JP2015054435A - Resin layer formation device and image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a resin layer formation device and an image formation device such that the resin layer formation device which forms a resin layer on a recording medium through thermal transfer using a resin laminate film formed by laminating the resin layer on a film base material can form the resin layer uniformly over the entire surface of the recording medium without causing any peel defect when peeling the film base material from the resin laminate film bonded to the recording medium.SOLUTION: A resin layer formation device 200 peels a film base material from a resin laminate film 205 bonded onto a toner image formation recording medium by winding the resin laminate film 205 along a contact curved surface of 3-10 mm in radius of curvature of a peel contact roller 204D by a film winding part 204 so that the film base material is tensed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a resin layer forming apparatus for forming a resin layer on a sheet-like recording medium by thermal transfer, and an image forming apparatus including the resin layer forming apparatus.

  As a method for forming a resin layer on a sheet-like recording medium (recording paper), there is a forming method by a thermal transfer method using a thermal head. This thermal transfer method is widely applied to printing apparatuses that print characters on a recording medium (see Patent Document 1).

  In a thermal transfer printing apparatus, a resin laminated film (ink ribbon) formed by laminating a resin layer (ink) on a film base material is superposed on a recording medium, and the resin laminated film is heated by a thermal head. The resin layer is thermally transferred to a recording medium, and printing on the recording medium is performed.

  Application of the resin layer forming method by the thermal transfer method as described above to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus has been studied. After the toner image is formed on the recording medium, gloss is imparted to the toner image by forming a resin layer over the entire surface of the toner image surface of the recording medium on which the toner image is formed by a thermal transfer method.

JP-A-11-268388

  When the resin layer forming method by the thermal transfer method employed in the printing apparatus as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is simply applied to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the following problems occur. That is, the printing apparatus is configured to thermally transfer only a resin layer corresponding to a printing target portion such as characters among the resin laminated film superimposed on the recording medium. For example, the entire surface of the “A3” size recording medium It is not assumed that the resin layer is formed by thermal transfer.

  Therefore, when the resin layer is formed over the entire surface of the toner image surface of the recording medium on which the toner image is formed by the conventional thermal transfer method, after the resin laminated film is adhered over the entire surface of the toner image surface of the recording medium, When only the resin layer is thermally transferred by peeling the material, it is difficult to peel the film substrate uniformly over the entire surface, and there is a problem that peeling failure of the film substrate occurs.

  An object of the present invention is a resin bonded to a recording medium in a resin layer forming apparatus for forming a resin layer on a sheet-like recording medium by thermal transfer using a resin laminated film in which a resin layer is laminated on a film substrate. A resin layer forming apparatus capable of forming a uniform resin layer over the entire surface of a recording medium without causing defective peeling when the film substrate is peeled from the laminated film, and an image including the resin layer forming apparatus A forming apparatus is provided.

The present invention is a resin layer forming apparatus for forming a resin layer on a surface on which a toner image is formed of a toner image forming recording medium formed by forming a toner image on a sheet-like recording medium by thermal transfer.
The device body;
A film delivery unit for delivering a resin laminated film in which a resin layer is laminated on a film substrate, and is supported by the apparatus main body so as to be rotatable about an axis, and the resin laminated film is wound in advance. A film delivery section having one rotation axis;
A film winding unit for winding the resin laminated film fed from the film feeding unit,
The resin laminated film, which is parallel to the first rotation axis and spaced from the first rotation axis, is pivotally supported by the apparatus main body so as to be rotatable around an axis, and is wound around the first rotation axis in advance. A second rotating shaft in which a starting end portion in a feeding direction drawn from the first rotating shaft is wound in advance;
The resin laminated film wound around the first rotating shaft moves while being stretched between the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft, and is wound around the second rotating shaft. A film winding unit having a drive unit that rotationally drives the second rotation shaft,
The second rotary shaft is disposed between the first rotary shaft and the second rotary shaft, and is stretched from the first rotary shaft to the second rotary shaft by the drive unit being driven to rotate. A heating member that is supported by the apparatus main body and that heats a portion of the resin laminate film that is in sliding contact with the film substrate, so that the film substrate of the resin laminate film that moves in a state of being in contact is slidable;
A resilient biasing member that is supported by the device body in a state of facing the heating member via the resin laminated film and being resiliently biased in a direction approaching the heating member;
It is arrange | positioned between the said 2nd rotating shaft and the said heating member, and contact | abuts to the said film base material of the said resin laminated | multilayer film which moves in the state extended from the said 1st rotating shaft to the said 2nd rotating shaft. The contact member is supported by the apparatus main body and has a contact curved surface with a curvature radius of 3 to 10 mm with respect to the film base material, and the resin laminated film is wound along the contact curved surface by the second rotating shaft. A contact member provided in proximity to the film substrate of the resin laminated film with respect to the second rotation axis,
The surface on which the toner image is formed between the resin layer of the laminated resin film and the elastic biasing member that moves while being stretched from the first rotation shaft to the second rotation shaft. And a recording medium transport unit that transports the toner image forming recording medium so that the resin layer passes through the resin layer and is thermally transferred to the surface on which the toner image is formed. This is a resin layer forming apparatus.

