JP2011034043A - Method for recycling component of electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and recycled component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for recycling a component of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus where toner adhering on the surface of the component is removed properly and certainly and variations in quality is suppressed between recycled components. <P>SOLUTION: Pretreatment of bringing an organic solvent into contact with the component is performed before blast treatment, and then subsequent uniform blast treatment is performed without depending on the toner shape adhering on the surface of the component. Thus, the toner can be removed from the surface of the component substantially completely, and a recycled component where the quality of obtained recycled article becomes substantially homogeneous can be manufactured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for reproducing components of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, and a reproducing component reproduced by the reproducing method.

  In recent years, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copiers, facsimiles, and printers collect used components or units of image forming apparatuses from users in order to reduce the environmental burden and realize a resource recycling society. Recycling activities have been actively carried out, including later disassembly, cleaning, reassembly, reuse as recycled components, and use as resin materials.

  In order to reuse the components used in the components or units of these image forming apparatuses, it is necessary to have a process of removing and cleaning the toner, which is fine particle powder adhering to the units and components. Therefore, reducing the cost and environmental burden required for cleaning is a major issue.

  In order to regenerate such a component, it has been proposed to perform a blasting process that removes the toner from the surface of the component by spraying abrasive particles on the surface of the component to which the toner has adhered (for example, Patent Documents). 1). Patent Document 2 proposes a method of regenerating the developing roller by cleaning the surface of the developing roller with a water jet on the surface of the developing roller, which is a component of the image forming apparatus to which toner has adhered.

However, in the recycling method for regenerating component parts by blasting or water jet cleaning described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to sufficiently remove the toner firmly fixed to the surface of the component parts. Even if it can be removed sufficiently, in the following cases, there may be a variation in quality in reproduction, such as toner remaining without being removed, resulting in unstable reproduction. It was.
Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a developing roller regeneration processing method that has been discarded. According to the invention described in this publication, the developing roller of the image forming apparatus can be regenerated.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, water is adhered to the toner fixed on the surface of the component in advance, and dry ice particles are sprayed toward the toner, and water adhered to the toner by sublimation of the dry ice particles. It is proposed that the toner is cooled to ice and the toner is removed together with the ice by spraying dry ice particles. However, even in this recycling method, it is difficult to sufficiently remove the toner firmly fixed to the surface of the component part, and not only a sufficiently satisfactory result cannot be obtained but also the toner can be sufficiently removed. Even in such a case, there is a case where the reproduction may vary such that the toner remains without being removed, resulting in an unstable reproduction.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is an electrophotographic image in which toner adhered to the surface of a component part is appropriately and reliably removed, and variation in quality is suppressed between reproduced component parts. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for reproducing component parts of an image forming apparatus of the type, and a reproduction component part reproduced by this reproduction method.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to image formation in which at least toner adhered to the surface of a component part of the image forming apparatus is removed by blasting to blow solid particles and the component part is regenerated. In the method for regenerating the component parts of the apparatus, before the blasting process, a pretreatment is performed so that the organic solvent and the component parts of the image forming apparatus are brought into contact with each other so that the fixed toner is easily separated from the component parts. And

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for reproducing a component of an image forming apparatus according to the first aspect.
The contact by the pretreatment is performed by immersing the component in the organic solvent containing a citrus solvent as the organic solvent.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for reproducing component parts of the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect.
The citrus solvent is orange oil.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method for regenerating a component of the image forming apparatus according to the second or third aspect, the immersion time in the organic solvent containing the citrus solvent is 5 minutes to 1 hour. It is characterized by.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method for regenerating a component of an image forming apparatus according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the pretreatment is performed while applying ultrasonic vibration.

  The invention of claim 6 is the method for regenerating a component of an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the heating is performed at 20 ° C. to 40 ° C. when the solvent containing the citrus solvent is immersed. It is characterized by doing.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method for regenerating a component of the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the solid particles used in the blasting process are dry ice particles. Features.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the method for regenerating a component according to claim 7, wherein the dry ice particles have a particle size of 5 to 100 μm.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the method for regenerating a component of the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the component of the image forming apparatus includes a cleaning roller, a developing roller, a fixing roller, It is at least one roller selected from a pressure roller and a transfer roller.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reproduction component part of an image forming apparatus which is reproduced by the method of reproducing a component part of the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects. is there.

