JP5794094B2 - Gloss generator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gloss generating device that generates gloss on an image formed on a recording medium.

  Conventionally, a fixing process is performed as one of the steps of forming an image by the image forming apparatus. In Patent Document 1, a recording sheet to which toner is adhered in this fixing process passes through the nip between the fixing belt and the pressure roller, and is then conveyed in a state of being in close contact with the fixing belt, and reaches a predetermined temperature. It is disclosed that after being cooled, it is peeled off from the fixing belt at a part where the peeling roll is present.

  However, even if a technique for separating paper as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used in a gloss generation device that generates gloss on an image by pressing a glosser belt against toner on the paper, the paper may not be separated. is there. As shown in FIG. 11 (1), in the gloss generating device, the surface (recording surface) to which the toner of the paper is attached is in contact with the surface of the glosser belt 201, so that the adhesion between the melted toner and the glosser belt 201 is achieved. This is because power is generated. In particular, when an image composed of a photographic image is formed on the entire sheet, since the amount of toner forming the image is large, the adhesion between the toner and the glosser belt 201 is increased, and the sheet is not easily separated from the glosser belt 201. .

  Therefore, if a device that transports the sheet so that the surface on which the image is formed is in contact with the lower surface of the glosser belt 201, the surface of the glosser belt 201 is formed on the sheet on which the image is formed using a large amount of toner. It is conceivable that the paper is easily separated from the glosser belt 201 by applying gravity in the opposite direction.

  However, when such an apparatus is used, when the gloss is to be generated for an image with a small amount of toner in which a large amount of character images occupy, a predetermined process is performed because the adhesion between the toner and the glosser belt 201 is small. Before the process is performed, the sheet is peeled off from the glosser belt 201 as shown in FIG.

  That is, when the paper is transported so that the recording surface of the paper is in contact with the upper surface of the glosser belt 201, the paper on which an image with a large amount of toner is not separated, and the lower surface of the glosser belt 201. When the paper is conveyed so that the recording surface of the paper is in contact with the paper, the paper on which an image with a small amount of toner is formed may be peeled off from the glosser belt 201 before performing a predetermined process.

  In order to solve this, when the paper is separated from the glosser belt 201 at the position of the roller 204 that conveys the paper so that the paper contacts the upper surface of the glosser belt 201 and passes the glosser belt 201, the separation is performed. When the sheet is not separated from the glosser belt 201 at the position of the roller 204 that passes over the glosser belt 201, the lower surface of the glosser belt 201 is discharged (see FIG. 11C). A configuration is conceivable in which the paper is conveyed so that the paper is in contact with (see FIG. 11 (4)). However, at this time, the pressure / heating roller 203 over which the glosser belt 201 is stretched usually has a function of applying pressure / heating required for the gloss generation processing and has a large diameter. There has been a problem in that the rigidity acting on the sheet when reaching the roller 203 is small and the paper cannot be separated from the glosser belt 201.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the invention described in claim 1 includes a conveyance belt that conveys a recording medium on which toner is fixed, and the conveyance that conveys the recording medium in a first direction while contacting the upper surface. A deformation means for deforming a portion of the belt in contact with the recording medium; and when the recording medium is separated from the conveyance belt when the deformation belt deforms the portion of the conveyance belt, the belt is separated from the conveyance belt. Discharging means for discharging the recorded recording medium, and when the recording medium is not separated from the conveying belt when the portion of the conveying belt is deformed by the deforming means, the recording medium is disposed on the lower surface of the conveying belt. A conveyance direction changing means for changing a conveyance direction in a second direction so that the conveyance belt conveys the recording medium in a state where the conveyance belt is in contact, and the conveyance direction change Transport control means for controlling the transport belt transporting the recording medium in the second direction by a stage so as to transport the recording medium in a direction opposite to the second direction. To do.

  According to the present invention, when the recording medium is separated from the conveyance belt when the portion of the conveyance belt that is in contact with the recording medium is deformed, the recording medium is discharged and the portion of the conveyance belt that is in contact with the recording medium is deformed. If the recording medium is not separated from the conveying belt at the time, the conveying belt conveys the recording medium in a state where the recording medium is in contact with the lower surface of the conveying belt, and then the recording medium is moved in the direction opposite to the conveying direction. Since the sheet is conveyed, a sheet on which an image with a large amount of toner is formed and a sheet on which an image with a small amount of toner is formed can be separated.

2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control unit of the image forming apparatus 1 and the gloss generating device 2. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a gloss generating device 2. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the information processing apparatus 3. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a control unit of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of a control unit of the gloss generating device 2. FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of the information processing apparatus 3. FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating an outline of processing of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. It is a processing flowchart which shows the detail of the process which determines a dot area rate. It is a processing flowchart showing the outline | summary of the process of the glossy generation apparatus. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a state of a sheet conveyed to a glosser belt 201. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating another form which generates a rigid force on a paper.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. The present embodiment is implemented by the image forming apparatus 1, the gloss generating apparatus 2, the information processing apparatus 3, and the transport belt 4 that transports the recording medium from the image forming apparatus 1 to the gloss generating apparatus 2.

<< Hardware Configuration of Embodiment >>
The hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the hardware configuration of the gloss generating apparatus 2, and the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 3 that transmits various types of information to the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the control units of the image forming apparatus 1 and the gloss generating apparatus 2. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the gloss generating device 2. FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the information processing apparatus 3.

<Hardware configuration of image forming apparatus>
The image forming apparatus 1 forms an image by fixing a toner image on a sheet as an example of a recording medium. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, an image reading unit 11, an image forming unit 12, a paper feeding unit 13, a transfer unit 14, a fixing unit 15, a reversing unit 16, a paper discharge unit 17, and a display. -It has the operation part 18 grade | etc.,.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1011, a main memory (MEM-P) 1012, a North Bridge (NB) 1013, a South Bridge (SB) 1014, and an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) 1015. , An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 1016, a local memory (MEM-C) 1017, an HD (Hard Disk) 1018, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 1019, and a network I / F 102.

  The CPU 1011 processes and calculates data according to a program stored in the main memory 1012, and performs image reading unit 11, image forming unit 12, paper feeding unit 13, transfer unit 14, fixing unit 15, reversing unit 16, paper discharge. The operation of the unit 17 is controlled. The main memory 1012 is a storage area of the control unit 10, and includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1012a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1012b. The ROM 1012a is a memory for storing programs and data for realizing the functions of the control unit 10. The program stored in the ROM 1012a is recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, FD, CD-R, or DVD as a file in an installable or executable format and provided. May be.

  The RAM 1012b is used as a memory for drawing during development of programs and data and memory printing. The NB 1013 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 1011, the MEM-P 1012, the SB 1014, and the AGP bus 1015. The SB 1014 is a bridge for connecting the NB 1013 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The AGP bus 1015 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that has been proposed to speed up graphic processing.