In the resin layer forming apparatus of the present invention, the moving speed of the resin laminated film that moves while being stretched from the first rotating shaft to the second rotating shaft is S ₁ [mm / sec], and the recording medium When the transport speed of the toner image forming recording medium by the transport section is S ₂ [mm / sec], the speed difference ratio W expressed by the following formula (1) is 1 to 3 [%]. To do.
W = {(S ₁ −S ₂ ) / S ₂ } × 100 (1)

The present invention also provides a toner image forming unit that heats and fixes toner on a sheet-like recording medium to form a toner image;
An image forming apparatus comprising: the resin layer forming apparatus that forms a resin layer on a surface of the recording medium on which the toner image is formed by the toner image forming unit. .

  According to the present invention, a resin layer forming apparatus is a toner image forming recording medium in which a toner image is formed on a sheet-like recording medium using a resin laminated film in which a resin layer is laminated on a film substrate. An apparatus for forming a resin layer on a toner image surface on which the toner image is formed by thermal transfer. The resin layer forming apparatus includes a device main body having an internal space, a film sending unit that is housed in the device main body and feeds out a resin laminated film, and a resin laminate that is housed in the device main body and fed out from the film sending unit. A film winding unit for winding the film, a heating member, a bullet urging member, a contact member, and a recording medium transport unit are provided.

  The film delivery unit has a first rotating shaft that is rotatably supported around an axis within the apparatus main body and on which the resin laminated film is wound in advance. The film winding portion is a resin laminated film that is parallel to the first rotation axis and spaced from the first rotation axis, is rotatably supported around the axis, and is wound around the first rotation axis in the apparatus main body. A second rotating shaft around which a starting end portion in the feed-out direction is wound in advance, and a drive unit that rotationally drives the second rotating shaft. The drive unit moves in a state where the resin laminated film wound around the first rotating shaft is stretched between the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft, and winds around the second rotating shaft. The second rotating shaft is rotationally driven so as to be taken. The heating member is disposed between the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft, and is stretched from the first rotating shaft to the second rotating shaft by being driven to rotate by the drive unit. A portion of the resin laminated film that is supported by the apparatus main body and slidably contacts is heated so that the film substrate of the resin laminated film that moves in a state is in sliding contact. The elastic urging member faces the heating member via the resin laminated film, and is supported by the apparatus main body in a state where it is elastically urged in a direction close to the heating member.

  The abutting member is disposed between the second rotating shaft and the heating member, and is in contact with the film base material of the resin laminated film that moves while being stretched from the first rotating shaft to the second rotating shaft. It is supported by the apparatus main body and has a contact curved surface with a radius of curvature of 3 to 10 mm with respect to the film substrate. The abutting member is provided close to the film base of the resin laminated film with respect to the second rotation axis so that the resin laminated film is wound along the abutting curved surface by the second rotation axis. The recording medium conveying unit passes between the portion of the resin laminated film that is slidably contacted by the heating member and the elastic urging member, with the toner image surface contacting the resin layer, and the resin layer on the toner image surface. The toner image forming recording medium is conveyed so that the toner is thermally transferred. Accordingly, the resin layer can be thermally transferred onto the toner image surface of the toner image forming recording medium, and the resin layer can be formed on the toner image surface.

  In the resin layer forming apparatus of the present invention, when the resin laminated film is wound by the second rotating shaft in the film winding unit, the resin laminated film is wound along the contact curved surface having a curvature radius of 3 to 10 mm in the contact member. The film substrate is peeled off from the resin laminated film adhered to the toner image surface of the toner image forming recording medium between the heating member and the elastic biasing member, and only the resin layer is removed from the toner image surface. Therefore, when only the resin layer is thermally transferred by peeling the film substrate, a uniform resin layer can be formed over the entire surface of the toner image surface of the toner image-forming recording medium without causing defective peeling. Can be formed.

Further, according to the present invention, the moving speed of the resin laminated film that moves while being stretched from the first rotating shaft to the third rotating shaft is S ₁ [mm / sec], and the toner image forming and recording by the recording medium conveying unit is performed. When the transport speed of the medium is S ₂ [mm / sec], the speed difference ratio W expressed by the above formula (1) is 1 to 3 [%]. As a result, the film substrate is peeled off from the resin laminated film adhered to the toner image surface of the toner image forming recording medium between the heating member and the elastic biasing member, and only the resin layer is thermally transferred to the toner image surface. Sometimes, it is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of defective peeling.

  According to the invention, the image forming apparatus includes the resin layer forming apparatus according to the invention, which can form a uniform resin layer over the entire surface of the toner image surface of the toner image forming recording medium. Therefore, gloss can be imparted over the entire surface of the toner image.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 including a resin layer forming apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which expands and shows the principal part of the resin layer forming apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 including a resin layer forming apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the resin layer forming apparatus 200. The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment generates a multi-color or single-color toner image composed of toner as a developer on a recording medium (recording medium) based on image data transmitted from the outside or image data obtained by reading a document. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus formed on a sheet. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 forms a toner image with gloss by forming a resin layer over the entire surface of the toner image on the recording medium on which the toner image is formed by the resin layer forming apparatus 200. Device.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes an apparatus main body 110 that functions as a toner image forming unit, an automatic document processing apparatus 120, and a resin layer forming apparatus 200.

