JP2019060965A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that can efficiently eliminate static electricity on a portion where a sheet is sandwiched between a separation roller and a separation pad before entering a fixing unit and electric charge is concentrated.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a separation unit that has a separation roller that is in contact with a sheet and a separation pad that sandwiches the sheet with the separation roller, and separates and feeds out the sheets; a process unit that forms a developer image on the front face of the sheet; a fixing unit that has a heating unit and a pressure unit and fixes the developer image to the sheet; and static eliminating members 160 that are arranged between the process unit and fixing unit in a sheet conveyance direction, and have faces opposite to the rear face of the sheet within a range larger than a nip range for sandwiching the sheet with the separation roller and separation pad in a sheet width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction and smaller than a fixing range for sandwiching the sheet with the heating unit and pressure unit in the width direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a charge removing member that removes a sheet.

  In the transport path until the sheet stacked on the sheet tray enters the fixing device, the sheet may be rubbed with parts of the transport path and be charged. Since the charged sheet is likely to be attached with foreign matter such as paper dust, if the sheet passes through the fixing unit while being charged, the foreign matter may be accumulated in the heating unit of the fixing unit or the like to deteriorate the image. For this reason, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, a charge removing brush is provided at the entrance of the fixing device to charge the sheet.

JP, 2008-209699, A

  However, when the sheet is separated, charges may be concentrated and accumulated on the rubbed portion between the sheet separation roller and the separation pad. The technique of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the portion where the charge is concentrated can not be removed efficiently. In addition, when the discharge capacity of the discharge brush is increased in the entire width direction of the sheet, there is a possibility that the conveyance resistance of the sheet may be increased.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently removing the portion where the sheet is sandwiched between the separation roller and the separation pad and the charge is concentrated before entering the fixing device.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a separation roller contacting the sheet, and a separation pad sandwiching the sheet between the separation rollers, and a separation unit separating and feeding the sheet A fixing unit for fixing the developer image on the sheet, a process unit for fixing the developer image on the sheet, and a fixing unit for fixing the developer image on the sheet; The sheet is wider than the nip range in which the sheet is sandwiched between the separation roller and the separation pad in the width direction of the sheet orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and the range narrower than the fixing area in which the sheet is sandwiched by the heating portion and the pressure portion in the width direction And a charge removing member having a surface opposite to the back surface of the sheet.

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the charge removing member is disposed between the process unit and the fixing device in correspondence to the nip range, so the nip range in which the sheet is nipped between the separation roller and the separation pad The portion corresponding to B. can be efficiently removed before entering the fuser.

  According to the present invention, the portion where the sheet is sandwiched between the separation roller and the separation pad and the charge is concentrated can be efficiently removed before entering the fixing device.

It is a figure showing a schematic structure of a laser printer concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view showing a chute. It is the figure which looked at the electrically-conductive member from the top. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the chute vicinity in FIG. It is the figure which compared the dimension of the width direction of a sheet | seat, various rollers, and the static elimination member. It is a figure which shows the static elimination brush in other embodiment. It is the figure which looked at the electrically-conductive member in other embodiment from the top.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
As shown in FIG. 1, a laser printer 1 as an example of an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet S includes a sheet feeding unit 3, a processing unit 4, a fixing unit 6, and a discharge unit in a housing 2. Mainly equipped with seven.

  In the following description, directions will be described on the basis of a user who uses the laser printer 1. That is, the right side in FIG. 1 is “front”, the left side is “rear”, the near side is “left”, and the back side is “right”. Further, the vertical direction in FIG. 1 is referred to as “upper and lower”.

  The sheet feeding unit 3 is configured to supply the sheet S to the processing unit 4, and is provided at a lower portion in the housing 2. The sheet feeding unit 3 mainly includes a sheet tray 31, a sheet pressing plate 32, a pickup roller 33, a separating roller 34, a separating pad 35, a paper dust removing unit 36, and a sheet sensor 37. There is.

  The pickup roller 33 is a roller for feeding the sheet S from the sheet tray 31.