  According to the present invention, before the blasting process, the pretreatment is performed using an organic solvent that dissolves or swells the toner so that the toner is easily separated from the surface of the component of the image forming apparatus. A method for regenerating a component of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which toner adhered to the surface of the component of the apparatus is appropriately and surely removed, and variation in quality between the regenerated components is suppressed. It is possible to provide a reproduction component reproduced by the reproduction method.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a toner shape that is fixed to a surface of a cleaning roller. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to an embodiment that can use a reproduction component according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a transfer fixing device in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 2.

  The inventor has made various studies on appropriately and reliably removing the toner fixed on the surface of the component. As a result of this examination, the shape of the toner used to adhere to the surface of a metallic cleaning roller of a fixing device, which will be described later, for example, a component used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is various and uniform solid. In the blasting process such as sandblasting, which is a process of spraying particles, the toner fixed on the surface of the cleaning roller may not be sufficiently removed, and it has been found that the quality of the recycled product varies.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the shape of the toner T fixed to the surface of the cleaning roller C is various as shown in FIGS. Therefore, for example, if the blasting condition of the blasting process is adjusted so as to remove the toner stuck in the shape of (A), the toner remains uncut in the thick toners (B) to (E). It was found that there was a variation in the quality of the obtained recycled product.

  As a result of further investigation based on such investigations, in the method for regenerating the component of the image forming apparatus, the toner is softened from the surface of the component with an organic solvent that dissolves or swells the toner before blasting. After the pretreatment, the toner is almost completely removed from the surface of the component by performing the subsequent uniform blasting process without depending on the shape of the toner fixed on the surface of the component. In addition, the inventors have found that it is possible to manufacture a recycled component part in which the quality of the obtained recycled product is almost uniform, and the present invention has been completed.

  As the organic solvent used for the contact in such pretreatment, an organic solvent that dissolves the toner can be used. However, in particular, when a citrus solvent is used, there is a risk of generation of off-flavors and harmful gases. This is preferable because it is possible to easily and easily separate the toner firmly and easily fixed from the surface of the component.

Such a citrus solvent is a terpene hydrocarbon such as limonene, which is weakly acidic (pH 3 to 6). Limonene is a kind of monocyclic monoterpenoid, and has the following structural formula. The chemical formula is C ₁₀ H ₁₆ , the molecular weight is 136.23, and naturally d form, l form, d / Although there are three types of l-form, d-form is preferred in the present invention.

  Specifically, citrus essential oils such as orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit; plant essential oils such as flower essential oil, peppermint oil, spearmint oil, spice oil; cola nut extract, coffee extract, vanilla extract, cocoa extract Oily extracts (including coffee oil and the like) such as black tea extract and spices extract and their oleoresins; synthetic fragrance compounds, oil-based blended fragrance compositions and any mixtures thereof. These are contained in citrus fruit skins and the like and do not pose any health problems. The reason why such a citrus solvent dissolves the toner and releases it from the surface of the component can be considered as follows.

  d-Limonene has a structural formula as described above, and is similar in molecular structure to polystyrene having the following structural formula. Therefore, it easily dissolves polystyrene, which is the main component of the toner, and has a benzene ring. It is presumed that the compatibility with the aromatic compound is also high, and it is considered that the above-described effects of the present invention are exhibited by such properties. In this way, simply mixing a citrus solvent into the toner has the property of melting each other, so it does not change to another substance using a chemical reaction, but generates heat by contacting it with an organic solvent. Without being accompanied, the toner fixed to the component can be easily released from the surface of the component and can be easily peeled off with high safety.

  The citrus solvent can be used as it is as an organic solvent. The citrus solvent is added to the organic solvent in an amount of 20% by weight or more, preferably 30 to 80% by weight, more preferably 40 to 60% by weight, and the image forming apparatus in which the toner is fixed on the surface in the organic solvent. This is done by contacting the components. In this contact, the organic solvent can be stirred. At the time of this contact, it is desirable to immerse the components of the image forming apparatus having the toner fixed on the surface in an organic solvent containing a citrus solvent.

  Other solvents may be added to the organic solvent, and such other solvents are not particularly limited, but are preferably water-soluble solvents and alcohol solvents. Specific examples include isopropyl alcohol, 1-butanol, 2-propanol, 1-propanol, ethanol, methanol, and the like.