  The apparatus main body 110 includes an exposure unit 1, four image forming portions P, an intermediate transfer unit 6 including an intermediate transfer belt 61, a fixing unit 7, an internal paper feed unit 81, a manual paper feed unit 82, and a paper discharge unit 91. . A document placing table 92 made of transparent glass on which a document is placed is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 110, and an automatic document processing device 120 is attached to the upper side of the document placing table 92. The automatic document processing device 120 automatically conveys the document on the document placing table 92. The automatic document processing device 120 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of arrow M, and the document can be manually placed by opening the document table 92.

  The image forming apparatus 100 supports black (K) and four hues of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) which are three subtractive primary colors obtained by color separation of a color image. The image forming unit P forms an image using the image data that has been processed. The four image forming portions P are arranged in a line in the moving direction (rotating direction) of the intermediate transfer belt 61.

  Each of the four image forming portions P has the same configuration, and includes the developing unit 2, the photosensitive member 3, the cleaner unit 4, and the charging device 5 according to the present invention. The photosensitive member 3 is an image carrier, and a developing unit 2, a cleaner unit 4, and a charging device 5 are disposed around the photosensitive member 3. Further, each developing unit 2 of the four image forming units P stores toner of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).

  The photosensitive member 3 has a cylindrical drum shape, and is driven to rotate around an axis by driving means (not shown). The photoreceptor 3 has a cylindrical conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer provided on the surface of the conductive substrate.

  The charging device 5 faces the photoconductor 3 and is disposed so as to be spaced apart from the surface of the photoconductor 3 along the axial direction of the photoconductor 3. The charging device 5 is a charger type device, and uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 3 to a predetermined potential.

  The exposure unit 1 is a laser scanning unit (LSU) provided with a laser emitting portion, a reflection mirror, and the like. The exposure unit 1 emits a laser beam that emits laser light that is modulated according to image data transmitted from the automatic document processing apparatus 120 or from the outside, and deflects the laser beam emitted from the laser emission unit in the main scanning direction. A polygon mirror, a converging lens that converges the laser beam deflected in the main scanning direction by the polygon mirror so as to form an image on the surface of the photosensitive member 3, and a reflecting mirror that reflects the laser beam converged by the converging lens Consists of. The laser beam emitted from the laser emitting unit is deflected by the polygon mirror, further converged by the converging lens, reflected by the reflecting mirror, and irradiated on the surface of the photosensitive member 3 charged to a predetermined potential and polarity, and image data An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the above is formed on the photoreceptor 3. In addition to the laser scanning unit (LSU), the exposure unit 1 uses a writing device (for example, a writing head) in which light emitting elements such as EL (Electro Luminescence) and LED (Light Emitting Diode) are arranged in an array. You can also

  The developing unit 2 is provided so as to oppose and be in pressure contact with the photosensitive member 3, and supplies toner as a developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member 3 to visualize the electrostatic latent image. It is to make it.

  The cleaner unit 4 removes and collects the toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor 3 after development and image transfer.

  The intermediate transfer unit 6 is disposed above the photoreceptor 3 and includes an intermediate transfer belt 61, an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, a primary transfer roller 64, and an intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65. .

  The intermediate transfer belt 61 is an endless belt member that is stretched between the intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62 and the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63 to form a loop-shaped movement path. A primary transfer roller 64 is disposed at a position facing the photoreceptor 3 with the intermediate transfer belt 61 interposed therebetween. The position at which the intermediate transfer belt 61 faces the photoreceptor 3 is the primary transfer position.

  In order to transfer the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive member 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61, a primary transfer bias having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer roller 64 by constant voltage control. As a result, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photoreceptor 3 are sequentially transferred onto the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 and a full-color toner image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61. However, when image data of only a part of the hues of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is input, it corresponds to the hue of the input image data among the respective photoreceptors 3 of the four image forming units P. Only a part of the electrostatic latent image and the toner image are formed. For example, when a monochrome image is formed, an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed only on the photoreceptor 3 corresponding to the black hue, and only the black toner image is transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61. The The primary transfer roller 64 is configured by covering the surface of a shaft made of a metal (for example, stainless steel) with a conductive elastic material (for example, EPDM: ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, foamed urethane, etc.). A high voltage is uniformly applied to the intermediate transfer belt 61 by the elastic material.

  The toner image transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 by the primary transfer roller 64 is conveyed to a secondary transfer position that is a position facing the secondary transfer roller 10 by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 61.

  The secondary transfer roller 10 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 whose inner peripheral surface is in contact with the peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62 at a predetermined nip pressure during image formation. When the recording medium fed from the internal paper feed unit 81 or the manual paper feed unit 82 passes between the secondary transfer roller 10 and the intermediate transfer belt 61, the charge polarity of the toner on the secondary transfer roller 10 is A high voltage of reverse polarity is applied. As a result, the toner image is transferred from the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 to the surface of the recording medium. Further, in order to constantly obtain the nip pressure at the secondary transfer position, one of the secondary transfer roller 10 and the intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62 is made of a hard material made of metal or the like, and the other The roller is made of a soft material made of elastic rubber or foamable resin.

  Among the toner adhering to the intermediate transfer belt 61 from a part or all of the photoreceptor 3, the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 61 without being transferred onto the recording medium is used in order to prevent color mixing in the next process. It is removed and collected by the transfer belt cleaning unit 65. The intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 includes a cleaning blade that contacts the intermediate transfer belt 61 and removes toner.

