JPH0392857A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an image forming device small in size and low in cost utilizing a temperature detecting sensor for detection of rotation of a fan by providing a control means which discriminates whether or not a suction means is activated normally by any change in signal outputted by the temperature detecting means. CONSTITUTION:A thermistor 55 is provided to observe the temperature inside the machine. This thermister 55 is for observing abnormally high temperature, etc., inside the machine, and is connected to a micro computer 51 through an A/C converter. At normal times, this micro computer 51 acts to stop action of the whole device when the temperature observed by the thermister 55 inside the machine exceeds a specified value. Further, when the detection of the rotation of the deodorizing fan 43 inside the suction means is carried out, and when detection of rotation is instructed, the temperature inside the machine at that time is measured, the temperature is stored, and afterwards the deodorizing fan 43 is rotated. Thus by utilizing the temperature detecting means, observation of the operation state of the suction means can be carried out, therefore the device can be obtained small in size and low in cost without increasing the number of parts.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a photosensitive pressure-sensitive paper carrying photocurable microcapsules containing a dye precursor on its surface is exposed to light according to image information, and then a color developer is used which reacts with the dye precursor to develop color. There is a known device that obtains an image on a developer paper by overlapping and pressing a color developer paper carrying a color developer on its surface. Such an apparatus is equipped with a heat fixing device that heats the developer paper in order to accelerate the reaction between the developer and the dye precursor.

However, heating the developer paper generates odoriferous gas.
To avoid discomfort to the operator, such devices are fitted with fans to draw the gases through a filter. If this fan malfunctions and stops, smelly gas leaks outside the machine. Therefore, a sensor is provided to detect the rotation of the fan, and when the sensor detects that the fan is not operating, measures such as stopping the device function are taken. In some cases, another fan is provided as a backup, and two fans are constantly running.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned device requires parts other than the fan, which causes problems such as cost increase, high cost, and increase in the size of the device. Therefore, it is desirable to use components already provided in the device to detect the rotation of the fan.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by using a temperature detection sensor, which is generally already incorporated in the device for safety measures, to detect the rotation of the fan, it can be made small and low-cost. The purpose is to provide a low cost image format or device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a heat fixing means for fixing an image formed on color developer paper by heating, and a heat fixing unit that fixes an image formed on color developer paper by heating, and In an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes a suction means for sucking gas and discharging it outside the heat fixing means, and a temperature detection means for detecting a temperature inside the apparatus and outputting a signal corresponding to the detected temperature. The present invention is characterized by comprising a control means for determining whether or not the suction means is operating normally based on a change in a signal output from the detection means.

[Operation] According to the present invention having the above configuration, the color developing paper on which the image is formed is heated by the heat fixing means.

Gas generated during this heating is exhausted to, for example, a filter or the like by a suction means. While the suction means is functioning normally, the temperature rise is small. Or the temperature decreases. However, if the action of the suction means stops due to a malfunction or the like, the interior of the machine is filled with hot air containing the above-mentioned gas, and the temperature rises. Then, the temperature detection means senses the temperature rise and outputs a corresponding signal. The control means executes predetermined processing in response to this signal.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a color copying machine embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 2, on the upper part of the copying machine main body 1, a document table glass 2 on which a document can be placed and a cover 3 that covers the document table glass 2 in an openable and closable manner are disposed so as to be movable left and right. Below the original platen glass 2 is a halogen lamp 4 that extends in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the original platen glass 2 and irradiates light onto the original on the original platen glass 2, and the light from the halogen lamp 4 is directed to the original platen glass. a light source 6 consisting of a reflecting mirror body 5 that reflects toward 2;
is provided. Then, while the light [6 is being emitted, the document table glass 2 is moved left and right, so that the entire document is irradiated with light.

On the other hand, an exposure table 7 is disposed approximately at the center of the interior of the copying machine main body 1, and between the light source 6 and the exposure table 7 is a filter 8 for adjusting the color tone of the copied image and a lens 9 for condensing light. is supported by a mounting plate 10, and a pair of reflecting mirrors 11 for adjusting the optical path and focus are supported by a mounting plate 12 so as to be adjustable in position between the lens and the exposure table 7. The light reflected from the original after being irradiated onto the original is filtered through the filter 8. The light passes through a lens 9 and each reflecting mirror 11 and is guided to an exposure table 7.

