sensor has a very good correlation with the measurement result of the surface roughness meter. Therefore, by using the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15, detection of the surface property of the conveyed sheet material 7 can be completed at least before the fixing step, and the fixing control can be switched. Therefore, the user can use the image forming apparatus without worrying about the type of the sheet material 7 to be used, and without causing image defects or unnecessary power consumption.

  Further, as a basic study for actually controlling the fixing temperature of an electrophotographic printer using the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 having the above-described configuration, how the necessary and sufficient optimum fixing temperature for each paper type is actually determined. We investigated whether it changed depending on the paper type. As a result, it has been found that it may be difficult to simply classify only by the surface roughness of the sheet material 7, so that the rigidity and thickness of the sheet material is detected by providing a bent structure in the sheet material conveyance path of the image forming apparatus. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

  FIG. 14A shows a schematic side view of a sheet material identification apparatus including an S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 (hereinafter referred to as a detection unit 15), which is a sensor detection unit for explaining the principle, as an example. . Here, after all the main components of the sensor are provided on the sensor fixing base 15i, the fixing base and the fixing base are set in the mounting holes of the sensor holding plate 15g. Is formed with a sheet material guide rib 15i 'for guiding the sheet material to the tip of the probe so as not to enter the probe upper portion (however, if this guide rib is made too large, the conveyance of the thick sheet material is hindered. A gap of 1 mm or more is provided between the lowermost surface of the rib and the surface of the sheet material conveying flat plate).

  As can be seen from this figure, in this configuration, the bent sensor holding plate 15g ′ and the bent conveying flat plate 15h are bent downstream of the sensor holding plate 15g and the conveying flat plate 15h on the downstream side of the detection unit in the sheet material conveying direction. '(Equivalent to sheet material deformation means) is provided. By forming a bent conveyance path structure by these, it becomes possible to detect a difference in detection signal when the leading end portion of the thin paper 7 ′ and the thick paper 7 ″ passes the detection unit 15. First, the leading end of the thin paper 7 ′. 14A, there is no significant change in the conveyance state of the thin paper 7 ′ having low rigidity in the detection unit 15 as shown in FIG.14 (A). The leading end of the cardboard 7 ″ is bent downward by a bent conveyance path constituted by the holding plate 15g ′ and the bent conveyance flat plate 15h ′. A loop is formed in the detection unit 15 by the rigidity of the cardboard 7 ″ to form a probe tip. A force (Fup) for lifting the part is generated. Since this force acts against the probe contact pressure, the contact pressure increases relatively and the friction strength increases, resulting in an increase in the detection signal. Further, when the cover 15j is provided so that the first bent portion R1 of the probe collides when the probe tip is lifted in this way, the detection signal is also increased according to the collision strength at the time of the collision. In addition, a force (Fdown) that pushes the probe downward is generated by the reaction at this time, so that the detection signal is also amplified by repeating this collision.

  FIG. 14B is a graph showing the results of passing through and detecting three kinds of sheet materials 7 having the same surface roughness and different thicknesses using such a configuration. As can be seen from this graph, the detection signal level is generated in proportion to the thickness of each sheet material on the horizontal axis so that it can be approximated by a straight line.

  In the above description, only the basic configuration of the sensor is described in order to clarify the essence of the invention. However, in the actual sensor configuration, the probe is simply rotated by bending a normal sheet metal such as SUS. In the configuration where it is incorporated and protected by the sheet material guide rib at the bottom of the sensor fixing base, if the paper tip enters while floating, the paper tip will enter the sensor upward and get caught by the probe. As a problem that could cause conveyance failure was considered, paper pressing rollers were provided on the left and right sides of the probe as countermeasures, and the paper was pressed against the sheet material transfer plane on both the left and right sides of the probe. Increasing the strength of the paper pressing force can be expected to improve paper transport stability and surface roughness detection accuracy. If it is made too strong, the difference in bending amount based on the difference in rigidity between thin paper and thick paper is less likely to occur due to the above principle, and the paper thickness identification performance will deteriorate, so the paper presser will not cause poor paper conveyance. In order to maintain the function, the paper pressing force is set as weak as possible while maintaining the magnitude relationship of the contact pressure strength so that "probe contact pressure <paper press roller contact pressure". .

FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C show the entire sensor showing the main components of the entire sensor in a state in which the probe of the sensor used in the actual experiment, the probe holder, and a combination of these parts are incorporated. FIG. 13A shows an S-shaped probe 15a in which the piezoelectric element 15b is formed in a flat portion. FIG. 13A shows a solder electrode 15b ′ for signal line connection on the surface of the piezoelectric element, and a probe metal plate rear end. The probe fixing screw mounting hole 15a ′ is formed in the portion, and the ceramic tip 16 is formed in the tip portion of the probe as a measure against durability wear. On the other hand, FIG. 15B shows a probe holder 15c for fixing and holding the probe on the rotating shaft, and for attaching the probe to the rotating shaft on the lower side and a screw hole 15c ′ for fixing the probe at the center of the mounting seat surface. The bearings 15c "are provided, and both are combined and fixed with a fixing screw 15d with a washer. As shown in FIG. 15C, the paper pressing rollers 17 are provided on the right and left sides of the probe via the respective arms. The sheet material is pressed against the sheet material conveyance plane by using a spring having a stronger pressing strength than a probe pressing spring (not shown).
JP 2000-354618 A JP 2000-356507 A JP 2002-380518 A JP 2005-170640 A JP 2004-357358 A

However, when the S-shaped surface property detection sensor having the above-described configuration is actually mass-produced, in the processing method of continuously applying acute downward bending to two portions of the sheet metal cut into a strip shape,
・ Because errors such as the length and angle of each bent part are accumulated as they are and affect the probe tip position and contact angle, it is necessary to bend with high accuracy. There are concerns in terms of mass production such as it takes time and effort, and even if it can be processed with high precision, during subsequent transportation and handling during installation work,
・ If unnecessary external force is applied to the two bent parts, there is a concern that the corners are relatively easy to deform because of the acute angle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and by devising a probe structure and a processing method of a sensor that can be easily identified by amplifying a subtle difference in surface roughness by a mechanical structure, the processing accuracy can be further improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a surface property identification apparatus using a probe that has a structure that is easy to produce, easy to inspect, and less deformable and easy to handle. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sheet material (paper type) identification device including a surface property identification device and an image forming apparatus including a sheet material (paper type) identification device.

  In order to solve the above problems, a surface property identification device, a sheet material identification device, and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention have the following configurations.

(1) Piezoelectric element portion, tip contact portion, mechanical structure portion in which the tip contact portion can vibrate before and after the scanning direction of the object to be measured, and a scanning plane that is perpendicular to or close to the scanning direction. A surface property comprising a probe having a fixed end that is rotatably fixed to a rotation axis that is parallel to or nearly parallel to the rotation axis, and a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the probe in the direction opposite to the scanning direction around the rotation axis. An identification device,
The probe is
A flat part capable of forming the piezoelectric element part in the vicinity of the fixed end part;
Between the flat part and the tip contact part, there is a three-dimensional structure part having a side surface or a cross section perpendicular to the plane of the flat part, excluding the plate thickness component, and the three-dimensional structure part is fixed When viewed from the side of the flat portion when the end portion is disposed on the right side, at least a connecting central portion with the left end portion of the flat portion, the tip contact portion, and a diagonally upper right portion of the tip contact portion. A surface property identification apparatus comprising: a polygonal structure including three points as vertices.

(2) In the surface identification device according to (1),
The three-dimensional structure part is
When viewed from the side of the flat portion when the fixed end portion is disposed on the right side, a connecting center portion with the left end portion of the flat portion, the tip contact portion, and a diagonally upper right portion of the tip contact portion A surface property identification device characterized in that the structure has a Δ-shaped shape with the three points as apexes.

(3) In the surface identification device according to (1),
The probe has an acute angle formed between the tip contact portion when the object to be measured enters the probe and the object to be measured, and the pressure applied by the pressurizing means splashes by the probe. The surface of the object to be measured is scanned so that it can be pressed and contacted with strength that can be raised,
The piezoelectric element section generates an electric signal by inducing strain due to vibration and impact according to the unevenness and friction coefficient of the surface of the object to be measured, and the surface of the object to be measured is based on the intensity difference of the electric signal. A surface property identification apparatus for identifying surface property.

(4) In the surface identification device according to (2),
The probe is
The flat part and the Δ-shaped part are cut out integrally from a metal sheet metal via a connecting part,
Bending the connecting portion of the cut metal sheet cut out at a right angle,
A surface property identification apparatus, which is a processed sheet metal probe.

