JP5359368B2 - Image forming device, foam coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such problems that foam dries, treatment liquid components are fixed, foam carrying performance declines, and the performance of a drive system declines, etc., when surplus foam is left on a coating roller. <P>SOLUTION: The foam coating apparatus includes: the coating roller 2 for applying the foam 10 to a member to be coated; a cleaning member 12 for raking off and removing the surplus foam 11 remaining on the coating roller 2 even after applying the foam 10 to the member to be coated; and a washing means 14 for blowing washing liquid from a discharge port 15 to the cleaning member 12, removing the surplus foam 13 which remains on the cleaning member 12 and cleaning the member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a foam coating apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying apparatus, a plotter, and a complex machine of these, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus is known as an image forming apparatus of a liquid discharge recording method using a recording head for discharging ink droplets. . This liquid discharge recording type image forming apparatus means that ink droplets are transported from a recording head (not limited to paper, including OHP, and can be attached to ink droplets and other liquids). Yes, it is also ejected onto a recording medium or a recording medium, recording paper, recording paper, etc.) to form an image (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously). And a serial type image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting liquid droplets while the recording head moves in the main scanning direction, and a line type head that forms images by ejecting liquid droplets without moving the recording head There are line type image forming apparatuses using

  In the present application, “image forming apparatus” means an apparatus that forms an image by discharging liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. "Image formation" is not only the application of images with meanings such as characters and figures to the medium, but also the addition of images with no meaning such as patterns to the medium (simply applying droplets to the medium) Also means landing). The “ink” is not limited to what is called ink, and is not particularly limited as long as it becomes a liquid when ejected. For example, a DNA sample, a resist, a pattern material, etc. Is also included.

  In such a liquid ejection type image forming apparatus, in order to form an image by forming ink containing a coloring material into droplets, feathering in which dots formed by the droplets are disturbed, and ink droplets of different colors When the ink is struck on the paper adjacent to each other, it may cause problems such as color bleeding, which causes the colors to mix with each other and the color boundary to become unclear. There is a problem that it takes.

  Therefore, as described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, conventionally, a pretreatment liquid that reacts with ink to prevent bleeding is applied by an application roller, or the pretreatment liquid is discharged from a liquid discharge head in a mist form. In some cases, a post-treatment liquid is applied.

JP 2002-137378 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-138502 JP 2003-205673 A

  However, when the pretreatment liquid and the posttreatment liquid are applied by the application roller or the liquid discharge head as described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the application unevenness occurs, and a large amount of liquid is applied onto the paper. Therefore, there is a problem in the quick-drying property of the paper after reacting with the ink. In particular, the paper tends to curl or bend, so that there is a problem that jamming or the like is likely to occur.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to apply liquid (including gel) in a bubble state, but when applying to a plurality of recording media, excess bubbles (bubbles remaining without being applied) are generated between the recording media. If the surplus bubbles are left unattended, the bubbles are dried and the processing liquid components are fixed, and if fixed, defects such as a decrease in the bubble conveyance performance and a decrease in the drive system performance occur. In addition, unlike liquid, bubbles have a feature that they do not flow down naturally due to gravity, and need to be cleaned frequently.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when applying a liquid (including gel) in a foam, it is possible to apply a thin and uniform thickness by reducing coating unevenness and for a long time. The purpose is to enable stable foam application over a wide range.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
A foam application means for applying a foam of at least one of a liquid and a gel to the recording medium,
The foam application means is a cleaning member for cleaning the recording medium or an application member for applying the foam to an intermediate member disposed between the recording medium and the recording medium, and excess foam remaining after application to the application member. It was set as the structure which has a member and the cleaning means which removes and cleans the excess foam remaining on the said cleaning member.

