JP7172269B2 - Fine particle collection device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fine particle collecting device and an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below are known as techniques for collecting fine particles contained in the air using a collecting means such as a filter.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-100002 discloses a fixing device having a cleaning device that cleans the fixing member by bringing a cleaning web into contact with the surface of the fixing member for fixing an image on a recording medium. A fixing device is described that includes a scavenger that captures at least one of the particulates. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 also discloses providing an airflow generating means for generating an airflow from the conveying path of the recording medium toward the cleaning web.

Patent Document 2 describes a duct for merging the exhaust from a plurality of exhaust ports of an electric device and discharging the exhaust into the atmosphere from one outlet, and a filter and an electric fan built in front of the outlet of the duct. , an optional device for electrical equipment comprising an air flow sensor for detecting the presence or absence of exhaust from one of a plurality of air outlets, and a control device for controlling the operation of an electric fan based on the output of the air flow sensor , wherein the air flow sensor is arranged at an outlet having the highest exhaust air velocity among the plurality of outlets.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-112708 (paragraphs 0006, 0008-0009, 0016-0017, FIGS. 2 and 3) JP 2016-162759 A (paragraphs 0002, 0034-0036, FIG. 6)

The present invention reduces the pressure loss of the airflow in the channel space of the vent pipe and collects the fine particles compared to the case where the collecting means for collecting the fine particles is fixed and arranged in the channel space of the vent pipe. An object of the present invention is to provide a collection device for fine particles that can be collected and an image forming apparatus.

The fine particle collection device of the present invention (A1) comprises:
a vent pipe having a channel space in which an airflow of air containing fine particles is generated; and a rotating body rotatably disposed in the channel space of the vent pipe and provided with a collecting means for collecting the fine particles on its surface. , and
The rotating body is a blowing means having rotating blades that are rotated by the power of the driving means and generate an airflow in the flow passage space of the ventilation pipe, and the collecting means is provided on the blades of the blowing means. It is what is done.

Further, in the fine particle collecting device of this invention (A2), in the collecting device of the above invention A1, the rotating body has a period of rotation at a relatively low number of revolutions .

Further, the image forming apparatus of the present invention ( B1 ) is equipped with the fine particle collecting device of A1 or A2 above .

The image forming apparatus of the present invention (B2) is the image forming apparatus of the invention B1, further comprising fixing means for passing the recording medium holding the unfixed image to fix the unfixed image,
The collection device includes air blowing means having rotating blades for generating an airflow in the flow passage space of the air pipe, one end of the air pipe being connected to the fixing means , and The rotating body is rotated by the driving means so as to switch between different directions each time the recording medium passes through the fixing means.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention (B3) is the image forming apparatus of the invention B1, further comprising fixing means for fixing the unfixed image by allowing the recording medium for holding the unfixed image to pass therethrough,
The collecting device includes air blowing means having rotating blades for generating an air flow in the flow passage space of the air pipe, one end of the air pipe is connected to the fixing means, and the rotating body is connected to the fixing means. The air blowing means is provided with the collecting means on the surface of the blade, and the rotating body composed of the air blowing means is rotated at a relatively low number of revolutions during the period when fine particles are likely to be generated in the fixing means. It has a period of time.

According to the collection device of Invention A1, the pressure loss of the airflow in the flow passage space of the ventilation pipe is lower than in the case where the collection means for collecting fine particles is fixed and arranged in the flow passage space of the ventilation pipe. can be reduced to collect fine particles.
Further, according to the collecting device of the invention A1, compared with the case where the rotating body is rotated by the action of the air current, it is possible to control the rotation of the rotating body to collect fine particles more efficiently.
Furthermore, according to the collection device of invention A1, the number of components can be reduced compared to the case where the rotating body is separate from the air blowing means.

According to the collecting device of Invention A2 , compared to the case where the rotating body does not have a period during which it rotates at a relatively low number of revolutions, fine particles can be efficiently collected during the period during which the rotating body rotates at a relatively low number of revolutions. can be collected.

According to the image forming apparatus of Invention B1, fine particles generated in the image forming apparatus can be collected by reducing the pressure loss of the airflow in the channel space of the pipe.
According to the image forming apparatus of the invention B2, fine particles generated in the fixing means can be efficiently collected over a long period of time as compared with the case where the rotating body is rotated only in one direction regardless of whether or not the recording medium passes through the fixing means. can be done.
According to the image forming apparatus of the invention B3, fine particles generated in the fixing means are efficiently removed compared to the case where the fixing means does not have a period in which the rotating body is rotated at a relatively low number of revolutions during a period when fine particles are likely to be generated. It can be collected well over a long period of time.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 and the like; FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of part of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 and a fine particle collecting device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. (A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the collection device of FIG. 2, (B) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the collection device of (A) substantially along the Q1-Q1 line, and (C) is the collection device of (A). 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view along line Q2-Q2 of FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a portion of the image forming apparatus and the state of operation of the collecting device of FIG. 2; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a modification of the fine particle collecting device according to Embodiment 1; 1 shows a particle collecting device according to Embodiment 2, (A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the collecting device, and (B) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the collecting device of (A) substantially along line Q1-Q1. , (C) is a schematic cross-sectional view along line Q2-Q2 of the collection device of (A). (A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an impeller of a rotating body in the collection device of FIG. 6, (B) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the state of operation of the collection device of FIG. 6, and (C) is a schematic cross-sectional view of (A). It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the effect peculiar to an impeller. (A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a modification of the impeller in the collection device of FIG. ) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the unique effects of the impeller of (A). (A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a modification in which an impeller having another configuration is applied to the collection device of FIG. 6, and (B) is a schematic cross section along the Q1-Q1 line of the collection device of (A) FIG. (C) is a schematic cross-sectional view along line Q2-Q2 of the collection device of (A). FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an operation state of a part of the image forming apparatus and a collecting device having another configuration; 1 shows a particle collecting device according to Embodiment 3, (A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the collecting device, and (B) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the collecting device of (A) substantially along line Q1-Q1. , (C) is a schematic cross-sectional view along line Q2-Q2 of the collection device of (A). FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the state of operation of the collection device of FIG. 11; (A) is a graph showing the results of Test 1, and (B) is a graph showing the results of Test 2. FIG. (A) is a conceptual diagram showing the contents of control relating to the heating operation of the fixing means, and (B) is a conceptual diagram showing the temperature state of the heating rotator of the fixing means corresponding to part of the control of (A). 12 is a flow chart showing the control contents of the collection device of FIG. 11; Fig. 10 shows a particle collecting device according to Embodiment 4, (A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the collecting device, and (B) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the collecting device of (A) substantially along line Q1-Q1. is. FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the state of operation of the collection device of FIG. 16; 17 is a flow chart showing the control contents of the collecting device of FIG. 16;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
1 to 3 show Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1, FIG. FIG. 3 shows the detailed configuration of the collecting device of FIG.
Arrows indicated by symbols X, Y, and Z in each drawing indicate directions of width, height, and depth of a three-dimensional space assumed in each drawing. In FIG. 1, the circle mark at the intersection of the X and Y direction arrows indicates that the Z direction is vertically downward in the drawing.

<Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus>
The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus that forms an image on a sheet of paper 9, which is an example of a recording medium, by electrophotography. The image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is configured as a printer that forms an image corresponding to image information acquired from an external device such as an information terminal. Image information is information that constitutes an image such as characters, graphics, patterns, and photographs.

The image forming apparatus 1 has a housing 10, as shown in FIG. The device 6 and the like are mainly arranged. The dashed-dotted line shown in FIG. 1 is the main transport path along which the paper 9 is transported inside the housing 10 .

The housing 10 is a structure having a box-like appearance, and is constructed using various supporting members, exterior materials, and the like. The casing 10 has a part of the upper surface of the casing 10, and a discharge/accommodation section 11 that accommodates sheets 9 to be discharged to the outside of the casing 10 after an image is formed thereon in a stacked state. A discharge port 12 is formed through which the paper 9 is discharged.
Further, an operating means 13 is arranged outside the housing 10 . The operating means 13 includes, for example, a display section for displaying various information, an input section for performing selection operations and input work, and the like. Furthermore, a control means 14 is arranged inside the housing 10 . The control unit 14 is a unit having a function of comprehensively controlling various operations in the image forming apparatus 1 . The control means 14 is composed of, for example, an arithmetic processing circuit, storage means, input/output means, a control section for controlling them, and the like.

The image forming means 2 is a means for forming a toner image composed of toner as a developer using an electrophotographic method and transferring the image onto a sheet of paper 9 . As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming means 2 in Embodiment 1 has a photosensitive drum 21, which is an example of a photosensitive member that rotates and drives in the direction indicated by the arrow. Devices such as a charging device 22, an exposure device 23, a developing device 24, a transfer device 25, a cleaning device 26, and the like are arranged.