(5) In the surface property identification apparatus according to (4),
A block-like ceramic chip is attached to the sheet metal side surface portion of the lower end portion of the Δ-shaped portion when viewed from the side surface direction of the flat portion when the fixed end portion is disposed on the right side, via an adhesive means.
The lower surface of the block-shaped ceramic chip is parallel to the lower side of the Δ-shaped portion,
And pasting so as to be located below the lower side of the Δ-shaped portion,
The surface property identification apparatus characterized in that the lowermost side portion of the block-shaped ceramic chip is the tip contact portion.

(6) In the surface property identification apparatus according to (2),
The probe is
From metal sheet metal
The flat portion;
The Δ-shaped portion formed through the first connecting portion;
The base portion of the Δ-shaped portion and the flat portion formed through the second connecting portion are cut out integrally,
Each of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion of the machined metal sheet cut out,
Processed by bending at right angles,
A sheet metal probe,
The surface property identification device characterized in that a lower side portion of a lower end flat portion of the Δ-shaped portion is the tip contact portion.

(7) In the surface identification device according to (6),
In the sheet metal side surface portion of the lower end portion of the Δ-shaped portion as viewed from the flat portion side surface direction when the fixed end portion is arranged on the right side,
Through the glue means
A plate-shaped ceramic chip
Parallel to the lower flat surface portion of the Δ-shaped portion,
At the time of contact, the lower side of the plate-shaped ceramic chip is attached to a position where it contacts the surface of the object to be measured.
The surface property identification apparatus characterized in that a lower side portion of the block-shaped ceramic chip is the tip contact portion.

(8) In the surface identification device according to any one of (4) to (7),
The probe is
The Δ-shaped portion and the connecting portion;
Alternatively, the Δ-shaped portion, the first connecting portion, the second connecting portion, and the planar portion are arranged in two lines symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal center line of the flat portion on both sides of the flat portion of the metal sheet metal. Set up one by one, cut out together,
A surface property identification apparatus, which is a sheet metal probe that is formed by bending each connection portion of the cut metal sheet metal cut out at a right angle.

  (9) The surface property identification device according to (2), wherein the Δ-type structure is made of resin.

(10) In the surface identification device according to (9),
The probe is
A resin probe in which the flat part and the Δ-shaped part are integrally molded;
A two-component Δ-type resin probe composed of at least two parts including a tip abutting member and integrated through an adhesive means, and the lower side portion of the tip abutting member is the tip abutting portion. A surface property identification device.

(11) In the surface identification device according to (9),
The probe is
The flat portion made of metal sheet metal,
The Δ-shaped portion made of resin;
A three-component Δ-type resin probe composed of at least three parts including a tip abutting member and integrated via an adhesive means, wherein the lower end portion of the tip abutting member is the tip abutting portion. A surface property identification device.

(12) In the surface identification device according to any one of (10) to (11),
The surface property identification device according to claim 1, wherein the tip contact member is made of metal.

(13) In the surface identification device according to any one of (10) to (11),
The surface property identification device according to claim 1, wherein the tip contact member is made of ceramic.

(14) In the surface identification device according to any one of (10) to (13),
The Δ-shaped part is made of transparent resin,
Alternatively, the flat part and the Δ-shaped part are made of transparent resin,
Each interface between the flat part, the Δ-shaped part, and the tip contact member or the piezoelectric element, the flat part, the Δ-shaped part, and the tip contact member is made of an ultraviolet curable adhesive. A surface property identification apparatus characterized by being bonded together by irradiation.

(15) In the surface identification device according to any one of (10) to (13),
The tip contact member,
Alternatively, the flat portion and the tip contact member are
The surface property identification device, wherein the Δ-shaped portion made of resin is integrally formed by insert molding at the time of molding.

(16) The surface property identification device according to any one of (1) to (15),
A sheet material conveying means for conveying the sheet material,
The object to be measured is a sheet material conveyed by the sheet material conveying means,
The surface property identification device is characterized in that the sheet material is transported and moved by the sheet material conveying means while the probe is rotatably fixed to the rotation shaft, and the surface property of the sheet material is identified. Sheet material identification device.

(17) In the sheet material identification device according to (16),
A probe having a piezoelectric element portion abutted against the sheet material conveying plane with a constant pressure, and a piezoelectric element portion;
Sheet material deformation in which the sheet material conveyed to the position facing the tip contact portion of the probe by the sheet material transport means is bent and deformed in a convex shape from the sheet material transport plane toward the probe tip contact portion. Means and
The piezoelectric element portion is caused by the fact that the pressure received by the tip contact portion of the probe from the surface of the sheet material bent into a convex shape by the sheet material deforming means changes according to the difference in rigidity of each sheet material. Inducing a different frictional resistance difference for each sheet material, detecting the vibration and impact strength difference of the probe tip contact portion changing according to the frictional resistance difference by converting it into an electrical signal as a strain strength difference, A sheet material identification device for identifying a difference in rigidity of a material.

(18) The sheet material identification device according to (16) to (17),
Image forming means for forming a toner image on the sheet material that has passed through the contact position of the probe;
Fixing means for heating and pressurizing the toner image to permanently fix the toner image to the surface of the sheet material;
A determination table associating a sheet material and a fixing temperature for fusing and fixing the toner image by the fixing unit according to characteristics of the sheet material, sheet material conveyance speed, and information on a sheet material conveyance interval when conveying a plurality of sheet materials When,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that refers to the determination table based on an identification signal of the sheet material identification device and controls the fixing unit in accordance with information in the determination table.

(19) The sheet material identification device according to (16) to (17),
An ink ejection type image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting ink onto the sheet material that has passed the contact position of the probe;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls an ink discharge amount of the ink discharge type image forming unit in accordance with an identification signal of the sheet material identification device.

(20) The sheet material identification device according to (16) to (17),
A thermal transfer image forming means for thermally transferring the ink on the ink ribbon onto the sheet material that has passed through the contact position of the probe using a thermal head;
An image forming apparatus comprising: control means for controlling power supplied to the thermal head of the thermal transfer image forming means in accordance with an identification signal of the sheet material identifying apparatus.

  According to the first invention of the present application, the shape when viewed from the side surface in the scanning direction of the mechanical amplifying structure of the surface roughness detection probe is a bending process in which the shape after the conventional processing is relatively easy to vary. In addition to forming with a cutting process that makes it easier to improve the processing accuracy, and using a right-angle bend that is less prone to processing errors than conventional sharp-angle bends to give a three-dimensional structure, each probe in mass production It is possible to reduce the variation in discrimination performance between installed devices.

  According to the second invention of the present application, since the number of bendings can be further reduced, it is possible to suppress a decrease in shape accuracy due to the bending process, and to further reduce the discriminating performance variation between the devices on which the probes are mounted during mass production. .

  According to the third invention of the present application, in the conventional probe, each bending center axis of the probe and the scanning direction are orthogonal to each other, so that a load is easily applied to the bending portion for each sheet passing, and each bending angle is an acute angle. There is a concern that some external force may be applied in the direction of crushing between the flat surface of the probe and the tip, such as during jam processing, but there is a concern that it may be deformed. However, with the probe of the present invention, the bending center axis is parallel to the scanning direction. Therefore, it is difficult to apply a load due to the sheet passing through the bent portion, and since it is bent at a right angle, the problem of deformation due to an external force acting in such a direction can be ignored.

  According to the fourth invention of the present application, a right-angle bending structure by a sheet metal can be formed symmetrically with respect to the center line of the flat portion on both the left and right sides of the flat portion forming the piezoelectric element. As a result, it becomes harder to be deformed as a whole, and it is easy to prevent deformation due to external force applied during parts conveyance and assembly.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present application, since the mechanical amplification structure portion of the surface roughness detection probe is formed of a block-shaped resin having a Δ-shaped side surface shape, the processing dimensional accuracy and the Δ structure portion mechanical The strength can be made higher than that of a bent sheet metal probe, and there is less discriminating performance variation between devices equipped with each probe in mass production, and it becomes easy to prevent problems of deformation and breakage during manufacturing and use.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present application, the mechanical amplification structure portion of the surface roughness detection probe is formed of a transparent block-shaped resin having a Δ-shaped side surface, and the tip end is abutted when the resin structure portion is processed. Since the contact member and the sheet metal member for forming the piezoelectric element are irradiated with ultraviolet rays using an ultraviolet curable adhesive, each member can be firmly bonded simultaneously in a short time, and the manufacturing time can be shortened and the process can be simplified. It can be manufactured at low cost.