  The separation roller 34 is provided on the downstream side of the pickup roller 33 in the conveyance direction of the sheet S (hereinafter, simply referred to as “conveyance direction”). The separation roller 34 contacts the back surface of the sheet S. In the present invention, of the faces of the sheet S, the face on which an image is formed is referred to as “front face”, and the face on the back side of the front face is referred to as “back face”.

  The separation pad 35 is a member that sandwiches the sheet S with the separation roller 34 and applies a frictional force to the sheet. The separation pad 35 contacts the front surface of the sheet S. The separation pad 35 is made of, for example, an elastic member such as urethane rubber, and formed in a substantially rectangular shape. The separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 form a separation unit having a function of sandwiching a plurality of sheets overlapping each other and feeding the sheets one by one by the separation roller.

  The paper dust removing unit 36 is disposed between the separation roller 34 and the processing unit 4. The paper dust removing unit 36 has a first resin roller 36A in contact with the front surface of the sheet S and a second rubber roller 36B in contact with the back surface of the sheet S. The second roller 36B sandwiches the sheet S with the first roller 36A. The first roller 36A has a function of electrostatically adsorbing and removing paper dust and the like on the front surface of the sheet S.

  The sheet S placed on the sheet tray 31 is brought close to the pickup roller 33 by the sheet pressing plate 32, and the back surface of the sheet S contacts the pickup roller 33 and is fed out by the pickup roller 33. The fed sheets S are separated one by one by the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35, and conveyed by the paper dust removing unit 36. Then, the sheet S is detected by the sheet sensor 37, and is conveyed toward the space between the transfer roller 53 and the processing unit 4, more specifically, a photosensitive member 51 which is a cylindrical photosensitive drum.

  The processing unit 4 is configured to form a developer image on the front surface of the fed sheet S, and is provided above the sheet tray 31. The process unit 4 mainly includes an exposure device 40 and a process cartridge 50.

  The exposure apparatus 40 is mainly provided with a laser emitting unit (not shown), a polygon mirror 41 which is rotationally driven, a lens 42 and a reflecting mirror 44 which are provided at an upper portion in the housing 2. A laser beam (see a chain line) based on image data emitted from the laser emitting unit is reflected or passed in order of the polygon mirror 41, the lens 42, and the reflecting mirror 44, and is scanned at high speed on the surface of the photosensitive member 51.

  The process cartridge 50 is disposed below the exposure device 40, and is configured to be replaceable by being detachably attached to the housing 2 from an opening formed when the front cover 23 provided in the housing 2 is opened. The process cartridge 50 includes a transfer roller 53 that holds the sheet S between the photosensitive member 51, the charger 52, and the photosensitive member 51, a developing roller 54, a supply roller 55, and a developer containing a developer. And 56 mainly.

  The fixing device 6 is for fixing the developer image on the sheet S. The fixing unit 6 is provided at the rear of the process unit 4 and is a hollow roller, and a pressing unit which is disposed opposite to the heating unit 61 and whose surface is formed of a non-conductive elastic body. And 62. Inside the heating unit 61, a heat source 61A made of a halogen heater is provided. The heating unit 61 and the pressing unit 62 are mutually pressed by a pressing member (not shown). A chute 10 for guiding the sheet S fed from the processing unit 4 to the fixing device 6 is disposed between the fixing device 6 and the processing unit 4. The chute 10 is disposed below the conveyance path so as to contact and guide the back surface side of the sheet S.

  In the process unit 4, the surface of the photosensitive member 51 is uniformly charged to a positive polarity by the charger 52, and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser beam from the exposure device 40. An electrostatic latent image is formed. Further, the developer in the developer accommodating portion 56 is supplied to the developing roller 54 via the supply roller 55 and carried on the developing roller 54.

  Then, the developer carried on the developing roller 54 is supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 51, whereby the electrostatic latent image is visualized and the developer image is formed on the photosensitive member 51. It is formed. Thereafter, the sheet S supplied from the sheet feeding unit 3 is conveyed between the photosensitive member 51 and the transfer roller 53, and a negative transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 53, whereby the developer on the photosensitive member 51 is developed. The image is transferred onto the sheet S. Next, the sheet S is conveyed between the heating unit 61 and the pressing unit 62, whereby the developer image transferred onto the sheet S is thermally fixed.