  The ASIC 1016 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 1016, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 1017, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that perform image data rotation using hardware logic. Become. The ASIC 1016 is connected to an interface of USB (Universal Serial Bus) and an interface of IEEE 1394 (Institut of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) via a PCI bus.

  The MEM-C 1017 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. The HD 1018 is a storage for accumulating image data, accumulating font data used during printing, and accumulating forms. The HDD 1019 controls reading or writing of data with respect to the HD 1018 according to the control of the CPU 1011.

  The network I / F 102 transmits / receives information to / from an external device such as the information processing apparatus 3 via the communication network.

  The image reading unit 11 generates image information by optically reading an image written on a sheet. Specifically, the image information is read by applying light to a sheet and receiving the reflected light by a reading sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor). The image information is information representing an image to be formed on a recording medium such as paper, and uses electrical color separation image signals indicating red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors. It is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading unit 11 includes a contact glass 111, a reading sensor 112, and the like. The contact glass 111 is for placing a sheet on which an image is written. The reading sensor 112 reads image information of an image described on a sheet placed on the contact glass 111.

  The image forming unit 12 attaches toner to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 143 of the transfer unit 14 based on the image information read by the image reading unit 11 or the image information received by the network I / F 102 to generate an image (toner Image).

  The image forming unit 12 includes an image forming unit 120C that forms a toner image using a developer having cyan (C) color toner, an image forming unit 120M that forms a toner image using magenta (M) toner, An image forming unit 120Y that forms a toner image using yellow (Y) toner and an image forming unit 120K that forms a toner image using black (K) toner are provided.

  Hereinafter, an arbitrary image forming unit among the image forming unit 120C, the image forming unit 120M, the image forming unit 120Y, and the image forming unit 120K is referred to as an “image forming unit 120”.

  The image forming unit 120C includes a toner supply unit 121C, a photosensitive drum 122C, a charging unit 123C, an exposure unit 124C, a developing unit 125C, a charge eliminating unit 126C, and a cleaning unit 127C.

  The toner supply unit 121C stores C-color toner, and supplies C-color toner to the development unit 125C. The toner stored in the toner supply unit 121C is supplied to the developing unit 125C by a predetermined amount by driving the conveying screw in the toner supply unit 121C. The surface of the photosensitive drum 122C is uniformly charged by the charging unit 123C, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface by the exposure unit 124C based on the image information received from the control unit 10. On the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C, a toner image is formed by the developing unit 125C attaching toner to the surface on which the electrostatic latent image is formed. The photosensitive drum 122C is provided so as to be in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 143, and is provided to rotate in the same direction as the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 143 at a contact point with the intermediate transfer belt 143.

  The charging unit 123C uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C. The exposure unit 124C irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C charged by the charging unit 123C with light based on the C halftone dot area ratio determined by the control unit 10 to form an electrostatic latent image. The developing unit 125C develops the toner image by attaching the C-color toner stored in the developer storage unit 121C to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C by the exposure unit 124C. Form.

  The neutralization unit 126C neutralizes the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C after the image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 143. The cleaning unit 127C removes the transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C that has been neutralized by the neutralization unit 126C.

  The image forming unit 120M includes a developer storage unit 121M, a photosensitive drum 122M, a charging unit 123M, an exposure unit 124M, a developing unit 125M, a charge removal unit 126M, and a cleaning unit 127M. The developer storage unit 121M stores M-color toner. The photosensitive drum 122M, the charging unit 123M, the exposure unit 124M, the development unit 125M, the charge removal unit 126M, and the cleaning unit 127M are the photosensitive drum 122C, the charge unit 123C, the exposure unit 124C, the development unit 125C, the discharge unit 126C, and the cleaning unit, respectively. Since the function is the same as that of 127C, description thereof is omitted.

  The image forming unit 120Y includes a developer container 121Y, a photosensitive drum 122Y, a charging unit 123Y, an exposure unit 124Y, a developing unit 125Y, a charge removal unit 126Y, and a cleaning unit 127Y. The developer storage unit 121Y stores Y toner. The photosensitive drum 122Y, the charging unit 123Y, the exposure unit 124Y, the developing unit 125Y, the charge removal unit 126Y, and the cleaning unit 127Y are the photosensitive drum 122C, the charging unit 123C, the exposure unit 124C, the development unit 125C, the discharge unit 126C, and the cleaning unit, respectively. Since the function is the same as that of 127C, description thereof is omitted.

  The image forming unit 120K includes a developer container 121K, a photosensitive drum 122K, a charging unit 123K, an exposure unit 124K, a developing unit 125K, a charge removal unit 126K, and a cleaning unit 127K. The developer storage unit 121K stores K-color toner. The photosensitive drum 122K, the charging unit 123K, the exposure unit 124K, the developing unit 125K, the neutralization unit 126K, and the cleaning unit 127K are the photosensitive drum 122C, the charging unit 123C, the exposure unit 124C, the development unit 125C, the neutralization unit 126C, and the cleaning unit, respectively. Since the function is the same as that of 127C, description thereof is omitted.

  In the following, an arbitrary developer accommodating portion among the developer accommodating portion 121C, the developer accommodating portion 121M, the developer accommodating portion 121Y, and the developer accommodating portion 121K is referred to as a “developer accommodating portion 121”. In addition, any photosensitive drum among the photosensitive drum 122C, the photosensitive drum 122M, the photosensitive drum 122Y, and the photosensitive drum 122K is referred to as a “photosensitive drum 122”. In addition, any charging unit among the charging unit 123C, the charging unit 123M, the charging unit 123Y, and the charging unit 123K is referred to as a “charging unit 123”. Further, an arbitrary exposure unit among the exposure unit 124C, the exposure unit 124M, the exposure unit 124Y, and the exposure unit 124K is represented as an “exposure unit 124”. Further, an arbitrary developing unit among the developing unit 125C, the developing unit 125M, the developing unit 125Y, and the developing unit 125K is referred to as a “developing unit 125”. In addition, an arbitrary charge removal unit among the charge removal unit 126C, the charge removal unit 126M, the charge removal unit 126Y, and the charge removal unit 126K is referred to as a “charge removal unit 126”. In addition, an arbitrary cleaning unit among the cleaning unit 127C, the cleaning unit 127M, the cleaning unit 127Y, and the cleaning unit 127K is represented as a “cleaning unit 127”.

  The paper supply unit 13 supplies paper to the transfer unit 14. The paper feed unit 13 includes a paper storage unit 131, a paper feed roller 132, a paper feed belt 133, and a registration roller 134.

  The paper storage unit 131 stores paper that is an example of a recording medium. The paper feed roller 132 is provided to rotate in order to move the paper stored in the paper storage unit 131 toward the paper supply belt 133. The paper feed roller 132 provided in this way takes out the uppermost one of the stored paper one by one and places it on the paper feed belt 133.

