JP2015082083A - Transfer device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cause a paper powder removing member itself, which is originally included in a transfer device, to generate heat to change the temperature of transfer means with the heat, and thereby providing the transfer device not causing an increase in costs without adding heating means.SOLUTION: A secondary transfer unit 50 includes: transfer means, such as an intermediate transfer drive roller 53 and a secondary transfer roller 54 that have a function to transfer toner images formed on an intermediate transfer belt 11 onto transfer paper 2 and rotate to transfer the transfer paper 2; a cleaning blade 59 that is constantly in contact with the secondary transfer roller 54 to clean the secondary transfer roller 54; and a rotatable paper powder removing brush roller 55 that is arranged on the upstream side of the cleaning blade 59 in the direction of rotation of the secondary transfer roller 54 and provided to be contactable with the secondary transfer roller 54, where the paper powder removing brush roller 55 is a brush-like rotating body in a roller shape having a brush-like conductive fiber member 55a on the outer periphery of a core bar 56, and causes the fiber member 55a to generate heat by energization.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transfer apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a transfer apparatus provided in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, a plotter, or a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions thereof.

Conventionally, an intermediate transfer body on which toner images formed on an image carrier are sequentially superimposed and transferred, and transfer means for transferring a toner image formed on the intermediate transfer body onto a sheet-like recording medium are provided. There are known transfer apparatuses (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a brush member is rotated in contact with a transfer unit (secondary transfer roller as a secondary transfer member) to remove paper dust attached to the transfer unit. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent poor cleaning that occurs when paper dust is caught between the cleaning blades of the transfer means.

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a toner image on an intermediate transfer member is transferred onto a sheet by applying a constant voltage or a constant current to one roller or the other roller of a transfer unit. In such a transfer apparatus, the electrical resistance value of the roller of the transfer means is easily affected by temperature changes. For example, in the case of constant current control, when the roller whose electric resistance value has increased over time becomes low temperature, the electric resistance value further increases, the transfer voltage becomes too large, abnormal discharge occurs, and an abnormal image such as a blank image is generated. There was a problem that occurred.
On the other hand, in the case of constant voltage control, when the roller whose electric resistance value has increased over time becomes low temperature, the electric resistance value further increases, and the desired transfer current does not flow and an appropriate transfer electric field cannot be obtained. There was a problem that an image was generated.

  In order to solve the above problem, Patent Document 2 discloses the following invention. That is, the image forming apparatus includes an intermediate transfer member to which a toner image formed on an image carrier is transferred, and a transfer unit that applies a transfer bias to transfer the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer member to a recording medium. A roller pair, a heating means provided on one roller of the roller pair, and a heating temperature control means for controlling the heating means are provided. The heating temperature control means changes the electric resistance value of one roller by controlling the roller temperature. It is possible.

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to newly add a heating unit to one roller of the roller pair of the transfer unit, which causes an increase in cost.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention heats the paper dust removing member itself provided in the transfer device, and changes the temperature of the transfer means by the heat without adding a heating means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer device that does not increase costs.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transfer unit having a function of transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier to a transfer medium and rotating the transfer medium, and always contacting the transfer unit. A transfer comprising: a blade member for cleaning the transfer means; and a rotatable paper dust removing member disposed upstream of the blade member in the rotation direction of the transfer means and provided so as to be in contact with the transfer means. In the apparatus, the paper dust removing member generates heat, and the temperature of the transfer means is changed by the heat.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to control the electrical resistance value of the transfer unit by warming the paper dust removing member originally provided in the transfer device and transferring the heat from the paper dust removing member to the transfer unit to warm the transfer unit. Therefore, no additional heating means is required, and the cost can be reduced.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the secondary transfer apparatus showing Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a secondary transfer apparatus showing Embodiment 2.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention including examples will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment and the like, components (members and components) having the same function and shape are described once unless they are confused, and the description thereof is omitted by giving the same reference numerals.