  In order to improve the storage stability of citrus solvents, chelating agents, enzymes, alkali agents (things that make oxide salts), oxidizing agents (O2), coloring agents and herbal ingredients skin care nutrients (squalane, siloxane, vegetable oils, Hyaluronic acid, collagen, elastin, retinol, tocopherol, ceramide, paraffin, albumin hydrogenated hydrogenated oil, polyhydric alcohol (PG, PEG, glycerin, DPG, 1.3BG, sorbitol), polysaccharide (xanthangan, β-glucan, The addition of CMC, cyclodextrin, metronose, mannan, guar gum, etc. is not prevented.

  In particular, when orange oil is used as the citrus solvent, it is more effective and suitable.

  In the regeneration method of the present invention, as a pretreatment, it is preferable to immerse the component parts of the image forming apparatus having the toner fixed on the surface thereof in the organic solvent in contact with the organic solvent. By setting the immersion time within 5 minutes to 1 hour, it is desirable because the fixing force of the toner fixed on the surface is reduced and is easily released. If the time is shorter than 5 minutes, the effect of releasing the toner from the surface of the toner component is small. If the time is longer than 1 hour, the toner is excessively dissolved, and the grinding force of the toner in the blasting process is too strong. It is recommended to keep it within 1 hour because there is a risk.

Furthermore, by applying ultrasonic vibration during the pretreatment in which the component having the toner fixed on the surface is brought into contact with the organic solvent, the toner fixed substance can be more reliably released from the surface of the component. Therefore, it is preferable. In this case, the ultrasonic vibration is preferably 15 to 50 kHz, and the strength is preferably adjusted in accordance with the state of adhesion of the toner to the surface of the component.
Further, during the pretreatment to be brought into contact with the organic solvent, the liquid temperature of the organic solvent is 20 ° C. to 40 ° C., preferably 25 ° C. to 35 ° C., more preferably 28 ° C. to 32 ° C. This improves the effect of easily releasing the toner.
On the other hand, if the temperature is low, the effect is small, and if the temperature is too high, the fixed substance itself is softened by heat and the solubility and swelling properties change, so the effect is diminished.

As the blasting treatment used in the present invention, any blasting treatment can be used as long as the solid particles are sprayed onto the surface of the component to remove the toner adhering to the surface of the component from the surface. Specifically, sand blasting or baking soda blasting that blows solid particles such as sand or baking soda can be used, but when dry ice blasting that blows dry ice particles is used, it is blasted compared to sand blasting or baking soda blasting etc. There is no pollution by things. That is, in the case of dry ice blasting, dry ice is sublimated and scattered as carbon dioxide in the air, so that the components to be blasted can be prevented from being contaminated.
The particle size of the dry ice particles is 5 to 100 μm, preferably 10 to 80 μm, more preferably 15 to 50 μm. If the particle size is too large or too small, the blasting effect is diminished.

  As a reproduction component of the image forming apparatus targeted by the present invention, it is used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and is a component of an image forming apparatus in which toner or paper dust adheres to the surface as a foreign substance with use. It can be easily obtained by adopting the reproduction method. In particular, various elastic rollers such as a cleaning roller, a developing roller, a fixing roller, and a transfer roller of the image forming apparatus are likely to have toner adhered to their surfaces, which is more effective when the reproducing method according to the present invention is applied.

  Incidentally, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to an embodiment capable of using the reproduction component according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to an embodiment in which the reproduction component according to the present invention can be used.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is an apparatus main body of a color copying machine as an image forming apparatus, 2 is a writing section (exposure section) that emits laser light based on input image information, and 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK are colors (yellow, magenta). , Cyan, and black), 21 is a photosensitive drum housed in each of the process cartridges 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK, 22 is a charging roller that charges the photosensitive drum 21, and a photosensitive drum 21 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23BK each having a developing roller 23a for supplying toner are developing devices that develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 21, and 24 is a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 21. A transfer bias roller for transferring the toner to the intermediate transfer belt 27; Cleaning unit that yield, indicating a.