  The paper feed belt 133 conveys the paper taken out by the paper feed roller 132 to the transfer unit 14. The registration roller 134 feeds a sheet conveyed by the sheet feeding belt 133 at a timing when a portion where a toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 143 described later reaches the transfer unit 14.

  The transfer unit 14 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 122 by the image forming unit 12 to the intermediate transfer belt 143 (primary transfer), and transfers the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 143 to the sheet (second). Next transfer).

  The transfer unit 14 includes a drive roller 141, a driven roller 142, an intermediate transfer belt 143, primary transfer rollers 144C, 144M, 144Y, and 144K, a secondary transfer roller 145, and a secondary opposing roller 146. The driving roller 141 spans the intermediate transfer belt 143 together with the driven roller 142. As the driving roller 141 is driven and rotated, the intermediate transfer belt 143 that is being moved moves. The driven roller 142 hangs the intermediate transfer belt 143 together with the driving roller 141. The driven roller 142 rotates as the driving roller 141 rotates and the intermediate transfer belt 143 moves.

  The intermediate transfer belt 143 is stretched around the driving roller 141 and the driven roller 142, and moves while being in contact with the photosensitive drum 122 as the driving roller 141 rotates. As the intermediate transfer belt 143 moves while being in contact with the photosensitive drum 122, the image formed on the photosensitive drum 122 is transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 143. The primary transfer rollers 144C, 144M, 144Y, and 144K are provided to face the photosensitive drums 122C, 122M, 122Y, and 122K, respectively, with the intermediate transfer belt 143 interposed therebetween, and rotate so as to move the intermediate transfer belt 143. The secondary transfer roller 145 rotates with the intermediate transfer belt 143 and the paper sandwiched between the secondary opposing roller 146. The secondary facing roller 146 rotates with the intermediate transfer belt 143 and the paper interposed between the secondary transfer roller 145 and the secondary transfer roller 145.

  The fixing unit 15 fixes the toner transferred to the sheet by the transfer unit 14. Fixing refers to fusing the resin component of the toner to the paper by simultaneously applying heat and pressure to the toner. By fixing the toner transferred to the paper by the transfer unit 14, the state of the toner on the paper becomes stable.

The fixing unit 15 includes a fixing conveyance belt 151, a fixing belt 152, a fixing roller 153, a fixing belt conveyance roller 154, a fixing counter roller 155, and a heat generation unit 156. The fixing conveyance belt 151 conveys the sheet onto which the toner has been transferred by the transfer unit 14 toward the fixing roller 153 and the fixing counter roller 155. The fixing belt 152 is stretched between the fixing roller 153 and the fixing belt conveying roller 154, and moves as the rollers rotate. The fixing roller 153 sandwiches the paper transported to the fixing transport belt 151 with the fixing facing roller 155 disposed so as to heat and press the paper.
The fixing belt conveyance roller 154 hangs the fixing belt 152 together with the fixing roller 153, and moves the fixing belt 152 when the fixing belt conveyance roller 154 rotates. The fixing facing roller 155 is installed facing the fixing roller 153, and sandwiches the conveyed paper between the fixing roller 153. The heat generating unit 156 is installed inside the fixing roller 153 and generates heat, and heats the sheet via the fixing roller 153.

  The reversing unit 16 reverses the orientation of the sheet surface fixed by the fixing unit 15. The first reversing roller 161 included in the reversing unit 16 moves the first reversing belt 162. The first reversing belt 162 is moved by the first reversing roller 161 and conveys the paper placed on the surface thereof. The second reversing roller 163 of the reversing unit 16 is a direction in which the first reversing belt 162 moves on the second reversing belt 164 installed so as to face the first reversing belt 162. It moves in the opposite direction. The second reversing belt 164 is moved by the second reversing roller 163 and conveys the paper placed on the surface thereof.

  The paper discharge unit 17 discharges the paper on which the toner is fixed by the fixing unit 15 from the image forming apparatus 1, and includes a paper discharge belt 171, a paper discharge roller 172, and a paper discharge port 173. The paper discharge belt 171 conveys the paper whose paper surface has been reversed by the reversing unit 16 toward the paper discharge port 173. The paper discharge roller 172 discharges the paper conveyed by the paper discharge belt 171 from the paper discharge port 173. At this time, the sheet is conveyed and discharged so that the surface (recording surface) on which the sheet image is formed is in contact with the upper surface of the sheet discharge belt 171. In the transfer unit 14 and the fixing unit 15, the sheet is conveyed so that the surface (non-recording surface) on which the sheet image is not formed is in contact with the upper surface of the paper discharge belt 171. This is because it is reversed.

  The display / operation unit 18 includes a panel display unit 181 and an operation unit 182. The panel display unit 181 displays setting values and selection screens. The panel display unit 181 is a touch panel or the like that receives input from the operator. The operation unit 182 performs operations for the user to input, such as a numeric keypad for receiving various conditions for image formation and a start key for receiving a copy start instruction.

<Hardware configuration of gloss generator>
Next, the hardware configuration of the gloss generating device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The gloss generating device 2 is a device that smoothes the surface of toner and generates gloss on an image by pressurizing and heating paper on a smooth belt. The gloss generating device 2 includes an insertion port 200, a glosser belt 201, a pressure roller 202, a pressure / heating roller 203, a roller 204, a cooling unit 205, a paper detection sensor 206, a discharge unit 207, a paper storage unit 208, and a registration roller 209. And a control unit. The discharge unit 207 includes a discharge roller 2071, a discharge counter roller 2072, and a discharge port 2073.

  The insertion port 200 is a port through which the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 and transported by the transport belt 4 enters the gloss generating device 2.

  The glosser belt 201 is an endless belt that is circulated by the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204, and moves when the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204 rotate. The glosser belt 201 moves so as to convey the sheet in the order of the pressure roller 202, the pressure / heat roller 203, the cooling unit 205, and the roller 204 (arrow (A) in FIG. 3). The glosser belt 201 conveys the paper in the opposite direction when the paper detection sensor 206 detects that the paper is conveyed while passing through the position of the roller 204 and in contact with the lower surface of the glosser belt 201. (Arrow (A) in FIG. 3). In the following description, the direction in which the glosser belt 201 moves in the order of the pressure roller 202, the pressure / heating roller 203, the cooling unit 205, and the roller 204 (arrow (A) in FIG. 3) is referred to as the forward direction. The direction opposite to the direction (arrow (A) in FIG. 3) is referred to as the reverse direction.

  Further, the surface (front surface) of the glosser belt 201 in contact with the sheet needs to be smooth. This is because the toner melted by being heated by the pressure / heating roller 203 is pressed against the glosser belt 201 and is pressed to give gloss to the image. Further, it is preferable that the friction coefficient of the surface (back surface) of the glosser belt 201 in contact with the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204 is larger than a predetermined value. This is to prevent the glosser belt 201 from slipping due to the generation of a frictional force between the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204 that spans the glosser belt 201.