Among them, the charging device 22 is a device for charging the outer peripheral surface portion of the photosensitive drum 21, which is an image forming area, to a required potential. The charging device 22 includes, for example, a charging member such as a roll that is brought into contact with the image forming area on the outer surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and supplied with a charging current.
The exposure device 23 is a device that irradiates the charged outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with light generated from image information to form an electrostatic latent image of each color component. The exposure device 23 operates upon receiving an image signal after image information input from the outside has been subjected to required image processing by an image processing means (not shown) or the like.

The developing device 24 is a device that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 by supplying toner of a desired color and visualizes it as a toner image of that color. The desired color is, for example, black.
The transfer device 25 is a device that transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 onto the paper 9 . The transfer device 25 includes, for example, a transfer member such as a roll that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and is supplied with a transfer current.
The cleaning device 26 is a device that cleans the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by removing unnecessary substances such as toner.

The paper feeding means 4 is a means for receiving the paper 9 used for image formation and supplying it to the transfer position TP where the image forming means 2 transfers the paper. As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feeding means 4 in Embodiment 1 includes a paper container 41, a delivery device 43, and the like. The transfer position TP is a portion where the photosensitive drum 21 and the transfer device 25 of the image forming means 2 face each other.

The paper container 41 is, for example, a device that is attached to the housing 10 so as to be able to be pulled out, and contains the paper 9 of a desired size, type, etc. in a stacked state on the stacking plate 42 . The delivery device 43 is a device that delivers the sheets 9 one by one from the sheet container 41 . The paper 9 may be any medium as long as it can be transported through the transport path in the housing 10 and hold and fix the toner image.

The fixing means 5 is means for fixing the toner image, which is an unfixed image transferred to the paper 9, onto the paper 9. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing means 5 in Embodiment 1 includes a heating rotating body 52 and a pressing rotating body 52 in the inner space of a box-shaped housing 51 in which an inlet and an outlet for the paper 9 are formed. It is configured by arranging the body 53 and the like.

The heating rotator 52 is a structure having a roll shape, a belt shape, a belt-nip shape, or the like. The heating rotator 52 is heated and held at a required temperature by a heating means (not shown), and is supported by a driving means (not shown) so as to be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow. The pressing rotator 53 is a structure having a roll shape, a belt shape, a belt-nip shape, or the like. The pressing rotator 53 is arranged so as to contact the heating rotator 52 with a required pressure by a pressurizing means (not shown), and is supported so as to follow the rotation of the heating rotator 52 and be rotated. It is
In the fixing means 5, the sheet 9 having the toner image transferred thereon is passed through a portion where the heating rotating member 52 and the pressing rotating member 53 are in contact with each other, and a fixing processing section (fixing nip) is provided for performing fixing processing such as heating and pressing. part) FN.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper 9 in the paper feeding means 4 is fed between the paper feeding means 4 and the image forming means 2 to the transfer position TP of the image forming means 2. A paper feed transport path Rt1 is provided for transporting the paper. The paper feed transport path Rt1 is configured by arranging a pair of transport rolls 44 for nipping and transporting the paper 9, a guide member (not shown) for securing a transport space for the paper 9 and guiding the transport of the paper 9, and the like. there is
Further, a discharge transport path Rt2 is provided between the fixing device 5 and the discharge/container 11 to convey the sheet 9 after fixing so as to discharge it to the discharge/container 11 . The discharge transport path Rt2 includes a pair of discharge rollers 46 for nipping and conveying the paper 9 in front of the paper discharge port 12 formed in the wall surface forming part of the discharge accommodation section 11 of the housing 10, A guide member (not shown) or the like is arranged to secure a transport space and guide the transport of the paper 9 .

According to the image forming apparatus 1 configured as described above, when the control means 14 receives a command requesting an image forming operation (printing operation) from an externally connected device or the like, the image forming means 2, the paper feeding means 4, and the fixing means 5 are operated. etc. are started and operated, it is possible to form (print) a monochromatic image made of one color toner on the paper 9 .

<Structure related to particle collection device>
The fine particle collecting device 6 is a device for collecting fine particles generated from the fixing means 5 in the image forming apparatus 1 .
The fine particles to be collected by the collecting device 6 are, for example, fine particles (dust) having a particle diameter of 1 μm or less, which are generated by cooling after the components such as wax contained in the toner volatilize due to heating during the fixing process. Target. Further, the fine particles at this time are preferably fine particles containing so-called ultra fine particles (UFP) having a particle size of 0.1 μm or less or less.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fine particle collecting device 6A according to the first embodiment includes a vent pipe 61, a rotating body 63 having a collecting means 62 on its surface, an air blowing means 64, and the like. ing.

Among these, the ventilation pipe 61 is a structure having a channel space 60 in which an airflow of gas containing fine particles is generated.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ventilation pipe 61 in Embodiment 1 is a tubular member provided with a passage space 60 having a rectangular cross section and a shape extending continuously in one direction. One end 61a of the ventilation pipe 61 is connected to a part of the housing 51 of the fixing unit 5 (for example, the end on the back side of the housing 51), and the other end 61b is connected to the housing of the image forming apparatus 1. 10 is arranged in a state of being connected to an exhaust port 15 (FIG. 2) provided in the inner wall portion on the far side. Reference numeral 16 in FIG. 2 and the like denotes a louver that is provided at the exhaust port 15 and adjusts the state of ventilation at the exhaust port 15 . Reference numeral 55 in FIG. 2 and the like indicates an internal structural portion such as a support plate and a partition provided inside the housing 51 .

Next, the rotating body 63 is a structure that is rotatably arranged in the flow path space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 and has a collection means 62 that collects fine particles on at least a part of the surface thereof.
As shown in FIG. 3, the rotating body 63 in Embodiment 1 is composed of a roll 63A including a rotating shaft 631 and a columnar or cylindrical roll body 632 provided on the outer circumference of the rotating shaft 631. there is
The roll 63A is arranged such that its rotating shaft 631 crosses the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61, and both ends 631a and 631b of the rotating shaft are rotatable on the side walls of the ventilation pipe 61 via bearings 633. placed. 3(C), the roll 63A is arranged so that the roll body 632 (including the collecting means 62) substantially blocks the cross section of the flow path space 60. As shown in FIG.

Next, the collecting means 62 is a means for collecting fine particles contained in the airflow flowing through the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 .
In Embodiment 1, the collecting means 62 is provided over the entire outer peripheral surface of the roll body 632 of the roll 63A of the rotating body 63 .
Further, in Embodiment 1, as the collecting means 62, one having a performance capable of collecting fine particles contained in the air and a performance capable of collecting even ultrafine particles is applied. . Specifically, as the collecting means 62, a material such as a nonwoven fabric made of a material such as polyester is applied.
The collection means 62 is selected or set to have a thickness and weight that do not interfere with the rotation of the rotating body 63, and is attached in a fixed state by a fixing means such as an adhesive.

Next, the blower means 64 is a means having rotating blades 642 for generating an airflow in the flow passage space 60 of the vent pipe 61 .
The air blowing means 64 generates an air current that causes fine particles generated in the fixing means 5 and its surroundings to flow into the channel space 60 from one end 61 a of the air pipe 61 together with air, and to contact the collecting means 62 on the rotating body 63 . It is preferable that the air blowing means has a performance capable of generating air.
Further, the air blowing means 64 is arranged so as to exist at a position downstream of the rotating body 63 in the flow path space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 .
Furthermore, the air blower 64 operates in conjunction with at least the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 such as the printing operation. The operation of the blower unit 64 at this time is controlled by the control unit 14 of the image forming apparatus 1, for example. The rotation of the air blowing means 64 at this time is performed under the conditions of the number of revolutions and driving time required for cooling the inside of the housing 51 of the fixing means 5 .

In Embodiment 1, an axial fan is applied as the air blowing means 64 . Further, in Embodiment 1, the air blowing means 64 is arranged so as to exist at a position slightly before the other end 61b of the vent pipe 61 on the side connected to the exhaust port 15 . The blowing means 64 generates a blowing effect so that the air moves from one end 61a of the ventilation pipe 61 to the other end 61b.
The axial flow fan as the air blowing means 64 includes, for example, a frame portion 643 having a through portion 643a having a circular cross section and a through portion 643a of the frame portion 643, as shown in FIGS. A shaft portion 641 that exists and is rotatably supported and has a built-in drive motor 645 , and a size and shape that are provided so as to stand in a row around the shaft portion 641 and can be accommodated in the through portion 643 a of the frame portion 643 . It is composed of a plurality of blade portions 642 made of.

The collecting device 6A is configured such that the roll 63A rotates under the action of the airflow generated in the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61. As shown in FIG. In Embodiment 1, the airflow is generated in the flow path space 60 mainly by the blowing action of the blowing means 64 . As a result, the collection device 6A can be provided at a lower cost than a collection device in which the rotating body 63 is rotated by the power of the drive means, and is advantageous in terms of cost.

2 and 3, in the collection device 6A, the roll 63A is positioned upstream of the airflow (E) from the air blowing means 64 in the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61. are placed in

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3A, the roll 63A is arranged at a position separated by a required distance L1 on the upstream side of the airflow from the air blowing means 64 (for example, the end of the frame portion 643).
At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the roll 63A has a roll main body 632 provided with the collecting means 62 on the outer peripheral surface thereof and the inner wall surface forming the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 and a small gap S1. , S2, S3, and S4 are spaced apart from each other.

Here, the gap S1 is the gap between the lower surface portion 61c of the ventilation pipe 61, the gap S2 is the gap between the upper surface portion 61d of the ventilation pipe 61 and the roll 63A, and the gap S3 is the gap between one side portion 61e of the ventilation pipe 61 and the roll 63A. A gap between and the gap S4 is a gap between the vent pipe 61 and the other side surface portion 61f.
The gaps S1, S2, S3, and S4 are limited to the extent that the gaps S3 and S4 do not impair the rotation of the roll 63A, for example, from the viewpoint of reducing the passage of air containing fine particles without contact with the collecting means 62. The gaps S1 and S2 are set to values slightly larger than the gaps S3 and S4 from the viewpoint of avoiding an increase in the rotation load of the air blowing means 64, for example.
Regarding the collection means 62, the roll body 632 in the roll 63A is designed to collect fine particles contained in the air currents passing through the gaps S3 and S4 as long as it does not hinder the rotation of the roll 63A. may be provided so as to exist on the side surface of the

Furthermore, in this collecting device 6A, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a narrow portion 60C in which the passage space 60 is relatively narrowed is located upstream of the airflow from the roll 63A as the air pipe 61. are applied.

The narrow portion 60C in Embodiment 1 is configured by a blocking structure portion 61M that blocks part of the channel of the channel space 60 and allows the remaining portion to be ventilated.
The blocking structure portion 61M is formed by a plate-like member or a projecting portion that extends halfway from the upper surface portion 61d of the ventilation pipe 61 toward the lower surface portion 61c so as to form a ventilation portion on the lower side of the flow passage space 60. It is The cross-sectional shape and dimensions of the blocking structure portion 61M can be variously changed as necessary from the viewpoint of forming an airflow that promotes the rotation of the roll 63A.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, the narrow portion 60C in the first embodiment has a height dimension H1 (from the lower surface portion 61c) that is relatively lower than the height H of the flow passage space 60 in the air pipe 61. height), and is arranged at a position separated from the roll 63A by a required distance L2 on the upstream side of the air flow.

<Operation of collection device>
The particle collecting device 6A configured as described above operates, for example, as follows.

The collecting device 6A operates in conjunction with the operation of the air blowing means 64 while the air blowing means 64 is operating in conjunction with the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 1 or the like.
As a result, in the collecting device 6A, as shown in FIG. 4, air containing fine particles generated by the fixing means 5 is blown by the blowing action of the blowing means 64, as illustrated by arrows E1a and E1b in the figure. , flows from the housing 51 through one end 61 a of the ventilation pipe 61 so as to move into the channel space 60 . At this time, the air (E1a, E1b) flowing into the flow path space 60 becomes an air current moving toward the air blowing means 64. As shown in FIG.

Subsequently, in the collection device 6A, the air (E1a, E1b) that has flowed into the flow path space 60 of the vent pipe 61 passes through the narrow portion 60C of the vent pipe 61 as illustrated by arrows E2a and E2b in FIG. After that, it flows so as to pass through the roll 63A of the rotating body 63 present on the downstream side of the narrow portion 60C.

At this time, of the air (E2) passing through the narrow portion 60C of the ventilation pipe 61, part of the air (E2a) flows through the ventilation portion of the narrow portion 60C as it is, while the other air (E2b) flows through the narrow portion 60C. is blocked by the blocking structure portion 61M and is regulated so as to be concentrated in the narrow portion 60C (ventilation portion). Then, the air (E2) that has passed through the narrow portion 60C moves so as to hit the portion of the roll body 632 below the rotating shaft 631 of the roll 63A.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the roll 63A is pushed by the airflow (E2) flowing in the lower side of the flow path space 60, and moves in the direction indicated by the arrow A around the rotating shaft 631. Rotate.

Further, at this time, the air (E2) passing through the roll 63A so as to rotate moves while being in contact with the collecting means 62 on the outer peripheral surface of the roll 63A.
As a result, the fine particles contained in the air (E2) come into contact with the collecting means 62 and are collected.
Incidentally, at this time, the air (E2) in contact with the roll 63A is brought into a state of being temporarily held as the outer peripheral surface of the roll 63A rotating by the air current moves, and as a result, the roll 63A It passes through the gap S1 between the collecting means 62 on the outer peripheral surface and the lower surface portion 61c of the vent pipe 61 so as to slip through.

Subsequently, the air (E2) that has passed through the roll 63A passes through the air blowing means 64 as illustrated by the arrow E3 in FIG. After flowing, it is discharged to the outside of the housing 10 through the exhaust port 15 in the housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 via the louver 16 as illustrated by an arrow E4.
At this time, the air (E4) discharged from the exhaust port 15 becomes purified air free of particulates because the particulates are collected by contact with the collecting means 62 .

As described above, in the collection device 6A, the air in the housing 51 of the fixing means 5 flows into the flow path space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 by the blowing action of the blowing means 64 and becomes an air current. Since the collection means 62 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roll 63A that rotates in the passage space 60, the air of the airflow passes through while contacting the collection means 62 that rotates together with the roll 63A. do. In other words, the air in the airflow at this time passes through the flow passage space 60 as if it were sent by the rotating roll 63A without being temporarily blocked by the collecting means 62. FIG.
Therefore, according to this collection device 6A, compared with a collection device in which the collection means is fixedly arranged in the flow channel space 60 of the vent pipe 61 in such a manner as to block the flow channel, the pressure After the loss is reduced, the fine particles generated by the fixing means contained in the air of the airflow are collected by the collecting means 62 provided on the roll 63A that rotates in the airflow.

Moreover, in this collecting device 6A, the collecting means 62 exists so as to move integrally with the roll 63A that rotates under the action of the air flow. Therefore, according to the collecting device 6A, the portion of the collecting means 62 which is in contact with the air is not limited to a part, and almost the entire collecting means 62 is in contact with the air. Collected efficiently over a long period of time.

Furthermore, in this collecting device 6A, the air in the airflow in the flow passage space 60 contacts the collecting means 62 that moves integrally with the roll 63A that rotates relatively slowly under the action of the airflow, and , move in substantially the same direction as the moving collection means 62 and make contact.
Therefore, according to the collecting device 6A, the speed (contact speed) at which fine particles contained in the air of the airflow come into contact with the collecting means 62 is relatively slow even though the collecting means 62 moves. The fine particles come into contact with each other in a bent state, and the fine particles are easily collected by the collecting means 62 .
As can be seen from the results of Test 1 (FIG. 13A) performed in Embodiment 3, which will be described later, the fact that the fine particles are more likely to be collected when the contact speed at which the fine particles come into contact with the collecting means 62 is slowed down. is also clear.

In addition, in this collection device 6A, since the air pipe 61 has a narrow portion 60C at a position upstream of the airflow from the roll 63A of the rotating body 63, the airflow in the flow passage space 60 is It is possible to limit the flow of the air so as to contact a required portion of the rotating body 63 by the narrow portion 60C.
Therefore, according to the collecting device 6A, the roll 63A is efficiently rotated by the air flow passing through the narrow portion 60C, and moreover, compared to the case where the ventilation pipe without the narrow portion 60C is applied. The frequency of contact with fine particles of the collection means 62 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roll 63A is increased.

[Modification of Embodiment 1]
The collection device 6A according to Embodiment 1 can also be configured without the arrangement of the air blowing means 64, as shown in FIG. 5(A).