  The fixing unit 7 includes a heat roller 71 and a pressure roller 72. The recording medium on which the toner image is transferred is guided to the fixing unit 7 and is heated and pressed by passing between the heat roller 71 and the pressure roller 72. As a result, the toner image is firmly fixed on the surface of the recording medium. In the fixing unit 7, an external fixing belt 73 that heats the heat roller 71 is provided in contact with the heat roller 71 from the outside, and the heat roller 71 is based on temperature data detected by a temperature detector (not shown). Control is performed so as to achieve a predetermined fixing temperature. The recording medium on which the toner image is fixed (hereinafter referred to as “toner image forming recording medium”) is discharged onto the paper discharge unit 91 by the transport roller 12b.

  In the image forming apparatus 100, the recording medium accommodated in the internal paper feeding unit 81 and the manual paper feeding unit 82 is discharged between the secondary transfer roller 10 and the intermediate transfer belt 61 and via the fixing unit 7. A sheet conveyance path S extending in a substantially vertical direction for feeding to 91 is provided. In the vicinity of the sheet conveyance path S, pickup rollers 11a and 11b, a plurality of conveyance rollers 12a to 12d, and a registration roller 13 are arranged.

  The conveyance rollers 12 a to 12 d are small rollers for promoting and assisting conveyance of the recording medium, and a plurality of conveyance rollers 12 a to 12 d are provided along the sheet conveyance path S. The pickup roller 11 a is provided near the end of the internal paper feed unit 81, picks up a recording medium one by one from the internal paper feed unit 81, and supplies it to the paper transport path S. The pickup roller 11 b is provided near the end of the manual paper feed unit 82, picks up a recording medium one by one from the manual paper feed unit 82, and supplies it to the paper transport path S.

  The registration roller 13 temporarily holds the recording medium being transported through the paper transport path S. The registration roller 13 has a function of conveying the recording medium between the secondary transfer roller 10 and the intermediate transfer belt 61 at a timing when the leading edge of the toner image on the photosensitive member 3 and the leading edge of the recording medium are aligned. ing.

  In the image forming apparatus 100, the recording medium transported from the internal paper feed unit 81 and the manual paper feed unit 82 is transported to the registration roller 13 by the transport roller 12 a in the paper transport path S, and is transferred to the registration roller 13 at a predetermined timing. When the toner image is conveyed to the secondary transfer roller 10 and passes between the secondary transfer roller 10 and the intermediate transfer belt 61, the toner image is transferred. The recording medium on which the toner image has been transferred passes through the fixing unit 7 and is fused and fixed by heat, and is discharged onto the paper discharge unit 91 via the transport roller 12b.

  In the case of double-sided printing in which images are formed on both sides of the recording medium in the image forming apparatus 100, when the recording medium that has finished single-sided printing and has passed through the fixing unit 7 is gripped by the conveying roller 12b. In addition, the recording roller is guided to the conveying rollers 12c and 12d by the reverse rotation of the conveying roller 12b. The recording medium guided to the transport rollers 12 c and 12 d passes through the registration roller 13, the secondary transfer roller 10 and the fixing unit 7, is printed on the back surface, and is discharged to the paper discharge unit 91.

  The toner image forming recording medium 300 discharged from the paper discharge unit 91 is supplied to the resin layer forming apparatus 200.

  The resin layer forming apparatus 200 uses the resin laminated film 205 in which the resin layer 205B is laminated on the film substrate 205A, and the toner image of the toner image forming recording medium 300 in which the toner image is formed on the recording medium. In this apparatus, a resin layer 205B is formed on the formed toner image surface 300A by thermal transfer. Here, the film substrate 205A constituting the resin laminated film 205 is made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, and the resin layer 205B is made of, for example, wax or polyamide. The thickness of the film base 205A is, for example, about 6 μm, and the thickness of the resin layer 205B is, for example, about 4-6 μm. The resin layer forming apparatus 200 includes an apparatus main body 200A having an internal space for housing each part constituting the apparatus, a recording medium conveying unit 201 for conveying the toner image forming recording medium 300, and a resin layer 205B having a toner image surface 300A. Are provided with a film delivery unit 202 for moving the resin laminated film 205 so as to face the thermal transfer unit 203, a thermal transfer unit 203, and a film winding unit 204.

  The recording medium conveyance unit 201 is a part that conveys the toner image forming recording medium 300 discharged from the paper discharge unit 91 in a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as “recording medium conveyance direction”), and is accommodated in the apparatus main body 200A. A plurality of recording medium conveying rollers 201A, 201B, 201C, 201D, and 201E. In the recording medium transport unit 201, the toner image surface 300A is in contact with the resin layer 205B of the resin laminated film 205 between a portion of the resin laminated film 205 that is slidably contacted by a thermal head 203A described later and the platen roller 203B. The toner image forming recording medium 300 is conveyed so that the resin layer 205B is thermally transferred to the toner image surface 300A. Each of the recording medium transport rollers 201A, 201B, 201C, 201D, and 201E is parallel to the toner image forming recording medium 300 and perpendicular to the recording medium transporting direction. It is a roller-like member extending between both ends. Each of the recording medium conveying rollers 201A, 201B, 201C, 201D, and 201E is provided to be rotatable around an axis. In addition, the recording medium transport rollers 201A, 201B, 201C, 201D, and 201E are provided at predetermined intervals in the recording medium transport direction. Of the plurality of recording medium conveying rollers 201A, 201B, 201C, 201D, and 201E, the recording medium conveying roller 201A is disposed on the most upstream side in the recording medium conveying direction, and is a toner image discharged from the paper discharge unit 91. The formed recording medium 300 is received by the resin layer forming apparatus 200, and the recording medium conveyance roller 201E is disposed opposite to a peeling contact roller 204D of a film winding unit 204 described later on the most downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction. .