A cartridge 14 is removably housed inside the copying machine main body 1, and a winding shaft 15 is rotatably supported. Further, the cartridge 14 stores in a wound state a long microcapsule paper 13 carrying a large number of microcapsules containing dye for color copying and the like. After the microcapsule paper 13 is pulled out from the cartridge 14 by the rotation of the plurality of feed rollers 16, it is wound around the take-up shaft 15, during which time a part of the paper that has passed under the exposure table 7 is exposed, and the document is A latent image is formed.

Below the exposure table 7, a cassette 18 containing a developer sheet 17 as a sheet of a certain size or a developer sheet made of transparent plastic film used in an overhead projector is attached to and detached from the copying machine main body 1. Possibly inserted. A pressure developing device 19 is disposed between the exposure table 7 and the winding shaft 15, and is used to develop the exposed portion of the microcapsule paper 13 and the color developer paper 17 or color developer sheet (hereinafter simply referred to as color developer paper 17). is pressure developing device 1
By being pressed in the microcapsule paper 9, a color image is formed on the color developer paper 17 based on the latent image on the microcapsule paper 13. Further, the cassette 18 is provided with a protrusion 18a for determining the size of the color developer paper 17, and in the main body 1, the size of the color developer paper 17 is determined.
A device 20 for determining the size of 7 is provided.

A plurality of feed reel rollers 21 and paper guides 25 are provided between the cassette 18 and one pressure developing device for transporting the color developing paper 17 toward one pressure developing device, and a paper feed side of the pressure developing device 19 is provided. The microcapsule paper is
A peeling roller 22 is provided for peeling off the color developing paper 17 from the color developing paper 17.

A thermal fixing device 23 for fixing the image formed on the color developer paper 17 by heat is disposed on the paper feeding side of the peeling roller 22, and the color developer paper 1 is discharged from this device 23.
7 is accommodated in the tray 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, a guide plate 31 made of iron plate and forming the heat fixing device 23 is disposed on the conveying path of the color developing paper 17. As shown in FIG. A pair of feed rollers 32 and a feed roller 33 that are orthogonal to the conveyance path are rotatably supported on the sheet feed side and the feed side of the guide plate 31, respectively, and the developing paper 17 is guided as the rollers 32 and 33 rotate. Board 3
1. A heater 34 made of a coiled nichrome wire is disposed opposite to the guide plate 31 on the delivery side, and the surrounding air is heated when the heater 34 is energized.

A casing 35 that covers the heater 34 is disposed above the guide plate 31, and a shielding plate 35g made of a wire mesh or the like having a large number of heat ray transmission holes is attached to the lower opening of the casing 35. A blower fan 36 made of a cross-flow fan is provided on the feed side of the heater 34 and is rotatable around an axis perpendicular to the conveyance path. heated air is circulated. Also, between the casing 35 and the guide plate 31, there are a population 37 and an outlet 38 of the developer paper 17.
is provided. Further, adjacent to each roller 32, 33, a heat insulating roller 32a is provided inside thereof for insulating between the inlet 37 and the outlet 38 and each roller 32, 33.
33a are arranged rotatably. and,
The device main body 3 is connected by the guide plate 31 and the casing 35.
is configured.

The device main body 39 has a structure that covers substantially the entire outer surface thereof, and
A cover 41 for forming an air passage 40 interlocking with the port 37 and the outlet 38 is attached. Further, a hollow frame-shaped support frame 42 is installed inside the copying machine main body 1 above the three apparatus main bodies, and the support frame 42
A deodorizing fan 43 for sucking gas generated from the color developer paper 17 as the color developer paper 17 is heated is rotatably supported inside. The intake side of this fan 43 is connected to the air passage 40 via a duct 44.

A filter 45 is installed within the support frame 42 between an exhaust port (not shown) and the fan 43. The fan 43 and filter 45 constitute a suction device.

The structure of this filter 45 is shown in FIG. Metal meshes 452 and 453 are fitted on the upper and lower surfaces of the cylindrical outer frame 451. Highly breathable paper is lined inside the metal nets 452 and 453, and the interior thereof is filled with a deodorizing material 454. The color developer in this embodiment generates odorous gas when heated, but its components are absorbed by the deodorizing material 454. This filter 45 is connected to one of the networks 452
is attached to face the fan 43, and the other net 453 is attached without any gaps so as to be in contact with the outside air.

