JP2022060416A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: 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

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a static elimination member for statically eliminating a sheet.

In the transport path until the sheet loaded on the seat tray enters the fuser, the sheet may rub against the parts of the transport path and become charged. Since foreign matter such as paper dust easily adheres to the charged sheet, if the sheet passes through the fuser while it is charged, the foreign matter may accumulate in the heating part of the fuser and deteriorate the image. Therefore, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, a static elimination brush is provided at the entrance of the fuser to eliminate static electricity on the sheet.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-209699

However, when the sheet is separated, the electric charge may be concentrated and accumulated in the portion sandwiched between the sheet separation roller and the separation pad and rubbed. The technique of Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is not possible to efficiently eliminate static electricity in a portion where charges are concentrated. Further, if the static elimination capacity of the static elimination brush is increased in the entire width direction of the sheet, the transfer resistance of the sheet may increase.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently eliminating static electricity in a portion where a sheet is sandwiched between a separation roller and a separation pad and a charge is concentrated before entering the fuser.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a separation roller in contact with the sheet and a separation pad for sandwiching the sheet between the separation rollers, and a separation unit for separating and feeding the sheet. A fuser that has a process section for forming a developer image on the front surface of the sheet, a heating section and a pressurizing section to fix the developer image on the sheet, and a process section and fixing in the sheet transport direction. A range that is wider than the nip range that sandwiches the sheet by the separation roller and separation pad in the width direction of the sheet that is arranged between the device and orthogonal to the transport direction, and narrower than the fixing range that sandwiches the sheet by the heating part and the pressurizing part in the width direction. A static elimination member having a surface facing the back surface of the sheet is provided.

According to the image forming apparatus configured in this way, since the static elimination member is arranged between the process unit and the fuser according to the nip range, the nip range in which the sheet is nipped in the separation roller and the separation pad. The part corresponding to the above can be efficiently statically 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 electric charge is concentrated can be efficiently statically eliminated before entering the fuser.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the laser printer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the shoot. It is the figure which looked at the conductive member from the top. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a chute in FIG. It is a figure which compared the dimension in the width direction of a sheet, various rollers, and a static elimination member. It is a figure which shows the static elimination brush in another embodiment. It is a figure which looked at the conductive member in another embodiment from the top.

Next, an embodiment 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 that forms an image on a sheet S has a paper feeding unit 3, a process unit 4, a fixing device 6, and an discharging unit in a housing 2. Mainly equipped with 7.

In the following description, the direction will be described with reference to the user who uses the laser printer 1. That is, the right side in FIG. 1 is "front", the left side is "rear", the front side is "left", and the back side is "right". Further, the vertical direction in FIG. 1 is defined as "up and down".

The paper feed unit 3 is configured to supply the sheet S to the process unit 4, and is provided in the lower part of the housing 2. The paper feed unit 3 is mainly composed of a sheet tray 31, a sheet pressing plate 32, a pickup roller 33, a separation roller 34, a separation pad 35, a paper dust removing unit 36, and a sheet sensor 37. There is.

The pickup roller 33 is a roller that sends out the seat S from the seat tray 31.

The separation roller 34 is provided on the downstream side of the pickup roller 33 in the transport direction of the sheet S (hereinafter, simply referred to as “transport direction”). The separation roller 34 comes into contact with the back surface of the sheet S. In the present invention, among the surfaces of the sheet S, the surface on which the image is formed is referred to as a "front surface", and the surface on the back side of the front surface is referred to as a "back surface".

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 comes into contact with the front surface of the sheet S. The separation pad 35 is made of an elastic member such as urethane rubber and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape. The separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 form a separation portion having a function of sandwiching a sheet in which a plurality of sheets are overlapped and sending out the sheets one by one by the separation roller.