  Here, the cleaning means may be configured to clean the cleaning member with a cleaning liquid. In this case, the cleaning liquid can have a configuration in which at least a part of the components is the same as the foam, and can be configured to collect surplus bubbles washed with the cleaning liquid and use the foam for generation. Further, the cleaning with the cleaning liquid can be performed after the end of the print job or when the power-off is instructed.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
A foam application means for applying a foam of at least one of a liquid and a gel to the recording medium,
The foam applying means supplies the recording medium or an intermediate member disposed between the recording medium and the foam onto the application member by supplying a cleaning liquid onto the application member. It has the structure which has the cleaning means which cleans the excess foam which remain | survives after application | coating.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
A foam application means for applying a foam of at least one of a liquid and a gel to the recording medium,
The foam application means includes an application member for applying the foam to the recording medium or an intermediate member disposed between the recording medium and an opposing member that is in contact with the recording medium so as to face the application member And a cleaning member that cleans surplus bubbles remaining after application to the facing member, and a cleaning means that removes and cleans surplus bubbles remaining on the cleaning member.

The “bubble” in the present invention is a liquid in which a gas such as air is rounded and formed by the surface tension of the liquid enclosing the gas, and can maintain a three-dimensional shape for a certain period of time. Say. The foam having such shape-retaining properties preferably has a bulk density of 0.05 g / cm ³ or less, a foam diameter distribution range of 10 μm to 1 mm, and an average foam diameter of 100 μm or less. In addition, although a bubble is formed in a round shape by itself, when a plurality of bubbles are combined, the shape of each bubble takes a polyhedral shape due to surface tension. “Gel” means a colloidal solution or polymer compound dispersed in a dispersion medium loses its independent mobility due to the interaction, and the particles are connected to each other, forming a net-like or honeycomb-like structure. Means a solidified semi-solid substance. Also, “extended” means to extend and expand.

According to the onset bright, so coated to generate bubbles, and reducing the uneven coating when applying a liquid or gel can be applied in thin, uniform thickness, also applying member for applying the foam or, which A cleaning member that cleans excess foam remaining after application on the opposing member, and a cleaning means that removes and cleans excess foam remaining on the cleaning member, or supplies cleaning liquid to the application member. Since the surplus foam is removed by providing the cleaning means for cleaning the surplus foam remaining after application to the applicator member, the foam can be applied stably over a long period of time.

It is typical explanatory drawing which shows the structure of 1st Embodiment of the foam coating apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is typical explanatory drawing which shows the structure of 2nd Embodiment of the foam coating apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is typical explanatory drawing which shows the structure of 3rd Embodiment of the foam coating apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is typical explanatory drawing which shows the structure of 4th Embodiment of the foam coating apparatus which concerns on this invention. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is block explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the control part of the apparatus. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the 1st example of the cleaning control which a foam application control part performs to the apparatus. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the 2nd example of the cleaning control which a foam application control part performs to the same apparatus. FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of a portion where a roller coating surface and unfixed resin fine particles are in contact with each other when the pressure applied on the contact surface between a coating roller and a recording medium is relatively high when applied to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. . FIG. 6 is an enlarged explanatory view of a portion where the roller application surface and the unfixed resin fine particles are in contact with each other when the pressure on the contact surface between the application roller and the recording medium is relatively low.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of a foam coating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing the configuration of the apparatus.

  The foam application device 1 is supplied with a fine foam 10 in which a liquid or gel is foamed from a foam generation device (including a foam generation means, a foam storage means, and a conveyance means) (not shown) via a supply path 30. An application roller 2 that rotates in the direction indicated by an arrow as an application member that carries the supplied bubble 10 on the peripheral surface, and a peripheral surface of the application roller 2 that is disposed downstream of the supply path 30 in the rotation direction of the application roller 2. A thickness regulating member 4 that regulates the thickness (coating film thickness) when the foam 10 carried on the coating is applied, and is carried on the circumferential surface of the coating roller 2 on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the coating roller 2 of the thickness regulating member 4. An agitation roller 3 for agitating the bubble 10, and a conveyance auxiliary roller 5 that is disposed opposite to the application roller 2 and assists the conveyance of the recording medium (or the member to be coated) 6 and rotates in accordance with the direction of the arrow. I have.