First, an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is a tandem indirect transfer type color printer. As shown in FIG. 1, a transfer belt unit 10 having an intermediate transfer belt 11 in the form of an endless belt as an intermediate transfer member and four image stations as image forming means are provided at a substantially central portion of the image forming apparatus. Has been placed.

  The intermediate transfer belt 11 is wound around an intermediate transfer driving roller 16, a driven roller 17, and a tension roller 18 that are three support rollers, and is provided to be able to rotate and convey counterclockwise in the drawing. An intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 13 for removing residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 11 after image transfer is provided on the left side of the driven roller 17 in the drawing. The intermediate transfer belt 11 stretched between the driven roller 17 and the tension roller 18 has yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), black ( Four image forming stations (image forming means) Bk) are arranged side by side.

  Each image station is provided with photosensitive drums 20Y, 20C, 20M, and 20Bk as image carriers that carry yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk) toner images. Yes. Dedicated charging devices 30Y, 30C, 30M, and 30Bk, developing devices 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40Bk, and cleaning devices 35Y, 35C, 35M, and 35Bk are disposed around the photosensitive drums 20Y, 20C, 20M, and 20Bk. ing. An optical writing device 8 is further provided below each image station.

  Above the transfer belt unit 10, toner bottles 9Y, 9C, 9M, and 9Bk that are filled with toner of each color and that replenish the toner are stored. The toner of each color is replenished to the developing devices 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40Bk of each color by a predetermined replenishment amount from the toner bottles 9Y, 9C, 9M, and 9Bk through a toner transport path (not shown).

  Primary transfer rollers 12Y, 12C, 12M, and 12Bk are provided in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 11 at positions facing the photoconductive drums 20Y, 20C, 20M, and 20Bk with the intermediate transfer belt 11 interposed therebetween. On the other hand, a secondary transfer roller 5 is provided at a position facing the intermediate transfer driving roller 16 with the intermediate transfer belt 11 interposed therebetween so as to be able to contact the intermediate transfer belt 11. Here, the intermediate transfer belt 11, the intermediate transfer driving roller 16, the secondary transfer roller 5, a secondary transfer bias power source (not shown), and the like constitute a secondary transfer device 19.

  Next, the operation will be described. The transfer paper 2 as a transfer medium is separated and fed one by one from the paper feed cassette 1 by the paper feed roller 3 and the separating member, and is temporarily stopped when the leading edge of the transfer paper 2 reaches the registration roller pair 4. The leading edge of the transfer sheet 2 is detected by a sensor (not shown), and the transfer sheet 2 is conveyed to the nip portion between the secondary transfer roller 5 and the intermediate transfer belt 11 by the registration roller pair 4 while taking a timing with this detection signal. The photosensitive drums 20Y, 20C, 20M, and 20Bk, which are uniformly charged in advance by the charging devices 30Y, 30C, 30M, and 30Bk, are exposed and scanned with laser light by the optical writing device 8, and the photosensitive drums 20Y, 20C, and 20B, An electrostatic latent image is created on 20M and 20Bk. The electrostatic latent images are developed by the developing devices 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40Bk for the respective colors, and yellow, cyan, magenta, and black toner images are formed on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 20Y, 20C, 20M, and 20Bk.

  Next, a predetermined bias and voltage are applied to the primary transfer rollers 12Y, 12C, 12M, and 12Bk, and the toner on the photosensitive drums 20Y, 20C, 20M, and 20Bk is sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 11 ( Primary transfer process). At this time, the image forming operation for each color is executed while shifting the timing from the upstream side toward the downstream side so that the toner image is transferred to the same position on the intermediate transfer belt 11.

  Next, the toner images of the respective colors formed by the primary transfer on the intermediate transfer belt 11 are conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer roller 5 and secondarily transferred to the transfer paper 2 by a secondary transfer bias applying unit (not shown). (Secondary transfer process). The transfer paper 2 onto which the toner images of the respective colors have been transferred in this way is conveyed to the fixing device 6 and fixed by applying heat and pressure, and is discharged by the paper discharge roller 7.