  The discharge unit 7 is configured to convey the sheet S, on which the developer image is thermally fixed, toward the outside of the housing 2, and is mainly configured by the conveyance roller 72 and the discharge roller 73.

  The discharge roller 73 is provided near the exit of the discharge path 71, and discharges the sheet S to the discharge tray 22 outside the housing 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the chute 10 has a resin frame 2 </ b> A supported by the housing 2 and a conductive member 100.

  The conductive member 100 is a member having conductivity provided on the resin frame 2A. The conductive member 100 is formed of a single metal plate. The conductive member 100 is electrically grounded.

  The conductive member 100 includes a first portion 110 facing the sheet S, and a second portion 120 located below the first portion 110 and extending downstream from the downstream end of the first portion 110 in the transport direction, and a second portion 120. The third portion 130 is located below and extends downstream from the downstream end of the second portion 120 in the transport direction, and the flange 140 extends downward from the upstream end of the first portion 110 in the transport direction.

  The first portion 110 has a first surface 111 located on the upstream side in the transport direction, and a second surface 112 extending obliquely upward from the downstream end of the first surface 111 in the transport direction. Specifically, a bending portion 113 is formed between the first surface 111 and the second surface 112 which are planarly configured.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first portion 110 is formed with a plurality of slits 115 extending along the transport direction. The slit 115 extends from the front end to the rear end of the first portion 110 and further extends to the front end of the second portion 120.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the resin frame 2 </ b> A has a plurality of ribs 2 </ b> B extending along the sheet S conveyance direction. The rib 2 </ b> B passes through the slit 115 of the conductive member 100 and protrudes from the conductive member 100 toward the transport path of the sheet S. Since the resin frame 2A is made of resin, the ribs 2B are nonconductive.

  The conductive member 100 is provided with a discharging brush 150 as an example of a first discharging portion, a discharging member 160 as an example of a second discharging portion, and a pressing portion discharging member 170 as an example of a third discharging portion. There is. In the present invention, the width direction of the sheet S is a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and is a rotation axis direction of a roller such as the transfer roller 53 that transports the sheet S.

  The discharging brush 150 is a member for discharging substantially the entire width of the sheet S. The static elimination brush 150 has bristles extending toward the back surface of the sheet S. The bristles of the static elimination brush 150 have a uniform length throughout the width direction. The discharging brush 150 is disposed in a wider range than the maximum image forming range in which the laser printer 1 can form an image in the width direction. Specifically, the bristles of the static elimination brush 150 are disposed in a range wider than the maximum range in the width direction of the developer image formed on the sheet S by the processing unit 4. The static elimination brush 150 is fixed to the front end of the conductive member 100, specifically, to the flange 140.

  The charge removing member 160 is a member for removing the charge concentration range in the width direction of the sheet S, and is disposed between the processing unit 4 and the fixing device 6 in the transport direction. The charge removal member 160 is bonded to the second surface 112 of the first portion 110 of the conductive member 100. The charge removal member 160 is disposed at the central portion in the width direction of the second surface 112, corresponding to the nip range N (see FIG. 6) in which the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 nip the sheet S in the width direction. . The static elimination member 160 is electrically grounded via the conductive member 100.

  The static elimination member 160 is made of three rectangular conductive cloths. Each of the three cloths is arranged between the plurality of ribs 2B side by side in the width direction. The charge removing member 160 is made of, for example, a conductive non-woven fabric of nylon. The electrical resistivity of the static elimination member 160 is smaller than that of the conductive member 100.

  The pressurizing unit charge removing member 170 is a member for removing the charge of the pressurizing unit 62. The pressurizing portion discharging member 170 is disposed on the upper surface of the third portion 130 of the conductive member 100. The pressurizing portion charge removing member 170 extends in the width direction along the pressurizing portion 62. The pressurizing portion charge removing member 170 is made of a conductive cloth. Thereby, even when the surface of the pressing portion 62 is made of a nonconductive material, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of charge.