The paper dust removing unit 36 is arranged between the separation roller 34 and the process unit 4. The paper dust removing unit 36 has a resin first roller 36A that contacts the front surface of the sheet S and a rubber second roller 36B that contacts 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 seat S placed on the seat tray 31 is brought to the pickup roller 33 by the seat pressing plate 32, and the back surface of the seat S comes into contact with the pickup roller 33 and is sent out by the pickup roller 33. The sent out sheet S is separated one by one by the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35, and is conveyed by the paper dust removing unit 36. Then, the sheet S is detected by the sheet sensor 37 and is conveyed toward the process unit 4, specifically, between the photoconductor 51, which is a cylindrical photoconductor drum, and the transfer roller 53.

The process 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 apparatus 40 and a process cartridge 50.

The exposure apparatus 40 is provided in the upper part of the housing 2, and mainly includes a laser light emitting unit (not shown), a polygon mirror 41 for rotationally driving, a lens 42, and a reflecting mirror 44. The laser light (see the chain line) based on the image data emitted from the laser light emitting unit is reflected or passed through the polygon mirror 41, the lens 42, and the reflecting mirror 44 in this order, and is scanned at high speed on the surface of the photoconductor 51.

The process cartridge 50 is arranged below the exposure apparatus 40, and is configured to be replaceable by being attached to and detached from the housing 2 through an opening formed when the front cover 23 provided in the housing 2 is opened. The process cartridge 50 contains a transfer roller 53 that sandwiches the sheet S between the photoconductor 51, the charger 52, and the photoconductor 51, a developing roller 54, a supply roller 55, and a developer that houses the developer. It mainly has a part 56.

The fuser 6 is for fixing the developer image on the sheet S. The fuser 6 is provided behind the process unit 4, and is a pressurizing unit which is a roller which is a hollow roller, a heating unit 61, and a roller which is arranged to face the heating unit 61 and whose surface is composed of a non-conductive elastic body. It is equipped with 62. Inside the heating unit 61, a heat source 61A made of a halogen heater is provided. The heating unit 61 and the pressure unit 62 are pressed against each other by a pressing member (not shown). A chute 10 for guiding the sheet S sent out from the process unit 4 to the fuser 6 is arranged between the fuser 6 and the process unit 4. The chute 10 is arranged on the lower side of the transport path so as to contact and guide the back surface side of the sheet S.

In the process unit 4, the surface of the photoconductor 51 is uniformly positively charged by the charger 52 and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser beam from the exposure apparatus 40, so that the surface of the photoconductor 51 is statically charged on the photoconductor 51. An electro-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 supported on the developing roller 54.

Then, the developer carried on the developing roller 54 is supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 51, so that the electrostatic latent image is visualized and the developer image is formed on the photoconductor 51. It is formed. After that, the sheet S supplied from the paper feed unit 3 is conveyed between the photoconductor 51 and the transfer roller 53, and a negative transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 53, whereby the developer on the photoconductor 51 is applied. The image is transferred onto the sheet S. Next, the sheet S is conveyed between the heating unit 61 and the pressurizing unit 62, so that the developer image transferred onto the sheet S is heat-fixed.

The discharge unit 7 has a configuration for transporting the sheet S on which the developer image is heat-fixed toward the outside of the housing 2, and is mainly composed of a transport roller 72 and a discharge roller 73.

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

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

The conductive member 100 is a member having conductivity arranged 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 has a first portion 110 facing the sheet S, 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. It is located below and has a third portion 130 extending downstream from the downstream end of the second portion 120 in the transport direction and a flange 140 extending 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 diagonally upward from the downstream end of the first surface 111 in the transport direction toward the downstream side. Specifically, the bent portion 113 is formed between the first surface 111 and the second surface 112, which are configured in a plane shape.

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

Returning to FIG. 2, the resin frame 2A has a plurality of ribs 2B extending along the transport direction of the sheet S. The rib 2B 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 rib 2B is non-conductive.