  Residual toner on the photosensitive drums 20Y, 20C, 20M, and 20Bk is cleaned by the respective cleaning devices 35Y, 35C, 35M, and 35Bk. After that, the charging devices 30Y, 30C, 30M, and 30Bk in which the bias of the alternating current component is applied to the direct current are charged at the same time as the charge removal to prepare for the next image formation. The residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 11 is cleaned by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 13 to prepare for the next image forming process.

(Embodiment 1)
The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (claims 1 to 4). FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the secondary transfer apparatus showing the first embodiment. The first embodiment is different only in that a secondary transfer device 50 is used instead of the conventional secondary transfer device 19 shown in FIG. The configuration and operation of the first embodiment other than this difference are the same as those of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the secondary transfer device 50 includes an intermediate transfer belt 11, a transfer unit 51, a cleaning blade 59, a paper dust removing brush roller 55, a conductive member 57, a lubricant applying member 61, A transfer roller temperature detection unit 68 and a current control unit 69 are provided. The intermediate transfer belt 11 functions as a transfer body / intermediate transfer body to which a toner image formed on a photosensitive drum (see FIG. 1) as an image carrier is transferred. The transfer unit 51 has a function of applying a transfer bias to transfer the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 11 to the transfer paper 2 as a transfer medium, and rotating and conveying the transfer paper 2. The intermediate transfer belt 11 also functions as an image carrier in a broad sense.

  The transfer unit 51 includes an intermediate transfer driving roller 53 and a secondary transfer roller 54 that are a pair of rollers that can be rotated and conveyed while sandwiching the intermediate transfer belt 11 and the transfer paper 2. The intermediate transfer drive roller 53 is a so-called backup roller that supports the intermediate transfer belt 11 from the back surface, and includes a metal cored bar 53a and an elastic layer 53b formed of rubber or the like on the outer periphery of the cored bar 53a. Has been. The cored bar 53a of the intermediate transfer driving roller 53 is connected to a power source 71 and a ground (GND) as secondary transfer bias applying means for applying a transfer voltage so that the current is constant. Specifically, in the present embodiment, a repulsive transfer method in which a transfer current having the same polarity as the toner on the intermediate transfer belt 11 is applied to the intermediate transfer driving roller 53 is adopted, and a constant current method is adopted in the present embodiment. Yes.

The secondary transfer roller 54 includes a metal cored bar 54a, a rubber elastic layer 54b formed on the outer periphery of the cored bar 54a, and a resin layer (not shown) formed on the outer periphery of the elastic layer 54b. It consists of and. A cored bar portion 54a of the secondary transfer roller 54 is connected to ground (GND). By providing the elastic layer 54 b on the secondary transfer roller 54, the holding force of the transfer paper 2 at the transfer nip portion is increased, and the transfer paper 2 is less affected by the transfer resistance of the transfer paper 2, and more stable transfer of the transfer paper 2 is achieved. It can be carried out.
The metal core 54a is made of a metal material such as stainless steel or aluminum. The elastic layer 54b is made of rubber and has a rubber hardness (Asker C hardness: measured with an Asker C type rubber hardness meter) of 85 degrees or less in order to secure a transfer nip pressure. The resin layer (not shown) is coated with a fluororesin surface layer agent. This coating is applied to reduce the adhesion force of the toner to the surface of the secondary transfer roller 54 and weaken the frictional force with the cleaning blade 59. The resin layer (not shown) is a fluororesin resin similar to that described in paragraph [0022] of Patent Document 2, and has a high toner releasability and a low friction coefficient (friction coefficient μ = 0). .3 or less).

  The cleaning blade 59 functions as a blade member that constantly contacts the outer peripheral surface of the secondary transfer roller 54 and a cleaning unit in order to clean the outer peripheral surface of the secondary transfer roller 54. The cleaning blade 59 is made of conductive rubber. The cleaning blade 59 has a rubber hardness (Asker C hardness) of 70 degrees or more in order to stably come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the secondary transfer roller 54 (meaning that it comes into contact with the abutted state). The cleaning blade 59 uses epichlorohydrin rubber, or ethylene / propylene rubber (EPDM) or silicon rubber containing carbon, or nitrile rubber (NBR) or urethane rubber containing an ionic conductive agent as a rubber having a conductive function. Also good.