  According to the seventh invention of the present application, the mechanical amplification structure portion of the surface roughness detection probe is formed of a block-shaped resin having a Δ-shaped side surface, so that the tip contact is made when the resin structure portion is processed. The member and the sheet metal member for forming a piezoelectric element can be formed simultaneously by the insert molding method, simplifying the manufacturing process, and eliminating the need for an adhesive, so that it can be manufactured at a lower cost.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present application, detection of the difference in rigidity of the sheet material can be stably identified with less variation.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present application, it is possible to realize a toner image fixing type image forming apparatus capable of optimizing the fixing conditions according to the sheet material stably with less variation.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present application, it is possible to realize an ink ejection type image forming apparatus that can stably optimize the ink ejection amount according to the sheet material with less variation.

  The eleventh invention according to the present application can realize a thermal transfer image forming apparatus that can stably optimize the heating power according to the sheet material with less variation.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

  1 (A) to 1 (D) are respectively a developed view of a probe sheet metal, a probe sheet metal perspective view, a piezoelectric element and a tip ceramic chip attachment position explanatory diagram of the sheet material identification apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and attached these. It is a whole probe perspective view. In these drawings, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the present embodiment, unlike a conventional probe sheet metal that is cut out from a large sheet metal as a base material into a strip shape and bent at the tip side twice, as shown in FIG. At both ends in the long side direction, a screw hole 15a ′ similar to the conventional one is opened in the vicinity of one end, and a Δ-shaped portion 18a and a rectangular-shaped portion 18b are formed on both sides of the opposite end. A bending margin 18c is provided along the shape of the unfolded portion, and a sheet metal is cut out. The sheet metal is bent at right angles at the dotted line portions in the same figure, and the flat portion as shown in FIG. A Δ-type probe sheet metal 18 with left and right bent bottom surfaces is formed by forming a Δ-shaped structure portion having a side surface Δ-shaped portion and a bottom surface portion with a bent sheet metal.

FIG. 1 (C) shows a positional relationship in which the piezoelectric element portion 15b is attached to the flat portion of the Δ-type probe sheet metal with a left and right bent bottom surface, and the disk-shaped ceramic chip 16 is attached to the bottom surface portion of the Δ structure. After bonding by attaching, the former is bonded with a thin layer with an epoxy adhesive, thereby ensuring electrical conduction between the lower electrode surface of the piezoelectric element and the surface of the sheet metal. By adhering the two in this way, a Δ-type sensor probe 18 ′ with a left and right bent bottom surface as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1D is completed. (In this configuration, the ceramic chip is attached in consideration of the durability of the tip contact portion that is rubbed against the surface of the object to be measured. However, if it is not necessary to guarantee the durability over a long period of time, a sheet metal is used. (You may contact the tip as it is)
The probe machined in this way is characterized by having a structure in which a Δ shape is inclined at the tip, and this Δ shape when viewed from the side as shown in FIG. The position of the bottom end of the probe and the angle formed by the bottom surface are the same as the angle formed by the sheet metal tip position and the tip side bent part of the conventional S-shaped sensor, and the probe tip contact part is scanned. The strain of the flat part of the probe that occurs when it is displaced in the scanning direction according to the frictional resistance difference due to the roughness of the object surface, etc., and the entire probe around the rotating shaft that is rotatably mounted Based on simulation analysis, the strain intensity generated at the time of the upper collision in the flip-up direction and the lower collision in the return direction at the time of the bounce-up reaction is not different between the Δ-type probe of this embodiment and the conventional S-shaped probe. Therefore, the frictional resistance of the surface of the object to be measured, that is, the same kind of force, is detected by the strength of the detected electric signal obtained from the piezoelectric element portion in which the generated electromotive force changes according to the strain strength (more strictly, the strain acceleration). The surface roughness between the materials can be detected almost in the same manner.

  The fact that there is basically no difference in the detection characteristics between the S-shaped probe and the Δ-type probe as described above can be explained in more detail from the detection principle as follows.

  First, the basic detection principle of the S-shaped surface property detection sensor is composed of three flat portions L1, L2, and L3 and two bent portions in the R1 and R2 tables as shown in FIG. When a relatively long flat portion L1 forming a piezoelectric element is inclined by ∠α with an S-shaped probe and the tip is brought into contact, the probe tip is basically larger than ∠α. Contact the transport plane with a heel angle of 90 ° or less. At this time, the side that virtually connects the tip end portion and the first bent portion R1 is Lx, and the angle formed with the horizontal plane is ∠ε. When the sheet material 7 having a minute unevenness of several μm on the surface is conveyed from the right side of the drawing to the leading edge, the leading edge is subject to minute displacement by the forces of Vu and Vd depending on the unevenness. Although it vibrates, the amount of displacement at this time is too small to cause a large deformation in the entire probe. On the other hand, with respect to the horizontal direction, the Hf force acts in the left direction of the page due to the friction force generated in proportion to the probe tip and the surface roughness of the sheet material, and the probe is displaced while deforming the entire probe. When the limit of the deformation amount of the entire probe is reached, it is pulled back by the force of Hb in the reverse direction due to the spring property of the sheet metal, and a displacement vibration in the horizontal direction can be generated. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), when the tip is displaced by Lf in the left direction by the force of Hf in the horizontal direction, the combination of the material (Young's modulus) and the thickness of the sheet metal and L1, By combining the lengths of L2 and L3, the relatively short L2 and L3 are hardly deformed, and the deformation can be concentrated on the longest L1 portion. At this time, the imaginary side Lx rises in the direction in which the angle between Lx and the horizontal plane increases to a larger ∠ε ′ while maintaining the substantially same length, so that the position of the first bent portion R1 is pushed up and becomes fixed. Since L1 warps and deforms between the ends, the piezoelectric element formed therein is distorted to generate electricity, and even if the surface roughness of the sheet material is several μm, the frictional force is generated. If a sufficient force can be applied, it is possible to generate a signal large enough for detection, and it is detected as a difference in strength of a large detection signal by converting a small difference in surface roughness into a clearer friction strength difference. It was to make it possible.

  Furthermore, in the above configuration, although depending on the contact pressure of the entire probe, if one end of L1 is fixed, a strong force always acts on the tip of the probe to the vicinity of the limit of the spring property of the sheet metal. The object surface is easily damaged by dragging, and a burden is great for measurement of a material that is easily broken such as a sheet material, and is not preferable for a delicate measurement object that forms an image in a subsequent process. For this reason, the entire probe can be rotated by replacing this fixed end with a rotating shaft, and the tip can be flipped up along the rotation trajectory before a strong force is applied to the probe tip near the limit of the spring property of the sheet metal. And a collision impact with the paper surface at the time of rebounding (and a collision impact with the upper collision wall immediately after jumping if a collision wall is provided above the rotation trajectory) and momentarily large in the L1 portion. When strain (strain acceleration) is generated, the jumping force also changes according to the strength of the frictional force between the probe tip and the sheet material surface, so that the impact strength difference can be captured as the strength difference of the identification signal. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a sufficient detection signal without damaging the surface of the sheet material.

  On the other hand, as the detection principle of the surface property detection sensor using the Δ-type probe, as shown in FIG. 3 (A), instead of the tip structure bent into the S shape of the S character type surface property detection sensor, A connecting portion having a length of L1 ′ is provided at the tip (in this case, a part of the tip of the L1 portion is used as L1 ′), and the side Lx virtually provided by the S-shaped probe is directly connected to the tip of the connecting portion and the S-shaped probe. This is the ridgeline of the actual three-dimensional structure portion connecting the tip contact portions at the same position as the tip contact portion, and the bottom portion of this three-dimensional structure portion has a length Ly and a horizontal plane substantially equal to L3 of the S-shaped probe. And a shape constituted by a side having a length Lz that connects the right end portion and the rear end portion of the connecting portion with a straight line. In this state, when the sheet material 7 having a concavo-convex surface is conveyed from the right direction, basically a slight vertical vibration is generated in the same manner as the behavior of the S-shaped probe. As shown in FIG. 3B, first, when the tip is displaced by Lf in the left direction by the horizontal Hf force, as shown in FIG. Since it is negligible to deform the sides Lx, Ly, and Lz, it is possible to concentrate the acting force on the L1 portion more securely than the S-shaped probe, and the length of the side Lx does not change. As the angle between Lx and the horizontal plane increases to a larger ∠ε ′, the tip position of L1 is surely pushed up higher than the S-shaped probe and becomes higher, and L1 is more surely separated from the fixed end by Lh. Cause warping deformation Therefore, the piezoelectric element formed here generates a strain strength difference (strain acceleration difference) according to the surface roughness (friction resistance) of the sheet material to generate an electric signal with a clear strength difference. In order to prevent scratches on the surface of the object to be measured in the same manner as the S-shaped probe, it may be used as a configuration attached to the rotating shaft.