  The distance between the thickness regulating member 4 and the application roller 2 is set to be smaller than the distance between the stirring roller 3 and the application roller 2. Further, the conveyance auxiliary roller (driven roller) 5 may always be in contact with the application roller 2 or may be in contact with the application roller 2 via the recording medium 6 only when the recording medium 6 passes.

  Furthermore, the cleaning member 12 that cleans the excess foam 11 remaining on the application roller 2 after application, and the cleaning member 12 as a cleaning means that removes and cleans the excess foam 13 remaining on the cleaning member 12 is provided with a discharge port. Cleaning means 14 for spraying (discharging) the cleaning liquid from 15 is provided. The cleaning member 12 is disposed in contact with the application roller 2 and scrapes off the excess bubbles 11 as the application roller 2 rotates.

  In the foam coating apparatus 1 configured as described above, the foam 10 is supplied to the peripheral surface of the coating roller 2, and the film of the foam 10 is formed with a width wider than the recording medium width. This is because it is applied to the entire width direction of the recording medium 6. Then, the coating roller 2 carries the foam 10 on the peripheral surface and rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, so that the film thickness of the foam 10 of the coating roller 2 is the rotation direction tip of the coating roller 2 of the thickness regulating member 4. After the foam 10 on the peripheral surface of the coating roller 2 is adjusted to a uniform coating thickness, the thickness is defined by a gap defined by the gap with the peripheral surface of the coating roller 2 (referred to as coating film thickness). Bubbles 10 are transferred and applied to the surface of the recording medium 6 that is conveyed in the direction of the arrow between the auxiliary conveyance rollers 5. The recording medium 6 to which the bubbles 10 are applied is sent to the next process as it is.

  Here, the bubbles 10 that have not been applied on the recording medium 6 from the application roller 2 become surplus bubbles 11 and remain on the application roller 2 as they are. If the surplus bubbles 11 are left as they are, the surplus bubbles 11 are dried and the processing liquid components are fixed. If the treatment liquid component is fixed, problems such as a decrease in bubble conveyance performance and a decrease in drive system performance occur.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the cleaning member 12 scrapes off the surplus bubbles 11 remaining on the application roller 2 after application, and cleans the surface of the application roller 2. As a result, surplus bubbles 13 accumulate in the vicinity of the cleaning member 12, and if this is left as it is, the same problem as described above occurs. Therefore, the cleaning liquid is discharged (discharged) from the discharge port 15 to the cleaning member 12 by the cleaning means 14. Then, the excess bubbles 13 in the vicinity of the cleaning member 12 are removed and cleaned (cleaning member 12 is cleaned).

  Here, as the cleaning liquid, by using the same component as part or all of the components of the processing liquid (bubble 10), it is easy to dissolve and wash the excessive bubbles 13 that have been stuck. For example, when the component of the foam 10 (treatment liquid) is “cationic member + amphoteric surfactant + fatty acid + water + propylene glycol”, the components of the cleaning liquid are “water”, “water + propylene glycol”, “cation” Cleaning ”is facilitated by setting it as“ adhesive member + amphoteric surfactant + water + propylene glycol ”.

  Here, the cleaning means that discharges the cleaning liquid is used as the cleaning means, but it is also possible to blow off excess bubbles by blowing air, for example.

  In this way, since foam is generated and applied, it can be applied in a thin and uniform thickness with reduced application unevenness, and a cleaning member that cleans excess foam remaining after application to the application member that applies foam, and Since the surplus foam is removed by removing the surplus foam remaining on the cleaning member, and the foam can be stably applied over a long period of time.