The paper dust removing brush roller 55 is disposed on the upstream side of the cleaning blade 59 in the arrow rotation direction 60 of the secondary transfer roller 54, and is capable of rotating paper dust removal provided so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the secondary transfer roller 54. Functions as a member. The paper dust removal brush roller 55 is a roller having a metal cored bar 56 and conductive fibers 55a as brush-shaped conductive fiber members formed extending from the outer periphery of the cored bar 56 in the centrifugal direction. And a brush-like rotating body. The paper dust removal brush roller 55 is provided with a biting amount of 1 mm or more with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the secondary transfer roller 54, and rotates in the arrow rotation direction 65 following the rotation in the arrow rotation direction 60.
In this embodiment, the conductive fiber 55a of the paper dust removing brush roller 55 uses a fiber having a linear resistivity of 10 ⁻³ [Ω · cm] obtained by coating a carbon nanotube on a polyester resin. Here, the line resistivity [Ω · cm] represents the electrical resistivity per 1 cm of one fiber of the conductive fiber 55a. In the present invention, the linear resistivity can be used in the range of 10 ⁻⁵ to 10 ⁵ [Ω · cm] (Claim 3).

  The conductive member 57 is separate from the paper dust removing brush roller 55, is formed of an appropriate metal, and is connected to the ground (GND). The conductive member 57 is provided so as to be in contact with the conductive fibers 55a of the paper dust removing brush roller 55, and flickers that repel paper dust and toner captured by the conductive fibers 55a of the paper dust removing brush roller 55. It also has a (cleaning) function (claim 2).

  The lubricant application member 61 functions as a lubricant application unit that scrapes off the lubricant from the block-shaped lubricant block 62 and supplies and applies it to the surface of the secondary transfer roller 54. By applying the lubricant to the surface of the transfer roller 54 by the lubricant applying member 61, the adhesion force of the toner to the surface of the secondary transfer roller 54 can be reduced and the frictional force with the cleaning blade 59 can be weakened. In the present embodiment, the lubricant applying member 61 uses a polyurethane foam roller. As the lubricant block 62, a material mainly composed of zinc stearate is used. Reference numeral 63 denotes a holder member that holds the lubricant block 62, and reference numeral 64 denotes a pressing mechanism that includes a spring or the like that constantly presses the lubricant block 62 against the lubricant application member 61 via the holder member 63.

  The transfer roller temperature detection unit 68 is disposed near the surface of the secondary transfer roller 54 and functions as a temperature detection unit that detects the surface temperature of the secondary transfer roller 54. The transfer roller temperature detecting means 68 is composed of, for example, a thermistor.

  Further, in the present embodiment, based on the detection result (related output signal) of the surface temperature of the secondary transfer roller 54 from the transfer roller temperature detection means 68, the current that flows to the conductive fibers 55a of the paper dust removal brush roller 55 Current control means 69 is provided as control means for controlling the value. The transfer roller temperature detecting means 68 detects the temperature of the transfer roller, and based on the detection result, the current control means 69 is a current value that is a bias 58 that flows to the conductive fiber 55a of the paper dust removing brush roller 55 via the power source 72. To control. Thereby, highly accurate control becomes possible (Claim 4). The current control means 69 includes a microcomputer (not shown) including a CPU, an I / O (input / output) port, a ROM, a RAM, a timer, and the like, which are connected by a signal bus. The CPU of the current control unit 69 receives a data signal from the transfer roller temperature detection unit 68 through the input port, and controls the power source 72 through the output port. The ROM stores in advance a program for controlling the value of the current that flows to the conductive fiber 55a of the paper dust removal brush roller 55 based on the output signal from the transfer roller temperature detecting means 68. Further, the ROM stores in advance a data table of the detected temperature of the transfer roller temperature detecting means 68 and the bias / current value to be passed through the power source 72.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate transfer belt 11 is moved in the arrow direction 52 by the rotation of the intermediate transfer driving roller 53, and the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 11 is secondarily transferred to the transfer paper 2 by the secondary transfer roller 54. Transcribed. At this time, a bias current having the same polarity as that of the toner (including superposition of AC and pulses) is applied to the cored bar portion 53 a of the intermediate transfer driving roller 53 by the power source 71, whereby a transfer current flows. Due to this transfer current, secondary transfer is performed on the transfer paper 2 by the action of an electric field between the intermediate transfer belt 11 and the secondary transfer roller 54. The transfer current flowing through the cored bar 53a flows through the elastic layer 54b of the secondary transfer roller 54, and further flows from the cored bar 54a to the ground (GND).