  As shown in FIG. 4, one surface of the static elimination member 160 faces the back surface of the sheet S. The static elimination member 160 has a main body portion 161 and a raising portion 162 that raises from the main body portion 161 toward the sheet S. The hair raising portion 162 is a mixture of long hairs and short hairs.

  When the sheet S contacts the rib 2B, the main body portion 161 of the static elimination member 160 is arranged to be separated from the sheet S. That is, the plurality of ribs 2B are located closer to the sheet S than the main body portion 161 of the static elimination member 160. Further, when the sheet S contacts the rib 2B, the tip of the raised portion 162 of the static elimination member 160 contacts or approaches the sheet S.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the charge removing member 160 intersects the common tangent line K of the photosensitive member 51 and the transfer roller 53 as viewed in the width direction. That is, the discharging member 160 is disposed downstream of the position P1 at which the sheet S carried out from between the photosensitive drum 51 and the transfer roller 53 reaches the rib 2B. For this reason, the sheet S is guided such that the front end thereof is close to the static elimination member 160, and then the rear surface is opposed to the static elimination member 160 along the rib 2B.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the various rollers and the charge removal member 160 are disposed symmetrically with respect to the center C in the width direction. In the width direction, the range L1 of the static elimination member 160 is narrower than the fixing range L5 in which the sheet S is sandwiched between the heating unit 61 and the pressing unit 62. Further, in the width direction, the range L1 of the discharging member 160 is narrower than the largest image forming range L2 in which the laser printer 1 can form an image, and narrower than the range L3 of the smallest sheet S1 in which the laser printer 1 can form an image. There is. Specifically, the smallest image formable sheet S1 has a width detectable by the sheet sensor 37 disposed at a distance of L3 / 2 from the center C in the width direction.

Further, in the width direction, the range L 1 of the static elimination member 160 is wider than the range L 4 of the pickup roller 33.
Further, in the width direction, the range L1 of the static elimination member 160 is wider than the nip range N in which the sheet S is sandwiched by the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35.
Further, in the width direction, the range L6 of the first roller 36A of the paper dust removing unit 36 is wider than the nip range N in order to remove paper dust generated by rubbing the sheet S with the separation pad 35. Further, the range L6 is narrower than the range L1 of the static elimination member 160. Conversely, the range L1 of the static elimination member 160 is wider than the range L6 of the first roller 36A.
That is, the range L1 of the discharging member is wider than any of the range L4 of the pickup roller 33, the nip range N of the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35, and the nip range L6 of the first roller 36A and the second roller 36B. Therefore, even if the sheet S is charged due to the contact between the rollers used for sheet feeding and the sheet S, the charged portion can be discharged.

  In addition, although the dimension of the direction of each range can be suitably changed, for example, centering on center C, L1 = 37 mm, L2 = 210 mm, L3 = 100 mm, L4 = 20 mm, N = 20 mm, for example L5 = 220 mm, L6 = 36 mm, the dimension of the first roller 36A = 36 mm, and the dimension of the second roller 36B = 43 mm.

According to the laser printer 1 of the present embodiment as described above, the following operations and effects can be obtained.
The laser printer 1 includes a separation unit having a separation roller 34 and a separation pad 35, a process unit 4 for forming a developer image on the front surface of a sheet, and a fixing unit having a heating unit 61 and a pressure unit 62. 6 and a discharging member 160 disposed between the processing unit 4 and the fixing device 6 and facing the back surface of the sheet S in a range wider than the nip range N and narrower than the fixing range L5. . In this configuration, in the nip range N in which the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 are nipped, the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 are strongly rubbed with the sheet S, and charge tends to be accumulated in the sheet S.
When the sheet S passes through the fixing device 6 in a state in which the charge is accumulated in the sheet S, foreign matter such as paper dust attached to the sheet S accumulates foreign matter on the heating roller 61 of the fixing device 6 to deteriorate the image. There is a case.
However, in the laser printer 1 according to the present embodiment, since the charge removing member 160 is disposed between the process unit 4 and the fixing device 6 in correspondence with the nip range N of the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 The portion corresponding to the nip range N nipped by the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 can be intensively neutralized before entering the fixing device 6. As a result, foreign matter is less likely to accumulate on the heating roller 61 of the fixing device 6 or the like.