  As described above, the Δ-type surface property detection sensor used in the present embodiment basically has the same detection principle as that of the S-shaped surface property detection sensor. Since the push-up force is not absorbed due to temporary deformation, performance and stability higher than those of the S-shaped surface property detection sensor can be expected.

In order to check whether or not the difference in rigidity of the probe tip contact portion has an influence on the detection characteristics, deformation is caused by applying the same pressure to the two probe tip portions of the S shape and Δ type. As a result of simulation analysis of the stress distribution generated in each L1 part when it was made, it was found that in the Δ type, a strong stress tends to concentrate also on the bending margin part newly provided at the fixed end approaching base part. However, it has been confirmed that in the region of the piezoelectric element forming portion, both have stresses and distribution tendencies that are substantially equal. (However, in this configuration, a connecting portion between the L1 portion and the Δ structure portion is necessary, but basically the rigidity of the connecting portion is higher and the deformation is less, so if this region becomes too long, the region where distortion occurs in the L1 portion. Therefore, when the probe is made with the same size, the overall signal level tends to decrease.In this embodiment, therefore, the length of the connecting portion is reduced. (Minimize as much as possible and keep it at 1mm)
While it is expected that there is no problem in the basic detection characteristics as described above, as other characteristics of the probe of this embodiment, it is advantageous in terms of machining accuracy and mechanical stability as described below.

◎ In terms of workability
The shape of the tip structure can be machined with sheet metal cutting accuracy, and the bending accuracy can be done only with simple right angle bending, so it is easy to improve the accuracy of the tip position and angle after machining. ◎ In terms of mechanical strength Conventional S The character probe
・ Because the bending center axis of the two bent portions intersects the rotation plane of the rotating shaft that rotatably holds the probe, the probe is rotating (the two directions, the forward direction during scanning and the reverse direction during jam processing). However, mechanical strength remains uneasy, for example, because the bending angle of the two bent parts is acute, and the deformation tends to be more acute.
In the probe of this example,
・ Because the bending center axis of each bending part is parallel to the rotation plane of the rotating shaft that rotatably holds the probe, external force that deforms the bending part is difficult to act during the rotation of the probe. ・ Bending of the two bending parts Since the angle is right, it is more difficult to deform than when the acute angle part is compressed by an external force acting perpendicularly to each surface or when the obtuse angle part is widened. The experimental results of the configuration when the sensor probe 18 ′ is attached to an actual unit and detected while conveying sheet materials having different surface roughness are described (however, the numerical values such as the material, dimensions, and speed are only in this embodiment) It is a condition of the example, and the performance of the sensor of the present invention is not necessarily limited to these conditions. The shape and size of the object to be measured and the device, the detection speed It goes without saying that also there are many, including each appropriate material and an acceptable range, such as size and speed in accordance with a combination of various conditions, etc.).

  First, in this experiment, the Δ-type sensor 18 ′ with left and right bent bottoms is set as shown in the paper conveyance side view when the paper is passed through the sensor unit of FIG. Made of SUS344, the thickness is 0.15 mm, the width of the upper flat part is 4 mm, and the length is 15 mm. The piezoelectric element 15b is made of PZT having a size of 3 mm × 5 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm, and an epoxy adhesive at a position closer to the fixed end side by 3 mm from the left and right bent side ends of the upper flat part. (The length of the piezoelectric element is 1 mm shorter than that of the conventional S-shaped sensor due to the above-described configuration, and therefore, the signal output is slightly reduced).

  The ceramic chip 16 is made of zirconia having a thickness of 0.3 mm and has a disk shape. The chip has a disk diameter of 3.6 mm and is brazed to the bottom surface of the probe sheet metal tip. Has been. The tip end of the zirconia tip is fixed by protruding from the tip end of the probe metal plate by a distance d so that the tip end of the zirconia tip always comes into contact first. Here, d = 0.5 mm, the tip of the zirconia chip is brought into contact with the conveyance path surface by a pressurizing means (torsion coil spring) (not shown) with a force of 0.1 N, and comes into contact with the sheet material surface to be conveyed. By sliding and rubbing the sheet material 7 at the lowest point of the circumference of the zirconia chip, vibration and desorption impacts are repeated in the front-rear direction in the transport direction and in the up-down rotation direction around the rotation shaft 15e. Strain is induced in 15b, and the roughness of the surface of the sheet material is mainly identified by its strength.

  FIG. 4B shows a basic basis weight after first passing an OHT sheet (hereinafter referred to as OHT) through the sensor unit having the probe thus configured, as in the case of the graph of FIG. Is a graph created by taking each paper type on the horizontal axis and the detection signal level on the vertical axis when passing rough paper and smooth paper alternately in order from left to right. The measurement result (round plot point, broken line) of average surface roughness = Ra [μm] by a non-contact surface roughness meter is also plotted. Note that the detection result described above is to evaluate only the pure surface roughness detection characteristics of the sensor, so that the sensor can be fed at a paper transport speed equivalent to that of an existing high-speed image forming apparatus, and the paper is bent and deformed. It is a plot of the signal level obtained by integrating the detection signal when the surface property is detected by scanning a distance of about ¼ of the total length of each paper mounted on a jig having a counter-runway that does not occur.

  As is apparent from this graph, the detection result of the paper surface using the Δ-type sensor probe 18 ′ with the left and right bent bottoms is higher than that of the conventional S-shaped surface property detection sensor of FIG. It can be seen that there is a very good correlation with the measurement result (however, the output signal level is low overall because the size of the piezoelectric element of this sensor has been reduced)

  FIGS. 5A to 5C are a probe sheet metal development view, a probe sheet metal perspective view, and a perspective view of the entire probe after attaching a piezoelectric element and a tip ceramic chip, respectively, of the sheet material identification apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In these drawings, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 (A) from a large sheet metal serving as a base material, a screw hole similar to the conventional one is provided near one end at both ends in the long side direction of the strip-shaped sheet metal part. 15a 'is opened, and a sheet metal is cut out by providing a one-side bending allowance 19c along the shape of the tip structure forming development part having a Δ-shaped part 19a for one side and a rectangular part 19b for one side on one side of the opposite end part, The sheet metal is bent at right angles at each dotted line in the figure, and a Δ-type structure part having a side face Δ shape part and a bottom face part is bent from the left side of the front end of the flat part as shown in FIG. 5B. The formed Δ-type probe sheet metal 19 with a bent bottom on one side is formed. When the piezoelectric element portion and the disk-shaped ceramic chip are attached to the sheet metal in the same manner as in Example 1, the linear probe is completed, as shown in the perspective view of FIG.

  As a feature of the present embodiment, basically, as in the first embodiment, the probe tip has a structure in which a Δ shape is inclined obliquely. The tip of the probe is formed of sheet metal bent from both sides, but is formed only on one side, so that material and processing steps can be saved. On the other hand, it is disadvantageous in terms of shape stability when a strong external force is applied from the side surface side of the probe as compared with the configuration of the first embodiment. However, when it is actually incorporated in the apparatus, it is perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction. There is almost no external force acting from the side, and there is no problem using this probe.

  Also in the sensor using the probe of the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the position of the lowermost end portion and the angle formed by the bottom surface portion of the Δ-shaped portion are the sheet metal tip position and the tip side of the conventional S-shaped sensor. The strain strength of the flat portion of the probe that occurs when the probe tip contact portion is displaced in the scanning direction according to the frictional resistance difference caused by the roughness of the surface of the object being scanned, etc. In addition, when the entire probe is bounced up by the reaction force of the frictional force of the tip portion around the rotation shaft that is rotatably attached, the strain strength generated at the time of the upper collision and the lower collision of the rebound direction is the conventional S Since it was created based on simulation analysis so that it is not much different from the shape probe, it was obtained from the piezoelectric element where the generated electromotive force changes according to these strain strengths (more strictly, strain acceleration) So substantially can be detected in the same way the surface roughness between knowledge by the intensity of the electric signal of the frictional resistance or the same kind of the workpiece surface material.