  At this time, paper dust generated when the paper is fed one by one by the paper feed roller 3 shown in FIG. 1 adheres to the secondary transfer roller 54. The paper dust adhering to the secondary transfer roller 54 is removed by a paper dust removing brush roller 55 disposed on the upstream side of the cleaning blade 59 in the arrow rotation direction 60 of the secondary transfer roller 54. At this time, the paper dust and toner captured by the paper dust removing brush roller 55 are blown off by the conductive member 57 rotating in the arrow direction 65 and collected by a collecting means (conveying screw) not shown. As a result, the paper dust is prevented from being sandwiched between the cleaning blades 59, so that the occurrence of defective cleaning is reliably prevented.

  On the other hand, at the start of the image forming process, the surface temperature of the secondary transfer roller 54 is measured and detected by the transfer roller temperature detection unit 68, and an output signal as a detection result is transmitted to the current control unit 69. When the detection result of the current control means 69 is lower than a preset temperature (for example, 10 ° C.), the power supply 72 is operated under the control of the current control means 69. That is, when a bias 58 is applied to the cored bar part 56 of the paper dust removing brush roller 55 via the power source 72, a current flows through the conductive fiber 55a, and the heat generating part in the part between the cored bar part 56 and the conductive member 57 is applied. 70 generates heat. Therefore, when the paper dust removing brush roller 55 generates heat in a low temperature (for example, 10 ° C.) environment, the heat is transferred to the secondary transfer roller 54 and the electrical resistance value of the secondary transfer roller 54 is lowered.

Since the temperature to be transferred to the secondary transfer roller 54 is variable in accordance with the voltage and current applied by the power source 72, the temperature of the secondary transfer roller 54 is kept constant by setting the optimum value in each environment. can do. That is, in a low temperature environment, the electrical resistance value is lowered by raising the voltage and raising the temperature of the secondary transfer roller 54. In the high temperature environment, the electrical resistance value is raised by lowering the voltage and lowering the temperature of the secondary transfer roller 54. By doing so, it is possible to eliminate the change in the electric resistance value due to the temperature change and to prevent the abnormal image due to the fluctuation of the transfer voltage (claim 3).
As described above, in the present embodiment, based on the output signal relating to the surface temperature of the secondary transfer roller 54 from the transfer roller temperature detecting means 68, the value of the current passed through the conductive fiber 55a of the paper dust removing brush roller 55 is controlled. Current control means 69 as control means is provided. The temperature of the secondary transfer roller 54 is detected by the transfer roller temperature detecting means 68, and the current value that the current control means 69 passes to the conductive fibers 55 a of the paper dust removing brush roller 55 via the power source 72 based on the detection result is determined. By controlling, more accurate control is possible (claim 4).

In this embodiment, the electrical resistance value of the elastic layer 54b, which is an elastic rubber portion of the secondary transfer roller 54, is set to (logΩ = ^6.5 to 8.0) 10 ^6.5 to 10 ⁸ [Ω]. ing. Thus, the electrical resistance value of the elastic layer 54 b of the secondary transfer roller 54 is a large electrical resistance value with respect to the conductive fibers 55 a of the brush portion of the paper dust removing brush roller 55. For this reason, the current flowing to the cored bar 56 of the paper dust removing brush roller 55 does not flow into the secondary transfer roller 54, and does not affect the secondary transfer function.