  In the resin layer forming apparatus 200 of this embodiment, the toner image forming recording medium 300 conveyed by the toner image forming recording medium conveying unit 201 is assumed to have a maximum “A3” size. Accordingly, the maximum length of the toner image forming recording medium 300 conveyed by the toner image forming recording medium conveying unit 201 in the width direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveying direction is about 300 mm.

  In the resin layer forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, the film delivery unit 202 and the film winding unit 204 are configured to move the resin laminated film 205 in cooperation. The film delivery unit 202 is housed in the apparatus main body 200A, and serves as a delivery reel 202A that functions as a first rotation shaft, a first delivery assisting roller 202B, a second delivery assisting roller 202C, and a delivery contact roller. 202D. Further, the film winding unit 204 is accommodated in the apparatus main body 200A, and comes into contact with a winding reel 204A that functions as a second rotating shaft, a first winding auxiliary roller 204B, and a second winding auxiliary roller 204C. And a peeling contact roller 204D functioning as a member. Regarding each element constituting the film winding unit 204, first, a function of moving the resin laminated film 205 will be described, and details of a peeling function for peeling the film base material 205A will be described later.

  The feeding reel 202A, the first feeding auxiliary roller 202B, the second feeding auxiliary roller 202C, and the feeding contact roller 202D constituting the film feeding unit 202 are conveyed by the recording medium conveying unit 201. The medium 300 is disposed above the toner image surface 300A so as to approach the toner image surface 300A in this order. That is, out of the elements constituting the resin laminated film transport unit 202, the delivery reel 202A is disposed farthest from the toner image surface 300A, and the delivery contact roller 202D is the farthest from the toner image surface 300A. Closely arranged. The first feeding auxiliary roller 202B, the second feeding auxiliary roller 202C, and the feeding contact roller 202D are parallel to the toner image forming recording medium 300 and perpendicular to the recording medium transport direction. In the width direction (perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction), and is a roller-like member extending between both ends, and is provided so as to be rotatable about an axis.

  The film winding unit 204 is provided on the downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction with respect to the film delivery unit 202. A take-up reel 204A, a first take-up assisting roller 204B, a second take-up assisting roller 204C, and a peeling contact roller 204D constituting the film take-up unit 204 are transported by the recording medium transport unit 201. The medium 300 is disposed above the toner image surface 300A so as to approach the toner image surface 300A in this order. That is, among the elements constituting the film take-up unit 204, the take-up reel 204A is disposed farthest from the toner image surface 300A, and the peeling contact roller 204D is closest to the toner image surface 300A. (Closer to the film base 205A of the resin laminated film 205 than the take-up reel 204A). The peeling contact roller 204D is disposed to face the recording medium conveying roller 201E that is the most downstream in the recording medium conveying direction among the recording medium conveying rollers that constitute the recording medium conveying unit 201. The first winding auxiliary roller 204B, the second winding auxiliary roller 204C, and the peeling contact roller 204D are parallel to the toner image forming recording medium 300 and perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction. In the width direction (perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction), and is a roller-like member extending between both ends, and is provided so as to be rotatable about an axis.

  A resin laminated film 205 is wound around the delivery reel 202A in advance. The resin laminated film 205 is pulled out from the delivery reel 202A, and hung on the first delivery auxiliary roller 202B, the second delivery auxiliary roller 202C, and the delivery contact roller 202D in this order. Further, the resin layer 205B is applied to the toner image. The separation contact roller 204D is guided to the separation contact roller 204D so as to face the toner image surface 300A of the recording medium 300 in parallel, and to the separation contact roller 204D, the second winding auxiliary roller 204C, and the first winding auxiliary roller 204B. They are hung in this order and are routed to the take-up reel 204A, and the starting end of the resin laminated film 205 in the feed-out direction is pre-wound and connected to the take-up reel 204A.

  In the resin laminated film 205, the resin layer 205B is parallel to the toner image surface 300A of the toner image forming recording medium 300 conveyed by the recording medium conveying unit 201 between the sending contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D. It is stretched in a straight line to face each other.

  The take-up reel 204A is rotationally driven around the axis by a drive unit (not shown) dedicated to the take-up reel, and takes up the resin laminated film 205. The delivery reel 202A feeds the resin laminated film 205 along with the winding by the take-up reel 204A and is driven to rotate, or the toner image forming recording medium 300 on which the resin laminated film 205 is thermally transferred as will be described later. Along with the conveyance by the recording medium conveyance unit 201, the resin laminated film 205 is sent out and rotated. As a result, the resin laminated film 205 is placed between the feeding contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D so that the resin layer 205B faces the toner image surface 300A of the toner image forming recording medium 300 in parallel. It is moved in the same direction as the conveying direction (hereinafter referred to as “resin laminated film moving direction”).