  6A to 6C are a probe sheet metal development view, a probe sheet metal perspective view, and a probe whole perspective view after attachment of a piezoelectric element and a tip ceramic chip, respectively, of a sheet material identification apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In these drawings, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6 (A) from a large sheet metal serving as a base material, a screw hole similar to the conventional one is provided near one end at both ends in the long side direction of the strip-shaped sheet metal portion. 15a ′ is opened, and a sheet metal is cut out by providing the same one-side bending allowance 19c as in Example 2 along the shape of the tip structure forming development part having a one-sided Δ-shaped part 20a on one side of the opposite end. The sheet metal was bent at right angles at each dotted line in the same figure, and a Δ-type structure part having a side Δ-shaped part was formed with the sheet metal bent from the left side of the tip of the flat part as shown in FIG. 6B. A one-side bent Δ-type probe sheet metal 20 is formed. While the piezoelectric element portion is attached to this sheet metal in the same manner as in Example 1, the cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 6C is square instead of the disk-shaped ceramic chip, and the length of one side is 3 mm. A 6 mm regular quadrangular prism-shaped block-shaped ceramic chip 16 ′ is used, and its side surface portion is brazed to the inner side surface of the Δ-shaped portion 20 a of the probe sheet metal,
・ Align the longitudinal direction of the block-shaped ceramic chip in parallel with the lower side of the sheet metal. ・ Make the rectangular lower surface of the ceramic chip protrude 0.5 mm below the lower side of the sheet metal. ・ The square lower surface of the ceramic chip is the corner of the lower end of the sheet metal. It is attached under the condition that it protrudes 0.5mm from the part in the direction extending downward from the lower side of the sheet metal.

  As a feature of the present embodiment, basically, as in the second embodiment, the probe tip portion has a structure in which a Δ shape is inclined obliquely, but the probe of the second embodiment is bent twice at a right angle. In the present embodiment, it is composed of a sheet metal which is bent once at a right angle, and a flat ceramic chip is attached by forming a flat surface at the tip of the probe as in the prior art and in the first embodiment. Instead, it is bonded to the inner side surface of the sheet metal using a block-shaped ceramic chip having a bonding area sufficient to obtain a sufficient bonding strength on the side surface, and the number of bendings is twice that of the conventional and the first embodiment. Therefore, the processing accuracy can be improved and the processing cost can be suppressed. However, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the bottom surface portion of the block-shaped ceramic chip is in contact with the surface of the sheet material. Therefore, if the width of the bottom surface of the block-shaped ceramic chip is too narrow and approaches a needle shape, the sheet material rubs. Since the problem of creating scratches and local dents on the tip occurs on the surface, it is preferable to have a width of 3 mm or more as in this embodiment.

  Also in the sensor using the probe of the present embodiment, as in the first and second embodiments, the position of the lowermost end portion of the Δ-shaped portion and the angle formed by the bottom portion are determined by the position of the tip of the sheet metal of the conventional S-shaped sensor and This is the same as the angle formed by the tip side bent part, and the probe flat part generated when the probe tip contact part is displaced in the scanning direction according to the frictional resistance difference caused by the roughness of the surface of the object to be scanned etc. The strain strength and the strain strength generated when the entire probe is bounced up by the reaction force of the frictional force of the tip part around the rotating shaft that is rotatably mounted, respectively, at the time of the upper collision and the lower collision of the rebound direction are conventional. Since it is created based on simulation analysis so that it is not much different from the S-shaped probe, it is obtained from the piezoelectric element part where the generated electromotive force changes according to these strain strengths (more precisely, strain acceleration). So than between the material of the frictional resistance or the same type of workpiece surface can be detected and its surface roughness in much the same way by the intensity of the detection electric signal.

  FIGS. 7A to 7E are perspective views of a probe tip resin member, a probe tip resin member side view, and a description of attaching a ceramic chip to the probe tip resin member bottom surface of a sheet material identification device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. It is a figure, a probe flat part upper surface, a tip resin part attachment explanatory drawing to a probe flat part, and a completed probe perspective view. In these drawings, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In this embodiment, a resin Δ-type structure 21 as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 7 (A) is used as the Δ-type structure formed at the probe tip, and the side shape of FIG. 7 (B) is used. As shown in the side view, it is composed of a Δ-shaped side surface portion 21a having a Δ shape, a sheet metal mounting protrusion 21c on the top, a bottom surface portion 21d with a ceramic chip mounting portion, and the like. C), an arc-shaped stepped portion 21e having a lower height than the upper side is formed on the lower side of the bottom surface at a pre-designed position, and the disk-shaped ceramic chip 16 is abutted and attached thereto so as to be inserted; When bonded with an adhesive, the tip of the ceramic chip can be attached by protruding a distance d from the lower side as shown on the right side of the arrow. In this embodiment, the step of the arc-shaped step 21e is 0.5 mm, The shape of the arc-shaped stepped portion 21e is designed using a disc-shaped ceramic chip of .5 mm and Φ3.6 mm so that it can be mounted at d = 0.5 mm as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the assembly process can be simplified.

  Next, as shown in the top view of FIG. 7D, the probe flat portion for attaching the resin Δ-type structure portion 21 uses a resin-made flat plate 22 for a probe made of a separate sheet metal. As can be seen from this top view, one end of the sheet metal is provided with a screwing hole 15a ′ similar to the conventional one, and a piezoelectric element 15b and a solder electrode 15b ′ for signal line connection are formed in the center. In addition, a resin Δ-type structure attachment hole 22a for attaching a protrusion of the resin Δ-type structure is provided at the other end on the opposite side. As shown in FIG. 7E, the protrusion 21b of the resin Δ-type structure portion is inserted into the mounting hole 22a from below the flat plate 22 for the resin probe, and is adhered with an adhesive, so that the perspective view of the arrow tip can be obtained. The resin Δ-type probe 23 is as shown.

As a feature of this embodiment,
・ Sheet metal processing only requires cutting out of the metal plate and bending is not necessary. ・ Delta structure provided at the probe tip can be realized with resin processing accuracy. ・ Deformation of Δ structure can be ignored. ・ Ceramic chip attached to the tip. Although the attachment process can be made highly accurate and easy, and the number of bonding steps between the flat portion and the Δ-type structure portion is increased, the whole can be manufactured with higher accuracy and lower cost.

Regarding this bonding method, it is difficult to braze the resin to which the ceramic chip is attached due to heat resistance restrictions, so an adhesive is used, but for efficiency,
・ Using an epoxy adhesive used for bonding piezoelectric elements,
It is preferable to bond the interfaces of the piezoelectric element and the flat plate, the flat plate and the Δ-type resin portion, and the Δ-type resin portion and the ceramic chip at the same time.

In this example, in order to improve efficiency by using the resin,
・ Uses transparent polycarbonate as the resin material. ・ Uses UV curable adhesive as the adhesive, so that the bonding between the flat part and the resin part and between the resin part and the ceramic chip part can be simultaneously performed in a short time by UV light irradiation. (The flat part is also formed of polycarbonate together with the Δ-type part, and the piezoelectric element can be bonded at the same time. In this case, it is necessary to devise a connection between the back electrode of the piezoelectric element and the wiring).

In addition, as other means utilizing the use of resin,
・ Establishing a flat sheet metal and a tip ceramic chip in the resin processing mold ・ Establishing the efficiency of the insert molding by integrating the flat and tip simultaneously with the resin molding process by insert molding.

  Also in the sensor using the probe of the present embodiment, the position of the bottom end portion and the bottom surface portion of the Δ-shaped portion is the angle formed by the sheet metal tip position and the tip side bent portion of the conventional S-shaped sensor. The probe tip abutment part is attached to the probe flat part so that it is displaced in the scanning direction according to the frictional resistance difference caused by the roughness of the surface of the object to be scanned. When the entire probe is bounced up by the reaction force of the frictional force at the tip, the strain intensity generated at the time of the upper collision and the lower collision of the return direction is largely different from the conventional S-shaped probe. Because it is created based on simulation analysis so as not to detect, the detected electrical signal obtained from the piezoelectric element part where the generated electromotive force changes according to these strain strengths (more precisely, strain acceleration) In between the material of the frictional resistance or the same kind of the workpiece surface it becomes possible to detect the surface roughness in much the same way by the intensity.

  FIGS. 8A and 8B are each an explanatory diagram of attaching a ceramic chip to the bottom surface of the probe tip resin member of the sheet material identification device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention, and an explanatory diagram of attaching the tip resin portion to the flat portion of the probe. It is a probe perspective view. In these drawings, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In this embodiment, a Δ-type structure formed on the probe tip is basically a resin Δ-type structure similar to that of Example 4, and a ceramic chip with a cut surface is attached to the bottom of the structure. The resin Δ-type structure 24 is used. When the bottom surface 24d is viewed from the front, as shown in FIG. 8 (A), the bottom is lower and the height is lower than the upper side, and the center is parallel to the measurement surface. An arc-shaped stepped portion 24e with a horizontal portion having a horizontal portion and an arc-shaped portion on the left and right thereof is formed at a pre-designed position, with a parallel cut surface having two parallel horizontal cut surfaces on the upper and lower sides. When the ceramic chip 16 ″ is abutted and attached so as to be inserted, the tip of the ceramic chip can be attached by protruding by a distance d from the lower side as shown on the right side of the arrow. The step of the arc-shaped stepped portion 24e with a flat portion is 0.5 mm, the thickness is 0.5 mm, a φ3.6 mm arc portion, and 3 mm wide ceramic chips with two parallel cut surfaces are used as in the first embodiment. The shape of the arc-shaped step portion 24e with a horizontal portion is designed so that it can be attached at 0.5 mm.