The collecting device 6A1 of Modified Example 1 shown in FIG. 5(A) has an airflow capable of rotating the roll 63A of the rotating body 63 in the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 without the air blowing action of the air blowing means 64. is possible when occurs. The airflow at this time includes, for example, an airflow generated due to a temperature difference between the one end 61a and the other end 61b of the ventilation pipe 61, and an airflow generated in other parts inside the housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1. Airflow when a part of the airflow that causes airflow can be used, and a shape and arrangement state in which those airflows have an upward gradient such that the other end 61b of the air pipe 61 is positioned above the one end 61a of the ventilation pipe 61 in the direction of gravity. Air currents when generated by being further promoted by (chimney effect).
The collection device 6A1 of Modification 1 can be provided at a lower cost than the collection device provided with the air blowing means 64 .

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5B, the collection device 6A according to Embodiment 1 is configured by applying a vent pipe having a narrow portion 60C made up of a vent portion having a different structure as the vent pipe 61. is also possible. Also in the collecting device 6A2 of Modified Example 2 shown in FIG. 5B, the air blowing means 64 may be omitted as illustrated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5B.

A narrow portion 60C of the ventilation pipe 61 illustrated in FIG. The narrow portion 60C at this time can be obtained, for example, by arranging the two blocking structure portions 61Ma and 61Mb separated by the height dimension H2 of the ventilation portion, but is not limited to this configuration.
In the collection device 6A2 of Modification 2, as illustrated by an arrow E2c in FIG. Since the air flows so as to come into contact with the part slightly above the lower end, the fine particles contained in the air are prevented from simply passing through the gap S1 without contacting the collecting means 62, and the collecting means 62 can reliably receive the fine particles. come into contact.

Furthermore, in the collection device 6A according to Embodiment 1, as the roll 63A of the rotating body 63, a roll having an uneven outer peripheral surface may be applied. The uneven surface includes, for example, an uneven surface in which a plurality of protrusions or recesses are present in the rotation direction on the outer peripheral surface of the roll main body 632 along the rotation axis direction.
In the case of applying the roll 63A having an uneven outer peripheral surface, the collecting means 62 provided on the uneven surface also has an uneven surface.
In the trapping device 6A using the roll 63A provided with the trapping means 62 having an uneven surface, the roll 63A is easily rotated by the action of the trapping airflow, and moreover, The contact area of the collecting means 62 with the airflow is increased, making it easier to collect fine particles contained in the airflow.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 6 shows a particle collecting device 6B according to the second embodiment.

In this collecting device 6B, instead of the roll 63A, an impeller 63B having a rotating shaft 631 provided with blades 634 is applied as the rotating body 63, and the collecting means 62 is provided on the blades 634 of the impeller 63B. The configuration is the same as that of the collection device 6A according to Embodiment 1 except that the configuration is changed to .
Therefore, in the collection device 6B, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the collection device 6A, and the description of the same configuration parts will be omitted unless necessary.

The impeller 63B in the collecting device 6B, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7A, includes a rotating shaft 631 and a plurality of plate-like blades 634 provided radially on the outer circumference of the rotating shaft 631. consists of
In Embodiment 2, eight blades 634 are provided, but the number is not particularly limited as long as the impeller 63B can rotate under the action of airflow. In addition, with regard to the plurality of blades 634 , two blades 634 facing each other across the rotating shaft 631 form a state in which the inside of the flow path space 60 is temporarily blocked, so that the airflow does not contact the collection means 62 . From the viewpoint of suppressing slipping through, it is preferable to arrange so as to be point-symmetrical with respect to the center of the rotating shaft 631 .
In the impeller 63B, as in the case of the roll 63A, the rotating shaft 631 crosses the flow passage space 60 of the vent pipe 61, and both ends 631a and 631b of the rotating shaft extend along the side walls of the vent pipe 61. It is arranged to be rotatable via a bearing 633 .
In addition, as shown in FIG. 6C, the impeller 63B has its blades 634 (including the collecting means 62) at least above and below the rotating shaft 631, and the flow path space 60 are arranged so as to substantially block the cross section of the

As shown in FIG. 7(A) and the like, the collection means 62 in the collection device 6B are provided on both the front and back surfaces of the blades 634 in the impeller 63B and the entire tip surface.
At this time, the collecting means 62 is arranged on the left and right sides of the blade 634 from the viewpoint of enabling collection of fine particles contained in the airflow passing through the gaps S3 and S4 as long as it does not hinder the rotation of the impeller 63B. You may provide so that it exists in the end surface of an edge.
The collecting means 62 provided on the blades 634 of the impeller 63B has a larger surface area than the case of providing the collecting means 62 on the outer peripheral surface of the roll 63A in the first embodiment, and the contact area with the fine particles is increased. It is possible to increase the collection amount by increasing.

<Operation of collection device>
As with the collecting device 6A, the collecting device 6B operates in conjunction with the operation of the air blowing device 64 when the air blowing device 64 operates in conjunction with the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 1 or the like.
As a result, even in the collecting device 6B, as shown in FIG. 7(B), the air containing fine particles generated by the fixing means 5 (FIG. 4) is directed by the arrows E1a and E1b due to the air blowing action of the air blowing means 64. As shown in FIG. flows into the passage space 60 through one end 61a of the vent tube 61 as illustrated in FIG. At this time, the air (E1a, E1b) that has flowed into the flow path space 60 becomes an air current that flows toward the air blowing means 64. As shown in FIG.

Subsequently, in the collection device 6B, the air (E1a, E1b) that has flowed into the flow path space 60 of the vent pipe 61 flows into narrow portions of the vent pipe 61 as illustrated by arrows E2a and E2b in FIG. 7(B). After passing through 60C, it flows so as to pass through the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63 present downstream of the narrow portion 60C.

At this time, the air (E2a, E2b) that has passed through the narrow portion 60C flows so as to hit the portion of the blades 634 present below the rotating shaft 631 of the impeller 63B.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, the impeller 63B is pushed by the airflow flowing in the lower side of the flow passage space 60, and is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A about the rotating shaft 631. rotate to

Further, at this time, the air (E2) passing through to rotate the impeller 63B moves while contacting the collecting means 62 in the blades 634 of the impeller 63B.
As a result, the fine particles contained in the air (E2) come into contact with the collecting means 62 and are collected.
Incidentally, at this time, the air (E2) coming into contact with the impeller 63B is transported as if it were forwarded with the movement of the plurality of blades 634 in the impeller 63B rotating by the air flow. The gap S1 between the blades 634 (including the collecting means 62) or between adjacent blades 634 when existing in the region below the rotating shaft 631 of the wheel 63B and the lower surface portion 61c of the ventilation pipe 61 is pass through.

Subsequently, the air (E2) that has passed through the impeller 63B passes through the air blowing means 64 due to the air blowing action of the air blowing means 64 as illustrated by the arrow E3 in FIG. It flows to the part 61b side. Thereafter, as in the case of the collection device 6A, the air is discharged from the exhaust port 15 of the housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 to the outside of the housing 10 via the louver 16 as illustrated by an arrow E4 in FIG. be.

As described above, in the collecting device 6B, the air in the housing 51 of the fixing means 5 flows into the flow path space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 by the blowing action of the blowing means 64 and becomes an air current. Since the collecting means 62 are provided on the front and back surfaces of the plurality of blades 634 in the impeller 63B rotating in the passage space 60, the air of the airflow moves to rotate together with the impeller 63B. It passes through while contacting the collecting means 62 . In other words, the air in the airflow at this time passes through the flow path space 60 as if it were sent by the rotating impeller 63B without being temporarily blocked by the collecting means 62 .
Therefore, according to this collection device 6B, compared to a collection device in which the collection means is fixedly arranged in the flow channel space 60 of the vent pipe 61 in such a manner as to block the flow channel, the pressure is reduced. After the loss is reduced, the fine particles generated by the fixing means 5 contained in the air of the airflow are collected by the collecting means 62 provided on the impeller 63B rotating by the action of the airflow.

Also, in this collection device 6B, the other effects obtained in the collection device 6A according to the first embodiment are similarly obtained.

Furthermore, in the collecting device 6B, when the airflow collides with the blades 634 of the impeller 63B, the airflow becomes turbulent in the space between the adjacent blades 634 as illustrated by arrows Er in FIG. 7(C). Prone.
Therefore, according to the collection device 6B, fine particles contained in the air of the airflow come into contact with the collection means 62 on the front and back surfaces and the tip end surfaces of the blades 634 compared to the case where the rotating body 63 is not the impeller 63B. The chance (probability) increases, and the fine particles are more likely to be collected by the collecting means 62 .
Also, at this time, the airflow temporarily stays in the space between the adjacent blades 634 of the impeller 63B. It slows down and the particulate collection efficiency increases.

[Modification of Embodiment 2]
In the collection device 6B according to Embodiment 2, as shown in FIG. 8A, the collection means 62 may be provided on one of the front and back surfaces of the blades 634 of the impeller 63B.

In the collecting device 6B1 of Modified Example 1 shown in FIG. 8, the collection means is provided on the surface (surface side) of the front and back surfaces of the blades 634 that is in contact with the airflow in the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 so as to impinge thereon. 62 is provided. It can also be said that the collecting means 62 is provided on the downstream side (surface side) in the rotation direction A when the impeller 63B rotates under the action of the airflow.

In the collection device 6B1 of Modification 1, as shown in FIG. 8(B), when it is activated, the passage space of the ventilation pipe 61 is The impeller 63B rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A due to the action of the airflows (E1, E2) generated inside 60, and the air of the airflow moves one side of the blades 634 of the rotating impeller 63B as illustrated by the arrow E3. contact and pass through the collection means 62 provided in the .
Therefore, in the collection device 6B1, as in the case of the collection device 6B, the pressure loss is reduced, and the fine particles contained in the air of the airflow are rotated by the airflow in the impeller 63B Collected by collecting means 62 .

Also in this collecting device 6B1, when the airflow collides with the blades 634 of the impeller 63B, the airflow becomes turbulent in the space between the adjacent blades 634 as illustrated by arrows Er in FIG. 8(C). As a result, the chances of fine particles contained in the air of the airflow coming into contact with the collecting means 62 on one side of the blade 634 increase, and the fine particles are more likely to be collected by the collecting means 62 .
Also, at this time, the airflow temporarily stays in the space between the adjacent blades 634 of the impeller 63B. It slows down and the particulate collection efficiency increases.

Further, in the collection device 6B according to Embodiment 2, an impeller 63C configured as shown in FIG.

The impeller 63C includes a rotary shaft 635 arranged substantially along the longitudinal direction of the flow passage space 60 or the direction of airflow, and a plurality of plate-like blades provided radially on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 635. 636.
In Modified Example 2 shown in FIG. 9, four blades 636 are provided, but the number is not particularly limited as long as the impeller 63C can rotate under the action of airflow. In addition, the blades 636 may be planar blades arranged in a state that obliquely intersects the airflow from the viewpoint of making it easier for the impeller 63C to rotate under the action of the airflow. It is better to use curved blades that are bent to receive and flow. Furthermore, with regard to the plurality of blades 636, from the viewpoint of suppressing the airflow from passing through the space between the adjacent blades 636 without contacting the collecting means 62, the adjacent blades 636 are arranged so that the rotation shaft 635 is rotated. It is preferable to adopt a shape, the number of sheets, and a method of arrangement that partially overlap when viewed from the end side.

As shown in FIG. 9, the impeller 63C has a support means such as a support plate hanging down from the upper surface portion 61d of the vent pipe 61, for example, at the center of the cross section of the flow passage space 60. 638 to be rotatably supported. In addition, as shown in FIG. 9C, the impeller 63C has its blades 636 (including the collecting means 62) at least above and below the rotating shaft 635 so that the passage space 60 is formed. Positioned to block the cross section as much as possible.

In the collection device 6B2 of Modification 2, the collection means 62 is provided on one side of the blades 636 of the impeller 63C. The collecting means 62 may be provided on both front and back surfaces of the blades 636 of the impeller 63C, if necessary.
Moreover, in this collecting device 6B2, as the vent pipe 61, a vent pipe without the narrow portion 60C is applied. As for the vent pipe 61, if necessary, a vent pipe having a narrowed portion 60C may be applied.

In the collection device 6B2 of Modification 2, as shown in FIGS. 9(B) and 9(C), when it is activated, the air blowing action of the air blowing means 64 causes the passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 to The action of the generated airflows (E1, E2, E5) rotates the impeller 63C in the direction indicated by the arrow B, and the airflow is provided on one side of the blades 636 of the rotating impeller 63C as illustrated by the arrow E6. It contacts and passes through the collected collecting means 62 .
Therefore, in the collection device 6B2 of this modified example, as in the case of the collection device 6B1, the pressure loss is reduced, and the fine particles contained in the air of the airflow are rotated by the airflow. Collected by collecting means 62 in car 63C.

Furthermore, in the collection device 6B according to Embodiment 2, as in the case of the collection device 6A1 of the modified example shown in FIG. 5A, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to configure

When the collecting device 6B3 of Modified Example 3 shown in FIG. The impeller 63B of the rotor 63 rotates due to an air current generated inside due to other factors.
The collection device 6B3 of this modified example 3 can also be configured by applying the collection devices 6B1 and 6B2 of the modified examples 1 and 2 of the second embodiment.

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 11 shows a particle collecting device 6D according to the third embodiment.

In this collecting device 6D, instead of the roll 63A, a rotating body 63D composed of an air blowing means 64 having rotating blades 642 is applied as the rotating body 63, and the collecting means 62 is attached to the blades 642 of the rotating body 63D. The configuration is the same as that of the collection device 6A according to Embodiment 1, except that it is provided.
Therefore, in the collecting device 6D, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the collecting device 6A, and the description of the same components will be omitted unless necessary.

The air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D in the collecting device 6D is a means having rotating blades 642 for generating an airflow in the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61, as shown in FIG. In this case, the portion directly corresponding to the rotating body 63D is the rotating shaft rotated by the power of the driving means and the vanes 642 rotating about the rotating shaft. The air blower 64 is arranged, for example, in the passage space 60 of the air pipe 61 at a position slightly before the other end 61b connected to the exhaust port 15 (FIG. 2, etc.) of the image forming apparatus 1. be done.

In the third embodiment, an axial fan is applied as the air blowing means 64 for the rotating body 63D, as in the case of the air blowing means 64 in the first embodiment. The blowing means 64 generates a blowing effect so that the air moves from one end 61a of the ventilation pipe 61 to the other end 61b.
As described in the first embodiment, the axial fan as the air blowing means 64 includes a frame portion 643 having a through portion 643a and a shaft portion 641 having a drive motor 645 built therein, as shown in FIG. , and a plurality of blade portions 642 .

As shown in FIG. 11, the collecting means 62 in the collecting device 6D is provided on one side of the blades 642 in the air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D.

Further, in the collecting device 6D, as shown in FIG. 11(A), the operation of the air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D is configured to be controlled by the first drive control means 68. As shown in FIG.
The first drive control means 68 has the same configuration as the control means 14 in the image forming apparatus 1, but may be configured as a control system independent of the control means 14, or may be one of the control means 14. It is configured to operate as a function of the unit.
Further, the first drive control means 68 controls the start and end of the rotation operation of the blower means 64 and the rotation speed thereof. Information necessary for the control operation is input to the first drive control means 68 . The input information includes, for example, information on the start and end of the printing operation and information on the operation of the air blowing means 64 . The details of the control contents at this time will be described later.

<Operation of collection device>
In this collection device 6D, in substantially the same manner as in the collection device 6A, the air blowing means 64 as the rotating body 63D operates in conjunction with the operation such as the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG.

At this time, the air blowing means 64 operates by rotating the rotating shaft 641 and the blades 642 in the direction indicated by the arrow C by the power of the drive motor 645 as shown in FIG. That is, when the drive motor 645 as the driving means is operated by the first drive control means 68 which operates based on the input information, the rotating body 63D, which is also the air blowing means 64, rotates in a predetermined manner. Rotate by number.

As a result, in the collecting device 6D, as shown in FIG. 12(A), the air containing fine particles generated by the fixing means 5 (FIG. 4) is directed by the arrows E1a and E1b due to the blowing action of the blowing means 64. As shown in FIG. flows into the passage space 60 through one end 61a of the vent tube 61 as illustrated in FIG. At this time, the air (E1a, E1b) flowing into the flow path space 60 becomes an air current flowing toward the air blowing means 64, which is the rotating body 63D.

Subsequently, in the collection device 6D, the air (E1a, E1b) that has flowed into the flow path space 60 of the vent pipe 61 is released into the flow path space 60 of the vent pipe 61 as illustrated by an arrow E5 in FIG. 12(A). After flowing so as to pass through the interior as it is, it flows so as to pass through the air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D.

At this time, the air (E5) flowing in the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 flows so as to collide with the blades 642 of the air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D as illustrated by the arrow E7 in FIG. It moves while contacting the collection means 62 provided on the blade 642 .
As a result, the fine particles contained in the air (E5) at that time come into contact with the collecting means 62 and are collected.

Subsequently, the air (E7) that has passed through the air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D flows toward the other end 61b of the air pipe 61 due to the air blowing action of the air blowing means 64 . Thereafter, as in the case of the collection device 6A, the air is discharged from the exhaust port 15 of the housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 to the outside of the housing 10 via the louver 16 as illustrated by an arrow E4 in FIG. be.

As described above, in the collecting device 6D, the air in the housing 51 of the fixing means 5 flows into the flow path space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 by the blowing action of the blowing means 64 as the rotating body 63D and becomes an air current. Since the collection means 62 is provided on one side of the blades 642 of the air blowing means 64 that rotates by itself by the power of the drive motor 645, the air of the air flow rotates integrally with the plurality of blades 642 of the air blowing means 64. It passes through while contacting the collecting means 62 that moves in the same manner. In other words, the airflow at this time passes through the flow path space 60 without being temporarily blocked by the collecting means 62 and sent by the blades 642 of the rotating body 63D.
Therefore, according to this collecting device 6D, for example, compared to a collecting device in which the collecting means is fixedly arranged in the flow channel space 60 of the vent pipe 61 in such a manner as to block the flow channel, the pressure After the loss is reduced, fine particles generated by the fixing means 5 contained in the air of the airflow are collected by the collecting means 62 provided on the rotating body 63D rotated by the power of the driving means (645). be.
In addition, according to this collection device 6D, the number of components is reduced (reduced) compared to a collection device in which a rotating body 63D separate from the air blowing means 64 is used.

<Test 1>
Next, Test 1 performed using the collection device 6D according to Embodiment 3 will be described.

In Test 1, the amount of fine particles (adhesion amount ) was measured. The results of Test 1 are shown in FIG. 13(A).

In Test 1, an axial fan (manufactured by Nidec Corporation: U92T24MHA7-53J56, for DC24V drive) was used as the air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D, and a nonwoven fabric was used as the collecting means 62 on one side of the plurality of blades. After affixing, it was arranged in the channel space 60 of the air pipe 61 .
In Test 1, air containing a substantially constant content of ultrafine particles (UFP) was introduced from one end 61a of the ventilation pipe 61, and the rotation speed of the axial fan as the air blowing means 64 was changed to ), and the axial fan was operated for the same amount of time to collect UFPs.
Then, in Test 1, the amount of UFP adhering to the nonwoven fabric as the collecting means 62 when operated at each rotation speed was measured. The amount of UFP adhered was measured using a particle measuring device.

As is clear from the results shown in FIG. 13(A) of Test 1, it can be seen that the adhesion amount of fine particles tends to increase as the number of revolutions decreases. Incidentally, the central value of the rotational speed shown in FIG. 13A is about 2400 rpm, which is a normal rotational speed applied when cooling the fixing means 5, for example.

This result is obtained because the lower the rotational speed of the axial fan, the lower the relative velocity between the surface of the nonwoven fabric attached to the blades of the fan and the air. It is thought that one of the reasons for this is that the fine particles contained in the particles are transported to the surface of the nonwoven fabric by inertia and come into contact with the surface more frequently, and the fine particles receive intermolecular forces and electrostatic forces, which makes them more likely to adhere to the nonwoven fabric.
In addition, in light of the results of Test 1, when the collecting means 62 is provided on the rotating bodies 63A, 63B, and 63C that rotate by the action of the airflow as illustrated in the first and second embodiments, the rotation Since the bodies 63A, 63B, and 63C rotate at a relatively low number of revolutions (for example, a number of revolutions smaller than the above-mentioned number of revolutions), particles are collected by the collecting means 62 provided on each of the rotating bodies 63A, 63B, and 63C. It is acknowledged that the

<Test 2>
Next, Test 2 performed using the collection device 6D according to Embodiment 3 will be described.

In Test 2, fine particles containing UFP are generated when the fixing means 5 is started from a relatively high temperature "Hot" state and when it is started from a relatively low temperature "Cold" state. Quantities were measured respectively. The results of Test 2 are shown in FIG. 13(B).

Test 2 measured the amount of fine particles including ultrafine particles (UFP) generated when the fixing means 5 was started alone from the "Hot" state and operated for a required time. The amount of generated fine particles including ultrafine particles (UFP) was measured when the apparatus was started alone from the "Cold" state and operated for a required period of time. The average value of the measured values obtained when these two types of measurements were performed multiple times was used as the result. In addition, the amount of UFP generated at this time was measured using a particle measuring device.

As is clear from the results shown in FIG. 13(B) of Test 2, the amount of generated fine particles tends to be greater when starting from the "Cold" state than when starting from the "Hot" state. Recognize.

<Control Regarding Heating Temperature of Fixing Means>
Here, the fixing unit 5 in the image forming apparatus 1 controls the heating temperature of the heating rotor 52 as illustrated in FIG. 14(A).

In the heating temperature control illustrated in FIG. 14A, standby control is performed while the print operation is not performed for a predetermined time or more and the print operation is requested. Control divided into a plurality of stages such as control, second control, third control and fourth control is performed. Further, the temperature of the heating rotator 52 when the first control, the second control, the third control and the fourth control are performed changes, for example, as shown in FIG. 14(B).
Control of the heating temperature of the fixing means is performed by the control means 14 of the image forming apparatus 1, for example.

Of these, the standby control is a heating control that keeps the temperature of the heating rotor 52 within a required temperature range set for standby. Incidentally, the control temperature during this standby control substantially corresponds to the temperature in the "Cold" state.
In the first control, the upper limit temperature of the appropriate temperature is set so as to quickly shift the temperature of the heating rotor 52 from the standby temperature to the appropriate temperature as the fixing temperature when a print operation request is received in the standby state. It is a control that heats at a high speed until it reaches a slightly higher temperature.
In the second control, when the fixing operation in the first printing operation is performed after reaching the heating temperature of the first control, the temperature of the heating rotor 52 immediately after starting to heat is lowered due to heat absorption by the paper 9. This is a control to heat for a required time at a temperature slightly higher than the upper limit temperature of the appropriate fixing temperature in anticipation of the fixing temperature.
The third control anticipates that the temperature of the heating rotator 52 tends to decrease due to heat absorption by the paper 9 when the fixing operation in the subsequent printing operation is executed after the second control ends. This is a control that heats for a required time (for example, 100 seconds) at a temperature close to the upper limit temperature of the appropriate temperature.
The fourth control assumes that the temperature of the heating rotator 52 has reached a sufficiently heated state, and performs heating to maintain the appropriate fixing temperature.

<Control Regarding Rotating Body 63D (Blower Means) of Collection Device>
From the content of the control of the heating temperature of the fixing means 5 and the result of the test 2, there is a period in which the fixing means 5 is started from the "Cold" state in the image forming apparatus 1 and heated. It was found that a relatively large number of fine particles containing

Therefore, in Embodiment 3, referring to the results of Test 1, fine particles generated when the printing operation is not performed for a while and the fixing means 5 is in the "cold" state and then started and heated. 15, the collection operation of the collection device 6D (the number of rotations of the air blowing means 64, which is the rotating body 63D) is performed from the viewpoint of reliably collecting the dust.

The collection operation of the collection device 6D is controlled by the first drive control means 68 (FIG. 11(A)). In this case, the first drive control means 68 controls the operation of the drive motor 645 of the blower means 64, which is the rotor 63D. In addition, the first drive control means 68 receives information from the control means 14 of the image forming apparatus 1 regarding the presence or absence of the printing operation, the control of the heating temperature of the fixing means 5, and the like.

Control at this time is performed, for example, as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 15, the control at this time is such that the first drive control means 68 determines whether or not the preceding printing operation in the image forming apparatus 1 has ended (step 10; The notation is sometimes abbreviated as "S10", etc.), and is started after it is confirmed that the preceding print operation has been completed.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not there is a subsequent print operation by the first drive control means 68 (S11).

If it is determined that there is a subsequent printing operation (Yes) in step 11, the rotation speed of the drive motor 645 in the air blowing means 64 of the rotor 63D remains set to the normal rotation speed in the first drive control means 68. (S12), and the subsequent printing operation is started by the control means 14 of the image forming apparatus 1 (S13).
That is, the subsequent print operation started at this time is started within a relatively short elapsed time (specifically, the elapsed time of less than 30 minutes) after the preceding print operation is completed. is kept in a relatively high temperature "Hot" state, the engine will start again. For this reason, the amount of fine particles containing UFP generated from the fixing unit 5 at this time is considered to be smaller than that in the case of starting from the "Cold" state, based on the result of Test 2.

Therefore, while the subsequent printing operation is being performed, in the collecting device 6D, the air blowing means 64 of the rotor 63D rotates at the normal number of rotations to collect the fine particles. As a result, the amount of particles collected by the collecting device 6D at this time is relatively small from the result of Test 1, but there is no problem because the amount of particles generated from the fixing means 5 is small in the first place.
Note that the normal rotation speed is set to, for example, 2400 rpm. Also, after the start of the subsequent print operation, it is treated as the preceding print operation, and the end of the operation is confirmed (S10).

