JP2013088790A - Gloss application device and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a recording sheet not to cause an image defect even when a foreign substance is adhered to an image formation surface of the recording sheet before gloss application process.SOLUTION: A gloss application device comprises: a heating roller 41 for heating a recording sheet S on which an image is formed; a belt member 43 which is stretched by the heating roller, and faces the image formation surface of a recording sheet S; a pressing roller 42 which faces the heating roller 41 via the belt member 43, presses the recording sheet S, and brings the recording sheet S into close contact with the belt member 43; a cooling member 44 which is arranged downstream side in a paper conveying direction than the heating roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, cools the recording sheet S being in close contact with the belt member 43, and separates the recording sheet S from the belt member 43; and a foreign substance removing section 47 which is arranged upstream side in the paper conveying direction than the heating roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, and removes the foreign substance adhered to the image formation surface of the recording sheet S.

Description

  The present invention relates to a gloss applying device and an image forming system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a gloss imparting device that imparts gloss to an image forming surface of a recording sheet on which an image is formed by electrophotography.

  A conventional gloss imparting device heats an image-formed recording paper with a heating roller to soften the toner on the recording paper, and simultaneously presses the image-forming surface of the recording paper against a belt member with a pressure roller, The recording paper that is in close contact with the belt member is cooled by the cooling member, and the recording paper is peeled off from the belt member to give gloss to the image forming surface of the recording paper (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

JP 2011-090139 A

  In the above-described gloss imparting process by the gloss imparting apparatus, foreign matter such as paper dust or dust may adhere to the image forming surface of the recording paper before the gloss imparting process. When applied, there is a problem in that gloss is not imparted on the portion of the recording paper to which foreign matter adheres, and an image defect occurs on the image forming surface of the recording paper.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a gloss applying device and an image forming system that do not cause an image defect on the recording paper even if foreign matter adheres to the image forming surface of the recording paper before the glossing processing. Yes.

In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present invention,
A heating roller for heating the recording paper on which the image is formed;
A belt member stretched around the heating roller and facing the image forming surface of the recording paper;
A pressure roller that opposes the heating roller via the belt member and presses the recording paper to adhere to the belt member;
A cooling member that is provided downstream of the heating roller and the pressure roller in the paper conveyance direction, cools the recording paper that is in close contact with the belt member, and peels the recording paper from the belt member;
A gloss applying device, comprising: a foreign matter removing unit that is provided upstream of the heating roller and the pressure roller in the paper transport direction and removes foreign matter attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper. Is provided.

  Preferably, it further includes a heat shield member provided between the heating roller and the foreign matter removing unit and blocking heat radiation from the heating roller to the foreign matter removing unit.

  Preferably, the foreign matter removing unit is a roller pair in which at least one is an adhesive roller.

  Preferably, the at least one adhesive roller is provided to face the image forming surface of the recording paper.

  Preferably, the apparatus further includes a contact / separation mechanism that allows the foreign matter removal unit to be contacted / separated with respect to the recording paper conveyance path.

  Preferably, a second foreign matter removing unit for removing foreign matter adhering to the contact surface side of the belt member is further provided.

  Preferably, the foreign matter removing unit removes the foreign matter attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper after the transparent toner is applied.

  Preferably, the foreign matter removing unit removes paper dust or dust attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper.

According to another aspect of the invention,
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on recording paper;
The gloss applying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An image forming system is provided in which the gloss imparting device imparts gloss to the recording paper on which an image is formed by the image forming device.

  According to the present invention, even if foreign matter adheres to the image forming surface of the recording paper before the glossing process, it is possible to prevent image defects from occurring on the recording paper.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image forming system according to the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the glossiness imparting apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the modification of the glossiness imparting apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing. However, although various technically preferable limitations for implementing the present invention are given to the embodiments described below, the scope of the invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an image forming system 500 including a gloss applying device 400 according to the present invention.
The image forming system 500 includes an image forming apparatus 200, a post-processing apparatus 300 including a transparent toner applying unit 60, a gloss applying apparatus 400, and the like.