  Next, the flat plate portion 22 for the resin probe for attaching the resin Δ-type structure portion 24 with the tip cut surface uses the same flat plate 22 for a resin probe as in the first embodiment, and as shown in FIG. The protrusion 21b is attached from below the flat plate 22 for the resin probe, so that a resin Δ-type sensor probe 25 with a tip cut surface as shown in the perspective view of the arrow tip is obtained.

As a feature of the present embodiment, a flat contact portion having a side parallel to the plane to be measured is formed at the probe tip, and the width of the flat contact portion is adjusted to act between the probe and the sheet material surface. The mounting method of the flat contact part when the friction force strength can be selected is simplified by using resin parts. Specifically, the bottom surface ceramic chip attachment of the resin Δ type structure part Provide a horizontal part parallel to the measurement surface of the step part.

  A cut surface having a desired width is formed at the tip contact portion based on the disk-shaped chip as the ceramic chip to be attached, and a cut surface parallel to the cut surface is formed (in this embodiment, the widths of the two cut surfaces are Although it is the same, it is not necessarily required to be the same, and the width of the cut surface opposite to the tip contact portion may be set to be within the width of the horizontal portion provided on the resin seat surface).

  ・ Since the ceramic chip is fitted into the stepped portion of the resin and bonded, the flat contact portion at the probe tip becomes parallel to the plane to be measured.

  It can be easily realized as follows.

  Providing a flat portion at the tip can be adjusted when adjusting the contact width as described above, so that it is effective when adjusting the generated friction strength to a desired strength, and flat for paper-based sheet materials composed of ordinary fibers. The detection signal decreases as the width of the portion increases, and conversely, the resin-based sheet material having a surface with high adhesion tends to increase the frictional strength and increase the signal level. Since the left and right corners are also formed because it is provided, if the ceramic chip with a cut surface is attached with a large inclination, it will scan with a sharp tip shape, and it may become reverse characteristics, It is effective to configure as in this embodiment.

  Also in the sensor using the probe of the present embodiment, the position of the bottom end portion and the bottom surface portion of the Δ-shaped portion is the angle formed by the sheet metal tip position and the tip side bent portion of the conventional S-shaped sensor. The probe tip abutment part is attached to the probe flat part so that it is displaced in the scanning direction according to the frictional resistance difference caused by the roughness of the surface of the object to be scanned. When the entire probe is bounced up by the reaction force of the frictional force at the tip, the strain intensity generated at the time of the upper collision and the lower collision of the return direction is largely different from the conventional S-shaped probe. Because it is created based on simulation analysis so as not to detect, the detected electrical signal obtained from the piezoelectric element part where the generated electromotive force changes according to these strain strengths (more precisely, strain acceleration) In between the material of the frictional resistance or the same kind of the workpiece surface it becomes possible to detect the surface roughness in much the same way by the intensity.

  Here, a ceramic chip (both made of zirconia in the present invention) was used as an abutting member to be attached to the tip in Examples 4 and 5, but this is because the sheet material is conveyed at a high speed of 200 mm / second or more, In addition, it is used for products requiring high durability with a repetition count of 450,000 times or more, and products with a relatively short product life that do not require high wear resistance at the sensor tip. It is not always necessary to use a ceramic chip in a configuration that can be attached to a part that is to be replaced multiple times during the product life. Depending on the required durability, a material that is at least harder than resin, such as SUS sheet metal, is cheaper. Needless to say, it may be used.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an ink jet image forming apparatus equipped with a sheet material identification device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, paper type detection is performed by applying the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 using the one-side bent Δ-type probe sheet metal 20 shown in the embodiment 3 as a probe to an ink jet printer as shown in FIG. The function-equipped inkjet printer 26 is configured.

  The image forming apparatus is configured as follows in this cross-sectional structure. That is, a paper feed tray 27, an ink jet paper feed roller 29 (corresponding to a sheet material conveying unit), a paper guide 28, a pinch roller pair 30, a recording head 31 (corresponding to a discharge-type image forming unit), a platen 32, a paper discharge It is composed of a roller pair 33 and the like.

  In this type of image forming apparatus, after the sheet material 7 is conveyed to the recording head 31, the recording head 31 is reciprocated in the sheet material width direction perpendicular to the sheet material moving direction to form an image in the main scanning direction. In the sub-scanning direction, a method of forming an image by step feeding is the mainstream. Since this embodiment is also of this type, the paper conveyance speed is relatively slow compared to the electrophotographic type image forming apparatus mounted in Examples 1 to 6, and a configuration that is cheaper in terms of cost is required. For this reason, in this embodiment, in order to keep the cost low, an ink jet printer with a paper type detection function that is cheaper while improving processing accuracy is realized by using the one-side one-bend Δ-type probe sheet metal 20.

  In this image forming apparatus, in general, information on the surface roughness and material difference of the sheet material related to the ink repellency and penetrability on the surface of the sheet material is more important than the thickness information as the characteristic of the sheet material. As for the thickness, the ink is smeared on the back side of the image when the ink is placed on the thin sheet material, and there is a concern that the image may show through the back side of the sheet. In the case of a sheet material having a thickness of 5 mm, it is not necessary to discriminate too much thick paper as long as it is within a thickness range in which the paper can be passed through the conveyance path, and it is sufficient that the thin paper detectability functions sufficiently as a sensor. However, in this embodiment, since the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 is used which is abbreviated to be configured by eliminating the paper pressing unit in this way, the paper thickness is more than that of the sensor having the configuration having the paper pressing unit. The detection performance for the difference is improved, and it becomes easy to detect even excess thickness information. For this reason, in the configuration of this device, sensor detection is performed so that only the detection signal of the thin paper is detected low without providing a device that positively bends and deforms the sheet material according to its rigidity in the vicinity of the sensor detection unit. A step structure is provided in which a paper guide inclined surface 24 ′ is provided on the paper conveyance surface of the paper guide 24 immediately below the paper guide 24. As a result, only thin paper with low rigidity is rubbed against the probe tip while tilting along this slope, so that the contact pressure between the probe tip and the paper surface is reduced and the friction strength is attenuated, resulting in a lower detection signal. it can. On the other hand, a sheet material having a thickness (rigidity) greater than or equal to a predetermined thickness does not deform along the slope immediately after reaching the slope, and a gap is formed between the slope and the flat end of the paper guide. Since the height is maintained for a certain length in accordance with the rigidity of each sheet material, only the surface roughness of the sheet thicker than the thin paper is detected.

  Based on the information thus detected, a control unit (not shown) optimizes and controls the ink discharge amount in accordance with a plurality of conditions such as the surface roughness of the sheet material 7 and the difference in material and thickness. It becomes possible to do. As described above, the present embodiment is designed to obtain the best image quality according to the characteristics of the sheet material 7, and the configuration of the present embodiment eliminates poor conveyance even when thin paper having a leading edge curl is conveyed. It is possible to stably improve the long-term reliability of the identification ability of the sheet material 7 without damaging the probe even if a force that pulls it back in the reverse direction is applied without jamming. Become.

  In this embodiment, a low-cost sensor configuration that does not have paper pressing means is used in order to prioritize the realization of the apparatus at low cost. However, when there is no need to prioritize cost, the paper pressing means and sensor detection are used. Needless to say, this may be realized by a method of adjusting the contact pressure of the probe and the paper pressing pressure by providing a sheet material bending structure or means around the portion.

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a thermal head type image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, the thermal head printer 34 with a paper type detection function is configured by applying the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 to a thermal head printer as shown in FIG.