  Reference numeral 27 denotes an intermediate transfer belt as an image carrier onto which toner images of a plurality of colors are transferred, 28 denotes a roller member facing the transfer fixing roller 67 via the intermediate transfer belt 27, and 29 denotes an intermediate transfer belt 27. A cleaning unit (intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit) that collects untransferred toner, 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32BK are toner replenishing units that replenish each color toner to the developing devices 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23BK, and 51 is a document D Is a document feeding unit that feeds image information of the document D, 61 is a paper feeding unit that stores a recording medium P such as transfer paper, and 66 is a toner on the recording medium P. 85 is a cooling roller that cools the intermediate transfer belt 27, and 90 is a clear roller that removes toner remaining on the surface of the transfer fixing roller 67. Training apparatus, showing a.

  Here, the transfer fixing device 66 includes a transfer fixing roller 67 as a fixing member, a pressure roller 68 as a pressure member, a cleaning device 90, and the like. In each process cartridge 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20BK, the photosensitive drum 21, the charging unit 22, and the cleaning unit 25 are integrated. Then, image formation of each color (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) is performed on the photosensitive drum 21 in each of the process cartridges 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK.

Hereinafter, an operation during normal color image formation in the image forming apparatus will be described.
First, the document D is transported from the document table in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by the transport roller of the document transport unit 51 and placed on the contact glass 53 of the document reading unit 55. Then, the document reading unit 55 optically reads the image information of the document D placed on the contact glass 53.

  Specifically, the document reading unit 55 scans the image of the document D on the contact glass 53 while irradiating light emitted from the illumination lamp. Then, the light reflected by the document D is imaged on the color sensor via the mirror group and the lens. The color image information of the document D is read for each RGB (red, green, blue) color separation light by the color sensor, and then converted into an electrical image signal. Further, an image processing unit (not shown) performs color conversion processing, color correction processing, spatial frequency correction processing, and the like on the basis of RGB color separation image signals, so that yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are processed. Get color image information.

  Then, the image information of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is transmitted to the writing unit 2. Then, laser light (exposure light) based on the image information of each color is emitted from the writing unit 2 toward the photosensitive drums 21 of the corresponding process cartridges 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK.

  On the other hand, the four photosensitive drums 21 rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. First, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged at a position facing the charging unit 22 (a charging process). Thus, a charged potential is formed on the photosensitive drum 21. Thereafter, the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 21 reaches the irradiation position of each laser beam.

In the writing unit 2, laser light corresponding to the image signal is emitted from the light source corresponding to each color. The laser light is incident on the polygon mirror 3 and reflected, and then passes through the lenses 4 and 5.
The laser light after passing through the lenses 4 and 5 passes through different optical paths for each of the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black color components (this is an exposure process).

  The laser beam corresponding to the yellow component is reflected by the mirrors 6 to 8 and then irradiated onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 of the first process cartridge 20Y from the left side of the drawing. At this time, the yellow component laser light is scanned in the rotation axis direction (main scanning direction) of the photosensitive drum 21 by the polygon mirror 3 that rotates at high speed. Thus, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the yellow component is formed on the photosensitive drum 21 charged by the charging unit 22.

  Similarly, the laser beam corresponding to the magenta component is reflected by the mirrors 9 to 11 and then irradiated to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 of the second process cartridge 20M from the left side of the paper, thereby causing an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the magenta component. An image is formed. The cyan component laser light is reflected by the mirrors 12 to 14 and then irradiated onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 212 of the third process cartridge 20C from the left side of the drawing to form a cyan component electrostatic latent image. The black component laser light is reflected by the mirror 15 and then irradiated to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 of the fourth process cartridge 20BK from the left side of the paper, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image of black component.

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 on which the electrostatic latent images of the respective colors are formed reaches positions facing the developing devices 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23BK, respectively. Then, each color toner is supplied onto the photosensitive drum 21 from the developing devices 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23BK by the developing roller 23a, and the latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 is developed (this is a developing process). .

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the development process reaches a position facing the intermediate transfer belt 27 stretched and supported by a plurality of roller members. Here, the transfer bias roller 24 is installed at each facing position so as to contact the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 27. Then, the images (toner images) of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drum 21 are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 27 at the position of the transfer bias roller 24 (first transfer step). .

  Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the first transfer process reaches a position facing the cleaning unit 25. The untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 is collected by the cleaning unit 25 (this is a cleaning process). Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 passes through a static elimination unit (not shown), and a series of image forming processes on the photosensitive drum 21 is completed.

  On the other hand, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 27 (image carrier) on which the toner images of the respective colors on the photosensitive drum 21 are transferred in an overlapping manner travels in the direction of the arrow in the drawing and reaches the position of the transfer fixing roller 67. Then, the full-color image on the intermediate transfer belt 27 is secondarily transferred onto the recording medium P at the position of the transfer fixing roller 67 (second transfer step). Thereafter, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 27 reaches the position of the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 29. Then, the untransferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 27 is collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 29, and a series of transfer processes on the intermediate transfer belt 27 is completed.

  Further, the surface of the transfer fixing roller 67 (fixing member) carrying the toner image transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 27 rotates in the clockwise direction of FIG. 2 and is in contact with the pressure roller 68 (a nip portion). .) Here, the transfer and fixing roller 67 is directly heated by a heater 70 as an internal heating means, and the toner image carried on the transfer and fixing roller 67 is heated and melted. The toner image (full color image) carried on the transfer fixing roller 67 is transferred to the recording medium P at the nip portion between the transfer fixing roller 67 and the pressure roller 68 (this is the third transfer step). It is fixed.

  Thereafter, the surface of the transfer fixing roller 67 reaches the position of the cleaning roller 75. The residual toner on the transfer and fixing roller 67 is collected by the cleaning roller 75, and a series of transfer and fixing processes on the transfer and fixing roller 67 is completed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning roller 75 includes a brush-like member 91 and a cleaning blade 69 that removes residual toner adhering to the surface from the surface of the cleaning roller 75, and adheres to the surface of the cleaning roller 75. The toner is removed and cleaned by the brush member 91 and the cleaning blade 69.

  Here, the recording medium P at the position of the transfer fixing device 66 has been transported from the paper feeding unit 61 via the transport guide 63, the registration roller 64, and the like. Specifically, the transfer paper P fed by the paper feed roller 62 from the paper feed unit 61 that stores the recording medium P passes through the conveyance guide 63 and is guided to the registration roller 64. The recording medium P that has reached the registration roller 64 is conveyed toward the nip portion between the transfer fixing roller 67 and the pressure roller 68 in synchronization with the toner image on the transfer fixing roller 67. Thereafter, the recording medium P on which the full-color image has been transferred and fixed is discharged as an output image outside the apparatus main body 1 by the paper discharge roller 80, and a series of image forming processes is completed.

  In the image forming process as described above, various elastic rollers such as the cleaning roller 75, the developing roller 23a, the fixing roller 77, and the transfer roller 24 are such that the toner is easily fixed on the surface. In order to have a great influence on image formation, they are exchanged as necessary. At this time, if the roller is replaced with a renewal roller without replacing it with a new roller, the resource can be circulated and the environmental load can be reduced.

  In the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment, since the metal cleaning roller 75 used for the fixing portion has particularly remarkable toner adhesion, a method for regenerating the cleaning roller will be described based on examples.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example and a comparative example are given and this invention is demonstrated, these show only one aspect | mode of this invention and these do not limit the technical scope of this invention.

  The five cleaning rollers, which are components of the fixing device collected from the market, were cleaned based on the following examples and comparative examples, respectively. In this case, in the five cleaning rollers 75, the state where the toner fixed to the portion of the surface of the roller 75 is fixed is shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (E). It is different as shown.

[Example 1]
The metal cleaning roller used in the fixing unit collected in the market is pre-treated for 3 minutes so that the entire body is immersed in grapefruit oil (Life Tree Murphy, Massage Oil Leg Grapefruit, manufactured by Life Tree Co., Ltd.). After dipping and settling, a sandblast spray nozzle made of 5 μm sand was placed at a distance of 5 cm so as to face the rotation center of the cleaning roller. During the pretreatment, the temperature is set to 15 ° C. without heating. The cleaning roller was rotated at 60 rpm, and the sandblast spray nozzle was sprayed at a spray pressure of 2 × 10 5 Pa for 1 minute while reciprocating at a speed of 0.5 cm / s in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning roller. Thereafter, the damaged state of the surface of the cleaning roller after the sandblast treatment was visually observed. At that time, a five-step evaluation was performed on five types of recycled products. As a five-level evaluation, rank 5 indicates that the surface condition is good at the same level as a new article, the surface condition is poor as the number decreases, and at level 1, the lowest surface with a large amount of toner remaining on the surface Indicates the state.