  Further, in the laser printer 1, the static elimination member 160 can be a cloth having conductivity. According to this, since one side faces the back side of the sheet S at the side, the charged portion of the sheet S can be efficiently removed.

  The laser printer 1 further includes a plurality of ribs 2B extending along the transport direction between the process unit 4 and the fixing unit 6, and the charge removing member 160 raises the main body 161 and the main body toward the sheet S. The plurality of ribs 2 </ b> B can have a configuration closer to the sheet S than the main body portion 161. According to this, when the sheet S is guided from the process unit 4 to the fixing device 6 by the chute 10, the rib 2B of the resin frame 2A protrudes from the conductive member 100, and the sheet S from the main body portion 161 of the discharging member 160. Since the sheet S is in contact with the rib 2B and in contact with the main body portion 161, the sheet S is suppressed. For this reason, the increase in the transport resistance of the sheet S is suppressed. Then, the long bristles of the raised portion 162 of the conductive member 100 are in contact with or in proximity to the sheet S, whereby the sheet S can be efficiently removed.

  Moreover, in the laser printer 1, the static elimination member 160 can be set as the structure arrange | positioned between the some rib 2B. According to this, since the space between the ribs 2B is used, it is possible to suppress the printer 1 from being enlarged even if the discharging member 160 is disposed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the laser printer 1, the discharging member 160 can be configured to intersect the common tangent line K of the photosensitive member 51 and the transfer roller 53 viewed from the width direction. According to this, since the front end of the sheet S reliably comes close to the discharging member 160 after being sent out from the processing unit 4, the entire length of the sheet S can be discharged in the transport direction.

  In addition, since the pressing portion charge removing member 170 is disposed to face the pressing portion 62, the surface of the pressing portion 62 can be removed.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. The specific configuration can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, about the component similar to the said embodiment, suppose that the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the embodiment described above, the charge removing member 160 is disposed corresponding to the nip range, but the charge removing member may set the charge removing ability in the sheet nip range to be larger than the charge removing ability in the other portion of the sheet. Specifically, in the embodiment, the bristles of the conductive brush have a uniform length, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the width direction, the charge removal brush may be configured such that a portion corresponding to a nip range in which the sheet is sandwiched by the separation roller and the separation pad protrudes closer to the sheet than other portions.

  For example, the charge removal brush 250 of the conductive member 200 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 has a first brush portion 251 and a second brush portion 252 protruding closer to the sheet S than the first brush portion 251. There is. The second brush portion 252 is disposed corresponding to the nip range N in which the sheet S is nipped by the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35. As an example, the range L10 of the second brush portion 252 in the width direction is equal to or greater than the nip range N.

  Also by the discharging brush 250 of the conductive member 200, the nip range N in which the sheet S is nipped between the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 can be efficiently removed before entering the fixing device 6.

  In the said embodiment, although the static elimination brush was arrange | positioned as a 1st static elimination part, you may arrange | position electroconductive cloth as a 1st static elimination part.

For example, the conductive member 300 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is provided with a charge removing member 360 made of a conductive cloth. The static elimination member 360 has a wide portion 361 as an example of the first static elimination portion, and a narrow portion 362 as an example of the second static elimination portion.
The wide portion 361 is disposed in a range wider than the image formation range in which the laser printer 1 can form an image in the width direction. The wide portion 361 is disposed on the first surface 111 of the conductive member 100. The narrow portion 362 is disposed in the width direction to correspond to the nip range N nipped by the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35. Specifically, the narrow portion 362 is wider than the nip range N and narrower than the image forming range in the width direction.
The upstream end of the narrow portion 362 is connected and integrated with the wide portion 361. In the charge removing member 360, the dimension L11 of the portion corresponding to the nip range N is larger than the dimension L12 of the other portion in the transport direction.