(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the secondary transfer apparatus showing the second embodiment.
The second embodiment is different only in that a secondary transfer device 50A is used instead of the secondary transfer device 50 of the first embodiment. The secondary transfer device 50 </ b> A is different from the secondary transfer device 50 in that the ground (GND) connection of the cored bar portion 54 a of the secondary transfer roller 54 is removed and the cored bar portion 56 of the paper dust removing brush roller 55. The main difference is that the power source 72 for applying the bias 58 is removed, and the transfer roller temperature detecting means 68 and the current control means 69 are removed. Except for these differences, the configuration and operation of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In the configuration of the secondary transfer device 50 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, as described above, a transfer current flows as follows. That is, the cored bar portion 54 a of the secondary transfer roller 54 is connected to ground (GND), and the transfer current applied to the cored bar portion 53 a of the intermediate transfer driving roller 53 is applied to the elastic layer 54 b of the secondary transfer roller 54. Flow from the cored bar portion 54a of the secondary transfer roller 54 to the ground (GND).

  However, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the secondary transfer roller 54 is not connected to the ground (GND). Therefore, the transfer current 67 flows from the elastic layer 54 b of the secondary transfer roller 54 to the conductive member 57 in contact with the paper dust removal brush roller 55 through the conductive fiber 55 a portion of the paper dust removal brush roller 55. As described above, the transfer current 67 flows through the conductive fiber 55a portion of the paper dust removing brush roller 55, so that the conductive member 57 portion that is in direct contact with the conductive fiber 55a is not limited to the heat generating portion. The whole conductive fiber 55a planted on the part 56 becomes a heat generating part. That is, the entire conductive fiber 55a planted on the cored bar portion 56 of the paper dust removing brush roller 55 is transferred to the heat generating portion 70 like the heat generating portion 70 added with parentheses to the paper dust removing brush roller 55. I can say.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the entire portion of the conductive fiber 55a generates heat, it is not necessary to add a power pack such as a power source 72 for newly applying a bias, and the cost can be reduced. ).

The embodiment described above is an example of the present invention, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
[Aspect 1]
Transfer means 51 (intermediate transfer drive roller 53, secondary transfer) having a function of transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier such as an intermediate transfer belt 11 onto a transfer medium such as transfer paper 2 and rotating and transferring the transfer medium. A transfer unit such as a transfer roller 54), a blade member such as a cleaning blade 59 that constantly contacts the transfer unit and cleans the transfer unit, and an upstream side of the blade member in the rotation direction of the transfer unit and can contact the transfer unit In a transfer device such as a secondary transfer device 50 provided with a paper dust removing member such as a rotatable paper dust removing brush roller 55 provided on the paper, the paper dust removing member generates heat and the heat causes the temperature of the transfer means To change.

  According to this aspect 1, as described in the above embodiment, the paper dust removing member originally provided in the transfer device is warmed, and the transfer means is heated by transferring heat from the paper dust removing member to the transferring means. The electric resistance value of the means can be controlled. Therefore, it is not necessary to add a heating means, and the cost can be reduced.

[Aspect 2]
In the first aspect, the paper dust removing member such as the paper dust removing brush roller 55 is a roller-like brush-like rotation having a fiber member such as a brush-like conductive fiber member 55a on the outer periphery of the core metal such as the core metal part 56. It is a body and heats the fiber member by energization.
According to this aspect 2, as explained in the above embodiment, since the fiber member itself of the brush-like rotating body directly generates heat, it is not necessary to add parts and the cost can be reduced.