  The pressure roller 202 is installed so as to face the pressure / heating roller 203, and sandwiches the glosser belt 201 and the paper between the pressure / heating roller 203 and applies pressure to the toner attached to the paper. . The pressurizing / heating roller 203 is configured to rotate around the glosser belt 201 and circulate it. The pressure / heating roller 203 is installed so as to face the pressure roller 202, and heat and pressure are applied to the toner attached to the paper by sandwiching the glosser belt 201 and the paper between the pressure roller 202. Is added. As a result, the temperature of the toner fixed on the paper rises and the toner melts. The melted toner is pressed against the smooth glosser belt 201, so that the surface becomes smooth.

  The rotation of the pressure roller 202, the pressure / heating roller 203, and the roller 204 so as to move the glosser belt 201 in the order of the pressure / heating roller 203, the cooling unit 205, and the roller 204 is referred to as forward rotation. Further, the rotation of the pressure roller 202, the pressure / heating roller 203, and the roller 204 in the direction opposite to the forward rotation is referred to as reverse rotation.

  The roller 204 spans the glosser belt 201 and rotates to move the stretched glosser belt 201. A portion of the glosser belt 201 that is moving in the forward direction by the rotation of the roller 204 passes through the pressure / heating roller 203 and the cooling unit 205, and reaches the position of the roller 204, so that the curved surface of the roller 204 is formed. The direction of conveyance is changed while being deformed along. That is, the roller 204 has a deformation function for deforming the glosser belt 201 and a conveyance direction changing function for changing the conveyance direction of the glosser belt 201.

  The sheet conveyed by the glosser belt 201 with the surface facing upward is separated from the glosser belt 201 by the curvature when the sheet reaches the position of the roller 204. Here, the curvature separation will be described. As described above, the portion of the glosser belt 201 that is in contact with the sheet of the glosser belt 201 that is in contact with the sheet changes its conveying direction while deforming at the position of the roller 204. On the other hand, a force (referred to as a rigid force in this embodiment) is applied to the sheet being conveyed in contact with the surface of the glosser belt 201 so that the shape of the sheet itself does not change due to its rigidity. This rigidity force separates the paper from the glosser belt 201 without deformation. The separation of the paper from the glosser belt 201 due to the rigidity generated by the deformation of the glosser belt 201 and the rigidity of the paper is called curvature separation.

  Note that the smaller the diameter of the roller 204, the greater the deformation of the glosser belt 201 and the greater the rigidity acting on the paper, so that the paper and the glosser belt 201 are easily separated. Therefore, the sheet is difficult to separate from the glosser belt 201 at the position of the pressure / heating roller 203 that requires a large diameter in order to have the function of pressure / heating.

  Further, since the paper is separated from the glosser belt 201 at the position of the roller 204, it is preferable to use a paper having a Clark rigidity of 160 or less and a roller 204 having a diameter of about 20 mm. The Clark stiffness is a value obtained by measuring the stiffness by the Clark stiffness test method.

  The cooling unit 205 cools and solidifies the heated and pressurized toner. As a result, the temperature of the toner falls to a temperature below the glass transition point, the toner is cured, and the smoothness of the toner surface is maintained. The cooling device constituting the cooling unit 205 may be any one of an air cooling method using a fan, a liquid cooling method using a liquid jacket, a radiator and a fan, a refrigerant, and a heat pump method using a heat pump. The paper detection sensor 206 detects that the paper is conveyed while passing through the position of the roller 204 and in contact with the lower surface of the glosser belt 201.

  The discharge roller 2071 is installed so as to face the discharge counter roller 2072, and rotates so as to convey the sheet sandwiched between the discharge counter roller 2072 in the direction of the discharge port 2073. The discharge facing roller 2072 is installed to face the discharge roller 2071 and rotates so as to convey the sheet sandwiched between the discharge roller 2071 toward the discharge port 2073. The discharge port 2073 discharges the sheet conveyed between the discharge roller 2071 and the discharge counter roller 2072 to the outside of the gloss generating device 2. The paper storage unit 208 stores paper discharged from the discharge port 2073.

  The registration roller 209 feeds the sheet conveyed by the conveying belt 4 in the direction of the pressure roller 202 and the pressure / heating roller 203 at a predetermined timing. This prevents paper jams caused by being placed on the glosser belt 201 when the glosser belt 201 is moved in the reverse direction by the pressure roller 202, the pressure / heat roller 203 and the roller 204. Because.

  The glosser belt 201 is an example of a conveyance belt. The roller 204 is an example of a conveyance direction changing unit. The discharge unit 207 is an example of a discharge unit. The registration roller 209 is an example of a stopping unit.

The control unit of the gloss generating device 2 has the same hardware configuration as the control unit of the image forming apparatus 1. Therefore, the description here is omitted. However, the MEM-C included in the control unit of the image forming apparatus 1 is not included in the control unit of the gloss generation apparatus 2. <Belt that conveys paper from the image forming apparatus to the gloss generating apparatus>
In the present embodiment, the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is conveyed and inserted into the gloss generating apparatus 2. For this purpose, the conveyor belt 4 is installed from the paper discharge port 173 of the image forming apparatus 1 to the insertion port 200 of the gloss generating device 2. The transport belt 4 receives the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 173 of the image forming apparatus 1 and moves toward the gloss generating device 2 with the paper being placed. When the leading edge of the paper reaches the insertion opening 200 of the gloss generation device 2, the paper enters the gloss generation device 2 from the insertion opening 200. The conveyance belt 4 conveys the sheet until it reaches the registration roller 209 in the gloss generating device 2. The conveyance belt 4 conveys the sheet until it reaches the registration roller 209 in the gloss generating device 2.

<Hardware configuration of information processing device>
Next, the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The information processing device 3 includes a CPU 301 that controls the overall operation of the information processing device 3, a ROM 302 that stores an information processing program, a RAM 303 that is used as a work area for the CPU 301, an HD (Hard Disk) 304 that stores various data, and a CPU 301 A HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 305 that controls reading or writing of various data to the HD 304 according to control, a media drive 307 that controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a storage medium 306 such as a flash memory, a cursor, a menu, and a window , A display I / F (Interface) 308 for displaying various information such as characters and images on a display, and a network for transmitting and receiving data using a communication network Keyboard I / F 309, keyboard I / F 310 for controlling a keyboard having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, and various instructions, selection and execution of various instructions, selection of a processing target, movement of a cursor, etc. A mouse I / F 311 for controlling a mouse that performs recording, a CD-ROM drive 313 for controlling reading or writing of data with respect to a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) 312 as an example of a removable storage medium, and As shown in FIG. 4, a bus line 314 such as an address bus or a data bus is provided for electrically connecting the above components.