[Example 2]
The treatment was performed and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the immersion time in the pretreatment step was changed to 8 minutes.

Example 3
The treatment was performed in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the grapefruit oil used in Example 2 (Life Tree Corp., Frances Murphy, Massage Oil Leg Grapefruit) was changed to orange oil (Froche Orange Multi Cleaner).

Example 4
In Example 3, when the cleaning roller was immersed in this using grapefruit oil (Francise Murphy, Massage Oil Leg Grapefruit, manufactured by Life Tree Co., Ltd.) as the organic solvent used in the pretreatment step, Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 3 except that ultrasonic vibration was applied.

Example 5
In Example 4, the evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 4 except that the sand blast injection was changed to dry ice blasting using dry ice having a particle diameter of 80 μm.

Example 6
In Example 4, it evaluated by processing similarly to Example 4 except having heated at 33 degreeC.

Example 7
In Example 5, it evaluated by processing similarly to Example 6 except having changed the particle size of the dry ice into 35 micrometers.

[Comparative Example 1]
The same treatment as in Example 1 was carried out by dry ice blasting using dry ice having a particle size of 80 μm without pretreatment using grapefruit oil (manufactured by Life Tree Co., Frances Murphy, massage oil leg grapefruit). Evaluation was performed.

  Table 1 shows the evaluation results of the recycled cleaning roller products obtained in the examples and comparative examples.

  As is apparent from the results in Table 1, the surface condition of the cleaning roller is the lowest in rank 1 in the case where the dry ice blast treatment is performed without performing the pretreatment shown in Comparative Example 1, and only five There were many variations in the surface condition of the roller regenerated in the cleaning roller, and the regenerated product was uneven in quality.

  On the other hand, in each of the embodiments according to the present invention, not only the surface treatment state is appropriately performed at 2 or more, but also the same level of quality is exhibited even when the collected products are in a fixed state of toner. Surface treatment has been made. In particular, in Examples 3 to 5 using orange oil, regenerated products having a surface state improved more than those in Examples 1 and 2 using grapefruit oil were obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus main body 2 Exposure part 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20BK Process cartridge 21 Photoconductor drum 22 Charging roller 23Y, 23M, 23C, 23BK Developing device 23a Developing roller 24 Transfer bias roller 25 Cleaning device 27 Intermediate transfer belt 28 Roller member 66 Transfer Fixing Device 67 Fixing Roller 68 Pressure Roller 69 Cleaning Blade 75 Cleaning Roller 91 Brush Member C Cleaning Roller T Toner

JP 2003-50506 A JP-A-8-328375 JP 2008-176134 A

Claims (10)

In a method for regenerating a component, the toner fixed on the surface of the component of the image forming apparatus is removed by blasting by blowing solid particles to regenerate the component,
Before the blasting process, the organic solvent and a component part of the image forming apparatus are brought into contact with each other to perform a pre-treatment for facilitating separation of the fixed toner from the component part. Playback method. The method for regenerating a component according to claim 1,
The contact by the pretreatment is performed by using a citrus solvent as the organic solvent and immersing the component in a solvent containing the citrus solvent. Playback method. The method for regenerating a component according to claim 2,
The method for regenerating a component of an image forming apparatus, wherein the citrus solvent is orange oil. The method for regenerating a component according to claim 2 or 3,
A method for regenerating a component of an image forming apparatus, wherein the immersion time in the organic solvent containing the citrus solvent is 5 minutes to 1 hour. The method of reproducing a component of an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
A method of reproducing a component of an image forming apparatus, wherein the pre-processing is performed while applying ultrasonic vibration.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the image forming apparatus is heated to 20 ° C to 40 ° C when the solvent containing the citrus solvent is immersed. To regenerate the components of The method of reproducing a component part of an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A method for regenerating a component of an image forming apparatus, wherein the solid particles used in the blasting process are dry ice particles.   8. The method for regenerating a component of an image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the dry ice particles have a particle size of 5 to 100 [mu] m. The method of reproducing a component part of an image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The method of reproducing a component of an image forming apparatus, wherein the component is a roller selected from a cleaning roller, a developing roller, a fixing roller, a pressure roller, and a transfer roller.   A reproduction component of an image forming apparatus, which is reproduced by the method of reproducing a component of an image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

Images