  The thermal head type image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an ink ribbon 37, a pair of ink ribbon transport rollers 35, a thermal head 36 (corresponding to a thermal transfer image forming means), a head facing plate / paper transport guide 38, and the like. . Usually, after receiving the print signal, the sheet material 7 is fed between the head facing plate / paper conveyance guide 38 and the ink ribbon conveyance roller 35 on the sheet feeding side by a sheet feeding roller and a sheet conveying roller (corresponding to a sheet material conveying means) (not shown). It is conveyed to the nip part. The sheet material 7 is nipped between the ink ribbon 37 and the head counter plate / paper conveyance guide 38 and then conveyed to the thermal head 36 together with the ink ribbon 37 while being in close contact with the ink ribbon 37. Here, necessary power is supplied to the thermal head 36 according to the print signal, and the ink layer 37 'on the ink ribbon 37 is heated and melted and thermally transferred to the surface of the sheet material. Thus, after the ink image 37 ″ is formed on the sheet material 7, the ink image 37 ″ is sequentially sent out by the operation of the conveying roller portion.

  This type of image forming apparatus is also required to have a construction with a lower paper conveyance speed and a lower cost in comparison with the electrophotographic type image forming apparatus mounted in the above embodiment. For this reason, in this embodiment, in order to keep the cost low, a cheaper paper type can be obtained by using the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 using the one-side one-bend Δ-type probe sheet metal 20 shown in the embodiment 3 as a probe. A thermal head printer with a detection function has been realized.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, an inexpensive structure is provided at a position opposite to the head facing plate / paper conveyance guide 38 portion before the nip portion of the head facing plate / paper conveyance guide 38 portion and the ink ribbon conveyance roller 35 on the paper feeding side. The S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15 is arranged. Further, in the vicinity of the upstream side of the sheet material conveyance direction of the probe tip contact portion of the S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15, the paper conveyance slope upper guide 38 facing the upstream inclined surface of the head facing plate / paper conveyance guide 38. An upstream sheet material convex deformation conveyance path 38 ″ composed of “is provided at a position and an angle enabling sheet material conveyance so as to push up the probe tip from below the probe. The mold deformation conveying path 38 ″ (corresponding to the sheet material deforming means) has a configuration in which the sheet material conveying path is bent in a downward direction (a direction away from the probe with respect to the conveying plane). In this way, a bending structure is provided in the sheet material conveyance path, and the rigidity information of the sheet material 7 can be detected in addition to the surface property information of the sheet material 7 by the detection signal of the sensor S-shaped surface property detection sensor 15. In the configuration, particularly when the sheet material is conveyed from diagonally below the probe and bent at the probe tip of the sensor as a method of bending deformation of the sheet material, the sheet material conveying force in the diagonally upward direction and the bent portion of the sheet material Since the upward deformation pressure is combined, the probe tip is more strongly lifted upward, and the paper thickness (rigidity) detection characteristic can be enhanced. Further, in this configuration, the sensor itself is a configuration with high paper thickness (rigidity) detection performance that eliminates the paper pressing means, and thus this configuration makes it particularly easy to detect the paper thickness difference of the sheet material. The thermal head type image forming apparatus has the effect that the surface roughness of the sheet material to be used becomes a thermal resistance and the temperature of the sheet material with a rougher surface is less likely to rise, and the ink transferability is reduced. ) Also changes the power required for heating to the same temperature, and it is necessary to increase the supply power for thicker sheet materials. Therefore, it is preferable to use a configuration with enhanced sheet material thickness detection performance as described above. Based on the detected information, a control unit (not shown) optimizes the amount of power supplied to the thermal head 36 according to the heat capacity of the sheet material 7 in addition to the contact thermal resistance of the sheet material surface. Can be controlled. The best image quality can be obtained with the minimum necessary temperature and power according to the characteristics of the sheet material 7.

  Here, in each of the embodiments described above, the shape of the structure of the probe tip is a Δ-type when viewed from the side, but this is a simple and minimal basis for the shape of the side of the tip structure. This machine is used as a representative of the shape, and at least the center part of the connecting part between the Δ-shaped part and the flat part, and a machine that can tolerate the usage conditions of the tip and upper right part as long as the shape covers three points. S-shaped cut-out probe in which sheet metal is cut out so that the side shape as shown in the side view and perspective view of FIG. 39, or an L-shaped cut-out probe 40 in which a sheet metal is cut so that the side shape as shown in the side view and perspective view of FIG. Well, this is the same for resin probes Needless to say, various polygons may be used as long as there is no harmful effect on the conveyance of the sheet material and the movable range of the probe itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the sheet | seat material identification device which concerns on Example 1 of this invention, (A) is a probe expanded view, (B) is a probe perspective view, (C) is a probe side view, (D) is a sensor perspective view. . It is a basic detection principle explanatory view of the S-shaped surface property detection sensor according to the conventional example, (A) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the probe just before entering the sheet material, (B) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the probe in the middle of passing the sheet material tip is there. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is basic explanatory principle explanatory drawing of (DELTA) type surface property detection sensor which concerns on Example 1 of this invention, (A) is a probe cross-sectional schematic diagram just before sheet material approach, (B) is a probe cross-sectional model in the middle of sheet material front-end | tip part passage FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the sheet | seat material identification device which concerns on Example 1 of this invention, and an experimental result, (A) is sensor unit sectional drawing with a (DELTA) type probe, (B) demonstrates the surface roughness detection characteristic of a sensor with a (DELTA) type probe. It is a graph to do. It is a figure which shows the sheet | seat material identification device which concerns on Example 2 of this invention, (A) is a probe expanded view, (B) is a probe perspective view, (C) is a sensor perspective view. It is a figure which shows the sheet | seat material identification device which concerns on Example 3 of this invention, (A) is a probe expanded view, (B) is a probe perspective view, (C) is a sensor perspective view. It is a figure which shows the sheet | seat material identification device which concerns on Example 4 of this invention, (A) is a resin block perspective view, (B) is a resin block side view, (C) is resin block bottom face chip | tip installation explanatory drawing, (D) Is a top view of a flat sheet metal for a resin probe, and (E) is a resin block attachment explanatory view and a sensor perspective view. It is a figure which shows the sheet | seat material identification device which concerns on Example 5 of this invention, (A) is resin block bottom surface chip | tip installation explanatory drawing, (B) is resin block attachment explanatory drawing and a sensor perspective view. It is a schematic structure sectional view of an ink jet printer with a paper type detection device concerning Example 4 of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thermal head printer with a paper type detection device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part structure sectional drawing of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on a prior art example. It is a figure which shows the S-shaped surface property detection sensor which concerns on a prior art example, (A) is a paper conveyance path periphery sectional view of an S-shaped surface property detection sensor, (B) is the attachment state upper surface of an S-shaped surface property detection sensor. FIG. 4C is a block diagram of a fixing device control system using an S-shaped surface property detection sensor. It is a graph explaining the surface roughness detection characteristic of the sheet | seat material identification device which concerns on a prior art example. (A) is a sheet thickness detection principle explanatory drawing of the sheet material identification device according to the conventional example, and (B) is a sheet thickness detection characteristic graph of the sheet material identification device according to the conventional example. (A) is a perspective view of the probe of the sheet material identification device according to the conventional example, (B) is a perspective view of the probe holder of the sheet material identification device according to the conventional example, and (C) is an overall perspective view of the sheet material identification device according to the conventional example. FIG. (A) Side view and perspective view of a probe in which a sheet metal is cut into an S-shape as another shape example according to the present invention, and (B) is a probe in which a sheet metal is cut into an L-shape as another shape example in accordance with the present invention. It is a side view and a perspective view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charging roller 2 Photosensitive drum 3 Exposure means 4 Developer 5 Toner 6 Transfer roller (equivalent to image formation means)
7 Sheet material (equivalent to the object to be measured)
7 'Thin paper 7 "Thick paper 7e Conveyance roller before transfer (equivalent to sheet material conveying means)
8 Static elimination brush 10 Cleaning container 12 Fixing device (equivalent to fixing means)
15 S-shaped surface property detection sensor (equivalent to surface property identification device)
15a S-shaped probe 15a 'probe fixing screw mounting hole 15b piezoelectric element 15b' solder electrode 15c probe holder 15d fixing screw with washer 15g sensor holding plate 15g 'bending sensor holding plate (corresponding to sheet material deformation means)
15h conveyance plane plate 15h 'bent conveyance plane plate (equivalent to sheet material deformation means)
15i sensor fixing base 15i ′ sheet material guide rib 15 ′ control unit 15′a estimation unit 15′b temperature table 16 disc-shaped ceramic chip 16 ′ block-shaped ceramic chip 16 ”ceramic chip with parallel cut surface 17 paper pressing roller 18 left and right bent bottom surface Δ-type probe sheet metal 18a Δ-shaped part 18b Rectangular-shaped part 18c Bending allowance 18 ′ Δ-type sensor sheet with left and right bent bottom surface 19 Δ-type probe sheet metal with one-side bent bottom surface 20 One-side one-bend Δ-type probe sheet metal 21 Resin Δ-type structure Part 22 Flat plate for resin probe 22a Resin Δ-type structure mounting hole 23 Resin Δ-type probe 24 Resin Δ-type structure with tip cut surface 25 Resin Δ sensor probe with tip cut surface 26 Paper type detection function Inkjet printer with 29 paper feed La (equivalent to sheet material conveying means)
31 recording head (equivalent to ejection-type image forming means)
34 Thermal head printer with paper type detection function 36 Thermal head (equivalent to thermal transfer image forming means)
37 Ink Ribbon