  The image forming apparatus 200 includes a paper feeding unit 1, a toner image forming unit 2, a fixing unit 30, a paper discharge unit 50, and the like.

  The sheet feeding unit 1 includes a plurality of trays 11, a plurality of delivery rollers 12, a plurality of transport rollers 13, a registration roller 14, and the like. The tray 11 stores recording paper S of a determined size, and supplies the recording paper S by operating the feed roller 12 of the tray 11 determined according to an instruction from the control unit 80. The transport roller 13 transports the recording paper S fed from the tray 11 by the feed roller 12 to the registration roller 14. The registration roller 14 adjusts the timing at which the recording paper S is supplied to the toner image forming unit 2.

  The toner image forming unit 2 is a tandem color image forming apparatus using a transfer belt 20 as an intermediate transfer member. The toner image forming unit 2 includes a transfer belt 20, process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K, a secondary transfer roller 203, and the like.

  Around the transfer belt 20, there are provided four sets of process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K including colored toner image forming portions of yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black K. In each of the process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K, Y, M, C, and K toner images are formed and transferred onto the transfer belt 20 in a superimposed manner. The transferred toner image is collectively transferred onto the recording paper S whose timing is adjusted by the registration roller 14. In the present application, a state where at least one of the toners Y, M, C, and K of each color is placed on the recording paper S is referred to as a toner image.

  Four sets of process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K will be described. In the process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K, the same constituent members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the reference numerals Y, M, C, and K representing the respective colors are added after the reference numerals. In addition, when there is no need for distinction, the symbols Y, M, C, and K are used without description.

  The photosensitive drum 211 as an image forming body is an image carrier having a photoconductive layer formed on the surface thereof, and is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 by a driving device (not shown). The charger 212 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 211 and charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 211 uniformly. The exposure device 213 includes a beam emission source such as a laser diode. The exposure unit 213 irradiates the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 211 with beam light, thereby eliminating the charge of the irradiated portion, and image data of each color on the photosensitive drum 211. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the above is formed.

  The developing unit 214 stores toner of any one of Y, M, C, and K, supplies toner corresponding to the image data of Y, M, C, and K to the photosensitive drum 211, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 211 Then, toner images of each color are formed.

  The primary transfer roller 215 faces the photosensitive drum 211 via the transfer belt 20 and transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 211 to the transfer belt 20.

  The transfer belt 20 is an endless belt and is stretched by a driving roller 201 and a plurality of tension rollers 202. The transfer belt 20 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 by a driving device (not shown). The secondary transfer roller 203 faces the tension roller 202 through the transfer belt 20 and transfers the toner image transferred on the transfer belt 20 to the recording paper S supplied from the paper feeding unit 1. The recording sheet S on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 30.

  The fixing unit 30 applies heat and pressure to the recording paper S to which the toner image has been transferred by the heating roller 32 and the pressure roller 33 to perform fixing processing, thereby fixing the image on the recording paper S. The recording sheet S on which the image has been fixed is conveyed from the fixing unit 30 to the paper discharge unit 50, and is conveyed from the paper discharge unit 50 to the post-processing device 300.

  The post-processing device 300 includes a transparent toner applying unit 60, a control unit 81, and the like. The post-processing device 300 may include a binding processing unit, a folding processing unit, and the like (not shown). The control unit 81 controls each unit of the post-processing device 300.

  The transparent toner applying unit 60 is configured in substantially the same manner as the process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K described above. The same members as those constituting the process unit 21 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the reference numerals T representing the transparent toner are added after the reference numerals.