Furthermore, the copying machine in this embodiment has a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) 51, as shown in FIG.
A start switch 52 for outputting a copy start signal is connected to the microcomputer 51 via an input/output interface 53. Also, microcomputer 5
1 is connected to a mode changeover switch 54 via an input/output interface 53, and by operating the switch 54, 3FII modes with different heating temperatures are set.

The modes are low gloss mode (heating temperature 135℃),
High gloss mode (heating temperature 145℃) and OHP mode (
The heating temperature was 160°C). The low gloss mode and the high gloss mode are selected to create a difference in gloss when copying onto normal color developer paper 17, and the OHP mode is selected when using an OHP sheet coated with a color developer. A thermistor 55 is attached to the inner length of the casing 35,
A signal corresponding to the temperature inside the device main body 39 is output to the microcomputer 51 via the input/output interface 53.

Furthermore, the microcomputer 51 includes a heater 34 and a blower fan 36.
A deodorizing fan 43 and the like are connected via an input/output interface 53.

Now, when making a color copy in the copying machine configured as described above, first, when the power is turned on to the copying machine, the microcomputer 5l selects the mode set in advance based on the operation of the mode changeover switch 54. According to heater 3
4 and the blower fan 36 to raise the temperature within the three main bodies of the apparatus. Then, in response to a human power signal from the thermistor 55, the microcomputer 5l turns on and off the heater 34 to maintain the inside of the device main body 51 at a constant temperature according to the mode. At this time, the deodorizing fan 43 is held in a stopped state by the microcomputer 51, so that the heating operation is performed efficiently.

Next, when the start switch 52 is operated, the microcomputer 51 controls the document moving device (not shown) in response to the operation to move the document table glass 2 to the right end of the movement. At the same time, the feed roller 21 is activated to transport the developer paper 17 to the artificial part of the pressure developing device. Then, the left end of the document turns on the halogen lamp 4 of the light source 6, and in this state, the document table glass 2 is returned to the left and the document is irradiated with light.

During the subsequent irradiation, the microcomputer 51 controls the rotation of the winding shaft 15 to move the microcapsule paper 13 on the exposure table 7 toward the winding side at the same speed as the document table glass 2. Therefore, a latent image of the original is gradually formed on the microcapsule paper 13 by the reflected light from the original. Then, with the operation of the winding fl[I15, the microcapsule paper 13
With the leading edge of the exposed portion of the developing paper 17 aligned with the leading edge of the color developing paper 17, both are transferred to the pressure developing device 19. Thereby,
The exposed portion of the microcapsule paper 13 is pressed against the color developer paper 17, and a color image is formed on the color developer paper 17.

Then, the color developing paper 17 is peeled off from the microcapsule paper 13 by the peeling roller 22 as the winding shaft l5 operates.
is gradually introduced into the heat fixing device 23 from its tip.

At this time, the microcomputer 51 controls the operation of the blower fan 36 and the heater 34 to circulate hot air within the three apparatus bodies.

As a result, the image is fixed on the color developer paper 17, and then the color developer paper 17 is discharged onto the tray 24.

When thermally fixing the color developer paper 17, the microcomputer 51 starts rotating the deodorizing fan 43 at a predetermined time before the color developer paper 17 is introduced into the heat fixing device 23. Then, based on a manual signal from a paper discharge switch (not shown) mounted on the guide plate 31, the color developing paper l7 is delivered to the exit 38 of the main body 39 of the apparatus.
When the microcomputer 51 confirms that the deodorizing fan 43 has finished passing through, the microcomputer 51 stops the rotation of the deodorizing fan 43.

While the deodorizing fan 43 is rotating, the device main body 3
Air is then introduced into the filter 45 through the inlet 37, the outlet 38, the air passage 40 and the duct 44, and is discharged through the exhaust port of the support frame 42. Therefore, the filter 45 reliably removes odors and harmful substances in the gas generated from the color developer as the color developer paper 17 is heated, and normal air free of odors is discharged from the exhaust port.

On the other hand, when the mode is switched from a high temperature side to a low temperature side by operating the mode changeover switch 54, for example, from high gloss to low gloss, from OHP to high gloss, or from OHP to low gloss, the microcomputer 51 selects a predetermined Depending on the time, the operation of the heater 34 is stopped and at the same time, the deodorizing fan 43 is activated. Then, this deodorizing fan 43
This operation helps dissipate heat within the device main body 39 and shortens the time required for mode switching.