  The information processing program may be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium such as the storage medium 306 or the CD-ROM 313 and distributed as a file in an installable or executable format.

<< Functional Configuration of Embodiment >>
Subsequently, the functional configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG. 5 is a functional configuration diagram of the control unit of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram of the control unit of the gloss generating device. FIG. 7 is a functional configuration diagram of the information processing apparatus 3.

<Functional configuration of image forming apparatus>
Next, the functional configuration of the control unit 10 of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 10 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 5, the transmission / reception unit 51, the input reception unit 52, the read image reception unit 53, the halftone dot area rate determination unit 54, and the storage A read processing unit 59 is included. Each of these units is a function or means realized by operating any of the components shown in FIG. 2 according to a command from the CPU 1011 according to a program stored in the ROM 1012a. Further, the control unit 10 includes a storage unit 5000 constructed by the ROM 1012a or the HD 1018 shown in FIG.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 is realized by the network I / F 102 illustrated in FIG. 2, and transmits / receives various information such as image information to / from the information processing apparatus 3 via the communication network. The image information is information representing an image to be formed on a recording medium such as paper, and is indicated using an electrical color separation image signal indicating each color of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). It is a thing.

  The input receiving unit 52 receives various types of information input by the user from the display / operation unit 18 shown in FIG. The read image receiving unit 53 receives image information generated by the image reading unit 11 optically reading an image described on a sheet.

  The halftone dot area rate determination unit 54 determines a halftone dot area rate for each pixel based on various information received by the input reception unit 52, image information received by the transmission / reception unit 51, and the like. The halftone dot area rate determination unit 54 includes an image information conversion unit 541 and an under color removal processing unit 542.

  The image information conversion unit 541 performs color space conversion processing on the image information received by the transmission / reception unit 51 and the image information received by the read image reception unit 53 by using toners of C color, M color, and Y color. Are converted into halftone dot area ratios Rc, Rm, and Ry. Note that the image information conversion unit 541 may perform shading correction, position shift correction, color space conversion, gamma correction, and the like in addition to the color space conversion processing. The halftone dot area ratio is a ratio of an area where a halftone dot is formed by toner of each color in an area forming one pixel on the paper. When the dot area ratio is 0%, no toner adheres to the predetermined area, and when the dot area ratio is 100%, the toner adheres to all of the predetermined area.

  The under color removal processing unit 542 performs under color removal processing on the halftone dot area ratios Rc0, Rm0, and Ry0 converted by the image information conversion unit 541 to obtain C, M, Y, and K colors. The dot area ratios Rc, Rm, Ry, and Rk of each toner are converted. In a color image, colors are reproduced using toners of C, M, and Y colors, and black toner formed by overlapping the C, M, and Y colors is attached with K toner. Can be reproduced. As described above, the halftone dot area ratios Rc0, Rm0, and Ry0 of the three types of toners of C color, M color, and Y color are represented by the halftone dot areas of the four types of toners of C color, M color, Y color, and K color. The conversion to the rates Rc, Rm, Ry, Rk is called under color removal conversion.

<Functional configuration of gloss generator>
Next, the functional configuration of the gloss generating device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the gloss generating device 2 includes a heating control unit 221, a cooling control unit 222, and a conveyance control unit 223. The heating control unit 221, the cooling control unit 222, and the conveyance control unit 223 are functions or means that are realized by operating according to instructions from the CPU 1011 according to a program stored in the ROM 1012a illustrated in FIG. .

  The heating control unit 221 controls the heater provided inside the pressure / heating roller 203 to heat the pressure / heating roller 203. The cooling control unit 222 controls the cooling unit 205 to be cooled.

  The conveyance control unit 223 controls the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204 to rotate. As a result, the glosser belt 201 stretched between the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204 moves so as to circulate. Further, the conveyance control unit 223 rotates the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204 in the forward direction or the reverse direction by the control. When the sheet inserted by the registration roller 209 is conveyed in the order of the pressure roller 202, the heating roller 203, the cooling unit 205, and the roller 204, the conveyance control unit 223 rotates each roller in the forward direction. When the paper detection sensor 206 detects that there is a paper at a predetermined position, the transport control unit 223 controls each roller to rotate in the reverse direction. The conveyance control unit 223 is an example of a conveyance control unit.

<Functional configuration of information processing apparatus>
Next, the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 3 will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the information processing apparatus 3 includes a transmission unit 321, a display control unit 322, an operation input reception unit 323, and an image information storage unit 3000. The transmission unit 321, the display control unit 322, and the operation input reception unit 323 are functions or means realized by operating according to instructions from the CPU 301 according to a program stored in the ROM 302 illustrated in FIG. 4. is there. The image information storage unit 3000 is constructed by the HD 304 shown in FIG.

  The transmission unit 321 is realized by the network I / F 309 illustrated in FIG. 4 and transmits various types of information such as image information to the image forming apparatus 1 via the communication network. The display control unit 322 is realized by the display I / F 308 illustrated in FIG. 4 and performs control for displaying various information on the display device 330. The operation input receiving unit 323 is realized by the keyboard I / F 310 and the mouse I / F 311 illustrated in FIG. 4 and receives various types of information input by the user. The image information storage unit 3000 stores image information representing an image to be formed on a sheet.

<< Processing and Operation of Embodiment >>
Subsequently, processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11. FIG. 8 is a processing flowchart showing an outline of processing of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 9 is a processing flowchart showing details of processing for determining the dot area ratio. FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram showing an outline of the process of the gloss generating device 2. FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the state of the sheet conveyed to the glosser belt 201. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining another form in which a rigid force is generated on a sheet.

  First, when the operation input receiving unit 323 of the information processing apparatus 3 receives an operation input from the user, the transmission unit 321 transmits the image information stored in the image information storage unit 3000 to the image forming apparatus 1.

  When the information processing apparatus 3 transmits image information to the image forming apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 8, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the image forming apparatus 1 receives the image information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 3 via the network. (Step S21). Then, the halftone dot area ratio determining unit 54 determines the halftone dot area ratio of the halftone dots formed by the C, M, Y, and K color toners (step S22). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the image information conversion unit 541 of the halftone dot area rate determination unit 54 performs electrical color separation indicating each color of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). The image information indicated by using the image signal is converted into halftone dot area ratios Rc0, Rm0, and Ry0 of halftone dots formed by the C, M, and Y color toners by color space conversion processing (step S221). . The image information conversion unit 541 may execute known image processing such as color correction processing and spatial frequency correction processing in addition to color conversion processing on the image information.

  Next, the under color removal processing unit 542 performs under color removal processing on the halftone dot area ratios Rc0, Rm0, and Ry0 converted by the image information conversion unit 541 (step S222). By performing these processes, halftone dot area ratios Rc, Rm, Ry, and Rk for C, M, Y, and K are determined.