The conductive member 100 is provided with a static elimination brush 150 as an example of a first static elimination unit, a static elimination member 160 as an example of a second static elimination unit, and a pressure elimination section static elimination member 170 as an example of a third static elimination unit. 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 for transporting the sheet S such as the transfer roller 53.

The static elimination brush 150 is a member for eliminating static electricity in substantially the entire width direction 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 over the entire width direction. The static elimination brush 150 is arranged in a range wider than the maximum image forming range that can be formed by the laser printer 1 in the width direction. Specifically, the bristles of the static elimination brush 150 are arranged in a range wider than the maximum range in the width direction of the developer image formed on the sheet S by the process unit 4. The static elimination brush 150 is fixed to the front end of the conductive member 100, specifically, the flange 140.

The static elimination member 160 is a member for eliminating static charges in a range where electric charges are concentrated in the width direction of the sheet S, and is arranged between the process unit 4 and the fixing device 6 in the transport direction. The static elimination member 160 is adhered to the second surface 112 of the first portion 110 of the conductive member 100. The static elimination member 160 is arranged at the center of the second surface 112 in the width direction 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 eliminator 160 is made of three rectangular conductive cloths. Each of the three cloths is arranged side by side in the width direction between the plurality of ribs 2B. The static elimination member 160 is made of, for example, a conductive nylon non-woven fabric. The electrical resistivity of the static elimination member 160 is smaller than that of the conductive member 100.

The pressurizing section static elimination member 170 is a member for statically eliminating the pressurizing section 62. The pressure-pressing unit static elimination member 170 is arranged on the upper surface of the third portion 130 of the conductive member 100. The pressure eliminating member 170 extends in the width direction along the pressure portion 62. The pressure eliminating member 170 is made of a planar cloth having conductivity. As a result, even when the surface of the pressurizing portion 62 is made of a non-conductive material, the accumulation of electric charges can be suppressed.

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 raised portion 162 raised from the main body portion 161 toward the sheet S. The raised portion 162 is a mixture of long hair and short hair.

When the sheet S comes into contact with the rib 2B, the main body portion 161 of the static elimination member 160 is arranged so as to be separated from the sheet S. That is, the plurality of ribs 2B are located closer to the seat S than the main body portion 161 of the static elimination member 160. Further, when the sheet S comes into contact with the rib 2B, the tip of the raised portion 162 of the static elimination member 160 comes into contact with or is close to the sheet S.

As shown in FIG. 5, the static elimination member 160 intersects the common tangent K of the photoconductor 51 and the transfer roller 53 when viewed from the width direction. That is, the static elimination member 160 is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction from the position P1 where the sheet S carried out from between the photosensitive drum 51 and the transfer roller 53 reaches the rib 2B. Therefore, the front end of the sheet S is close to the static elimination member 160, and then the back surface of the sheet S is guided along the rib 2B while facing the static elimination member 160.

As shown in FIG. 6, the various rollers and the static elimination member 160 are arranged 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 that sandwiches the sheet S by the heating unit 61 and the pressurizing unit 62. Further, in the width direction, the range L1 of the static elimination member 160 is narrower than the maximum image forming range L2 that can form an image in the laser printer 1 and narrower than the range L3 of the smallest sheet S1 that can form an image in the laser printer 1. There is. Specifically, the smallest sheet S1 capable of forming an image has a width that can be detected by a sheet sensor 37 arranged at a location L3 / 2 away from the center C in the width direction.

Further, in the width direction, the range L1 of the static elimination member 160 is wider than the range L4 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 sandwiching the sheet S 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 portion 36 is wider than the nip range N because the paper dust generated by the rubbing between the sheet S and the separation pad 35 is removed. 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 static elimination 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 by the contact between these rollers used for paper feeding and the sheet S, the charged portion can be eliminated.