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no subsequent print operation (No) in step 11, it is determined whether or not 30 minutes have passed since the preceding print operation ended (S14). This confirmation of the elapsed time is continued until it is determined in step 11 that there is a subsequent print operation.
When this elapsed time has passed 30 minutes, the control of the heating temperature of the fixing means 5 enters the stage of standby control, and the fixing means 5 itself is considered to be in the "Cold" state.

Then, when it is determined that 30 minutes have passed in step 14, it is continuously checked whether or not there is a subsequent print operation after the lapse (S15).
At this time, if there is a subsequent print operation, the first drive control means 68 changes the rotation speed of the drive motor 645 in the blower means 64 of the rotor 63D from the normal rotation speed to a low rotation speed. (S16), and the subsequent print operation is started (S17). The low rotational speed is set to, for example, a rotational speed lower than 2400 rpm.

In other words, the subsequent print operation started at this time is started after a relatively long elapsed time (more specifically, an elapsed time of 30 minutes or more) from the end of the preceding print operation. 5 will start again when it reaches a relatively low temperature "Cold" state. For this reason, the amount of fine particles containing UFP generated from the fixing unit 5 at this time is greater than that in the case of starting from the "Hot" state, according to the result of Test 2.

Therefore, at the stage when the subsequent printing operation is started, the collecting device 6D collects fine particles by rotating the air blowing means 64 of the rotor 63D at a rotation speed lower than the normal rotation speed. As a result, although a relatively large amount of fine particles are generated from the fixing means 5 at this stage, the amount of fine particles collected by the collecting device 6D at this time is relatively large from the result of Test 1, so the fine particles are efficiently collected. be collected.

Subsequently, the first drive control means 68 continues to determine whether or not the third control regarding the heating temperature of the fixing means 5 is finished while the subsequent printing operation is being executed (S18).
At this time, when it is determined that the third control has ended, the first drive control means 68 sets the rotational speed of the drive motor 645 in the air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D from the low rotational speed to the normal rotational speed. (S19).

That is, at the stage when the third control in the fixing section 5 is completed, it is considered that the fixing section 5 has been sufficiently heated to a relatively high temperature "Hot" state. Moreover, at this stage, the amount of fine particles generated from the fixing means 5 is also smaller than when starting from the "Cold" state, according to the results of Test 2.

Therefore, after the third control ends, in the collecting device 6D, the air blowing means 64 of the rotating body 63D rotates at the normal number of rotations to collect the fine particles.

According to the collection device 6D in the case of controlling in this way, compared to the collection device (with the control content) that does not have a timing to rotate the rotating body 63 at a relatively low number of revolutions, the rotation is relatively small. Fine particles are efficiently collected during the period of rotation. This effect is also clear in light of the results of Test 1.

In the control of the collection operation of the collection device 6D illustrated in FIG. This is done by judging that 30 minutes have elapsed since the preceding printing operation was completed (S14).
However, this control determines whether or not the temperature of the heating rotating member 52 in the fixing means 5 has decreased to the temperature corresponding to the "Cold" state, for example, when the setting is changed to the low number of revolutions. It may be configured to perform by determining whether.

[Embodiment 4]
FIG. 16 shows a particulate collection device 6E according to the fourth embodiment.

This collection device 6E is the collection device 6B according to Embodiment 2 except that the impeller 63B in Embodiment 2 is changed to rotate by the power of the drive means 66 as the rotor 63. It has the same configuration as
For this reason, in the collection device 6E, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the collection device 6B, and the description of the same configuration parts will be omitted unless necessary.

The impeller 63B of the rotor 63E in the collection device 6E has the same configuration as the impeller 63B (FIGS. 6 and 7) in the second embodiment. For this reason, also in the rotating body 63E, collecting means 62 are provided on the front, rear, and tip end surfaces of the plurality of blades 634 in the impeller 63B.
Also, as shown in FIG. 16A, the impeller 63B of the rotor 63E is configured to be rotated in different directions indicated by arrows D1 and D2 by the driving means 66. . As the drive means 66, an electric drive motor alone is applied, or a combination of a drive motor and a reduction mechanism is applied.

Further, in the collection device 6E, as shown in FIG. 16, the operation of the drive means 66 of the rotor 63E is controlled by the second drive control means 69. As shown in FIG.
The second drive control means 69 has substantially the same configuration as the first drive control means 68 in the third embodiment. Further, the second drive control means 69 controls the start and end of the rotation operation of the drive means 66 (and thus the rotating body 63E), the number of rotations, and the direction of rotation. Furthermore, the second drive control means 69 receives information necessary for control operations. The input information includes, for example, detection information that one sheet of paper 9 has passed through the fixing device 5 .

In Embodiment 4, the second drive control means 69 is configured to rotate the rotating body 63E at a rotational speed lower than that of the air blowing means 64 . The rotation speed of the rotating body 63E at this time may be, for example, a rotation speed smaller than the rotation speed of the air blowing means 64 . The air blowing means 64 is configured such that its operation is controlled by the control means 14 of the image forming apparatus 1 .
Further, in the fourth embodiment, since the collecting means 62 is provided on at least the front and back surfaces of the plurality of blades 634 in the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63E, the second drive control means 69 moves the rotating body 63E as indicated by the arrow D1. , and D2. In the following explanation of the operation, control is made to rotate in the direction indicated by arrow D1.

<Operation of collection device>
The collection device 6E is operated by the rotation of the air blowing means 64 and the rotation of the impeller 63B as the rotating body 63E in conjunction with the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 1 or the like.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 17A, the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63E is driven by the power of the drive means 66 controlled by the second drive control means 69 so that the rotating shaft 631 and the blades 634 are indicated by the arrow D1. direction at a rotational speed lower than that of the air blowing means 64 . In addition, in the air blowing means 64 at this time, the power of the drive motor 645 (controlled by the control means 14) causes the rotary shaft 641 and the blades 642 to rotate in the required direction.
The collection device 6E operates in conjunction with the rotating motion of the rotor 63E and the rotating motion of the air blowing means 64. As shown in FIG.

As a result, in the collecting device 6E, as shown in FIG. 17(A), the air containing fine particles generated by the fixing means 5 (FIG. 4) receives the air blowing action of the air blowing means 64, and the air (FIG. 4) is directed by the arrows E1a and E1b. flows into the passage space 60 through one end 61a of the vent tube 61 as illustrated in FIG.

Subsequently, in the collection device 6E, the air (E1a, E1b) that has flowed into the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 flows into narrow portions of the ventilation pipe 61 as illustrated by arrows E2a and E2b in FIG. 17(A). After passing through 60C, it flows so as to pass through the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63E present on the downstream side of the narrow portion 60C. The airflow at this time is slightly disturbed by the rotation of the impeller 63B.

At this time, the air (E2a, E2b) flowing through the narrow portion 60C of the air pipe 61 flows so as to hit the plurality of blades 634 in the impeller 63B, and the front and back surfaces and the tip end surface of each blade 634 are provided with It moves while contacting the collected collecting means 62 .
As a result, the fine particles contained in the air (E2a, E2b) at that time are collected by coming into contact with the collection means 62 in the impeller 63B.
Incidentally, at this time, around the impeller 63B rotating at a small number of revolutions in the direction indicated by the arrow D1, it is moved in accordance with the rotation direction of the impeller 63B as illustrated by arrows E8a and E8b in FIG. 17(A). A rotating airflow is generated that flows as if to do so.

Subsequently, the air (E9a, E9b) that has passed through the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63E flows under the influence of the rotating airflow caused by the rotation of the impeller 63B, passes through the air blowing means 64, and then reaches the other end of the ventilation pipe 61. It flows to the part 61b side. After that, as in the case of the collection device 6B, the air is discharged from the exhaust port 15 of the housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 to the outside of the housing 10 via the louver 16 as illustrated by an arrow E4 in FIG. be.

As described above, in the collecting device 6E, the air in the housing 51 of the fixing means 5 flows into the flow path space 60 of the air pipe 61 by the blowing action of the blowing means 64 and becomes an air current. Since the collecting means 62 is provided on the blades 634 of the impeller 63B as the rotating body 63E that rotates by itself by the power of the air, the air of the airflow rotates integrally with the plurality of blades 634 of the impeller 63B. It passes while contacting the moving collection means 62 . In other words, the airflow at this time passes through the flow path space 60 without being temporarily blocked by the collecting means 62 and sent by the blades 634 of the rotating impeller 63B.
Therefore, according to this collection device 6E, compared with a collection device in which the collection means is fixedly arranged in the flow channel space 60 of the vent pipe 61 in such a manner as to block the flow channel, the pressure After the loss is reduced, fine particles generated by the fixing means 5 contained in the air of the airflow are collected by the collecting means 62 provided on the rotating body 63E rotated by the power of the driving means 66. FIG.