  The transparent toner applying unit 60 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 211T with the charger 212T, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 211T with the exposure device 213T. The photosensitive drum 211T is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 211T may correspond to the entire image forming surface of the recording sheet S including the image formed on the recording sheet S, or the recording sheet S. It may correspond to a region other than the image formed above. The transparent toner applying unit 60 supplies the transparent toner T by the developing unit 214T to the photosensitive drum 211T on which the electrostatic latent image is formed in this manner, thereby forming a transparent toner image on the photosensitive drum 211T. The transparent toner image is transferred to the transfer belt 20T by the transfer roller 215T. Further, the transparent toner applying unit 60 transfers the transparent toner image transferred to the transfer belt 20T onto the recording paper S by the secondary transfer roller 203T provided to face the transfer belt 20T. The recording sheet S on which the transparent toner image is transferred is conveyed to the gloss applying device 400.

  The transparent toner applying unit 60 performs the above-described process of applying the transparent toner T when applying gloss to an area where an image is not formed on the image forming surface of the recording paper S, so that the image on the recording paper S is displayed. When the gloss is imparted only to the area where the image is formed on the forming surface, the recording sheet S may be conveyed downstream in the sheet conveying direction without applying the transparent toner T.

  The gloss applying device 400 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the gloss applying device 400. The gloss imparting device 400 is a device that performs gloss imparting processing on the recording paper S after image formation.

  The gloss imparting device 400 includes a heating roller 41, a pressure roller 42 disposed to face the heating roller 41, and a peeling roller 45 disposed on the downstream side of the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 in the paper transport direction. A steering roller 46 disposed between the heating roller 41 and the peeling roller 45, a belt member 43 stretched between the heating roller 41, the peeling roller 45, and the steering roller 46, and the belt member 43 serving as the heating roller 41. A plurality of cooling members 44 that cool the belt member 43 and the upstream side of the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 in the paper conveyance direction until the contact with the peeling roller 45 after being separated from the paper. A foreign matter removing unit 47 disposed on the conveyance path, a heating roller 41 and a steering roller 46 A neutralizing blower (second foreign matter removing unit) 48 disposed in the vicinity of the belt member 43, a contact / separation mechanism 52 disposed in the vicinity of the foreign matter removing unit 47, and the foreign matter removing unit 47 in the paper transport direction. And a heat shield plate (heat shield member) 53 disposed between the heating roller 41 and a control unit 49 for controlling each unit.

  The gloss imparting device 400 nips the recording paper S after image formation by the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 and applies heat and pressure to the recording paper S, whereby the toner on the surface of the image forming surface of the recording paper S The recording paper S is brought into close contact with the belt member 43, the recording paper S and the belt member 43 are cooled by the cooling member 44, and the belt member 43 is peeled off from the recording paper S by the peeling roller 45. Gloss is imparted to the image forming surface of the paper S (gloss imparting process).

  The heating roller 41 is configured by forming a release layer made of a fluororesin tube having a thickness of about 30 μm on the surface of a metal core bar having a high thermal conductivity, and heating a halogen lamp or the like inside the core bar. A heat source 411 which is a member is provided. The heat source 411 heats the surface of the heating roller 41 so as to have a predetermined temperature. A temperature detection sensor 412 is provided in the vicinity of the heating roller 41, and the temperature of the heating roller 41 is detected and controlled by the temperature detection sensor 412. The heating roller 41 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 by a driving device (not shown).

  As the heating roller 41, for example, a roller member having a diameter of 70 mm and a core metal thickness of 8 mm and a surface layer fluorine coating having a thickness of 30 μm formed as a release layer is used. For example, two 1800 W halogen heaters are used as the heat source 411.

  The pressure roller 42 is configured by coating a metal core having high thermal conductivity with an elastic body layer made of silicone rubber having a rubber hardness (JISA) of about 32 °, and a release layer is formed on the surface thereof. Yes. The pressure roller 42 is disposed to face the heating roller 41 via the belt member 43. Further, the pressure roller 42 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 by a driving device (not shown). A cooling fan 421 is provided in the vicinity of the pressure roller 42, and the pressure roller 42 heated by the heating roller 41 is cooled by the cooling fan 421.

  As the pressure roller 42, for example, a roller member having a diameter of 70 mm and a core metal thickness of 6 mm is coated with a rubber layer having a thickness of 6.5 mm as an elastic layer, and a surface layer PFA tube having a thickness of 50 μm is formed as a release layer. The formed one is used. For example, three cooling fans 421 having a width of 97 mm are arranged (not shown).

  When the recording paper S passes through the nip 413 between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42, the recording paper S is heated by the heating roller 41 and at the same time, the image forming surface of the recording paper S is pressed by the pressure roller 42. The transparent toner T pressed against the belt member 43 and applied to the image forming surface of the recording paper S is melted, and the recording paper S is brought into close contact with the belt member 43 while being softened.

The belt member 43 has a surface coated with a fluororesin such as tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and has a smooth surface roughness (Ra) of about 0.2 μm. An endless belt member made of, for example, thermosetting polyimide (PI) having a certain degree of temperature. The belt member 43 is stretched around the heating roller 41, the peeling roller 45, and the steering roller 46, and rotates and moves following the heating roller 41. The belt member 43 is in close contact with the recording sheet S on which the toner on the surface has been softened until the belt member 43 is separated from the heating roller 41 and reaches the peeling roller 45. As a result, the surface of the recording paper S in which the toner is softened is smoothed following the surface of the smooth belt member 43. The length of the belt member 43 until it contacts the peeling roller 45 after being separated from the heating roller 41, that is, the fixing distance of the belt member 43 is, for example, about 500 mm.
The material of the belt member 43 may be a metal or a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material that is a heat resistant resin.

  As the belt member 43, for example, a conductive polyimide having a diameter of 340 mm, a thickness of 65 μm, a width of 340 mm, and a surface roughness Ra of 0.05 μm formed with a 2 μm thick silicone coat as a release layer is used.

A plurality of the cooling members 44 are provided along the paper conveyance direction, and are disposed between the heating roller 41 and the peeling roller 45 so as to face the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the belt member 43, respectively. The cooling member 44 blows and cools the belt member 43 and the recording paper S that are in close contact with each other. Specifically, the belt member 43 and the recording paper S are cooled by the cooling member 44 until the recording paper S passes through the nip portion 413 between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 and reaches the peeling roller 45. The Thus, the toner on the recording paper S heated and melted by the heating roller 41 is solidified following the smooth surface of the belt member 43, and the surface of the image forming surface of the recording paper S can be smoothed. . For example, the cooling member 44 passes through the nip portion 413 between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42, and immediately before reaching the peeling roller 45, the belt member 43 has a surface temperature of about 50 ° C. The member 43 and the recording paper S are cooled.
As the cooling member 44, for example, six fans each having a diameter of 200 mm are arranged in the sheet transport direction along the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the belt member 43 (not shown).

The peeling roller 45 rotates following the rotational movement of the belt member 43. Since the belt member 43 is stretched around the peeling roller 45, the recording sheet S that is in close contact with the belt member 43 has the belt member 43 depending on the rigidity of the recording sheet S itself and the curvature applied to the belt member 43. Is peeled off.
As the peeling roller 45, for example, an aluminum roller member having a diameter of 30 mm is used. Further, it is preferable that a release layer similar to the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 is formed on the surface of the peeling roller 45.

The steering roller 46 corrects a deviation (a phenomenon in which the belt member 43 moves in any axial direction of the steering roller 46) that occurs when the belt member 43 is continuously circulated.
As the steering roller 46, for example, an aluminum roller member having a diameter of 40 mm is used.

  The foreign matter removing unit 47 removes foreign matter that comes into contact with the image forming surface of the recording paper S and is in contact with the image forming surface of the recording paper S on the upstream side of the nip portion 413 between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 in the paper transport direction. It is configured as follows. Here, the foreign matter removed by the foreign matter removing unit 47 is dust that is attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper S such as paper dust or dust and is unnecessary for the glossing process. Since it is preferable to remove foreign matter from the image forming surface of the recording paper S immediately before the glossing process is performed, the foreign matter removal unit 47 is as close as possible to the nip portion 413 between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42. It is preferable to arrange in the position.

  Specifically, the foreign matter removing unit 47 is in contact with the image forming surface of the recording paper S and collects and removes the foreign matter by adhesive force. The foreign matter removing portion 47 faces the adhesive roller 471 and the image forming surface of the recording paper S. And a pressure roller 472 that presses against the adhesive roller 471 with a predetermined pressing force. The pressure-sensitive adhesive used for the pressure-sensitive adhesive roller 471 is not particularly limited, and has a pressure-sensitive adhesive force that can collect foreign matter on the recording paper S and does not wind up the recording paper S. A material that does not remain on the recording paper S is used. The adhesive strength of the adhesive roller 471 is preferably about 400 mN to 2.0 N. This adhesive strength was measured using a tacking tester manufactured by Reska.

  As the adhesive roller 471, for example, a butyl synthetic rubber roller having a diameter of 30 mm and manufactured by Audio Technica is used. Further, as the pressure roller, for example, a sponge roller having a diameter of 30 mm is used.

  Note that the foreign matter removing unit 47 does not have to include the adhesive roller 471 and the pressure roller 472 as long as the foreign matter can be removed from the image forming surface of the recording paper S. For example, the foreign matter removing unit 47 may be a foreign matter removing means by a cyclone method using a conventionally known centrifugal separation action.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable that a cleaning roller 51 is provided in the vicinity of the adhesive roller 471 of the foreign matter removing unit 47.
The cleaning roller 51 is provided to face the adhesive roller 471, and is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The cleaning roller 51 comes into contact with the adhesive roller 471 and removes foreign matters attached to the surface of the adhesive roller 471. The cleaning roller 51 is specifically an adhesive roller having an adhesive force larger than that of the adhesive roller 471. The adhesive force of the cleaning roller 51 is preferably about 3N, for example.
The cleaning roller 51 may be a web cleaner that performs web cleaning. In this case, the web sheet preferably contains an alcohol-based cleaning liquid.

The contact / separation mechanism 52 is configured such that the adhesive roller 471 can be separated from the paper transport path. By providing the contact / separation mechanism 52, the foreign matter removing unit 47 can be separated from the paper transport path when it is not necessary to remove the foreign matter on the paper. Deterioration can be suppressed.
The contact / separation mechanism 52 may be configured to separate the adhesive roller 471 from the paper transport path and to separate the pressure roller 472 from the paper transport path. The contact / separation mechanism 52 may be configured to move the cleaning roller 51 together with the adhesive roller 471.

  The neutralizing blower 48 blows ionized air in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 on the surface of the belt member 43 until the belt member 43 contacts the heating roller 41 after being separated from the peeling roller 45. The foreign matter adhering to the belt member 43 is removed by blowing away. Specifically, the static elimination blower 48 blows and blows ions generated by ionizing gas molecules such as oxygen and nitrogen in the air to the belt member 43, thereby canceling out the charge on the surface of the belt member 43. The foreign matter adhering to the member 43 is blown away. Further, a fan 481 is provided in the vicinity of the static elimination blower 48, and the foreign matter blown off from the belt member 43 is blown off in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

The heat shield plate 53 is provided between the heating roller 41 and the foreign matter removing unit 47 in the paper transport direction, and is configured to block heat radiation from the heating roller 41 to the foreign matter removing unit 47. Thereby, it can suppress that the foreign material removal part 47 receives the influence of the heat by the heating roller 41, and it can arrange | position the foreign material removal part 47 closer to the nip part 413 of the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42. it can. Therefore, the effect of suppressing image defects on the recording paper S can be improved.
In addition, although the heat-shielding board 53 showed the flat thing in FIG. 2, you may be formed in cross-sectional substantially arc shape. In this case, the heat shield plate 53 may be disposed so as to cover a part of the heating roller 41 along the surface shape of the heating roller 41, or along the surface shape of the adhesive roller 471 of the foreign matter removing unit 47. You may arrange | position so that a part of adhesion roller 471 may be covered.

The control unit 49 controls each unit of the gloss applying device 400. The control unit 49 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown), and performs various operations according to various processing programs for the gloss applying device 400.
In the present embodiment, for example, when the gloss imparting device 400 is cleaned, the control unit 49 uses the cleaning paper instead of the recording paper S to perform a process substantially similar to the gloss imparting process. The separation mechanism 52 keeps the foreign matter removal unit 47 away from the paper transport path. In addition, when the gloss imparting process is performed on the recording paper S, the foreign matter removing unit 47 is arranged on the paper transport path by the contact / separation mechanism 52.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the foreign matter removing unit 47 is provided on the paper transport path on the upstream side of the nip 413 between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 in the paper transport direction, the gloss applying process is performed. Foreign matter adhering to the image forming surface can be removed from the recording sheet S immediately before being applied. As a result, the gloss imparting device 400 can perform the gloss imparting process on the recording paper S on which no foreign matter adheres to the image forming surface. Therefore, even if foreign matter adheres to the image forming surface of the recording paper S before the glossing process, the foreign matter can be removed from the image forming surface immediately before the recording paper S is nipped between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42, It is possible to prevent image defects from occurring on the recording paper S after the glossing process.

  Further, the foreign matter removing unit 47 removes foreign matter adhering to the image forming surface of the recording paper S after the transparent toner T is applied, so that the gloss applying process is performed after the transparent toner T is applied. It is possible to remove foreign matter adhering to the image forming surface of the recording paper S immediately before printing, and to more reliably suppress the occurrence of image defects.

  Further, since the foreign matter removing unit 47 is a roller pair having the adhesive roller 471, the foreign matter adhering to the image forming surface of the recording paper S can be efficiently removed at low cost, and the foreign matter removing unit 47 can be replaced and replaced. Cleaning becomes easy. In particular, even if the toner on the image forming surface of the recording paper S does not contain a metal compound and the surface of the recording paper S has a high resistance, the foreign matter attached to the recording paper S by the adhesive roller 471 is more reliably detected. Can be removed.

  Further, since the heat shield plate 53 is provided between the heating roller 41 and the foreign matter removing unit 47, the heat radiation to the foreign matter removing unit 47 by the heating roller 41 can be shut off, and the foreign matter removing unit 47 is connected to the heating roller. 41 and the pressure roller 42 can be arranged closer to the nip portion 413. By disposing the foreign matter removing portion 47 close to the nip portion 413, the foreign matter can be removed from the image forming surface of the recording paper S immediately before the recording paper S is nipped by the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42. . Therefore, it is possible to more reliably suppress the occurrence of image defects on the image forming surface of the recording paper S.

  In addition, since the contact / separation mechanism 52 that allows the foreign matter removal unit 47 to contact with and separate from the recording paper S is provided, the foreign matter removal unit 47 is disposed on the paper transport path during the glossing process, and At the time of cleaning, the foreign matter removing unit 47 can be arranged at a position separated from the paper conveyance path. Thereby, deterioration due to use of the foreign matter removing unit 47 can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the neutralizing blower 48 for removing the foreign matter attached to the belt member 43 is provided, not only the foreign matter attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper S but also the foreign matter attached to the belt member 43 can be removed. It is possible to more reliably suppress the occurrence of image defects on the image forming surface of the recording paper S after the glossing process.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus, the post-processing apparatus including the transparent toner applying unit, and the gloss applying apparatus are provided as separate bodies, but these may be provided as a single unit. A gloss imparting device may be incorporated as a part of the configuration of the post-processing device. Further, the transparent toner applying unit of the post-processing apparatus may be incorporated as a part of the configuration of the image forming apparatus or may be incorporated as a part of the configuration of the gloss applying apparatus. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the gloss imparting device is provided in the image forming apparatus and the post-processing device so that the gloss imparting process can be continuously performed on the recording paper conveyed through the post-processing device after the image formation. Although it is assumed that they are provided adjacent to each other, the gloss applying device may not be provided adjacent to the image forming device and the post-processing device. In other words, the gloss applying device may be installed at a location completely different from the installation positions of the image forming apparatus and the post-processing apparatus.

  The gloss imparting device may further include a foreign matter detection unit that detects foreign matter adhering to the image forming surface of the recording paper, upstream of the foreign matter removal unit in the paper conveyance direction. In this case, the control unit of the gloss imparting device conveys the foreign matter removing unit to the paper by the contact / separation mechanism when it is determined that the foreign matter is not detected by the foreign matter detection unit and no foreign matter is attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper. Keep away from the road. Thereby, the deterioration by use of a foreign material removal part can be suppressed. As the foreign matter detection unit, for example, unevenness detection means, color detection means, optical reflectance detection means, or the like can be used.

<Modification>
Here, a modified example of the gloss applying device 400 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a gloss imparting device 400A according to a modification. Since the configuration other than that described below is substantially the same as that of the gloss imparting device 400 of the above embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The foreign matter removing unit 47a of the gloss imparting device 400A is composed of two pairs of rollers arranged in the paper transport direction. That is, the foreign matter removing unit 47a is disposed to face the first adhesive roller 473, the first adhesive roller 473, the first pressure roller 474 that presses the recording paper S against the first adhesive roller 473, and the first adhesive roller. A second adhesive roller 475 disposed on the downstream side of the sheet conveying direction from 473; a second pressure roller 476 disposed opposite to the second adhesive roller 475 and pressing the recording sheet S against the second adhesive roller 475; , Is composed of. Each of the rollers 473 to 476 constituting the foreign matter removing unit 47a is configured in the same manner as the adhesive roller 471 and the pressure roller 472 of the above-described embodiment, but has a diameter as compared with the pressure roller 471 and the pressure roller 472. It is small. Specifically, each of the rollers 473 to 476 has a diameter of about 20 mm, for example.

  Since the foreign matter removing unit 47a is composed of two roller pairs, the foreign matter adhering to the image forming surface of the recording paper S can be removed in two steps, and the foreign matter on the image forming surface can be removed more efficiently. be able to. Further, since the diameters of the rollers 473 to 476 constituting the foreign matter removing portion 47a are formed to be small, the foreign matter removing portion 47a is connected to the nip between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 without contacting the heating roller 41. It can be placed close to the portion 413. As a result, foreign matter can be removed from the recording paper immediately before the recording paper S is nipped between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42, so that it is possible to more effectively suppress the occurrence of image defects on the image forming surface. Moreover, since each diameter of the 1st adhesion roller 473 and the 2nd adhesion roller 475 which comprise the foreign material removal part 47a is formed small, winding of the recording paper S to an adhesion roller can be suppressed.

  The cleaning roller 51 is disposed to face both the first adhesive roller 473 and the second adhesive roller 475, and removes foreign matters attached to the first adhesive roller 475 and the second adhesive roller 475, respectively.

  The gloss imparting device 400A is disposed upstream of the foreign matter removing unit 47a in the paper transport direction, and is disposed opposite to the paper dust removal brush 55 disposed on the paper transport path and the paper dust removal brush 55, and is used for recording paper. And a pressure roller 56 that presses S against the paper dust removing brush 55. The recording paper S carried in is nipped between the paper dust removing brush 55 and the pressure roller 56 before reaching the foreign matter removing portion 47, and paper dust and the like adhering to the image forming surface are removed. The paper dust removing brush 55 is a roller member that can be rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 by a driving device (not shown), and is configured by flocking a plurality of conductive fibers having elasticity on the surface of the roller member. The paper dust removing brush 55 is connected to a voltage application power source (not shown), and a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the paper dust attached to the recording paper S is applied. Thereby, the paper dust removing brush 55 can electrically capture a part of the paper dust attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper S on the conductive fibers of the paper dust removing brush 55.