The dimensions in each range can be changed as appropriate. For example, L1 = 37 mm, L2 = 210 mm, L3 = 100 mm, L4 = 20 mm, N = 20 mm, centering on the center C. 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 actions and effects can be obtained.
The laser printer 1 is a fuser having 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, a heating unit 61, and a pressurizing unit 62. 6 and a static elimination member 160 arranged between the process unit 4 and the fuser 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 can be provided. .. In this configuration, in the nip range N nipped in the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35, the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 are strongly rubbed against the sheet S, and electric charges are likely to be accumulated in the sheet S.
When the sheet S passes through the fixing device 6 with the electric charge accumulated on the sheet S, foreign matter such as paper dust adhering to the sheet S accumulates on the heating roller 61 or the like of the fixing device 6 and deteriorates the image. In some cases.
However, in the laser printer 1 of the present embodiment, since the static elimination member 160 is arranged between the process unit 4 and the fuser 6 corresponding to the nip range N of the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35, the sheet S is formed. The portion corresponding to the nip range N nipped in the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 can be intensively statically eliminated before entering the fuser 6. Therefore, foreign matter is unlikely to accumulate in the heating roller 61 of the fixing device 6.

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

Further, the laser printer 1 includes a plurality of ribs 2B extending along the transport direction between the process unit 4 and the fuser 6, and the static elimination member 160 is raised from the main body portion 161 and the main body portion toward the sheet S. It has a raised portion 162, and the plurality of ribs 2B can be configured to be closer to the sheet S than the main body portion 161. According to this, when the sheet S is guided from the process portion 4 to the fuser 6 by the chute 10, the rib 2B of the resin frame 2A protrudes from the conductive member 100, and the sheet S is projected from the main body portion 161 of the static elimination member 160. Since it is close to, the sheet S is prevented from coming into contact with the rib 2B and coming into contact with the main body portion 161. Therefore, it is suppressed that the transport resistance of the sheet S becomes large. Then, the long bristles of the raised portion 162 of the conductive member 100 are in contact with or in close contact with the sheet S, so that the sheet S can be efficiently statically eliminated.

Further, in the laser printer 1, the static elimination member 160 may be configured to be arranged between the plurality of ribs 2B. According to this, since the space between the ribs 2B is used, it is possible to prevent the printer 1 from becoming large even if the static elimination member 160 is arranged.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the laser printer 1, the static elimination member 160 can be configured to intersect the common tangent K of the photoconductor 51 and the transfer roller 53 when viewed from the width direction. According to this, since the front end of the sheet S is surely close to the static elimination member 160 after being sent out from the process unit 4, the static elimination can be performed over the entire length of the sheet S in the transport direction.

Further, since the pressurizing section static elimination member 170 is arranged so as to face the pressurizing section 62, the surface of the pressurizing section 62 can be statically eliminated.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The specific configuration can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The same components as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the static elimination member 160 is arranged corresponding to the nip range, but the static elimination member may have a static elimination capacity in the nip range of the sheet larger than the static elimination capacity in other parts of the sheet. Specifically, in the above embodiment, the length of the bristles of the conductive brush is uniform, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the width direction, the static elimination brush may be configured such that the portion corresponding to the nip range sandwiching the sheet by the separation roller and the separation pad protrudes closer to the sheet than the other portions.

For example, the static elimination 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 from the first brush portion 251 so as to be closer to the sheet S. There is. The second brush portion 252 is arranged corresponding to the nip range N for niping the sheet S 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 larger than the nip range N.

The static elimination brush 250 of the conductive member 200 can also efficiently eliminate static electricity in the nip range N in which the sheet S is nipped in the separation roller 34 and the separation pad 35 before entering the fuser 6.

In the above embodiment, the static elimination brush is arranged as the first static elimination portion, but a conductive cloth may be arranged as the first static elimination portion.