Next, 2nd Embodiment of the foam coating apparatus which concerns on this invention is described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing the configuration of the apparatus.
Here, the collection tray 16 that receives and stores the surplus foam 13 sprayed with the cleaning liquid is disposed in the vicinity of the cleaning member 12 on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the application roller 2, and the collection path 17 is provided in the collection tray 16. The surplus foam is recovered so that it can be reused as a processing liquid for generating the foam 10.

  The recovery dish may be provided with a heater or the like for the purpose of quickly eliminating and recovering excess foam. Especially when it is blown off with air without using the cleaning liquid, it is difficult to recover the foam because it is maintained in the foam state. Become.

Next, a third embodiment of the foam coating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing the configuration of the apparatus.
Here, the discharge port 15 of the cleaning means 14 is disposed above the coating roller 2 so that the cleaning liquid is discharged (released) from the discharge port 15 to the coating roller 2. At this time, the application roller 2 is rotated in the forward direction (arrow direction) or the reverse direction, and the excess bubbles 11 are cleaned so that the cleaning liquid flows on the surface of the application roller 2.

  In this example as well, a cleaning unit that discharges the cleaning liquid is used as a cleaning means for removing excess bubbles on the application roller 2, but it is also possible to blow away excess bubbles by blowing air, for example.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the foam applicator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view showing the configuration of the apparatus. Here, a cleaning member 19 for cleaning the excess bubbles 18 transferred from the application roller 2 to the peripheral surface of the conveyance auxiliary roller (driven roller 5), and As a cleaning means for removing and cleaning the excess bubbles 20 collected in the vicinity of the cleaning member 19, a cleaning means 21 for spraying (discharging) the cleaning liquid from the discharge port 22 to the cleaning member 19 is provided. The cleaning member 19 is disposed in contact with the driven roller 5 and scrapes off the excess bubbles 18 as the driven roller 5 rotates.

  In addition, a collection tray 23 for receiving and storing excess foam 20 sprayed with the cleaning liquid is disposed in the vicinity of the cleaning member 19 on the upstream side in the rotational direction of the driven roller 5. The foam is recovered and can be reused as a processing liquid for generating the foam 10.

  That is, the bubbles 10 that remain without being transferred to the recording medium 6 are not only left on the application roller 2 but also transferred to the driven roller 5, so that the excess bubbles 18 are scraped off by the cleaning member 19. If the excess bubbles 20 collected in the vicinity of the cleaning member 19 are left unattended, problems such as a reduction in transport performance and a drive system performance occur. Therefore, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the discharge port 22 by the cleaning means 21 to remove the excess bubbles 20. It is removed and cleaned, and further, a recovery tray 23 is provided in the vicinity of the cleaning unit to store the excess foam that has been cleaned and recovered through the recovery path 24. The recovered surplus foam can be used again as a processing liquid.

  In this embodiment as well, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which excess bubbles are blown away by releasing air instead of the cleaning liquid.

  Also in this case, a heater or the like may be provided in the collection dish for the purpose of quickly removing and collecting excess bubbles. Especially when it is blown off with air without using the cleaning liquid, it is difficult to recover the foam because it is maintained in the foam state. Become.

  In each of the above embodiments, the application member applies the foam on the recording medium. However, the application member applies the foam to the intermediate member (for example, the intermediate roller), and the intermediate member further records. It can also be set as the structure by which a foam is apply | coated to a medium.

Next, an example of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming apparatus includes a recording head unit 101 that forms an image by ejecting liquid droplets onto a paper 100 that is a recording medium, a conveyance belt 102 that conveys the paper 100, and a paper feed tray 103 that accommodates the paper 100 The above-described foam applicator 1 according to the present invention for applying the foam 10 to the paper 100 on the upstream side in the paper transport direction from the recording head unit 101 (here, the one in the first embodiment is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto). Not.)

  The recording head unit 101 is composed of a line type liquid discharge head having a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets are arranged in a length corresponding to the paper width. Yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan The recording heads 101y, 101m, 101c, and 101k are provided with ink droplets of each color of (C) and black (K). Note that the recording head can be mounted on the carriage as a serial type image forming apparatus.