<Paper feed processing>
Returning to FIG. 8, the subsequent processing will be described. When the halftone dot area ratio of the halftone dots formed by each color toner is determined as described above, the paper feed unit 13 performs a paper feed process (step S23). Specifically, the paper supply roller 132 of the paper supply unit 13 takes out the paper stored in the paper storage unit 131 one by one and places it on the paper supply belt 133. The sheet feeding belt 133 conveys the sheet placed by moving in the direction of the transfer unit 14. When the conveyed paper reaches the registration roller 134, the registration roller 134 sandwiches the paper and waits until the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 143 reaches the transfer unit 14. Then, at the timing when the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 143 reaches the transfer unit 14, the registration roller 134 feeds the sheet between the secondary transfer roller 145 and the secondary opposing roller 146.

<Image processing>
On the other hand, each image forming unit 120 of the image forming unit 12 receives each of the photosensitive drums 122 based on the dot area ratios Rc, Rm, Ry, and Rk determined by the dot area ratio determining unit 54 of the control unit 10. Image forming processing for forming an image by attaching toner is performed (step S24).

  Specifically, first, the charging unit 123C uniformly charges the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 122C. Then, the exposure unit 124C irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C charged by the charging unit 123C with laser light based on the dot area ratio Rc ′ determined by the dot area ratio determination unit 54 for each pixel. . As a result, an electrostatic latent image of an image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C. When the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C, the developing unit 125C develops the electrostatic latent image formed by the charging unit 123C and the exposure unit 124C using the toner supplied by the toner supply unit 121C. To do. In this way, a C toner image is formed.

  Similarly, the charging unit 123M uniformly charges the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 122M. Then, the exposure unit 124M irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 122C charged by the charging unit 123M with laser light based on the dot area ratio Rm ′ determined by the dot area ratio determination unit 54 for each pixel. . As a result, an electrostatic latent image of an image composed of pixels having each halftone dot area ratio is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122M. When the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122M, the developing unit 125M develops the electrostatic latent image formed by the charging unit 123M and the exposure unit 124M using the toner supplied by the toner supply unit 121M. To do. In this way, an M color toner image is formed.

  Similarly, the charging unit 123Y uniformly charges the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 122Y. Then, the exposure unit 124Y irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 122Y charged by the charging unit 123Y with laser light based on the dot area ratio Ry ′ determined by the dot area ratio determination unit 54 for each pixel. . As a result, an electrostatic latent image of an image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122Y. When the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122Y, the developing unit 125Y develops the electrostatic latent image formed by the charging unit 123Y and the exposure unit 124Y using the toner supplied by the toner supply unit 121Y. To do. In this way, a Y-color toner image is formed.

  Similarly, the charging unit 123K uniformly charges the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 122K. Then, the exposure unit 124K irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 122K charged by the charging unit 123K with laser light based on the dot area ratio Rk ′ determined by the dot area ratio determination unit 54 for each pixel. . As a result, an electrostatic latent image of an image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122K. When the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122K, the developing unit 125K develops the electrostatic latent image formed by the charging unit 123K and the exposure unit 124K using the toner supplied by the toner supply unit 121K. To do. In this way, a K toner image is formed.

<Transfer processing>
As described above, when each color toner image is formed on the surface of each photosensitive drum 122, the transfer unit 14 performs a transfer process (step S25). Specifically, first, the primary transfer roller 144 facing the photoconductor 122 applies a primary transfer bias to the intermediate transfer belt 143. Then, the toner image on the surface of each photosensitive drum 122 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 143 (primary transfer). The primary transfer bias is a charge opposite to the electrostatic charge charged on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122.

  Next, the intermediate transfer belt 143 onto which the toner image has been transferred moves in the direction of the secondary transfer roller 145 by the rotation of the driving roller 141 and the driven roller 142. At the timing when the portion of the intermediate transfer belt 143 onto which the toner image is transferred reaches the secondary transfer roller 145, the sheet fed by the sheet feeding unit 13 and waiting by the registration roller 134 is sent out. The fed sheet is placed on the portion of the intermediate transfer belt 143 where the toner image is transferred. Then, the secondary transfer roller 145 rotated by the driving roller 141 and the driven roller 142 sandwiches the sheet and the intermediate transfer belt 143 between the secondary opposing rollers and applies a secondary transfer bias. Then, the toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 143 is transferred to the paper (secondary transfer). Note that the secondary transfer bias is a charge opposite to the electrostatic charge charged on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 143.

<Fixing process>
As described above, when the toner image is transferred to the sheet, the fixing unit 15 performs the fixing process (step S26). Specifically, the fixing conveyance belt 151 of the fixing unit 15 conveys the sheet on which the toner image is transferred in the direction of the fixing roller 153. When the conveyed paper reaches a position where the fixing roller 153 and the fixing belt 152 are in contact with each other, the fixing roller 153 sandwiches the paper between the fixing counter roller 155 and the fixing roller 153. At this time, since the fixing roller 153 is heated by the heat generating portion 156, the sheet is heated at a predetermined fixing temperature at the same time as being pressurized. Since the toner forming the toner image on the paper is melted by being heated, the resin component of the toner is fused to the paper when the melted toner is pressed by the fixing roller 153 and the fixing counter roller 155 in that state. . By performing the fixing process in this way, the toner on the paper that has been unstable after the transfer is stabilized.

<Reversal processing>
When the fixing unit 15 fixes the image on the paper, the reversing unit 16 reverses the orientation of the paper surface (step S27). Specifically, the first reversing roller 161 moves the first reversing belt 162 to convey the paper so that the non-recording surface of the paper is in contact with the first reversing belt 162.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first reversing belt 162 and the second reversing belt 164 are installed so that their surfaces face each other, so that the sheet is conveyed by the first reversing belt 162. As a result, the recording surface not in contact with the first reversing belt 162 comes into contact with the second reversing belt 164. In this state, the first reversing belt 162 is stopped, and the second reversing roller 163 moves the second reversing belt 164 in the direction opposite to the first reversing belt 162. Then, the sheet is conveyed with the recording surface in contact with the second reversing belt 164. By being reversed by the reversing unit 16 in this way, the recording surface is in contact with the paper discharge belt 171 when the paper is discharged by the paper discharge unit 17.

<Discharge processing>
When the paper is reversed in step S27, the paper discharge unit 17 performs a paper discharge process (step S28). Specifically, the paper discharge belt 171 of the paper discharge unit 17 conveys the paper in the direction of the paper discharge port 173, and the paper is discharged from the paper discharge port 173. At this time, the sheet is conveyed and discharged so that the surface (recording surface) on which the sheet image is formed is in contact with the upper surface of the sheet discharge belt 171.

  In step S 28, the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 173 of the image forming apparatus 1 is placed on the transport belt 4. The transport belt 4 transports the paper in the direction of the gloss generating device 2 by moving in the direction of the gloss generating device 2 with the paper placed on the upper surface thereof in contact with the recording surface of the paper. Then, when the leading edge of the sheet transported to the insertion port 200 of the gloss generating device 2 arrives, the paper is inserted into the gloss generating device 2 from the insertion port 200.

<Transport processing>
When the paper is discharged by the paper discharge unit 17 of the image forming apparatus 1, the transport belt 4 receives the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 173 and moves in the direction of the gloss generating device 2 with the paper placed. When the leading edge of the paper reaches the insertion opening 200 of the gloss generating device 2, the paper is inserted into the gloss generating device 2 from the insertion opening 200.

<Gloss generation treatment>
When the paper is inserted into the gloss generating device 2, the gloss generating device 2 performs a process of generating gloss by heating and pressurizing the toner fixed on the paper. Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 173 of the image forming apparatus 1 is inserted into the insertion port 200 of the gloss generating device 2, and the surface (recording surface) of the paper on which the toner is fixed is attached to the glosser belt 201. Placed. In this way, the gloss generating device 2 receives the paper (step S31). The sheet inserted from the insertion port 200 is conveyed by the conveying belt 4 toward the pressure roller 202 and the pressure / heating roller 203 (step S32). At this time, when the glosser belt 201 on which the sheet that has already undergone the gloss generation processing is moving in the reverse direction, the registration roller 209 causes the sheet of the pressure roller 202 and the pressure / heating roller 203 to move. Stop being transported to the direction.

  When the sheet conveyed in step S32 reaches the position of the pressure / heating roller 203, the conveyance control unit 223 controls the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204 to rotate forward. The pressure controller 221 heats the pressure / heating roller 203 by controlling a heater provided in the pressure / heating roller 203. As a result, the pressure / heating roller 203 sandwiches the sheet together with the glosser belt 201 and pressurizes while heating (step S33). Then, the toner fixed on the paper is melted and pressed against the glosser belt 201 having a smooth surface in a melted state, so that the surface of the toner becomes smooth.

  When the sheet is pressurized and heated by the pressure roller 202 and the pressure / heating roller 203 in step S33, the sheet is conveyed toward the cooling unit 205 while being in contact with the glosser belt 201. Then, the sheet heated by the cooling unit 205 is cooled by the cooling control unit 222 (step S34). As a result, the clear toner melted on the surface of the paper is cured, and the smoothed toner surface is stably held.

  When the sheet is cooled by the cooling unit 205 in step S34, the glosser belt 201 moves in the direction of the roller 204 (the first direction indicated by the arrow (A) in FIG. 3). As a result, the glosser belt 201 conveys the sheet in contact with the upper surface in the direction of the roller 204. When the portion of the glosser belt 201 that is in contact with the sheet reaches the roller 204, it is deformed along the curved surface of the roller 204 and is different from the first direction (the second direction indicated by the arrow (c) in FIG. 3). Direction). At this time, there is a case where the paper is separated from the glosser belt 201 by curvature (see FIG. 11 (3)) and a case where the paper is not separated from the glosser belt 201 (see FIG. 11 (1)) (step S35).

  As described above, the case where the sheet is separated from the glosser belt 201 by the curvature and the case where the sheet is not separated from the curvature are caused by the adhesion between the sheet and the glosser belt. One reason for this adhesion is the toner adhering to the paper. Specifically, when the paper in contact with the glosser belt 201 and its upper surface reaches the roller 204, the portion of the glosser belt 201 in contact with the paper is deformed along the curved surface of the roller 204. Stiffness works so as to keep the shape so far. As a result, the sheet tends to leave the glosser belt 201. At this time, if the amount of toner adhering to the surface of the sheet is small, the adhesion force that closely contacts the sheet and the glosser belt 201 is weak, so that the sheet is curvedly separated from the glosser belt 201 by the rigidity. On the other hand, if the amount of toner attached to the sheet is large, the sheet is not separated from the glosser belt 201 by curvature because the adhesion is stronger than the rigidity.

  When the paper is separated from the glosser belt 201 in step S34, the discharge roller 2071 and the discharge opposing roller 2072 rotate with the paper sandwiched therebetween, thereby conveying the paper in the direction of the discharge port 2073. Then, the sheet conveyed to the discharge port 2073 by the discharge roller 2071 and the discharge counter roller 2072 is discharged to the outside of the gloss generating device 2 (step S36) and is stored by the sheet storage unit 208 (step S37).

  If the curvature of the sheet is not separated from the glosser belt 201 in step S35, the sheet is continuously conveyed along the roller 204 by the glosser belt 201 whose conveyance direction has been changed to the second direction, and is transferred to the lower surface of the glosser belt 201. It will be in the state (refer FIG. 11 (4)). Then, the sheet detection sensor 206 detects that the sheet is conveyed in the state of being in contact with the glosser belt 201 without being separated in curvature at the position of the roller 204 in this way.

  When the paper detection sensor 206 detects that the paper is still in contact with the glosser belt 201 after passing through the roller 204, the conveyance control unit 223 rotates the pressure / heating roller 203 and the roller 204 in the reverse direction. As a result, the glosser belt 201 moves in the reverse direction and conveys the sheet toward the roller 204 again (step S38). Then, the sheet that has reached the roller 204 again is separated from the glosser belt 201 by a rigidity force and gravity in a direction to be separated from the glosser belt 201 (see FIG. 11 (5)) (step S39).

  As described above, since the pressure / heating roller 203 has a function of pressing / heating and needs to have a large diameter, the glosser belt 201 conveys the paper in the forward direction from the state shown in FIG. 11 (4). By continuing, even if the paper reaches the position of the pressure / heat roller 203, there are cases where sufficient rigidity does not work and the paper cannot be separated. Therefore, the glosser belt 201 conveys the paper in the reverse direction in this way, and the paper is separated from the glosser belt 201 by applying gravity and sufficient rigidity to the paper at the position of the roller 204 having a small diameter. can do.

  When the curvature of the sheet is separated in step S39, the discharge roller 2071 and the discharge counter roller 2072 rotate with the sheet interposed therebetween, thereby conveying the sheet in the direction of the discharge port 2073. Then, the sheet conveyed to the discharge port 2073 by the discharge roller 2071 and the discharge counter roller 2072 is discharged to the outside of the gloss generating device 2 (step S36) and is stored by the sheet storage unit 208 (step S37).

  The registration roller 209 stops the movement of the sheet inserted from the insertion port 200 so that the sheet to be processed next is not placed on the glosser belt 201 when the glosser belt 201 moves in the reverse direction. Like that.

<< Supplement of Embodiment >>
In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 and the gloss generating apparatus 2 are described as separate apparatuses, but the functions of these apparatuses may be included in a single apparatus.

  In the present embodiment, the transmission / reception unit 51 receives image information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 3 via the network in step S <b> 21, but the reading sensor 112 of the image reading unit 11 is placed on the contact glass 111. It is also possible to receive image information acquired from a prepared document sheet or the like.

  In the present embodiment, the transmission unit 321 transmits the image information stored in the image information storage unit 3000 of the information processing device 3, but the image information generated by the information processing device 3 and the information processing device 3 are The transmission unit 321 may transmit image information that is not stored in the image information storage unit 3000, such as image information acquired from another information processing apparatus.

  Also, the under color removal processing unit 542 does not perform under color removal processing, and the halftone dot area ratios Rc, Rm, and Ry converted by the image information conversion unit 541 are determined as the halftone dot area ratios to which the image forming apparatus 1 adheres. May be.

  The image forming apparatus 1 forms an image using C, M, Y, and K toners. In addition to the C, M, Y, and K toners, a clear toner or the like is used. The special toner may be used. The clear toner is a colorless and transparent toner. When the clear toner is attached to one or more colored toners among the C, M, Y, and K toners attached to the recording medium, the colored toner is obtained. It is the resin particle comprised so that can be visually recognized. The clear toner is resin particles that can be visually recognized when attached to the recording medium. The clear toner is produced, for example, by externally adding silicon dioxide (SiO2) or titanium dioxide (TiO2) to a low molecular weight polyester resin. Note that the clear toner may contain a coloring material as long as the amount is such that the recording medium or the colored toner attached on the recording medium can be visually recognized.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the glosser belt 201 changes the direction in which the paper is conveyed according to the curved surface of the roller 204. However, as long as the surface of the glosser belt 201 is deformed, it does not rotate like the roller 204. May be. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the glosser belt 201 may be deformed along two or more planes in different directions to generate a rigid force on the sheet.

<< Effects of Embodiment >>
According to the present embodiment, when the glosser belt 201 is deformed by the roller 204, the sheet is discharged when the sheet is separated from the glosser belt 201, and when the conveying belt 201 is deformed by the roller 204, the sheet becomes the glosser belt 201. When the glosser belt 201 is not separated from the paper, the glosser belt 201 conveys the paper in the reverse direction while contacting the paper to the lower surface thereof, so that the paper on which the toner amount is formed and the paper on which the toner amount image is formed are separated. be able to.

  Further, by making the friction coefficient of the surface of the glosser belt 201 in contact with the roller 204 larger than a predetermined value, it is possible to prevent the glosser belt 201 from slipping and moving.

  Further, when the paper is being conveyed in the reverse direction by the glosser belt 201, the registration roller 209 stops conveying another paper newly inserted into the gloss generating device 2 in the direction of the glosser belt 201. Can prevent paper jams.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Control part 1011 CPU
1012 Main memory 1013 North bridge 1014 South bridge 1015 AGP bus 1016 ASIC
1017 Local memory 1018 HD
1019 HDD
102 Network I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Image reading part 111 Contact glass 112 Reading sensor 12 Image forming part 120 Image forming unit 121 Toner supply part 122 Photoconductor drum 123 Charging part 124 Exposure part 125 Developing part 126 Electric discharge part 127 Cleaning part 13 Paper feed part 131 Paper feed tray 132 Feed roller 133 First feed belt 134 Registration roller 14 Transfer unit 141 Drive roller 142 Drive roller 143 Intermediate transfer belt 144 Primary transfer roller 145 Secondary transfer roller 146 Secondary counter roller 15 Fixing unit 151 Fixing transport belt 152 Fixing belt 153 Fixing roller 154 Fixing belt conveying roller 155 Fixing counter roller 156 Heat generating portion 16 Reversing portion 161 First reversing roller 162 First reversing belt 163 Second reversing roller 164 Second reversing belt 17 Ejection Paper unit 171 Paper discharge belt 172 Paper discharge roller 173 Paper discharge port 18 Display / operation unit 181 Panel display unit 182 Operation unit 2 Gloss generating device 200 Insertion port 201 Glosser belt 202 Pressure roller 203 Pressure / heating roller 204 Roller 205 Cooling Section 206 Paper detection sensor 207 Discharge section 2071 Discharge roller 2072 Discharge counter roller 2073 Discharge port 208 Paper storage section

209 Registration roller 221 Heating control unit 222 Cooling control unit 223 Transport control unit 3 Information processing device 301 CPU
302 ROM
303 RAM
304 HD
305 HDD
306 Storage media 307 Media drive 308 Display I / F
309 Network I / F
310 Keyboard I / F
311 Mouse I / F
312 CD-ROM
313 CD-ROM drive 314 Bus line 321 Transmission unit 322 Display control unit 323 Operation input reception unit 3000 Image information storage unit 330 Display device 4 Conveying belt 51 Transmission / reception unit 52 Input reception unit 53 Read image reception unit 54 Halftone dot area rate determination unit 541 Image information conversion unit 542 Under color removal processing unit 59 Storage / reading processing unit 5000 Storage unit

JP 2004-151259 A

Claims (6)

A transport belt for transporting a recording medium on which toner is fixed;
Deformation means for deforming a portion of the conveyance belt that is in contact with the recording medium while conveying the recording medium in a first direction while contacting the upper surface;
Discharging means for discharging the recording medium separated from the conveyance belt when the recording medium is separated from the conveyance belt when the portion of the conveyance belt is deformed by the deformation means;
When the recording medium is not separated from the conveyor belt when the portion of the conveyor belt is deformed by the deforming means, the conveyor belt is in contact with the recording medium in contact with the lower surface of the conveyor belt. Transport direction changing means for changing the transport direction to the second direction so as to transport
A conveyance control unit that controls the conveyance belt that has conveyed the recording medium in the second direction by the conveyance direction changing unit to convey the recording medium in a direction opposite to the second direction;
A gloss generating device comprising:
The gloss generating device according to claim 1,
Detecting means for detecting the presence of the recording medium on the lower surface of the conveyor belt;
The gloss control characterized in that the conveyance control means controls to convey the recording medium in a direction opposite to the second direction when detecting that the recording medium is present on a lower surface of the conveyance belt. Generator.
The gloss generating device according to claim 1 or 2,
When the recording medium being conveyed in the direction opposite to the second direction is separated from the conveyance belt by the conveyance belt being controlled by the conveyance control unit,
The gloss generating apparatus, wherein the discharge means discharges the separated recording medium.
The gloss generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The transport direction changing means is a roller that spans the transport belt,
A gloss generating device, wherein the roller has a diameter smaller than a predetermined value.
The gloss generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The gloss generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a coefficient of friction of a surface of the conveyor belt contacting the roller is larger than a predetermined value.
The gloss generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
When the conveyance belt conveys the recording medium in a direction opposite to the second direction, the conveyance belt has stop means for stopping placement of the second recording medium different from the recording medium on the conveyance belt. Gloss generator.

Images