For example, the conductive member 300 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is provided with a static elimination 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 unit and a narrow portion 362 as an example of the second static elimination unit.
The wide portion 361 is arranged in a range wider than the image forming range that can be formed by the laser printer 1 in the width direction. The wide portion 361 is arranged on the first surface 111 of the conductive member 100. The narrow portion 362 is arranged in the width direction corresponding to the nip range N nipped in 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 formation range in the width direction.
The upstream end of the narrow portion 362 is connected to and integrated with the wide portion 361. In the static elimination 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 with this static elimination member 360, the entire image formation range of the sheet S can be statically eliminated by the wide portion 361 as the first static elimination portion, and the portion corresponding to the nip range N is focused before entering the fuser 6. It is possible to eliminate static electricity.

In the above embodiment, a monochrome laser printer is exemplified as an example of the image forming apparatus, but the image forming apparatus may be a color image forming apparatus, a copier, or a multifunction device. Further, the sheet is not limited to paper, and may be an OHP sheet or the like. Further, the heating unit and the pressurizing unit are not limited to those using a roller, and a belt can also be used.

In the above embodiment, the static elimination brush is arranged on the conductive member, but may be arranged on another member.

In the above embodiment, the static elimination member is a cloth, but may be a conductive rubber, a conductive resin, or the like.

In addition, each element of each of the above-described embodiments can be implemented in any combination.

1 Laser printer 4 Process part 6 Fuser 34 Separation roller 35 Separation pad 61 Heating part 62 Pressurizing part 160 Static elimination member N Nip range S sheet

Claims (13)

A separation unit that has a separation roller that comes into contact with the sheet and a separation pad that sandwiches the sheet between the separation rollers, and separates and feeds the sheet.
The process part that forms the developer image on the front surface of the sheet,
A fuser having a heating part and a pressurizing part to fix a developer image on a sheet,
It is arranged between the process unit and the fuser in the sheet transport direction, and is wider than the nip range in which the sheet is sandwiched by the separation roller and the separation pad in the width direction of the sheet orthogonal to the transport direction, and in the width direction. An image forming apparatus comprising: a static elimination member having a surface facing the back surface of the sheet in a range narrower than the fixing range in which the sheet is sandwiched by the heating portion and the pressurizing portion. Further provided with an electrically grounded conductive member located between the process section and the fuser.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the static elimination member is arranged on the conductive member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the static elimination member is a cloth having conductivity, and one surface faces the back surface of the sheet. Further provided with a plurality of ribs arranged between the process section and the fuser and extending along the sheet transport direction.
The static elimination member has a main body portion and a raised portion raised from 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 static elimination member is arranged between the plurality of ribs. The process unit has a photoconductor and a transfer roller that sandwiches a sheet between the photoconductors, and the static elimination member intersects a common tangent line between the photoconductor and the transfer roller when viewed from the width direction. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the image forming apparatus is characterized. A paper dust removing section arranged between the separation section and the process section, the sheet is sandwiched between the first roller made of resin that comes into contact with 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 portion having a rubber second roller that comes into contact with 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 static elimination member is arranged in a range narrower than the minimum sheet width that can form an image by the image forming apparatus. A separation unit that has a separation roller that comes into contact with the sheet and a separation pad that sandwiches the sheet between the separation rollers, and separates and feeds the sheet.
The process part that forms the developer image on the front surface of the sheet,
A fuser having a heating part and a pressurizing part to fix a developer image on a sheet,
A static eliminator member arranged between the process unit and the fuser in the sheet transport direction is provided.
In the width direction of the sheet orthogonal to the transport direction, the static elimination member is characterized in that the static elimination capacity for the nip range sandwiched between the separation roller and the separation pad of the sheet is larger than the static elimination capacity for other parts of the sheet. Image forming device. A static eliminator brush having bristles extending toward the back surface of the sheet is further provided between the process unit and the fuser in the transport direction.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the static elimination brush is arranged in a range wider than an image forming range that can be formed by an image forming apparatus in the width direction. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein in the width direction, the portion corresponding to the nip range protrudes so as to be closer to the sheet than the other portion. The aspect according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein in the width direction, the portion corresponding to the nip range has a larger dimension along the transport direction than the other portion. Image forming device.

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