[Aspect 3]
In the aspect 1 or 2, the linear resistivity of the fiber member is 10 ⁻⁵ to 10 ⁵ [Ω · cm].
According to this aspect 3, as explained in the above embodiment, by making the linear resistivity of the fiber member larger than that of a general metal, it is possible to generate heat with the fiber member instead of the core metal portion, and more efficiency. Therefore, it is possible to generate heat (it is not necessary to heat the core part).

[Aspect 4]
In Aspect 2 or 3, a temperature detection means such as a transfer roller temperature detection means 68 for detecting the surface temperature of the transfer means is provided, and the value of the current flowing to the fiber member is controlled based on the detection result of the temperature detection means.
According to this aspect 4, as described in the above embodiment, by detecting the surface temperature of the transfer unit, the electrical resistance value of the transfer unit can be more reliably controlled.

[Aspect 5]
In the aspect 2, 3 or 4, the current supplied to the fiber member is a transfer current such as the transfer current 67.
According to this aspect 5, as described in the above embodiment, since the current supplied to the fiber member is set to the transfer current value, it is not necessary to add a power pack such as a new power source, so that the cost can be reduced. It becomes.
[Aspect 6]
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrier; an image forming unit that forms a toner image on the image carrier; and a transfer device according to any one of aspects 1 to 5.
According to this aspect 6, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to realize and provide an image forming apparatus that exhibits the effect of the transfer apparatus according to any one of aspects 1 to 5.

  As described above, the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments. However, the technical contents disclosed by the present invention are not limited to those exemplified in the above-described embodiments. That is, it may be configured by appropriately combining them, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various embodiments, examples, and modifications can be configured within the scope of the present invention according to the necessity and application. It is.

In the first embodiment, the configuration using the intermediate transfer belt as an example of the image carrier has been described. However, the image carrier is not limited to the intermediate transfer belt, and the photosensitive belt, the intermediate transfer drum, and the photosensitive member. Any image carrier such as a drum can be used.
The transfer medium / recording medium is not limited to the transfer paper used in the above embodiment, and copy paper, PPC paper, plain paper, or the like may be used, or an OHP film paper formed of PET resin may be used. Good.

2 Transfer paper (an example of transfer media)
11 Intermediate transfer belt (an example of an image carrier)
20 Photosensitive drum (an example of an image carrier)
50, 50A secondary transfer device (an example of a transfer device)
51 Transfer means 53 Intermediate transfer drive roller (an example of transfer means)
53a Core metal portion 53b Elastic layer 54 Secondary transfer roller (an example of transfer means)
54a Core metal part 54b Elastic layer 55 Paper dust removing brush roller (an example of a paper dust removing member)
55a Conductive fiber (an example of a fiber member)
56 cored bar (an example of a cored bar)
57 conductive member 59 cleaning blade (an example of a blade member)
61 Lubricant application member (an example of lubricant application means)
67 Transfer current 70 Heating part 71, 72 Power supply

JP 2006-098583 A JP2007-316198A

Claims (6)

A transfer unit having a function of transferring a toner image formed on the image carrier to a transfer medium and rotating and transferring the transfer medium; a blade member that always contacts the transfer unit and cleans the transfer unit; and the transfer unit A rotatable paper dust removing member disposed upstream of the blade member in the rotation direction of the means and provided so as to be in contact with the transfer means;
A transfer apparatus characterized in that the paper dust removing member generates heat and the temperature of the transfer means is changed by the heat. The transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The paper dust removing member is a roller-like brush-like rotating body having a brush-like conductive fiber member on the outer periphery of the cored bar,
A transfer apparatus that heats the fiber member by energization. The transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The transfer device, wherein the fiber member has a linear resistivity of 10 ⁻⁵ to 10 ⁵ [Ω · cm]. The transfer apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
A temperature detection means for detecting the surface temperature of the transfer means;
A transfer device that controls a value of a current flowing to the fiber member based on a detection result of the temperature detection means. The transfer apparatus according to claim 2, 3 or 4,
The transfer device, wherein the current supplied to the fiber member is a transfer current.   An image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrier; an image forming unit that forms a toner image on the image carrier; and a transfer device according to claim 1.

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