  Also by the discharging member 360, the wide area 361 as the first discharging portion can discharge the entire image forming area of the sheet S, and a portion corresponding to the nip area N is intensively placed before entering the fixing device 6. Charge can be discharged.

  Although the monochrome laser printer is illustrated as an example of the image forming apparatus in the embodiment, the image forming apparatus may be a color image forming apparatus, or may be a copier or a multifunction peripheral. Further, the sheet is not limited to the sheet, and may be an OHP sheet or the like. Furthermore, the heating unit and the pressing unit are not limited to those using rollers, and belts can also be used.

  In the said embodiment, although the static elimination brush was arrange | positioned at the electrically-conductive member, you may be arrange | positioned at another member.

  In the said embodiment, although the static elimination member was cloth, you may be electroconductive rubber, electroconductive resin, etc.

  Moreover, it is possible to implement combining each element of each above-mentioned embodiment arbitrarily.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 laser printer 4 process part 6 fixing device 34 separation roller 35 separation pad 61 heating part 62 pressurizing part 160 charge removing member N nip range S sheet

Claims (13)

A separation unit that has a separation roller that contacts the sheet and a separation pad that sandwiches the sheet between the separation roller, and separates and feeds the sheet;
A process unit for forming a developer image on the front surface of the sheet;
A fixing unit having a heating unit and a pressing unit and fixing a developer image on a sheet;
The separation roller is disposed between the process unit and the fixing unit in the sheet conveyance direction, and is wider than a nip range in which the separation roller and the separation pad sandwich the sheet in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. An image forming apparatus comprising: a charge removing member having a surface facing the back surface of the sheet within a range narrower than a fixing range sandwiching the sheet between the heating unit and the pressing unit. And a conductive member disposed between the processing unit and the fixing unit and electrically grounded.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the charge removing member is disposed on the conductive member.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharging member is a conductive cloth, and one surface of the discharging member faces the back surface of the sheet. The apparatus further comprises a plurality of ribs disposed between the processing unit and the fixing unit and extending along the sheet conveyance direction.
The charge removing member has a main body portion and a raising portion for raising the main body portion toward the sheet,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of ribs are closer to the sheet than the main body portion.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the charge removing member is disposed between the plurality of ribs. The process unit includes a photosensitive body, and a transfer roller configured to sandwich a sheet between the photosensitive body and the photosensitive body.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the discharging member intersects a common tangent line of the photosensitive member and the transfer roller when viewed from the width direction.   A paper dust removing unit disposed between the separating unit and the processing unit, and holding the sheet between the first roller made of resin contacting the front surface of the sheet and the first roller. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a paper dust removing unit having a rubber second roller contacting the back surface of the sheet.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein in the width direction, the range in which the first roller contacts the sheet is wider than the nip range and narrower than the range of the static elimination member.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the discharging member is disposed in a range narrower than a minimum sheet width capable of forming an image by the image forming apparatus. A separation unit that has a separation roller that contacts the sheet and a separation pad that sandwiches the sheet between the separation roller, and separates and feeds the sheet;
A process unit for forming a developer image on the front surface of the sheet;
A fixing unit having a heating unit and a pressing unit and fixing a developer image on a sheet;
And a charge removing member disposed between the processing unit and the fixing unit in the sheet conveyance direction.
In the sheet width direction orthogonal to the transport direction, the charge removing member is characterized in that the charge removing ability with respect to the nip region between the sheet and the separation roller and the separation pad is larger than the charge removing ability with respect to other portions of the sheet. Image forming device. The image forming apparatus further comprises a discharging brush having bristles extending toward the back surface of the sheet, between the processing unit and the fixing device in the transport direction.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the discharging brush is disposed in a range wider than an image forming range in which an image can be formed by the image forming apparatus in the width direction.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein in the width direction, a portion corresponding to the nip range of the static elimination brush protrudes so as to be closer to a sheet than other portions.   The part corresponding to the said nip range in the said width direction WHEREIN: The dimension in alignment with the said conveyance direction is larger than the other part, The dimension in the said conveyance direction is characterized by the above-mentioned. Image forming device.

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