  In the resin layer forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, the thermal transfer unit 203 is provided at a central position between the sending contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D with respect to the recording medium conveyance direction and the resin laminated film moving direction. The thermal transfer unit 203 is taken up by the take-up reel 204A so that the resin laminated film 205 conveyed between the sending contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D is transported by the recording medium transport unit 201. The resin layer 205B is thermally transferred by being bonded to the image forming recording medium 300 while being heated. The thermal transfer unit 203 includes a thermal head 203A that functions as a heating member and a platen roller 203B that functions as a bullet urging member.

  The thermal head 203A is disposed between the delivery reel 202A and the take-up reel 204A, specifically, between the delivery contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D, and rotates the take-up reel 204A. Then, the film base material 205A of the resin laminated film 205 that moves while being stretched from the delivery reel 202A to the take-up reel 204A is supported by the apparatus main body 200A so that the film base material of the resin laminated film 205 is in sliding contact. The part in contact with 205A is heated. This thermal head 203A is parallel to the delivery reel 202A and the take-up reel 204A, that is, parallel to the resin laminated film 205 and perpendicular to the resin laminated film moving direction, between both ends in the width direction of the resin laminated film 205 ( The toner image forming recording medium 300 extends over the same length between both ends in the width direction.

  The platen roller 203B is opposed to the thermal head 203A via the resin laminated film 205, and is supported by the apparatus main body 200A in a state where it is elastically biased in the direction of approaching the thermal head 203A. The platen roller 203B is parallel to the feed reel 202A and the take-up reel 204A, that is, parallel to the toner image forming recording medium 300 and perpendicular to the recording medium transport direction, at both ends in the width direction of the toner image forming recording medium 300. It is a roller-like member extending between the parts, and is provided so as to be rotatable around an axis. The platen roller 203B is made of an elastic rubber such as EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene rubber).

  In the thermal transfer section 203, the resin laminated film 205 and the toner image forming recording medium 300 are bonded by passing through a press nip formed by the thermal head 203A and the platen roller 203B in a state where they are in contact with each other. The resin layer 205B is thermally transferred to the toner image surface 300A.

  In the resin layer forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, as described above, the film winding unit 204 includes the winding reel 204A, the first winding auxiliary roller 204B, the second winding auxiliary roller 204C, and the peeling contact roller 204D. In addition to the function of moving the resin laminated film 205 in cooperation with the film delivery unit 202, the resin laminated film 205 adhered onto the toner image surface 300A of the toner image forming recording medium 300 by the thermal transfer unit 203. Therefore, it has a peeling function of peeling only the film base material 205A and thermally transferring the resin layer 205B to the toner image surface 300A. The film winding unit 204 is provided downstream of the thermal transfer unit 203 in the recording medium conveyance direction and the resin laminated film movement direction. More specifically, in the resin layer forming apparatus 200, the recording medium conveyance direction is provided. And provided on the most downstream side in the moving direction of the resin laminated film.

  The peeling contact roller 204D functions as a contact member, and contacts the resin laminated film 205 from the film base 205A side in the lamination direction of the resin laminated film 205 on the most downstream side in the resin laminated film conveyance direction. The peeling contact roller 204D is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter of 6 to 20 mm, and is made of a metal such as stainless steel. That is, in the peeling contact roller 204D, the contact curved surface 204DA that contacts the film substrate 205A of the resin laminated film 205 is a curved surface having a curvature radius of 3 to 10 mm.

  In the peeling contact roller 204D, the reason why the contact curved surface 204DA that contacts the film substrate 205A of the resin laminated film 205 is set to a curved surface having a curvature radius of 3 to 10 mm will be described later.

  The second winding auxiliary roller 204C is separated from the peeling contact roller 204D in a direction away from the resin laminated film 205, and is provided upstream of the peeling contact roller 204D in the resin laminated film transport direction. Second winding auxiliary roller 204C is made of a metal such as stainless steel.

  The first winding auxiliary roller 204B is separated from the second winding auxiliary roller 204C in a direction away from the resin laminated film 205, and further downstream in the resin laminated film transport direction than the second winding auxiliary roller 204C. Is provided. The first winding auxiliary roller 204B is made of a metal such as stainless steel, for example.

  In the film winding unit 204, the winding reel 204A, the first winding auxiliary roller 204B, and the second winding auxiliary roller 204C function as tension members. More specifically, it is pulled out from the delivery reel 202A and is applied to the peeling contact roller 204D, the second winding auxiliary roller 204C, and the first winding auxiliary roller 204B in this order and pulled to the winding reel 204A. The rotated resin laminated film 205 is adhered to the toner image forming recording medium 300 by the thermal transfer unit 203, thermally transferred, and then taken up by the take-up reel 204A, whereby the toner image of the toner image forming recording medium 300 is obtained. Only the film base material 205A is pulled from the resin laminated film 205 adhered on the surface 300A along the contact curved surface 204DA of the peeling contact roller 204D in a direction away from the toner image forming recording medium 300.