In addition, in this collecting device 6E, when the second control means 69 operates, the impeller 63B as the rotating body 63E rotates at a rotational speed lower than that of the air blowing means 64. As is apparent, the amount of fine particles collected by the collecting means 62 in the impeller 63B tends to increase.
For this reason, according to the collection device 6E, for example, compared to the case where the impeller 63B as the rotating body 63E is rotated at a rotational speed equal to or higher than the rotational speed of the air blowing means 64, fine particles are collected by the impeller. It is efficiently collected by the collecting means 62 at 63B.

<Another Control Regarding the Collection Operation of the Collection Device>
Also, as shown in FIG. 18, the collecting device 6E rotates the impeller 63B of the rotor 63E in one direction (here, arrow D1 ) is configured to perform control to rotate N times.

The second drive control means 69 controls the collection operation of the collection device 6E. In this case, the second drive control means 69 also controls the rotation direction of the drive means 66 of the rotor 63E. Further, in the control, the second drive control means 69 detects, for example, information on the start and end of the printing operation from the control means 14 of the image forming apparatus 1 and the fact that one sheet of paper 9 has passed through the fixing means 5 . information is entered.

Control at this time is performed, for example, as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 18, the control at this time is started when the second drive control means 69 obtains information indicating that the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 1 has started (S20). First, it is continuously determined whether or not one sheet of paper 9 has passed through the fixing means 5 (S21).

When it is confirmed in step 21 that the paper 9 has passed through the fixing means 5, the driving means 66 rotates the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63E N times in the direction indicated by the arrow D1 under the control of the second driving control means 69. (S22). N times of rotation at this time is set to, for example, one time, but is not limited to this. Further, the rotation speed of the rotating body 63E at this time is controlled at a speed slower than the rotation speed of the air blowing means 64 . Note that the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63E in the collection device 6E does not rotate and is stopped at the timing before and after the timing at which the rotation is executed N times.

As a result, in the collecting device 6E at this time, the impeller 63B is rotated N times in the direction indicated by the arrow D1. It becomes easy to contact the collection means 62 in. As a result, fine particles contained in the air of the airflow are efficiently collected by the collection means 62 .
In addition, in this collecting device 6E, even while the impeller 63B is not rotating and is stopped, the airflow contacts the collecting means 62 in the impeller 63B and passes through the gap S1 or the like. As a result, even in this case, the particles contained in the air of the airflow are collected by the collection means 62 .

Subsequently, the second drive control means 69 continues to determine whether or not the printing operation that has been started is completed (S23). is repeated in the same way.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 18 including the step (S24) indicated by the two-dot chain line, the collection device 6E rotates the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63E each time the paper 9 passes the fixing means 5 during the printing operation. may be controlled to rotate so as to switch between two directions indicated by arrows D1 and D2 different from each other.

In this case, after the impeller 63B of the rotating body 63E is rotated N times in one direction indicated by the arrow D1 in step 22 under the control of the second drive control means 69, as shown in FIG. , the driving means 66 rotates the impeller 63B N times in the opposite direction indicated by the arrow D2 (S24). N times of rotation in the opposite direction indicated by the arrow D2 is also set to, for example, 1 time, but is not limited to this. Further, the rotation speed of the rotating body 63E at this time is also controlled at a speed slower than the rotation speed of the air blowing means 64 .

Incidentally, when the impeller 63B rotates N times in the direction indicated by the arrow D2, it moves in accordance with the rotation direction of the impeller 63B as exemplified by the arrows E10a and E10b in FIG. 17(B). This rotating air current is weaker than the air current generated by the air blowing action of the air blowing means 64 . The air (E11a, E11b) that has passed through the impeller 63B when it rotates flows under the influence of the rotating airflow caused by the rotation of the impeller 63B, passes through the air blowing means 64, and then reaches the other end 61b of the vent pipe 61. flow to the side.

As a result, in the collection device 6E at this time, the impeller 63B is also rotated N times in the opposite direction indicated by the arrow D2, so that the airflow is temporarily disturbed by the rotating impeller 63B. Access to the collection means 62 on each vane 634 is facilitated. As a result, even when the rotation is performed in the opposite direction, fine particles contained in the air of the airflow are efficiently collected by the collecting means 62 in the impeller 63B.

Thus, according to the collecting device 6E that controls to rotate the rotating body 63E so as to switch between two directions indicated by different arrows D1 and D2 each time the paper 9 passes through the fixing means 5, the rotating body can be rotated in only one direction. Fine particles are efficiently collected by the collection means 62 for a long period of time, compared to the case of rotating the filter 100 for a long period of time.

[Modification]
The present invention is not limited to the contents exemplified in Embodiments 1 to 4 (including modifications of Embodiments 1 and 2), and is within the scope of the technical idea of the invention described in the scope of claims. , various modifications are possible, including, for example, the following modifications.

If the rotating body 63 is an impeller 63B, the collecting means 62 may be provided on the blades 634 and 636 of the impeller 63B and also on the empty portions of the rotating shafts 631 and 635 thereof. In addition to the rotating body 63, when the air blowing means 64 having the rotating blades 642 is installed, the collecting means 62 may also be provided in the parts of the air blowing means 64 such as the blades 642.

As for the rotating bodies 63 (63A, 63B, 63C) that rotate under the action of the airflow, a plurality of the rotating bodies 63 (63A, 63B, 63C) may be arranged in the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61 if they can rotate under the action of the airflow. good. Also, a plurality of rotating bodies 63E and rotating bodies 63D (blowing means 64) as the rotating bodies 63 that are rotated by the power of the driving means 66 and the like may be arranged in the flow passage space 60 of the ventilation pipe 61.

In addition, the fine particle collection device 6 is not limited to the case where it is applied as a collection device for collecting fine particles generated by the fixing means 5 of the image forming apparatus 1, and is not limited to the case where fine particles are generated in other parts constituting the image forming apparatus 1. It may be configured to collect particulates. Furthermore, the collection device 6 can be applied to various devices other than the image forming device if collection of fine particles is required.

In addition, the image forming apparatus to which the fine particle collecting device 6 is applied is not limited to the type illustrated in the first embodiment, and may be an image forming apparatus of another type using an electrophotographic method. . Also, the image forming apparatus to which the collection device 6 is applied may be an image forming apparatus that employs an image forming method other than the electrophotographic method (for example, a droplet jetting method, a printing method, etc.).

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 ... image forming apparatus 5 ... fixing means 6 ... particle collecting device 9 ... paper (an example of a recording medium)
60 Flow path space 60C Narrow portion 61 Air pipe 62 Collecting means 63 Rotating body 63B Impeller 64 Blowing means (also an example of rotating body)
66... Driving means 642... Blades (blades of air blowing means)
D1... Rotation direction (an example of one direction)
D2... Rotational direction (an example of the opposite direction)
E … Air current (air)

Claims (5)

a vent pipe having a channel space in which an airflow of air containing fine particles is generated;
a rotating body rotatably arranged in the flow channel space of the ventilation pipe, the rotating body having a collecting means for collecting the fine particles on its surface;
with
The rotating body is a blowing means having rotating blades that are rotated by the power of the driving means and generate an airflow in the flow passage space of the ventilation pipe, and the collecting means is provided on the blades of the blowing means. A fine particle trap. 2. The collecting device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body has a period of rotation at a relatively low number of revolutions . An image forming apparatus comprising the fine particle collecting device according to claim 1 . A fixing means for fixing the unfixed image by passing through a recording medium holding the unfixed image;
The collecting device includes a blowing means having rotating blades for generating an airflow in the flow passage space of the vent pipe, one end of the vent pipe being connected to the fixing means,
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein said rotating body is rotated by said driving means so as to switch between different directions each time said recording medium passes said fixing means . A fixing means for fixing the unfixed image by passing through a recording medium holding the unfixed image;
The collecting device includes air blowing means having rotating blades for generating an air flow in the flow passage space of the air pipe, one end of the air pipe is connected to the fixing means, and the rotating body is connected to the fixing means. It is composed of air blowing means provided with the collecting means on the surface of the blade,
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the rotating body comprising said air blowing means has a period during which fine particles are likely to be generated in said fixing means and a period during which it is rotated at a relatively low number of revolutions .

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