Claims (20)

A piezoelectric element portion, a tip contact portion, a mechanical structure portion in which the tip contact portion can vibrate before and after the scan direction of the object to be measured, and parallel to a scan plane perpendicular to or near the scan direction. A surface property identification apparatus comprising: a probe having a fixed end rotatably fixed to a rotation axis close to parallel; and a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the probe in a direction opposite to the scanning direction around the rotation axis. There,
The probe is
A flat part capable of forming the piezoelectric element part in the vicinity of the fixed end part;
Between the flat part and the tip contact part, there is a three-dimensional structure part having a side surface or a cross section perpendicular to the plane of the flat part, excluding the plate thickness component, and the three-dimensional structure part is fixed Seen from the side of the flat part when the end is placed on the right side,
At least a connecting central part with the left end of the flat part;
The tip contact portion;
An obliquely upper right portion of the tip contact portion;
A surface property identification device comprising: a polygonal structure including the three points as vertices. The surface property identification apparatus according to claim 1,
The three-dimensional structure part is
When viewed from the side of the flat portion when the fixed end portion is disposed on the right side, a connecting center portion with the left end portion of the flat portion, the tip contact portion, and a diagonally upper right portion of the tip contact portion A surface property identification device characterized in that the structure has a Δ-shaped shape with the three points as apexes. In the surface identification device according to claim 1,
The probe has an acute angle formed between the tip contact portion when the object to be measured enters the probe and the object to be measured, and the pressure applied by the pressurizing means splashes by the probe. The surface of the object to be measured is scanned so that it can be pressed and contacted with strength that can be raised,
The piezoelectric element section generates an electric signal by inducing strain due to vibration and impact according to the unevenness and friction coefficient of the surface of the object to be measured, and the surface of the object to be measured is based on the intensity difference of the electric signal. A surface property identification apparatus for identifying surface property. In the surface property identification device according to claim 2,
The probe is
The flat part and the Δ-shaped part are cut out integrally from a metal sheet metal via a connecting part,
A surface property identification apparatus, which is a sheet metal probe which is formed by bending the connecting portion of the cut metal sheet metal cut at a right angle. The surface property identification apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
In the sheet metal side surface portion of the lower end portion of the Δ-shaped portion as viewed from the flat portion side surface direction when the fixed end portion is arranged on the right side,
Through the glue means
Block-shaped ceramic chip
The lower surface of the block-shaped ceramic chip is parallel to the lower side of the Δ-shaped portion,
And pasting so as to be located below the lower side of the Δ-shaped portion,
The surface property identification apparatus characterized in that the lowermost side portion of the block-shaped ceramic chip is the tip contact portion. In the surface property identification device according to claim 2,
The probe is
From metal sheet metal
The flat portion;
The Δ-shaped portion formed through the first connecting portion;
The base part of the Δ-shaped part and the flat part formed through the second connecting part are cut out integrally,
Each of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion of the machined metal sheet cut out,
Processed by bending at right angles,
A sheet metal probe,
The surface property identification device characterized in that a lower side portion of a lower end flat portion of the Δ-shaped portion is the tip contact portion. In the surface property identification device according to claim 6,
In the sheet metal side surface portion of the lower end portion of the Δ-shaped portion as viewed from the flat portion side surface direction when the fixed end portion is arranged on the right side,
Through the glue means
A plate-shaped ceramic chip
Parallel to the lower flat surface portion of the Δ-shaped portion,
At the time of contact, the lower side of the plate-shaped ceramic chip is attached to a position where it contacts the surface of the object to be measured.
The surface property identification apparatus characterized in that a lower side portion of the block-shaped ceramic chip is the tip contact portion. In the surface property identification device according to any one of claims 4 to 7,
The probe is
The Δ-shaped portion and the connecting portion;
Alternatively, the Δ-shaped portion, the first connecting portion, the second connecting portion, and the planar portion are arranged in two lines symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal center line of the flat portion on both sides of the flat portion of the metal sheet metal. Set up one by one, cut out together,
A surface property identification apparatus, which is a sheet metal probe that is formed by bending each connection portion of the cut metal sheet metal cut out at a right angle.   3. The surface property identification apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the Δ-type structure is made of resin. In the surface property identification device according to claim 9,
The probe is
A resin probe in which the flat part and the Δ-shaped part are integrally molded;
A two-component Δ-type resin probe composed of at least two parts including a tip abutting member and integrated through an adhesive means, and the lower side portion of the tip abutting member is the tip abutting portion. A surface property identification device. In the surface property identification device according to claim 9,
The probe is
The flat portion made of metal sheet metal,
The Δ-shaped portion made of resin;
A three-component Δ-type resin probe composed of at least three parts including a tip abutting member and integrated via an adhesive means, wherein the lower end portion of the tip abutting member is the tip abutting portion. A surface property identification device. The surface property identification device according to any one of claims 10 to 11,
The surface property identification device according to claim 1, wherein the tip contact member is made of metal. The surface property identification device according to any one of claims 10 to 11,
The surface property identification device according to claim 1, wherein the tip contact member is made of ceramic. The surface property identification device according to any one of claims 10 to 13,
The Δ-shaped part is made of transparent resin,
Alternatively, the flat part and the Δ-shaped part are made of transparent resin,
Each interface between the flat part, the Δ-shaped part, and the tip contact member or the piezoelectric element, the flat part, the Δ-shaped part, and the tip contact member is made of an ultraviolet curable adhesive. A surface property identification apparatus characterized by being bonded together by irradiation. The surface property identification device according to any one of claims 10 to 13,
The tip contact member,
Alternatively, the flat portion and the tip contact member are
The surface property identification device, wherein the Δ-shaped portion made of resin is integrally formed by insert molding at the time of molding. A surface property identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 15 and a sheet material conveying means for conveying a sheet material, wherein the object to be measured is a sheet material conveyed by the sheet material conveying means. Yes,
The surface property identification device is characterized in that the sheet material is transported and moved by the sheet material conveying means while the probe is rotatably fixed to the rotation shaft, and the surface property of the sheet material is identified. Sheet material identification device. The sheet material identification device according to claim 16,
A probe having a piezoelectric element portion abutted against the sheet material conveying plane with a constant pressure, and a piezoelectric element portion;
Sheet material deformation in which the sheet material conveyed to the position facing the tip contact portion of the probe by the sheet material transport means is bent and deformed in a convex shape from the sheet material transport plane toward the probe tip contact portion. Means and
The piezoelectric element portion is caused by the fact that the pressure received by the tip contact portion of the probe from the surface of the sheet material bent into a convex shape by the sheet material deforming means changes according to the difference in rigidity of each sheet material. Inducing a different frictional resistance difference for each sheet material, detecting the vibration and impact strength difference of the probe tip contact portion changing according to the frictional resistance difference by converting it into an electrical signal as a strain strength difference, A sheet material identification device for identifying a difference in rigidity of a material. 18. The sheet material identification device according to claim 16, an image forming unit that forms a toner image on the sheet material that has passed through the contact position of the probe, and the sheet by heating and pressing the toner image. Fixing means for permanently fixing the material surface;
A determination table associating a sheet material and a fixing temperature for fusing and fixing the toner image by the fixing unit according to characteristics of the sheet material, sheet material conveyance speed, and information on a sheet material conveyance interval when conveying a plurality of sheet materials When,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that refers to the determination table based on an identification signal of the sheet material identification device and controls the fixing unit in accordance with information in the determination table. The sheet material identification device according to claim 16 to 17,
An ink ejection type image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting ink onto the sheet material that has passed the contact position of the probe;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls an ink discharge amount of the ink discharge type image forming unit according to an identification signal of the sheet material identification device. The sheet material identification device according to claim 16 to 17,
A thermal transfer image forming means for thermally transferring the ink on the ink ribbon onto the sheet material that has passed through the contact position of the probe using a thermal head;
An image forming apparatus comprising: control means for controlling power supplied to the thermal head of the thermal transfer image forming means in accordance with an identification signal of the sheet material identification apparatus.

Images