  Here, a conveyance path extending in the recording medium conveyance direction in which the toner image forming recording medium 300 is conveyed by the recording medium conveyance unit 201 is a resin laminated film 205 between the sending contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D. Is set so as to extend further downstream in the recording medium conveyance direction than the movement path extending in the resin laminated film movement direction. That is, the toner image forming recording medium 300 to which the resin laminated film 205 is bonded by the thermal transfer unit 203 is conveyed along the recording medium conveying direction even after reaching the peeling contact roller 204D. Therefore, the resin laminated film 205 adhered on the toner image surface 300A of the toner image forming recording medium 300 by the thermal transfer unit 203 is conveyed as the toner image forming recording medium 300 is conveyed in the recording medium conveying direction. While being conveyed in the direction, only the film substrate 205A is taken up by the take-up reel 204A and pulled along the contact curved surface 204DA of the peeling contact roller 204D. As a result, only the film substrate 205A can be peeled off from the resin laminated film 205 adhered onto the toner image surface 300A of the toner image forming recording medium 300, and the resin layer 205B can be thermally transferred to the toner image surface 300A. it can.

  As described above, the film winding unit 204 peels the film base material 205A from the resin laminated film 205 adhered on the toner image forming recording medium 300, whereby the resin is applied to the toner image surface 300A of the toner image forming recording medium 300. Layer 205B can be formed by thermal transfer.

  In the resin layer forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, the take-up reel 204A, the first take-up auxiliary roller 204B, and the second take-up auxiliary roller 204C of the film take-up unit 204 are configured to have a radius of curvature of the peeling contact roller 204D. By pulling the film base material 205A along the contact curved surface 204DA of 3 to 10 mm, the film base material 205A is peeled from the resin laminated film 205 adhered on the toner image forming recording medium 300, so that a peeling failure occurs. Accordingly, the uniform resin layer 205B can be formed over the entire toner image surface 300A of the toner image forming recording medium 300.

  As described above, by setting the radius of curvature of the contact curved surface 204DA of the peeling contact roller 204D to 3 to 10 mm, it is supported by the following experimental results that the occurrence of defective peeling can be prevented. Yes.

<Experiment 1>
The resin layer forming apparatus 200 was operated using a cylindrical peeling contact roller 204D having different outer diameters, that is, different curvature radii of the contact curved surface 204DA. The conveyance speed of the toner image forming recording medium 300 by the recording medium conveyance unit 201 was set to two conditions of 50 [mm / sec] and 100 [mm / sec]. The moving speed of the resin laminated film 205 between the sending contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D is the same as the transport speed of the toner image forming recording medium 300. Further, as the recording medium, basis weight 90 [g / ^{m 2]} of the plain paper, basis weight 250 [g / ^{m 2]} of the cardboard, a glossy paper having a basis weight of 125 [g / ^{m 2]} was used.

<Evaluation criteria>
When the film substrate 205A is peeled off from the resin laminated film 205 adhered on the toner image forming recording medium 300, the case where no defective peeling occurs is indicated as “◯”, and a part of the film substrate 205A is peeled off. In the case where the toner image forming recording medium 300 is wound around the peeling contact roller 204D and a slight peeling failure occurs, “△” is given, and the film base material 205A is not peeled entirely, and the toner image The case where the formed recording medium 300 was wound around the peeling contact roller 204D and a severe peeling failure occurred was indicated as “x”.

<Evaluation results>
The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

  As is apparent from the evaluation results shown in Table 1, Examples 1 to 3 in which the outer diameter of the peeling contact roller 204D is set to 6 to 20 mm, that is, the curvature radius of the contact curved surface 204DA is set to 3 to 10 mm. It can be seen that the occurrence of peeling failure can be prevented as compared with Comparative Example 1 in which the radius of curvature of the contact curved surface is outside the above numerical range.

Further, in the resin layer forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, the moving speed of the resin laminated film 205 between the sending contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D is S ₁ [mm / second], and the recording medium transport unit 201 is used. When the transport speed of the toner image forming recording medium 300 is S ₂ [mm / sec], the speed difference ratio W represented by the following formula (1) is preferably 1 to 3 [%]. The peeling speed [mm / second] of the film base 205A by the film winding unit 204 is the same value as the moving speed S ₁ [mm / second] of the resin laminated film 205.
W = {(S ₁ −S ₂ ) / S ₂ } × 100 (1)

  By setting the speed difference ratio W to 1 to 3%, a peeling failure occurs when the film substrate 205A is peeled from the resin laminated film 205 adhered on the toner image forming recording medium 300. Can be prevented more reliably. Such a peeling failure prevention effect by the speed difference ratio W is supported by the following experimental results.

<Experiment 2>
The resin layer forming apparatus 200 was operated using a cylindrical peeling contact roller 204D having an outer diameter of 20 mm, that is, a curvature radius of the contact curved surface 204DA of 10 mm. The conveying speed of the toner image forming recording medium 300 by the recording medium conveying unit 201 was set to two conditions (low speed) of 10 [mm / sec] and 30 [mm / sec]. It should be noted that the condition that the conveyance speed of the toner image forming recording medium 300 is low is a condition where a peeling defect is likely to occur. Experiment 2 was carried out under harsh conditions where such peeling failure was likely to occur. Further, the moving speed of the resin laminated film 205 between the sending contact roller 202D and the peeling contact roller 204D was changed so that the speed difference ratio W was different. Further, as the recording medium, basis weight 90 [g / ^{m 2]} of the plain paper, basis weight 250 [g / ^{m 2]} of the cardboard, a glossy paper having a basis weight of 125 [g / ^{m 2]} was used.