  The conveyor belt 102 is an endless belt, and is configured to circulate between the conveyor roller 121 and the tension roller 122. The paper 100 can be held on the transport belt 102 by, for example, a configuration that performs electrostatic suction, suction by air suction, or other known transport means.

  The paper 100 stored in the paper feed tray 103 is separated and fed one by one by the pick-up roller 131, and sent to the foam coating device 1 through the conveyance path 135 by the conveyance roller pairs 132, 133, 134 as shown by the broken lines. After the foam 10 is applied, it is held on the conveyor belt 102 by electrostatic adsorption or the like.

  The bubbles 10 applied to the paper 100 are quickly dried, and droplets of each color are ejected from the head unit 101 while the paper 100 held by the transport belt 102 is transported by the circular movement of the transport belt 102. Is then discharged to the paper discharge tray 104.

  On the other hand, in order to supply the foam 10 to the foam application apparatus 1, a foam generation apparatus 50 is provided. The foam generating apparatus 50 includes a container 61 that stores a liquid (including gel) 60 that can be foamed, a pump 62 that pumps the liquid 60 from the container 61, and a foam having a required bubble diameter from the supplied liquid 60. The foam 10 produced | generated by the production | generation apparatus 63 is supplied to the foam coating apparatus 1 via the supply path 30. The production | generation apparatus 63 which produces | generates 10 is provided.

  Here, the liquid (including gel) 60 that can become a foam is a modifying material that modifies the surface of the paper 100 by being applied to the surface of the paper 100. For example, the liquid 60 is applied uniformly to the paper 100 (not limited to paper as a material as described above) in advance, so that the moisture of the ink can quickly permeate the paper 100 and thicken the color component. Furthermore, it is a fixing agent (setting agent) that prevents bleeding (feathering, bleeding, etc.) and back-through by accelerating drying and increases productivity (number of images output per unit time). .

In terms of composition, the liquid 60 is, for example, a cellulose that promotes moisture permeation with respect to a surfactant (any one of anionic, cationic, nonionic, or a mixture of two or more thereof). Examples thereof include a solution obtained by adding a base such as hydroxypropylcellulose and talc fine powder. Furthermore, fine particles can be contained. As the foam 10, the bubble content is preferably in the range generally of about 0.01g ^/ cm ³ ~0.1g ^/ cm 3 as bulk density.

  Here, “bubbles” are not liquid but semi-solid, and exhibit physical properties close to solids in terms of fluidity. That is, the bubble 10 is generated from the liquid 60, but the generated “bubble” itself is not “liquid” or “gel”.

  Further, a cleaning device 141 is provided that supplies a cleaning liquid to the cleaning means 14 of the foam coating device 1 and discharges it from the discharge port 15. The cleaning device 141 includes a cleaning liquid tank 142 that stores the cleaning liquid, a pressure feeding unit 143 that pumps the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 142 to discharge the cleaning liquid from the discharge port 15 of the cleaning unit 14, and the like.

  As described above, in this image forming apparatus, by applying the treatment liquid in a foamed state on the surface of the paper 100 by the foam application device 1, a small amount of air can be applied by including a large amount of air. Uniformity can be achieved, quick drying is improved, and a high-quality image free from bleeding, show-through, density unevenness, and the like can be output.

That is, by applying the treatment liquid in the form of foam, there are the following advantages compared to the liquid or mist-like treatment liquid.
(1) Since the foam contains a large amount of air, it can be applied in a small amount.
(2) Since the foam is close to solid, the coating film thickness can be easily adjusted by applying and scraping, etc., and since the peelability from the coating means is good at the time of coating from the coating means to the paper, Uniform application is possible.
(3) Since water does not easily penetrate into the fibers of the paper, wrinkles and curls are unlikely to occur on the paper.

  The advantages of such foam application do not depend on the type of treatment liquid, and the same effect can be obtained. The treatment liquid preferably has an effect of suppressing paper dust, and may have an effect of changing the background color of the paper.

  Furthermore, the use of “foam” as the processing agent for the recording medium in this way has a special effect during recording and processing at a particularly high speed as compared with a liquid processing agent. For example, when printing on continuous paper at a high speed as in a continuous book machine, it is necessary to rotate the roller or the like at high speed in order to catch up with the recording operation.

  When such a recording speed exceeds about 100 m / min, the centrifugal force generated by the high-speed rotation of the roller becomes very large, and in the case of a liquid processing agent, the processing agent is separated from the roller surface and scattered. There is a problem that the amount applied to the film is significantly reduced. In order to solve such problems by using a liquid processing agent, it may be possible to increase the viscosity of the liquid and make it difficult to scatter from the roller surface, but such a high viscosity liquid should be applied as a thin film. In addition, the load of the liquid supply / drainage operation increases, leading to an increase in the size of the transport pump and the complexity of the apparatus.

  On the other hand, the “bubbles” generated from the processing liquid are ordinary low-viscosity liquids during transport, have a small transport load, and exhibit a semi-solid property in a foamed state on the roller. The high-speed rotation will not follow and scatter. Further, as described above, it is advantageous for thin film coating on a recording medium. Furthermore, the remaining bubbles after application can be easily recovered as a low-viscosity liquid by defoaming by heating with a heater or the like, and all problems in high-speed application of liquid treatment agent application can be solved.

  By the way, when applying to a plurality of recording media, excess bubbles (bubbles remaining without being applied) are generated between the recording media. If the surplus foam is left unattended, the foam is dried and the treatment liquid component is fixed. When the processing liquid component is fixed, problems such as a decrease in bubble conveyance performance and a decrease in drive system performance occur. In addition, unlike liquid, bubbles do not flow down naturally due to gravity and need to be cleaned frequently.

  Therefore, this image forming apparatus is provided with a foam application device (foam application means) provided with a cleaning means for removing excess bubbles, so that stable performance can be maintained.

Next, an outline of the control unit of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to a block diagram of FIG.
The control unit includes a CPU 801 that performs system control of the image forming apparatus, a ROM 802 that stores information such as programs executed by the CPU 801, a RAM 803 that is used as a working area, and an operation display unit that allows an operator to perform various settings. 804, various sensors 805 for detecting paper size and jam, various motors 806, I / O 807 for outputting control signals to various sensors 805 and various motors 806, and image reading device (scanner) 808 Various facsimile communication controls, including a read control unit 809 for controlling the print, a print control unit 811 for controlling the plotter unit (printing mechanism unit) 810, and a network control unit 812 for performing I / F control with the telephone line. A communication control unit 813 that performs control, and a foam application control unit 814 that performs control of the foam application device 1. That.

  The foam application control unit 814 controls the foam generation device 50 of the foam application apparatus 1 to control the generation and storage of the foam 10, supply to the application roller 2, and the like, and also controls the cleaning apparatus 141 from the cleaning means 14. The discharge of the cleaning liquid is controlled.

  The various sensors 805 include temperature / humidity detection means for detecting environmental conditions, liquid end detection means for detecting whether or not the liquid 60 that can be a foam liquid is in the container 61, and the like.

Therefore, a first example of the control of the cleaning operation by the foam application control unit will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, when the elapsed time from the previous cleaning operation reaches a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) (leaving for a predetermined time), it is determined whether or not the print job is being executed. The apparatus 141 is driven and controlled to perform a cleaning operation. On the other hand, if the print job is being executed, the cleaning operation is performed after the job is completed after the job is completed.

  The reason why the cleaning operation is performed after the end of the print job is that it is better not to perform cleaning that is downtime when the user is using it, particularly cleaning that uses a cleaning liquid.

Next, a second example of the control of the cleaning operation by the foam application control unit will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When the power OFF instruction signal is input, the cleaning device 141 is driven and controlled to perform the cleaning liquid operation, and after the cleaning is completed, a cleaning end signal is output. In response to this, the CPU 801 of the control unit shuts down the power supply of the apparatus.

  In this way, when turning off the power of the device, it is impossible to predict the time until the power is turned on next time, so it is possible to prevent excessive bubbles from being left for a long time by performing cleaning when the power is turned off. can do.

  In the above embodiment, the foam application device is described as applying foam to the paper before image formation. However, the foam application device 1 is disposed downstream of the recording head unit 101 to perform image formation. A configuration may also be adopted in which foam is applied onto the broken paper. The foam coating apparatus according to the present invention can also be applied to, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example which produces | generates and apply | coats foam from the liquid which can be made into foam, this invention produces | generates foam from the gel which can be made into foam, and is covered. The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus for applying to an application member and an image forming apparatus including this apparatus.

  The foam coating apparatus according to the present invention can also be applied to, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. For example, without disturbing fine particles containing resin such as toner on a medium such as paper, the fixer is foamed (hereinafter referred to as “fixing bubbles”) and applied to the medium to which the fine resin particles are adhered. Further, the method can be applied to a fixing method and a fixing device, and an image forming method and an image forming apparatus in which resin fine particles are quickly fixed on the medium after coating and a feeling of residual oil does not occur on the medium.

  An example of application to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 are enlarged explanatory views of a portion where the roller coating surface and the unfixed resin fine particles are in contact with each other in the roller coating unit, and FIG. 9 shows relative pressure applied on the contact surface between the coating roller and the recording medium. When the pressure is high, FIG. 10 shows the case where the pressure is relatively low. In addition, both the rotation direction of the application roller 1011 and the movement direction of the recording medium 1010 as the member to be applied are the arrow directions in the drawing.

  First, when the pressure on the contact surface between the application roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010 is high, the fixing bubble 1012 has a single-layer structure of bubbles 1013 on the application surface of the application roller 1011 in the example shown in FIG. Therefore, the bubbles themselves are likely to adhere to the application surface of the application roller 1011 due to surface tension, and the fixing bubbles 1012 are only applied unevenly to the layer of resin fine particles (unfixed toner) 1015 on the recording medium 1010. The resin fine particles 1015 are attracted to the bubbles 1013 and are offset to the application surface of the application roller 1011.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the fixing bubble 1012 has a multi-layered bubble layer structure on the application surface of the application roller 1011, it is possible to embed the bubbles in the surface of the unfixed toner 1015 having irregularities. The fixing bubbles 1012 can be easily separated between the layers of the bubbles 1013, can be uniformly applied to the toner layer, and toner offset can be hardly caused.

  Therefore, when the pressure on the contact surface between the application roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010 is high, in order to prevent the unfixed toner 1015 from being offset to the application roller 1011, the average size of the bubbles generated in advance is set. If the film thickness of the foam-like fixing foam layer on the coating roller 1011 is controlled to be the thickness of the plurality of bubble layers so that the bubble layer becomes a plurality of layers, the measurement is performed on the coating roller 1011. In each case, a fixing bubble composed of a plurality of bubble layers is formed, and toner offset can be prevented.

  When the pressure on the contact surface between the application roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010 is low, the fixing bubble 1012 has a single-layer structure of bubbles 1013 on the application surface of the application roller 1011 as shown in FIG. Therefore, bubbles easily adhere to the surface of the unfixed toner 1015 having irregularities, the bubble layer is peeled off from the surface of the application roller 1011, and the fixing bubbles 1012 are applied to the unfixed toner 1015.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the fixing bubble 1012 has a multi-layered bubble layer structure on the application surface of the application roller 1011, the bubbles 1013 are strongly coupled to each other, so the bubbles 1013 are moved toward the application roller 1011. On the contrary, the unfixed toner 1015 adheres to the air bubble 1013, and as a result, the unfixed toner 1015 is offset on the surface of the application roller 1011.