  By providing the paper dust removing brush 55, a part of the foreign matter (paper dust etc.) adhering to the image forming surface of the recording paper S is removed by the paper dust removing brush 55, and the recording paper is not removed. Since only the foreign matter remaining on the S image forming surface is removed by the foreign matter removing unit 47, the foreign matter adhering to the image forming surface of the recording paper S can be more reliably removed. In addition, since some of the foreign matter adhering to the image forming surface of the recording paper S is removed by the paper dust removing brush 55, deterioration due to the use of the foreign matter removing portion 47 can be suppressed.

  Note that a second contact / separation mechanism configured in the same manner as the contact / separation mechanism 52 of the above-described embodiment may be provided in the vicinity of the paper dust removing brush 55. In this case, when the cleaning paper is carried into the gloss applying device 400A, the paper dust removing brush 55 is separated from the paper transport path by the second contact / separation mechanism. Further, the second contact / separation mechanism may be configured such that the pressure roller 56 as well as the paper dust removing brush 55 can be separated from the paper transport path.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper feed part 2 Toner image formation part 11 Tray 12 Delivery roller 13 Conveyance roller 14 Registration roller 20 Transfer belt 21 Process unit 30 Fixing part 32 Heating roller 33 Pressure roller 41 Heating roller 42 Pressure roller 43 Belt member 44 Cooling member 45 Peeling roller 46 Steering roller 47 Foreign matter removal unit 48 Static elimination blower (second foreign matter removal unit)
49 control unit 50 paper discharge unit 51 cleaning roller 52 contact / separation mechanism 53 heat shield plate (heat shield member)
60 Transparent toner application unit 80 Control unit 81 Control unit 200 Image forming apparatus 201 Driving roller 202 Tension roller 203 Secondary transfer roller 211 Photosensitive drum 212 Charger 213 Exposure unit 214 Development unit 215 Primary transfer roller 300 Post-processing device 400 Gloss application Device 411 Heat source 412 Temperature detection sensor 413 Nip part 421 Cooling fan 471 Adhesive roller 472 Pressure roller 500 Image forming system S Recording paper

Claims (9)

A heating roller for heating the recording paper on which the image is formed;
A belt member stretched around the heating roller and facing the image forming surface of the recording paper;
A pressure roller that opposes the heating roller via the belt member and presses the recording paper to adhere to the belt member;
A cooling member that is provided downstream of the heating roller and the pressure roller in the paper conveyance direction, cools the recording paper that is in close contact with the belt member, and peels the recording paper from the belt member;
A gloss applying device, comprising: a foreign matter removing unit that is provided upstream of the heating roller and the pressure roller in the paper transport direction and removes foreign matter attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper. .   The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a heat shield member provided between the heating roller and the foreign matter removing unit and blocking heat radiation from the heating roller to the foreign matter removing unit.   The gloss applying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing unit is a roller pair in which at least one is an adhesive roller.   The gloss applying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the at least one adhesive roller is provided to face the image forming surface of the recording paper.   5. The gloss applying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a contact / separation mechanism that allows the foreign matter removing unit to be contacted / separated with respect to a conveyance path of the recording paper.   The gloss applying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second foreign matter removing unit that removes foreign matter adhering to the contact surface side of the belt member.   The gloss applying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing unit removes foreign matter attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper after the transparent toner is applied. .   The gloss applying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the foreign matter removing unit removes paper dust or dust attached to the image forming surface of the recording paper. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on recording paper;
The gloss applying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The image forming system, wherein the gloss providing device imparts gloss to the recording paper on which an image is formed by the image forming device.

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