<Evaluation criteria>
When the film substrate 205A is peeled off from the resin laminated film 205 adhered on the toner image forming recording medium 300, the case where no defective peeling occurs is indicated as “◯”, and a part of the film substrate 205A is peeled off. In the case where the toner image forming recording medium 300 is wound around the peeling contact roller 204D and a slight peeling failure occurs, “△” is given, and the film base material 205A is not peeled entirely, and the toner image The case where the formed recording medium 300 was wound around the peeling contact roller 204D and a severe peeling failure occurred was indicated as “x”. Further, the conveyance capability of the toner image forming recording medium 300 by the recording medium conveyance unit 201 is too low with respect to the peeling capability derived from the peeling speed of the film substrate 205A by the film winding unit 204, and in the first place the resin layer forming apparatus 200. In this case, the case where the operation failure occurred and the separation failure occurred was defined as “XX”.

The evaluation results are shown in Table 2.

  As is clear from the evaluation results shown in Table 2, in Examples 4 and 5 in which the speed difference ratio W represented by the above formula (1) is set to 1 to 3 [%], the speed difference ratio W is 0 [%]. ], And even when the conveyance speed of the toner image-forming recording medium 300 is low, the separation is more likely to occur than in Reference Example 1 in which the speed difference ratio W is 5 [%]. It can be seen that the occurrence of defects can be prevented.

  In FIG. 1, the contact member that contacts the film base material 205 </ b> A of the resin laminated film 205 is shown as the roller-shaped peeling contact roller 204 </ b> D shown in FIG. As long as the contact curved surface 204DA that contacts the base material 205A is a curved surface having a curvature radius of 3 to 10 mm, it is not limited to a cylindrical roller, and the embodiment (Example 6) shown in FIG. As such, the shape may be such that a semi-cylindrical column and a prism are joined.

  The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes the above-described resin layer forming apparatus 200 capable of forming a uniform resin layer 205B over the entire toner image surface 300A of the toner image forming recording medium 300. Therefore, gloss can be imparted over the entire toner image surface 300A.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 200 Resin layer forming apparatus 201 Recording medium conveyance part 201A-201E Recording medium conveyance roller 202 Film sending part 202A Sending reel 202B First sending auxiliary roller 202C Second sending auxiliary roller 202D Sending contact roller 203 Thermal transfer section 203A Thermal head 203B Platen roller 204 Film winding section 204A Winding reel 204B First winding auxiliary roller 204C Second winding auxiliary roller 204D Peeling contact roller 205 Resin laminated film

Claims (3)

A resin layer forming apparatus for forming, by thermal transfer, a resin layer on a surface of a toner image forming recording medium obtained by forming a toner image on a sheet-like recording medium on which the toner image is formed,
The device body;
A film delivery unit for delivering a resin laminated film in which a resin layer is laminated on a film substrate, and is supported by the apparatus main body so as to be rotatable about an axis, and the resin laminated film is wound in advance. A film delivery section having one rotation axis;
A film winding unit for winding the resin laminated film fed from the film feeding unit,
The resin laminated film, which is parallel to the first rotation axis and spaced from the first rotation axis, is pivotally supported by the apparatus main body so as to be rotatable around an axis, and is wound around the first rotation axis in advance. A second rotating shaft in which a starting end portion in a feeding direction drawn from the first rotating shaft is wound in advance;
The resin laminated film wound around the first rotating shaft moves while being stretched between the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft, and is wound around the second rotating shaft. A film winding unit having a drive unit that rotationally drives the second rotation shaft,
The second rotary shaft is disposed between the first rotary shaft and the second rotary shaft, and is stretched from the first rotary shaft to the second rotary shaft by the drive unit being driven to rotate. A heating member that is supported by the apparatus main body and that heats a portion of the resin laminate film that is in sliding contact with the film substrate, so that the film substrate of the resin laminate film that moves in a state of being in contact is slidable;
A resilient biasing member that is supported by the device body in a state of facing the heating member via the resin laminated film and being resiliently biased in a direction approaching the heating member;
It is arrange | positioned between the said 2nd rotating shaft and the said heating member, and contact | abuts to the said film base material of the said resin laminated | multilayer film which moves in the state extended from the said 1st rotating shaft to the said 2nd rotating shaft. The contact member is supported by the apparatus main body and has a contact curved surface with a curvature radius of 3 to 10 mm with respect to the film base material, and the resin laminated film is wound along the contact curved surface by the second rotating shaft. A contact member provided in proximity to the film substrate of the resin laminated film with respect to the second rotation axis,
The surface on which the toner image is formed between the resin layer of the laminated resin film and the elastic biasing member that moves while being stretched from the first rotation shaft to the second rotation shaft. And a recording medium transport unit that transports the toner image forming recording medium so that the resin layer passes through the resin layer and is thermally transferred to the surface on which the toner image is formed. Resin layer forming device. The moving speed of the resin laminated film that moves in a state of being stretched from the first rotating shaft to the second rotating shaft is S ₁ [mm / sec], and the toner image forming recording medium by the recording medium conveying unit is used. _2. The resin layer formation according to claim 1, wherein when the transport speed is S ₂ [mm / sec], the speed difference ratio W represented by the following formula (1) is 1 to 3 [%]. apparatus.
W = {(S ₁ −S ₂ ) / S ₂ } × 100 (1) A toner image forming unit that forms a toner image by heat-fixing toner on a sheet-like recording medium;
3. The resin layer forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a resin layer is formed on a surface of the recording medium on which the toner image is formed by the toner image forming unit on which the toner image is formed. An image forming apparatus.

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