  Therefore, when the pressure on the contact surface between the coating roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010 is low, the average size of the bubbles is measured in advance, and a fixed bubble having a single-layer bubble layer structure is formed on the coating roller surface. By controlling the thickness of the fixing foam layer as described above, a fixing foam film having a single-layer bubble layer structure is formed on the coating roller, and toner offset can be prevented under high pressure conditions. Further, in order to prevent the unfixed toner 1015 from being offset to the application roller 1011, if the bubble layer on the application roller 1011 is too thick, the bubble layer flows at the contact portion between the application roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010. Since the toner particles move along the flow, and a problem of flowing of the image occurs, it is preferable to control the film thickness of the fixing foam layer within a range in which fluidity does not occur.

  In this way, by controlling the film thickness of the fixing foam layer according to the size and pressure of the bubbles contained in the fixing foam, toner offset and image flow to the contact application means such as the application roller can be prevented. In addition, fixing by extremely minute application can be made possible.

  That is, using a softening agent that softens the resin fine particles by dissolving or swelling at least a part of the resin fine particles, the fixing solution is applied to the resin fine particles on the medium by contact coating means, and the resin fine particles are fixed to the medium. When the fixing solution is applied to the surface of the fine resin particles on the medium, the fixing solution is in the form of bubbles containing bubbles by coating the fine particles in contact with the fine particles. By controlling the film thickness of the layer according to the applied pressure, it is possible to prevent toner offset and image flow to a contact application means such as an application roller, and to enable fixing by extremely minute application. Further, the resin fine particles are highly effective for the toner fine particles used in the electrophotographic technology, and offset and image flow can be prevented by controlling the film thickness of the fixing foam layer according to the layer thickness of the resin fine particles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Foam application | coating apparatus 2 ... Application | coating roller 3 ... Stirring roller 4 ... Thickness control member 5 ... Conveyance auxiliary | assistant roller (following roller, opposing member)
6. Recording medium (member to be coated)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Bubble 11, 13, 18, 20 ... Excess foam 12, 19 ... Cleaning member 14, 21 ... Cleaning means 15, 22 ... Discharge port 50 ... Bubble generating apparatus 100 ... Paper 101 ... Recording head unit 102 ... Conveying belt 103 ... Paper feed tray 141 ... Cleaning device 814 ... Foam application control unit

Claims (7)

Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
A foam application means for applying a foam of at least one of a liquid and a gel to the recording medium,
The foam application means is a cleaning member for cleaning the recording medium or an application member for applying the foam to an intermediate member disposed between the recording medium and the recording medium, and excess foam remaining after application to the application member. An image forming apparatus comprising: a member; and a cleaning unit that removes and cleans excess bubbles remaining on the cleaning member.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit cleans the cleaning member with a cleaning liquid.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning liquid has at least a part of the same component as the bubbles.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein surplus bubbles cleaned with the cleaning liquid are collected and used to generate the bubbles.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning with the cleaning liquid is performed after the end of the print job or when an instruction to turn off the power is given. Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
A foam application means for applying a foam of at least one of a liquid and a gel to the recording medium,
The foam applying means supplies the recording medium or an intermediate member disposed between the recording medium and the foam onto the application member by supplying a cleaning liquid onto the application member. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning unit that cleans excess foam remaining after application. Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
Foam application means for applying foam to at least one of liquid and gel on the recording medium,
The foam application means includes an application member for applying the foam to the recording medium or an intermediate member disposed between the recording medium and an opposing member that is in contact with the recording medium so as to face the application member An image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning member that cleans surplus bubbles remaining after application to the opposing member; and a cleaning unit that removes and cleans surplus bubbles remaining on the cleaning member.

Images