Further, contrary to the above case, when the mode is switched from the low temperature side to the high temperature side, the microcomputer 51 not only operates the heater 34 but also stops the operation of the deodorizing fan 43 during the mode switching operation. Then, by stopping the operation of the deodorizing fan 43, the dissipation of heat within the device main body 39 is controlled, and the time required for mode switching is shortened.

Next, a mechanism for monitoring the rotation of the deodorizing fan 43 will be explained. The above device is provided with a thermistor 61 for monitoring the temperature inside the machine. This thermistor 6
1 is for monitoring abnormal temperature rise inside the aircraft, etc.
It is connected to the microcomputer 51 via a /D converter. This microcomputer 51 normally operates the thermistor 61.
When the internal temperature monitored by the device exceeds a predetermined value, the device acts to stop the operation of the entire device. Also, at a predetermined time, the first
The rotation of the deodorizing fan 43 is detected by functioning as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG.

When rotation detection is instructed, the temperature inside the machine at that time is
temperature is determined and stored (S1). After that, the deodorizing fan is rotated (S2).

When the deodorizing fan 43 rotates, the deodorizing fan 43 exhausts the heated air to the outside, so that the temperature inside the device temporarily decreases. Therefore, the process waits for a predetermined time (S3), and then stops the deodorizing fan 43 (S4). Then, measure the temperature again. Then, the temperature is compared with the temperature stored in S1 (S5), and if the temperature is lower than before the fan rotation, it is determined that the fan is normal. Also, if the temperature is the same as before the fan started or higher, it is determined that the deodorizing fan 4 is not working properly, and a warning is issued on the display, and the device itself is controlled to be inactive. do.

Alternatively, the control may be performed as follows. As shown in FIG. 1(b), a temperature change caused by the rotation of the deodorizing fan is detected by a temperature control thermistor 55 installed in the heat fixing device.

Note that since the temperature inside the heat fixing device is controlled to be constant, it is necessary to keep the amount of heat supplied by the heater constant when detecting a failure of the deodorizing fan.

For example, when detecting a malfunction in the deodorizing fan, first turn off the heater (S11), store the temperature inside the heat fixing device at that time (S12), and output a rotation command to the deodorizing fan (3 1 3). ). After a predetermined period of time has elapsed (514), the rotation of the deodorizing fan is stopped (S15), and the temperature inside the heat fixing device is input again and compared with the temperature stored in S12 (S15).
1 6). If the temperature after rotation of the deodorizing fan is lower than the temperature before rotation by a predetermined value or more, the control returns to normal control and the heater is turned on (S 17). If it does not go down, it is assumed that the deodorizing fan is malfunctioning.

Although the above description has been made for the case where the heater is turned off, it can also be applied to cases where the on-duty of the heater is fixed at 50% or when the heater is fixed at full-on (100% duty).

These deodorizing fans may be checked at any timing, for example, after the power has been turned on, after thermal stability, during standby, after copying, or at regular time intervals.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the detailed description above, the device of the present invention monitors the operating state of the suction means by using the temperature detection means built into the device for other purposes. It is possible to do so.

Therefore, the suction means can be monitored without increasing the number of parts, and the device can be provided in a small size and at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of control in the above embodiment, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the apparatus of the above embodiment, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure around the deodorizing fan in the above device, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the electrical structure of the above device. In the figure, 23 is a heat fixing device (thermal fixing means), 43 is a deodorizing fan (suction means), 51 is a microcomputer (control means), and 55 and 60 are thermistors (temperature detection means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A heat fixing means for fixing an image formed on color developer paper by heating; and a suction means for sucking gas generated as the color developer paper is heated and discharging it outside the heat fixing means. and temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature within the apparatus and outputting a signal corresponding to the detected temperature, wherein the suction means is normally activated by a change in the signal output from the temperature detecting means. An image forming apparatus characterized by comprising a control means for determining whether or not the image forming apparatus is operating. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature detection means is disposed within the heat fixing means, and a control means is provided to keep the amount of heat supplied by the heat fixing means constant when determining the operation of the suction means. An image forming apparatus characterized by: