JP2013220873A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more appropriately remove a foreign matter such as paper powder on a paper sheet at a position where the paper sheet is guided into a nip between feed rollers through a guiding part, in an image forming apparatus to guide an image forming sheet into the nip between the feed rollers, then, to feed the sheet to an image forming part by the feed rollers, and then, to form an image on the sheet.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 10 includes: feed rollers 15 for feeding a sheet S to an image forming part; and a guiding part 14 for guiding the sheet S to the feed rollers 15 in which cleaning devices 30 for sucking the sheet S and/or blowing air to the sheet S are provided in a portion where deflection is caused on the sheet S guided from the guiding part 14 into a nip between the feed rollers 15.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a composite machine of these, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that removes foreign matters such as paper dust from a sheet on which an image is formed. In particular, the paper for image formation is guided between the feed rollers through the guide unit, and when the paper is fed to the image formation unit by the feed roller to perform image formation, the paper is guided between the feed rollers through the guide unit. It is characterized in that foreign matters such as paper dust on the paper are appropriately removed with a simple configuration.

  In an image forming apparatus including a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a combination of these, in general, a sheet fed by a sheet feeding roller or the like from a sheet feeding cassette or the like is guided to a feed roller such as a timing roller through a guide unit. In the meantime, the paper is guided to the image forming section by the feed roller to form an image.

  Here, when paper is fed from a paper feed cassette or the like by the paper feed roller as described above, paper dust or the like is generated on the paper due to friction with the paper feed roller. There is a problem in that powder or the like adheres to the feeding roller and causes unevenness in the paper conveyance performance, or paper dust or the like adheres to the paper and is guided to the image forming unit, thereby adversely affecting image formation. It was. In recent years, low-quality paper is often used for the purpose of reducing the cost of consumables such as paper, and recycled paper is often used from the viewpoint of environmental protection. As a result, the above-mentioned problems frequently occurred.

  Conventionally, as shown in Patent Documents 1 to 3, in addition to the transport roller that feeds the paper to the registration roller, a paper dusting member that is in sliding contact with the paper is provided in the transport path between the pair of guide plates. Or a suction tube for collecting paper dust has been proposed in the vicinity of the registration roller, transport roller, or paper dusting member.

  However, in this way, in addition to the conveyance roller that feeds the paper to the registration roller in the conveyance path between the pair of guide plates, a paper dusting member that is in sliding contact with the paper is provided to lengthen the conveyance path. However, there is a problem that the size of the apparatus is increased and the equipment cost is increased. In addition, it is difficult to sufficiently remove paper dust and the like in the paper simply by collecting the paper dust and the like adhering to the registration roller and the transport roller with a suction tube without providing a paper dusting member. The problem caused by paper dust could not be solved sufficiently.

  Also, as shown in Patent Document 4, a brush roller is provided so as to be in contact with the paper feed roller, paper dust adhering to the paper feed roller is removed by this brush roller, and the paper dust thus removed is removed. What has been made to accumulate in the 1st paper dust accumulation part has been proposed.

  However, even in this case, it is necessary to provide a brush roller so as to be in contact with the paper feed roller, and to provide a first paper dust accumulating unit or the like for accumulating paper dust removed by the brush roller. It is difficult to sufficiently remove the paper dust and the like from the paper by simply removing the paper dust adhering to the paper feed roller with the brush roller as described above. There are still problems such as being attached to the image forming unit in an attached state and having an adverse effect on image formation.

JP-A 63-160949 JP-A 63-160951 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-104354 JP 2005-187129 A

  The present invention provides the above-described problem in the case of removing foreign matters such as paper dust from a sheet in an image forming apparatus that feeds the sheet by a sheet feeding roller and guides the sheet to an image forming unit to form an image. It is a problem to solve the problem.

  In the present invention, in an image forming apparatus in which a sheet on which image formation is performed is guided between feeding rollers through a guide unit, and the sheet is fed to the image forming unit by this feeding roller, the sheet passes between the feeding rollers through the guide unit. It is an object of the present invention to enable appropriate removal of foreign matters such as paper dust on a sheet at a position guided by the above.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, in an image forming apparatus having a feed roller that feeds a sheet to an image forming unit and a guide unit that guides the sheet to the feed roller, the gap between the guide unit and the feed roller A cleaning device that performs suction and / or spraying on the paper is provided in a portion where the deflection is formed in the paper guided to the paper.

  In this image forming apparatus, if the cleaning device sucks and / or sprays the paper that is guided from the guide portion between the feeding rollers and forms the deflection, the suction and / or spraying by the cleaning device is performed. As a result, the paper vibrates, and foreign matter such as paper dust on the paper is appropriately removed from the paper by the vibration.

  In addition, when the paper is guided between the feed rollers from the guide unit and the paper is bent, or when the paper is guided and formed between the feed rollers and is sent to the image forming unit by the feed roller, When suction and / or spraying is performed on the paper by the cleaning device at the time when the deflection of the paper is reduced, the vibration of the paper at the time when the deflection is formed or when the deflection is reduced is added. Foreign matter such as paper dust is more efficiently removed from the paper.

  In addition, when the cleaning device performs the operation of denting the portion where the convex deflection is formed in the paper and the operation of returning the concave portion to the original convex state, the bent state is obtained. A certain sheet is further vibrated and foreign substances such as paper dust on the sheet are more efficiently removed from the sheet.

  Then, in order to appropriately perform the operation of denting the portion where the convex deflection is formed in the paper and the operation of returning the concave portion to the original convex state by the cleaning device in this way, the cleaning device is used. It is possible to provide different timings of air suction and / or spraying by the respective cleaning devices provided on both sides of the paper.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the deflection is formed by sucking and / or spraying the paper by the cleaning device provided in the portion where the paper guided from the guide portion between the feeding rollers is bent. In this case, foreign matters such as paper dust on the paper are efficiently removed from the paper.

  As a result, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, in order to remove foreign matters such as paper dust from the paper, it is not necessary to provide a paper dusting member or a brush roller that is in sliding contact with the paper as in the prior art, and the apparatus is large. It is possible to appropriately remove foreign matters such as paper dust from the paper without a cost and equipment cost.

1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, a partial outline showing a state in which a cleaning device that performs suction is provided outside each of the pair of guide members that constitute the guide portion, and a control device that controls each cleaning device is provided. It is explanatory drawing. In the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, when the sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette is guided between the feed rollers through the guide portion between the pair of guide members, It is the partial schematic explanatory drawing which showed the state which performs the suction by each cleaning apparatus by a control apparatus. In the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, when the paper that has been bent by being guided between the feeding rollers is fed toward the image forming unit by the feeding roller, the control device is configured to reduce the bending of the paper. It is the partial schematic explanatory drawing which showed the state which performs attraction | suction by each cleaning apparatus. In the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, when the sheet fed from the manual feed tray or the reverse conveyance path is guided between the feed rollers through the guide portion between the pair of guide members, and the sheet is bent, It is the partial schematic explanatory drawing which showed the state which performs the suction by each cleaning apparatus by the said control apparatus. In the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, an example in which the timing of suction by each cleaning device is shifted by the control device is shown. (A) is on the side opposite to the side of the paper on which the convex deflection is formed. (B) shows a state in which the portion of the paper on which the convex deflection is formed is recessed, and the cleaning device provided on the side opposite to the cleaning device performs suction. It is the partial schematic explanatory drawing which showed the state which returns the sheet | seat part to the original convex state. In the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, a partial outline showing a state in which a cleaning device for spraying is provided outside each of the pair of guide members constituting the guide portion and a control device for controlling each cleaning device is provided. It is explanatory drawing. In the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, a state is shown in which a cleaning device that performs suction and spraying is provided on the outside of a pair of guide members that constitute a guide portion, and a control device that controls each cleaning device is provided. FIG.

  Next, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to those shown in the following embodiments, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper S stored in the paper feed cassette 11 and the paper S set on the manual feed tray 12 are fed at respective positions. The paper S fed by the rollers 11a and 12a is guided to the guide portion 14 between the pair of guide members 13 provided so as to face each other with a gap therebetween, and the paper S is passed through the guide portion 14. Is guided between the feed rollers 15 consisting of a pair of registration rollers.

  The sheet S guided between the feeding rollers 15 is fed to the image forming unit 20 by the feeding roller 15 at an appropriate timing.

  In the image section 20, a photosensitive member 22a, a charging device 22b for charging the surface of the photosensitive member 22a, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the charged surface of the photosensitive member 22a based on image information. Provided with four imaging cartridges 21A to 21D including a latent image forming device 22c and a developing device 22d for supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 22a to form a toner image. Yes.

  Here, in each developing device 22d in each of the imaging cartridges 21A to 21D, toners of different colors of black, yellow, magenta, and cyan are accommodated, and each photoconductor in each of the imaging cartridges 21A to 21D. A toner image of each color is formed on the surface of 22a by each of the developing devices 22d.

  Then, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the surfaces of the respective photoreceptors 22 a in the respective imaging cartridges 21 </ b> A to 21 </ b> D are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 23 that is rotationally driven, and the intermediate transfer belt 23 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 23. A toner image in which toner images of respective colors are combined is formed.

  Next, the toner image thus formed on the intermediate transfer belt 23 is guided to the position of the transfer roller 24, while the sheet S is moved between the intermediate transfer belt 23 and the transfer roller 24 by the feed roller 15. The toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 23 is transferred onto the sheet S.

  Then, the sheet S on which the toner image is transferred is guided to the fixing device 25, and the toner image is fixed on the sheet S by the fixing device 25, and then the sheet S is guided to the paper discharge reverse roller 16. I have to.

  When an image is formed only on one side of the paper S, the paper S on which the toner image is fixed as described above is discharged onto the paper discharge unit 17 by the paper discharge reverse roller 16. Yes. On the other hand, when images are to be formed on both sides of the paper S, the paper discharge reversing roller 16 is reversed to guide the paper S having a toner image fixed on one side to the reverse conveying path 18. Thus, the front and back of the sheet S are reversed and guided to the guide portion 14 between the pair of guide members 13, and guided to the feed roller 15 through the guide portion 14.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, when removing foreign matters such as paper dust on the paper S, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outside of the pair of guide members 13 constituting the guide portion 14, That is, a cleaning device 30 that performs suction is provided on the side opposite to the guide portion 14, and suction by each cleaning device 30 is controlled by the control device 31, and a vent hole 13 a is provided in each guide member 13. The sheet S guided to the guide unit 14 by each cleaning device 30 through 13a is sucked.

  Here, when the paper S is guided between the feed rollers 15 through the guide portion 14 between the pair of guide members 13 as described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the paper S is fed from the paper feed cassette 11 by the paper feed roller 11a. The paper S that has been fed is fed between the feed rollers 15 through the guide portion 14 between the pair of guide members 13, and when the paper S is caught between the feed rollers 15, the paper S becomes convex in the feed direction. As a result, the sheet S vibrates and foreign matter such as paper dust on the sheet S is easily separated. At this time, when the control device 31 starts suction by the cleaning devices 30, foreign matters such as paper dust that has been easily detached from the paper S due to vibrations are cleaned through the vents 13 a in the guide members 13. It is sucked by the apparatus 30 and foreign matters such as paper dust are efficiently removed from the paper S.

  Further, when the sheet S on which the feed roller 15 is rotated and the bend which is convex in the feed direction is formed is sent to the image forming unit 20 by the feed roller 15, it is shown in FIG. 4. As described above, the sheet S is pulled by the feed roller 15, the bending of the sheet S is reduced, the sheet vibrates, and foreign matters such as paper dust on the sheet S are easily separated. At this time, when the control device 31 starts suction by the cleaning devices 30, foreign matters such as paper dust that has been easily detached from the paper S due to vibrations are cleaned through the vents 13 a in the guide members 13. It is sucked by the apparatus 30 and foreign matters such as paper dust are efficiently removed from the paper S.

  In addition, when the paper S fed from the manual feed tray 12 is guided between the feed rollers 15 through the guide portion 14 between the pair of guide members 13, the front and back are reversed and returned by the reverse conveyance path 18. When the sheet S is guided between the pair of guide members 13 and the feed roller 15 through the guide portion 14, the direction of bending formed on the sheet S is fed from the sheet feeding cassette 11 as shown in FIG. 5. This is just the reverse of the case of the sheet S, and if suction is performed by each cleaning device 30 in the same manner as described above, foreign matters such as paper dust are efficiently removed from the sheet S as in the above case. It will be removed.

  Moreover, when performing suction by each cleaning device 30 as described above, the timing of suction by each cleaning device 30 can be shifted by the control device 31.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the paper S fed from the paper feed cassette 11 by the paper feed roller 11a is sent between the feed rollers 15 through the guide portion 14 between the pair of guide members 13, and this In a state where the paper S is caught between the feed rollers 15, as shown in FIG. 6A, the control device 31 is provided on the side opposite to the side of the paper S on which the convex deflection is formed. After the suction by the cleaning device 30 is performed and the portion of the sheet S on which the convex deflection is formed is recessed, the control device 31 opposes the cleaning device 30 as shown in FIG. 6B. The sheet S is vibrated by performing suction by the cleaning device 30 provided on the side to return the recessed sheet portion to the original convex state. In this way, the paper S is greatly vibrated, and foreign matters such as paper dust on the paper S are more easily separated from the paper S, and foreign matters such as paper dust are more efficiently removed from the paper S.

  Further, in this embodiment, the cleaning device 30 for performing suction is provided outside the pair of guide members 13 constituting the guide portion 14, but as shown in FIG. A cleaning device 30 that blows air to the paper S is provided outside each of the paper S, and each of the paper S that has been bent by being guided between the feed rollers 15 through the guide portion 14 between the pair of guide members 13 is formed. Air can be blown by the cleaning device 30 so that foreign matter such as paper dust on the paper S is separated from the paper S. In addition, when air is blown from each cleaning device 30 and foreign matter such as paper dust on the paper S is separated from the paper S in this way, a collection device (not shown) that collects the foreign matter such as paper dust that has been detached. Is preferably provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a cleaning device 30 that performs suction and spraying is provided outside the pair of guide members 13, and is guided between the feed rollers 15 through the guide portions 14 between the pair of guide members 13. It is also possible to alternately perform suction and spraying by the cleaning devices 30 on the sheet S that is bent and formed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Paper feed cassette, 11a Paper feed roller 12 Manual feed tray, 12a Paper feed roller 13 Guide member, 13a Ventilation hole 14 Guide part 15 Feed roller 16 Paper discharge reverse roller 17 Paper discharge part 18 Reverse conveyance path 20 Image formation Sections 21A to 21D Imaging cartridge 22a Photoconductor, 22b Charging device, 22c Latent image forming device, 22d Developing device 23 Intermediate transfer belt 24 Transfer roller 25 Fixing device 30 Cleaning device 31 Control device S Paper

Claims (7)

  In an image forming apparatus having a pair of feed rollers that feed paper to an image forming unit and a guide unit that guides the paper to the feed roller, bending is formed in the paper guided from the guide unit to the feed rollers. An image forming apparatus, wherein a cleaning device that sucks and / or sprays a sheet is provided at a portion to be printed.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the sheet is guided between the feeding rollers from the guide portion and the sheet is bent, the cleaning device sucks and / or sprays the sheet. An image forming apparatus.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet that is guided between the feed rollers and formed with the deflection is fed toward the image forming unit by the feed roller, and the deflection of the sheet is reduced. An image forming apparatus that performs suction and / or spraying on a sheet by the cleaning device.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is configured to dent a portion of the paper in which a convex deflection is formed, and the concave portion to the original shape. 5. An image forming apparatus that performs an operation of returning to a convex state.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is provided on both sides of the sheet. 6.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein suction and / or spraying timings by the respective cleaning devices provided on both sides of the paper are made different.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein suction is performed in the cleaning device.

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